Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 321 Beneath the fragrant bait, there is bound to be a fish (5K words, please vote for me at the end of the month~)

Two more months passed.

Beneath the surface of northern Yunnan lies the Dragon Palace of Emperor Zhuanxu.

The Five Poisons Heavenly King led eight hundred demon soldiers to plunder the Luoji Mountain area in Kangnan, stealing marrow from the mountain, repelling the pursuers, and returning victorious.

"Heavenly King's divine might!"

As Lie Xingye returned to the cave from the north gate, he heard the guards at the north gate loudly praising him.

Sitting atop the ferocious dragon centipede, Lie Xingye was in high spirits. Luoji Mountain, located precisely between Longdong and Qionghai Lake, was a strategically important mountain on the border of Kang and Dian, which he had long coveted. However, the Xuanmen regarded this mountain as a forward base for Qionghai Lake and had guarded it fiercely, setting up defensive formations to make it difficult for him to approach.

But just yesterday, a sudden turning point occurred. Wumeng Mountain and Cuiping Sword Pavilion were entangled in their daily battles. On the battlefield, nothing is perceptible. The Pavilion Master of Cuiping Sword Pavilion, Qi Lingyun, the beloved daughter of Qi Shuming, was suddenly injured. Lin Yuanyuan, the "Heavenly Fragrance Flying Snow" who accompanied her, hurriedly took Qi Lingyun back to the pavilion to recuperate and stayed hidden away.

As a result, the morale of the comrades in Wumeng Mountain soared, and they launched a massive offensive to besiege Cuiping Sword Pavilion.

That's Qi Shuming's daughter!
This is a golden opportunity. The daughter of the Emei Sect Leader is in danger. Can the neighboring Qionghai Sword Pavilion just sit idly by? We must urgently dispatch manpower to support her. However, Zhou Qingyun certainly wouldn't dare to touch the people guarding her own pavilion, so she can only transfer the group of people guarding Luoji Mountain.

Just as I expected!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Just as we expected."

In the thatched cottage on Lion Mountain, Zhou Qingyun said this.

"After I withdrew my fellow disciples who were guarding Luoji Mountain, I arrived at Cuiping Mountain. The Five Poisons Heavenly King couldn't wait any longer and immediately led his demon soldiers out of the cave. They dug tunnels along the north gate and extended the tunnels over, quickly hollowing out the area beneath Luoji Mountain."

"However, that old thief was also cautious. He first had his demon soldiers dig a tunnel, and then sent his dragon centipede mount over to devour the mountain marrow and earth veins, while he watched from afar without actually venturing into Luoji Mountain."

"This is also a common trick used by the Five Poisons King over the years. When our master sealed him away, he collected all the magical treasures and poisonous insects on his body, but he did not expect that he would not take his mount, the dragon centipede, with him. Instead, he put it in the mountains and missed this one."

"This dragon centipede is a monstrous species, possessing dragon blood. After the demon was broken from its seal, it was fed with 'Hibernating Dragon Yin Saliva' and has now grown powerful. This insect has innate supernatural abilities, moving underground as if it were on the surface, digging tunnels extremely quickly, and it can devour mountain marrow and earth veins to refine marrow beads, a sacred medicine for restoring vital energy. In recent years, the Five Poison Heavenly King has been keen on digging tunnels, not only to transform the Zhuanxu Dragon Cave into an underground labyrinth and to control northern Yunnan, but also because of these marrow beads. This demon has been sealed for hundreds of years, severely damaging its vital energy; restoring its vital energy with marrow beads is much faster than its secluded cultivation and absorption of vital energy."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded upon hearing this. Emei wasn't stupid. The third-realm demons in the Demon-Sealing Tower were meant to be used as trials for their disciples, so they didn't collect weapons—it was also a reward for their disciples after they slew the demons. But the demons sealed in various places were a different story. No matter how domineering Emei was, there was no reason not to collect the treasures of a fourth-realm demon. Moreover, leaving a fully armed fourth-realm demon for future generations to test was something Emei wasn't that magnanimous about.

Therefore, after breaking the seal, Gu Chen was in a hurry to reforge the "Mysterious Yin Gathering Beast Banner," and even kept the iron chain that Changmei Suo had taken from him as a treasure. As for the Heart-Piercing Monk, he had nothing after breaking the seal, so he dared not make any big moves. Since breaking the seal, he had been staying in the temple and recuperating slowly.

