Chapter 122 |
Xituo Commandery.
Inside a magnificent temple of the White Bone Dao.
Upon a white bone lotus platform stood the dual dharma images of the Lord of the Charnel Grounds.
Both the male and female asects appeared in skeletal form, wearing crowns of five skulls. Their three eyes glared wide open, and their four arms each held a bone staff, a bone bowl, a white conch shell, and a branch of the flower of untroubled bliss.
Seated beneath the dharma image of the Lord of the Charnel Grounds was a Guru dressed in a tiger-skin kasaya with a fierce countenance. It was Sangji.
At a certain moment he awakened from meditation and called out, "Miaoshui!"
A woman draped in sheer gauze, her figure graceful and alluring, immediately crawled forward on her knees. In both hands she held a white bone bowl filled with crimson liquid.
Sangji drained the contents of the skull bowl in one gulp and spoke. "Just now while I was in meditation, I suddenly saw a marvelous mandala. The Auspicious Heavenly Maiden revealed that Bright Son Miaohuo has passed away. His true spirit has already returned to the Great Snow Mountain and awaits reincarnation."
Wisdom Consort Miaoshui was shocked. Although Miaohuo was crude and disliked by the other four, the power of the Fire Luoba Bowl in his hands was immense. How could he have fallen so easily?
Sangji continued. "That heretic cultivates the [Ji Water] Dao Foundation and possesses a white bone soul banner that greatly appeals to me.
“Send word to Miaofeng and Qingjing. They must be careful of the talismans on that heretic. They possess power close to late Dao Foundation.
“That heretic is only at early Dao Foundation. The two of them working together should be enough to handle him. If it proves insufficient, send Miaoshan as well. This Buddha cannot conveniently venture deep into Ancient Shu right now. Those Purple Mansion cultivators are currently in a foul temper. If they were to slay this Buddha, would that not be a great injustice?"
"By your command!"
Wisdom Consort Miaoshui prostrated herself fully and then asked, "What about Bright Son Miaohuo's funeral arrangements?"
"Before his death he encountered great terror, and his true spirit suffered some damage. I fear he will first have to cycle through several lives as a pig, dog, cow, or horse."
Sangji said, "As for his position as Bright Son, I will observe for a time and select a capable disciple to inherit it first."
Miaoshui knew that once these words spread, the White Bone Dao believers outside would become even more devout and fanatical.
After all, this was the hope of rapidly achieving Dao Foundation!
And for the Esoteric Hidden-Treasury teachings to spread eastward, they needed to absorb these local cultivators. This was the general trend.
Beixuan Commandery.
This commandery lay at the extreme north of Ancient Shu, bordering several major Hu tribes.
Fang Qing had sent Xu Hei south to seek his own opportunities and occasionally conduct small business.
He himself rode a quasi second-rank flying bird puppet and headed toward the north of Ancient Shu.
The fierce wind howled past.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered inwardly.
'By all logic, the White Bone Dao and the Yin Corpse Sect are like fire and water, locked in a Dao dispute. I should head south and borrow the power of the Yin Corpse Sect for protection.
But the problem with following common sense is that it is too predictable. If I think this way, Guru Sangji likely thinks the same way.
Even if the divination result was minor auspicious, it may not be entirely reliable.
Divination results can be misled.
The White Bone Dao comes from the All-Beings Formless Temple. They too have great figures above the Golden Rank who may possess secret techniques.
Therefore, I cannot fully trust the divination. I deliberately went in the opposite direction and came to Beixuan Commandery instead.'
He had divined the hexagram for coming to Beixuan. His safety was medium and acceptable.
"This commandery has long suffered harassment from the Hu people. Now it has been invaded by a massive Hu army, along with large numbers of demon beasts. The Hu armies now number in the tens of thousands when they march south. Each army is guarded by Dao Foundation cultivators or even demon generals. By comparison, Li Rulong's righteous army looks like nothing more than children playing house. Here in this place, Shu people, demon beasts, Hu people, and even demonic cultivators converge in utter chaos. It is a perfect spot to hide for a time and trade supplies."
