Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 278 Rescue and Palace Discussion

Early morning, Yin time.

A group of white birds circled low over the sea, chirping occasionally, creating a peaceful scene.

Just at this moment, there was a sudden flash of light in the distant sky, and then several rays of light flew towards this side like lightning. Among these people were Taoists and secular people, but all of them were covered in blood and looked exhausted.

The monks from the Northern Region suffered a great defeat at the front line, with heavy casualties. In the past few days, there has been an endless stream of defeated monks coming here, and even monks from the Southern Region have come here to chase them down.

Among these dozen people, a middle-aged scholar who looked to be in his fifties or sixties had the most profound magical powers and had already reached the Golden Core Real Person realm. However, he was also the most seriously injured, with sword marks still on his abdomen that had not been treated, and dark red blood oozing out from time to time.

Apart from this, the remaining people were either at the Purple Mansion realm, or at least cultivators at the Foundation Establishment realm. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to survive this great rout across thousands of miles and be hunted down by the Tiannan cultivators to this day.

"Uncle Master Xu, let's take a break now that we're at the front. If we continue like this, your body..." A young female cultivator in green noticed that blood was oozing from Uncle Master's sword wound, and spoke up.

"No, we have already entered the area of ​​the Southern Li Sea. If I am right, the Northern Alliance will definitely re-establish a defense line here. If we hold on a little longer, we will most likely run into fellow Northerners. We know this, and the Tiannan cultivators must have figured out that this is their last chance to kill us in exchange for military merit. Hmm..."

As he barely finished speaking, the Taoist surnamed Xu's face turned pale and he couldn't help but snorted. If it was an ordinary injury, a Taoist practitioner would have recovered long ago with his physique. However, the sword wound on his body was caused by the flying sword of a powerful sword cultivator from Tiannan. A lingering sword energy was present, and it was extremely difficult to remove until he died.

"But Uncle Master, if we don't take a break, even if those evil Tiannan thieves don't catch up with us, many of us won't be able to hold on."

Not to mention others, the green-clothed female cultivator herself had a very pale face. After such a long, sleepless escape and forced consumption of elixirs, many people had already accumulated some elixir poison that was devouring their bodies.

"Well, okay, then let's go to the reef ahead and rest for half an hour." Taoist surnamed Xu glanced at the green-clothed female cultivator, then looked at the faces of the many cultivators around him. His expression changed slightly, and finally he said this after weighing the pros and cons.

Perhaps, if he only rested for half an hour, he would not be caught up by those Tiannan monks.

These words immediately made many monks around look happy.

More than ten people flew to the reef, and most of them immediately sat cross-legged and breathed. Those who were close to the monks and had deeper magical powers would also infuse their magical powers into their younger monks.

But just after a while, there were screams from the monks on guard outside:
"Oh no! Those evil Tiannan thieves have caught up to us so quickly! Everyone, come out and fight them! Get ready for the battle!"

The Taoist named Xu hadn't even completed a single circulation of Qi. At this moment he could only suppress the magical power surging in his body, opened his eyes, and flew up.

At this time, a group of more than ten Tiannan monks had already descended from the high altitude above the reefs.

Although the number of enemies was not even greater than that of his own side, the cultivator named Xu felt a chill all over his body.

Because this place is already within the territory of Nanli Sea, any cultivator who dares to pursue and kill here will definitely not have the burden of Qi training and foundation building. Therefore, although the number of people on both sides is similar, our side is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength.

“But at this distance, we can no longer escape. Otherwise, it will be a one-sided massacre! I never thought that after practicing Taoism for hundreds of years, I, Xu Chenfeng, would die here.”

There was no conversation, as talismans, spells, and flying swords were cast, and several monks from the Northern Territory were killed or injured in the blink of an eye.

To the cultivators of both sides, the other side's military achievements were their own, and the cultivators from the Tiannan cultivation world who dared to go deep into the Northern Territory naturally had impressive cultivation bases.

But at this moment, the surrounding sky and earth were suddenly shrouded in darkness.

Immediately afterwards, one after another, Tiannan Jindan Zhenren had sword lights flashing around them. Some of them had already sacrificed defensive magic weapons, while some did not. However, no matter whether they sacrificed defensive magic weapons or not, blood splattered and their bodies were cut in two after the sword light flashed.

