Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 497 The First Person Dies
The Xie Zhi Xuan Lao is one of the few cave dwellings within the Immortal Dynasty. Although the Bing Liu prison room borrowed by Fei Dongwen only occupies a small part, it is still comparable to the land of an entire county outside.

Therefore, even though there are hundreds of Foundation Establishment Stars scattered throughout, they are not so easy to find.

Kang Dabao originally entered the cave with the three members of the Fei family. After passing through the Taixu Corridor and seeing a flash of white light, he was left alone in the cave.

Unlike the three ignorant and unruly guests, Master Kang and his companions had already heard the stories of this place from the senior cultivators before entering the cell:
In the past, there were several rich third-order mines in the Bingliu prison, which could be considered a prosperous area.

However, after several hundred years, once the mining supervisors sent by the Imperial Household Department had finished mining all the spiritual mines, they turned the land into barren wastelands devoid of spiritual energy.

Then, several senior cultivators from the Shaofu Temple spent over ten years forging it into the Xiezhi Xuanlao, making it part of this cave dwelling.

Now, cultivators living in this place find it extremely difficult not only to cultivate themselves, but also to recover their spiritual power.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Fei family members who were in charge of this matter, the prisoners had already been tortured and almost none of them were unharmed.

Having spent twenty years in this godforsaken place with such a lack of medical care, even if the injuries had not worsened, seventy percent of the original strength in the body should have been lost. Therefore, for the true cultivators who entered, it was not considered extremely dangerous.

Otherwise, the Fei family would not have sent officials from the Demon-Slaying Division inside beforehand to scatter the magical artifacts they had seized that year.

Kang Dabao extended his divine sense and scanned the surroundings briefly, which put his mind at ease.

He has perfected the practice of the "Bright Moon Visualization Method," and his spiritual consciousness is far superior to that of his peers. Those fake alchemists who have not specifically practiced spiritual consciousness are probably no match for him, and he can rely on this as his foundation.

The distribution of the convicts' locations had been mapped out by Fei Dongwen beforehand, with the help of seasoned clerks from the Demon-Suppressing Division. These maps were then presented to the Fei family members and explained in detail.

The document not only lists the mountains and rivers of the Sixth Prison, but also the approximate distribution of convicts in various locations back then. Although times have changed, it can still serve as a reference.

To avoid giving others cause for criticism, the cultivators were not allowed to bring the map in, but Sect Leader Kang remembered it very clearly.

He took out a magical compass, measured the twenty-four directions, and then calculated his approximate location by pinching his fingers.

"If my calculations are correct, two hundred miles to the north, there is a rogue cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage whose cultivation level is unknown; and seventy miles to the west, there is a fake Pill Master from the Ghost King Sect."

Choosing a leader like Kang was not difficult. Without a second thought, he rode the Kui Xing Shuttle to the destination.

Seeing the scattered black slag he could make, each about the size of a human figure, on the barren mountain before him, Master Kang knew he had come to the right place.

In the middle of this desolate mountain, a cave has been carved out using a magical artifact. The illusion array outside the cave is extremely crude in terms of both materials and techniques, perhaps not even reaching the threshold of the second tier.

Kang Dabao merely flickered a golden light in his eyes, and without needing to examine it for long, he easily discerned the flaws in the illusion array.

It was good that they could avoid disturbing the owner of this place, so Master Kang didn't stand on ceremony and quickly rushed into the cave, stepping over several gaps in its defenses. The cave owner had cleverly used black slag to make lamps and hung them on the walls.

However, Kang Dabao had no time to appreciate it at this moment. He extended his divine sense and easily found the person in question.

"who?!"

The answer to the host's question was a brilliant beam of light, illuminating the originally dim cave several degrees brighter.

A white bone spear, shrouded in black aura, came forward. After a loud clang, the menacing Tu Gui fell back into the hands of Master Kang.

"Huh? This guy's luck is really that good, he actually got his own spiritual weapon before?!"

Kang Dabao's surprise and doubt did not last long, after all, for such evil cultivators, the resources here were not particularly scarce.

"Is this an official from the Demon-Suppressing Division?! I, Xu, am innocent! Please hear me out!"

The alchemist's plea for mercy was interrupted by the black flames that Tu Quan unleashed. As the rolling waves of flames swept over, Sect Leader Kang finally saw his opponent's true face.