Waging war consumed enormous amounts of resources. This was clearly an excellent time to sell goods.
Once he finished offloading this batch of merchandise, Fang Qing planned to retreat back to Taibai Island and cultivate in seclusion for several decades. He would wait until he reached late Foundation Establishment or even Foundation Establishment perfection, where he could unleash far more of the Sea Transformation Pearl's power.
At that point, dealing with a mere Sangji would be as easy as turning over his hand.
"Still, has the situation in Ancient Shu become this dire just because one Purple Mansion from the Black Gu Sect died and the Yulin Pu Family was lost?"
Fang Qing shook his head.
He could not see the full picture of the game above Purple Mansion, but this gain and loss was clearly far more than simply the disappearance of two Purple Mansion cultivators.
The previous battle at Pu Family Mountain City had left an unknown number of Ancient Shu Purple Mansion cultivators heavily injured.
The consequences of that battle were only now beginning to show.
Yanshan Market.
This marketplace lay on the border of Beixuan Commandery. One step further and one would truly enter Beixuan territory.
Fang Qing wore a bamboo hat and carried a bamboo basket on his back as he walked into the marketplace.
The streets bustled with crowds, a stark contrast to the desolation of other marketplaces.
"What is going on here?"
Fang Qing casually grabbed a Qi Ingestion cultivator and asked.
"Senior!"
The Qi Ingestion cultivator saw that he faced a Dao Foundation senior and immediately put on a fawning expression. "To report to Senior, this is because the Hu demons have invaded Beixuan. Most cultivators have fled here as refugees."
"Has the situation grown this severe? What exactly is the state of Beixuan Commandery?"
Fang Qing had finally caught hold of a local and asked the questions he cared about without the slightest concern.
The Qi Ingestion cultivator answered respectfully.
"The Azure Bird Tribe is the main force invading Beixuan. The Purple Mansion sect of Beixuan, the Shangyong Sect, had their old Spiritual Master step forward to lead the resistance. Most cultivators in Beixuan Commandery have now been conscripted into the Shangyong Sect and await orders. The few who managed to flee have scattered across the surrounding commanderies."
"Azure Bird Tribe?"
Fang Qing noted the name inwardly. He knew he could not enter Beixuan right now. Instead he could browse the surrounding marketplaces and sell off his goods while he was at it.
Besides, spiritual items from the other world were not considered stolen goods in this realm at all.
"By the way, if I wish to conduct large-scale transactions, where should I go?"
He asked another question.
"If it were a Qi Ingestion cultivator, any of the shops in the marketplace would suffice. However, Senior is at Dao Foundation. In Yanshan Market, only a few places like Listening Wind Pavilion and Gathering Origin Workshop would do."
The Qi Ingestion cultivator gave directions, bowed respectfully, and watched Fang Qing's back disappear before wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "Finally gone. Luckily this senior was quite amiable."
Fang Qing entered Listening Wind Pavilion.
The building had an antique charm, with eight entrances. Inside were various display stands holding numerous spiritual items. All kinds of spiritual auras and phenomena intertwined yet harmonized perfectly, quite extraordinary.
Several cultivators were inside, mostly at late Qi Ingestion, pausing at the counters to admire items or haggle over prices.
Fang Qing swept his divine sense and understood at once: this floor dealt in Qi Ingestion spiritual items. ‘However, what was going on?’
He stopped in front of a purchase sign and looked at the text above.
"Mass purchasing [Zhen Water] spiritual items?"
To be honest, Fang Qing felt a chill run down his spine for an instant, suspecting this was bait set by some Purple Mansion cultivator specifically to hook him.
But his heart stirred. The Plum Blossom Divination gave no warning.
If it were a great figure above Purple Mansion, there would be no need for such methods.
