Chapter 348: Blood Spring Art (Seeking Monthly Votes)
Chapter 348: Blood Spring Art (Seeking Monthly Votes)
The Red Sun Realm.
A certain city.
On the streets paved with bluestone slabs, people bustled and thronged.
Fang Xi waved, calling over a hawker selling candied haws. He casually bought a string and sat down at a tea stall.
"Since I began my arduous cultivation, I haven't had such leisure. . ."
"Now that I've released that explosive news, the Yuan Kingdom might be in chaos for a while. It's a good time to avoid the limelight. . ."
Fang Xi bit into a candied haw.
The higher his cultivation, the more he acted as he pleased.
"Oh? Tell me, in what way am I extraordinary? If your words are pleasing, I shall treat you to a table of wine and dishes, what say you?"
Fang Xi looked at the Daoist, who appeared to be in his forties with a face full of hardship, and couldn't help but laugh heartily.
The other tea drinkers, hearing this, had their faces twitch. Some timid ones already stood up to settle their bills, preparing to leave and avoid this tea stall.
After all, in the Red Sun Realm, Daoists held the highest status.
Even if the other party was dressed shabbily and was a wandering Daoist, they should not be underestimated.
Who knew if they weren't truly enlightened Daoists deliberately acting so, merely playing in the mortal world?
"Alright, then this humble Daoist shall speak of your appearance. . . Young master's appearance can be described as exceedingly noble. Your brows are the splendid canopy of your eyes, and your silkworm brows are flawless in every regard. . . And the rising Sun and Moon horns, the vermilion light in your Hall of Impression. . . these need not even be mentioned. The key is your demeanor. . . Even after cultivating the Dao for many years, this humble Daoist feels incomparable to it. . ."
The middle-aged Daoist sat opposite Fang Xi, observed him carefully, then sighed with regret: "Ordinarily, if this humble Daoist were to meet you, I would surely introduce you to the path of Dao. Alas, the world is in great chaos today, with various Dao factions attacking each other. . . I truly don't know whether it is better to be a mortal, or a Daoist."
"Although I am merely a mortal, I have heard of the changes after the Pill Origin Assembly. I wonder how the cultivation world fares now?"
Fang Xi asked the shopkeeper for a pot of clear tea and a few exquisite pastries, placing them before the middle-aged Daoist, asking casually.
"Tragic, simply unbearable. . . The Five Viscera Temple and Yellow Spring Temple lost their Core Formation True Men and were subsequently exterminated. . ."
"Now, the Dao Palace has re-emerged, led by a Young Palace Lord, fighting against the remaining White Bone Temple and Ruthless Temple. Both sides have had their victories and losses. . ."
"The ten monastic traditions across the land are all in chaos. . ."
The middle-aged Daoist took a sip of tea, then a bite of a plain steamed bun, before sighing contentedly: "Originally, there were still Daoist temples maintaining order, but now many cities have turned into ruins, with evil spirits running rampant. . . Besides the evil spirits in the wild, some Daoists are also unrestrained, ruthlessly performing blood sacrifices on entire villages, towns, and even cities. . . Could it be that our pursuit of these Dao Arts is meant to plunge humanity into hell?"
'That's naturally not the case; it's just because you've learned demonic cultivation arts. . . '
'If it were proper righteous cultivation arts, things might be much better. '
Fang Xi added inwardly, but on his face, he feigned great surprise: "Daoist priest, what insights do you have for me?"
"Heh heh. . ."
The middle-aged Daoist, full and satisfied, patted his belly and said: "This humble Daoist came here precisely to resolve a great calamity for the people of this entire city. . ."
Before his words faded, a layer of black mist surged from the street, suddenly engulfing the entire city.
Numerous Daoists clad in Daoist robes stood in the air, exuding powerful aura, their eyes filled with the indifference of heaven and earth.
"We are the Yellow Spring Seven Sons. The population of this entire city is perfectly suited for us to cultivate our magic power. . ."
"Indeed, souls can be used to cultivate the Yellow Spring Art, and internal organs can be given to the remnants of the Five Viscera Temple to refine Five Viscera Pills. . ."
A corpulent Daoist in yellow robes licked his lips: "Now that the Pill Origin Assembly is gone. . . we have to personally consume such rough fare. . ."
"Ah, it's the Daoists!"
"Daoist Lords, spare our lives, Daoist Lords, spare our lives. . ."
"Fools! Didn't you hear? These Daoists want to blood sacrifice us! Fight them!"
Chaos erupted throughout the city, with mortals running and wailing, their reactions varied.
It was, truly, a scene akin to the apocalypse.
"This. . . this. . ."
Fang Xi's face paled slightly as he watched the seven Core Formation cultivators wreaking havoc: "Daoist priest, save me!"
"Fear not, this Seat has come this time precisely to save the people of this city."
The middle-aged Daoist's playful expression turned solemn: "After all, I am indebted to you for a meal of tea and food. . ."
Boom!
The next moment, the middle-aged Daoist took a step forward, and blood-red shadows appeared across the sky!
These blood-red shadows gathered and dispersed unpredictably, ethereal and extraordinary, yet also incredibly agile.
The corpulent yellow-robed Daoist from before had just tried to make a move when he saw a blood-red shadow pounce, and he shrieked: "No good. . ."
