Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 208, 207 Spirit Pool, Crimson Dragon (I was carsick and nauseous all day, so I only reached 4,000 today)

"You reacted so quickly?"

Li Cunxiao's heart stirred, and he slowly began to explore the second floor.

The demons on this level are significantly stronger than those on the first level.

Judging from their auras alone, they are roughly similar to Yuanguang, a disciple of Dezheng, though some are stronger and some are weaker.

The waist badges worn by these people were either "Left Guard Yiwei" or "Xiaoguo Guard Yiwei".

After returning last time, Li Cunxiao knew that he would return again sooner or later, so he did a lot of preparation.

The Left Guard and the Valiant Guard were both imperial guards of the former Zhou dynasty, selected from the most elite soldiers among the local militia.

From top to bottom, they are general, lieutenant general, captain, and guard.

In fact, due to the special nature of the Fifth Realm True Form, soldiers at this level generally do not hold specific duties.

Therefore, those on the dragon boat are either demons who have taken on their true forms, or they have fallen from the sixth realm of the Heavenly Ladder.

The latter's waist tag reads "Left Guard Captain" and "Valiant Guard Captain".

These two imperial guards were led by Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng respectively.

Ironically, the two imperial guards that were supposed to be the most loyal and last line of defense for the Great Zhou Emperor both betrayed him in the end.

"My master once said that the spirit of a grandmaster-level martial artist is so powerful that it can even influence the emotions of others."

"This Dragon Boat Secret Realm is so sealed off that even if these soldiers and palace maids can remain conscious at first, I'm afraid that over the years, they will either go crazy from being cooped up or have their minds corrupted by these great demons like Yang Ying."

Li Cunxiao walked cautiously through the second-floor pavilion. The presence of the Wind and Fire Wheels concealed his figure, and he made no sound as he rose and fell.

The second floor appears to be used for banquets; most of the rooms are quite empty, but there seems to be a lot of fermented rice wine stored there.

The collection includes white jade wine jars, gold wine jugs inlaid with gemstones, and other items, as well as some food items that appear to be still brightly colored but have turned into fossils upon closer inspection.

In addition to the soldiers, there were also many demons dressed as palace maids. Although they were dressed in tight-fitting men's clothing, unlike the palace maids with their flowing sleeves, they had a very similar feeling of being outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

"With one strike, five or six demons can fill the Vajra Pestle once."

Li Cunxiao was itching to explore, and with great difficulty suppressing his restlessness, he carefully circled around the second level to investigate.

There are priorities in everything. If I can help my two masters take down the Spirit Treasure Dragon Boat, then I can come in at any time to kill the demon and obtain the evil energy.

Conversely, if one acts impulsively at this moment, the best one can achieve is to bring the Immovable Black Dragon Sword to its perfect state.

The commotion from the battle would surely alert Yang Ying and the other powerful demons, rendering the entire operation a failure.

At that point, we'll have to rely on what Qici and Taiyi said, and even if we win the dragon boat, it might not be easy to divide the spoils.

"not here?"

After walking around, Li Cunxiao discovered that the bone-revealing mirror only emitted a faint warmth in the area between the second and third floors.

Clearly, the core of the dragon boat lies in a higher level.

"The demons above are probably all at the level of the abbots of Tiangu Temple."

They arrived silently at the entrance to the third level. Here, humans and demons were much fewer in number, but the armor and weapons were visibly superior, faintly radiating the aura of magical treasures.

The lamellar armor, exuding a strong aura of menace, was edged with brocade, and the helmet with its rolled-up neck was adorned with brightly colored feathers, making the whole garment look exceptionally magnificent.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, one can see that the demon's eyes are not entirely a chaotic crimson, but rather contain a hint of rationality.

This can be seen from the fact that the demons intentionally kept a certain distance and did not wander around or groan.

Li Cunxiao became even more cautious. If he dared not fight on the second level, he simply could not fight on the third level.

If a dozen or so sixth-realm demons attacked together, they would probably take his life in an instant.

The mirror in his chest gradually began to heat up, indicating that he was approaching the core of the spiritual treasure.

Following the faint, almost imperceptible sensation, Li Cunxiao was surprised to discover that the route led directly to the Huizhen Pavilion, which he had visited before.

But this time, almost every room had a powerful human-demon guard at its door.

Unable to walk on the ground, Li Cunxiao simply hung upside down like a spider, scurrying through the gaps in the ceiling and beams.

The same route, which only took a few dozen breaths last time, took a quarter of an hour this time, and we still hadn't reached the halfway point.

"As expected, Master was right. Last time, I was able to find the Seven Treasures Lotus Seeds without any obstacles because Yang Ying gave me the green light."

"Otherwise, those demons on the second floor alone would be enough to give me a hard time."

