Great Red Immortal Sect

Chapter 706 Jiang Xu
Yuanjing, south.

The silvery-gray plains stretched as far as the eye could see, with a cold wind howling across the vast expanse of frozen earth. Occasionally, one could spot cattle and sheep drifting like large swathes of white clouds.

【Cangyuan】is located south of Yuanjing. Continuing northeast for a long distance, after crossing the Kushi River, one enters the control area of ​​the Rebirth Path. Many people go to worship the precious temple on 【White Lotus Mountain】.

If you travel more than 100,000 li southwest from here, and cross the Guangjin Mountains, you will enter the Desolate Capital and reach the Demon Land.

A towering silver mountain stands in the middle of the plain, stretching for hundreds of miles. Its entire body gleams with a cold metallic luster, and there are holes of all sizes on it, as if evil spirits are scurrying about and ferocious beasts are lurking inside.

Various temples and altars are scattered across this mountain, and one can vaguely see cultivators dressed in iron-gray robes riding the wind through the mountains. They are all at the Foundation Establishment stage and mostly practice witchcraft and metal virtue.

Countless mortals dressed in bitter cold were below, slaughtering cattle and sheep, or moving wood and stones, making a racket that shook the heavens and caused the giant bronze lamps and candles standing nearby to sway and cast chaotic shadows.

The void shattered, revealing colorful light.

A woman in a long, colorful silk dress stepped out, a hint of emotion on her pretty face. She looked down at the countless men, women, and children below, their bodies mangled and their clothes tattered, totaling a million, all serving in the military.

These are all lowly people conscripted from various departments.

Liao's territory is vast, far surpassing that of Li, but in terms of sacred mountains and blessed lands, spiritual veins and mysteries, it is far inferior to Da Li. Even in ancient times, this place was always inhabited by barbarians and foreign tribes, with scarce resources and provisions.

If this is true for immortals and demons, what about mortals? The Central Plains are a rich land where one can simply scatter a handful of seeds and wait for the harvest. But the Liaodong region is mostly permafrost with little arable land. How can it support the cultivation of grains and livestock?

Tuoba Cai suddenly found it somewhat laughable.

Was she insane, thinking about such things? But then she felt a pang of irony; with her mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivation, given some time, she could easily destroy this entire wasteland.

But she just couldn't conjure up a single bite to eat or a single piece of clothing.

Perhaps someone could do it, but they are unwilling. Bei Liao is the place where Yi Wood resides, and it should bear many flowers and fruits, but now the grains are abandoned, weeds grow, and poisonous flowers bloom.

No wonder Buddhist monks can flourish here. Who can these mortals rely on? Immortals, demons, or even the imperial family? The people of Silver Mountain are governed by the most orthodox imperial blood.

The former altar of Yelü, the "Silver King" of the Liao Dynasty, is now the site of the Great Ancestral Spirit Sacrifice.

A faint yellowish-white light flickered between the woman's brows, which she smoothed out with her hand. Her thoughts gradually calmed down, and she flew towards the highest peak of the silver mountain.

The gleaming silver peak soared into the clouds, unshaken by the fierce winds. At its summit stood a magnificent temple built of black iron, its doors radiating a grayish-brown light, resembling a star in the heavens.

Tuoba Cai's body was bathed in a veil of rosy light, which blocked the surging, iron-gray radiance. She stood quietly before them and simply said:

"Tuoba Cai, by order of the King of Wei, has come here to request an audience."

As she finished speaking, the portal suddenly opened, revealing countless evil and ferocious beasts that roared and rushed into the sky, blocking out the sunlight. Finally, a voice as cold as iron could be heard from within.

"Come in."

Tuoba Cai calmed his mind and stepped inside.

The temple was extremely cold. In front of it was a very tall altar, filled with hundreds of lamps and candles. The light was a ghostly blue, extremely cold, and seemed to illuminate even one's soul.

On that altar stood a statue cast in mithril, its face extremely ugly, half-beast and half-human, draped in a dark robe covered with patterns of countless evil beasts, as if endless demons and monsters resided within, ready to surge into the mortal realm at any moment.

A blue falcon perched on the shoulder of the statue, its pupils like stars, exuding divine might. Just by looking over, Tuoba Cai couldn't help but feel his throat tighten.

Above the altar, which was covered with cold candles, stood a wooden plaque inscribed with the words "[Silver Harm Spirit Sacrifice to the Supreme God]".

Suddenly, the statue began to tremble, causing the iron-gray energy to surge and the candlelight to flicker. Then, the statue disappeared, and a man in a dark robe, carrying a blue falcon on his shoulder, emerged and stood below the altar.

