Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 460: The eternal fascination of the long-lived mural, the eternal obsession of the corpse-reincarnated immortal (Please subscribe!)

The crater spews out the smell of sulfur, and dark red magma flows slowly between the cracks in the rocks like blood.

The Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad squatted on a protruding rock, its lantern-sized eyes staring at the animal skin contract in Han Qingyun's hand that was glowing with a strange aura:
The Netherworld Blood Contract is a legal contract that is several times more fierce and strict than the Taiqing Sect's immortal documents.

Huangyun Mansion is close to Xuanyin Demon Stream. Han Qingyun has served as the lord of this mansion for a thousand years. How could he not have any of the spiritual creatures that are unique to this place in his collection?

This trip was led by Han Qingyun, and the matter of the Heavenly Fire Liquid concerned his life, so of course he had to pay for the cost.

"Blood Contract of the Netherworld?!"

"That's right. Words are not enough. Daoist friend, just leave a mark on this blood contract: one, don't interfere with our exploration, two, follow us to become the guardian beast of Huangyun Mansion after the task is completed. These are the only two requirements. Daoist friend, please sign it and we will feel relieved."

"..." After a long while, the Fire Toad responded in a dull voice, "Since I have agreed to this, then there is nothing wrong with it."

A spark suddenly burst out from the magma below. The fire toad stretched out its front claws, and a drop of golden-red blood oozed from the tip of the claws and dripped into the center of the contract.

In an instant, the dark blue light became brighter, illuminating the entire crater like a ghost town.

The runes on the contract were like hungry poisonous snakes, instantly wrapping around the body of the fire toad, leaving the same patterns on its skin, and then quickly fading away.

"Ah!" The Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad screamed, and once again leaped away hundreds of miles away, as if it had seen a ghost.

After a moment it flew back again, but this time it looked at Lu Cheng and Han Qingyun with an unfriendly look, but it did not dare to attack.

After all, he was just an ignorant indigenous monster who relied on his magic power and thought that he could sign a contract casually.

After signing it, the power of the Netherworld Blood Oath instantly entangled its body, and the chilling feeling on its back as if carrying a heavy burden made the Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad extinguish all its original thoughts.

The innate spiritual sense it had cultivated for thousands of years told it that if it dared to violate the law, the price it would pay would be beyond its ability to bear.

'The effect of the Netherworld Blood Contract is good, but the Yin energy is too strong. If it is not necessary, it is better to use it less.'

Lu Cheng looked at this scene and thought to himself.

Han Qingyun put away the contract with satisfaction: "Fellow Daoist, please wait here. Once we get the Heavenly Fire Liquid, we will fulfill our promise."

After saying that, he and Lu Cheng looked at each other, and they both turned into light and flew into the rolling magma.

The flight route inside the volcano was tortuous and deep. Han Qingyun and Lu Cheng both used fire-avoiding spells to protect themselves, emitting a faint red light in the increasingly dense darkness.

The hot magma swirled and rolled beside him, and Han Qingyun's fire-avoiding spell opened up a light red shield to isolate the heat outside.

Lu Cheng followed closely behind, holding a talisman with his left hand, ready to deal with any emergency at any time.

Not long after exploring downwards, the two discovered something unusual.

"There is such a passage inside this volcano," Lu Cheng said with his spiritual sense. Even so, it was barely audible amid the roar of the magma. "It looks like it was dug by humans."

Han Qingyun did not answer, but just nodded slightly.

With his keen eyesight, he could naturally see that this seemingly natural underground passage actually held a secret - the rock walls on both sides were too flat, and there was an imperceptible groove every hundred feet, which should be the traces left by the formation back then.

"This is not something that a demon beast can do, but this world is incomplete. Is there anyone who can cultivate to the level of a spirit? Or an ancient cultivator?"

As the two went deeper, the red color of the surrounding magma gradually turned into dark purple, but the temperature did not drop but rose instead.

From time to time, bubbles burst outside the light shield, and the sparks flickered like ghost lights in the darkness.

"We're here." Lu Cheng and Han Qingyun suddenly stopped.

The lava ahead strangely bypassed an area, revealing a huge bronze door half-hidden in the rock wall.

The door is covered with rust, but you can still vaguely see intricate runes and ferocious reliefs of strange beasts.

The most frightening thing is the door knocker: two bronze ghost heads, with rings in their mouths and green flames dancing in their eye sockets.

"It's the work of an ancient cultivator," Han Qingyun's eyes flashed with excitement, "It's a sealing method from at least three thousand years ago."

"That Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad should not have reached here, because once it gets close it will be attacked by its so-called great enemy."

"Please, brother, protect me."

Lu Cheng said no more and turned his attention to studying the runes on the door.

After several hours, he formed seals with his hands and chanted an ancient spell. With each syllable he uttered, a corresponding rune lit up.

