Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 168 So far away
Dongfang Shengqi and Wangsun Wuyi were both taken aback. Wangsun Wuyi asked:

"Li Wu suffered such a great loss this time, why do you say that, Senior Brother?"

Dongguo Shenliang sighed:

"Fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and the world is unpredictable. The Grand Minister said that although Li Wu only managed to seize half a prefecture in the end, the Crimson Heaven Ancient Treasure 'Purple Heaven Mystic Mirror' belonging to the Azure God True Man Qi Fuyao fell into Zhao Mu's hands. It is said that this item is the most precious treasure for finding the Ascension Platform. If he finds the Ascension Platform one day, I'm afraid Li Wu will become the sole ruler of the land."

"Senior brother, there's no need to worry."

Dongfang Shengqi didn't take it to heart and said gently,
"Qi Fuyao has had this ancient treasure for hundreds of years, but he still failed to discover its secrets. I'm afraid that barbarian Zhao Mu alone is unlikely to be able to crack it. After all, this Ascension Platform has been missing for more than a thousand years. The mystery within it is probably not something that a single Crimson Sky Ancient Treasure can solve."

Wang Sunwuyi echoed:
"Senior Brother Dongfang is right. These barbarians' brains are probably no match for Qing Shen's Daoist."

Dongguo Shenliang grunted and said:

“Shengqi is right. Even the most intelligent person in the world, Qi Fuyao, couldn’t crack this treasure. Zhao Mu certainly can’t. However, it is, after all, an ancient treasure of the Crimson Sky, a relic of an immortal. Its power is extraordinary. We must be careful when we encounter Li Wu in the future.”

After saying this, seeing that the two nodded in agreement, he continued,

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. The war in Qingshen has now spread to the fields of Zhufen. Every family is beating up the Taoists who have fallen into the water, and there are also the barbarian demons, the Black Tooth Wolf Mo, the Niushan tribe, and others who are dividing up their territories outside the country."

"Furthermore, with the death of Qing Shen and the rise of Qing Qiu, the Black Tooth Ten Thousand Mountain Tribes of the Southern Wilderness have completely split. It seems that the Black Tooth Tiger can no longer sit still and has taken the initiative to contact the 'Sage of Literature,' completely siding with us. I've heard that the Black Tooth Ten Thousand Mountain Tribes now consider the Wolf Mo and Ox Mountain Tribes traitors and are hunting them down everywhere. Like the Qing Shen Daoist family, those two tribes have reached the point where everyone is against them."

"Under this general trend, the remnants of Daozi and the Black Tooth Wolf Mo and Niushan tribes will inevitably fight back desperately. We cannot be careless. After all, even a centipede with a hundred legs will not fall down when it is dead. We must not let our guard down."

TVXQ and Wang Sunwuyi both bowed and agreed.

The two of them knew perfectly well that their own ancestors had disappeared without a trace at the Confucian Hanquan Academy, leaving only the ancestor of the Dongguo family, the "Sage of Literature" Dongguo Changqin. If their two families wanted to make any plans in the future, they would have to rely on others and obey the orders of Dongguo Shenliang.

Dongguo Shenliang then said:

"Now that our Three Thousand Academy has established itself in Hubei of Wandao Lake, and with Daozi and Black Tooth Wolf Mo Niu Shan running away, all the forces of the Demon and Witch are getting involved. In the future, this place will become a place of deceit and treachery again."

"Now that we have reclaimed this place, we will henceforth use 'Smoke, Fire, Mountain, and Light' as the foundation of our three thousand academies in Nanhu, and deal with all other schools of thought!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Boyang felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't expected to glean so much information from this eavesdropping. Seeing the three of them starting to discuss some trivial details about how things would develop, he dared not linger any longer and immediately turned around and quietly headed towards Langyan Mountain in the Nanhu Islands.

When they arrived at the Nanhu Islands, they discovered that Langyan Mountain and its affiliated islands, such as Yaoling Island, were indeed deserted, just as Dongguo Shenliang had said.

Not only Langyan Mountain, but also places like the Han family's Wenxin Island, the Ji family's Xiankong Mountain, and the Niu Er Mountain of the Niu Mountain tribe have all disappeared and have been occupied by some unknown force.

