The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 113 Breaking Through and Advancing to the Next Level
Zhou Yan's tense mind completely relaxed.

From the weakening effects of the Mingwang Town Prison Diagram and the Purification Mantra, Zhou Yan could vaguely sense that the situation with Monk Kongkong and Yuan Danqiu was not optimistic, and the jade talisman with the character "Tai" could not contact Ao Xuantao.

It could be said that all three lanes of his teammates collapsed, but Zhou Yan still believed in Shen Cangming.

The insect demon Zhijun stiffly lowered his head, looking at the horizontal sword. White light flowed into the dark room, and the wall behind him was smashed open with direct force.

This indicates that the visitors realized they could not break the formation.

Choose to break through the barrier by force!
Zhi Jun looked at the young man who had been holding the pills, messily released his sword, and sat down on the back, grimacing in pain. He realized that the chivalrous man who had been slashing through the sea of ​​insects like a madman was actually just a human being.

If I had been more decisive, I would have killed him long ago.

Zhijun's face contorted with resentment; he was filled with extreme bitterness.
"Eighteen levels, and in such a short time..."

"you!"

Shen Cangming kicked diagonally, breaking the insect's limb.

Just after tossing the pill to Zhou Yan, his left arm naturally rested on the hilt of the sword.

Zhijun sensed that behind him was a being more terrifying than a hungry ghost, with long black hair slightly curled and eyes almost bloodshot, like a demon descended from heaven, a tyrant on earth.

Shen Cangming pressed his left hand on the knife and suddenly slashed down.

The insect demon Zhijun was cleaved in two. Before he could even speak, the sword continued to slash and hack at him, tearing him into many pieces before igniting him with a blood-red beacon fire.

With long, curly, ink-black hair and cold eyes, Shen Cangming arrived from behind, forcefully breaking through eighteen layers of barriers as Zhou Yan navigated through the traps.

With a flick of his wrist, blood from his sword splattered onto the ground.

Shen Cangming stood beside Zhou Yan, his aura of malevolence emanating from him. Although the insects were the simplest of monsters, they seemed to sense immense fear and were so intimidated by his aura that they remained motionless.

Shen Cangming looked at the blood-soaked boy in front of him, at the dried bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and at his stained arms. If it weren't for the Taoist robe of Canxia Tower, Zhou Yan would probably be covered in blood and gore by now.

Shen Cangming's voice softened, and he said:

"【Melting Heart Guardian Pill】, take it to break through."

"Ah."

Zhou Yan managed to sit cross-legged, sensing the earth's veins amidst the immense pain.

Place the Earthly Soul and Heavenly Inclined horizontally on your lap.

The connection with the earth and the earth's veins is further enhanced.

After taking this pill, one can break through to the eighth rank, reforge their body with the flames of war, expel the insect demons and golden patterns outside, and strengthen their physique. This is currently within Zhou Yan's body.

The drought demon's blood frantically eroded the land, but the God of Agriculture's ears of grain withstood this erosion.

To prevent Zhou Yan from turning into scorched fire.

The two forces reached a balance.

On the right arm, insect eggs took advantage of the situation to multiply.

Once he breaks through and his physique is tempered, Zhou Yan will at least be more patient in his fight against the Drought Demon and the God of Agriculture.

Since ancient times, drought and agriculture have been mortal enemies.

Zhou Yan glanced at the insect demon, who lay dead with its eyes wide open. Even though he was in so much pain that his veins were about to burst, the young man still managed a slight smile.

fool.

I'm waiting for Uncle Shen, what are you waiting for?
He grabbed the pill and forced it into his mouth.

He swallowed it in one gulp, and the medicinal power of the pill instantly erupted, surging into his body.

【Melting Heart Garrison Pill】is a Xuan Guan pill refined by Wang Zhongsi, the military governor of the four garrisons of the Tang Dynasty, when he defeated the Tubo army at Qinghai Lake. It is said that once it is used, it will be one less available.

Seeing Zhou Yan begin to break through, Shen Cangming's breathing became slightly calmer.

His black round-necked robe was stained with blood. He had just contacted his old friend using Anren Army's code and had just received the elixir from this friend when he heard the commotion in the front hall of the temple.

Worried about Zhou Yan, in desperation, he drew his weapon and, relying on his sense of the beacon fires, charged straight through the barrier. With his sword slashing and hacking, he killed countless monsters and carved a path through them.

boom! ! !
The breach in the wall was further enlarged.

