Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 430: On such a beautiful autumn day, why not slay the demon and sacrifice the sword?
Not long after Luo Peifang and Chen Qingyun visited Lu Cheng, Lu Cheng had in his hands all the detailed information about the Tongxuan Realm, the Great Samsara Disk of the Huo Ling couple, and the Great Samsara Technique practiced by the couple.

After all, that world is dominated by the Heaven and Earth Demon Palace.

In the battle that broke the realm back then, countless cultivators from the Tongxuan Realm fought one after another and paid a huge price, before they were able to connect the heaven and earth and establish a formation, temporarily preventing the catastrophe of the millennium.

The demon god from outside the world can certainly break the formation by force, but nine out of ten creatures in the formation will be killed. In this case, he will pay a price and get nothing.

But with the arrival of a thousand years of peace and the growing prosperity of the Tongxuan Realm, the number of Yuanying cultivators has increased, and the cultivators of this world have come to understand more and more about the horror of the demon god:
That gigantic golden crow seemed to be forever looking down upon the world, as if it was always overpowering the heavens, and it also seemed like a Great Sun Divine Sword that was always suspended above the heads of the cultivators in the Tongxuan Realm.

As a result, cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage gradually forgot about this matter. After all, a Jindan cultivator could only live for 800 years at most, so a thousand years of peace was enough for them.

The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Tongxuan Realm fled out of the Tongxuan Realm in order to protect themselves.

Over the years, these cultivators who have absorbed the power of the Earthly Demons and the Heavenly Gang to practice Taoism have also gained considerable fame within the seven realms of this star field.

The Taoist system of Tongxuan Realm is making great progress. Although the calamity is severe, the demand for spiritual objects of heaven and earth is relatively small.

But one needs to cultivate the energy of capturing evil and restraining the power of Gang. If one can refine the golden elixir and pass the fourth heavenly tribulation, then his potential as a Nascent Soul cultivator will exceed that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator in the seven realms.

But most of the cultivators who practice this way are unlikely to pass the fourth level of heavenly tribulation.

It is a powerful but gradually declining sect, and is most likely doomed to decline. Only those with great opportunity and luck can achieve success in cultivation.

Under the threat of the demon gods from outside the realm, most of the native True Lords of Tongxuan Realm fled Tongxuan Realm, including Huang Longzi, Lu Laomo and his wives and concubines from the Heaven and Earth Demon Palace. This was also the case in the eyes of the world.

The Fire Spirit couple from the Wuliang Earth Fire Demon Cave are rare cultivators who have cultivated their Nascent Soul but still live in the Tongxuan Realm. It is not known whether they want to fight against the Demon God or want to serve the Demon God. I am afraid the latter is more likely.

'It turns out that after performing the secret method of turning tribulation with the Great Wheel of Samsara, the spirituality of the cultivator may be damaged. Even if they are lucky enough to break through the mystery of the womb and restore their former magic power, it is almost impossible for them to make further progress in their cultivation. However, this is not absolute. Most of the spirituality of Jindan cultivators who turn tribulation will be damaged. For Jindan Zhenren, the impact of this aspect is relatively much lower.'

"It's just one more choice, adding 800 years to one's life span? For the cultivators in the Tongxuan Realm, I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing."

Compared with Yuanying realm cultivators, Jindan realm cultivators are not as determined in the Tao to begin with. Now they have a way out. Although they know that it is like drinking poison to quench thirst, their lifespan of 1,600 years is almost the same as that of Yuanying realm cultivators. Many cultivators will inevitably lose their courage and determination to make progress.

"This makes sense. Why didn't the Fire Spirit couple leave the Tongxuan Realm? For the sake of their 1,600-year lifespan, all the Jindan cultivators from the seven realms would go to the Tongxuan Realm to seek to change their calamity and prolong their lifespan. However, because of the relationship with the demon gods from outside the realm, the Yuanying cultivators would not easily be willing to go to the Tongxuan Realm. With such valuable treasures and such wealth, they could only feel at ease in the Infinite Earth Fire Demon Cave, which they had managed for many years."

Lu Cheng's eldest disciple Situ Hua has also gone to the Infinite Fire Demon Cave to overcome his tribulation and start over. He did not tell his master about this, perhaps because he was worried that his master would be disappointed.

But seeing that he had been running the Tongxuan Realm Heaven and Earth Demon Palace for many years without making any major mistakes, Lu Cheng did not say much to him. His 1,600 years of lifespan was well worth his cultivation.

But if Situ Hua was more willing to seek the truth and make more progress, with Lu Cheng's current means, it might be possible to help him cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage. After all, the means in the mortal world and the middle world are completely different.