"Oh no, it's the Northern Territory Yuanying Zhenjun!"

These Tiannan monks are also elite, and several of them work together to cast spells: Breaking Illusions, Shocking the Sky, Tracking, and Locking Souls.

Several fifth-level talismans were used together to actually shake the Taoist out of the magic domain.

Among the crowd, a huge and burly man wrapped in cold iron armor suddenly appeared. The Xuanyin flying swords were spinning around him, transforming into a winding and swimming sword dragon, lifelike, with both form and spirit, which coiled and protected him in the center.

When this scene appears, who would doubt that this person is not the instigator or the person behind the scenes?

"He is the Taoist Tie Xiao from Huanyun Valley in the Northern Territory. He is good at illusion and swordsmanship, and he has just reached the Nascent Soul stage!"

"kill him!"

Most of these Tiannan monks who dared to chase and kill over long distances and compete for military merits came from the same sect or were a coalition of two close sects.

They have a close relationship and deep feelings for each other.

The sudden appearance of Lu Cheng and his killing of several people made these cultivators feel a mixture of shock, anger and hatred. Moreover, they could not be defeated in the face of high-level cultivators. Even with more than ten Jindan Zifu cultivators joining forces, they still had the strength to fight. If they were defeated, they would be slaughtered at will by the other side.

After this period of war among monks, the high-level monks have realized that they must at least injure the enemy, so that most people will have a chance to disperse and escape.

During this period, more and more defeated monks from the front line arrived at Nanlihai. The main island also issued a task for this reason, sending the monks stationed on various islands to go out for inspection and to assist the defeated monks.

On this day, I went out to patrol in Lucheng on my duty, and I actually succeeded in getting a response. Whether it was the defeated monks in the Northern Territory or these monks in the Southern Region, every one of them had done good deeds. Recently, the main island of Cangyun has established a list of good deeds, stipulating what kind of treasures the monks can exchange for with corresponding good deeds:
From foundation-building pills to Ziyang warm jade, green wood spiritual heart, Xuanying jade marrow (spiritual objects that assist cultivators in opening up the purple palace, mostly companion treasure mines), to five elements elixir, fifth-level demon pill (spiritual objects that assist cultivators in refining golden elixir), as well as infant-transforming pills, infant-raising pills, and infant-cultivating pills, there is everything.

Even cultivators at every level, after accumulating a certain amount of merit, can directly exchange it for the power to withdraw from the front line and escape from this disaster.

The monk war was bloody and terrifying, but it also gave countless brave and hard-working lower-level monks the opportunity to be promoted, and caused countless stale and decadent immortal cultivation families to collapse:

Smart, cautious, brave, resolute, and even lucky, if low-level monks with these qualities are promoted to the middle or even high levels of the cultivation world, it will of course bring more positive changes.

Lu Cheng practiced Taoism without relying on external objects, but there were still many treasures he wanted on the Good Deeds List, such as a sixth-level mid-grade or even a sixth-level upper-grade flying sword, and a sixth-level or even a seventh-level martial arts technique.

After the great defeat at the front, the Northern Territory's cultivators, in order to boost morale, took out many of their most valuable assets that had been kept in reserve, such as seventh-tier magic weapons and techniques.

Although the good deeds that can be exchanged make people feel dizzy, and there is no intention for people to actually exchange them, it is still a thought.

The waves are surging on the vast ocean.

All of a sudden, I saw several flying sword dragons rising into the sky and descending into the ground, circling and biting each other, and colliding with each other. Countless sword energies covered the sky and the earth, and the sharp and ferocious sword power filled the sky and the earth, as if to extinguish all life, making people suffocate.

A cup of tea later, the last escaping Tiannan monk was finally killed by Lu Cheng's fist, and the Tiannan hunting team was completely wiped out.

"I am Xu Chenfeng from the Fu Nian Sect, and I am here to meet the True Lord!"

Regardless of his injuries, Xu Chenfeng flew over and saluted respectfully to Lu Cheng.

But after taking a look at the handsome Taoist and the iron armor with sword dragons circling around it in the sky, he chose to bow to the iron armor.

