Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 359 Abandoning the turbid and embracing the pure, inheriting the glory and light

Uncle Bao was already itching to get started, so Cheng Xinzhan fed the old evil spirit to the insect first.

In addition, he has acquired eight new Earthly Fiends: "Lower Spring Yin Prison Fiend", "Yin Ruins Ghost Lamp Fiend", "Fertile Field Abundant Harvest Fiend", "Turning Soil into Gold Fiend", and "First Yang Red Smoke Fiend". These are two Yin and three Yang Earthly Fiends, totaling five related to earth and metal. He needs to refine them himself first, and keep some in the Yin-Yang Hall to comprehend the meaning of Yin-Yang principles before feeding them to the insects.

While the three earthly evils, "Cold Owl Yin Wind Evil", "Tide Moon Illusion Wave Evil" and "Rushing Tide Cloud Dispelling Evil", are unrelated to earth and metal, they are also new evils. Moreover, two of them are water evils that can play a significant role at sea, so it is equally important to quickly refine and comprehend them.

So, in the cave, Cheng Xinzhan and Shubao each ate the Earthly Fiends in silence, but with great relish.

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.

half a month later.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at the handkerchief in his hand and nodded in satisfaction. After refining the "Cold Owl Yin Wind Evil" into it, the handkerchief gained the effect of "bewitching the ears and ears". Combined with its original effects of "obscuring the eyes", "confusing the nose and nose" and "concealing the secrets of heaven", this treasure can be said to have reached perfection in the way of concealing and bewildering.

With the addition of the "Tide Moon Illusion Wave Demon," the magic weapon can exert considerable effectiveness whether in the sky, on the ground, in the forest, or in the water. Now, from any perspective, this magic weapon has surpassed the level of a pill-making artifact.

As for the name, although two new evil spirits have been added and other precious materials may need to be refined in the future, Cheng Xinzhan is too lazy to change the name. Let's just keep calling it "Eight Treasures Cloud Light Pasture" as it is, it's easy to pronounce.

Looking at Uncle Bao now, the insect was lying on its back, its belly swollen like a ball, unable to turn over.

"Uncle Bao, how long do you estimate it will take to refine the Cart-Training Pill?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

The little worm first let out a burp, then rubbed its belly, thought for a moment, and then said,
"Your Excellency, it will take at least six months, or at most a year and a half."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, then scooped up the insect and put it in his bosom. He walked out of the cave and tore down the banner with the words "Seclusion" written on it that was pasted on the door.

He glanced at Liu Jushui's cave dwelling; the door was closed and there were no signs posted, so he must have gone on a mission. So he headed towards Funiu Guard.

Upon arriving at the Hall of Attendants, the old hall master was on duty. He was delighted to see Cheng Xinzhan. He had been given his life by General Tang, and now that General Tang liked Lai Youde, he liked him too. He didn't care about seizing power at all.

"Master, there are fewer people in the hall today. Have they gone on a mission?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

The old hall master replied,
“That’s right. The people from Jintanghai are attacking Yulong Bridge again. Since you were in seclusion, I sent Liu Jushui with some men. They’ve been there for a few days now.”

Cheng Xinzhan nodded upon hearing this. He knew about the "Fish-Dragon Bridge." Building this bridge was currently the top priority for Lihuohai, and also the top priority for Changqinghai.

"Yulong Bridge" is called a bridge, but it is actually a chain of islands that is barely visible between Huolong Island and Changqing Island. The chain is named after the two starting islands, Panlong Island on the Huolong Island side and Yubei Island on the Changqing Island side. Between Panlong Island and Yubei Island, there are hundreds of islands and reefs of various sizes, which together form this giant sea bridge that is more than 1,400 miles long.

The Fish-Dragon Bridge is not a natural structure. These numerous islands and reefs scattered in the sea are part of the boundary between the Yin Sea and the Jintang Sea, part of the inner islands of the Yin Sea, and part of the inner islands of the Jintang Sea. However, the Lihuo Sea and the Changqing Sea are now trying to claim all of these islands and reefs for themselves. Not only that, they are also reclaiming land from the sea to create reefs and islands, making the land on this giant bridge more abundant and denser, thus connecting Fire Dragon Island and Changqing Island to some extent.

—Whether it's the Xiu family who came from the land or the zombies who woke up in the soil, they still feel more at ease being down-to-earth.

However, if this giant bridge is completed, it will have a huge impact on the sea areas on both sides of the bridge.

For Jintanghai, its entire nearshore waters have been occupied, and the completed bridge will become a huge barrier, making it much more difficult for Jintanghai to expand into the nearshore waters in the future.

The same applies to the Yin Sea; this bridge has also encroached upon its territory and prevented it from expanding outwards. Even more terrifying is that if the Fire Sea and the Evergreen Sea harbor disloyal intentions, the Yin Sea will be caught in a pincer movement between the land and the Fish-Dragon Bridge.

However, judging from the current situation, Gu Chen still trusts the Crimson Corpse and the Beautiful Corpse, and turns a blind eye to their occupation of the island. The people on the island have also been evacuated, which can be said to be a handover.