This is one of the reasons why Cheng Xinzhan abandoned the White Bone Bodhisattva and the Heart-Piercing Monk and chose the Five Poisons Heavenly King instead. The Five Poisons Heavenly King is a demon who was sealed away a long time ago and only recently unsealed. His magical treasures and poisonous insects must have been taken away when he was sealed away, and his magical power was almost exhausted. So this period is when he is at his weakest.

Unexpectedly, this old monster was no ordinary person either. He had a backup plan and released the dragon centipede mount in advance. Now, relying on the dragon centipede's innate supernatural abilities, he is quickly recovering his vitality in the Mountain of Insects.

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Linqing said,

"That old demon's cultivation of several hundred years can't be fully restored in just a few years by relying solely on the method of 'Eating Mountains and Stealing Marrow.' Furthermore, he can only recover his magical power. Raising insects and refining treasures are the two things that take a long time and effort. The insects and treasures he has newly refined have neither been nurtured for a long time nor tempered by tribulation lightning, so they won't amount to much."

"good."

Zhou Qingyun agreed.

"Moreover, judging from the past few years, every time he has taken a treasure mountain and obtained the spiritual marrow, the old demon would go into seclusion in the Dragon Cave for a period of time to refine it, and stay quiet for a while. This time he took Luoji Mountain, which is a famous spiritual mountain. He will definitely need some time to refine the marrow pearl and will not come out of the cave."

"Well, what's more, we also gave him a huge bargain."

Ye Yuanjing was also in the thatched hut, which was natural. Cheng Xinzhan, Lu Linqing, and Zhou Qingyun never intended to hide their plans from others, especially Ye Yuanjing and Miechenzi behind them. Encircling and defeating a fourth-realm demon was no simple matter, so naturally, they needed to pool their resources. For example, Zhou Qingyun's trip to Cuiping Sword Pavilion to borrow the "Bijia Xuan Tie Shield" and get Cuiping Sword Pavilion to coordinate troop deployment successfully achieved their intended goal.

At this moment, Ye Yuanjing took over the conversation and said,

"The Buddhist beads I deliberately hid in Luoji Mountain have already been obtained by the Five Poisons Heavenly King. He doesn't have any suitable magic weapons on him right now, so he won't let these Buddhist beads go. And given his cautious and suspicious nature, he will spend a lot of time testing whether there are any restrictions we left in the Buddhist beads before he actually starts refining them. This time, plus the time he spends refining the marrow bead, should be enough for us to bring out the demonic soldiers in the Dragon Cave."

“Once he truly begins refining the prayer beads, I will naturally sense it, and that will be the time for you to go in.”

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. There were still many capable people in the Xuanmen sect. He had only just started, and what followed was a more detailed and feasible demon-hunting plan.

"The devil must be feeling pretty smug right now, right?"

Lu Linqing said with a smile.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Here you go!"

Lie Xingye dropped a marrow bead.

The guard at the north gate received it with both hands raised above his head, and then shouted.
"Thank you for the reward, Heavenly King!"

Lie Xingye laughed heartily. Luoji Mountain truly lived up to its reputation as a sacred mountain. The marrow pearls that Chong'er dug up were equivalent to those of the previous two years. Moreover, this time they also obtained a precious treasure!
The thought of the heavy marrow beads they had obtained this time, and the golden prayer bead hidden deep inside the wooden Buddha statue at the foot of the mountain, made Lie Xingye's heart itch with desire. He said repeatedly...
"Send a message to the others, saying that I am going into seclusion and should not be disturbed unless there is an emergency. You can make your own decisions."

After saying that, Lie Xingye kicked off the dragon, and the centipede darted into the dragon cave.

"Yes!"

The guard at the north gate responded loudly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day.

Zhuanxu Dragon Cave, North Gate.

"The gatekeeper general!"

A group of demon soldiers, each riding a giant dung beetle, traveled through the tunnels, arriving at the north gate of the Dragon Cave from the outer edge of the underground labyrinth.

The north gate of the Dragon Cave is circular, with a diameter of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and is extremely wide. The newly expanded tunnels starting from the north gate are not three chi (approximately 1.8 chi) but are at least one chi and eight zhang (approximately 1.8 meters) wide, and are interconnected in all directions. They were all dug out by the Five Poisons Sect's dung beetles, pangolins, and iron-headed centipedes, and are so wide that even a horse could run across them.

