Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 329 [It's not impossible]

Chapter 323 [It's Not Impossible]

Donghai remained silent for a long time, then suddenly looked into Luo Xiuqing's eyes and smiled gently: "So, deep down, you still harbor resentment."

Luo Xiuqing shook her head, seemingly about to deny it, but Donghai waved his hand and said, "Alright, whether you have resentment or not, the Ancestor doesn't care."

Luo Xiuqing said in a low voice, "I only beg the Ancestor to have mercy and spare those ignorant children, especially Zhanli..."

"Are you pleading for your prized student?"

"Plead for the future of the Ghost Clan." Luo Xiuqing smiled bitterly: "In the decades since the Ancestor left, the Ghost Clan has suffered a decline in talent. These people were the seeds that embarked on the path of cultivation at the last Heaven-Piercing Ceremony before the Ancestor left."

It took me many years to train this group of people. These people have been the backbone of the Oni Clan for the past few decades.

If the patriarch were to return this time and cripple them all in one fell swoop simply because they were disobedient...

So……"

Donghai coldly said, "A new Heaven-Striking Ceremony is about to be held. New people will always emerge, and new seeds will always take root, sprout, and grow into pillars that support the future of the Ghost Clan."

"But how far away is this future?" Luo Xiuqing stared into Donghai's eyes: "Sword Master! May I ask you, from the moment you entered the Dao, how many years did it take you to cultivate to the point of breaking through to the Celestial Realm?"
And how many years will it take for these newcomers to grow into the future pillars of the Ghost Clan for the upcoming Heaven-Piercing Ceremony?

Looking at the woman arguing so vehemently before him, Donghai's eyes seemed to daze for a moment before clearing again, his gaze gradually sharpening as he stared intently at Luo Xiuqing—the clan leader who had supported the Ghost Clan for decades.

“I suddenly realized something,” Donghai said coldly.

"what?"

"Those who have forgotten the majesty of the ancestral saint are not your disciples, nor the so-called ghost race seeds you have cultivated."

"The one who has truly forgotten the majesty of the sage and the authority of the ancestor is you! Luo Xiuqing!"

Luo Xiuqing's body trembled!
Donghai's tone grew increasingly cold: "You've got one thing wrong, Luo Xiuqing!"
You were also one of the best from the Heavenly Ceremony back then, and under the glory of the Ancestor, you grew up to become the leader of the Ghost Clan.

But in the decades since the old man left, you've probably gone mad!
You must understand one thing: it is your ghost race that needs the ancestor! Not the other way around!

As he spoke, Donghai's voice and tone became increasingly sharp and aggressive!

"It was the Ancestor who established the cultivation path for the Ghost Clan, which led to the existence of the Ghost Clan!"
It was only because the Ancestor presided over each Heaven-Striking Ceremony that the Ghost Clan cultivators were present!
Otherwise, what are you?
They're just a bunch of mountain folk who dug caves and cut down trees in the mountains!

Without the blessings of our ancestors, you wouldn't even deserve to be called a 'clan'! You would truly be nothing more than a bunch of savages digging caves and cutting down trees in the mountains!

You are only fit to be hunted down by the sects and families outside the mountains and made into beast slaves, medicine slaves, and flower slaves!
You are only fit to be captured by the demon race and used as food and livestock!
It was the Ancestor who gave you the cultivation techniques, the Ancestor who bestowed upon you a path of cultivation, allowing you to transform from savages into a race, into the 'humans' of the Ghost Clan as we know them today, no longer savages!
It was the Ancestor who gave you your own path of cultivation, the Ghost Clan cultivators, your own race, the power to preserve yourselves, and the means to fight against other forces!

Everything is a gift from our ancestors to you!

You and I are talking nonsense about the interests and future of the Ghost Clan. In my opinion, it's all utter rubbish!
The so-called Ghost Clan was all given to us by the Ancestor! If the Ancestor hadn't given them to us, you'd all be nothing but a bunch of wild monkeys!

Having received the ancestor's blessing, one should obey the ancestor's will!
And you? You defied the will of the Ancestor, did things against the Ancestor, and then you shamelessly talked to me about the interests of the Ghost Clan?

Fine! Then take back all the blessings our ancestors bestowed upon you! Go back to your caves and be wild monkeys again!

"Let's see if you have the ability to dig holes and cut down trees to become a race again before we talk about benefits and future prospects!"

Luo Xiuqing trembled and looked at Donghai with a pale face.

Donghai said coldly, "That's not right either... I also misunderstood something."

It's not that you've forgotten the majesty of the Ancestor just because he left a few decades ago.

Rather... it's because it's been taking too long!

The glory bestowed upon you by our ancestors has lasted far too long! Far too long!

