Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 418 Two Stories, Courageous Progress

On Feiyun Peak, the grey-clothed old man shook his sleeves, and the black wake-up stick made a sound of metal and stone when it was tapped on the stone table. The peak suddenly became quiet:
"It is said that there was a cowherd named Zhang in Nanli. When he was seven years old, his parents were swept away by a mountain torrent. He was the only one left alive, holding half a piece of wheat cake and lying on an old locust tree. This mortal like an ant has been used by me as the opening of this story today - do you know why?"

"Could this ant-like person possibly turn over?" Duan Tianyan asked with a smile while playing with the jade cup.

The old man's white beard trembled as he said, "That's right! When Zhang was nine years old, he sold himself to the Xuanbing Sect as a medicine boy. After finally surviving to sixteen, he went into the mountains every day to collect herbs for the sect. He accidentally saved a lame white fox by a cold pond. That night, a white-haired female fairy came on the moon and said that the white fox was her lost spirit beast. She gave him three volumes of "Guanghan Yinqi Jue" on the spot."

“That kid’s spiritual roots are only fourth-grade, but he gathers spiritual energy from the morning dew by the pond every day at 3 a.m. One winter, the pond froze over, and he chiseled the mountain wall to practice martial arts. Three of his fingers were frozen off in this extremely cold environment, but he relied on this ruthlessness to successfully build his foundation in forty years, and with this, he was truly accepted into the Xuanbing Sect.” Ice crystals flew out of the sleeves of the gray-clothed old man, and condensed in the air into a scene of a little man practicing in an iceberg.

"Later, when the demon cultivators besieged Xuanbing Island, he volunteered to guard the most dangerous North Cliff of the sect."

At this time, Xiao Ming, who was already a little drunk, suddenly sat up and asked, "But what about the Dry Bone Rebellion eighty years ago?"

"Your Excellency is very knowledgeable!" The gray-robed old man bowed to Xiao Ming, then stood up and continued to narrate: "That Zhang Hanzhou, yes, at this time he has been given the Taoist name Hanzhou, and he used the power of the cold air of heaven and earth to detonate the thousand-year-old ice marrow, and used the power of the cold air of heaven and earth to freeze the three skeletons of the old demon. Although his golden elixir was shattered, he also accumulated merits and was awarded the true teachings of the Xuanbing Sect's secret book "Canghan Yujue". "

Wan Shuang'er sighed: "My master mentioned this person. It is said that later..."

"He then lay in the cold jade coffin for thirty-six years." The old man suddenly lowered his voice and said, "But guess what? Last year, in the cold Chi cave that appeared in the far north, there was a Yuanying Zhenjun who controlled an ice soul bead to kill people everywhere - it was the cowherd boy from that year!"

On Feiyun Peak, an old storyteller told stories to everyone present. The stories told by cultivators were different from those told by ordinary people. Each story was a true life experience of a cultivator:

Some of them were born in humble backgrounds, but with their perseverance and courage, they cultivated step by step to the Nascent Soul stage and changed their destiny.

Some were born into a family of immortal cultivators, but because of their momentary greed, they lost their lives or suffered internal injuries that are difficult to heal in their lifetime.

Of course, more people come from humble backgrounds and die early at the mouths of monsters, while those who come from aristocratic families, even if they do not have great abilities, can be protected by their families and live out their lives in peace.

Every story is true. There are examples like Zhang Hanzhou, but there may not be one such example in a hundred stories.

The protagonists of many stories are apparently hardworking, diligent, and persevering, but they lack opportunities and die early.

This complete uncertainty also adds to the interest of the story.

"There is a farmer in Nanli Territory named Han Tiesheng. His family has been spiritual farmers for generations: they plant crops honestly and harvest crops diligently. His spiritual roots are only of the fourth grade, and he practices the very basic Qingmu Jue. However, he relied on twenty years of hard practice to reach the foundation-building stage!"

A ray of green light flew out from the sleeves of the grey-clothed old man, transforming into the shadow of a young man practicing late at night. "He accumulated spirit stones piece by piece, took on the most strenuous tasks, saved spirit stones to buy skills, and when he was fifty-eight years old, he went alone into the Black Mist Swamp in order to seek the main medicine for opening up the Purple Mansion."

"The poisonous miasma in that swamp corrodes bones, and giant crocodiles eat people. Even Purple Mansion Realm cultivators have died there. But Han Tiesheng insisted on lying in the stinking mud for three days and three nights, and finally picked the Jade Marrow Ganoderma!"

Mo Xuan sighed and said, "If he was in Taiqing Sect, he would have opened up a purple palace long ago..."

The gray-clothed old man suddenly said in a cold tone, "It's a pity that he encountered a robber on his way back. A red silk thread pierced his abdomen! The Purple Mansion Realm demon cultivator took his Qiankun bag, cursed him as a 'poor devil', and fled away."