However, Gu Chen was generous, but Ao Wang was not willing. Therefore, during the process of the two seas encroaching on the islands and reefs, they encountered strong resistance from Jintang Sea. At the same time, not only Jintang Sea disagreed, but Dadu Sea, Heiyuan Sea, Feiling Sea, and Qiantang Sea, which had always had opinions about the Three Corpses, were also unwilling to see Lihuo Sea and Changqing Sea connected and reclaimed from the sea to build islands, so they all blocked the project.

As a result, the waters near Yulong Bridge were rife with fighting and unrest during this period.

Sometimes, Cheng Xinzhan couldn't help but sigh. On land, Yin Corpses were hated by everyone, like rats crossing the street, but when they came to the sea, they united as one and formed a sea zombie kingdom. The strength they unleashed was truly astonishing.

He listened to the old hall master's words, smiled, and said...
"I didn't make a bad recommendation, did I? Isn't Liu Jushui a decent person?"

The old hall master nodded with a smile.

"He is indeed a formidable general."

After a brief chat, Cheng Xinzhan stated the purpose of his visit.

"Master, I was fortunate enough to form a Core Formation, and a few days ago I also managed to cultivate the Blue-Faced Ghost's corpse to have some intelligence. Therefore, I would like to visit the Corpse House again. I hope you will grant me permission."

The old hall master nodded and said...
"This is what you deserve. Do you need me to go with you?"

"There's no need to trouble the hall master; I'll go there myself."

So the old hall master gave Cheng Xinzhan a slip of paper. As a member of the Escort Hall, receiving a corpse required the hall master's signature. The purpose was to prevent some people from being impatient for quick results, having high aspirations but low abilities, and only caring about getting more. This would not only delay their own cultivation but also hinder the corpse from finding a suitable escort.

Fortunately, Cheng Xinzhan's performance after arriving on the island has been commendable, so the old master was quite relieved and readily agreed.

Cheng Xinzhan took the note and went to the corpse house of Faqiutang.

The gatekeeper at the entrance to the Corpse House cave was the same Yin Corpse with three cleansed corpse pills that Cheng Xinzhan had seen last time. He was a taciturn and reclusive person. Last time, when Cheng Xinzhan came with the old hall master, he hadn't heard him say a word.

But this time, when Cheng Xinzhan came over and handed him the note, the reverence in the corpse's eyes was clearly visible.

This corpse was none other than Shu Bao's Three Realms chariot.

To be precise, apart from the newly established Drought Demon Guard, the gatekeepers of the other four guards' corpse houses were all Shu Bao's servants.

Cheng Xinzhan entered the corpse house and went directly to the third courtyard. He first entered the west wing. According to the island's rules, if he enlightened Zhongyuan, he could then obtain another Yin corpse in the west wing.

Then, he said in his heart,

"Uncle Bao, you choose. It should be able to quickly develop intelligence and have strong combat power."

Now that he has the insect in his body, Cheng Xinzhan will no longer presume to teach others how to pick out corpses. Moreover, Uncle Bao probably knows exactly what kind of powerful and strange corpses are in these corpse houses.

Furthermore, since the guardians are our own people, there's no rush to take the bodies of the righteous people placed here out. If any emergency occurs, we can simply have the guardians come in and take all the bodies of the righteous people away.

What we need most right now is someone who can fight.

Shubao crawled out from Cheng Xinzhan's clothes, revealing a small horn. After a while, it pointed in a direction with the horn. Cheng Xinzhan followed the insect's direction, weaving through the ice coffin corpse array, and finally stopped in front of a Yin corpse.

"What is this?"

Cheng Xinzhan stared in astonishment at the corpse before him.

It looks like a turtle carcass, but it doesn't resemble any of the turtle species Cheng Xinzhan has seen before.

The turtle's shell is uneven, covered with wart-like protrusions, and the strange patterns resemble a special design, yet it's hard to describe. A sharp dorsal fin, like that of a fish, grows along the central ridge of the shell.

The tortoise carcass was not large, about two feet long from head to tail, and flat like a turtle, with short, thick limbs and claws like hooks. Its beak was sharp like pincers, its eyes were red, and its tail was even more unusual—it was a viper covered in fine black scales!
"Sir, this is a tortoise, but the coroner registered at the Tomb Raider Hall doesn't recognize it and only thinks it's a mutated tortoise demon."

Cheng Xinzhan was also a book lover, and after Chong'er's reminder, he remembered it too, and said,
"A veiled attack on the demon?"

"Yes."

The insect nodded.

Cheng Xinzhan felt a pleasant surprise. This beast had long since disappeared from the land and was said to be extinct. So when he came last time, he only glanced at it and did not recognize it.

He circled the tortoise corpse, using his divine eyes to examine it closely. He discovered that the demon's inner core was intact, perfectly round, as small as a pigeon's egg, and showed no signs of aging. It must have been a powerful demon who had passed the third tribulation in life, and had not died of old age.

Furthermore, according to Bi Jing's observation, a wisp of lingering spirit remains within this demon's Niwan Palace, showing signs of developing into a vengeful spirit. If this continues, the corpse will likely awaken on its own within three to five years.

