Chapter 174 Five Years of Essence
Chapter 174 Five Hundred Years of Essence
"I will go with my uncle-master."
Fang Weimin was the first to respond.
The look he gave Cheng Xinzhan was one of gratitude and admiration.
"I just handed in my last command arrow, and I've been resting for four or five days. I'll go with Xinzhan this time."
Huang Miaoluo also said.
But there are only these two people, Feng Jihu, Pu Jixuan, Zeng Jinian, Sun Miaoshu, and He Jiyuan. These people all have missions to perform and have not returned the orders yet, so they cannot escape.
Cheng Xinzhan agreed on a time with Fang Weimin and Huang Miaoluo, and made an appointment with the others to meet next time. He then began to ask about the current situation in southern Xinjiang. After he had learned enough from everyone, he took the initiative to discuss the key points of the second level of acupuncture, the evolution of supernatural powers, and the key points of forming an elixir. They talked until midnight before dispersing.
The next morning, Cheng Xinzhan arrived at Ditu Island, which was the base of Juqu Mountain.
Apparently, Cheng Xinzhan was more famous in Juqu Mountain than in Sanqing Mountain. As soon as he landed on the island, someone recognized him.
"Master Cheng!"
Someone shouted.
Then a dozen people nearby gathered around.
"How is Master Cheng these days?"
"Master Cheng, has he reached the stage of forming a pill?"
"When will Master Cheng go to the mountains to preach again?"
"..."
Everyone greeted enthusiastically.
Cheng Xinzhan responded one by one, and then explained the purpose of his coming here.
"Cheng Yan, Cheng Yi and Yi Zhao, are they here?"
These three people were Cheng Xinzhan's three best friends during his three years in Juqu Mountain. Of course, they were also among the best among the younger generation in Juqu Mountain. Every time Cheng Xinzhan finished preaching, these three people would come forward to ask questions and discuss. They would often talk about the deep rules of magic, and sometimes they would find omissions in Cheng Xinzhan's preaching. After a long time, they became good friends.
At the same time, Cheng Xinzhan also knew that these three people were working in the Haoran Alliance.
"Uncle Yizhao has gone out with the order. Brother Chengyan and Brother Chengyi just came back two days ago. I didn't see them go out, so they should be here. Master Cheng, please wait a moment. I'll go call the two brothers over."
Someone responded to Cheng Xinzhan and went to call for help.
Not long after, a man and a woman came over. When they saw Cheng Xinzhan, they were overjoyed.
"It seems that Master Cheng has already formed a pill."
Li Chengyan, that man, said to Cheng Xinzhan with a smile.
"Master Cheng's divine light is shining, and the golden elixir he has formed must be extraordinary."
The woman Wang Chengyi said.
"We can't leave too many of you behind."
Cheng Xinzhan replied with a smile, after all, both of them had already reached the Jindan stage, of course, so had Lu Yizhao.
"What does Master Cheng want me to do?"
Li Chengyan asked.
"I have accepted an errand to go to Southern Xinjiang to slay demons. I wonder if you are free to go with me?"
Li Chengyan and Wang Chengyi looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
----
Yihuo Island, Bingfengshan garrison.
"Fellow Daoist, please stay. I would like to ask if Meng Xuqi and Meng Xuyi are on the island?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked someone about it.
The man nodded, said a place name, and pointed the direction to Cheng Xinzhan.
When Cheng Xinzhan came to their door, they were shocked, but then they were overjoyed.
But before Cheng Xinzhan could say anything, the two men started to pay their respects, which frightened Cheng Xinzhan again. He even helped them up.
"What are you doing?"
Meng Xuyi said from his heart,
"Brother Dao, the Seal of the Dragon and Tiger, thanks to you, you saved my Dao!"
Cheng Xinzhan suddenly realized that this was the matter, and responded with his inner voice.
"No need to do that. It's just a small favor. You don't need to mention it again in the future."
Afterwards, several people talked verbally again.
"We parted hastily at Mount Longhu last time, and before we could catch up, Taoist Master Yibi has passed away for many years. Master Jianxian still often tells me about his childhood with Taoist Master Yibi."
The two men's eyes were slightly red. Meng Xuyi said, "Master Jianxian is very loyal and righteous. After our master passed away, he came to Bingfeng Mountain to pay his respects and offer sacrifices. We are very grateful. I wonder if Master Jianxian would like to come in?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "My disciple is fine. He has found the Gangsha and will soon form a pill. How about you?"
