Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 389 Blood Sacrifice for Immortal Medicine: Thirty percent tax, twenty-nine percent! (4200 votes requested)

The vanguard, who had already rushed into the secret realm, were unaware that their retreat had been blocked. Their eyes were only on the fairy island behind the gate, the immortal herbs on the island, and the legendary immortals who had ascended to immortality!
Those with little ability and shallow minds disregarded everything and rushed towards any island they saw.

Especially the outermost island, half outside the wall and half inside, is covered with mushrooms and lingzhi, and is also the Lingzhi Island where the alchemist Leon brewed the red potion.

"We don't seek any more effective elixir of immortality, nor is that something we can covet."

As long as we can embark on the path to immortality, initially extending our lifespan by ten or twenty years is sufficient. After that, we can slowly cultivate ourselves using external alchemy methods.

The red-haired devils are nothing but a bunch of barbarians who have been poor for a long time and suddenly become rich. How could they know anything about immortal cultivation?

If you only know how to drink red medicine but don't practice the ascension immortality technique, how can you possibly transform from mortal to immortal?

That's like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon; we're not as stupid as them!

Most of those who hold this view are chiefs and elders from indigenous tribes in the South Island.

The Maluku Islands, where the fissure is located, have been famous as spice islands since ancient times, known as the "Spice Islands." They are rich in cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and other spices, and are theoretically overflowing with oil.

However, ever since the Dutch and Frankish people arrived, they have supported each other's native agents and fought back and forth, causing a number of chiefs to die every year, making their lives extremely miserable.

Many people see the miraculous medicine behind the door as their hope for a comeback.

Of course, the main reason they opted for this alternative was that the secret realm behind the door was always shrouded in a light mist, making it difficult to discern directions once one ventured deeper.

If you come in unprepared, you won't be able to find the real Penglai Island at all.

When they arrived at Lingzhi Island, they discovered that the "Lingzhi Immortal Herbs" that could be used to make medicine in the outer safe zone had been almost entirely harvested by the alchemist Leon and his group, who drove away slaves.

All they could do was curse the red-haired devils for being inhuman while forming their own teams and sending out scouts to explore the depths of the island.

Why does my back feel a bit itchy?

A slender, dark-skinned native warrior, carrying a jungle dagger, walked at the far end of the group. But the further he walked, the more itchy his back became, and he couldn't help but reach out to scratch it.

He is a seventh-rank official in the Taoist priesthood who worships the monkey god, known as the "Ghost Monkey." He is a melee class similar to a scout, proficient in stealth, concealment, and assassination.

In the past, even if he were asked to lie in ambush in the cesspool for seven or eight hours to assassinate a target, he wouldn't even blink. But at this moment, he inexplicably felt an itch in his very bones, which he could hardly bear for a moment.

It felt as if some thread-like thing was rapidly growing inside the body, making one wish they could rip out their heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys and wash them clean.

What's even stranger is that he worshipped the monkey god when he was a child, and as an adult, his arms reach past his knees, so theoretically he could scratch any part of his body. But this time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't scratch the real itch.

"Deeper, deeper!"

This "mischievous monkey" stopped in its tracks without realizing it, and started scratching its back.

They failed to notice that a large amount of blood had already flowed down their backs to their feet, forming a pool of purplish-red blood mixed with foreign matter at their feet.

Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and was about to ask his companion to help him scratch when he turned around and found that everyone twenty meters behind him was looking at him as if he were a ghost.

"What's wrong with you guys? Uh..."

When he asked the question, he realized that his vision seemed a little blurry and red. He raised his hand to wipe his mouth and nose and found that he was bleeding from all seven orifices without knowing when!

"help me!"

Only then did he realize something was wrong. He had just raised his hand, wanting to ask the fifth-rank [Sorcerer] at the head of the group for help, when suddenly everything went black.

The intense itching had spread from his neck to his brain, taking over every nerve in his body.

In the final moments before losing consciousness, [Ghost Monkey] saw countless dancing mycelium in his own eyes.

Suddenly realized:

"It's a Ganoderma lucidum from the island!"

Although he was dead, the others in the same tribe behind him looked even more horrified, screaming and backing away in fear.

The monkey had scratched a large, bloody hole in its back, revealing its white ribs and colorful internal organs.

However, his internal organs had long been covered with dense, purplish-red mycelium, and many slightly wriggling fungal sacs had even sprouted from his back.

Although the person died, the body did not fall down. Instead, it stood still, twitching and twisting, as if something else was adapting to this brand-new body.

Then, he suddenly looked up.

He looked at his former companion, but his facial features were already completely filled with dense, purplish-black "lingzhi" mushrooms, leaving no space at all.

That terrifying appearance would scare someone with trypophobia to death on the spot.

"Back off!"

