txolops Chapter 216 I want the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, and I want your lives too!
Chapter 216 I want the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, and I want your lives too!
Han Feng concealed his aura, suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and blended into the flow of cultivators traveling to and from the border, successfully entering the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty.
According to Feng Kun, Lin Chuan flew towards the direction of Guan Ning Prefecture in the Great Jin Dynasty.
Finally, we arrived at a small but bustling city of ordinary people, with three ancient characters inscribed on the city gate: Xueling City.
The city is named after the Xueling Mountains that it is backed by. It has a cold climate and snows all year round, hence it is also known as the "Snowy Town".
The city's residents mostly make a living through mining, hunting, and fur trading. There are also many low-level cultivators who come and go to purchase cold-attribute spiritual materials, a specialty of the Snow Ridge Mountains.
After asking around the city, Lin Chuan found the "Yuelai Inn" that Feng Kun had mentioned.
This is an old-fashioned inn, but it does good business. The lobby is full of merchants from all over the country, making it noisy and bustling.
Lin Chuan walked straight to the counter, behind which stood a shopkeeper who looked to be in his fifties, with a kind face, fiddling with an abacus.
"Sir, would you like a meal or a room?" The innkeeper looked up, his face beaming.
Lin Chuan didn't speak, but slowly took out the dark gold key to the Feng family's secret cave from his sleeve, placed it on the counter, and pushed it in front of the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper's gaze fell on the key, his smile instantly freezing, his pupils slightly contracting. He abruptly looked up, scrutinizing Lin Chuan carefully, his eyes flashing with surprise, excitement, and a barely perceptible wariness.
He looked around, lowered his voice, and asked in a trembling tone, "This...this is...you are...the young master of the Feng family?"
Lin Chuan remained noncommittal, simply looking at him calmly.
The shopkeeper seemed to have confirmed something, and quickly came out from behind the counter, bowing to Lin Chuan and saying, "Honored guest, please follow me."
He led Lin Chuan through the noisy hall to a quiet, deserted woodshed in the backyard.
After closing the door, the innkeeper's expression became extremely solemn. He was about to bow to Lin Chuan: "This old servant, Feng An, greets young master..."
"No need for such formalities."
Lin Chuan raised his hand to support him, and a gentle force supported him. "I am not Feng Kun. I have only come to retrieve something at his request."
Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Feng An's eyes, but he quickly recovered.
The young master entrusted this key to him, so he must be a trustworthy person.
He didn't ask any more questions. He walked to the corner of the woodshed, moved a pile of dry firewood aside, and dug through the frozen ground with his bare hands. His movements were practiced, clearly indicating that he had rehearsed countless times.
Before long, he took out a seemingly ordinary blue brick covered in mud from the ground.
"This item can only be opened using the Feng family's unique 'Unsealing Technique.' If it is forcibly broken, the contents inside will be destroyed on their own."
Feng An handed the blue brick to Lin Chuan and reminded him.
Lin Chuan nodded and took the blue brick. The blue brick was cold and heavy to the touch, with a strange texture, and was not an ordinary object.
Following the incantation instructing him by Feng Kun, he formed hand seals, and several beams of spiritual light entered the blue bricks.
With a soft "click," a thin crack appeared on the surface of the blue brick, then bloomed like a lotus flower, revealing a hollow interior. Inside lay a jade slip and a yellowed animal hide map.
Lin Chuan picked up the jade slip, placed it on his forehead, and probed it with his divine sense.
The jade slip contained the detailed location of the Feng family's secret cave, the characteristics of its outer restrictions, and the correct method to activate the teleportation array.
The animal hide map depicted the detailed terrain of the Snow Ridge Mountains, with a red dot that shimmered slightly, marking the precise location of the entrance to the secret cave.
Thank you for your trouble.
Lin Chuan put away the jade slip and map, nodded to Feng An, and then disappeared from the woodshed in a flash.
Feng An looked at the empty woodshed, then at the blue brick in his hand, sighed deeply, and silently buried the blue brick back in its original place, covering it with frozen soil and dry firewood, as if nothing had ever happened.
After leaving Snow Ridge City, Lin Chuan flew northwest for about a thousand miles, following the map's directions, and entered the depths of the Snow Ridge Mountains.
This place is deserted, frozen for thousands of miles, with a biting wind that makes it difficult for ordinary cultivators to stay for long.
Finally, he stopped in front of an unremarkable, snow-covered peak at the northwest corner of the mountain range.
Halfway up this peak, a huge icefall hangs down, its roaring sound echoing through the silent valley.
Lin Chuan leaped up, going against the surging waters of the icy waterfall, and went straight through behind it. Behind the curtain of water, there was indeed a heavy stone door embedded in the mountain wall.
The stone gate is simple and unadorned, almost blending into the mountain rocks, and is extremely difficult to find without a map.
He took out the dark gold key, inserted it into an inconspicuous groove in the center of the stone door, and gently turned it.
