Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 296 The Secrets of the Far South: The Forging of Magical Treasures

"If you are honest enough, it's not impossible to spare your life."

Lin Changheng chuckled softly, his words of nonchalance already out, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.

The gaunt cultivator who had been kowtowing was initially delighted upon hearing this, thinking that he might have passed this test. However, he realized the implications in the next instant and his face turned ashen.

“Yes, yes, yes…”

The cultivator stammered, "What does Senior wish to know?"

Throughout this process, he never looked up, his forehead almost touching the ground, because he knew that if he didn't see the person's face, he might still have a chance to live, but once he saw the person's face, he would give the other party a reason to kill and dispose of the body, and he would have no chance of survival.

"Then guess why I detained you now, of all times, instead of earlier or later?"

Lin Changheng didn't care what the other person was thinking, and simply chuckled and asked in return.

There's a sense of leisurely playfulness, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Upon hearing this, the gaunt cultivator's shoulders began to tremble repeatedly, whether from touching a secret or from the fear it instilled.

Lin Changheng's smile turned into a cold sneer, his gaze sharp as he stared at the man. "Tell me, who ordered this, or rather... who are you working for, and what is your purpose?"

"I……"

After much hesitation, the gaunt cultivator finally gritted his teeth and decided to speak, but as soon as he uttered the first word, a sudden change occurred!
His eyes suddenly bulged, and his pupils were instantly filled and torn apart by countless bursts of black light! A cold and violent aura exploded from between his eyebrows without warning.

"not good!"

Lin Changheng's expression changed drastically. Such a vicious and decisive restriction had been planted deep within the other party's soul!

His reaction was lightning fast. In the instant before the gaunt cultivator's aura dissipated and his body had collapsed, his right hand, fingers joined like a sword, flashed with a brilliant spiritual light and struck fiercely at the man's brow!
At the same time, with a hook and pull, the secret technique was already unleashed.

—Search for the Soul!
Since we can't keep them alive, we'll forcefully seize the last fragment before their soul completely collapses!
However, as soon as his consciousness entered the other party's sea of ​​consciousness, all he could see was a scene of apocalypse.

Black, chain-like curse runes coiled around the remnant soul like vines, now frantically strangling and burning, emitting a teeth-grinding sizzling sound. Fragments of memory, like paper thrown into a raging fire, quickly curled, charred, and turned to ashes.

Lin Changheng's divine sense transformed into an invisible hand, ignoring the backlash from the cursed fire, and forcibly seized several of the largest fragments.

There was only a void of emptiness where one could reach.

All memories, all key information about the "master" and the "purpose," had already been thoroughly cleansed and erased! What remained were only some irrelevant cultivation thoughts and blurry images of recent battles.

"boom!"

Just as he turned to try to delve deeper into the source of the curse, the remaining core of his soul let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain, and suddenly collapsed completely, along with those dark curse runes, turning into fragments of soul power and dissipating into the world.

Lin Changheng withdrew his finger, a wisp of black energy swirling around his fingertip, which was then dispersed by his protective magic.

His face was ashen as he looked at the corpse before him, which was rapidly losing all life and becoming like a tattered sack.

Such ruthlessness and meticulous planning... the person behind this is no ordinary individual.

He stood there, the wind from the valley swirling in, carrying a hint of blood and a sense of oppressive tension as a precarious situation loomed ahead.

Moreover, the black, chain-like curse runes gave Lin Changheng a familiar feeling!

After careful consideration, I quickly found my anchor.

It's it!

It was none other than the "Soul-Eating Seal" that Lin Changheng had discovered in the [Golden Sands Market]. At the time, it covered his arm and was like a malignant sore. Later, Lin Changheng cultivated the [Crimson Sky Profound Flame] into a third-order true fire, which annihilated it in one fell swoop.

At this moment, the feeling he got from the [Curse Rune] was quite similar to that of the [Soul-Eating Seal], as if they were from the same source.

This also means——

"The demonic cultivators... are also involved."

Lin Changheng's gaze sharpened, and he instantly thought of many things.

