Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 297 Entering the Urn to Refine the Spirit and Open the Path

"This is the Foundation Establishment Ceremony!"

"My hidden injuries and my physical constitution seem to have recovered!!"

The disciples of the five sects on the mound were overjoyed and couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

Those Foundation Establishment Immortals were the same, whispering among themselves:
"I never expected that coming to this conference would bring such benefits. If I had known this earlier, I would not have hesitated for so long."

The joy of the people from the five sects of Mount Lu was almost palpable, from top to bottom.

After a brief moment of joy, they gradually came to their senses and realized that the five sect leaders around them were all staring at them with rather blatant gazes.

In particular, they belatedly discovered that spiritual light had been rising near the mound. Even after the sermon ended, this spiritual light did not dissipate. Instead, it grew lush and intertwined, transforming into a cage that enveloped everyone inside the mound.

This made many quick-witted disciples or earth immortals tense up, realizing that something was wrong.

Suddenly, a celestial being, under the pretext of offering thanks, stepped out of the mound and bumped right into the spiritual light.

Clap clap, it wasn't just one Earth Immortal who made such an attempt; even some disciples from the five sects below, confident in their status, boldly probed their divine sense and true energy beyond the mound.

However, whether they were living people or possessed divine consciousness and true energy, they were all firmly sealed on the mound.

This situation caused the expressions of these clever immortals to change drastically.

Fang Shu is one of them.

His mind was still blank for a moment, but he suddenly remembered the words "marinated" and "added" that the Dancheng Sect Masters used when they were preaching.

When I first heard these words, I found them strange, but I just thought it was because the five sect leaders had different preferences. After all, they were all genuine old monsters.

But now, combined with the behavior of the five sect leaders and their actions of imprisoning everyone, these words are enough to make people feel terrified.

"That shouldn't be the case! Although the Five Sects of Mount Lu are considered unorthodox sects, they are still legitimate sects of the human path and immortality, and cannibalism is strictly prohibited for cultivation."

"Why has the sect leader imprisoned us?!"

Fang Shu and the others had fluctuating expressions, all of them in disbelief.

Their actions gradually attracted the attention of other immortals.

Upon hearing their murmurs of surprise and doubt, many of these slow-witted disciples also changed their expressions drastically.

Finally, one of the immortals, unable to contain his terror, suddenly cried out:
"Fellow immortals, why have you imprisoned us?!"

"Is this a Foundation Establishment Ceremony, or are the five immortals luring us into a trap?"

This caused an uproar among the people on the hill, with everyone buzzing and discussing amongst themselves.

Upon hearing the phrase "inviting the enemy into the trap," the Five Internal Organs Masters and the others exchanged glances, their smiles seemingly widening, and began to mutter:
"That's right, the phrase 'entering the urn' is used well."

"You little brats, you've finally come to your senses, haven't you?"

A few words suddenly reached Fang Shu and the others' ears, shattering any lingering hope they might have had.

"This...this is impossible!?"

Some people were momentarily stunned, caught between extreme joy and sorrow, and stood frozen in place like wooden figures.

Others suddenly stood up, shouting:

"Impossible, impossible! If the five immortals were plotting something sinister, why would they treat us so kindly?"

In addition, there were disciples like Fang Shu who remained relatively calm. They turned their gaze to the Foundation Establishment Immortals in mid-air, especially the Three Capitals within their respective sects.

It should be known that these once high and mighty earth immortals are now all locked up on this mound. If the sky were to fall, these earth immortals should be the first to hold it up.

However, everyone was shocked to discover that the Earth Immortals of the Five Sects were in no better condition. In fact, they were even worse off than the Qi Refining disciples like Fang Shu, which filled them with fear.

Among them was a terrified earth immortal, his face deathly pale, trembling as he muttered to himself:

"I see, I see, I understand now... This Foundation Establishment Conference is just a pretext. Its main purpose is not to pave the way for disciples and preach the Dharma, but to lure all of us Foundation Establishment cultivators here and then wipe us out in one fell swoop..."

However, the three leaders of each sect, although their expressions were solemn, did not show the same fear as the others.

Meanwhile, Fang Shu carefully examined the deer cart, ox cart, and sheep cart, and noticed that their eyes were scanning the inside of the five stomachs.

Moreover, Fang Shu intuitively felt that the eyes of Lu Che and the other three were filled with mockery, especially when they looked at some of the Foundation Establishment Immortals within the sect.

