Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 209, 208 Cave Mystery Scripture, Sweet Dew Flavor (6,000 words)

Yuwen Jian?
A chilling aura permeated the air, instantly sketching out a lotus-like hell in the dark void.

The extreme cold erodes the skin, causing the souls of the dead to wander, their skin to turn red and purple, crack and expose the bone, and blisters to bloom like lotus flowers, a truly tragic sight.

For a fleeting moment, Li Cunxiao even felt his thoughts frozen, and his body seemed to lose all sensation, unable to take any action.

The body forged through countless trials, the true energy flowing like a torrent in the martial world, the divine weapon refined just a few hours ago—all of it seemed to have vanished. All the effort seemed to have been in vain, to the point that the martial prowess he was once so proud of had completely disappeared.

Fortunately, the bone-revealing mirror on his chest heated up in time, and a warm current enveloped his entire body. At the same time, a strong sensation arose in Li Cunxiao's heart.

As the sense of control over his true energy and blood returned to his body, he vaguely saw on the other side of the Bone-Illuminating Mirror that Qici and Taiyi were on high alert, each with a Dharma image that had not yet been fully released behind them.

This is not an illusion.

"Huh? So there was a backup plan. No wonder a junior at the Yellow Court Realm dared to venture into this dangerous place."

Yuwen Jian looked behind Li Cunxiao and saw a golden light form a circle, revealing the figures of a fat man and a thin man, a monk and a Taoist priest. He was somewhat surprised, but then made no further move.
"Fellow Daoists, I have no ill intentions. I just want to know the current situation of the world."

As he spoke, the icy Eightfold Hell subsided, eventually transforming into a handsome young man in his early thirties, wearing a purple robe over silver armor and sporting a warm, gentle smile.

Qi Ci and Tai Yi remained vigilant even after hearing this, and only breathed a sigh of relief when Li Cunxiao passed through the light circle and returned to the cave.

"Nothing has changed in the world today; it's just the rise and fall of dynasties and the suffering of the people."

The senior monk spoke slowly, as if he said something, yet also as if he said nothing at all.

'Baldy Thief'

Yuwen Jian cursed inwardly and glanced at Yang Ying, who was still entangled with the dragon boat spirit.

Although the latter looked furious, he could sense that the other party's offensive had obviously eased, which must have been because they had been distracted by the conversation on this side. In fact, that scoundrel Sima Fufeng was also secretly watching.

In this secret realm, there is no sun, moon, or stars, no changing of the seasons; countless years have passed.

Yang Ying, the tyrant, was the strongest, but he was also the first to go mad and become possessed by demons.

The Grandmaster's manic emotions spread, inevitably affecting others.

Day after day, he sat listlessly in the dark void and on the empty dragon boat, with no relatives or friends, and no enemies in front of him.

After hundreds of years of loneliness, they finally have a chance to escape their cage. How could they not be tempted?

"Fellow Daoist, your perfunctory attitude is far too insincere."

Yuwen Jian's smile turned into a hint of sorrow, but he secretly began to gather his strength.

"The years in the secret realm are different from those in the outside world. I have wasted countless years in this dark and sunless place."

"It's obvious without even guessing that all the old friends from back then have passed away."

"But I always long to see the wind, frost, rain, and snow of this land again."

It must be said that these words were spoken with sincerity, and Li Cunxiao could not find any flaws in them for the time being.

But some people don't need any flaws.

"Take one last look? And while we're at it, slaughter a few more cities to replenish our blood supply?"

Qi Ci's face was full of sneers, and Taiyi pointed disdainfully at the dragon boat in the distance:

"The dragon boat's treasures are either guarded by the artifact spirit or seized by Yang Ying. Yuwen Jian, your true essence should be almost gone, right?"

"Otherwise, why would a frivolous young master speak so politely?"

In his youth, Yuwen Jian disregarded the law and often rode a tall horse, carrying a bow and slingshot, galloping along the main road of Xijing, earning him the nickname "frivolous young master".

However, he grew up with Crown Prince Yang Ying and his father was a high-ranking official. Even though he later violated the law by trading with the northern barbarians, he was only imprisoned for a few months and spared death, and his father was given a slave.

Li Cunxiao had read about this man's deeds in historical records. It can be said that Yuwen Jian was a typical playboy, whose life was full of arrogance and absurdity.