With this in mind, Li Cunxiao became even more cautious in his actions.

With intense focus, the control of true energy became more meticulous than ever before, and little by little, they reached the depths of the third level.

To his astonishment, when the heat of the Bone-Illuminating Mirror reached a certain limit, it stopped changing, and what appeared before him was the Seven Treasures Lotus Pond he had visited before.

"Is something wrong?"

Li Cunxiao had some doubts, but when he remembered that he hadn't brought a bone-revealing mirror with him when he came last time, he felt relieved.

Qici and Taiyi had told him that Lingbao was originally innate, and could be said to be a manifestation of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. It was formless and without substance, and only Grandmasters or even Great Grandmasters were qualified to capture it.

Only through acquired training and the aid of rare and precious materials can one create a spiritual treasure and make it one's own.

Spiritual artifacts are already known as divine weapons, possessing the characteristic of choosing their master; spiritual treasures, which are even more advanced, need no further explanation.

If the latter hides, their traces will be extremely difficult to find.

If Li Cunxiao hadn't used the Golden Lotus, causing fluctuations in his aura that alerted Yang Ying, who was already trying to escape the secret realm, to take advantage of the situation...

It remains to be seen how long it will take for Qici and Taiyi to find the dragon boat.

"Compared to when I left last time, there's no change. No clues."

His fingers, covered in Flaming True Qi, caressed the beams and pillars inch by inch.

Unable to reach a conclusion immediately, Li Cunxiao simply squatted down, and his crimson true energy flowed from his fingertips like water, covering the entire area except for the central Seven Treasures Pool.

After a while, until his face turned somewhat pale, he quickly took out a few pills from his pocket and swallowed them.

Feeling his true energy rapidly recovering, he couldn't help but frown.

"At this point, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror's perception has stopped changing. Unless we go to another level. But that's impossible. Grandmaster Yang Ying's strength is not to be underestimated; he will definitely be discovered."

“But if the core of the spiritual treasure is here, I have already explored every inch of the surrounding area.”

"If I had to name one, it would be the Seven Treasures Pond, but isn't that a place for cultivating lotus seeds?"

"Fine, let's try again. If it doesn't work, we'll just have to go around and kill a dozen or so demons to fill the Vajra Pestle and then leave."

As I stepped into the pool, gentle ripples spread outwards.

Li Cunxiao waited patiently for a moment, and after confirming that there were no strange noises coming from the fourth floor, he squatted down and lay prone.

The pool water, half a meter deep, gradually submerged his entire body. Thanks to the "unimpeded coming and going" characteristic after his transformation into a celestial being, he could breathe and see without any hindrance underwater.

At the bottom of this pool is a thick layer of golden sand. If you scoop up a handful at random, you can see its slightly reddish hue in the faint light reflected in the water.

"Purple gold? Tsk tsk tsk, truly worthy of being the emperor's private collection."

Li Cunxiao felt a pang of emotion, but the alchemy and treasure appraisal techniques passed down from Taiyi told him that these gold sands, like the water in the pool, had lost their spiritual essence.

The rest are just ordinary things.

The pool wasn't very big; a quick visual search revealed nothing.

Having anticipated this, Li Cunxiao resorted to his old trick, releasing his true energy through the wind wheel, stirring up small whirlpools at the bottom of the pool.

True Qi is the condensation of blood, flesh, essence, and vital energy, exhaled and exhaled by the deity.

While it may seem like refining essence into qi, in reality, the generation of true qi is inseparable from the role of the spirit.

Ultimately, the demon itself is nothing more than a combination of a martial artist's evil intentions and demonic elixirs.

Before the demon's true form is revealed, a martial artist wields the demon as if it were a tool.

Various supernatural abilities that are difficult for martial artists to achieve on their own are accomplished by relying on demons.

After revealing their true forms, humans and demons merge into one, and the demon's innate supernatural power becomes the martial artist's innate supernatural power.

After Li Cunxiao achieved perfection in the Twelve Classics of the Yellow Court, his pursuit of Great Perfection was actually a process of prematurely merging with the Demon Lord.

Otherwise, how could the so-called true qi take on various forms at will? It is precisely because the martial artist's spirit and will permeate it, and the essence, qi and spirit have been initially integrated.

At this moment, Li Cunxiao used the wind wheel as a guide to transform his true energy into dozens or even hundreds of whirlwinds. Although his hazy perception did not become clear all at once, at least the range of his perception expanded considerably.

When the area reached a certain limit, the bone-revealing mirror suddenly began to glow faintly.

Li Cunxiao felt a sudden burning sensation in his chest. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a hazy space, which felt very similar to the experience when Taiyi and Qici entered his dream.

Within this seemingly real yet unreal space, there is a very large and strange object.