Behind the huge gap in the wall, a handsome man who looked to be in his thirties or forties hurried in. He had clear features, but unfortunately, he was bald. He was an old friend of Shen Cangming, Su Hexuan, who used to be a staff officer in Anren Army.

Su Hexuan was born into a prestigious family and joined the army, but he became disheartened by the death of Wang Zhongsi and turned to Buddhism. He was not a follower of the Fengsui lineage, but he still made contributions in the battle at Qinghai Lake and was awarded a rank.

Knowing that Shen Cangming needed it, he gave him the pill directly.

Su Hexuan didn't look like a monk; he was extremely handsome. As he looked at Zhou Yan, who was covered in blood, his expression gradually turned to admiration. He said, "No wonder you value him so much, Shen Cangming. You have such a bloodthirsty heart and such a murderous nature!"

"Because of him, you just saw the sage, and you actually abandoned him. Tsk tsk tsk."

They had just arrived at the reclining Buddha at the Wofo Temple and met Li Longji, Chen Xuanli, and Gao Lishi. After learning that Zhou Yan had gone down, Shen Cangming didn't say a word to Li Sanlang and immediately tried to find Zhou Yan.

Su Hexuan felt that if he weren't worried about the kid in front of him...

Shen Cangming of Xingxiuchuan will probably take direct action.

Even if they don't kill Li Sanlang, they'll still give him a good beating.

Shen Cangming, wielding his battle sword, stood guard beside Zhou Yan, cleaving and killing the insect demon, and asked, "He Xuan, what exactly happened at the Reclining Buddha Temple?"

Su Hexuan smiled and said, "Call me by my Buddhist name, Zhixuan."

"Su Hexuan is the past self, and is now a Buddhist disciple." As he spoke, he smashed a demon-subduing pestle in his hand, breaking a skin-like insect shell. The thing was quite heavy and felt very much like the hammer he used in the army.

Zhi Xuan said, "As for the Reclining Buddha Temple, judging from the things we found on our way here, it is for the purpose of seeking longevity."

"But in reality, it's definitely not that simple. Cultivators, court officials, Buddhists, Taoists, heretics, demons and monsters—who doesn't want to live forever?"

"But even those who seek immortality have their own lineages. Cultivating immortality through shedding the cicada's skin and refining the corpse, seeking the immortality of Buddhism—this path is far too evil. Based on my understanding of the abbot, his own Buddhist cultivation is sufficient to suppress his fear of death."

"However, step by step, they led themselves to utter ruin."

Zhi Xuan smashed a millstone-sized insect demon and said, "Shen Cangming, don't you think there's a problem? A lifetime of cultivation shouldn't collapse in this way."

Shen Cangming slashed down with his blade. "You mean, someone lured us?"

Zhi Xuan said, "Everyone has desires, and evil thoughts will flash through people's minds. But as long as you don't do these desires and evil deeds, then it is not considered evil. It is just the rise and fall of countless thoughts and desires, and then subduing countless thoughts and desires."

"This is the subduing of dragons, tigers, the mind, and the will."

"The fear of death is natural. Being able to suppress such fear is a form of spiritual practice. However, when one's will is at its weakest, if something pushes one, it is easy to go astray."

Zhi Xuan said:
"The abbot should return to the Western Paradise."

"However, those demons who incite desires in people's hearts must also be exterminated!"

………………

There were two ruthless individuals outside who had survived major battles like the Tang Dynasty's great victory over Tibet. Zhou Yan was at ease as the effects of the medicine wore off. His body had long since become a battlefield, with the blood of the drought demon constantly damaging and invading, while the power of the God of Agriculture's ears of grain was constantly repairing and replenishing.

These two forces, one originating from the drought and calamity devoured by the Yellow Emperor's daughter.

One comes from Houji, the god of agriculture who pioneered the tradition of farming.

Fortunately, one only had a drop of blood left, while the other was a whole ear of grain.

Within Zhou Yan, the two opposing forces of birth and death formed a delicate balance. Within this balance, the power of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman tirelessly devoured the blood of the Drought Demon.

I'm going to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!
On the jade talisman, the environment where the hungry ghost originally resided had changed; the earth was scorched and flames raged everywhere, resembling a scorched hell. However, the hungry ghost's divine will radiated a bright, intense light.

The three forces were locked in a fierce battle, with everyone bleeding profusely.

The cicada eggs on my arm are secretly spreading.

In such a situation, the single pill becomes a variable.