About half a quarter of an hour later, the runes on the entire door had connected together to form a complex three-dimensional array.

"Open!" Lu Cheng suddenly shouted and pushed his hands forward.

The bronze door made a dull roar and slowly opened inward, revealing a corridor extending downward.

A cold wind mixed with the smell of decay blew in my face, forming a strange contrast with the heat inside the volcano.

"After practicing talismans for so many years, they are finally put to use." Lu Cheng sighed softly after he succeeded.

Then, the two brothers continued to move forward.

The long passage was uneventful all the way, and at the end of the corridor, it suddenly opened up and turned out to be a circular tomb chamber.

The walls are covered with colorful texts and murals. Despite thousands of years of existence, the colors are still as bright as new.

The murals depicted countless monks chanting scriptures, refining elixirs, taming beasts, and refining puppets, but the ultimate goal was death:

Immortality, immortality, thousands of magic spells, myriad supernatural powers, infinite avenues, I only ask one question, can you achieve immortality?
The kings, generals, high-ranking officials, Taoist priests and Buddhist monks in the mortal world are all people who practice immortal cultivation. How many of them have devoted their entire lives to studying the scriptures and would never regret it even if they died?
However, there are many people who practice Taoism, but few who can achieve enlightenment.

What can I do if I can’t get what I want?

Under this tremendous pressure, countless wise monks turned their attention to external methods other than ascension:
Reciting scriptures and praying, hoping to attract the attention of the powerful and be guided to ascend to heaven in one step.

Alchemy, elixirs, talismans and arrays are the four arts of cultivating immortality, with elixir being the most important. There have always been legends in ancient times that cultivators could refine elixirs and ascend to heaven in broad daylight after taking them.

Taming beasts means possessing one's own soul into the body of an immortal alien. This is similar to taking over a body and changing one's calamity. If it succeeds, it can at least greatly extend the lifespan of the cultivator.

Refine puppets and attach your own soul to the most sophisticated puppet to achieve the immortality of the body.

"Eternal life..." Han Qingyun murmured, his eyes burning as he swept over the details of the surrounding murals.

The two walked to the end of the tomb and saw a stone tablet with the language of this world written on it. Although Lu Cheng and Han Qingyun did not understand the language of the Skyfire Realm, they could sense the meaning of the language with their spiritual consciousness:
For five thousand three hundred and twenty-six years, I have eaten the clouds and drank the dew, breathing in and out the yin and yang, and have never dared to slack off for a single day. However, my black hair has turned white, my Dharma body has not been completed, and my purple palace is about to collapse.

People call me an immortal on earth, but who knew that when the end of my life comes, I’ll still be a mortal!

I have been seeking the truth for five thousand years, but I have not seen any palaces; I have been seeking the truth for half a million years, but I have not heard the clear sounds of phoenixes and cranes. If the way to immortality is illusory, then my life of sitting here is nothing but a dream!
However, if there really is a golden immortal above the Nine Heavens, why doesn't he show his Dharma image? Rong asked, "Is it possible to achieve longevity?"

After asking this question, even if my body turns into ashes, I will have no regrets!

——Destitute and foolish, a wandering cultivator helped Yu Zi.

"This, this is not right. He lived for 5,326 years, which means he at least achieved the Nascent Soul stage in his first life. His magical powers in his second life were even more unfathomable. Such a person has a good chance of ascending to heaven on his own even without an ascension platform. Why would he be trapped here?" Lu Cheng asked with a frown.

“…Brother, I can’t figure it out either. This person’s magical power and cultivation are probably not weaker than you and me. The reason why he died of old age is probably because this world lacks spiritual energy and he was trapped to death.”

Lu Cheng noticed that there was a passage on the side of the tomb chamber. On the stone platform stood a three-foot-high bronze tripod with nine fire dragons wrapped around the tripod, all with their mouths facing inside the tripod.

There was no flame under the tripod, but it was floating on its own and rotating slightly.

Just as the two were about to go forward to check, they suddenly heard the sound of a mechanism turning in the corner of the tomb.

There was a muffled sound of a mechanism turning from the corner of the tomb. At the same time, Lu Cheng's consciousness sensed the danger and his pupils dilated suddenly. A seventh-level black gold talisman in his sleeve turned into golden light that covered the two of them.

"Click——"

There was nothing behind the flipped stone wall. The mural in the southeast corner suddenly cracked, and a figure in a black Taoist robe broke through the wall.

The Taoist's face was like gold paper, his eyes glowed with dark green magic light, and his ten fingernails had turned into black bone blades. The most terrifying thing was the three flowing lights circling around him: the green ancient sword, the red jade gourd, and the mysterious light mirror, all of which were emitting the magic power fluctuations of the incarnation realm!
The sword shines green and flies.