Before the sorcerer could even produce a piece of obsidian that was essentially natural volcanic glass to cast the "Glass Curse" on him, completely shattering his body, the sorcerer could not even produce a piece of obsidian that was essentially natural volcanic glass.

The "ghost monkey" then leaped up like a real monkey, darting onto a nearby cliff face and hanging upside down.

"Ah! Look!"

Many Austronesian natives looked over at the sound of exclamations.

To their horror, they discovered that on the protruding rock cap at the top of the cliff, there were already more than a dozen black corpses, whose age was unknown.

Their faces, tilted back, were covered with purplish-red Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms, ranging in size from a thumb to a human head, and twisted human-face-shaped mushrooms grew on their umbrella-like surfaces.

The intoxicating aroma of medicine mingled with the bone-chilling stench of corpses, creating a strange and unsettling smell that sent chills down one's spine.

As for why those things on top of our heads are called "corpse shells"?
This is because when one of the thirty-six immortal medicines, the Ghost-Faced Lingzhi, grows up, it has already consumed all the nutrients in the host's body, leaving only a pitch-black skin tightly stretched to the bones!
It looks like the exoskeleton left behind by some metamorphosed insects after they emerge from their molt.

Moreover, these man-eating immortal elixirs are far more "greedy" than people imagine!
When the fifth-rank sorcerer looked up to examine the corpse, he was horrified to discover, with the help of the dim light and his already opened eyes [Eye of Joy], that the mature ghost-faced Ganoderma lucidum, which was emitting a medicinal fragrance, was releasing spores invisible to the naked eye in the wind.

The little monkey that was acting as a scout and walking at the front just now accidentally inhaled the spores when it passed under these Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms, which is why it turned into a brand new "petition dish" without any resistance.

There are Ganoderma lucidum spores in the air.

"Quickly, everyone cover your mouths and noses with damp cloths. The officials urged the use of deadly fire to burn all the spores!"

Unfortunately, his reminder came too late. As soon as he finished speaking, everyone below the third rank couldn't help but scratch their skin.

At this point, it is no longer useful to stimulate the life fire from outside the body.

Stab
Upon hearing the ear-piercing scratching sound, the sorcerer felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, knowing that all the people he had brought with him were doomed.

He quickly pulled out a straw doll with his birth date and time written on it and lit it with pure yang fire.

He spat out a mouthful of charred blood, wrapped himself up tightly, and controlled a spirit he had painstakingly cultivated, [Fu Zi Xian], to pick mature Ghost-Faced Lingzhi mushrooms.

"I absolutely cannot leave empty-handed after paying such a high price."

Exchanging dozens of juvenile strains for one or two mature ones is perfectly fair! Once I refine a [Purple-Gold Cloud Mushroom Pill] and ascend to immortality, I will take good care of your families. Similar situations were occurring throughout the island.

The "Ghost Face Ganoderma" that grows from victims of different races, occupations, and genders will produce different characteristics.

Some of them grow "infectious nails" that disguise themselves as other types of mushrooms, burying the victim's body in the soil with only the nails exposed. Passersby can easily become infected if they are not careful.

Some of these infected individuals develop "explosive" spores that burst open when these corpses catch up with living people, turning them into another wandering "zombie."
As for those who went to other nearby islands to search for medicine, they were no better off. Instead of finding the medicine, they were hunted by it, and most of them would die on the spot once they were caught.

These islands seem to be witnessing a series of unusual blood sacrifices.

There were not many victims among officials of the fifth rank or above. After they "offered" most of their followers as petri dishes for the elixir, they all gained something to some extent.

However, harvesting more than the limit will lead to greater dangers, such as encountering older and more deadly medicinal herbs.

The ratio was roughly: "Thirty parts tax, twenty-nine parts sacrifice, and one part can be taken away."

Many clever people entered the secret realm, and they quickly discovered the basic rules of this secret realm, "Penglai Immortal Path".

The secrets behind it are truly terrifying to think about.

Just like fishing is never prohibited during the fishing ban period, ten pounds of bait can only yield one pound of fish.

The fish in the pond all depend on them for survival.

These fairy islands seem to do the same, throwing out some immortal elixirs as bait to attract outsiders to land on the islands.

The last few elixirs that were picked were just a drop in the ocean, while countless seekers used their blood and flesh to cultivate batch after batch of new elixirs.

Even though they saw through the rules, they didn't give up. Instead, they turned around and captured other people on the island to sacrifice for their own benefit.

"Kill these Moken people and trade them for the elixir!"

"Aaaaaah! The Bataks don't play by the rules! Brothers, follow me!"

"."

The hunting of immortal herbs led to infighting, and soon the islands were filled with the stench of blood.

These peripheral elixirs of immortality did not attract any attention from the living ghosts and gods; they all went straight into the depths of the secret realm to search for Penglai Immortal Island and top-grade immortal medicines.