It is large at the bottom and small at the top, resembling two cones. The overall texture is like celadon, exuding a hazy color.

At first glance, Li Cunxiao felt it was both familiar and strange. If he had to find a description, this thing was like...
"Like an inverted wine glass?!"

"Wait a minute, isn't the bottom of this cup the Seven Treasures Lotus Pond?"

Li Cunxiao suddenly realized something, and immediately felt as if the world had turned upside down.

Countless lights and shadows spun before his eyes, and the next moment, he found himself in a lake that was dozens or even hundreds of times larger than the Seven Treasure Lotus Pond.

The moment his body submerged in the lake, an astonishingly powerful surge of spiritual energy poured into him from every pore. He could barely contain his impulse and immediately wanted to break through to the Great Perfection of the Yellow Court.

However, the Great Asura Weapon Technique is not yet perfected. If he only makes breakthroughs like this, he will not be able to condense a more expansive sea of ​​qi.

"Where exactly is this place?"

Having barely managed to suppress his impulse, Li Cunxiao didn't leave empty-handed. He swallowed all three bottles of Qi-accumulating pills in his arms and quickly refilled the empty bottles.

After finishing these tasks, he slightly activated his inner energy and walked step by step from the water to the lake surface, looking around.

Judging from the scene we just saw, this lake is like a magnified Seven Treasures Lotus Pond, a true essence hidden deep beneath.

The lotus pond above is actually just the bottom of this "wine cup," containing only a small portion of it.

So this is it.
Wow~
He no longer needed to make wild guesses; in the middle of the lake before him, a waterline stretched from the distance all the way to his front.

Then, like a curtain, it was pulled open to both sides, revealing a crimson expanse like the sun.

Golden luster adorned every armor-like scale, while the thick, powerful dragon claws gripped the lake water, easily shaking and parting it.

Only a forked dragon horn first emerged from the water, followed by a ferocious yet majestic dragon head.

The enormous golden eyes were like two great suns; although they had no temperature, he felt as if his very soul was being warmed.

"Isn't this the spirit of the dragon boat?"

Li Cunxiao felt an indescribable excitement. The shock of seeing it up close before was completely different from the fleeting glimpse he had seen from afar.

He still remembered that the spirit of the dragon boat almost single-handedly fought against Grandmaster Yang Ying.

Even with Taiyi and Qici taking action to restrain it later, such power was still enough to awe people.

A single spiritual treasure is already comparable to a grandmaster. If he could have a spiritual treasure to protect him, wouldn't he be considered half a grandmaster?!

The crimson dragon-shaped artifact spirit calmly gazed at the human before it, its eyes seemingly filled with curiosity, but mostly with peace and goodwill.

A circular reflection emerged from the other person's chest and drifted slowly and steadily towards them.

The enormous red dragon, seemingly out of curiosity, stretched out its claw and gently poked at something.

The light and shadow shattered, transforming into countless tiny talismans that adhered to the scales of the dragon's claws.

"Roar!!!!!"

The long chant exploded in his ears, and Li Cunxiao felt a darkness before his eyes, and a warm sensation flowed from his ears.

At that moment, he thought it was Taiyi Zhenren's backup plan that had angered the spirit of the artifact.

However, the dizzying sensation returned, and the moment their feet touched the deck, a gust of wind swept over them.

Even though he was dizzy and his hearing was temporarily impaired, Li Cunxiao had a strong intuition.

Grip the sword with your backhand, turn sideways, step forward, and slash!

The stench was instantly evaporated by the fiery sword energy. Before he could even open his eyes, Li Cunxiao relied entirely on his intuition and unleashed seven consecutive slashes, each one delivering the tangible sensation of cutting through flesh.

Until a chilling feeling ran through him, he retreated three zhang without hesitation, the Wind and Fire Wheels spinning and flying beneath his feet, instantly carrying him into the sky.

"You dare to covet my priceless treasure, you little thief!!!!"

Yang Ying's roar exploded in the dark void. At this moment, Li Cunxiao's five senses finally returned to normal. The first thing he saw was the red dragon and the Thousand-Hand Guanyin confronting each other in the void.

Beneath him lay pools of exploded flesh and blood on the deck, and standing among them were magnificently armored demons.

The bright red feathers stood upright, and the words "Left Guard Captain" on the waist badge were clearly visible.

"A sixth-realm demon, that was close!"

Li Cunxiao's vest was soaked with cold sweat. Seeing that the task was already completed, he showed no sign of delaying.

He mentally summoned the Bone-Illuminating Mirror within his body, eager to escape the secret realm.

Until an extremely cold aura suddenly spread out from somewhere in the void without warning.

"Your Majesty, why can't you just behave for a little while longer?"

(End of this chapter)