Such a person cannot be considered innocent simply because the person he murdered happened to be a tyrant.

On the contrary, this struggle between the emperor and his minister was nothing more than dogs fighting each other!

Seeing their reactions, Yuwen Jian's face darkened instantly. His icy true energy erupted, and his figure broke through countless obstacles in a flash, approaching the closing Bone-Illuminating Mirror.
"You scoundrel, what are you waiting for! Don't you want to leave this godforsaken place?!"

"Noisy."

The enormous Asura Dharma form with three heads and six arms suddenly appeared. Sima Fufeng was even closer to the light circle opened by the Bone-Illuminating Mirror than Yuwen Jian, clearly indicating that he had been secretly lying in wait for some time.

However, at this moment, as soon as they made their move, six enormous arms wielding knives, spears, swords, and halberds struck like mountains, creating surging waves of air.

The tornado-like airflow roared, even engulfing the floating humans and demons in the void.

When Li Cunxiao saw the demons raining down on him like a storm, his expression changed immediately, and he hid behind his two masters.

Just kidding, although he really wants the evil energy, he has to be alive to get it.

"I was prepared for this."

Without hesitation, Taiyi drew his bow with his left hand, and the golden light condensed on the bow arm as his right thumb flicked, forming a dazzling arrow of light that was impossible to look directly at.

swoosh~
I heard a sound that sounded like a hallucination, but there was no sound at all.

From Li Cunxiao's perspective, the bone-revealing mirror that had left his body was like a screen, while Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng were like monsters in some kind of game.

As soon as the arrow was fired, it pierced through the screen, and the icy blue hell was instantly pushed away, with faint roars of resentment still audible.

Meanwhile, the senior monk showed no sign of panic as the three heads and six arms grew ever larger.

He stretched out his ten chubby white fingers and intertwined them with remarkable dexterity.

The two ring fingers in the center are upright, the right index finger and the left middle finger are joined together, the right thumb and the left little finger are joined together, the left thumb and the right little finger are joined together, and the left index finger and the right middle finger are joined together.

The moment the hand seal was formed, an indescribable pressure emanated from the head monk.

Those intertwined hands seemed to contain the weight of an entire world.

In that world, Mount Sumeru hangs upside down in the sky, and below, between the four continents, lies an endless ocean.

As Qici made a gentle pushing motion, the enormous Asura Dharma image, tens of feet tall, within the light screen appeared to be impacted by a heavy object, and was instantly pushed far backward.

Meanwhile, the demons that flew in from the side all turned into bursts of blood flowers, and for a moment the Bone-Illuminating Mirror was filled with a scarlet color.

Li Cunxiao clicked his tongue in amazement, while simultaneously feeling a pang of heartache:

If all these demons were allowed to absorb the evil energy, not only would the Black Dragon Sword and the Great Asura Weapon Technique be perfected, but all the hundreds of martial arts in the Heavenly Drum Temple could also be perfected!

"Two useless fools! They can't even kill the king, and they can't even escape!"

The Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Demon naturally witnessed this scene and couldn't help but roar repeatedly.

Losing the Seven Treasures Lotus Seeds was bad enough, but seeing that even the chance to escape the secret realm was about to be lost again, the thousand-plus eyes on Yang Ying's Dharma Image suddenly emitted a scarlet, viscous light.

From a distance, it looks like a Bodhisattva weeping blood, eerie and chilling.

As he moved, the entire secret realm began to shake violently, as if it were about to disintegrate at any moment.

To the surprise of Li Cunxiao and his two disciples, Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng were even more anxious than they were.

The icy blue and cyan-black colors instantly transformed into streams of light, rushing towards the Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin demon as the Crimson Dragon retreated.

The fierce battle capsized all the small boats in the void, some even turning into fragments.

However, Yang Ying's Guanyin Demon Form became more and more courageous in battle, even withstanding the pressure from two grandmasters, Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng, and captured the Crimson Dragon.

The pitch-black hands, like shadows, grasped the golden-red scales, as if flesh had grasped red-hot iron, exhibiting a violent repulsive reaction.

Dozens or even hundreds of hands swept across the red dragon's body, and glistening "blood" splattered into the sky from the wounds.

