Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 177 Crimson Light Emerges
When Zhou Can pulled himself out of his hazy memories, half of his body was already cracked like shattered porcelain.

He was hit by the Chaotic Qi Technique, then approached by a martial artist, and was even trapped in the enemy's illusionary realm.

Even if this blow wasn't fatal, he would have little chance of retaliating.

He forcibly pulled out another jade-like object from his sleeve and placed it in front of Lin Jiang.

The jade tablet instantly enlarged, transforming into a shield that blocked Lin Jiang's face.

Lin Jiang blinked and turned left to go around the shield, and the shield seemed to have a mind of its own, turning left with Lin Jiang.

If you move to the right, the shield will also move to the right; if you jump upwards, the shield will even jump upwards with you.

Lin Jiang was furious and smashed the jade shield in front of him with a single punch.

Upon seeing this, Liang Huashan, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but cover his mouth and burst out laughing.

However, General Zhou's expression was not very pleasant.

Although this jade pendant wasn't a top-tier treasure with the ability to add stars, it had been with him for a long time. How could he remain completely indifferent when it was smashed to pieces with a single punch today?

Suppressing his thoughts, Zhou Canjiang used the time gained by the jade tablet to try his best to repair his body.

He then reached his other arm into his clothes and flung all the sachets off his clothes.

Countless brocade pouches burst open in the air, and fragrant mists of various colors surged and intertwined, even mixing this ink-like world with a unique hue.

The more fragrances were mixed, the stronger the smell became. Lin Jiang was quite close to it, so he could only smell it in his nose and couldn't tell if it was fragrant or foul.

With a light swirl of his brush, Liang Huashan lifted the cloud-like fragrant mist into the air.

Seeing that there was no more snow falling on the mountaintop, he simply added a few strokes of ink.

The chaotic energy instantly transformed into a panicked herd of beasts that scattered and fled, and Zhou Canjiang's last remaining reliance was thus exhausted.

He had no means of resistance left.

"Your skills are lacking," Liang Huashan commented, shaking his head. "Those old-school, sixth-level incense makers grind and blend incense day after day, emphasizing subtle and gradual processes, sometimes even I can hardly detect it. How can you be so barbaric and direct? Incense isn't used like that."

Along with Liang Huashan's words, Lin Jiang also threw a few simple and unadorned punches. Where his arm swept, trees crumbled and mountains collapsed. When the wind from his fist passed, rocks scattered and clouds shattered. In an instant, blood gushed from Zhou Canjiang's body.

Before the splattered blood could even turn into wisps of smoke and surge back, Liang Huashan's brushstrokes flowed, and from his opponent's wound, wisps of ink butterflies fluttered into the air.

He wasn't even given a chance to continue recovering.

Zhou Canjiang lowered his eyes and looked at the wound.

Suppressed by the opponent's Qi, most of his flesh and blood shrank, and his body became much thinner than before. Several places where his muscles and tendons were completely necrotic were sunken like pits. He simply wrapped his remaining body in a wide robe to barely maintain his last shred of dignity.

He then lit several incense sticks with a tinderbox, using the billowing smoke to conceal Lin Jiang's fist technique.

Even though the situation was already showing signs of decline, Zhou Canjiang's gaze remained fixed on Liang Huashan.

“I came from a muddy alley, unlike you scions of noble families. I’ve never read the classics, never received proper instruction. To survive, I have to use my fists. I don’t understand your convoluted ways. Even this incense-burning Taoist technique cost me half my life.”

When he finished his long monologue, Lin Jiang didn't give him any face and continued to punch and kick him. By the time he finished speaking, his shoulder blade had already been hit with seven or eight muffled thuds.

Lieutenant General Zhou glared resentfully at Lin Jiang:

"Can't people be allowed to finish speaking?"

Lin Jiang pulled his fist back, feeling wronged.

"I didn't slap you in the mouth, did I? You have a mouth, so you can keep talking, right?"

Lieutenant General Zhou: "..."

General Zhou's throat bobbed.

Compared to the chaotic qi techniques that consume true qi, this fellow's nonsense is even more infuriating.

He finally turned to Liang Huashan and forced a bitter smile:

"The year I broke through to the sixth level of the Heavenly Realm, I hadn't even heard of the Star Pointing Realm. I was so focused on accumulating cultivation that by the time I realized it, I had already missed the best opportunity to break through."

"When I began cultivating the Three Divine Powers, I poured all my energy into the Way of Body Transformation, exhausting my efforts to finally achieve a complete understanding. However, when I continued to comprehend that illusory realm, it was like looking at flowers through a fog. What exactly is the mystery of this method? And how can one attain the so-called state of mind?"
Is it that the heart of the Dao is clouded? Or that the mind is impure? Could it be that the tribulations have not been deep enough? Or that the tempering is insufficient?
"I can't fathom it, I truly can't fathom it! Where is the guiding star? Where does the guiding star reside? How can I possibly glimpse this method of breaking through to higher realms?"