The Golden Core Demon guarding the gate was quite imposing. A huge rock was embedded in the side wall of the tunnel in front of the gate, about ten feet off the ground. A stone chamber had been carved out inside the rock, and the demon sat at the entrance of the chamber, looking down at the gate. At this moment, he was refining the marrow pearl given to him by the Five Poisons Heavenly King.

When his subordinate came to report, he was startled; the marrow bead in his palm almost flew out. He suddenly opened his eyes and shouted.
"Why panic?!"

The demon soldiers were so frightened that they quickly jumped off the back of the dung beetle and knelt on the ground.
"General, the Xuanmen people have started filling the ground with sand and soil again."

The demon lord grew impatient.
"This isn't the first time. Send out the golden tortoise soldiers, millipede soldiers, and termite soldiers. We'll eat as much as they feed us; we won't complain about having too much. As usual, collect all the refined soil and sand and bring it to me. The Heavenly King wants to refine the 'Nine Contracts Exorcising Divine Sand,' so he'll only complain about having too little, not too much."

"Order!"

Upon hearing this, the demon soldiers once again boarded the golden tortoise and dispersed to spread the message to various places.

From this moment on, Zhuanxu Dragon Cave became lively.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ten days later. Lion Mountain, inside the thatched cottage.

Miechenzi also arrived.

"The truth is, one should not accept rewards without merit!"

Cheng Xinzhan stared in astonishment at the lead bottle that Mie Chenzi handed over, but did not take it.

Miechenzi then placed the two lead bottles on the table, one in front of Cheng Xinzhan and one in front of Lu Linqing. He said,

"How can you say it's not meritorious? The reason I came to Kangnan was to eliminate the Five Poison King. Now you're going to be my assassin. Isn't that a meritorious deed?"

Cheng Xinzhan was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this.

“Xuanzai, I am not here to exorcise demons for you, nor am I here to become a suicide soldier.”

Miechenzi waved his hand.

"It would be best if you couldn't become a death squad member, but if you can eliminate the Five Poison Kings, I can return to Mount Shu. That would be a great help to me, a meritorious deed, so please accept it. Of course, if you say you're not going to Dragon Cave now, then you shouldn't take it."

Cheng Xinzhan and Lu Linqing exchanged a glance, and the latter smiled.
"Yunlai, please accept it. How can I take it if you don't? I've been craving Master's 'All-Encompassing Flowing Evil' for a long time, but Master has always said that my willpower isn't strong enough to control this evil. This time, Master only took it out because we were about to enter the cave. Once this opportunity is gone, it won't come again!"

With the "Dutian Liuji Sha" before him, it would be a lie to say Cheng Xinzhan wasn't tempted. This was a Sha of the same level as the "Huangji Zhengwu Sha," with endless wondrous uses. The idea of ​​filling the Yunnan Northern Demonic Sect's underground tunnels with sand and earth to lure the demons out of the Dragon Cave for cleansing was proposed by Miechenzi, and this Sha had played a significant role. Cheng Xinzhan had personally witnessed Miechenzi create a mountain of earth out of thin air by simply releasing a small amount of Sha energy and activating it with his magic power!

Cheng Xinzhan possessed a considerable number of powerful auras, among which the Cloud Aura and Miasma Aura could differentiate into cloud miasma. However, cloud miasma is different from earth and stone; one is illusory while the other is real. Cloud ridges cannot crush people, but earthen mountains can block rivers and fill lakes.

He still possesses the "Yellow Extreme Zhengwu Sha" and the "Chongluan Qianjun Sha," which can generate dust and sand, and accumulate stones to create mountains, but doing so will consume the true source of Sha. He doesn't have many of these two Sha, and every time he uses one, it's gone, so Cheng Xinzhan has always been reluctant to use them.

The wonder of "Dutian Liuji Sha" lies in its ability to absorb earth energy to replenish its source of evil energy. This is one of the reasons why "Dutian Liuji Sha" is considered the foremost of all evil spirits. Because those who wield this evil spirit are unlikely to refrain from plundering earth energy to increase their true evil energy, the result is the creation of numerous uncultivated areas. When Mie Chenzi went to the Southern Frontier to kill demons and exterminate clans, he used this evil spirit to burn away five uncultivated areas. Although it was ostensibly for revenge, it's hard to say that it didn't also contribute to replenishing his true evil energy.