"A few days later, several young farm boys discovered his remains. They searched through his body and excitedly held up the blood-stained "Qing Mu Jue." The cycle of fate began again.

Snapped.

The gray-clothed old man slapped the wake-up stick again, his voice was not loud but it was like thunder: "The world of immortal cultivation has always been like this: sometimes the hard work of a poor cultivator throughout his life is not as good as the garbage thrown away by the children of the aristocratic families!"

There was a moment of dead silence on the top of the mountain, except for the sound of the mountain wind blowing up a dead leaf and floating it towards the depths of the sea of ​​clouds.

Sometimes, success is not possible just by being diligent, hardworking and persevering.

This old man in gray was born in a sect called Tianyan Pavilion. This Tianyan Pavilion loves to collect stories from the world and has sworn a solemn oath that the stories they tell are true, or at least true as far as they know. Disciples from major sects often like to invite one of these people to banquets to broaden their horizons.

After Wan Shuang'er gave the spirit stones as a reward, the old man in gray quickly retreated, and the atmosphere of the following banquet became much more relaxed.

At this time, there were already more than ten people at the banquet. One of them, a young monk in a green robe, asked with a smile:

"Tian Yan, you have always been conceited. Don't you know how you compare to Zhang Hanzhou?"

The words of the young man in green robe made Duan Tianyan's face freeze. He has always been conceited, so he never speaks nonsense to deceive others.

Although Zhang Hanzhou came from a small sect, he was able to fight on his own in the Hanchi Cave and defeated eight Nascent Soul cultivators in a row. Duan Tianyan thought about it and felt that it would be difficult for him to do so.

"I am not good at swimming and attacking, but if one day I were to fight against Zhang Hanzhou, I would certainly die, but I would also cause him to suffer internal injuries that would at least require a calamity transformation to heal. Moreover, why should I fight against him? In the future, when I switch to practicing the Secret of the Unison of the Primordial Qi, it will be easy for me to defeat and kill him."

Lu Cheng was also drinking at this time, but Wan Shuang'er took the opportunity to bring a yellow-shirted girl closer:
“Brother Lu, this is my cousin Shang Qingyu, who is studying the Nine Heavens Heavenly Sound Heart Sutra at Chaozhi Peak.” The yellow-shirted girl knelt down and saluted, her expression looking a little aggrieved but serious.

Lu Cheng is at least several hundred years older than Wan Shuang'er. In addition, Wan Shuang'er only practices Taoism in the Taiqing Sect. It would be strange if Lu Cheng still couldn't see Wan Shuang'er's thoughts now.

There are three aspects of a monk’s practice: Heaven and Earth, human heart, and himself.

Knowing and understanding the world and human hearts, and finally falling on oneself, Wan Shuang'er gave Lu Cheng the feeling that she was shrewd and scheming but couldn't figure it out.

Dharma assemblies are a common form of gathering for immortal cultivators. Fellow disciples who have made friends in Dharma assemblies will more or less keep in touch with each other, and will help each other if there is an external disaster.

Wan Shuang'er obviously wanted to use this opportunity to hone her own character and grasp people's hearts. The so-called tempering of the mind in the world of mortals does not mean to seal up one's magical powers and then infiltrate the human world to suffer actively, but to be clear-headed after experiencing the affairs of the world, to observe all living beings, to observe oneself, to know what one really wants, and thus to strengthen one's heart in the Tao.

Wan Shuang'er had obviously gone astray and got trapped. It seemed that she had taken the initiative to enter into it, but she was just floating on the surface. She knew that she was an "ascended monk" and so she took the initiative to come and stir up trouble.

However, she did not communicate with Duan Tianyan of Huoling Peak beforehand, which made Duan Tianyan, who had some feelings for her, feel bad about her.

At this time, Wan Shuang'er actually pulled her cousin Shang Qingyu over and introduced her to herself. She was so forceful and obvious that even Shang Qingyu could see it and her little face turned red.

However, because of this, when Duan Tianyan noticed this side, the hostility in his expression when he looked at Lu Cheng greatly decreased.

After all, if Wan Shuang'er liked Lu Cheng, she would not take the initiative to introduce her cousin to him.

'With such a character, how can she be taught the Male and Female Demon Sword Manual? Her character is even worse than Duan Tianyan's. And the people at the Dharma Assembly, many of them flattered and tolerated Wan Shuang'er intentionally or unintentionally, but if Wan Shuang'er was of such a high status, why would she spend so much effort to win over these people? '

"Wan Shuang'er and Duan Tianyan, their teachers and relatives are probably all practicing in the Taiqing Sect. They have a good family background and are much easier to become registered disciples than to pass the Xuantian Pavilion. I must be mixed in with a group of aristocratic families... Because I am an ascended cultivator and have no roots, they actively recruited me to avoid me joining the master-disciple sect?"