"I never expected to see a scorpion here. Uncle Bao, where did you get this corpse? How long has it been dead? Can you tell?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

The insect then answered,

"Reporting to Master, this corpse has been dead for forty or fifty years. I remember it was more than twenty years ago when the Sea of ​​Ten Thousand Corpses expanded in all directions. At the same time, the people of the Tomb Raiders Hall searched the islands and the sea, excavating graves and looking for corpses. They found this corpse in a cave on an island. Seeing that the corpse's golden core was intact and its evil aura was full, they brought it back."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. If it was forty or fifty years old, then it could be considered a relatively new corpse. He hadn't expected that the monsters that had become extinct on land still existed in the sea.

Insect's eye is indeed good. This corpse has an extremely strong lingering will. If awakened by the "Mysterious Netherworld Consciousness Method", it can quickly recover its strength. Moreover, it is highly likely that it can also inherit the supernatural power it had in life - "Hidden Sand Shooting Shadows", which is an extremely powerful technique.

So Cheng Xinzhan decided to take the corpse. He lifted the ice coffin, and a fierce aura rushed towards him, but he didn't care and put the corpse into a bag.

Afterwards, he went to the east wing. According to the island's rules, once he entered the third realm, he could choose a sealed third realm living corpse here.

He still let the insects choose.

The insect chose a female corpse, a female corpse with a sword.

The corpse looked no different from a living person, in her twenties or thirties, without any makeup, young and beautiful, wearing a light green pleated dress made of silk, looking like a young lady from an official family.

However, the various joints on the corpse, including the wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, and the three major acupoints of the forehead, chest, and abdomen, were all covered with corpse-locking talismans, which looked somewhat eerie.

What is the origin of this corpse that requires so many corpse-locking talismans?

Cheng Xinzhan carefully examined the female corpse and quickly noticed something unusual. This woman looked too much like a living person; it was almost impossible to detect any corpse aura. So he activated his Azure Eye Technique again and used the corpse-identifying aura observation technique recorded in the "Azure Fu Transformation Scripture" to examine her.

really!

Cheng Xinzhan saw a blue light shining from the heart of the female corpse. Like the beautiful corpse Cui Ying, she was also a corpse of the Wood element!
No wonder then.

The emerald light in his eyes faded, and his gaze fell upon the sword at the woman's waist. The sword felt familiar, for the colors of its scabbard and hilt were similar to his own Qing Shu sword. Yet its form resembled the Qiu Shui sword, also a Song dynasty sword, as elegant and beautiful as its owner.

"Shubao, do you know the origin of this corpse?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

Although Uncle Bao usually acted like a child and had a poor memory, he knew the details about Yin Corpses like the back of his hand. He said,
"I know, this was captured by the Grand Elder from Qingzhou more than ten years ago."

"The Grand Elder? Why would he go to land to retrieve corpses? Isn't that what the Tomb Raiders Hall does?"

Cheng Xinzhan was puzzled.

"It was the corpse-hunting team from the Faqiu Hall. More than ten years ago, a team from the Faqiu Hall went to Qingzhou to hunt corpses, but the entire team was wiped out and none of them returned. Then the Faqiu Hall sent another team to check the situation. This time, two people escaped and returned, saying that they had offended a female sword cultivator corpse."

Uncle Bao said.

"That's her?"

Cheng Xinzhan pointed at the female corpse.

Uncle Bao nodded.

"After the two men escaped and reported the situation, Tang Yusheng felt that this corpse was rare, so he asked the Grand Elder to go on a land trip and capture it alive. After sealing it, he locked it in the Corpse House."

"Then it's her."

Cheng Xinzhan put the female corpse into his bag and turned to leave.

At the entrance to the corpse-filled tunnel, in order to avoid any obvious clues, the guards still registered the information truthfully, but this time they did not release sniffer dogs to sniff it out.

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.

Cheng Xinzhan emerged from the corpse-filled house, returning to the surface from the darkness of the underground. Light returned to his eyes. The daylight was perfect, the sun shining brightly. Suddenly, a rumbling thunderclap echoed from the western continent, resounding throughout the four seas:

"The Great Way is formless, and the essence of the Three Pure Ones lies in spreading the Dharma widely; the teachings of the Patriarchs are like the continuous flow of the Dharma lineage."

"Today, the Shi Tongxuan sect of Sanqing Mountain has broken away and established a new branch, taking Langshan Mountain in Hunan Province as its sacred site and establishing the Ming lineage. Our sect opens its doors wide, teaching all without discrimination, transmitting the Way of Yin and Yang, imparting the methods of reviving the dead, and enlightening the wisdom of benevolent corpses. Anyone who aspires to the Way of Yin and Yang, corpse liberation, earth walking, raising corpses, and returning the soul may enter our mountain gate."

"To be brought back to life from the dead is extremely difficult; to realize one's mistakes and return to the right path is the greatest virtue. At this time, Tongxuan sincerely respects all those who cultivate the dead. If there are those who have a good heart but whose bodies are tainted, they should abandon their filth and embrace purity, and receive the light and enlightenment."

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(End of this chapter)