"Take this. There's not much evil energy in here; it's for your survival. If things don't go well, when you're escaping through the Dragon Cave, release this evil energy behind you. It will turn into earth and rocks to block your path and stop the demon. The earth and rocks formed by this evil energy can be as soft as mud or as hard as gold and jade. Just use the hardest one. Also, this evil energy can dissolve all earth-related things in the world. If you're blocked while escaping, you can try to use this evil energy to dissolve the inner walls of the Dragon Cave. However, the Dragon Cave is an ancient secret realm, and I haven't tried it myself, so I can't guarantee it will work. You can try it once you're inside."

Since things had come to this point, Cheng Xinzhan stopped being modest and accepted the lead bottle.

"Thank you, Xuan."

Miechenzi shook his head.

"As I said, I should thank you. Let me tell you about the methods of the Four Realms, listen carefully."

Cheng Xinzhan and Lu Linqing listened attentively.

"The reason why those in the fourth realm are difficult to kill is because they have many methods and escape routes. They possess Dao Domains and Dharma Forms, making it difficult to get close. Even if their physical bodies are destroyed, they still have Golden Cores; if their Golden Cores are shattered, they still have Nascent Souls; if their Nascent Souls are destroyed, they still have Primordial Spirits. And if any one of these four escapes, they can make a comeback. Therefore, if you encounter someone in the Dao realm, unless they are in the fifth realm or even higher, it is really difficult to keep someone in the fourth realm alive."

Miechenzi glanced at Cheng Xinzhan.

"Your idea is good. We should seal the Five Poison King in the Dragon Cave, a natural prison, and kill him. He won't be able to escape. Actually, there's another difficult point for the Four Realms to kill: their Dao Domain and Dao Field. If the Nascent Soul Dao Domain of a Four Realms cultivator is combined with their Dao Field, then unless it's a combined attack from the Five Realms or three or more Four Realms cultivators, it's impossible to break through. This is why only sects with Four Realms cultivators dare to call themselves major sects."

"But the Five Poisons King is at a disadvantage in this respect. If he were in Wuliang Mountain, your attempt to infiltrate Wuliang Mountain to slay the demon would undoubtedly be suicide, and I would not allow you to go. But now that he is in the Dragon Cave, he has given you a chance to survive."

"Dragon Cave is an ancient secret realm, containing both the aura of a human king and the aura of a dragon. Neither of these has anything to do with the Five Poisons Heavenly King's 'Boundless Yin-Scorpion Dao Domain.' His Dao Domain is incompatible with his Daoist abode, so its power will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, Dragon Cave is sturdy, and he cannot alter its terrain or the direction of its earth veins, rendering the grand formations and restrictions passed down through his Five Poisons Sect useless. As for him setting up grand formations according to the terrain, I don't think he has the skill. Anything he forcibly concocts won't be very powerful, so you can rest assured about that."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan smiled and said,
"It seems I made the right choice to go south. If I had gone to Xuanxin Temple and Baigu Zen Temple, wouldn't I have never returned?"

Upon hearing this, Miechenzi smiled slightly. He had heard of this young man years ago for his demon-slaying exploits in Xikang. Their first meeting was when the Five Poison Heavenly King broke his seal; the young man had gone to help the Xuanmen sect, leaving a good impression. Now, his suggestion to kill the Five Poison Heavenly King in the Dragon Cave was a pleasant surprise. Of course, he also admitted that the young man's praise of his disciple was quite agreeable to him.

So even the usually stern and serious Miechenzi started joking with Cheng Xinzhan.

"You can go, but I definitely won't let him go to Linqing."

Everyone inside the thatched hut laughed.

Miechenzi continued,

"As for the poisonous insects and magical treasures of the Five Poisons Demonic Sect, there's not much to say about them for the Five Poisons Heavenly King. His sect's prized poisonous spider 'Insect-Catching Maiden,' as well as his two treasures—the 'Five Poison Sting' and the 'Five Poison Armor'—one offensive and one defensive, have all been taken by his master, along with all the odds and ends he possessed. The poisonous insects and magical treasures that this demon has reforged after breaking the seal are definitely not at the level of a 'formed embryo,' and the Green Robe of the Southern Sect doesn't have any extra 'formed embryos' for him. This gives you two another chance to win."