"Could it be that someone among the true disciples of the Immortal City is colluding with demonic cultivators to deal with Bai Hengwan, and thus affecting me as well? I wonder when they quietly planted a demonic mark on me, intending to remove Bai Hengwan's powerful ally?"

Because he was extremely prudent, avoided trouble, and had never had any contact with demonic cultivators, he naturally could not attract such trouble.

"I just don't know if the mastermind is Senior Brother Bai Hengwan, whom I've never met or had any dealings with, or 'True Disciple Yang,' whom I've only met once?"

Lin Changheng's expression darkened slightly as he made a judgment in his mind. Due to the lack of information, he could not make an accurate judgment, but he suddenly smiled and said, "Why do we need evidence?"

If you sense any malice, just find an opportunity to kill them.

He has an extreme lack of security, and the best outcome for anyone or anything that threatens him is to destroy it.

He pulled the storage bag from the corpse on the ground into his hand and began to examine it. He found a restriction token inside, which Lin Changheng recognized at a glance. With this token, he could enter and exit the outer perimeter of Floating Life Lake.

This further confirms his conjecture.

Moreover, a transparent jade piece as thin as a cicada's wing was taken out and held in Lin Changheng's hand. It was also a "jade slip" that could carry information, but in this state, it was even more difficult to detect when it was transmitted.

Just now, when the two brushed past each other, the messenger sent a message to the other party.

Lin Changheng forcefully inserted his divine sense, and after a short while, he withdrew it, revealing a look of certainty on his face.

This envoy was indeed turned and became an inside agent, or rather, he was a spy planted from the beginning to transmit information at crucial moments.

The text describes in great detail what the envoy saw and felt during his trip, especially the part about his contact with Lin Changheng, which is described in great detail, and the imagery is vividly portrayed between the lines.

This clearly shows that he is a master in this field and that he values ​​Lin Changheng highly.

"Alright."

Lin Changheng smiled, and then a wisp of dark golden flame drifted out and landed on the corpse, instantly turning it into ashes. The mountain wind blew it away, leaving no trace.

……

In fact, not much time was wasted in handling these matters.

Lin Changheng sensed it briefly and realized that the envoy had already entered the Immortal City through the gate.

Without pausing, Lin Changheng followed the person until he saw him fly into the Immortal Lake before he stopped.

Three days later.

Lin Changheng met Bai Hengwan again in a government office in the inner city.

This woman alone not only had her attendants driven away, but the formation was also fully activated, enveloping the entire hall.

"Fellow Daoist Bai."

"Fellow Daoist Lin!"

The two had met before, but after some time apart, Bai Hengwan's aura had noticeably grown stronger, making Lin Changheng's scalp tingle.

It can be said that Lin Changheng has lived in the cultivation world for over a hundred years, but he has only encountered one person with such talent! That person is Bai Hengwan!
Earthly grade, unique spiritual root talent.

The speed of his cultivation is truly astonishing.

This aura, like a bright light, attracted Lin Changheng's attention, causing him to overlook the woman's stunning beauty.

At this moment, her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, simply tied up with a plain jade hairpin. Her features were exquisite, her skin as white as snow, and her moon-white robes accentuated her unparalleled beauty. Ordinary people dared not look directly at her face, as if even a glance would disturb her celestial grace.

"What, Fellow Daoist Lin, is this your first time meeting me?"

Feeling Lin Changheng's gaze, Bai Hengwan smiled faintly and said in a clear, gentle voice, with a hint of teasing in her tone.

"Ahem, that's not it. It's just that Fellow Daoist Bai's cultivation progress is too astonishing, making me feel ashamed."

Lin Changheng did not feel embarrassed. He calmly looked away and said this.

"Although the progress is fast, time is indeed running out."

Upon hearing this, Bai Hengwan did not show any happiness; instead, she revealed a faint worry.

"Senior Qinglan won't let you go onto the arena, will she?"

For some reason, Lin Changheng thought of a certain scene and immediately looked strange.

"That's good, at least there are clear standards."

Bai Hengwan shook her head. "No one can fathom Master's thoughts, nor can anyone control them. His majesty is overwhelming and unfathomable."