Liang Huashan smiled and shook his head.

He did not respond to this shout.

It seemed that he felt the person in front of him wasn't worth saying anything more to.

General Zhou understood the silent contempt, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

He had already opened his arms, and a faint glow appeared in his lower abdomen.

"He's trying to break through the Illusionary Realm," Liang Huashan explained. Breaking through the Illusionary Realm while he has this opportunity?

Lin Jiang couldn't help but think of certain novels where the protagonists always broke through at such moments!

Could this man in front of me be one of them?
Before he could make a move, blood suddenly welled up in General Zhou's eyes.

Liang Huashan shook his head again:

“The Dao has fallen.” Liang Huashan was not surprised at all. “The backlash from the inner realm. The Illusionary Realm is the most difficult hurdle of the Three Star Pointing Methods. How can it be broken by the pressure of an extreme situation? Forcing one to enter this realm when one’s Qi is disordered is nothing but courting death.”

Lin Jiang realized that he had indeed been overthinking things.

The limits of the physical body can be sustained by willpower, but the comprehension of the true essence of Taoism ultimately allows no shortcuts.

Suddenly, a series of fine cracking sounds came from Zhou Canjiang's exposed dantian, where his robes were wide open. Cracks appeared from his bare navel, and he lowered his head to stare at the strange changes in his body.

Like a terracotta figurine exposed to the scorching sun, the cracks start from the waist and abdomen, gradually eroding the leg muscles, climbing up the sternum, and finally spreading to the neck and face.

When General Zhou looked up at the two men, cracks had covered his entire body.

Until the very last moment, his face remained calm and composed.

It just started to crumble all of a sudden.

At that moment, his body began to gradually turn into ashes, and then slowly drifted into the sky.

His eyes remained fixed on the two people in front of him, as if he wanted to memorize them completely.

Until finally, he vanished completely.

As the last speck of dust settled into the sky, a strange fragrance suddenly rose with the wind, cleansing the lingering gloom in Lin Jiang's mind.

Liang Huashan simply waved his hand, wiping away the ink-like colors around him.

"Even a Star Point Realm cultivator forcibly activated using secret techniques still retains the true Qi of heaven and earth. When the body perishes and the Dao dissipates, it will still return to the origin of all things." He gazed in the direction of the dissipating Qi and sighed softly, "Did you, young master, witness this scene?"

Lin Jiang shook his head:
"This kind of sight can only be seen when a star dies, and I'm afraid there are very few people in the world who have ever seen it."

“That’s really how Daxing is now.” Liang Huashan sighed with emotion: “Back when war raged, this scene was as common as autumn leaves.”

As the two talked, a pleasant fragrance quietly enveloped the surrounding area.

The dead tree that had been cut down by Lin Jiang's fist wind was now sprouting tender buds where the strange fragrance wafted, and the green grass was emerging from the soil like new bamboo shoots after the rain.

Above the dome, a few wisps of fragrant clouds suddenly shimmered with iridescent colors and drifted towards the horizon on the wind.

It was clearly midday, yet half the mountainside was bathed in the glow of the sunset, and the mist made it seem as if dusk had suddenly fallen. The ever-changing, magnificent light and shadow were breathtaking.

This spectacular sight lasted only a short while before the dazzling sunlight faded away like the receding tide, and the mountain scenery returned to normal.

Only the subtle fragrance floating in the air grew stronger and lingered.

Lin Jiang walked to the place where Zhou Canjiang had disappeared, and looked down to see three things lying quietly on the ground.

The first item was a coarse cloth sachet, which looked ordinary but exuded a unique fragrance, clearly not an ordinary item.

This thing is clearly a treasure.

The next item is the woven gold Qiankun Bag, the contents of which are currently unknown.

However, what caught the eye most were the small red beads that had rolled down beside the two objects.

When Lin Jiang's gaze fell on the small bead, his heart skipped a beat.

A strange, indescribable feeling washed over me.

Just like the filth that the meat box had transformed into before, Lin Jiang found the red bead extremely disgusting.

Moreover, for some reason, when Lin Jiang stared at the red bead, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this thing somewhere before.

He frowned and thought hard, but after a long time he still couldn't remember where he had seen this thing before.

Until Liu Fangyue's voice echoed in Lin Jiang's mind:

“Master, your brothers in the palace told me to get away from that place immediately. They said you are near a very dangerous place.”

"A dangerous place?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang was taken aback at first, then his gaze fell on the bead on the ground.

At that moment, Lin Jiang realized what was happening.

The feeling this bead evoked in him...

Just like those red dots on the Daxing map!
(End of this chapter)