Chapter 315: Floating Slaughter (For Alliance Leader Huoyu Bingfeng! )
Chapter 315: Floating Slaughter (For Alliance Leader Huoyu Bingfeng! )
"Yama Dao Palace?"
"Skinless Temple. . . Skinning Chant, Skin Puppet Art, Blood Skin Art. . . and a 'Boundless Sea of Blood Pill'?"
Fang Xi toyed with the crimson pill in his hand, slowly savoring the experiences of his External Avatar in the Red Sun Realm.
"Is this the long-extinct path of Dharma cultivation? It even seems to have merged with the local evil spirits and anomalous entities. . . evolving into a completely new system."
"Chant, Technique, Art, Dao. . . what is that final 'Dao'?"
One mystery after another surfaced in Fang Xi's mind.
And looking at the 'Boundless Sea of Blood Pill', which was vastly different from his own Withered Glory Golden Core, he found himself quite interested in studying it.
"However, the most important thing right now is to deal with the External Avatar first!"
This process had to be carried out periodically to ensure the External Avatar remained stable.
A long while later, Fang Xi opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face: "In the Red Sun Realm, the main goal is still to collect cultivation techniques and various Golden Cores. . . I think the Yama Dao Palace is worth a visit, even if it's just ruins. . . Besides that, the various evil spirits in the wild, some of the powerful ones even comparable to Core Formation cultivators, are also worth studying. . ."
"I know this. . ."
The External Avatar opened its eyes: "The cultivation techniques of the Red Sun Realm are mysterious and malevolent, seemingly even faster to achieve than Battle Glyphs. . . My main body cannot cultivate this art, lest it be polluted, but it's certainly no harm for me, the External Avatar, to try it."
"Precisely. But if you're going to cultivate, find the best. Since you've accomplished such a great feat, it might be better to lie low here for a while first. . ."
Fang Xi looked out the carriage window, seeing a desolate, wild landscape.
Although the Green Corner Fish Dragon was pathetic and lackadaisical, its keen sense for danger was exceptional. All along the way, while pulling the carriage, it led the Demonic Blood Flood Dragon away from several perilous spots.
...
Three months later.
Red Sun Realm.
Deep within the wild mountain forests, a caravan struggled to advance.
"Everyone, stay vigilant. Though this trade route has been explored by those before us, it's not absolutely safe. . ."
A young woman in red rode on horseback, instructing a butler-like figure beside her.
"Please rest assured, Young Miss. Our Treasure Light Merchant Guild has traveled this road for so many years. . . we know it well!"
The butler replied with a fawning smile.
"Nowadays, malicious entities run rampant outside. . . there might be some that have migrated."
The young miss had a valiant aura about her, clutching a bright yellow talisman in her hand.
She was no empty head; not only was she proficient in the art of calculation, but from a young age, her parents had sent her to a Daoist temple, and now she was also an initiate of the Dao!
Not only that, but the reason the Treasure Light Merchant Guild could traverse the nearby cities so freely was due to the several Foundation Establishment-level Daoists it employed as protectors!
"Young Miss. . ."
A maidservant scurried over, whispering a few words: "The Protector requests your presence. . ."
"I understand. . ."
A hint of awkwardness appeared on the young woman's face, but she still urged her horse forward, arriving beside a luxuriously decorated carriage.
Through the carriage window, one could see the silk cushions inside, with additional mats and a small table laden with various foods.
A red-faced Daoist, full of impatience, pushed away the serving maidservant and looked at the young woman in red: "Patron. . . could it be you're dissatisfied with this old Pang, and thus try to fob me off with such common harlots?"
He pointed at the maidservant, who was weeping uncontrollably, her face still bearing fresh red palm prints, and snorted coldly.
The young woman in red was furious inside, but a smile appeared on her face: "Protector Pang, please bear with us a little longer. When we reach the next city, I will surely present many women for your cultivation. . ."
"Heh heh, in this caravan, there aren't no beauties either, wouldn't you say, Young Patron?"
Protector Pang's gaze swept over the young woman in red, looking utterly lecherous.
The young woman in red suddenly became expressionless: "I, too, wished to serve the Protector in his cultivation, but alas, I cultivate the 'Seven Emotions Chant', and my master and other elders in the temple have earnestly cautioned me not to damage my cultivation foundation. . ."
Only then did Protector Pang reluctantly sit back: "Fine. . . let's leave it at that for now, but next time's 'Five Viscera Pills', you must give me an additional thirty percent. . ."
It seemed he was quite wary of the young woman in red's sect.
"Thirty percent? That's too much. . ."
The young woman in red frowned: "At most twenty percent. . . and the Protector must also lend a hand. My mind feels uneasy; there might be some danger nearby. . . I ask the Protector to make a sweep."
"Heh heh. . . this place isn't simple. A hundred li further north is 'Floating Slaughter Mountain'. . . A hundred years ago, that mountain was the ancestral home of the Yama Dao Palace. . . Even though it's been abandoned for a century, there's still some mysterious power there, and overly powerful evil spirits won't approach it. . ."
Protector Pang lounged back lazily: "No need for a patrol, just leave it be. . ."
"Floating Slaughter Mountain. . ."
The young woman in red, however, seemed to be deep in thought.
The caravan continued its journey.
Just then, a faint song, echoing through the valley, drifted from the dense forest:
"All demons and monsters, merely illusions of longevity. . ."