Lin Changheng didn't say anything more, feeling a headache as well. How was this any different from the struggle for the throne among the nine princes in his previous life, where there were no standard procedures, no focus, no rules, and everything depended on the other party's preference?
After that, the two tacitly avoided mentioning the matter.

Lin Changheng then spoke of the envoy's betrayal that he had discovered, and took out the thin "jade slip".

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Bai can find out who is behind this?"

Lin Changheng, on the contrary, made a request.

"Ok?"

Bai Hengwan was taken aback. She carefully examined Lin Changheng with her beautiful eyes. Generally speaking, given Lin's steady personality, he would avoid such "troublesome matters" at all costs. Yet now he was taking the initiative to show concern and bring it up.
It has to be said that this is a very rare thing.

"To be honest, it seems that I was also targeted by the person behind this. Five years ago, they even placed some kind of curse mark on me when I was not careful. Fortunately, I found a way to deal with it, so I was not seriously injured."

Lin Changheng's expression remained unchanged as he spoke of the matter in an extremely indifferent tone, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Is there such a thing?"

Bai Hengwan's tone changed. To avoid this situation, she had been keeping Lin Changheng out of the picture, only asking for some pills, and would not let him come forward to support her unless it was an emergency.

In the end, Lin Changheng was still dragged into it? And five years ago... Aren't they thinking too far ahead?

Bai Hengwan's expression clearly darkened. "That's fine, but I've noticed that the methods used seem to involve demonic techniques and spells."

Lin Changheng held nothing back, hoping to escalate the matter.

Ideally, I could use the [Floating Life Immortal City] to wipe out the demonic cultivators in one fell swoop and get rid of this trouble for myself.

To everyone's surprise, after listening, Bai Hengwan only seemed thoughtful, without showing too much shock. Instead, she was thinking about the points that could be used.

This gave Lin Changheng the feeling that [Floating Life Immortal City] didn't seem to care much about the remnants of the demonic path.

They did not exhibit the same deep-seated hatred and relentless pursuit of extermination of demons that the entire Song region outwardly displayed.

Bai Hengwan was perceptive and even perceptive. She noticed Lin Changheng's doubts and suddenly smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin is wondering about our attitude towards the demonic path?"

"Indeed, please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Bai."

Seeing that Bai Hengwan intended to reveal something, Lin Changheng immediately cupped his hands and pretended to be all ears.

"His hatred of the demonic path and his vow to exterminate all demonic cultivators have nothing to do with our sects and immortal city forces; it's just something he puts on for certain people to see."

Bai Hengwan explained directly.

"Oh? Certain people? Fellow Daoist Bai, you might as well elaborate."

These words immediately piqued Lin Changheng's curiosity. Certain people? They must be people with astonishing strength and high status in Song, to make a group of top forces willingly perform for them.

There seemed to be another secret hidden within, and a pair of inquisitive eyes turned to Bai Hengwan.

As expected, Bai Hengwan's next words revealed to Lin Changheng a long-buried secret from the past.

Although brief, "certain people" now has a specific target.

【Southern Palace】!
Originally, the Song territory was ruled by a powerful demonic sect, and the [Southern Palace] was an affiliated force of this sect.

In a sense, it could even be called a "branch sect," and the leader of the [Southern Palace] at that time was also the son of the sect leader of the demonic sect, so he was highly trusted and valued.

The Southern Palace did indeed step in and do many despicable things for the Demon Sect that even the Demon Sect found outrageous.

However, later, the demonic sect suffered a great calamity and its strength was severely damaged. At the critical moment of life and death, the first to betray them was the [Southern Palace] that came to their rescue.

The Demon Sect's headquarters was immediately destroyed, and the sect leader was murdered by his own son. The sect then signed an unequal treaty with foreign enemies, submitting itself to the enemy, and only then did it survive the great calamity.

After that, the [Southern Palace] swallowed up the resources of the Demonic Sect in one fell swoop, gradually gained a foothold, and ruled the Song region. Later, by "living" longer, they outlived the enemy sects and began a long road of whitewashing, until now, they have become a glorious and righteous banner.