Wang Zhongsi's war flames, with the power of the Daoist sect and the elixirs refined by the military lineage, entered Zhou Yan's body and spread out. On the one hand, it gradually strengthened Zhou Yan's connection with the earth's veins, and on the other hand, it strengthened Zhou Yan's connection with the Earth Soul and Heavenly Inclination through the refinement of the artifact.

The power of the beacon tower's advancement surged into this body.

To Zhou Yan's astonishment, when he absorbed the power of the elixir, the Xuan Guan power of the Feng Sui lineage surged into the power of the drought demon. The two powers mixed together without repelling each other.

Zhou Yan was stunned, then realized something.

The drought demon is a creature that appears when the earth is parched and scorched black. When the drought demon appears, the land is barren for thousands of miles.

Beacon towers are a lineage that, through the interaction of the earth's veins and battle, fire and earth combine to create a raging inferno.

Both forces, at their core, are fire and earth.

To a certain extent, they have considerable overlap.

Zhou Yan felt that after the power of the Beacon Tower Official was mixed in, the destructive power of the Drought Demon Fire on his body was reduced and weakened. And after it was weakened, the restorative power of the God of Agriculture's Ear of Grain finally began to prevail.

As the battle between the drought demon and the god of agriculture ended, the power of the hungry ghost and the transformed power of the beacon spread from his torso to all parts of his body, destroying and engulfing the golden insect patterns.

Zhou Yan's meridians, muscles, and bones began to be reshaped little by little.

Moreover, this time, it is more resilient and powerful than before.

Impurities should be expelled.

However, it was directly devoured by the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman.

The power of a drought demon? I'll eat it all!
Impurities in the body?!
I'm going to eat, eat, eat!
I don't know how much time or how many hours have passed.

Zhou Yan's body has been completely reforged. His strength, speed, and physique are no longer comparable to his former self at the ninth rank. In fact, he is even stronger than a normal eighth-rank Xuan official.

Eighth-rank Xuan official [Zhen Rong].

It can release one's own malevolent energy to enhance perception and early warning.

When gathering power, the flames on the blade can be transformed into condensed blade energy and unleashed. When using the Beacon Slash, the mana consumption is naturally reduced, and the original mana is more than twice as strong as that of a ninth-rank cultivator.

Therefore, the Beacon Slash, which concentrates the flames onto the blade, will not be a major drain on energy.

The trump card used during the Ninth-Rank Mystic Official period will become a regular consumable spell used by the Eighth-Rank Mystic Official Zhen Rong.

As his transformation was complete, the Earth Soul Heaven-Shattering Blade on Zhou Yan's knee faintly glowed with a fiery light. The blood of the Drought Demon, mixed with Zhou Yan's blood, finally left its mark on the blade.

Zhou Yan broke through to the next realm, becoming a ninth-rank Xuan official, and was granted the Yongming Zhenling Commander's Seal by the false emperor of the Southern Dynasty.

Humanitarian spirit ignited the first beacon.

The eighth-grade Xuanguan, the earth and fire are interdependent, taking the blood of the drought demon, the artistic conception of the red earth thousands of miles away.

When Zhou Yan broke through to become an eighth-rank Xuan official, a barefoot woman suddenly appeared in his consciousness. She wore a beast bone necklace, had burn marks on her arms, and her eyes were like burning fire, reflecting the tragic scene of thousands of miles of scorched earth.

When she appeared in Zhou Yan's sea of ​​consciousness, the entire dream collapsed.

This is the malevolent energy of the drought demon!

Even if Zhou Yan absorbed the essence of this drop of drought demon blood, the murderous aura and divine intent were not something a hungry ghost could swallow. Divine intent was not in the hungry ghost's diet. The woman stretched out her hand, and the dream space turned into a patch of scorched earth, pointing towards Zhou Yan's brow.

Zhou Yan flicked his fingers, and the Earthly Soul and Heavenly Collapse appeared in his hand.

The next moment.

With his other hand, he had already grabbed the drought demon's wrist.

This hand is large, with thick fingers, and is extremely powerful.

boom! ! !
With a sudden clench of his five fingers, the drought demon's divine will was forcefully slammed to the ground, transforming into a mass of malevolent energy. Within this energy, a gray monk's robe billowed out, and the newcomer rose to his feet. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a serene face.

Zhou Yan looked at the monk who had appeared in his dream and saw that the relic was emitting boundless light.

The monk put his hands together in prayer and said:

"Boundless Light".

"This humble monk is Xuanzang."

(End of this chapter)