Only the Lei Yin Temple of Qingzhu and the Changxian tribe of Liwu, along with the island of Liwu, remain unchanged.

"This Wenxin Island is at odds with the Three Thousand Academy, and now it has run away ahead of schedule. It seems that it is probably the power of Yangming's lineage."

Although Xu Boyang did not find the Wolf Mo tribe and Niu Shan tribe of Hei Chi, he felt more at ease seeing that they had already run away. Although he did not know where they were at the moment, it at least proved that they should be safe.

"Could it be that they led everyone from Dragon-Capturing Mountain back to the Hundred Thousand Mountains? But the Southern Wilderness is so vast, where am I supposed to search for them?"

Having finally secured a base, Xu Boyang lost it again, and his own family members also disappeared. He was confused and didn't know what to do. But then he realized something was wrong. According to Dong Guo Shenliang, Lang Mo and Niu Shan had become traitors to Hei Chi. Going back would be like walking into a trap. How could they dare to return to the Ten Thousand Mountains?

This Black-Toothed Tiger, a dignified demon king, turned out to be a fickle opportunist. Seeing the fall of the Qing Shen Daoist sect, he immediately began to ruthlessly slaughter his own subordinate tribes, truly showing his cruelty.

Where did they go?

As Xu Boyang pondered, he walked quietly in the water. Suddenly, his expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself:

"No, Zhao Jiusheng and Bai Luqinglan both took the 'Soul-Connecting Pill' and became connected to my soul, so why can't I sense their presence?"

Upon thinking of the guests of Qinlong Mountain, Xu Boyang immediately thought of the five rogue cultivators in the sea area surrounding Qinlong Mountain, and then he thought of the underground palace of Caixing Island and that set of dragon bone remains.

Sensing something was wrong, he immediately determined the direction and headed towards Rainbow Apricot Island.

However, a day later, Xu Boyang appeared in the waters near Caixing Island. He used his [Demon Lord's Divine Sense] to investigate and found that Caixing Island was also deserted. Even the protective array had been removed, but fortunately, the hot spring [Zeyan Renewal] was still there.

It seems that Buddhists, Confucianists, demons, and sorcerers are all vying for the large island, while no one pays attention to this small island. Xu Boyang was overjoyed and immediately flew into the mountain, took out the array-breaking token given to him by Pei Yansu, and plunged into the muddy hot spring.

Now that he has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, perhaps he can find a way to break through the Yellow Court Formation set up by Pei Shaoyao and take away the dragon bone remains.

He followed the mud and used the water-based magic artifact [Biyouxian] to create sword energy to clear a path and resist the spiritual energy of [Zeyan Huanxin]. He was familiar with the route and arrived at the underwater palace in less than half a day.

"puff!"

With a soft thud, Xu Boyang burst out of the mud, his heart pounding as he looked ahead.

"Fortunately!"

He looked at the square platform where everything was as usual, felt a little relieved, and breathed a sigh of relief. The magnificent and radiant dragon skeleton still sat under a dark array of light.

Of course, at this moment he no longer felt that this set of dragon bones was very big, because ever since he had seen the Dragon King of the East Sea and the Red-Haired Demon, this dragon that had transformed into human form was nothing compared to them.

Xu Boyang landed on the bluestone pillars at the four corners of the platform, looked at the dragon bone remains in the formation for a moment, thought about it and still dared not try to break the formation easily, and then looked down at the pillars.

The bluestone pillar was neither too big nor too small; its top was just right for a person to sit cross-legged. A slight stirring stirred within me. I sat down cross-legged and thought:

"Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. Since we don't know where to go for the time being, and this place is extremely secluded, we might as well rest here and wait for our injuries to heal before we go to war. In the meantime, we can also cultivate steadily for a while."

After devising a plan, they used the [Hidden Demon Mirror] to investigate all the entrances and exits of the underground palace. To their surprise, the palace did indeed have another exit, but it had been destroyed. The entrance had been blown up and was covered by a massive boulder weighing tens of thousands of pounds, stretching for over a hundred feet.