A red jade gourd spewing poisonous fire.

The mysterious precious mirror reflects the brilliance.

The three treasures come out together to launch an offensive.

"Be careful, this is a corpse immortal!" As Han Qingyun shouted, the zombie Taoist priest flew into the air and grabbed him.

The seemingly simple action caused the entire tomb to turn into solid steel, and five gray-white corpse auras wrapped around the two of them like chains.

Lu Cheng raised his hand, and his innate magical power, the blood talisman, started to circulate through his mystical orifices. Mysterious talismans appeared around his body, connecting into a formation.

A bloody knife flew out and slashed, colliding head-on with the five gray-white corpse qi, making a sound of metal clashing.

Although the Blood Sea Infinite Divine Sword was inferior in frontal power, it was strongly restrained in attributes and techniques. The blood-colored knife spun a few times with various changes, and actually dispersed a large amount of gray-white corpse gas. The knife light even increased greatly and swallowed up the corpse gas, turning it into a sharper knife light and slashed towards the green sword shadow.

If this was controlled by a cultivator who had reached the stage of Divine Transformation, the mysterious mirror would immediately change direction and shine towards Lu Cheng's Blood Sea Divine Sword.

But the zombie seemed to be a little slow in reacting, and the Blood Sea Divine Sword actually slashed fiercely on the spine of the Green Sword.

"Qiang!"

The aura of the green sword was greatly damaged, and it flew down with a mournful whine. Although it had not completely lost its power, its sword force was greatly weakened. It was only a matter of time before it was cut in half by the Blood Sea Divine Sword.

"Roar!"

Seeing that his attack failed to hit him, the black-robed zombie suddenly opened his mouth and spewed out dark blue ghost fire.

This flame was extremely overbearing, and ripples spread across space wherever it passed. Han Qingyun and Lu Cheng's consciousness both felt extremely fearful: they must not let this fire fall on them.

At this time, Han Qingyun had already completed the Thunder Art. The violent divine thunder condensed into a ball of light in his palm, and then flew out, colliding with the ghost fire and exploding into a sky full of thunder and fire.

Han Qingyun's thunder magic was the result of years of practice in front of the Qiantian True Yang Divine Thunder. He used the power of thunder talismans in conjunction with the Taiqing Sect's magic formula. His thunder magic was not profound, but it was quite good.

However, this time, although the lightning and ghost fire both exploded in a head-on fight with Taoism, large amounts of scattered lightning rushed towards Lu Cheng and Han Qingyun, and they were obviously at a disadvantage in terms of magic power.

“Dangdangdang…”

A green bell appeared above Lu Cheng and Han Qingyun's heads. The green bell shook and a bell-shaped air cover fell down. The continuous sound of the bell had the effect of clearing the mind and calming the spirit.

Lu Cheng knew that Han Qingyun had serious internal injuries, so he would naturally be willing to share more of the burden in the fight.

The poisonous fire from the red jade gourd, the surging thunder and fire, and the mirror light from the Xuanguan treasure mirror finally exhausted the power of the seventh-level Xuanjin talisman.

However, these attacks, mixed with the powerful punches from the corpse immortal, were all blocked by the seventh-level spiritual treasure Qingyin Bell.

At the same time, the Nine-Chapter Jade Talisman and a seventh-level red talisman appeared beside Lu Cheng.

In such a small space, while being besieged, Lu Cheng concentrated and chanted the spell. With the blessing of the Nine-Chapter Jade Talisman and his Taoist foundation, the speed and power of his spell were greater than normal.

"Junior Brother Lu, let's withdraw for now. This corpse fairy has incredible magical powers. We can't afford to fight it head-on."

Before Han Qingyun's divine consciousness was transmitted, Lu Cheng's talisman had already been activated: seventh-grade upper grade, Nine Fire Dragon.

Nine golden-red fire dragons, covered in scales and with horns, emerged from the talisman with infinite majesty. The dragons' eyes scanned the area, as if they were living creatures!

According to historical records, in ancient times there was a powerful monk who practiced a spell called the Nine Fire Dragon, which endowed the spell with spiritual energy, thus giving birth to life. He manifested his holiness through Taoism and was close to the realm of the Creator, so powerful that it was unbelievable.

Even if Lu Cheng cultivated to the Yuanshen realm, his attainments in magic were still far from that level. However, if he made use of the mystery of talismans and possessed a momentary burst of power, it would be possible.

The power of thunder and fire can restrain evil spirits and ghosts.

"Junior Brother Lu is too conceited. Even so."

Before Han Qingyun could finish his thought, he heard the corpse immortal with amazing magical powers who was attacking with all his might let out a terrifying roar that seemed to tear his soul apart.