Taiqing Sect "puts Taoism first and does not stick to conventional etiquette". All disciples of the sect worship the founder of Taiqing Sect as their teacher. From the founder down, everyone is a disciple. In theory, they can all call each other brothers and sisters, but in fact, when Lu Cheng sees Xuan Zhenzi, he still calls him uncle. If he were in some sects that value the inheritance of master and disciple, Lu Cheng might have to call Xuan Zhenzi the ancestor.

The three sects of Taiqing Sect, Yuqing Sect, and Shangqing Sect are all like this. They only worship the founder as their master, and simplify the other master-disciple pedigrees as much as possible. Of course, there are also people who worship as their master, but they are not the mainstream. The Taoism is mainly taught by the uncles and uncles of each sect. In a Dharma meeting, Lu Cheng got familiar with Wan Shuang'er, Xiao Ming, Mo Xuan, Shang Qingyu and others. After eating and drinking, he flew back to Huangyun Island on a cloud to continue his own practice.

Lu Cheng was not interested in Wan Shuang'er's thoughts at all. This time he went out for some fresh air. After returning to the mountain, he closed his cave again and devoted himself to cultivation.

……

In the cave on Huangyun Island, under the illumination of the green jade lamp, Lu Cheng sat cross-legged on the altar, holding the Tianyuan Nine Chapter Jade Talisman in his hands.

A faint light flows on the surface of the white jade-like talisman, and every line seems to contain infinite mysteries.

The Tianyuan Nine-Chapter Jade Talisman is a top-level magic weapon of the sixth level.

It can assist the sixth-level talisman master in drawing talismans, and provide great blessings during the use of the talismans. It is only half a step away from being promoted to a seventh-level magic weapon.

"If I had known that I would be given this treasure, I would not have needed to refine the All-Spirit Blood Pearl. Or, was it because he knew that I was refining the All-Spirit Blood Pearl that he gave me this treasure?"

"rise!"

With a light shout, the jade seal suddenly floated in the air and emitted a bright light.

The "Rain Seal" among the nine chapters of "Heaven, Earth, Sun, Moon, Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, and Nothing" was the first to light up, and clouds and mist suddenly appeared in the cave.

Those clouds are not ordinary water vapor, but are condensed from countless fine runes, and each strand is in line with the laws of heaven and earth.

Lu Cheng closed his eyes and concentrated, and the platinum scripture of "Taiqing Xuanshu Secretly Granted Guangming Fujing" emerged in his sea of ​​consciousness.

As his mental method was working, a three-inch-tall little man gradually appeared between his eyebrows, with 124,600 bright talismans wrapped around his body. It was the manifestation of the Ten Thousand Talismans Body.

Lu Cheng made hand gestures and changed them, and the Nascent Soul figure also made corresponding movements. One hundred and twenty thousand bright talismans were seen hanging upside down like a galaxy, turning into platinum threads that coiled around the jade seal.

When the first strand of platinum thread touched the seal, the spiritual energy in the entire cave suddenly vibrated violently. This magic weapon swallowed up the spiritual energy from all directions like a whirlpool:

"What a powerful restriction!"

Seeing this, Lu Cheng was not surprised but delighted, and he opened his mouth and spurted out a stream of his own vital energy. The vital energy was blue and white, and it turned into a talisman pen in the air, pointing directly at the "Heaven Seal".

In an instant, a vast starry sky appeared in the cave, and countless stars moved in specific trajectories, evolving in a circle.

The Taoist's eyes glowed with divine light, and the Nascent Soul suddenly jumped out of his heavenly spirit and stepped directly into the star map. With each step, a star lit up under his feet, and when he stepped over the seventy-two star positions, the entire star map suddenly shrank and turned into flowing light that sank into the jade seal.

"Heavenly Seal, unlock!"

As the Heaven Seal was cracked, the Jade Seal restriction seemed to weaken by three points. But before Lu Cheng could rejoice, the Thunder Seal activated itself. Countless lightning talismans flew out of the seal, forming nine talisman formations in the void, surrounding the Taoist priest.

Some of these talisman arrays are like coiled dragons, some are like crouching tigers, and there are three that are shaped like swords pointing directly at the Nascent Soul.

Lu Cheng recognized that this was the famous "Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Talisman Array" of Taiqing Sect. Now he had to use his own talisman skills to break them one by one, otherwise it would be difficult to refine this magical weapon with hidden spiritual power in a short period of time.

"The body of ten thousand talismans, guided by light!"

Fortunately, Lu Cheng's understanding of the Way of Talismans over the past few hundred years was not a waste. The Nascent Soul figure grew rapidly, and 124,600 light talismans turned into armor. It directly broke into the center of the talisman formation and allowed the thunder talisman to bombard it.