The thirty-six kinds of immortal medicines recorded in the Immortal Ascension Techniques are also divided into three, six, and nine grades. It is said that there are twenty inferior ones, ten middle ones, and six superior ones.

Based on Hong Yaoye's experience, these are all low-grade elixirs that can only extend lifespan by a few years or a dozen years.

Even if it were used as an external elixir to reach the path of immortality, it would only be a low-level immortal, and one would only be able to reach the middle three ranks for life.

Those living ghosts and gods would only be satisfied if they could obtain at least a mid-grade ten-ingredient medicine like the "Five Organs Returning to Truth Pill" in Emperor Shaozhi's possession, which had the potential to be upgraded to the third grade.

call--!
Wang Cheng and the "Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship," disguised as the Five Peaks, circled back and forth in the misty mirage, following the "Star-Traveling Map" they had bought from the Japanese lord, Masamachi.

Along the way, we saw a series of bizarre and fantastical sights refracted from the depths of the ocean by mirages.

In mid-air, it seems as if immortals ride cranes; high above, there stand magnificent palaces and towers; beneath the water, there lies a splendid dragon palace. It embodies all the images of a fairyland.

"It's so beautiful, it's like a real fairyland."

Shen Yueye's eyes lit up as she looked at it.

Wang Cheng cruelly shattered her illusions:
“From the pre-Qin era, the understanding of China was that ‘water flows eastward to the sea,’ and that the ocean world was different from the land, unfathomable, and a paradise for immortals.”

The ocean is divided into the Great Ocean, the Great Ravine, the King of a Hundred Valleys, the Bottomless Lake, the Heavenly Pool, and so on.

Therefore, in this world where "mountains are yang and water is yin", the deep ocean is the place with the heaviest yin energy in the human world, which can be understood as a super-huge complex historical dregs!
Just as the silt and salt carried by rivers accumulate in the sea, the vast ocean holds countless dangers, essentially a collection of all fantasies and myths.

Here, whatever you foresee will not be unexpected.

Even if someone here claims to be Qin Shi Huang, it doesn't necessarily mean they're committing fraud.

At the same time, through the eye of the [Four Seas Coin], Wang Cheng also heard a clearer voice from the other side of the [Five Mountains Coin].

After accidentally touching the [Underworld Heavenly Tablet] in the hands of the Yin Lawyer Ye Zhao, the communication between the two became increasingly smooth (Chapter 368).

"According to the alchemist Xu Fu's many years of exploration."

Both inside and outside the wall are in the same human world, and the outside of the wall is even more of a 'dark world' than the inside of the wall, which is full of evil spirits and ghosts.

On Fuyao's side, there is war, refugees, and the righteous, masculine, and domineering path of life cultivation. Is the place she lives truly outside the walls where immortal cultivation techniques flourish?

Wang Cheng stared into deep thought at the copper coin, which symbolized the roundness of heaven and the squareness of earth, yet also had two sides, yin and yang.

"We've found Fugui!"

Suddenly, Shen Yueye cried out in surprise; a sound.

Looking up, I saw a huge island slowly moving in front of me.

The Xuanzhong Ji says: "In the largest place in the East Sea, there is a giant turtle that carries Mount Penglai on its back."

It is said that on the vast sea surface of the East China Sea, there is a giant turtle carrying Mount Penglai, constantly swimming.

The "Crossing the Ocean Star Chart" also states that Penglai is a moving fairy island whose trajectory closely follows the other side of the Great Wall of Curses, traveling north and south.

Anyone who crosses the Great Wall of Curses will inevitably arrive at Penglai Immortal Island as their first stop!
Although they were unsure whether there were giant turtles underwater, they were certain that this was Penglai.

On the shore of one side of the island, many ships that had arrived earlier had already moored themselves behind the island with ropes, leaving some personnel behind.

"good chance!"

Wang Cheng's eyes lit up.

With a wave of his hand, he stamped a "warp pass" on all of these ships!
If the main force is still on the ship, the Yang Qi Furnace will automatically resist this kind of anchoring unless the bow or captain agrees.

But now they are just empty ships, and inanimate objects naturally cannot resist the back door left by Wang Cheng.

Their own Mirage Cloud Dragon ship doesn't require such trouble; they can simply collect it into their dreams and carry it to the island.

Wang Cheng and Shen Yueye took the lead, and as soon as their feet touched the ground, they heard a melodious, yet somewhat melancholic, female voice coming from a nearby flower bush:

"You heartless man, you have another sister outside?"

In the end, my younger brother disliked me because I wasn't as pretty as my other older sisters.

Wang Cheng turned his head and was surprised to find that a stunningly beautiful girl, who looked like a celestial being descended to earth, had suddenly appeared in a place that he had previously perceived as empty except for flowers and plants.

Clutching a handkerchief, tears welling in her eyes, she seemed hesitant to speak.

(End of this chapter)