Compared to the Taoist priest who was fighting in close combat with an expressionless face, the one who just performed the magical skill of a thousand illusions with one sword and stood still in the void was more in line with Xu Chenfeng's understanding of high-level cultivators.

"That Taoist should be a sixth-level puppet. His fists are sharp and he is fearless. With such a high-level puppet by his side, this True Lord will not be a weakling among the Nascent Soul cultivators."

"The situation in the open sea is tense. You should not stay here for too long. Three hundred miles to the west is Danyang Island. It will be much safer for you to rest there than here."

"Xiao Xiu obeys your command."

Having just experienced a life-and-death crisis, Xu Chenfeng dared not say anything more. He immediately took everyone away. When they returned to Danyang Island alive, the death of each cultivator would be counted as Lu Cheng's good deed.

Three days later, on Kun Island.

Lu Cheng, who was originally practicing in seclusion in a cave, suddenly received a jade talisman.

With a wave of his hand, the blocked jade talisman flew in. He took it in his hand and took a look at it with his spiritual sense. Lu Cheng's expression suddenly became a little strange and even angry.

"This woman, what does this mean?"

He stood up and flew out on his sword. Because the message on the jade talisman was: "Your Madam, True Man Lin Qinghan, has arrived at Kunzi Island."

Half an hour later, still in the cave, Lu Cheng looked at the elegant and refined female cultivator in front of him, speechless for a moment.

Lin Qinghan from Huanyun Valley, originally she was able to escape this calamity as the companion of Yuanying Zhenjun and was exempted from going to this place.

But no one knew what was going on in her mind. She actually followed the second group of monks from Huanyun Valley and came to Kun Island.

"What are you thinking? Do you know how many good deeds you need to get a Jindan cultivator's escape order?
You gave up the chance to escape this catastrophe. This is called wasting your life. Do you understand?
You have practiced Taoism for a hundred years, but you have not mastered any of the 100 arts of cultivation. This means that you can only fight with the Tiannan monks on the front line. There is a high possibility that you will die here. Do you know that?"

Lu Cheng was a little annoyed and puzzled at this time. If he wanted to die so much, he should not have escaped the calamity by using the identity of a concubine in the first place. He was not sure if he could sell hundreds of thousands of spirit stones with his current identity. Wouldn't it be better to use the money to buy himself a few more magical instruments?
Lin Qinghan had been keeping his head down as Lu Cheng scolded him. Now he turned his face to the side, with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the female cultivator bowed deeply and then explained:
"I heard that the fighting on the front line was intense, and the monks in the Northern Territory were defeated and suffered heavy casualties, so I am worried about my husband's safety. My appearance has never been noticed by my husband, but I am still a virgin. Serving him by his side may help him relieve his worries and avoid disaster." A cultivator who is proficient in the art of dual cultivation can use a female cultivator who has not lost her essence to heal internal injuries, increase magic power, and help break through bottlenecks.

Lu Cheng was an old hand at this, so of course he instantly understood what Lin Qinghan meant.

Lin Qinghan was a female cultivator with excellent innate talent who had cultivated to the Golden Core Realm and had not lost her primordial yin. She was coveted by many people back then. It was not until she became Lu Cheng's concubine that she was no longer considered a child carrying gold in a busy city.

“… Confused.”

After a long while, Lu Cheng could only scold like this.

For cultivators who are good at dual cultivation, this woman herself is a precious medicine. Her coming is indeed beneficial to Lu Cheng. However, Lu Cheng did not want to get too entangled with her in the beginning, so he helped her escape the calamity. Now it is a tangled mess.

At this moment, another talisman flew to the cave and was blocked by the spiritual light magic ban.

Lu Cheng waved his hand, and the talisman flew in from outside and fell into the Taoist's hands.

After Lu Cheng used his divine sense to investigate for a while, he stood up and said:
"You've already come here. You've already fallen into the calamity and can't avoid it. Even if you regret it now, it's useless. Here are some spiritual stones. You can go to the market or auction in the near future and trade them for some elixirs and magic weapons to use for self-defense. Although the prices of these spiritual objects have risen several times recently, many fine products have also appeared.

I'm going to Cangyun Main Island to attend the palace meeting. Please don't do anything to upset me anymore."