The song was clear and melodious, but the tune seemed to be a country folk song, causing everyone in the caravan to exchange bewildered glances.
"Stop immediately!"
The young woman in red waved the caravan to a halt, her face solemn as she stared in the direction of the singing.
A handsome young man appeared, holding a long, jet-black banner, strolling leisurely.
The steep cliffs and thorny vines. . . seemed unable to impede him in the slightest.
Even while crossing mountains and ridges, for the young man, it was as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in his own garden.
He continued to sing as he traveled.
"Oh? I didn't expect to encounter a caravan here. . ."
Fang Xi's eyes glinted. A faint smile appeared on his face as he took a few bounding steps, arriving before the caravan.
"Treasure Light Merchant Guild? I seem to have heard that name before. . ."
He muttered to himself, then chuckled: "Where is the caravan's spokesperson?"
The young woman in red spurred her horse forward, forming a hand seal, and performed a Daoist salute: "Xiao Mei, a disciple of the Heartless Temple. . . greets this young master."
"So it's a disciple from a Daoist temple, even better. You must know the location of the Yama Dao Palace ruins, I presume?"
Fang Xi smiled.
"What. . . Senior wishes to seek the Yama Dao Palace?"
Xiao Mei had just heard Protector Pang mention this, and her expression couldn't help but turn somewhat strange.
"It seems. . . you do know a thing or two."
Fang Xi nodded thoughtfully.
"This junior only knows that the Dao Palace is a hundred li to the north. . . as for anything more, I am completely unaware. . . " Xiao Mei replied cautiously.
"Indeed. . . your cultivation is too low, so it's normal that you wouldn't know much about it."
Fang Xi swept his Divine Consciousness, then snorted coldly: "Seeing this True Lord, why are you not rolling out here!"
As he spoke, a terrifying aura of magical power spread from his body, making the young woman in red feel a suffocating sensation.
"True Lord, please forgive me. . ."
A ball of flesh "rolled" out from the carriage, none other than Protector Pang.
But looking at his expression, where was even a hint of his previous arrogance?
"Senior did not reveal any aura before, so this junior failed to detect you. It is indeed a Perfected Daoist who has graced us with his presence. . ."
Protector Pang scrambled and crawled, approaching Fang Xi and repeatedly bowing, continuously explaining himself.
"Never mind. . . Is there any danger near the Yama Dao Palace?"
Fang Xi waved his hand, asking casually.
"Danger? . . . Ordinary anomalous entities and evil spirits don't dare to approach the Dao Palace. . . But ever since the Yama Dao Master disappeared a hundred years ago, the Dao Palace has been completely abandoned, entirely different from before. . . It's said that some dangers do lurk within, but as long as one doesn't get too close or venture deep inside, the internal dangers don't seem to leak out. . . Otherwise, the Treasure Light Merchant Guild wouldn't have chosen this mountain path. . ."
Protector Pang answered everything he knew.
"I see. . ."
Fang Xi nodded, asking a few more questions.
However, no matter how hard the young woman in red strained her ears, she couldn't hear a single sound.
From the corner of her eye, she could only see the formerly arrogant Protector Pang acting like a mouse seeing a cat, utterly deferential, nodding and bowing, even looking somewhat comical.
"So that's it, I'm off. . ."
Having obtained the information he desired, Fang Xi burst into laughter. Demonic light flickered around him, transforming into a dark streak of light that vanished into the sky.
"Protector Pang. . ."
Xiao Mei's heart stirred, and she was about to step forward to inquire.
But unexpectedly, Protector Pang snorted coldly: "Young Miss, it's best not to inquire about what that Senior asked. . ."
Xiao Mei seemed to realize something, her small face turning slightly pale as she forced a smile: "The Protector is right. . ."
...
High in the sky, a streak of demonic light shot northward.
Fang Xi controlled his magical power, letting the fierce winds blow, yet not a single strand of his hair was ruffled.
At the same time, all the information he had gathered during this period was consolidated in his mind.
"The Yama Dao Palace is located on a place called Floating Slaughter Mountain. . . It flourished for a thousand years, then declined a century ago. . . and its decline was very thorough. Perhaps there were internal changes, or it was occupied by a powerful evil entity?"
"As for the Yama Dao Master. . ."
"This person was most likely a Nascent Soul cultivator. After a thousand years, their lifespan probably ran out, and they passed away, right?"
After all, the Yama Dao Palace had ruled for over a thousand years.
The world believed the Dao Master was immortal and eternal, their lifespan boundless, but Fang Xi knew that even cultivators had a day when they would decay.
Once this Nascent Soul cultivator passed away, if the Core Formation disciples and temple masters below refused to acknowledge each other, unable to elect a new Dao Master, then the collapse of the Yama Dao Palace and the arrival of an era of chaos seemed entirely understandable?
"I wonder what this world was like a thousand years ago? And where did the Yama Dao Master come from?"
A distance of a hundred li was but the blink of an eye for a core formation cultivator's escape light (escape light).
As these thoughts flashed through Fang Xi's mind, the scenery ahead suddenly changed, revealing a mountain range brimming with spiritual energy.
Buildings of various sizes were nestled within the mountains, extending upwards in rings, until they reached a grand palace atop the highest peak.
"Floating Slaughter Mountain's Yama Dao Palace. . . arrived!"
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