Just then, a burst of laughter rang out from outside the mound, interrupting Fang Shu's observation.

A huge, withered skeletal hand reached out from outside the mound and landed in mid-air, then grabbed a Foundation Establishment Immortal.

The earth immortal could only squeak like a mouse before being captured.

Upon emerging from the mound, the person landed on the withered skeletal hand, the spiritual light emanating from their body suddenly shattered, and their true energy and blood rapidly flowed outwards.

With the skin torn open and flesh ripped apart, the person's flesh and blood instantly vanished, revealing the stark white bones beneath.

A muffled voice came from outside the mound: "Why all the nonsense? Just do it. I can't wait any longer."

Click!

The enormous figure of the skeleton abbot was swaying unsteadily, his jaw clenching.

He made a forceful sucking motion, swallowing all the spiritual energy, true energy, and blood energy leaking from the Earth Immortal in his hand into his body in one gulp, and making smacking sounds as he savored it.

At this moment, in His hands, a belated scream finally rang out:
"You evil demon, you dare to eat people to practice your cultivation, you will die a horrible death... Ahh! Save me!"

But in just three or four breaths, the dignified Earth Immortal was completely skinned and dismembered, and perished without a sound.

This sudden act of refining stunned everyone on and around the hill.

Even the most unbelievable and optimistic people are now forced to believe that they have walked into the lion's den and are about to be used as food and refined by the five sect leaders.

"No, no! Please help me!"

Before anyone could react, several more screams rang out above them.

Several earth immortals looked panicked and tried to cast spells one after another. Their bodies burst with spiritual light, but they were all like paper, bursting apart with a "poof" and offering no resistance. Their bodies were suddenly sent flying backward.

Then, the four divine beings—the Five Internal Organs Temple Master, the Face Palace Master, the Four Limbs Temple Master, and the Skin and Flesh Temple Master—began to take action. They picked and chose several other Earth Immortals present, then began to refine them, either peeling or swallowing them, or roughly or meticulously. These Earth Immortals, whom Fang Shu and the others usually revered, were now being refined and consumed by the five sect leaders like candy beans.

"Spare me! Spare me!" The scene terrified the Foundation Establishment Immortals from all the sects, who were so terrified that they barely managed to faint.

As the Qi Refining disciples trembled with fear, secretly rejoicing that the five sect leaders seemed to look down on them, who hadn't yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, screams of agony rang out around them:
"No! I'm not at the Foundation Establishment stage, I have no chance of eating this!"

"Temple Master, spare my life!!"

Right next to Fang Shu, a disciple of the Five Organs Temple who looked somewhat familiar to him was hooked by the Five Organs Temple Master with his finger and pulled away as well.

With a soft "plop," the opponent's spiritual energy was instantly drained by the Five Internal Organs Temple Master, leaving him shriveled and emaciated, like a tattered leather coat, and casually tossed aside beside a mound of earth.

The Foundation Establishment Immortals were refined, and the Qi Refining Disciples were also refined.

This continued repeatedly, with the five sect leaders taking advantage of the food, feasting with both hands.

Now, the mound was in complete chaos.

From top to bottom, everyone scurried around like headless flies, while some people frantically used their spiritual senses to communicate with each other, trying to join forces to break through the encirclement.

They roared, "We can't just sit here and wait to die!!"

Only a few people, like Fang Shu, were able to remain calm and were carefully observing their surroundings.

Fang Shu's brows furrowed, and he became increasingly aware of the unusual situation.

Those were the three masters at the top, each of them sitting cross-legged as if they had been given up hope or had expected it all along. Even though their disciples and earth immortals called out to them repeatedly, they paid no attention.

Furthermore, even after the five sect leaders outside refined many Earth Immortal disciples, their auras did not show any significant increase.

From Fang Shu's perspective, the five sect leaders seemed to have only recovered a few breaths of energy and replenished the energy they had expended while lecturing.

"I've heard that the sect leaders of the five sects of Mount Lu all broke through to the Dancheng realm hundreds of years ago. Now they are no longer in the early Dancheng stage, but most likely in the late Dancheng stage, and are beings who aspire to refine their spirit and become immortals!"

Fang Shu stared intently at the five sect leaders outside, his mind racing: "With their cultivation levels, if they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to break through to the Refinement God realm, even if they refined the entire sect, it probably wouldn't be enough."