As soon as these "blood" appeared, Yang Ying and his two ministers immediately forgot about fighting and instead rushed to grab the scattered crystals.

"Ah~"

As if he had consumed some supreme wine, Yuwen Jian let out a satisfied sigh, and his aura slowly returned. Sima Fufeng and Yang Ying showed the same reaction.

Especially the latter, the bloodlust in those hundreds and thousands of scarlet eyes had faded considerably.

"Is this... the Seven Treasure Pool where the artifact spirit resides?"

Li Cunxiao looked at the "wound" that had become illusory due to the tearing, and the skeleton of the huge dragon boat flashed by, revealing a somewhat familiar scene.

Before I could think any further, a dragon's roar came from the red dragon's mouth.

Tangible golden ripples spread throughout the space, and the space above the endless dark void seemed to become transparent, revealing a patch of azure sky.

Qi Ci and Tai Yi were taken aback by what they saw, but Yang Ying and his two ministers did not make any move. They simply looked at each other coldly and were wary of one another.

The crimson dragon soared into the sky, seemingly traversing the boundary between this secret realm and the outside world. Visible spiritual energy, like clouds and smoke, was inhaled and exhaled by the crimson dragon, transforming into surging streams that flowed into its belly.

"So that's how it is," Taiyi and Qi suddenly realized.

“I knew it. Even if time flows differently in the secret realm than in the outside world, none of these three are masters of spiritual treasures and cannot communicate with the world outside the secret realm, so they cannot obtain spiritual energy.”

"Hundreds of years have passed, and even a grandmaster should have turned into a relic by now. It turns out that Longzhou had no choice but to do it."

Li Cunxiao also realized what was going on when he heard this.

Over the past few centuries, Yang Ying, Yuwen Jian, and Sima Fufeng must have also tried to escape.

But just as happened today, two rebellious ministers and a tyrant are holding each other back, neither willing to let the other leave the cage.

Yang Ying is the strongest and is not completely suppressed by the dragon boat spirit, but whenever he has an opportunity, Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng will come out to hinder him.

After each major battle, the three men's true energy was greatly depleted. Yang Ying was unable to escape, so he had no choice but to resort to seizing spiritual items from the dragon boat, while the two traitors ate some soup.

After the dragon boat is damaged, it will actively communicate with the outside world, transform spiritual energy, and become the spiritual pool that Li Cunxiao saw.

At this moment, the secret realm was interacting with the outside world, which should have been a great opportunity to escape, but looking at the triangular formation of the three, the monarch and his minister, it was clear that something had gone wrong.

"These two scoundrels, ruler and subject, are exactly the same."

Li Cunxiao secretly grumbled to himself, as Qici and Taiyi simultaneously channeled their true energy into the Vajra Staff, intending to seal the entrance once more.

"Is Your Majesty conscious now? We've finally gotten so close to escaping this predicament, are we really going to give up like this?"

Yuwen Jian watched the gradually shrinking halo and suddenly spoke. Yang Ying had now returned to her normal size, wearing an imperial crown, and the savagery in her eyes seemed to have diminished considerably after consuming spiritual food.

Upon hearing this, he did not say much. He first gave his former playmate and important minister a cold look, and then looked at Sima Fufeng.

The latter was a middle-aged man with a dark face and beard, wearing golden armor and a red robe. Noticing Yang Ying's gaze, he took a few steps back.

Yang Ying stretched out her right hand, and a black dragon emerged from her palm.

Except for its color, this black dragon was exactly the same as the red dragon in the sky.

The moment the black dragon appeared, Sima Fufeng and Yuwen Jian both revealed a greedy look on their faces, making no attempt to hide the desire in their eyes.

The devil is human desire. A human demon is one who will never restrain his desires, nor will he bother to hide them.

Therefore, even without reading history books, Taiyi and Qici could see through Yuwen Jian's hypocrisy and cunning at a glance, because his malice was written all over his face.

"The other part of the spirit of the magical artifact?"

Yang Ying's actions immediately caught Qi Ci's attention.

"As expected, even though spirits and demons are incompatible, the dragon boat was forged by this tyrant Yang Ying for himself. How could he not have made any contingency plans?"

"This part of the spirituality has been completely corrupted by Yang Ying's demonic nature, so the tyrant should be able to control a part of the dragon boat with this."