At this moment, Zhou Qingyun added,
“Master Uncle is absolutely right. In our years of fighting, we’ve mostly seen the Five Poisons King use spells and small insects. The only magic weapon we’ve seen him use is a newly refined ‘Nine-Treasure Exorcising Divine Sand.’ As for poisonous insects, only his mount, the Dragon Centipede, has become a force to be reckoned with.”

Miechenzi then said,
"His sand is nothing to worry about; the 'Dutian Liuji Sha' I gave you can neutralize it. But his dragon centipede is like a fish in water in the cave, moving about without a trace. You two need to be careful."

Cheng Xinzhan and Lu Linqing nodded in agreement, and their faces relaxed considerably.

However, at this moment, Miechenzi's face hardened again.
"I just told you both good things, now I'll tell you the bad things."

So their faces also turned serious.

"No matter what I've said, it doesn't change the fact that the Five Poisons King is a fourth-level being, and he's based in a strategic location. If he were easy to kill, I would have gone in and killed him long ago. It wouldn't be your turn to be heroes."

After finishing speaking, Miechenzi paused for a moment before continuing,

"Actually, at our level, what we fear most is the phrase 'fight to the death'."

Miechenzi didn't feel embarrassed at all and continued,
"As I just mentioned, the four realms have four backup plans: physical body, golden core, nascent soul, and primordial spirit. If any one of them escapes, one must start all over again, making them very difficult to kill. Moreover, these four backup plans contain three killing moves: physical body, golden core, and nascent soul. We call them the three-pronged attack. If he deliberately self-destructs any one of these three moves, I will be in serious trouble. And in the sealed underground dragon cave, the power will be even greater."

The senior disciple, the current head of the Emei sect, remained calm.
"He has a lowly fate. He comes from a demonic background, killing people and feeding them to insects, committing all sorts of evil deeds. He knows he has a lowly fate. After being unsealed, he was eager to recover, so he ate up the marrow of the mountain and captured people to eat their blood. If he cultivates to the fourth realm, it's like his ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke. At most, he will never have the chance to merge with the Dao. In the entire Wuliang Mountain over the past thousand years, no one has reached the fifth realm. In other words, he is just counting down the days to live."

“If I were your age, I would dare to go in and try it with you. You are still young. If your primordial spirit is lost, it will only take a hundred years to rebuild your cultivation. But I can’t do that now. I am about to merge with the Dao, and becoming an immortal is not difficult for me. If he were to fight me to the death and hit me with one of his three attacks, injuring my spirit or causing a miscarriage, my chance to become an immortal might be gone, and I wouldn’t have enough lifespan to rebuild my cultivation to this level.”

When Miechenzi spoke, the thatched hut fell silent.

Cheng Xinzhan, Lu Linqing, and Zhou Qingyun didn't feel it deeply, but Ye Yuanjing was deeply moved. She even thought that if she reached that point, she probably wouldn't have the courage to start over, because lifespan would be catching up with her.

Seeing the thatched hut fall silent, Ye Yuanjing then said,
“My Buddhist beads have fallen into the hands of the Five Poisons King. He is not protected by the Five Poisons Armor now. If the timing is right, I should be able to destroy his physical body directly and take away one of his three blows.”

Miechenzi smiled.

"Don't be afraid, you two. Qingyun has borrowed the 'Bijia Xuan Tie Shield' for you, which can block an axe for you. I hope my 'Dutian Liuji Sha' can also block an axe for you, it all depends on how you use it."

"As for whether you each have any means of survival, I won't ask further. But I can guarantee one thing: if this demon can get rid of you two and find a way to escape from the Dragon Cave, no matter how many tricks he has left, I will stop him at all costs. If he can still escape, then it's his destiny to survive."

Cheng Xinzhan listened attentively to all sides, and then nodded.

"When it comes to exorcising demons, all we ask for is a clear conscience and doing our best. We can't control anything else."

"That's what I mean."

Miechenzi said.

At this moment, Ye Yuanjing's expression shifted.
"The old demon has begun refining the Buddhist prayer beads."

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