In his nearly one hundred years of cultivation, this was the first time he had ever seen a Pill Master in such a sorry state. This Pill Master surnamed Wu didn't even have a decent robe, and his body was covered with horrific wounds that couldn't be concealed at all.

While battling Kang Dabao, the alchemist surnamed Wu could no longer focus on suppressing his injuries. His wounds began to fester visibly, and in some severe areas, black scabs had even cracked open, oozing yellow pus.

"My lord of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau, please release me. Once I'm out, I'm willing to be your slave, your servant, your beast of burden."

The alchemist surnamed Wu had to exert almost all his strength to escape from the raging black flames. The price he paid was that his only usable spiritual weapon vanished into the sea of ​​fire along with the two Hundred Ghost Children.

Kang Dabao felt no pity. Once the heat had burned away the surrounding stench, the Tu Li Ji's blade regained its spiritual light. The Wu surname alchemist, who was filled with sorrow, had lost all his spiritual power and abilities, and could only use his withered chest and a sliver of hope to defend himself.

The cyan halberd light showed no mercy, easily pulverizing the alchemist's physical body.

The discolored Tu Ji body plunged into the black flames in front of it and was roasted. In just a moment, the bone and flesh fragments stuck to it were burned into a few specks of ash.

With just a flick of his fingers, Master Kang could make the murder weapon as clean as new.

"Judging by his methods, he must be a wicked and evil person. I didn't expect that the Demon-Suppressing Division could actually do something in the capital region. If all the fake pills in the Bingliu prison are like this guy, they are not even worth the strength of the third-ranked ones outside. So there is no real danger."

Thinking of this, Kang Dabao uttered a profound and obscure syllable, and with a flick of his finger, he captured the fake elixir-born soul in front of him and put it into the specially prepared purple jade bowl.

This time, killing a fake alchemist master didn't require much effort, which is quite rare. Kang Dabao didn't stop; he took out a compass and calculated for a while before riding the Kui Xing Shuttle and disappearing to another place.

At the same time, nine water-moon mirrors stood outside the cave, each reflecting a different image.

At this moment, the focus of all the cultivators was naturally on the lively scene involving Sect Leader Kang. Seeing that the Pill Master surnamed Wu had his soul taken so easily, the reactions from all sides were different.

Ma Longqin, the temple's headmaster, spoke first, his words carrying a pointed meaning as he faced Fei Yeyi: "The younger generation of Fellow Daoist Fei is quite lucky, managing to take the lead so easily."

Fei Yeqing smiled faintly and remained silent. Ma Longqin was about to say something when Fei Tianqin glared at him fiercely. Although the old monk did not show any fear upon seeing this, he hesitated for a moment before swallowing back what he was about to say.

Neither the old man from Wenshan nor the beautiful woman from the Su family spoke. It was perfectly normal for the Fei family to use some underhanded tricks now that they had the advantage of being landlords. Why bother saying anything more?

Furthermore, these three Nascent Soul factions had no face to speak up in the first place.

After all, if they still had any sense of propriety, they wouldn't have done something like jointly sending disciples to steal treasures from the home of a Golden Core cultivator.

The old man from Wenshan and the beautiful woman from the Su family glanced at Ma Longqin at the same time, and thought to themselves in unison, "What's the rush? This show has only just begun."

------

Five days passed quickly. The sect leader Kang had gained a lot in the past few days, acquiring another twenty or so Foundation Establishment souls.

As Fernandes had predicted, after twenty years, few of these poor convicts were even fully recovered. Kang Dabao often only needed to swipe his halberd to save their lives.

These true cultivators could hardly even control the Taoist techniques they had painstakingly cultivated for many years. They immediately went black, their heads lightened, and they entered the purple jade alms bowl.

It makes sense, after all, they are all promising recruits who can fight and kill. If their injuries were easy to heal, they wouldn't have been left to die in the sixth prison by the officials of the Demon Suppression Division.

As time went on, it became increasingly difficult for Kang Dabao to find these convicts. A few days ago, he did manage to spot one of the three villains from afar. That person also possessed a way with his divine sense and had also discovered Kang Dabao's whereabouts. However, the two sides tacitly avoided meeting and went their separate ways.

That day, Kang Dabao searched until evening before finally finding another mid-stage True Cultivator dressed as a Confucian scholar. His spiritual essence was pure, without any trace of bloodlust, yet he too was imprisoned here, unlikely to be reborn, which was truly lamentable.