Taiyi himself was a master of alchemy and weapon crafting, so he could naturally see the intricacies of the matter.

"Such a straight bait, trying to lure us in? They're underestimating us."

Before the old Taoist priest could finish speaking, his eyes widened suddenly. The next moment, he almost couldn't resist rushing back into the secret realm, but was stopped by Qi Ci, who was standing to the side.

"Hey, calm down!"

"How do you want me to calm down!"

Li Cunxiao had never seen Taiyi Zhenren like this before. He was like a bull in heat, his longing gaze seemingly solidified, making one's body burn.

In the void above the secret realm, the blue sky above darkened once more, and the crimson dragon coiled down, surrounding the three demons just as it had last time.

This time, however, Yang Ying raised the black dragon in her hand, clasped her five fingers together, and a layer of circular black mist was instantly compressed and deformed.

The small black dragon let out a low roar, while the huge red dragon seemed to be stimulated by something, and its breath weakened for a moment.

Its scales became ethereal, its claws and teeth became transparent, and the image of the dragon boat began to become clear, but then it faded away, as if its layers of outer garments had been peeled off, leaving only countless crisscrossing golden threads.

Golden threads intertwine, resembling talismans or Sanskrit characters, weaving and connecting.

And in the center of this golden light, there is a page of a book.

It was a very long page, or rather, it was like a section of a scroll that had been torn off.

It should have been dead, but the moment Li Cunxiao saw it, he had the illusion that he was seeing a living thing.

"The Dongxuan Scripture! It's the Dongxuan Scripture!"

Taiyi couldn't help but clench his fists, his face flushed red. He almost couldn't resist rushing in immediately to fight the three of them, the emperor and his minister.

But he finally endured it.

Unexpectedly, Yang Ying and the other two did not make any move at this time, but simply stood there calmly.

The pages of the book inside the red dragon's belly appeared for only a moment before being covered again by the solidified ship's hull and dragon scales.

The two groups stared at each other from a distance until the hole created by the bone-revealing mirror disappeared.

Do!
The vajra rod slammed into the ground, sinking three inches deep, and layers of Sanskrit characters tightly enveloped it.

This time, it was only after Qi Ci was almost finished that Taiyi belatedly reached out his hand, his azure true essence transforming into a talisman to apply a second layer of sealing.

Even Li Cunxiao could see that the old Taoist priest was distracted, as if his soul had been left in the dragon boat, and he was still muttering to himself:

"That's it, that's it, what else could be more suitable as the core of a spiritual treasure than the Three Caverns True Scripture?"

"The Dongxuan Scripture is the essence of alchemy, the wondrous method for creating heaven and earth, and the pivot of yin and yang in creation."

Li Cunxiao was certainly aware of the value of the Three Caverns True Scripture, which was equivalent to the Vajrayana and Garbhadhatu Mandalas of Esoteric Buddhism, and was hailed as a secret text of the origin of martial arts.

However, he also had doubts. If spiritual treasures were innate objects that were given form later, wouldn't that mean that the Three Caverns True Scriptures were heavenly books?

But the universe operates according to its own laws. Just like what martial artists often talk about—the way of the sword, the intent of the blade—such things don't exist in the universe.

Martial arts are created by martial artists. However, because the realm of grandmasters is too high, drawing inspiration from birds and beasts is no longer sufficient, so they draw inspiration from heaven and earth.

Ultimately, it's about utilizing the power of nature, rather than creating something out of thin air.

When he voiced his doubts, Taiyi, who had calmed down, simply shook his head.

"The Three Caverns True Scriptures are now lost to all other sects. Only the sect leader has ever been qualified to access them."

"Humanity and the Way of Heaven... That's a good question, but I don't know the reason either."

"My senior brother once told me that the true scriptures are divided into three categories: spiritual diagrams and records, divine talismans and jade formulas, and methods and techniques. These are the fundamental visualization diagrams, talisman incantations, alchemy techniques, and martial arts."

"It seems that the predecessors read the true scriptures, understood them, and then imprinted them on them?"

"This"

Li Cunxiao was utterly shocked. If that were the case, wouldn't it mean that each part of the Three Caverns True Scripture not only allowed people to comprehend the Dharma, but also contained hundreds of complete martial arts manuals?