Then the topic turned to cultivation, which surprised Cheng Xinzhan. Both of them were in the realm of "Heaven and Earth Wide", which is the name of the realm in Shenxiao Wulei Dao, and corresponds to the second realm of Mingzang in Neidan Dao. However, cultivation is always the same, and in this realm, one must also absorb the energy of heaven and earth to comprehend yin and yang. The brother and sister have already collected heavenly thunder, and as long as they find earthly fire, and wait until thunder and fire intersect and burst into spirit, they can enter the realm of "Purple Gold Bud". The so-called Purple Gold Bud is a solid thunder qi seed, which is the same as the golden elixir in Neidan Dao.
Moreover, the brother and sister said that before Taoist Yi Bi passed away, they had already shown outstanding talent in cultivation, and resources in the sect had been tilted towards them. When Taoist Yi Bi passed away, a supreme elder in the sect accepted the two as unnamed disciples and taught them. It was for this reason that the two were able to go to the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Assembly, otherwise it would not have been their turn.
Cheng Xinzhan thought to himself, "So that's how it is." Then he explained the purpose of his visit.
"I have accepted an errand to go to Southern Xinjiang to slay demons. I wonder if you are free to go with me?"
The brother and sister looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and thought that they had to resign the job they had just accepted yesterday.
----
Kangjin Island, the headquarters of Gezhao Mountain.
"Excuse me, Taoist friend. I am Cheng Xinzhan, a Taoist priest from Mount Sanqing. May I ask if Du Nianxian, Xu Nianheng, Song Jishu, Qin Niantai, and Lu Jigang are here?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked.
Of these five people, the first three were friends he had known in West Kunlun a long time ago, and the last two were new acquaintances he had made at the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Assembly, and they had both been missing for some years.
The Taoist priest from Gezhao Mountain who was stopped by Cheng Xinzhan was a little surprised. It was obvious that he recognized Cheng Xinzhan, and these five names were also well-known in the sect. He replied,
"It turned out to be Cheng Yifu who came to my face and told me that Brother Du was unfortunately killed while slaying demons in the north, and Brother Lu also unfortunately died when his yin and yang were disordered and his qi was reversed while he was forming the golden elixir."
Cheng Xinzhan's eyes darkened when he heard this. This is truly how unpredictable things in the world are. But practicing Taoism is also like this, it is never smooth and easy.
"Senior Brother Xu is my direct senior brother. He is currently practicing in seclusion in the sect. Brother Qin is traveling outside. Only Senior Brother Song should be on the island at this moment."
The Taoist pointed in a direction to Cheng Xinzhan and said a place name.
Cheng Xinzhan thanked him, "Thank you very much, fellow Taoist, for your trouble."
As early as when they were both in the same realm, he and Song Jishu had fought side by side in West Kunlun, and later they had reminisced about the past at the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Assembly. At that time, they were going to compete in praying for clear weather and rain, and Gezhao Mountain sent Song Jishu and Lu Jigang to the stage. Before Sanqing Mountain, Gezhao Mountain, and West Mountain, Longhu Mountain and Bingfeng Mountain had a lot of rain, and then Song Jishu humbly said that Sanqing Mountain should come first.
This was a man who looked gentle and refined like a hermit, but had a hot temper and hated evil. The scene of him loudly reciting the "Duren Jing" to convert the demon on the battlefield of West Kunlun left a deep impression on Cheng Xinzhan.
When Cheng Xinzhan approached Song Jishu, the latter was obviously also surprised.
"Yi Fu, long time no see."
In West Kunlun, Song Jishu was used to calling Cheng Xinzhan that way.
"Long time no see, Ji Shu." He was very happy to see his old friend Cheng Xinzhan. At the same time, he also felt that establishing the Haoran League was a good idea. At least it brought the younger generation closer together.
"Have you formed a pill?"
Both of them asked at the same time.
Then they smiled at each other again.
"Are you free recently?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked.
"I am very busy. I just came back from Yuyang and returned the command arrow. I am going to rest for a few days before going to get another one. The situation is turbulent now, and the demons are rampant. It is time for us to contribute."
Song Jishu said, with murderous eyes.
"Don't take it. How about coming with me to Southern Xinjiang? I have a big move going on here."
Cheng Xinzhan said with a smile.
Song Jishu raised an eyebrow, "Sure!"