So long that you demons have started to take everything you have for granted!
So long that you've forgotten that the reason you were able to evolve from wild monkeys in the mountains into humans is a gift from our ancestors!
You have forgotten that this half of the southern border is a gift from our ancestors, and that is why it belongs to you!

"It's been so long that you've started to act on your own and go against your master's will."

Luo Xiuqing suddenly raised her head, stared at the East Sea, and took a deep breath: "So... the Ghost Clan should be dogs forever!"

Donghai looked at Luo Xiuqing and sneered, "Oh? So you're finally willing to express your resentment?"

Luo Xiuqing's eyes were bloodshot: "Everything the Ghost Clan has is a gift from the Ancestor! But for tens of thousands of years! Should the Ghost Clan be dogs forever? To give any order from the Ancestor, even to sacrifice the Ghost Clan's own interests and affect the Ghost Clan's own development—just for some of the Ancestor's personal will?"

"If you don't want to listen, fine! Then return what the Ancestor bestowed upon you! From now on, you will no longer receive the Ancestor's blessings. Rely on yourselves, be as independent as you want, and do whatever you want."

We can't continue to enjoy the blessings of our ancestors and the path of cultivation they bestowed upon us, while simultaneously spouting some nonsense about independent will!
If you're a parasite, you should be aware of what it means to be a parasite!
idiot! "

As he spoke, Donghai moved closer to Luo Xiuqing and pressed his hand on her shoulder.

Luo Xiuqing felt as if she had been electrocuted, and her body went limp as she knelt down, trembling.

"Do you know why the Ancestor made you reflect on your mistakes here? Ghost Cloud Cliff, ha! What a fine place!"

"...Why?"

"Because this place is the burial site of the Armored Bird Tribe... the burial site of those disgusting parasites who, over tens of thousands of years, harbored the same thoughts as you!"

While sucking the blood of the ancestor, they also enjoy the ancestor's blessings—and then, just like you, they talk disgustingly to themselves, disrespecting the ancestor's will and spouting nonsense about the free and independent will of the ghost race.

Pooh!
Now those guys' bones have been crushed and thrown below Ghost Cloud Cliff, and their remnant souls are trapped on this cliff, wailing all year round.

And you, Luo Xiuqing, and all of you are just another batch of Armored Birds!

The names of the eighteen tribes have changed many times throughout the tens of thousands of years of the Ghost Clan's history.

It seems that Kurokibe will also be replaced now.

It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter.

"If the dog is disobedient, we should get a different one."

Luo Xiuqing lowered her head: "Ancestor... has the punishment been decided?"

"I'll give you two choices," Donghai said coldly. "First, everyone below you who disrespects the Ancestor, as well as their tribes, will have their cultivation stripped! After all, your cultivation was given to you by the Ancestor! Since you disrespect him, then it will be taken back!"

Then, get out of the Southern Frontier and go wherever you want! Go to the land of the demons to be their beast slaves or livestock, or go to the various sects and families of the realm to be their servants, it's all up to you!

If you don't choose the first one, then choose the second one.

Led by you, Luo Xiuqing, all tribal cultivators who secretly disrespect the ancestor will be exiled to the border towns to fight against the local red tide!
Your family members can remain in the territory of the demons and continue to live.

If you serve in the border town for ten years and die in battle, it will be considered atonement, and your family will be protected by the Ghost Clan forever.

If they return alive after ten years, they can atone for their sins; their past transgressions will be wiped clean, and they can continue to be members of the demon race.

Luo Xiuqing's breathing quickened, and she said in a deep voice, "Then... what about Kurokibe?"

"That depends on your choice."

·
The drums pounded loudly, their rhythm intense and powerful!
The sound of drums came from the direction of Black Mountain...

Chen Yan sat on the white elephant's neck, walked out of the jungle, and approached the black mountain.

Kurokibe is located at the foot of that black mountain.

Centered on the black mountain peak, the surrounding area for more than ten miles is barren land. It was probably struck by a celestial lightning strike in ancient times that completely wiped out the life of this land.

The ground was covered in dark red sand, hard and rough!
At the foot of that towering black mountain, to the south, lies a stone city.

Outside the city, vast villages stretched for dozens of miles, with houses built from a mixture of earth, stone, and wood, standing tall and densely packed, like a field of mushrooms growing on the earth.

Chen Yan sat on the white elephant, looking at the houses—the style of these buildings was somewhat similar to the earthen buildings of a certain ethnic group in the Dragon Kingdom in the real world.

A canal was introduced into the village—an artificial canal dug from a large river a hundred miles away from the black mountain peaks.

A large canal was dug out, then it circled around the village, and like a blood vessel, it was stretched into several branch canals that inserted into the village.