"Roll-roll-roll-roll-roll-roll"
The heavy stone door creaked open and slowly opened inward, revealing a deep, downward passage and an ancient teleportation array at the end of the passage that emitted faint spatial fluctuations.
The teleportation array was constructed of some unknown silver metal with intricate patterns, and each of the eight corners had a groove for placing spirit stones.
According to the jade slip, this formation was a trap set by the ancestors of the Feng family. If activated by placing spirit stones into all eight slots as usual, the teleportation process would trigger violent spatial turbulence, tearing the teleporter to pieces.
The correct approach is to place spirit stones only in five specific slots.
Lin Chuan carefully checked the jade slip, confirmed the positions of the five grooves, took out five mid-grade spirit stones, and embedded them one by one.
"Buzz—"
The teleportation array shone brightly, engulfing Lin Chuan's figure.
After a brief period of dizziness and weightlessness, Lin Chuan found himself in a small stone chamber.
The stone chamber was dry and warm, a stark contrast to the icy, snowy landscape outside. It was well-ventilated, with clearly concealed air vents.
It seems the teleportation hasn't gone too far; it should still be inside some part of the Snow Ridge Mountains.
The stone chamber was simply furnished, containing only a stone table and a futon.
On the stone table, there was a pale gold jade slip and a jade box with talismans attached.
Lin Chuan first picked up the jade slip. He probed it with his divine sense, and a vast, righteous, compassionate, and demon-subduing information flowed into his mind.
"The Bright King Technique..." A hint of joy flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes. This was precisely the top-tier Buddhist body-refining technique passed down through the Feng family!
According to the description of the technique, once one cultivates to the fifth level, one's physical body will be immune to the attacks of ordinary magical weapons. This technique is moderate and peaceful, and has no fundamental conflict with Taoist techniques, so it can be practiced in combination with other techniques.
After putting down the jade slip containing the "Ming Wang Jue" (a secret manual for the Ming King), Lin Chuan looked at the jade box again.
Uncover the talisman and open the box; a pure, gentle sandalwood fragrance, imbued with supreme Buddhist power, wafts out.
Inside the box lay a strange bead, about the size of a longan, pale gold in color, translucent, and seemingly with tiny Sanskrit characters flowing inside.
"Buddhist relics!"
Lin Chuan understood.
This item is formed from the condensed Buddhist cultivation and spiritual power of a highly virtuous monk after his passing. It is a treasure for practicing Buddhist techniques, especially profound body-refining Buddhist techniques like the "Ming Wang Jue".
With the aid of relics, one can not only accelerate cultivation and realize one's true nature, but also better understand the power of Buddha and lay a solid foundation in Buddhism.
"The 'Ming Wang Jue' (a text on the Ming King), relics... The gains from this trip far exceeded expectations."
Lin Chuan put away the two treasures with satisfaction. With this top-tier body-refining technique, his physical weaknesses would be greatly compensated, and his overall strength would be able to reach a new level.
However, just as he was about to leave the secret cave and continue his journey, the divination he had for the day was refreshed.
Today's divination result: Very auspicious.
[The divination indicates that after leaving the Snow Ridge Mountains, you will inadvertently stumble into a battle among cultivators. By waiting for the right opportunity, you can reap the benefits and obtain a rare "Heavenly Corpse Pearl" from the fallen 'King Xuan Ye'.]
"The Heavenly Corpse Pearl?" Lin Chuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his face revealed an uncontrollable joy. "This is like a pillow delivered just when I was sleepy! Heaven is helping me!"
He had just obtained the top-tier body-refining technique, "Ming Wang Jue," and was worried that his progress in body refining was slow, requiring a massive amount of resources and time to hone it.
He had long heard of the "Heavenly Corpse Pearl"!
This object is a rare treasure formed by chance from the most yin and filthy place between heaven and earth, after tens of thousands of years, gathering countless corpse energy, yin energy, and death energy.
For cultivators of the demonic and ghostly paths, it is a treasure for refining zombies and cultivating insidious supernatural powers.
However, for those who cultivate orthodox body-refining techniques, especially those like the "Ming Wang Jue" which are unparalleled in their power and require repeated physical tempering with external force, the Heavenly Corpse Pearl contains a trace of the extraordinary vitality of "born from the extreme of death" that has been honed over ten thousand years, as well as its incomparably hard nature and ability to guide external force to temper the body. It is an excellent treasure to assist in cultivation!
If one can obtain it, and combine it with the relic, the speed of cultivating the "Ming Wang Jue" will surely advance by leaps and bounds!
"It seems that a 'chance encounter' awaits me before I leave this Snow Ridge Mountain Range."
Lin Chuan smiled slightly, and without further delay, turned and stepped into the teleportation array. A flash of silver light, and his figure disappeared from the stone chamber. A moment later, he appeared on the outskirts of the Snow Ridge Mountains.