There is no place where you can’t kill the devil.
----
Chanshui Island, Xishan’s base.
Cheng Xinzhan actually didn't have much contact with the Jingming Sect, and he didn't go to the Jingming Sect to exorcise demons in West Kunlun. But the reason for not going was not because the Jingming Sect didn't have the intention to exorcise demons, but because the Jingming Sect was good at water magic, and the north was dry, so he would feel uncomfortable going there, which was equivalent to being cursed. Moreover, there were many righteous forces in West Kunlun that time, and the situation was not that urgent, so the Jingming Sect didn't go.
However, the Jingming Sect inherited Xu Tianshi's temperament and was murderous. This time, when they heard that the Haoran Alliance was going to be established and that they were going to take the initiative to attack the southeast coast, the Jingming Sect felt that it had an obligation and responded actively, mobilizing all its forces.
Cheng Xinzhan first came into contact with the Jingming Sect when he was at Mount Longhu. At that time, he was praying for rain and peace. After Gezhaoshan gave way to him, the three Taoist friends from the Jingming Sect also showed up and gave way to him. After the performance, Cheng Xinzhan discussed the way of the sword with Lan Yuqing from the Lushan Sword Sect. These three Taoist friends also came, and they were all good swordsmen.
Cheng Xinzhan remembered their names: Zheng Zhaoguan, Shen Zhaoming, and Zhao Liangpu.
Among them, Shen Zhaoming also won the first place in the Dragon-Tiger Dharma Assembly fighting competition, and thus also entered the Fengyin Hall.
But when Cheng Xinzhan came to Chanshui Island to inquire, he found that it was empty, with almost no people. It seemed that everyone was out killing demons. Sure enough, it had to be the Jingming Sect.
Last night I heard from Brother Jihu and the others that in the Haoran Alliance, the Shangqing Sect and the Jingming Sect are the most ferocious in slaying demons, and these two sects also have the most Taoist merits in the alliance. The Shangqing Sect is the initiator, so of course they work hard, while the Jingming Sect just follows its own heart.
With no one to show him the way, he had to look for it by himself. After wandering around for a while without running into anyone, he went to the place where the order was issued and waited.
He waited for more than an hour and was lucky enough to see one.
Cheng Xinzhan saw a Taoist priest with a sword on his back and a whisk in his hand striding towards him. He looked closely and his eyes lit up. He shouted,
"Daoist friend Zhao Ming!"
The man looked over when he heard the voice and was surprised to see Cheng Xinzhan. He was even more delighted. "Fellow Daoist Xinzhan, why are you here?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked back, "Fellow Daoist, have you finished your mission and are here to return the command arrow?"
"Yes."
Shen Zhaoming said.
"How long will it take for you to rest after returning the command arrow?"
"No need, just replenish the elixirs and talismans and leave."
Cheng Xinzhan was impressed and said,
"I have an errand here. I'm going to Southern Xinjiang to slay demons. It may take a long time and cause a lot of noise. Are you interested?"
"When a fellow Taoist calls me, how can I not obey?"
Shen Zhaoming held Cheng Xinzhan's hand tightly and wrote the word "seal" on Cheng Xinzhan's hand.
Cheng Xinzhan patted his hands, saying everything.
Shen Zhaoming was a man of action and resolution. After making an agreement with Cheng Xinzhan, he went to prepare his things for the trip to Southern Xinjiang.
Cheng Xinzhan came to the last place he was looking for someone, the Lushan Sword Sect's headquarters, Doumu Island. He came here naturally to look for his old acquaintance, Lan Yuqing, but unfortunately, he was not here.
But it doesn’t matter, the team he has assembled now is already very impressive.
So much so that when the group set out the next day, many people looked over.
Cheng Xinzhan, the Golden Elixir Feathered Guest, is a Taoist priest of a very high seniority in Mount Sanqing. He won the first prize in the sword-fighting competition, spread his name in the West Kunlun Mountains, prayed for clear weather and rain in Mount Longhu, and displayed his Dharma image on the Three Corpses Island. He is a figure known to everyone.
Fang Weimin, also known as Jindan Yuke, is a well-known alchemy genius in Mount Sanqing and a figure who stood out among the alchemists at the Dragon and Tiger Conference.
Li Chengyan and Wang Chengyi, two Jindan feathered guests, the golden boy and jade girl in Juqu Mountain, the male and female evil spirits in the sea of corpses. Since the establishment of Haoran League, the two have killed hundreds of demons and even defeated a third-level demon.