A cultivator can only undergo tribulation once, no matter if you are in the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or Primordial Spirit stage. However, the lifespan of a Golden Core is 800 years, that of a Nascent Soul is 2,000 years, and that of a Primordial Spirit is 3,000 years. An ordinary cultivator can only cultivate a Primordial Spirit in the first life and spend hundreds of years in the second life to recover his magic power. Only in this way can he have a greater chance of ascending to the upper realms.

Among the seven worlds of Dingzhang, Tongtian, Liehuo, Xuankong, Jumang, Yuqing and Yinyang, some worlds have ascension platforms and some do not. If there is an ascension platform, one can try to ascend as long as one is in the early stage of the soul. If not, one can only break through the realm and ascend after cultivating to the perfection of the soul. This is a completely different level of difficulty in practice.

Of course, cultivators who have cultivated to perfection in the lower realm and independently broken through the realm and ascended to heaven are also highly regarded in the earthly immortal world. As long as such cultivators do not encounter a calamity and die in the middle of the journey, they have a great chance of cultivating to the Return to Void realm, and even in the earthly immortal world they are at a high level.

After this incident, there was another ten years of peace.

Lu Cheng continued to practice and study Taoist scriptures as usual. He would occasionally meet with his wives and concubines to enjoy the tenderness, and often have banquets with fellow Taoists to discuss Taoism.

This is the normal life pattern of high-level cultivators. In the mortal world, if a Nascent Soul cultivator does not want to take risks, he can enjoy immortality for the rest of his life and will not encounter any disasters in his lifetime. This is the normal situation.

Until something broke the peace.

Inside the Wanlei Palace, the jade-paved floor reflected the purple lightning that flashed outside the window from time to time, making the interior of the palace flicker.

A beautiful female cultivator was wearing a plain white Taoist robe with a green jade gourd hanging from her waist. She walked as lightly as if she was walking on clouds. However, the Taoist monk in black robes following behind her was completely different. There seemed to be a cold wind following him with every step he took, and his narrow eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

"Greetings, Master." After entering the palace hall, the two Taoists saluted in unison.

At this time, Lu Cheng was standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the thunderstorm in the distance that was like a dragon rolling. He turned around after hearing the voice, glanced at the two disciples and said:

"Check it out?"

Miao Chuyun took a step forward and took out a jade slip from his sleeve:

"Reporting to Master, the one who robbed our cargo ship in the past three years was the old demon Tiansha who was entrenched at the intersection of Yin and Yang. This demon, along with his demon sons and grandsons, selected cargo ships carrying high-level spiritual objects to attack, and their methods were ruthless, leaving no one alive.

So we looked into it and it took some time.”

The Netherworld Taoist smiled grimly and added:
"Master, I bribed one of the favorite concubines of Tiansha and learned that their lair is in 'Ghost Crying Abyss'. That place is full of evil spirits and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Ordinary Yuanying cultivators will lose some mana in vain if they go in. But they know how to choose a place."

The third disciple of Lu Cheng is a flying sword transformed into a human. It is normal for him to have a sinister and murderous temperament. This is the result of many years of cultivation and harmony.

A loud thunderclap struck outside the window, and the features of Lu City inside the palace were clearly visible as if carved by a knife.

Baoguang Chamber of Commerce has been conducting business exchanges with the seven realms over the years, but normal goods only account for 10% to 20% of the Chamber of Commerce's revenue. The real big part is the rare treasures from the upper realm hidden in Lucheng's normal bulk transactions.

And with these spiritual beings from the upper realm paving the way, it will be easier for Baoguang Chamber of Commerce to open up the market.

However, no matter how carefully Huang Longzi, Miao Chuyun and others made their arrangements, some information could not be blocked.

For example, Lu Cheng smuggled down some sixth-grade high-quality elixirs from the upper realm, which were hard currency everywhere in the seven realms. At this time, an old demon in the Nascent Soul stage was seriously injured. After divination, he roughly calculated the time and direction. Naturally, it was not difficult for him to know that there were treasures on the cargo ship of Baoguang Chamber of Commerce that he must get.

This has nothing to do with how Huang Longzi, Miao Chuyun and others arrange it. Some Yuanshen cultivators can even directly use the Yi Dao to get the results they want to know, while it is impossible for the Baoguang Chamber of Commerce to conceal the secret every time.

There is only a thief who does it for a thousand days; there is no such thing as being on guard against thieves for a thousand days.

Lu Cheng looked at the jade slip handed over by Miao Chuyun and suppressed his anger. He did not feel sorry for the loss of the merchant ship being hijacked, but after such an incident, if the Chamber of Commerce did not fight back immediately, its subordinates would become alienated and it would be a signal of weakness to the outside world.

Even if any chamber of commerce makes money through harmony, it must also have a certain amount of military support.

Everyone knows that the so-called rules are nothing but a hypocritical facade, and what really supports them are the bones inside. Of course, skin is just skin, and it can always block some wind and rain. Therefore, without rules, no force can survive for long, just like a person cannot live without skin.