While Fang Qing's thoughts raced, a charming and graceful maidservant approached with a smile. "Esteemed guest, do you happen to have any [Zhen Water] spiritual items? Our pavilion purchases them in large quantities at excellent prices."
"Cui'er, wait a moment. Let this old man personally attend to this fellow Daoist. Cough cough."
An aged voice rang out, followed by an old man in black robes walking over unhurriedly. His face was as fair as jade; he must have been exceptionally handsome in his youth. Now, however, he had a sickly pallor and coughed from time to time as he walked.
"Yes, Elder Mu."
Cui'er quickly bowed and withdrew respectfully.
This Elder Mu was clearly a Dao Foundation cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. May I ask your name?"
Elder Mu invited Fang Qing into a quiet room, had a maidservant serve fragrant tea and snacks, and only then spoke.
"Xiang Dahu!"
Fang Qing answered with a smile.
"So it is Fellow Daoist Xiang. Does Fellow Daoist possess a large quantity of [Zhen Water] spiritual items?"
Elder Mu went straight to the point.
"I only have a few Dao Foundation realm spiritual items. However, I do have a few questions."
Fang Qing casually took out a jade box, placed it on the table, and opened it to reveal a box full of sea pearls brimming with spiritual energy. "Why is Yanshan Market in such urgent need of [Zhen Water] spiritual items?"
"Fellow Daoist... so you are a rogue cultivator?" Elder Mu was slightly startled, then apologized. "The mutual generation and restraint between these Dao lineages is actually worthless when spoken plainly. It is simply because the Hu demons have invaded and the front lines urgently need all kinds of supplies. [Zhen Water] spiritual items used to create talismans and magical artifacts deal the greatest damage to the demon race."
"What? [Zhen Water] counters the demon race? Does that not mean water virtue counters Taiyin?!"
Fang Qing felt a sudden surge of excitement as he thought of Li Rulong.
When they last met, the man had shown some arrogance at first, most likely because he cultivated [Bi Moon].
If they met again, hehe...
‘Could it be that metal and fire counter earth and wood, earth and wood counter water, water counters sun and moon, and sun and moon counter metal and fire? It was just like the game of animal chess where the mouse can eat the elephant. Have we water virtue cultivators finally stood up?’
Many thoughts flashed through Fang Qing's mind: ‘Or is it that demon beasts dissolve easily in water? That old fox saw so many [Zhen Water] spiritual items last time and directly sold a Purple Mansion technique. It was not that he liked them, but that he desperately wanted to devour their blood and flesh?’
"Not exactly. [Zhen Water] only has some restraining effect on [Bi Moon]."
Elder Mu shook his head. "However, the Azure Bird Tribe invading this time consists mostly of half-demons who cultivate the [Bi Moon] path. That is why [Zhen Water] spiritual materials are being consumed heavily on the front lines."
‘So it only counters [Bi Moon]. Still, that is not bad. Truly worthy of [Zhen Water]!’
"But why does this restraint exist? Could it be?"
Fang Qing thought of one possibility. ‘Could it be that a great figure above [Zhen Water] had once slain a [Bi Moon] True Lord?’
That would be quite remarkable.
Elder Mu merely smiled without answering. "[Zhen Water] is the proper position of water virtue and naturally possesses some extraordinary power. Of course, some water virtue cultivators believe [Bi Water] is the proper position. Fellow Daoist also cultivates water virtue. What is your view?"
‘How do I view it? I sit and watch.
‘So only [Zhen Water] is strong, but my natal aspect is [Ji Water]. What a shame.
‘But I can switch my cultivation? Oh, then it is fine.
‘Still, I previously comprehended Ji Wind and Bi Rain, and now I discover that [Bi Moon] is countered by [Zhen Water]. The connection between water virtue and the Taiyin path seems quite deep.’
Fang Qing shook his head and offered no opinion. "Let us discuss the price for this box of spiritual items instead."
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