Upon hearing this, Qici's eyes flickered, but he ultimately remained silent, only offering the following instructions:
"We all know how precious the true scriptures are, but we must not let greed cloud our judgment and fall into the trap of that foolish ruler Yang Ying."

"Why should you interfere?"

Taiyi returned to his usual demeanor and glared at him irritably.

"Look at the way those three looked at the end, they must have been convinced that we couldn't resist the temptation of the spiritual treasure and the true scripture and would definitely come back."

"Are we still going?"

"Of course I'll go!" ×2
Taiyi and Qi spoke in unison.

"But next time, it can't be just us going."

"To take before you can take, you must first give. If you want someone to share the burden with you, you can't expect to get all the benefits."

Upon hearing his two masters' words, Li Cunxiao began to have a vague idea of ​​what the next plan would entail.

But he doesn't need to worry about the rest; he can just wait on them to eat.

It feels so good to cling to someone's leg.

"By the way, Master, what was that hand seal you used earlier? I saw a resemblance to the Holy King's Wheel Fist, but it wasn't quite the same."

"That is the ultimate technique of our Maitreya Pure Land lineage, the Dragon Flower Great Seal."

"What I just used was a move that I extracted from the Six Forms of Hand Seals. It is called the Sumeru Seal. It can be used in conjunction with the Holy King's Wheel Fist, and its power is unpredictable."

Qici saw the enthusiasm in his apprentice's eyes and couldn't help but show a bit of pride.

"Want to learn?"

Li Cunxiao nodded vigorously.

"Let's perfect your Immovable Black Dragon Sword and Great Asura Weapon Technique first."

A single, casual remark whetted the latter's appetite.

It is now November, the beginning of winter. According to Qi Ci's plan, even if his disciple is a genius to the point of being monstrous, he will still have to wait until the end of the year to cultivate both martial arts to perfection.

But Li Cunxiao couldn't wait that long, nor did he need to wait that long.

Above the lotus-shaped incarnation's head, the three pairs of Makara claws on the vajra were all lit up, and beneath them, more than a dozen demons were suppressed. There were not many who had reached the fifth realm of true form; most were those whose aura was close to the perfection of the Yellow Court.

"Now, the Immovable Black Dragon Sword is the entry level, and the Great Asura Weapon Technique has achieved minor mastery."

"If I refine these demons, and combine them with the three previous breakthroughs, it will be enough for me to perfect both martial arts."

"The dragon boat is truly a treasure trove of malevolent energy. Even though nearly a hundred were killed by Master's Sumeru Seal, there are probably still close to a thousand demons inside, after all, they were the elite troops that Emperor Yang took with him when he fled."

"If my master can subdue it, I can go in and fight monsters anytime."

Many wonderful fantasies floated into Li Cunxiao's mind, but he did not forget his business.

Carefully, he took out three porcelain bottles from his bosom.

“Master, when I was searching for the core of the dragon boat, I accidentally entered a spiritual pool. This is the water in the pool.”

"Oh?"

Taiyi smiled upon hearing this, took the bottle, and tapped the mouth of the bottle with his finger. A liquid that appeared colorless but actually changed color constantly floated out.

"The finest nectar?"

Qi Ci was taken aback, took a bottle, and did the same.

A faint fragrance gradually wafted out, like the aroma of some fine wine. The old Taoist priest and the senior monk couldn't help but swallow.

“Even the gifts that Yuhua Temple gave me back then didn’t have this quality.”

Yuhua Temple? The one that supports Prince Li Yisheng of Jin?

Yang Lingjun's words from a few days ago came to mind. Li Cunxiao did not ask much about Qici's relationship with the other party; he only cared about one thing.

"Master, is this enough for me to open up my extraordinary meridians and break through to the true form?"

"Breaking through to true form?"

Taiyi rolled his eyes at his disciple, looking like someone who didn't know the value of money, and snatched the three bottles of sweet dew away.

"The gods placed various kinds of famous medicines in the sea, and rubbed them with precious mountains to turn them into sweet dew. Those who ate it became immortals, and it was called the elixir of immortality."

"This nectar is the result of the spirit of the magical artifact collecting and refining the essence of heaven and earth, making it pure and mellow."

"Use these three bottles to mix with the stone marrow, and it will be enough for you until you reach the True Form Perfection!"

(End of this chapter)