"What do people at Guiyuan Cave in Wuhuo Cliff say?" Lu Cheng asked after putting down the jade slip.

Baoguang Chamber of Commerce gets a portion of the profits and also shares them with Guiyuan Cave. Otherwise, Baoguang Chamber of Commerce would not have been able to develop so rapidly over the past few hundred years. This is a mutually beneficial relationship.

"All the True Lords in Guiyuan Cave are either out with the ship or in seclusion practicing. It is difficult to spare manpower to solve this matter at the moment. I have talked to Huo Juezi twice. Although he did not say it clearly, it seems that Guiyuan Cave wants to increase the profit sharing ratio."

Miao Chuyun lowered his head and said this.

Huo Juezi is the eldest senior brother of Guiyuan Cave in Wuhuo Cliff, and the senior brother of Chiyanzi and Yanxuzi. He is the first disciple of Chixia Divine Lord, and his intentions represent Chixia Divine Lord to a certain extent. No one would think that there are too many spiritual stones and spiritual objects. Most of the transactions between Yuanying cultivators are barter, because they are not short of spiritual stones, but the amount of spiritual stones is not large enough. Even if they are traded for top-grade spiritual stones, Yuanying cultivators will still lack them.

'This is a test. For hundreds of years, the Yuanshen God behind Master has never shown up. If the transaction is between the two Gods, it is acceptable for Chixia God to get less in the current share ratio.

But if the Baoguang Chamber of Commerce completely relies on the Red Cloud God and uses the tiger skin as a banner, such a profit ratio is equivalent to the master playing tricks on the Guiyuan Cave, which is far lower than the normal relationship of patronage.'

It has always been like this in the world of cultivating immortals. If a Jindan sect invites a Yuanying Zhenjun as a guest elder, even if this Zhenjun does nothing and is just a figurehead, the Jindan sect will have to pay a very high sum of offerings.

The Baoguang Chamber of Commerce has been developing rapidly over the past few hundred years, and making a fortune every day is not enough to describe it. Although the Red Cloud God initially believed that there was a high-level cultivator behind the Great Jiefa Lord, the high-level cultivator's patience was too good. He had not shown his face for hundreds of years, which naturally aroused suspicion.

"Since Guiyuan Cave has a lot of Taoist work to do, we should solve this matter ourselves. Chu Yun, prepare to mobilize manpower. It's not good to disappoint the people below."

Lu Cheng closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, a sharp light appeared in his pupils.

The third disciple beside Miao Chuyun, Taoist Youming, was so excited that his body trembled slightly: "Master, I haven't taken action for hundreds of years. I can finally see your sword-wielding skills again."

"Since Master has decided to take action, we might as well maximize the benefits of this matter. This old demon has been doing evil for many years, so it is impossible that he does not have a few enemies. We can win them over as guests and enhance the strength of the Chamber of Commerce, so that Master will not have to worry about such things in the future."

Compared to Youming, a stone-head who only knows how to chop and chop, Miao Chuyun is undoubtedly a more caring disciple.

She had already calculated before she came that there was a high probability that her master would take action.

If other disciples calculated their master in this way and pushed their master to fight with swords and risk his life for the sake of profit, then it is possible that he already had second thoughts.

But Miao Chuyun was considerate to Lu Cheng. She had followed her master for hundreds of years and knew Lu Cheng's temperament too well:
Normal Nascent Soul cultivators would practice for hundreds of years and would be proficient in one or two of the hundred arts of cultivation. However, compared to his master's level, he was not proficient in any of the hundred arts of cultivation, such as alchemy, weapons, talismans, and arrays.

"Master, he is only good at swordsmanship. Master is actually unhappy that he hasn't fought with swords for hundreds of years, but he suppressed it."

"On such a beautiful autumn day, if I don't kill a few demons to sacrifice my sword, Master will feel that my time has been wasted: there is an endless amount of wine to drink and an endless amount of enemies to kill.

With Master's temperament, it would be difficult for him to devote himself to cultivation for hundreds of years. I hope that after killing a few powerful demons, Master will be in a better mood when drinking."

Walking out of the Taoist palace behind him, Miao Chuyun looked up at the sky and thought so.

People in the devil's way regard the flesh, blood and souls of their fellow practitioners as precious materials. Their minds and personalities are often controlled by the devil, and their temperaments are extreme and difficult to control.

Their fighting abilities are often higher than those of the righteous cultivators of the same level, so they often target cultivators of the same level as their prey.

It would not be easy for Miao Chuyun to find some victims.

The more difficult point is that the robbery of the merchant ship of Baoguang Chamber of Commerce is not a difficult thing to know. How should Miao Chuyun persuade and win over these Nascent Soul cultivators and do as many favors as possible?