However, the lineage of the Demonic Sect has not been severed, and cultivators still occasionally learn it through various circumstances.

Therefore, in order to completely eliminate any possibility of the resurgence of demonic forces, the [Southern Palace] requires all forces in the Song region to "eliminate demons and protect the righteous path"!
Those remnants of the demonic path, kill them one by one, kill two by two.

Apart from sects that have something to ask of the Southern Palace, the others are just bluffing and fooling around. After all, killing demonic cultivators is an effort with no benefit, so who would be willing to do it?

After all, no one gets up early without a reason. This was true for the Bixiao Sect in the past, and it is true for the Fusheng Immortal City now.

……

"So there was such a secret behind it..."

Lin Changheng had never heard of, nor had he ever imagined, that [Jinan Palace] had started out in this way.

He further speculated that the reason why [Ji Nan Gong] wanted to whitewash itself and change to advocate the righteous path was to block others from replicating the path it had taken.

There are things it can do, but it absolutely doesn't want anyone else to do them.

And we must guard against it strictly!
"Therefore, from the perspective of the Immortal City's power structure, contact with the demonic path is not a big deal, unless it is publicized to the outside world and pressured by public opinion. But such a thing would damage the reputation of the Immortal City and harm its future interests, so it must not be done."

Bai Hengwan understood perfectly well that this was not the way to go; internal struggles should be kept within the country and not allowed to escalate outwards.

Otherwise, if he were to leave a bad impression on his master, being labeled as someone who "only seeks personal advancement and disregards the interests of the Immortal City," his impression of him would likely be even worse.

"That's true, but since they dared to attack me and place pawns next to Fellow Daoist Bai, we can naturally retaliate! An eye for an eye!"

Lin Changheng frowned slightly, appearing somewhat aggressive.

Bai Hengwan was also seeing Lin Changheng like this for the first time. She seemed to be deep in thought, and realized that she had gained a deeper understanding of his personality. Beneath his steady and peaceful demeanor, he was surprisingly sensitive to crises and could not tolerate them!
"Alright, we can't just sit here and wait to die. Once I find out the truth and know who did it, I will definitely not let them off easily!"

Bai Hengwan made her stance clear, and with Lin Changheng's encouragement, her wavering thoughts finally settled, and she made up her mind.

"If you need help, Fellow Daoist Bai, please don't hesitate to ask. 'Alchemist Lin' cannot help, but 'Li Feiyu' can."

Lin Changheng's eyes flashed, and he glanced at Bai Hengwan with satisfaction, speaking in a low voice.

After the discussion ended, Bai Hengwan's cold face revealed a knowing smile, and she deliberately nodded and smiled, "With 'Fellow Daoist Li's' words, I am relieved."

Then, as if remembering something, she flipped her hand, and a sandalwood box about a foot long appeared on the stone table. The box was ancient and simple, with natural cloud patterns on its surface, radiating a sealing power.

"This was sent by the Yun family. They said it was to thank Fellow Daoist Li for his help that day, and asked me to pass it on." Bai Hengwan gently pushed the wooden box towards Lin Changheng. "It also includes a letter from Miss Yun Zhi."

As they were talking, another letter arrived.

Lin Changheng's heart stirred, and his gaze fell on the wooden box, a hint of excitement in his eyes. He naturally knew what was inside—it was the last crucial material he needed to refine the embryo of his natal magic weapon: [Centennial Warm Jade]!
After casually putting the letter away, he reached out and opened the box.

Instantly, a gentle, mellow, and peaceful spiritual energy wafted over, calming the mind and spirit.

On a deep purple velvet pad lay a piece of jade, about the size of an adult's palm and two fingers thick. The jade was a soft, milky white, with an incredibly fine texture, like solidified mutton fat.

Inside the jade, faint white light seems to slowly flow and swirl, like a sea of ​​clouds within, or even like a living being breathing.

It feels warm to the touch, not cold, but rather carries a continuous and extremely comfortable warmth, as if it can soothe all restless emotions and violent energy.

This is a piece of exceptional quality, a "century-old warm jade"! Judging from its inner radiance and naturally warm appearance, it is probably more than a hundred years old, at least one hundred and fifty years old, making it a top-grade piece!

