txolops Chapter 230 The Old Demon Qian Appears! Five Sons United as One! The Heavenly Crystal Tablet!
Chapter 230 The Old Demon Qian Appears! Five Sons United as One! The Heavenly Crystal Tablet!
While the Ye family members were struggling to break the restrictions in front of the "Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators" on Kunwu Mountain and dealing with the lion-like beast, the sky above the nameless lake outside was already a completely different scene.
The astonishing phenomenon of a milky white beam of light shooting into the sky was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattering the tranquility of southern Xinjiang.
Within days, the news spread like wildfire, and countless cultivators flocked to this desolate land from all directions.
At this moment, thousands of cultivators had gathered above the lake and around the mountains. Their escape lights were like rain, and the crowd was bustling with noise.
However, the vast majority of them were rogue cultivators who came after hearing the news, hoping to get a share of the pie. Their cultivation levels ranged from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, with very few Nascent Soul cultivators.
After all, the Great Jin Dynasty has a vast territory, and even if those truly prestigious sects and super powers receive the news, it would take them quite a while to arrive from the distant Central Plains and the North.
Currently, the forces that can arrive at the scene immediately are mostly from the local area of southern Xinjiang or neighboring regions.
At this moment, the strongest and most eye-catching force in the arena is undoubtedly the "Poison Saint Sect" that came from the depths of the Southern Frontier!
This sect is renowned throughout the Great Jin for its ability to control poisonous insects and concoct extraordinary poisons, making it one of the undisputed overlords of the Southern Frontier.
The Poison Saint Sect reacted swiftly to the emergence of Kunwu Mountain, sending out almost its entire force.
Above the lake, a dark cloud shrouded in a faint green poisonous mist floated, and on the cloud stood five powerful figures, all of whom were Nascent Soul cultivators!
The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a colorful brocade robe, with a sinister face and a goatee. He was none other than Hua Tianqi, the current sect leader of the Poison Saint Sect, whose cultivation had reached the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
Behind him were four people, three men and one woman, all of whom were at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and were all elders of the Poison Saint Sect.
Below the five Nascent Soul cultivators were more than a dozen Core Formation stage stewards and true disciples, as well as hundreds of Foundation Establishment stage elite disciples, each wielding poisonous insects, poisonous banners, and other magical artifacts, firmly controlling the central area of the lake, driving the other rogue cultivators more than a hundred feet away, and not allowing anyone to approach the lake surface.
Although the independent cultivators were unwilling, they could only watch from afar, filled with anger but unable to speak out, in the face of such a behemoth as the Poison Saint Sect.
"Sect Master, there are indeed unusual spatial fluctuations in the lake below, and there are strong traces of a broken restriction. However..."
An elder of the Poison Saint Sect reported to Hua Tianqi with a puzzled look on his face, "It seems that an extremely powerful illusion array has been set up at the bottom of the lake, which is difficult to penetrate with divine sense, and there are signs of self-destruction, which is quite troublesome."
"An illusionary formation? It seems those who went in first are trying to delay those who came later." A cold glint flashed in Hua Tianqi's eyes. He naturally guessed that it was probably the work of the Ye family. "Send two teams of disciples skilled in formations down to break this formation with all their might! We must find the passage into Kunwu Mountain as soon as possible!"
"Yes!" Immediately, two teams of Core Formation disciples accepted the order, each summoning water-repelling beads or water-attribute magic treasures, transforming into streaks of light and disappearing into the dark green lake.
However, just as the disciples of the Poison Saint Sect began to try to break the illusion array at the bottom of the lake, another unexpected event occurred!
A sharp, piercing howl suddenly came from the horizon, and a thick, swirling, gray-black demonic cloud swept toward the lake at an astonishing speed!
Wherever the demonic cloud passed, even the air seemed to be polluted, exuding a sinister and evil aura.
"Who goes there?!" Hua Tianqi and the others' expressions changed, and they shouted sharply, while simultaneously becoming alert.
"Heh heh heh... The mere Poison Saint Sect dares to monopolize the opportunities of Kunwu Mountain? Get out of my way!"
From within the demonic cloud came an old, hoarse, yet domineering and malevolent laugh. Before the words had even finished, the demonic cloud suddenly contracted inward, then exploded with a deafening roar, splitting apart five identical gray figures!
These five figures were identical in height, weight, appearance, clothing, and even the terrifying aura they exuded, all at the late-stage Nascent Soul level! What was even more bizarre was that there seemed to be some mysterious connection between the five figures; their energy was linked, and their magical power was interconnected, giving the impression that one was not facing five independent individuals, but rather a unified whole.
"The Five-Hearted Demon?!" Hua Tianqi's pupils suddenly contracted, his face showing horror, and he exclaimed in shock.
Five Sons United in Heart Demon! This is the supreme divine power of the Yinluo Sect, one of the ten major demonic sects of the Great Jin Dynasty, and also the signature skill of its Grand Elder, Qian Laomo!
To cultivate this demonic art, one must find five like-minded and highly talented cultivators to refine into "sub-demons" using a secret method. These sub-demons are then linked to the life of the "main demon," forming a unified whole.