He did not rush to leave, but slowly spread his divine sense, covering hundreds of miles around, like the most patient hunter, waiting for the "battle" foretold in the divination to unfold.
……
Lin Chuan left the secret cave behind the waterfall and returned along the same route, flying towards the outer edge of the Snow Ridge Mountains.
After flying about eight hundred miles, his powerful divine sense suddenly stirred slightly, detecting an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy in the distance.
In his perception, about three hundred miles behind him, a dense, cold, and decaying gray light was rushing toward his direction at an almost desperate speed.
About a hundred miles behind the gray beam of light, two other beams of light, no less powerful, were hot on its heels, their killing intent palpable.
What Lin Chuan found even more interesting was that, about two hundred miles ahead on the only road he could pass, in a seemingly peaceful mountain valley, a third aura was hidden, echoing the two pursuing forces behind him, forming a standard "blocking in front and chasing from behind" encirclement.
"It seems the 'battle' predicted by the divination is about to begin, and it even seems they want to drag me, a 'passerby,' into it?"
Lin Chuan's lips curled up slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
Instead of speeding up to leave this dangerous place, he maintained his original speed and continued to fly forward at a leisurely pace, as if he were completely unaware of the impending danger.
Before long, the gray, corpse-like light from behind was closing in.
The billowing gray mist vaguely revealed a burly figure, about ten feet tall, dressed in tattered imperial robes, with a dark blue face and bloodshot eyes.
Its body was filled with such dense corpse energy that it was almost tangible, radiating the powerful pressure of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. It was none other than the "King Xuan Ye"—a corpse king who had gained sentience and possessed considerable cultivation!
Behind King Xuan Ye, the two pursuing soldiers finally revealed themselves.
The man on the left is an elderly man with a thin face, wearing a blue Taoist robe and holding a blue feather fan. A gentle breeze surrounds him. He is none other than "Master Tianfeng".
The person on the right is an old woman with a hunched back, a sinister face, and withered fingers like bird claws; she is "Old Monster Yin".
Both of them were at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and their gazes toward King Xuan Ye were filled with greed and killing intent.
Just as King Xuan Ye was about to pass by Lin Chuan's side, and Tian Feng and Old Monster Yin were about to catch up, a sudden change occurred!
"Buzz—!"
Suddenly, a powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from the seemingly peaceful mountain valley ahead!
A beam of earthy yellow light shot into the sky, and then a huge gourd, its entire body earthy yellow and its surface engraved with sand runes, appeared out of thin air. The gourd's mouth was aimed at the rapidly approaching King Xuan Ye, and it suddenly spewed out a dark yellow sandstorm that blotted out the sky!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
That sandstorm was no ordinary sand, but "Raging Spirit Sand" containing pure earth-attribute spiritual power. Each grain weighed over a thousand pounds and carried a strange power that disturbed divine consciousness and slowed down magical power.
The sandstorm instantly swept across an area of several miles, engulfing King Xuan Ye, who was flying in front, and Lin Chuan, who happened to be in this area!
In an instant, the sky darkened, sand and stones flew everywhere, and vision and consciousness were greatly disturbed.
"Old Demon of the Sandstorm?! You actually ambushed me here too?!"
Caught off guard, King Xuan Ye was swept into the center of the sandstorm, letting out a roar of shock and rage.
His body was enveloped in a surge of corpse energy, forming a thick, gray-black protective shield that resisted the impact and erosion of the all-pervasive and incredibly heavy mad spirit sand.
Lin Chuan, at this very moment, also "revealed" his mid-Nascent Soul cultivation aura, stabilizing himself in the sandstorm and calmly scanning his surroundings.
Outside the sandstorm, Master Tianfeng and Old Monster Yin also stopped their pursuit and joined up with the short, stout old man known as "Master Kuangsha," who flew out of the mountain valley holding an earthen-yellow gourd.
The three people formed a triangle, subtly surrounding the area shrouded in yellow sand.
"Old Demon Xuan Ye, you can't escape now! Hand over the Heavenly Corpse Pearl obediently and surrender, and perhaps you can still have a whole corpse!"
Master Tianfeng gently waved his feather fan, and his voice traveled through the sandstorm.
"Hmph, killing you will not only grant us the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, but also the thousands of meticulously crafted corpse soldiers in your lair's tomb! How could we let you go back?" Old Monster Yin chuckled sinisterly, his voice like that of a night owl.
The Mad Sand Master was even more smug: "With my 'Yellow Sand Sky-Covering Formation' trapping you, no matter how overwhelming your corpse energy is, you won't be able to escape easily! Prepare to die!"
The three had clearly been planning this for a long time.
The goal was to force King Xuan Ye out of his lair and intercept and kill him before he returned to the tomb.
Because King Xuan Ye's strength upon returning to the tomb was comparable to that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he was surprised to find an unfamiliar Nascent Soul cultivator here.