"What a fine jade!" A hint of joy flashed in Lin Changheng's eyes as he gently closed the box.

It seems that Miss Yunzhi is indeed an honest person and did not lie.

If there's an opportunity in the future, I might consider getting in touch.

Moreover, with this jade, he can begin to fuse all the collected materials together, shape them into a base, and refine the embryo of his own natal magic weapon!
"Thank you for passing this on, Fellow Daoist Bai." He put away the wooden box and thanked Bai Hengwan.

Bai Hengwan smiled slightly: "It's nothing. I wish Fellow Daoist Lin... no, I wish Fellow Daoist Li a speedy completion of the magic weapon embryo, so that you can further advance in protecting the Great Dao."

The two smiled at each other, understanding each other tacitly.

……

Lin Changheng did not leave Immortal City immediately.

Instead, he rented a courtyard in the inner city for a year under the identity of Li Feiyu.

The rent was relatively stable, at 72 low-grade spirit stones a year, but it has increased to 78.

As luck would have it, a courtyard in the “Yun Jian Que” residential area, where Lin Changheng had lived for a long time, had become vacant.

It was not "Qingyuan Xiaozhu" where Lin Changheng had lived for many years, but the courtyard where Cui Yinshi and his Daoist partner lived next door.

The monks from the brokerage firm also mentioned this strange story: when Master Cui Yin disappeared, this courtyard was left idle for ten years. It was only after the lease expired that it was forcibly opened, cleaned up, and then rented out again.

Some people guessed what was going on and revealed it to others, causing many cultivators to feel unlucky and refuse to rent the place, fearing that bad luck would befall them and they would mysteriously disappear, which would be extremely bad.

It took several renovations and price reductions to finally rent it out.

However, the later guests were indeed unlucky; some were injured while fighting magic outside, while others perished while hunting demons in the wilderness.

This resulted in no one renting the properties even at low prices, as people believed in so-called metaphysics.

It wasn't until this day, with the arrival of Lin Changheng, that it had a new master.

"I am currently preoccupied with other matters, so I will take my leave now..."

As a result, the monks from the brokerage firm didn't dare to step into the courtyard. They simply gave a brief introduction at the entrance, mentioned some precautions, and left in a hurry after completing the handover.

Lin Changheng touched his nose, turned around and looked into the courtyard, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

Cui Yinshi and her Daoist partner were plotting against him, but he turned the tables on them and burned them to ashes... They couldn't even beat him when they were alive, so how could they cause any trouble after they died?

Lin Changheng wasn't worried at all. He grinned and stepped inside.

Then, with a loud "bang," the door slammed shut.

It also blocked the astonished, curious, and even somewhat gloating gazes of some cultivators from the outside world.

The door closed, isolating the inside from the outside, but the hushed discussions outside buzzed like mosquitoes:

"Hiss... Someone actually dares to take over this 'haunted house'? And it's a complete stranger!"

"But this is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who may have the means and confidence to deal with it! Perhaps he really does have a solution or way to handle it."

"Wasn't the previous tenant, Old Monster Yin, also a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Although he was old, he moved here to live a comfortable life for quite some time, but in the end, he still died mysteriously..."

"That's true. I heard that the courtyard is filled with resentment. I heard that a few Qi Refining cultivators who didn't believe in the superstition tried to go in and take advantage of the situation, but they became mentally impaired, their souls were damaged, and their cultivation levels plummeted within a few days!"

"That's right! Old Liu from the brokerage firm was running for his life just now! This house is really eerie; even the array can't suppress that sinister aura!"

"Hehe, just wait and see how long this senior can hold out. Maybe in a few days, we'll see this house listed for rent again at the real estate agency, and at the price of a haunted house!"

"Perhaps they have some kind of magic to ward off evil? But... I doubt it."

These discussions were filled with apprehension about the residence and a lack of confidence in Lin Changheng.

Lin Changheng, who was inside the gate, naturally heard these discussions, but instead of scoffing at them, he looked around with great interest.

(End of this chapter)