When Master Kang saw the scholar, the latter's eyes were already indifferent, devoid of any life. Kang Dabao's face remained devoid of any pity or compassion; with a flick of his short halberd, another wave of salty stench arose.

Another soul entered the bowl, and Master Kang was somewhat satisfied. He changed his hand gestures, summoned a burst of water vapor to cleanse his hands, and then swallowed a few more Rejuvenation Pills.

Since the elders of the Fei family had decided to send them into the Xie Zhi Mystic Prison long ago, they had naturally prepared ample supplies of spirit-returning items. If those three unruly guests had not carried enough pills on a normal day, they would have suffered a minor loss at this time.

Once the meridians in his body, which had felt slightly dry, were replenished by spiritual energy, Kang Dabao stopped meditating and began to sit in meditation. However, as soon as he extended his divine sense, he noticed something unusual.

"They're from the Fei family?!"

Without a second thought, Kang Dabao hurried over. After all, compared to the others, the Fei family members, who were related by marriage, were somewhat more trustworthy to him.

As Sect Leader Kang approached the battle, he saw a fat, ten-foot-tall alchemist wielding a one-horned golden figure like a madman. Struggling beneath that one-horned golden figure was Fei Wanqing, Kang Dabao's wife's younger sister.

As soon as Kang Dabao saw the fat-eared alchemist's face, he knew who he was.

Before leaving, the old official of the Demon-Slaying Division emphasized the several fierce alchemists imprisoned in the Xie Zhi Xuan Prison, claiming that each of these alchemists was extremely ruthless and that all cultivators should be careful.

And the fat-eared alchemist in front of them, named Tong He, was one of them.

According to the old official, he was arrested by the Demon Suppression Division because he had become a demon after practicing the mid-grade demonic cultivation technique "Slaughtering Life and Chewing Souls Technique" and had slaughtered most of the nearly one thousand cultivators of the Tong family in Heyuan, including a Pill Master.

However, even the Demon-Slaying Division paid the price of losing two fake Pill Masters in their attempt to capture this man, demonstrating their extreme ruthlessness. In terms of strength, Tong He at his peak was probably comparable to the two top Pill Masters who were quite familiar with Sect Leader Kang.

Despite his still-healing injuries, he wielded a golden unicorn sword he had somehow acquired, which was enough to overwhelm Fei Wanqing with her profound magic, leaving her only able to barely withstand the pressure with a fine white gauze curtain.

It's not hard to guess that this Tong He is indeed different from the fake core cultivator from the Ghost King Sect that Headmaster Kang just killed.

It's probably impossible for anyone to explain why this fat-eared alchemist was able to recover most of his skills while in prison.

Under such circumstances, there's not much to say about the battle in front of her. If Fei Wanqing didn't have any trump cards up her sleeve, she might even be in mortal danger.

Just as Kang Dabao was about to make a move and extended his divine sense, he discovered that there was another person hiding nearby. This person had obviously been there for quite some time, occupying an excellent position from which he could have a complete view of the battle.

They were clearly enemies, not friends. Otherwise, seeing Fei Wanqing in such a weakened state, they should have stepped forward to help her long ago.

However, Master Kang did indeed receive many benefits from Boyue and the Fei family. Even though he was afraid that the other party would benefit, he could not stand by and watch Fei Wanqing suffer a loss.

Just as he made up his mind, Fei Wanqing on the other end seemed to have also keenly sensed the person who was lurking in the shadows. Suddenly, the spiritual weapon in the female cultivator's hand emitted a bright light, leading Tong He to mistakenly believe that the female cultivator was about to self-destruct her spiritual weapon and cut off her tail to survive.

He had only just taken the one-horned golden man and temporarily retreated when Fei Wanqing suddenly appeared, gracefully moving away to another place.

Having been tricked and enraged, Tong He was easily lured by Fei Wanqing to a secluded hiding place.

This fat-eared alchemist was once a top-tier fake alchemist. How could he not detect the hidden enemy at such close range? He had not yet fallen into demonic possession, so his mind was not clouded. He mistakenly believed that the hidden person was Fei Wanqing's helper, who wanted to launch a surprise attack on him!

The newcomer suddenly saw that Tong He's anger intensified, his face contorted into a grimace, and his features sunken deep into his flesh.