"I obey."

Lin Qinghan nodded like a bullied young wife, and then took the bag of spirit stones handed over by Lu Cheng with both hands.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng shook his head and turned into a dark red rainbow and escaped.

The main island of Cangyun, the meeting hall.

It was obvious that the jade talisman just now was not passed to Lu Cheng alone. Dozens of rainbow lights of various colors flew over from the surrounding auxiliary islands and landed down.

When Lu Cheng arrived in front of the council hall, the heavily-armored guard guarding the entrance saw Lu Cheng's identity, checked his badge, and immediately reported to the inside.

High-level monks are all proficient in the art of illusion, so having just the face is not enough, they must also have a waist badge corresponding to their identity to prove their identity.

You can enter without a badge, but you must be checked again by a monk who is skilled in illusion.

Lu Cheng easily obtained permission to enter, and then entered the hall under the respectful guidance of a monk.

Yuanying Zhenjun has a full lifespan of 4,000 years, and each of them is a giant in the world of immortal cultivation. But in this catastrophe of heaven and earth, they also have to struggle hard to prevent their entire life of hard work from turning into ashes.

There are already more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators in the meeting hall, but the magic power and temperament of the three leading ones are obviously different from others.

Wei Shuyi, a late Yuanying master from Bailu Academy, is a Confucian master. Unlike those half-baked ones from Haoran Academy, Wei Shuyi's righteousness has been truly cultivated to the point where evil spirits are easily shunned and water and fire are invulnerable. He is also proficient in swordsmanship and is extremely powerful.

The island master of Wu Yue Island is Shi Muqing, a great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage. Wu Yue Island was originally an ancient magic lineage. There is an eye of the spiritual spring on the island, and spiritual springs flow there all year round. This magic lineage is almost passed down from one generation to another, and it holds precious treasures, yet it has been able to survive in the world. This alone is enough to show how powerful this female cultivator is.

Xuan Xingshu secretly taught Ming Yuchen, a great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage of the Fu Sect, that all cultivators who were able to cultivate the hundred arts of immortal cultivation to a high level are extremely powerful and can be regarded as the best among cultivators of the same level, not to mention the art of talismans among the four major arts of elixirs, weapons, talismans and formations.

With these three people here, it is no wonder that they can suppress all the Nascent Soul cultivators present, and no one dares to offend them easily.

"It is said that the White Deer Academy has developed a method to seize the energy of other Confucian scholars and absorb it into one's own body to promote cultivation. I wonder if this Mr. Wei is also doing the same."

After Lu Cheng entered the meeting hall, he kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, and would not act rashly. But he thought this in his heart.

He used the method of ghost infant incarnation to forcibly ascend to the Nascent Soul stage, so he was naturally suppressed by the righteous energy and couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart.

"I have asked you all to come here this time because I have something to discuss with you. As you all know, the battle was not going well and the front line was defeated, resulting in the death and injury of many fellow Taoists.

Some of our fellows have successfully returned to the defense lines of the various veins in the Northern Territory, but some have not yet. This time, I would like to ask you all to come here to discuss the rescue matter."

People who practice Taoism are impatient with conventional etiquette and will not engage in excessive politeness. After all the practitioners were seated, Wei Shuyi, who looked like an old man with gray hair, went straight to the point and explained the situation.

Among the Northern Territory monks who were defeated on the front line, there are some who are particularly valuable: alchemists, talisman makers, weapon refiners, and formation masters. Wei Shuyi hopes that the monks present can go to rescue them and increase their chances of survival.

"It is of course dangerous to leave the island and go deep into the enemy camp, so we have prepared generous rewards for everyone's good deeds. If you can rescue two or three fellow Taoists on the list, you can escape this disaster directly."

Since you are asking people to risk their lives, you cannot just talk big, even for monks.

Lu Cheng looked at the key rescue list, which included weapon refiners, spiritual doctors, and alchemists. If they were still alive, or even rescued, it would be of great help to the battle situation of the cultivators in the Northern Territory.

Lu Cheng was the only one among the cultivators, and he did not make a decision immediately. At least he had the support of formations and fellow practitioners on the Nanli Sea defense line. If he took on this task, he would be deep in the enemy's camp, and it was not impossible that he would be besieged by multiple Nascent Soul cultivators from Tiannan if he was not careful.