"And wouldn't it be better for them to handle such private matters within their own sects? Why insist on all five sects joining forces... Aren't they afraid that they might inadvertently attract the attention of the other four sects' True Immortals who have achieved the Pill Refining Realm?"

Suddenly, Fang Shu noticed something else.

Those were the five sect leaders outside the mound. After each of them had refined nearly ten Earth Immortals, their selection of disciples slowed down, and their behavior was more like that of cats playing with mice, full of mockery.

In an instant, a thought flashed through Fang Shu's mind: "There's more to this than meets the eye!"

Sure enough, after a while, the five sect leaders completely stopped selecting their disciples and simply lowered their heads, looking at the people on the mound.

Some of the bolder people, like Fang Shu, gradually realized the abnormality and their expressions gradually calmed down.

Some of them, in particular, recalled the actions of those who had just died tragically, and a strange look appeared on their faces. Then, as if they had thought of something, their expressions suddenly relaxed.

At that moment, a loud laugh rang out again outside the mound:
"Useless! Even if I really wanted to eat you, what good would it do for you to jump around like this!"

It was the same impatient Abbot of the Bone Temple. With a sudden roar, he leaped up once more and appeared atop the mound.

He spoke, “Four fellow Daoists, this opportunity is fleeting and will not come again. We should unite as one and seize this chance to refine our spirit.”

"can."

The other four sect leaders also nodded and leaped onto the top of the mound, standing opposite the Bone Temple Master.

At this moment, the three chiefs or elders of each sect within the mound finally took action, shouting in unison:
"quiet!"

With a buzzing sound, powerful divine senses pressed down on the heads of the five sects members, suppressing Fang Shu and the others, regardless of whether they were at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage, and binding them to the mound.

Among those suffering from internal heat, the solemn voice of the Deer Cart Earth Immortal echoed in their ears:

"Pay attention, everyone! What follows is the greatest opportunity you will ever see!"

This was not explained, but merely a word of advice, leaving the already bewildered members of the five sects completely confused and at a loss.

Meanwhile, the deer cart, ox cart, and sheep cart all straightened up.

They bowed and paid homage to the five sect leaders at the top, performing a grand ceremony and shouting:
"Disciples of Mount Lu respectfully invite the immortal masters of the Five Sects to refine the spirit and pave the way!"

"Disciples of Mount Lu respectfully invite the immortal masters of the Five Sects to refine the spirit and pave the way!"

Such shouts, sharp and unified, resounding through the sky, were clearly not a spur-of-the-moment act.

The five sect leaders, who had initially displayed a mocking expression, glanced down at the crowd below, their eyes revealing a mixture of melancholy, relief, and longing. They then addressed the crowd with a shout:

"Good."

Followed by.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the spiritual light emanating from these powerful sect leaders faded, revealing their true appearances—some aged, some youthful, all withered and thin.

Before Fang Shu and the others could get a good look at their true appearance, their enormous bodies began to dissolve and melt away, revealing their bones, peeling off their skin, or expelling their internal organs.

A series of shouts, seemingly both cries and laughter, also emanated from their mouths:
"I know no immortals of old, but tonight I wish to be a dew-collecting plate..."

"They eat my body and drink my soul; the five sects of Lushan are originally one."

And there were also difficult-to-pronounce scriptures that appeared in the air, buzzing around the remaining remains of the five sect leaders.

The celestial phenomena around the mound were stirred, and a feeling of heroic lamentation suddenly arose in the hearts of the disciples of the five sects of Mount Lu, leaving them looking at each other in bewilderment.

Fang Shu landed in the crowd, staring blankly at the five sect leaders, his mind unable to process what was happening.

Then suddenly, another scream rang out from among the mangled bodies of the five sect leaders of Mount Lu:

"Fellow Daoists, I shall take my leave first!"

With a hiss, a beam of white light emerged from one of the mangled bodies. Its color was refined and majestic, too dazzling to look at directly. After hovering in mid-air for a few moments, it suddenly dissipated.

When it collapsed, the entire Lushan mountain range, stretching for thousands of miles, shook violently. Birds and beasts flew in fright, ghosts cried and gods howled, and heaven and earth grieved together.

"This is... a sacrifice to the Dao!?" Fang Shu stared wide-eyed, the thought popping into his mind.

(End of this chapter)