Every time it was hit, hundreds of talismans were shattered, but soon new ones were born from the void. This was the most clumsy but most effective way to break the formation - using one's own talisman foundation to attack it head-on. If one succeeded, he would understand the mystery, but if he failed, his Nascent Soul would be damaged and his vitality would be greatly hurt.

Three hours later, when the last sword-shaped array dissipated, Lu Cheng's Taoist robe was soaked with sweat. But a smile appeared on his lips, because the jade seal had floated to his chest, and the second of the Nine Chapters of the Heavenly Book was lit up.

He was in a daze and didn't know how much time had passed. When the white jade talisman finally fell into Lu Cheng's hands, Lu Cheng once again had the feeling he had when he was studying the "Xuan Shu Secret Talisman Scripture" and felt like his head was about to explode.

"If my original body had not cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage and had not communicated with my mind and spirit, I would never have been able to refine this treasure. This is simply a scam! Those who practice talismans are all mentally ill, and I am not one of them. I was forced by my original body."

Of course, this is not the only method to refine this treasure. Another method is to slowly nurture and refine it with magic power, but that would take who knows how many years. Moreover, it is impossible to control it with the heart and achieve unity of man and treasure like Lu Cheng did.

Although he had indeed suffered a great deal and paid a high price, at the same time, Lu Cheng also discovered the secret hidden in this talisman magic weapon:
The Nine-Chapter Heavenly Book of Tianyuan records all the achievements of the previous owner of this treasure in the art of talismans, which are vaguely summarized as a set of skills. Although it is unlikely to surpass the "Taiqing Xuanshu Secret Light Talisman Sutra", one of the seven true teachings of Taiqing Sect, it is also extremely profound and mysterious, at least enough for Lu Cheng to practice to the ninth level of Nascent Soul.

"Let's practice for now. The external incarnation can be cultivated to the realm reached by the original body relatively easily. With the resources of the earthly immortal world, I can at least cultivate to become a great cultivator first..."

At this moment, Lu Cheng suddenly thought of his uncle Xuan Zhenzi and his pair of grey eyes that seemed to contain endless killing intent.

"My identity and my choices were all seen through in advance. I thought that the Dragon Gu body combined with the Samadhi True Fire to refine the body could conceal the past. Now it seems that I thought too simply. Knowing that I am an incarnation, they still taught me the skills. Did they not care, or was it out of some calculation?"

After a moment, Lu Cheng put all these thoughts and distractions in his mind to an end. At most, he would die. He had not betrayed the Taiqing Sect, so Xuan Zhenzi would not chase him to the mortal world for this.

In the following days, Lu Cheng devoted himself to practicing Taoism and magic, and did not leave the cave for several years, even more than ten years.

Uncle Master Xuan Zhenzi obviously saw something and intended to bestow the Tianyuan Nine Chapter Jade Talisman Seal, which contained the hidden power of talismans.

Lu Cheng swallowed the bait without hesitation. Tianyuan Jiuzhang might not be as profound as the real talisman technique, but it was indeed unique in the aspect of talisman transformation. It was unknown whether it was created by some senior himself or inherited by chance.

If it was self-created, his talent would be truly astonishing. If he could cultivate to a higher level and be awarded the true teachings of Taiqing Sect's talisman technique, the two would be verified and combined, and I wonder to what extent he would improve.

Time passed like flowing water. Inside the cave, the halo of the lamp was like rippling water, reflecting the spiritual energy steaming around Lu Cheng.

The Taoist's eyes were slightly closed, and a white jade talisman was hanging above his head. Among the nine patterns, three of them, "Earth", "Sun" and "Moon", lit up one after another, complementing the two patterns, "Sky" and "Rain", which had been refined previously.

The clear light of the talisman fell like a waterfall, enveloping Lu City. Every ray of light turned into fine runes and drilled into the meridians, blending and colliding with the magic power of the "Xuan Shu Secret Talisman Sutra".

When the two magical powers merged and moved through Lu Cheng's body like dragons and snakes, a huge amount of spiritual energy was forcibly absorbed, forming a vortex of spiritual power visible to the naked eye, enveloping Lu Cheng in the center.

During this period, the number of communication talismans outside increased more and more, but Lu Cheng ignored them and focused on cultivating his own magic power. Occasionally, he went out only to replenish some goods from the Black Mountain Shop. After all, concentrating on cultivation also required a lot of spiritual resources to supplement.

There seemed to be a sect competition held outside in these years. Lu Cheng knew about it but didn't care, because this kind of competition between disciples would not be able to bestow one of the seven true teachings. In other words, it was just some elixirs and magic weapons. In Lu Cheng's mind at this time, it was certainly not more important than concentrating on cultivating his magic power.

(End of this chapter)