"This masterpiece must have been the work of Pei Shaoyao. To prevent anyone from coveting it, he simply blew up the entrance. With so many boulders, anyone without the cultivation of a Taoist priest would be powerless to handle them. In that case, the only entrance is Caixing Island." Upon realizing this, Xu Boyang was secretly encouraged. He got up and burrowed into the swamp, swimming back to a point a hundred feet from the entrance of Caixing Island. He took out the array flag and array plate of the Foundation Building Array "Liyang Terrace Radiant Array" and spent half an hour setting up a small array.

Thus, the hot springs and swamps of Rainbow Apricot Island are protected by two layers of magic arrays, one inside and one outside.

After making the arrangements, Xu Boyang returned to the underwater palace, sat cross-legged on a blue stone pillar, and began his meditation practice.

March passed by in the blink of an eye.

After a period of time spent at home adjusting his breathing and with the support of elixirs, Xu Boyang finally healed his injuries and his energy and spirit returned to their peak.

So he couldn't wait to start his Foundation Establishment cultivation, trying to summon and guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to his own. The [Nine Purple Fire] constantly tempered his Dao Foundation and spiritual platform, and the flow of his spiritual platform became smoother day by day.

Time stands still in the underground palace, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. During this half year, Xu Boyang has never left the cave. He only occasionally goes to the entrance to use his demonic divine sense to check the activity on the island. Finding no danger, he returns to continue his cultivation.

Until three months ago, the neglected Caixing Island finally welcomed a new owner. This owner had just set foot on Caixing Island when he was discovered by Xu Boyang, who happened to be exploring below the entrance to the underground swamp hot spring.

Of course, after Xu Boyang investigated, he discovered that the visitor was not human, but a dog demon. Judging from its appearance, it had a dog's head and a human body, with sharp teeth and a sharp mouth. It should not have been in human form for long, and it could not even speak human language properly.

This demon brought three or four unformed little demons, all of them cats and dogs. Later, using a stick in his hand, he kidnapped about a hundred mortals from the surrounding area to serve on the island. He then began to live a life of tyranny, not only naming Caixing Island "King Island" but also calling himself the King of King Island.

Xu Boyang found the dog demon's behavior both amusing and exasperating, but he was too lazy to pay it any mind. He secretly planted a divine sense imprint on the dog's body. He had previously been worried that a powerful enemy might invade and discover the swamp and hot spring, but now that a dog had come to guard the door, it was perfect.

Even if a high-level cultivator comes one day, killing these few demons will still make some noise, and Xu Boyang will know immediately.

Of course, the king of this Great King Island also quickly discovered this hot spring in the mud, but with his cultivation level, he couldn't detect the tricks Pei Yansu had done and thought it was just an ordinary volcanic mud spring.

At first, this dog demon liked to bring his mortal concubines for a romantic bath, but he lost interest as time went on. After all, he had to wash himself after soaking in the mud, and being lazy and averse to trouble, he turned his back on the matter. After becoming king of the mountain, he indulged in nightly revelry and debauchery in the main hall of Caixing Mountain.

Xu Boyang noticed that this dog demon didn't cultivate properly after arriving here. Instead, he spent his days indulging in pleasure with his beautiful concubines, living a carefree and happy life. After observing him for a few days and figuring out his background, he became too lazy to keep an eye on him.

This demon's surname is Gou Weiyang, and his given name is Cheng. He is a collateral relative of the Gou Weiyang clan among the nine lineages of Qingqiu. His strength is not high, but his bloodline is good. Judging from his self-praise, he seems to be the nephew of the Cuan chief of the Gou Weiyang clan. No wonder he dares to be so unscrupulous and arrogant.

Xu Boyang had only encountered the Cuan Master Qiliwen of the Qili tribe before. As for the Gouweiyang tribe of Qingqiu, Xu Boyang vaguely remembered that someone had mentioned it before, and he just couldn't understand why the forces of the Wubicheng Demon Mansion were also Qingqiu's forces.

However, he was not worried about this. Xu Boyang himself possessed the [Hidden Demon Mirror], which was the great nemesis of the ancient demons of Qingqiu. For example, this low-level dog demon, as long as he made the slightest move, he would know immediately and could kill him with a single thought.