When facing an enemy, the five demons can unleash their full power. What's even more terrifying is that if all five demons cannot be killed at the same time, even if only one remains, Old Demon Qian can instantly recover by relying on the connection between the main demon and the sub-demon, which is almost equivalent to having an immortal body!
The five Nascent Soul stage figures before us, whose auras were completely identical and who moved forward and backward in unison, were undoubtedly Qian Laomo's Five Heart-to-Heart Demons!
The true form within that demonic cloud must be none other than Old Demon Qian himself!
Unexpectedly, the Yinluo Sect is so far away from the Southern Frontier, yet that old monster Qian Laomo arrived so quickly!
"Fellow Daoist Qian, this is my Southern Frontier. My Poison Saint Sect arrived first, and according to the rules..." Hua Tianqi suppressed his fear and tried to reason with them.
"Rules? My fists are the rules!" One of the gray figures sneered, ignoring Hua Tianqi's nonsense. The five figures moved simultaneously, transforming into five gray lightning bolts, ignoring the layers of poisonous fog and warnings laid down by the Poison Saint Sect, and rushed directly towards the lake! Their target was the entrance concealed by the illusion array!
"Stop him!" Hua Tianqi was both shocked and furious. If Old Demon Qian got in first, the Poison Saint Sect might not even get a taste of the spoils. He shouted and attacked simultaneously with the other four Nascent Soul elders. Various poisonous mists, poisonous insects, and magical treasure lights rained down on the five gray figures.
However, Qian Laomo's five sons, the Heart-to-Heart Demon, are not only powerful but also possess a strange and unpredictable nature.
The five figures suddenly blurred the moment the attacks were about to hit them, flashing and weaving like ghosts, easily dodging most of the attacks. The few attacks that landed on them were neutralized by a layer of gray light film that appeared on their bodies, and could not cause any effective damage.
The five figures continued their momentum and were already approaching the lake surface.
Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Hua Tianqi gritted his teeth: "Follow him! We can't let him gain the upper hand!"
Without further hesitation, the five members of the Poison Saint Sect followed Qian Laomo and plunged into the lake.
The lakebed was a thousand feet deep, dimly lit. Indeed, a highly sophisticated complex illusion array had been laid out here, its layers upon layers of illusions causing mental confusion and disorientation. However, for a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Qian Laomo, forcibly breaking the array, though troublesome, was not impossible. He activated the Five-Hearted Demon, using brute force combined with some kind of secret technique to tear a gap in the illusion array, revealing a massive rift flickering with unstable spatial fluctuations—the very entrance to Kunwu Mountain!
"Haha, it really is here!" Old Demon Qian was overjoyed. His five figures merged into one, transforming back into the gray-black demonic cloud, and rushed into the crevice without hesitation. The five members of the Poison Saint Sect did not dare to lag behind and hurriedly followed.
However, just as the six of them disappeared into the crevice, another unexpected event occurred!
"boom--!!!"
The already crumbling illusion array at the bottom of the lake suddenly erupted with a blinding white light at its core, and then exploded with a bang!
The violent array energy swept out instantly, not only blasting a huge crater in the lake bottom and causing the turbid mud and water to surge, but also triggering the already fragile spatial structure around the crack!
"Click, click..."
A sickeningly loud sound of space shattering rang out. Instantly, countless fine, black spatial cracks spread across the edge of the fissure leading to Kunwu Mountain!
These cracks are not natural; they were formed by the energy from the self-destruction of the illusion array, which forcibly activated and distorted the nearby restrictions!
The raging spatial turbulence, the distorted spiritual energy of the five elements, and the fragments of ancient restrictions that were triggered intertwined to form an extremely dangerous and chaotic death zone, completely blocking and enveloping the entire entrance to the rift!
This was clearly the second, and even more ruthless, contingency plan left by the Ye family! They had calculated that anyone who came after them would try to break through or force their way into the illusion array, so they set up this self-destruct trap.
Once the illusion array is forcefully broken or its core is triggered, it will self-destruct, triggering a chain reaction that activates the surrounding pre-set restrictions, forming this terrifying "restriction turbulence zone".
To enter the rift through this area, one must wait for the raging energy within to gradually subside and the fragments of the barrier to stabilize again. This process will take at least six or seven days!
These six or seven days were a precious window of time that the Ye family had bought for themselves.
"Damn it! The Ye family is ruthless!" The Poison Saint Sect elder, who had just rushed into the crevice and felt the terrifying energy erupting behind him, turned ashen-faced. Although they had entered, the entrance behind them was completely sealed off, making it difficult for anyone else to follow in for a short period of time.
This certainly reduces competitors, but it also means that if they encounter danger in Kunwu Mountain, they will have no way to retreat.
A cold snort came from the demonic cloud that Qian Laomo had transformed into, clearly dissatisfied with the Ye family's scheme. But since he had already entered, he stopped thinking about it and the demonic cloud swirled and sped toward the unknown interior of Kunwu Mountain deep in the rift.