Because it was injured, the green flying sword with extraordinary spiritual energy was cut into two parts by the Blood Sea Divine Sword, which condensed the sword light and fell on the sword spine.

Although this corpse immortal is no longer the Taoist monk of the past, these three seventh-tier magic weapons are still connected to it, otherwise they would not be controlled by it.

At this moment, the flying sword was destroyed, and the corpse immortal felt a sharp pain in his head.

It was at this moment that Lu Cheng sacrificed the Nine Fire Dragon Talisman. Nine terrifying red-gold fire dragons appeared, like flares from the sun, instantly engulfing it.

Boom boom boom…

When Han Qingyun came to his senses, the corpse immortal that was so ferocious just now had been knocked into a deep pit and stone wall by the huge magic power, and the corpse qi dissipated.

He tried to stand up again, but his body was still burning with flames, so he fell down and was suppressed by a talisman cast by Lu Cheng.

"Brother, what did you want to say just now?"

It was not until this time that Lu Cheng came back to his senses from his extreme concentration after completely finishing off the enemy and solving the problem. He turned sideways and asked.

"... I am convinced by Junior Brother Lu's fighting ability. He remained calm in the face of danger and never fought a single blow. I have been practicing Taoism for thousands of years and have never seen anyone who can match him. In the future, when there is another sect competition, Junior Brother will surely bring glory to the sect."

After a brief silence, Han Qingyun shook his head and said with a wry smile.

Then, the two brothers' attention fell on the seriously injured corpse.

"Seeking life from the brink of death, this corpse fairy must be the remains of the owner of this place. I never thought that the owner of this place would choose this path in the end."

Left-wing monks who are good at taming beasts and puppets often choose to transfer their souls when there is no hope of ascending to heaven.

There are cultivators who are good at the corpse path and those who study the art of becoming corpse immortals.

They hope to plant their own souls in the corpses they have refined, to be reborn after death, and to be resurrected again after thousands or tens of thousands of years.

This kind of Taoism has certain possibilities in theory, as yin leads to yang and death leads to rebirth. But in reality, if one really wants to accomplish this, a true immortal cultivator who dies in a grave may find someone with a similar fate tens of thousands of years later who can turn death into life and break out of the ground.

Moreover, this is a pure deduction from Taoist theory.

"As a cultivator of the Divine Transformation Realm, he has practiced the art of corpse immortality. This person can be regarded as a leader in this art... I understand why he placed the cemetery next to the volcano. He borrowed the sun from the earth fire to accumulate vitality. After practicing this art, time is meaningless. No matter if it takes a million years or tens of millions of years, there is always a glimmer of hope."

The magic power of this corpse immortal is even stronger than that of the Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad outside. Coupled with its three powerful magic weapons, it is no wonder that the Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad can't do anything to it and is even suppressed by it.

But the fight between cultivators is not like this. Lu Cheng's accuracy in grasping the fighter plane, his skill in using various means, and the sharpness of his attacks when he finds a flaw are all beyond the reach of the Sky-Swallowing Fire Toad.

Before, even Han Qingyun was shocked by the terrifying magic power of this corpse fairy. In a flash, a seventh-level defensive talisman was broken, and the defensive spiritual treasure Qingyin Bell was soon shaken. However, Lu Cheng was able to capture the corpse fairy's flaw and destroy it in one fell swoop.

This is not the difference in magical power between the two, but the difference brought about by talent, character and countless sword fighting experiences.

In this huge ancient tomb, the spiritual objects left by our ancestors are almost gone.

However, among the several mineral veins covered inside, there is an extremely rare vein of dazzling fire crystal sand. If you find the dazzling fire crystal sand, you will naturally find the Heavenly Fire Liquid.

Han Qingyun looked extremely excited when he saw this, as if he had not expected it to be so smooth.

"Junior Brother Lu, let's stay in seclusion here for now and let the monster above protect us. Speaking of which, this tomb is well hidden. If we encounter a powerful enemy in this Heavenly Fire Secret Realm in the future, we can hide here and avoid external disasters."

"Brother, what you said makes sense."

Seeing the area of ​​dazzling fire crystal sand ore, Lu Cheng's harvest was far greater than Han Qingyun's. He waved his sleeves and summoned some Yellow Turban warriors to start mining the ore and collecting resources.

'Only a cultivator who is devoted to the cultivation of the corpse immortal path would turn a blind eye to the dazzling fire crystal sand veins here. Now it is a good deal for me. Collecting these dazzling fire crystal sands will save me a thousand years of hard work in the long run.'

The natal magic weapon will absorb a small amount of mana from the cultivator during the practice to nourish itself. Therefore, although the dazzling fire crystal sand cannot directly improve the cultivator's mana, it can replace the part absorbed by the natal magic weapon, which is a long-term benefit of practice.

(End of this chapter)