This man possessed an extremely noble air, with skin as white as porcelain and handsome features, yet his eyes held a lingering, chilling aura that was terrifying to behold.

"So you're a descendant of the Tuoba nobility, quite a rare guest indeed."

Yelü Tan's tone was slightly cold and unfriendly, and his aura as a peak Purple Mansion cultivator was slightly revealed, which was extremely astonishing.

'Cultivating the "Spiritual Spirit" path and becoming an ancestral spirit in the Nian Kingdom indeed brought additional benefits; my cultivation level was not diminished at all, but rather improved.'

Tuoba Cai's heart stirred, and he felt a pang of emotion.

Within the Nian Kingdom below the Emperor, there are thirty-six divine positions, bestowed upon various families, for those nearing the end of their lifespan to enter and transform into gods. However, there are drawbacks for cultivators other than the Three Witches who enter.

Therefore, apart from the three witch cultivators, the highest level of cultivators that this Nian Kingdom can accommodate is the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm. Once they cultivate the Five Virtues or reach the Four Divine Powers, there is absolutely no possibility of them transforming into ancestral spirits.

Currently, there are only three ancestral spirits in Konoha's sacred mountain who have reached the perfection of the Five Laws, and this Spirit Sacrifice Great Shaman is one of them.

These thirty-six ancestral spirits sound impressive, but once they enter the Nian Kingdom, their lives are no longer in their own hands, and they can no longer continue their cultivation. They are like Vajras in Buddhism and Taoism, only they retain their immortal supernatural powers and magic.

'If the void is sealed off and the connection severed, my brother could easily kill ten or so of them.'

Tuoba Cai had considered entering the Divine Mountain back then, after all, her family was an ancient imperial clan and had a quota, but in the end she decided against it. After all, entering the Demon Land would allow her to continue cultivating and there was still hope for obtaining gold, while transforming into the Nian Kingdom and becoming an ancestral spirit was a true dead end.

As her mind settled, she took a scroll of paintings and presented it to the other party.

"I have come here on my elder brother's orders to deliver a scroll of paintings to the Great Shaman."

Lingji's gaze shifted slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.

The blue falcon on his shoulder immediately swooped down and transformed into a divine general clad in lapis lazuli armor, with a stern face and a golden sword at his waist. He strode forward, took the scroll, and handed it to its master.

Lingji gently shook the scroll, unfurling it to reveal a desolate, blue-green wasteland. The sky was vast and the night was bright with few stars. On the edge of this wasteland, a pair of dark red pupils, as large as mountains, could be faintly seen, as if wolves were lurking.

At the end of this scroll, you can see a seal, yellow and white with a glow, shaped like a black horse, and you can vaguely make out the ancient characters "Tuoba" from the Yuan Wei period.

"This is the 'Sirius Fuyuan Map,' which was created by my elder brother when he ascended Mount Konoha and surveyed the northern lands. It was done to commemorate the past and is now presented to the Great Shaman."

"What a magnificent painting! Combined with divine power, it might truly summon the Heavenly Wolf. To possess such wondrous abilities before even reaching full power—truly worthy of the title 'Earth'."

Ling Ji's heart pounded. He keenly sensed what was sealed within this painting. If released, it might truly manifest the form of an ancient celestial wolf.

The Tuoba clan now resides in the "Baiyun Blessed Land" south of Shengjing, where they have been in hiding for many years. If it weren't for an important figure intervening to protect them, they would probably have been completely wiped out.

Even so, this clan could hardly hope to regain control of Yundai and could only remain trapped in the blessed land.

But then Tuoba Jue appeared!
If we were to name the most renowned prodigy in the Liao Dynasty today, there would be a general consensus.

The first one is naturally that Heavenly Pivot Sword Immortal. Even with only four supernatural powers, he was able to defeat General Feng Yan, who had the strongest physique in Northern Liao. He also made the head of the Rebirth Daoist [Tian Tan Ban] bow down with a single sword strike, suppressing no one in the White Lotus Pure Land to dare to step forward.

Now that he has gone to the ruins of the ancient Heavenly Court, the Wilderness, for seclusion, he is probably not far from perfection.

The second one is the King of Wei of the Tuoba clan, whose Taoist name is Yuan Jue. He is the successor of the Sheji Demonic Path and cultivates the Jitu. The Jitu, which is recorded by the Grand Historian, is the first of the five virtues in terms of the wonders of the immortal transformations!
There were quite a few people who challenged this King of Wei, including Helian Changchuan of the Tiefu tribe, Murong Kong of the Murong family, and even Xiao Yi, the crown prince of Liao, who was most valued by the emperor.