Sitting on the white elephant, Chen Yan could see the village behind, near the black mountain peak, where the stone city was quite large.

The city wall was not high; it was made of black stones, only about three or four meters high, and there was not even a trace of magic array fluctuations—in the world of cultivators, this so-called city wall was practically undefended.

Inside the city walls, there were no longer the earthen buildings found in villages, but a large expanse of black stone buildings—large houses built of black rock, the same material as the city walls.

After taking a look, Chen Yan came to a conclusion: the stone was the same color as the black mountain peak!
"No doubt about it, all the stones in that Black Stone City were quarried from the remains of the Towering Tree," Gu Tongbing said with a smile to Chen Yan. "It's probably because that Towering Tree possessed some kind of divine power. After being struck by divine lightning and burned, its remains transformed into Black Mountain, and the trunk of the Towering Tree was burned into a special kind of black stone. The Blackwood Tribe regards that Black Mountain as their sacred land, so the tribe's priests, cave masters, clan leaders, and the Yama King's Palace are all built using the black stone quarried from Black Mountain."

Chen Yan listened, but remained silent.

He still felt that the black stone looked familiar.

Soon, he remembered where that feeling of familiarity came from!
Blackstone!

The black stone I obtained!

It's engraved with magical runes for entering the mirror world! It's also a trial realm formed from the fragment of a magical artifact that fell into the real world back in Japan… The final fragment is also a black stone…

These things are very similar in texture to the Black Mountain and Black Stone City before us!

·
On the walls of Blackrock City, dozens of large drums were erected, and bare-chested demon warriors wielded drumsticks, striking the drums with deafening force.

After Gu Tongbing's introduction, Chen Yan learned that this was the welcoming drum of the Heimu tribe.

For seven days leading up to the Heaven-Striking Ceremony, the bell would be struck 333 times each morning and evening at sunrise and sunset.

This is the highest level of etiquette Kuroki-be has used to welcome guests from all directions.

·
Chen Yan did not enter Blackrock City; as an outsider, he was not qualified to stay there.

Blackrock City is not large, but it is the core area of ​​the Blackwood Tribe. The tribe's priests, elders, cave masters, and Yama Kings all reside in Blackrock City, as do some of the tribe's high-ranking members.

Outsiders, even guests sent by various sects to participate in the Heaven-Piercing Ceremony, could only stay outside the city.

About 500 meters outside the city wall, a row of tall, wide, and magnificent earthen buildings was constructed. The guests from all directions attending the Heaven-Piercing Ceremony were all accommodated here.

Chen Yan was taken by the white elephant to the foot of a tulou (earthen building) that was about ten meters high. He saw many carriages and horses parked under the tulou, and dozens of flying boats of different sizes, hanging with the flags of various sects and families, on an open space in the distance.

There were demon warriors dressed in black and carrying short swords, guarding the earthen building. Each of them looked very capable, with a solemn and vigilant expression between their brows.

These were probably oni warriors on patrol, far more than Chen Yan had anticipated!

From entering the outer villages to arriving at Blackrock City, and then here... we saw at least a dozen patrolling teams of Oni warriors along the way.

Each team consists of anywhere from ten to twenty or thirty people.

At this moment, the patrolling ghost warriors seen under this earthen building number no less than a hundred!

Among them, several clearly exhibited obvious fluctuations of Yuan Qi, and Chen Yan roughly judged that the one with the strongest Yuan Qi fluctuations should have the cultivation level of the second realm—the same realm as that of the Shepherd Lord.

"Something's not right here," Chen Yan said, glancing at Gu Tongbing.

Gu Tongbing tilted his head: "Hmm, something's definitely not right. There are too many patrolling demon warriors. It seems like something big is about to happen."

It also seemed as if they were on guard against something.

Chen Yan smiled and said, "Could it be... the effect of those ambushes along the way?"

Gu Tongbing laughed as well: "That makes sense. Maybe the commotion was too loud."

After the two jumped off the white elephant, Zhanli saw another white elephant and jumped off as well, walking over.

She's a cavewoman from the Kuroki clan, a genuine high-ranking member of the Kuroki clan, so this counts as arriving at her headquarters.

Chen Yan originally wanted to say a few words of farewell, but to his surprise, Zhan Li showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he politely led Chen Yan into the earthen building.

There are at least seven or eight similar earthen buildings that accommodate guests, arranged in a straight line.

The earthen building that Zhan Li led Chen Yan and Gu Tongbing into was clearly the tallest and most magnificent in this row.

With Zhanli personally leading the way, as soon as they entered the earthen building, several ghost tribesmen in a hurry came out to greet them and respectfully bowed to Zhanli.