Tong He pushed the "Slaughtering Life and Chewing Soul Technique" to its limit, and with a sudden slam of the golden unicorn in his hand, he easily unleashed a violent spiritual storm with this unfamiliar magical weapon.

The person in front of him was almost knocked unconscious by the spiritual storm. A bright talisman transformed into a black shield, blocking Tong He's charged attack.

Fu Bao bought him a chance to counterattack. He uttered a soft cry, and a ball of cinnabar landed in his fair palm, forming a talisman. As soon as the talisman was completed, the sound of wind and thunder seemed to come from the sky, making the surrounding air smell of fire and thunder.

Tong He still retained the insights he had before being imprisoned. The moment he saw the talisman in his opponent's hand take shape, he roared, "The Secret Instructions of the Three Caverns Talismans! You are a member of the Su family, young man!!"

Su Changqiu's face darkened, and he remained silent. He used a talisman to block the one-horned golden man in Tong He's hand, while simultaneously channeling spiritual energy into his palm, making the talisman in his hand even more vibrant.

Finally, after a few more breaths, bolts of lightning descended from above.

The Yuezhu Su family and Longhu Mountain share the same lineage. Their direct lineage cultivates the "Three Caverns Talisman Secret Instructions," a legitimate Taoist method whose power should not be underestimated. The violent fiery lightning energy nearly dried up half of the fat on Tong He's body. The latter's expression turned solemn, and he also put away his spiritual weapon, forming hand seals and chanting incantations.

As soon as the fat-eared pill master spat out his mouth, countless remnants of souls and fragments of spirits wove together into a dark gust of wind, completely enveloping his large, fat body.

The flames and soul energy continued to evaporate, creating a beautiful interplay of light and shadow. As the lightning waterfall subsided, only a thin layer of remnant soul energy remained above Tong He's head, indicating that the two were evenly matched.

Su Changqiu, as expected of a Nascent Soul cultivator, was far more skilled than Fei Wanqing, who came from the Sheshan Hall. Tong He had been fighting for a while and was feeling quite exhausted. His physical and spiritual strength was also running out, so he had the idea of ​​escaping.

Su Changqiu, however, was unwilling to let go of this fake elixir-born soul. He still had a sufficient supply of spirit-restoring pills and believed that he could wear down this formidable opponent.

After seeing Fei Wanqing slip away during the break, Master Kang settled down to watch the show. His spiritual sense was far superior to the two of them, allowing him to see their movements clearly without being discovered. It was the perfect time to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

As expected, after about half an hour, Tong He's spiritual power was almost exhausted, and even the remnants of his soul that he had treasured for many years were almost gone.

On the other hand, although Su Changqiu's spiritual power was slightly insufficient, he did not stop using any of his methods and was confident of victory.

Finally, Su Changqiu's Xuan Lei shattered the physical body of Tong He, a veteran alchemist, and the fatigue on his body seemed to be instantly relieved by the fake alchemy soul he was about to obtain.

Just as he was about to cast a spell to summon the soul, he heard the sound of wind beside his ear.

"who?!!"

Su Changqiu's talisman power was already low, and now it was directly destroyed by the two golden lights that flew towards him. He was so frightened that his expression changed drastically. The Taiyi Protective Seal given to him by the True Person was activated at his waist to block this fatal blow.

"What a pity!!"

If it were an ordinary fake cultivator, they would probably be dead by now after such a sudden attack! The Grand Master Kang suddenly felt a pang of jealousy towards these young masters, inwardly cursing, "So hard to kill!!"

Jealousy was nothing he could do; he simply extended his short, stubby finger and gently hooked Tong He's soul into Kang Dabao's purple jade alms bowl.

Su Changqiu's face was terribly ugly, but he was not a fool. He knew that Kang Dabao had defeated Fu Neng, and he also knew that this yellow-eyed boy from this remote place was no easy opponent.

Having fought for a long time and unlikely to return to his former glory, he could not afford to lose his temper because of the arrogance of a noble family's son, or he might suffer a great loss! It was time to leave!
So the young master of the Su family decided to abandon all this hardship and leave without a second thought.

Just then, Su Changqiu sensed someone approaching from afar, unsure whether they were friend or foe.

However, it soon became clear that a sharp shout came with the sound of wind, making both of them tense: "Fellow Daoist Kang, quickly help me stop this boy! Fellow Daoist Shu has been murdered! He is dead!"

(End of this chapter)