Song Jishu, the Jindan Yuke, is a leading figure of the younger generation in Gezhao Mountain. In his hands, the "Duren Jing" is more like a death sutra.
Shen Zhaoming, the Golden Elixir Feathered Guest, a Taoist priest of Wanshou Palace in Xishan, is a killer. With a whisk and a sword, no demon that he has targeted can escape, no matter where he goes.
Huang Miaoluo, a second-level sword cultivator, a Taoist priest of Mount Sanqing, is a rare female cultivator of physical sword. However, the reason why she is so well-known is not because she is a Kun Taoist, nor because physical sword is unpopular, but because the long sword in her hand is really sharp.
Meng Xuqi and Meng Xuyi are brother and sister. They are good at joint attacks, second-level thunder cultivators, and Taoist priests of Bingfeng Mountain. They first became famous in the fighting arena of the Dragon and Tiger Ceremony. After coming to Haoran League, they have been seen many times by people witnessing the magnificent scene of thunder in the sky when they were slaying demons.
Most importantly, these people are very young, and none of them is over 60 years old.
When they left together, the rotating leader of Ziwei Mountain, who was also the first leader, Chengchu Zhenren, was also watching them. Beside her were several four-level mystics from different immortal mountains. One of them was the Grand Elder of Shenxiao Sect, who was also the preacher of Meng Xuqi and Meng Xuyi. The old man looked at the two unnamed disciples he accepted because of his appreciation for their talents, but who were probably his de facto closed disciples, and said to the people around him,
"In the next five hundred years, there will be a place for them among the elite immortal species."
Master Chengchu nodded and gave an additional instruction, "Who is in charge in the south? Let him take care of it."
----
Southern Xinjiang is the collective name for Nanhuang and Miaojiang.
In the past, due to the life-and-death struggle between the Green Robe Patriarch and the Red Haired Patriarch, this forest of southern countries, known as the Hundred Thousand Mountains, was always in turmoil, so the word "Southern Xinjiang" meant chaos.
Demons and monsters breed in this chaotic land, and it is also where the Southern Demon Cult and unorthodox sects gather. At the same time, many young knights of the righteous path regard this place as a training ground for eliminating demons and defending the Way.
Until the Red Haired Patriarch died suddenly, the Green Robe Patriarch entered the fifth realm, and his true dragon body was comparable to the fairyland. As a result, the entire Southern School of Demon Cult became the Green Robe's one-man show, and the entire Southern Wilderness became a demon's nest.
Even the righteous monks did not dare to come in casually.
There originally were some scattered Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries in the Southern Wilderness, but after Green Robe entered the Fifth Realm, those with weaker strength moved out with their religions, while those with decent strength did not want to have a head-on conflict with Green Robe and chose to close their doors.
As for the side doors, one can either flee in separate places or join the evil door, otherwise it is a dead end.
However, the appetite of the Southern Demon Cult, or rather the appetite of the Green Robe Patriarch, is very big. The Qiongzhou Sea and the Southern Wilderness are not enough. The Southern Demon Cult is encroaching on Yuyang and Sanxiang to the east, and swallowing up Miaojiang and Dianwen to the northwest.
Among them, Miaojiang, which had lost its red-haired ancestor, a figure who could be regarded as a fifth-level great cultivator and the leader of the southern side sect, was in the most precarious situation.
After Yao Kaijiang, the eldest disciple of the Red Haired Patriarch, surrendered to the enemy and became a demon, the Miao side sects were in disarray and the Miao tribes were in a panic. Apart from Hongmuling, the largest forces in Miao were Qinglong Cave, Xianren Cave and a Chiyou Cave.
Qinglong Cave and Xianren Cave are Taoist forces, and naturally they are sworn enemies with the Demon Sect. However, the two are far away from each other, and they don't have many disciples. They are not top-notch sects, and their ancestors didn't produce many immortals. It is not easy for them to protect themselves from the flood of the Southern Demon Sect heading north, let alone quell the demon chaos.
It is hard to say what kind of force Chiyou Cave is. It is a secluded place for the ancient Miao people. They are good at witchcraft and never interfere in worldly affairs unless the Miao people are extinct or there is an insect plague.
It was in this chaotic situation surrounded by demons that a group of righteous disciples quietly came from the east and plunged into the vast forests of Miaojiang.
(End of this chapter)