Therefore, the reputation of this King of Wei grew higher and higher, and people said that he had the style of Emperor Taizu of Wei, Tuoba Yuanye.

The remaining figures are mostly inferior to these two, such as Xiao Yi, the Crown Prince of Liao, Cheng Dui Zhenren of the Si Bai lineage, Bai Lian Seng of the Rebirth Path, and Chou Xi Jian Xian, who fell into the hands of Tai Zhen. They are all second-rate figures.

Lingji came from the Yelü tribe and had little connection with the Tuoba family, but this Prince of Wei's calligraphy was truly rare, so he became more patient and smiled:
"If there is anything that I, Yelü Tan, need to do, Master Yuancai, may speak frankly."

Tuoba Cai's Daoist name was Yuan Cai, but it had been a long time since anyone had addressed her as such. She slowly took out a glass bottle from her bosom, which contained a drop of silver blood that emitted lightning.

"I have heard that the Great Shaman possesses a supreme treasure of the Unifying Demonic Path and is also skilled in discerning the origins of bloodlines, so I would like to ask the Great Shaman to test this drop of blood."

As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the temple turned cold. "This must be a scheme by the Delightful Desire Realm."

A hint of anger flickered across Ling Ji's porcelain-like face as she coldly handed over the scroll, saying:

"I respect the blood relatives of the King of Wei, descendants of the Tuoba Emperor, not demons! What have you done in the Land of Delightful Desire? You abandoned Tieyuan, he is my grand-nephew!"

"?"

Tuoba Cai's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood.

This is a price increase.

Yelü Tieyuan was merely a member of a collateral branch of the bloodline, of extremely low birth. If he hadn't been fortunate enough to inherit the Luo Cang legacy, he would probably only be a minor general on the frontier now.

It should be known that these tribes place the greatest emphasis on bloodline. As an ancestor of the Yelü clan, Yelü Tan would not care about a prince from a collateral branch.

Even Tie Sui was someone Yelü pushed out to deal with Li Guo, and they probably wished he would die for his country. Now, many members of the Yelü family in the court are using this matter to their advantage.

"I wonder what the Great Shaman's requirements are? I will do my best to fulfill them."

"It's not a big deal."

The spirit priest's expression softened slightly, all traces of his previous anger gone. He then calmly said:

"I am currently lacking a Purple Mansion-level Water Transformation Pool to nurture demons. If you could help me with this, I would be grateful."

"can."

Tuoba Cai agreed very decisively. These were all minor matters. You should know that among all the water-transforming spirits in the world, apart from Pudu in the South Sea, the one in her place, Leyu, had the most.

'It's too low.'

Ling Ji paused slightly, regretting that he should have asked for even one fruit from the Mother and Child Tree. However, he hesitated to speak further, as he only had one captured grand-nephew.

He took the glass bottle and glanced at it briefly, then made up his mind.

"This is... the blood of that Sword Immortal who pierced through tribulations, Xu Xuan, the True Man Xu?"

"good."

Tuoba Cai's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he said in a deep voice:

I said I wanted to see his background.

"The Xu family bloodline originated from the Jiang family. To understand the Xu family, we must look within the Jiang family."

Ling Ji was in no hurry to use the Blood Qi Treasure. Instead, he looked at the drop of silver blood and leisurely began to explain the origins of the Xu surname.

"The Jiang family is a prestigious clan in the world, known as 'Golden Fire Illuminating the World.' They are descendants of ancient sage kings and have made great contributions in assisting the Zhou dynasty and overthrowing the Xia dynasty. Now, a great man of the Jiang family occupies the position of the Golden Virtue."

He coughed and continued:

“Back then, a branch of the Jiang family descended to establish a separate state and changed their surname to Xu, which is the origin of this surname.”

Tuoba Cai's heart stirred, but he never imagined that the Xu surname could be related to the Jiang family.

The Wang, Xie, Zhang, Li, Jiang, Yang, Wei, and Tao families are all prominent clans in the world, far surpassing even ordinary Golden Core Immortal clans. To put it bluntly, even the Tuoba clan would feel inferior to them.

The great shaman slowly took out a strangely shaped, stacked blood jade plate, on which were carved the true forms of all spirits and various patterns of ancient people's sacrifices, radiating an irresistible bloody and demonic light.

"The Xu family has never produced a True Lord level figure, but they do possess quite a few powerful supernatural abilities."