In Miao Chuyun's residence, the water mirror in front of him reflected the solemn faces of seven monks. These were the guests that the Chamber of Commerce wanted to recruit, but at this moment they were all asking the same question:
"Master Lu wants to personally conquer the Ghost Crying Abyss?" An old man in a purple robe in the water mirror blushed. "Let's not talk about the Ghost Crying Abyss, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The old demon Tiansha just refined the Nine-Child Mother Yin Demon a few years ago. It is said that it can pollute a person's body..."

Miao Chuyun held the tea tray and chuckled, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhou. Master has made up his mind. As for how to kill him, that is what we need to worry about. Now I ask you to sign a contract with me and not to spread this matter to others, so as to prevent this demon from escaping and spreading endless poison."

"Of course, this is as we should do." The purple-robed old man named Zhou nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Hundreds of years ago, his Zhou family had a child of the unicorn variety who cultivated the Nascent Soul in more than 500 years. It can be said that he had a long way to go.

As a result, during one of his travels, he was ambushed by the old demon Tiansha, whose body was damaged and his Nascent Soul was poisoned. Although he managed to escape back to the Zhou family, he was deeply poisoned and died not long after.

Zhou Bingyong had long hated this great demon monk, but unfortunately he was not as strong as others and could only rely on outsiders if he wanted revenge.

This matter has become Zhou Bingyong's inner demon. As long as the old demon Tiansha can be brought to justice, he does not mind selling the remaining hundreds of years of his life to become a guest official of the Baoguang Chamber of Commerce.

After all, the Chamber of Commerce is different from the sect, and the restrictions on guest officials are relatively loose.

Small and medium-sized sects find high-level monks as guest officials, which can easily lead to bullying. As a guest official of a large sect, it is easy for them to become high-level thugs, and it is difficult for them to have power in the sect, and they are also heavily restricted.

……

Everything is ready. Outside the Taoist Palace, the rare thunderstorm gradually subsides on this day, and a ray of golden light appears at the junction of the sea and the sky.

"Master, Madam, all the information about the old demon Tiansha is here." Miao Chuyun handed over a jade slip respectfully.

Beside Lu Cheng were the Xiao sisters, Xue Yuzhen, and Yun Ling'er, mother and daughter. Although Lu Cheng's wives and concubines had weak magical powers, they had excellent magic weapons and had practiced combined attack formations, so they were by no means a burden.

Before leaving, Lu Cheng used the Heavenly Demon Algorithm to tell the divination, and the prediction was that the more people join the battle, the greater the profit will be.

From the perspective of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce, this does seem to be the case. To kill the old demon Tiansha and win the hearts of the people, in some ways the more people the better.

Lu Cheng took the jade slip and scanned it with his spiritual sense.

The jade slips record in detail the whereabouts of the old demon Tiansha over the past hundred years, the characteristics of his skills, and the usage characteristics and refining process of the Nine-Child Mother Yin Demon.

In order to practice this evil method, the old demon tortured and killed nine pairs of mothers and children who possessed spiritual roots, and took their souls at extremely cold times. His methods were cruel and heinous.

A hint of a smile appeared on the sinister face of the Netherworld Taoist, and he stepped forward and said, "Master, I am willing to be the vanguard and kill a few of his demon sons and grandsons as a sacrifice."

Lu Cheng waved his hand and said, "No hurry. Since we have started, we must kill them with one strike and leave no trouble. Otherwise, if his descendants escape, the harm will be endless."

He turned to look at the gradually clearing sky outside and continued to give orders: "Chu Yun, go contact Zhou Bingyong and the others and meet up at the Yin-Yang Realm on the agreed date. You Ming, lead your men to seal off the perimeter of the Ghost Crying Abyss and don't let any demon cub escape."

"Disciple obeys your command!" Miao Chuyun and Youming, two disciples, responded in unison.

At the intersection of Yin and Yang, there is the Weeping Abyss.

The laws of nature are in disarray here, a gray mist covers the surrounding area, and a ghost-like abyss can be vaguely seen in the distance.

Lu Cheng was wearing a Taoist robe and standing in the air. Behind him were the Xiao sisters, Xue Yuzhen and Yun Linger, Shi Sheng and Yun Huanger, and seven Nascent Soul cultivators.

Zhou Bingyong and the others had solemn expressions on their faces. Although they hated the old demon Tiansha very much for their own reasons, they were still afraid of his ferocity.

This was because the old demon Tiansha had reached the level of a great demon monk with his magic skills, and was certainly inferior to the combined efforts of the seven of them. However, even if the seven of them worked together, they could hardly do anything to the opponent. If the demon escaped from this battle, they and their families behind them would have to endure the cruel revenge of this old demon.

However, the seven of them had a blood feud with the old demon, and in the past they had endured it all with blood and tears. But now that the Great True Lord Jiefa was fighting for them, they absolutely could not give up.

(End of this chapter)