After Zhanli gave a few instructions in a deep voice, the few ghost clan members immediately summoned more ghost clan servants and led them upstairs to the top of the earthen building.

Chen Yan and Gu Tongbing were invited into a room on one side of the rooftop—this earthen building was shaped like the Chinese character "回" (hui), with a courtyard in the middle and the buildings inside surrounding it.

After going up the stairs to the top floor, you enter a room that is larger and more spacious than Chen Yan had imagined—mainly, it's longer!

Then, Zhan Li said something that shocked Chen Yan.

“This floor is all yours. I have already given the order that no one else is allowed to stay on this floor.”

Chen Yan was taken aback and looked at Zhan Li with a puzzled expression.

Zhan Li slowly said, "The houses on the east and west sides each occupy half of this floor, so please have Gu Jia Sanlang live on the west side..."

As she spoke, she looked at Chen Yan and said, "I'll take care of you and let you stay on the east side."

Serve me?

Chen Yan felt a chill run down his spine and immediately shook his head, saying, "There's no need to trouble you, Cave Maiden. We are already grateful for your kind escort. I imagine you will have many things to do upon returning to your headquarters, so I dare not delay you any longer."

I'm fine living here by myself.

Zhan Li shook his head: "I'll take care of you while you stay here. Nothing else is as important as this."

After she finished speaking, she turned to the ghost servants around her and gave them an order. They acknowledged and then went into the room to start cleaning and tidying up.

Before long, Zhan Li led Chen Yan into the inner room, where they saw a huge fan-shaped room with an area of ​​at least a hundred square meters.

In the center is a soft couch, with straw mats laid on the ground. Around the windows of the earthen building, there are various tables and desks, as well as wooden cabinets piled with various utensils.

There are even some unusual medicinal herbs from the Ghost Clan.

"I had them prepare a training room in the back, and I also sent someone to fetch the tools to activate the spirit gathering array. If you want to practice, you can meditate and circulate your vital energy in the training room."

Zhan Li looked at Chen Yan and said in a gentle tone, "However, this place is close to the Holy Mountain, and the primordial energy contains the metal and fire elements of the Five Elements. When moving the primordial energy, you must be careful and not force it, lest you injure your meridians."

Chen Yan frowned as he looked at Zhan Li.

Zhan Li's tone became increasingly gentle: "I have had medicinal herbs prepared, as well as a large tub for bathing. Daily medicinal baths can neutralize and dissipate the metal and fire power absorbed into your body when you are circulating your vital energy."

In addition, I also know a set of massage techniques specifically for tendons, muscles, and bones.

After your daily medicinal bath, I will personally massage you once to help disperse the medicinal effects and guide you to expel excess metal and fire energy from your body.

wait wait wait!

Massage...excretion...

No, is this massage you're offering legitimate?
Chen Yan couldn't help but twitch his eye.

“Cave Maiden, let’s get straight to the point.” Chen Yan looked around. Gu Tongbing had already gone to check on his own room, and Zhan Li’s ghost servants had been assigned to work. At this moment, only Chen Yan and she were around.

Recalling Zhan Li's strange attitude towards him along the way, Chen Yan simply asked directly, "What exactly is your purpose? Are you asking me for something by treating me this way?"

Seeing Zhanli bow his head and remain silent, Chen Yan frowned and said, "Regarding the matter of me being injured by the Shepherd, I have already received your benefits, so I will naturally keep my promise and will never talk about it again..."

Zhan Li sighed: "That matter is no longer important."

"So what exactly do you want?" Chen Yan stared at Zhan Li, then suddenly let out a deliberately strange laugh: "You wouldn't happen to have taken a fancy to me and want to recruit me as a son-in-law of the Blackwood Tribe, would you?"

"No, no, no!" Zhan Li shook his head cleanly, his tone somewhat flustered: "How could I dare let you marry into my family! No, but..."

As she spoke, she swallowed hard, her tone somewhat hesitant: "However... if you take a fancy to me, it's not impossible. I... I can also serve you in bed."

As she spoke, the female ghost, a cultivator at the Celestial Realm, gritted her teeth, her face resolute, as if she were ready to bravely sacrifice herself at any moment.

Chen Yan: "…………"

·
I took three days off, not because I didn't want to update, but because I couldn't.

Regarding my physical condition, surgery was an option for treatment, but after learning more about it, I realized that it would require me to take a complete break from work for a while, and the recovery time after surgery would be quite long. So, after careful consideration, I decided to opt for conservative treatment instead.

This way, at least I can maintain a normal state, continue writing, and maintain regular updates.

The treatment will take a while. Well, that's roughly the situation. Don't worry, it's nothing life-threatening. I'll take care of myself!

·
(End of this chapter)