With life and death in his grasp, it was practically effortless.

After half a year of cultivation, Xu Boyang had come to understand the difficulties of Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. Without the blessing of the "Liyang Pill", relying solely on his own breathing exercises, the construction of the Dao Foundation and spiritual platform was extremely slow, to an outrageous degree.

If even the foundation of the Dao is like this, how much more so when it comes to drawing in Qi and condensing it into a life-supporting artifact?

This Foundation Establishment cultivator is indeed not as simple as he seems.

"Nine Netherworld Frost Orchid?"

Xu Boyang silently recited the name of the spiritual herb, then continued reading it aloud.

"It is necessary to consume 'Two Elements Harmonizing Ginseng' plus 'Gen Mountain Azure Jade Sand', along with meteorite iron essence and thousand-year-old mystic ice, before the 'Gen Li Mystic Ice Mirror' can be refined."

Xu Boyang had never even heard of these raw materials before, and he suddenly felt a headache coming on. He hadn't expected that refining his first life-supporting magic weapon would be so troublesome. He wondered how many more troublesome things would come up when he refined his natal magic weapon.

But no matter how difficult it is, you have to give it a shot. Xu Boyang finally realized that the Foundation Establishment cultivation method draws on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to build the Dao Foundation and Spiritual Platform. However, once it reaches a certain point, it becomes a shackle. What matters is your natal magic weapon and magic treasure. As long as your magic treasure is powerful enough, your Dao Foundation and Spiritual Platform will also grow stronger day by day. The two complement each other.

In a battle of magic, magical treasures are also the last resort. If the magical treasures are similar, in the end it all comes down to cultivation level. If your natal magical treasure is powerful, your opponent will not be able to deal with it easily and will inevitably suffer a defeat.

Seeing that his injuries had healed but his cultivation was not progressing, Xu Boyang decided to go out for a while. After all, it was not good to guard the dragon bone remains that he could see but not touch all day long. Cultivators should focus on cultivation.

After his injuries healed, he tried to break the Yellow Court Formation set up by Pei Shaoyao, but the result was somewhat embarrassing. He had overestimated his Foundation Establishment cultivation level, and the formation was completely ineffective.

After failing twice, Xu Boyang suffered considerable backlash and dared not try again.

Time flies, and almost a year has passed since the destruction of Qing Shen. Xu Boyang has been alone in this underwater palace for almost eight months. It's time to go out and see how the situation in the world has changed.

Besides going out to find or buy spiritual herbs and items to refine the "Genli Xuanbing Mirror", one also needs to buy the "Liyang Pill" to assist in foundation building cultivation, and also needs to purchase some magical artifacts for self-defense.

Last time, a dark, gloomy ball of light destroyed the [Shining Sun Banner] and the [Mysterious Cave Robe].

In addition, we need to find out where our own Qinlong Mountain and the Zhuohua Pei family have gone.
After careful consideration, Xu Boyang arrived at the entrance to the hot spring in the mud, sat cross-legged, observed the activity on the island, and quietly waited for the right moment to leave.

The current Cai Xing Island, also known as Da Wang Island, has been set up by the dog Wei Yang City with a Confucian formation. Although it is not a high-level formation, it is difficult for Xu Boyang to break through the formation unnoticed by himself.

Therefore, he needs to steal a token to break the formation.

Xu Boyang did not want to disrupt the current balance on Caixing Island, because if he could not find the cultivators of Qinlong Mountain, he would probably be cultivating here for a long time. Therefore, it was better to remain peaceful and maintain the status quo.

If they cannot obtain the remains of this great dragon, why would they be willing to leave?

After waiting for three more days, in the dead of night, Xu Boyang emerged silently from the swamp, dressed in black like a ghost walking at night. He arrived at a pavilion in the mountains and secretly took a token from the sheep demon who was drunk on the bed.

With a flash, he soared into the night sky, broke through the great formation, and instantly transformed into a streak of light, heading north.

"Boundless City?"

The first volume of "The Immortal Path of Ziwei" [The Sword Rises in Yuchuan] is complete.
(End of this chapter)