Lingji gently lifted the [Reunion Bloodline Plate], simultaneously shattering the glass bottle, taking out the drop of silver blood, and slowly guiding it onto the plate.

"In the Yan Dynasty, there was General Xu Junye, who was a disciple of the Tiandai Demon Sect and was the rightful successor of the Youdai lineage; in the Wei Dynasty, there was Grand Alchemist Xu Juling, who studied Taoism in Doutian and transformed pills into human form, attracting the attention of the True Lord; and there was also Xu Han, the number one sword immortal of the Great Feng Dynasty, who was of this surname. He reached the peak of the Fire Realm and was known as the number one in the Feng Dynasty in terms of killing power."

As the highest-ranking member of the Yelü clan, Yelü Tan entered the sacred mountain of Muye when the emperor attained enlightenment at the time of his death, and has lived there ever since, knowing a great many secrets.

"Sword Immortal, truly a legacy passed down through generations."

Tuoba Cai shook his head slightly, not expecting that the Xu family could trace back to find another sword immortal, or even the Supreme Fire Sword Immortal. Perhaps there was only one like him in history. No wonder he was known as the number one killer in Fengdai, where the immortal path was flourishing.

The spirit priest's gaze grew increasingly cautious. He chanted a spell, slowly peeling away the lightning from the drop of silver blood. This process was extremely troublesome and required his full concentration.

You must understand that She Lei is meant to kill witches, demons, and evil spirits, but he has been caught in all of them. Right now, he can only rely on his cultivation level to do this.

After a short while, the silver light on this drop of blood finally faded, turning crimson, slowly echoing the [Bloodline Plate of Unity] below.

At the same time, Ling Ji's figure gradually became illusory, faintly echoing the Nian Kingdom. Since he knew the origin of the Xu family, he naturally had to be much more cautious.

If we trace it back to the head of the Jiang clan, even a fallen True Lord could make him suffer a lot, let alone the one still in power.

Although with the Shepherd Emperor present, it was impossible for him to do anything to the Spirit Sacrifice, but since it involved the True Lord, it was best to be cautious. If anything unusual happened, he would immediately return to the Nian Kingdom and sever all ties.

The drop of blood gradually merged into the [Bloodline Plate of Unity], and the blood light intensified, with the flow of Dao energy. As the spirit sacrifice's witchcraft was activated, there was no movement on the plate, and no golden fire light appeared.

"It seems that he only has the character 'Xu' in his name, but his bloodline is too far off and he has no relation to the Jiang family."

The spirit sacrifice was completely immersed in this precious plate, sensing the blood. You must know that the wonderful use of this [Reunion Bloodline Plate] is to determine whether there were any great figures in his ancestors through bloodline sensing.

The fact that there has been no movement at all is enough to show that Xu Xuan's bloodline is nothing more than ordinary. It is likely that the Xu family bloodline in Chiyun County is even more mixed and has no connection with the Golden Fire Ginger.

"Alright, you're happy now—"

His mind drifted away from the treasure plate, and he raised his head to speak, but suddenly froze. Before his eyes, there seemed to be endless pure energy surging, palaces scattered, hanging high in the clouds, and at the highest point in the sky, a golden sun hung high, shining brightly.

"Hengyi Star!"

Ling Ji was horrified. He was absolutely certain that this was the Hengyi that the Great Xia Xi Hua Demon Lord once ruled, and the Yang Star that the Heng Guang True Lord sent into the Big Dipper!
"No, that's not right. His surname is Xu, not Feng. How could he possibly have offended this True Lord Yan Dai?"

A golden-white chariot, radiating light, passed by in the sky. Nine dragons pulled the chariot, and the one holding the reins was a jade spirit, whose supernatural powers were subtly activated as he swept his gaze toward this place.

"Who are you, daring to trespass into the Celestial Realm!"

The deity roared, startling the spirit priest into shrinking back.

In this pure aura, all his magical power and supernatural abilities dissipated and became ineffective, making him no different from an ordinary person. Now, seeing this divine being, he was utterly powerless to resist.

"How did a mere shaman enter my celestial realm?"

A cold male voice came from the carriage. The golden light of Shaoyang surged and transformed into thousands of flowers, swaying in the wind. The aura of the peak of the Purple Mansion was slightly revealed, instantly suppressing Lingji.

The ancestral spirit of the Yelü clan was terrified, as if it had seen a ghost.

'Shaoyang! There is a cultivator at the peak of the Shaoyang realm in this place!'

(End of this chapter)