Seeing this, the members of the Poison Saint Sect could only suppress their unease and follow closely behind.
Two days later, inside Kunwu Mountain.
Lin Chuan, Fu Cheng, and Bai Yaoyi climbed upwards along the seemingly endless ancient stone steps.
The mountain is filled with an overwhelming spiritual energy, and exotic flowers and herbs abound, many of which are species that have long been extinct in the outside world and are thousands of years old.
Although the three were focused on a greater opportunity, they also picked some particularly rare and precious medicinal herbs.
On this day, they arrived at an exceptionally spacious giant platform.
The platform appears to have been carved out of the mountain itself. The ground is flat and paved with a kind of warm, lustrous jade. The edges are edged with exquisite jade railings. Although many of them are damaged, their former splendor is still evident.
On one side of the platform is a bottomless cliff and a sea of clouds, while on the other side are massive stone steps that continue upwards and disappear into the clouds.
In the very center of the platform stands a colossal stone tablet, ten zhang high, three zhang wide, and a foot thick!
The stone tablet is a heavy bluish-gray color, neither gold nor stone in texture, and its surface is covered with traces of weathering over the years, yet it still exudes an ancient and desolate charm.
"This is..." Fu Cheng stopped and looked at the giant stone tablet with a puzzled expression.
This stele, standing on the platform of the main road leading to the mountaintop, is clearly no ordinary object.
Bai Yaoyi stepped forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on the blurred patterns on the surface of the stone tablet. She reached out her slender hand and gently brushed away some dust and moss that had accumulated at the base of the tablet.
As the dust settled, two enormous ancient seal characters, carved with a profound and vigorous style, appeared, seemingly imbued with the essence of Taoism.
Kun! Wu!
"Kunwu! This mountain is indeed the ancient sacred mountain Kunwu!"
Bai Yaoyi read it out softly, and a look of shock reappeared on her usually cold face.
Although I had already heard about it from Lin Chuan, seeing the ancient mountain name inscription in person still stirred my emotions.
Fu Cheng was also extremely excited, clapping his hands and exclaiming, "It is said that Kunwu Mountain is the ancestral vein of the human realm, the source of all mountains. Today, having seen its true form, I know the rumors are true! To be able to set foot on this mountain is already an immense blessing!"
Lin Chuan stood in front of the stone tablet, his gaze calmly sweeping over the two characters, his heart not stirred by much emotion.
He already knew this was Kunwu Mountain. His attention was focused more on the stone tablet itself.
In the original work, this inconspicuous stone tablet is not just a simple marker.
It is a special treasure crafted by ancient cultivators. It appears bulky, but it contains profound secrets and has the power to suppress and seal. Moreover, it can be made to change size at will.
However, after countless years, its spiritual essence is hidden, and ordinary people can hardly perceive it, taking it only as an ordinary mountain name inscription.
"This stone tablet is standing here, blocking the passage and getting in the way."
Lin Chuan suddenly spoke, stepped forward, and placed his right hand on the cold stone tablet.
"Fellow Daoist Lin?" Fu Cheng and Bai Yaoyi were both taken aback, not understanding what Lin Chuan was going to do. This stone tablet was so huge, and seemed to be integrated with the mountain; how could it be moved so easily?
Lin Chuan ignored the two and silently activated a method recorded in the Tongbao Technique for collecting large stone magic treasures, while slowly injecting his pure magic power into the stone tablet.
His cultivation has greatly improved, and his control over the Heavenly Treasure has deepened. Although this method of collecting it is not entirely the right one, there are still similarities.
As the magic was injected, something strange happened.
The colossal stone tablet, towering ten zhang high, suddenly glowed with a barely perceptible layer of earthy yellow light. The seemingly natural patterns on its surface appeared to come alive, wriggling slightly. Then, the entire tablet began to emit a deep hum and rapidly shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Ten zhang, eight zhang, five zhang, one zhang... In just a few breaths, the enormous thing shrank to the size of an ordinary stone tablet, which was only half a zhang tall and three feet wide!
Although it still looks heavy, it is completely different from what it used to be.
"This... this stone tablet is actually a magical artifact?!"
Fu Cheng and Bai Yaoyi were dumbfounded. They never expected that this seemingly ordinary mountain inscription was actually a treasure that could change size at will!
The ancient cultivators' weapon-forging techniques, capable of creating such a massive and disguised stone tablet magic weapon, are simply inconceivable.
Lin Chuan rolled up his sleeves and easily put the shrunken stone tablet into his storage bag.
It feels slightly heavy in the hand, and you can feel the steady and profound power contained within it. It is indeed a good treasure, and it may be useful in the future.
"Let's go." Lin Chuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he had only done a trivial matter, and he continued walking up the stone steps.
Fu Cheng and Bai Yaoyi exchanged a glance, both seeing deep complexity in each other's eyes.
This fellow Daoist Lin is not only unfathomably powerful, but his insight and knowledge also far exceed their imagination.
Following him, we might truly find an unimaginable opportunity in these Kunwu Mountains.