“My own magical power is only at the Golden Core Realm. If I can use my magic to hide in the Tiannan cultivation world and look for an opportunity to rescue me, there is a chance that it will work.

If the two sides were to engage in a life-and-death battle, whether or not one could survive would largely depend on one's luck."

If he really had the magical power of the Nascent Soul realm, Lu Cheng would have a great chance of surviving the war among cultivators.

It is not easy for physical cultivators to die.

However, his current magic power was forcibly enhanced by the method of incarnation. It was already a struggle for him to fight against the cultivators in the early Nascent Soul stage. In the war among cultivators, it was normal to be besieged by multiple cultivators in the early, middle and late stages of the Nascent Soul stage.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind, but Lu Cheng did not make a decision immediately.

Wei Shuyi and the other two also knew that this was a matter of life and death for all the cultivators, so they were not in a hurry to make a decision.

Next, the many monks in the hall discussed some details related to the war, and then the monks ended the meeting and left in a hurry.

"Railway friends!"

When Lu Cheng was walking out, he suddenly heard such a voice. He looked sideways and saw a Taoist monk with long red hair and black robe, Chi Kui Zhenjun.

"What do you think, Brother Tie, are you interested in getting involved in this mess?"

"What does Friend Chidao mean?" Lu Cheng was able to fish in troubled waters. As soon as he saw Chi Kui's expression, he immediately thought of the matter of Xuan Ting's treasure.

"This is a godsend opportunity. Let's take this mission, sneak into the Tiannan cultivation world, and go to Xuanting Mountain first. As for the mission targets, we will naturally save them if we have the chance to meet them. Even if we fail to save them, it is reasonable."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy. The three great cultivators will not fail to take precautions against this. Before sneaking into the Tiannan cultivation world, they will probably have to sign the Styx Contract."

If a Nascent Soul cultivator intends to avoid disaster and war, and sneaks into the Tiannan cultivation world and finds a cave to hide in to avoid this disaster, then it would be difficult for anyone to find him.

"In any case, this is a great opportunity. We can always avoid a major war. Even if the Styx Blood Oath backfires, there are ways to break it."

There was a gleam of excitement and madness in Chi Kui's eyes. If a cultivator of the magic path did not have a bit of madness, it would be difficult for him to cultivate to his level.

There are still a few days left, and Lu Cheng did not force himself to make a decision now.

In the following days, Lu Cheng accompanied Lin Qinghan to participate in various trade fairs and auctions in Nanlihai.

The war is approaching, and many people want to exchange their floating wealth for items that can enhance their ability to protect the way. Magical weapons, high-level puppets, and elixirs for healing and replenishing energy have been driven up to sky-high prices recently.

However, due to this, exquisite magic weapons frequently appeared. These were treasures that many cultivators had originally intended to pass down to their families, but now, faced with life and death, they had no choice but to sell them.

The higher the realm, the rarer the magic weapon. This catastrophe also promoted the exchange of spirit stones, treasures, and skills. The skills and skills that originally had the highest overall value have plummeted in value recently. In fact, it is not a sharp drop, but it is not as skyrocketing as the elixir and talisman. Lu Cheng bought a lot of them, and also equipped Lin Qinghan with a fifth-level attack and defense magic weapon and protective talisman. In terms of net worth, Lin Qinghan's net worth has exceeded that of most late Jindan cultivators.

"My dear husband, please don't always spend your spiritual stones on me. You should always have some magic weapons to protect yourself."

Lin Qinghan's pretty face flushed red, and she felt happy, shy and frightened all at the same time.

"I know my own business. With my spiritual power, the magic weapons I have now are enough for me to use. I have also bought myself some medicinal pills."

At this time, Lu Cheng had already decided to participate in this mission, hiding himself and heading to the Tiannan cultivation world to rescue the cultivators from the Northern Territory.

If she was seriously injured, she would need Lin Qinghan's essence to quickly recover her vitality, so it was necessary to invest more in her at this time. After all, she had not practiced the method of dual cultivation of corpses, and she would not return home with serious injuries to find that this concubine had died.

(End of this chapter)