But before he could cast a spell or use an artifact for defense, he was enveloped by the blood-red shadow.
Any magical defense was as good as nothing before the blood-red shadow.
The corpulent Daoist let out a tragic cry, his entire body's vital blood, flesh, and bones all vanishing, leaving only a human skin floating forlornly.
"It's a Divine Transformation True Man!"
"Run!"
The remaining Yellow Spring Six Sons, seeing this scene, all changed drastically in expression, each conjuring a streak of yellow light and fleeing in all directions.
"Heh heh, trying to leave now? Isn't it a bit too late?"
The middle-aged Daoist sneered, and a mass of crimson cloud appeared above the city, completely refining the previous black cloud. . .
Accompanied by piercing screams, a sinister smile appeared on the middle-aged Daoist's face.
At this very moment, an unexpected change occurred!
Two streaks of vital energy streaked from the horizon, one dark black and the other earthy yellow. The escape lights transformed into two massive glows in mid-air, crashing fiercely into the crimson cloud.
After a thunderous roar, the crimson cloud and various glows instantly dimmed considerably, revealing the figures of three Divine Transformation True Men.
One of them was someone Fang Xi was very familiar with, none other than 'True Man Kun'!
"It's you again. . . That Young Palace Lord has been eyeing this Seat's Golden Core for many years, hasn't he?"
The middle-aged man spoke in a clear, youthful voice, then suddenly peeled off his face, revealing a much younger countenance: it was Yu Hua!
He looked at the last human skin of a Yellow Spring Temple Daoist in his hand and sighed again: "To think. . . these remnants of the Yellow Spring Temple have finally defected to your Dao Palace."
Ever since the Pill Origin Assembly, when Yu Hua seized the opportunity to escape the Myriad Transformations Mystic Realm through a spatial rift, he had been wandering the world, cultivating Dao Arts.
His Core Formation cultivation was already enough for him to roam the wilds and live for five hundred years.
Alas. . . there was still the Dao Palace, relentlessly pursuing him.
As for the reason, Yu Hua now knew: it was the 'Boundless Sea of Blood Pill' within his body.
This Golden Core was quite difficult to achieve; apart from the Pill Origin Assembly, there were no quick shortcuts.
And with the current situation of two warring factions in the world, such a grand event of the Dao Palace could no longer be held.
"Heh heh. . . Fellow Daoist Yu, you are truly innovative, trying to find a follow-up Dao Art from the Yellow Spring Temple's 'Yellow Spring Art', but alas. . . the 'Blood Spring Art', which combines the 'Yellow Spring Art' and the 'Blood Skin Art', has ultimately been confirmed as a divergent path!"
True Man Kun said with a chuckle.
"What?"
The shock this brought to Yu Hua was clearly greater than before: "Could it be that after our Golden Core, there is no path forward?"
"Not so, the path beyond the Golden Core is entirely in the Young Palace Lord's hands. He yearns for talented individuals, and if he were to meet Fellow Daoist, he would surely be overjoyed and impart everything he knows."
Another Core Formation True Man spoke with a smile, his tongue blooming lotus flowers, his words seemingly possessing a power to bewitch hearts.
"Hmph!"
Yu Hua snorted coldly, his entire being suddenly exploding, transforming into a sky full of blood-skins.
Countless human skins floated and drifted, fleeing in all directions.
"Go!"
An item appeared in True Man Kun's hand, seemingly a painting scroll.
He poured his magic power into it, and the scroll immediately flew out, unfolding in mid-air to reveal a scene within, though it was merely an ordinary landscape painting.
But at this moment, the ink and wash seemed to come alive, leaping from the paper to condense into a black thread, shooting towards a certain human skin that was drifting back towards the city!
"Good thing I borrowed this treasure from the Young Palace Lord, otherwise you might have escaped."
True Man Kun snorted coldly, and a large hand reached down from the air.
The human skin rapidly filled, transforming back into Yu Hua's figure, who couldn't help but smile bitterly.
This time, he seemed to have been forced into a dead end.
However, this man's nature was tenacious; even at a dead end, he would struggle to survive!
Just as Yu Hua was about to unleash the Golden Core within his body for a desperate struggle, a light chuckle suddenly echoed in his ear: "Daoist priest. . . it seems I am not helping you resolve a calamity for the city, but rather helping you resolve one for yourself."
He saw that the exceptionally handsome young man had, at some unknown point, arrived in mid-air, observing this Daoist battle.
Even more terrifying was that before he spoke, none of the three Core Formation True Men had even noticed him!
"You. . ."
Yu Hua found this handsome young man somewhat familiar; the face of the benefactor he had encountered when he first entered the Dao vaguely emerged in his mind.
Although the two looked completely different, their tone and demeanor were almost identical!
"Fellow Daoist, are you certain you wish to interfere in the affairs of our Dao Palace?"
True Man Kun's voice was grim.
"Trying to scare me with the Dao Palace? If the Yama Dao Master were still alive, I might hesitate, but now?"
Fang Xi scoffed, unfurling the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand.
The Yin Yang Ghost King and another late-stage Core Formation Ghost King pounced simultaneously, their eyes filled with madness and greed, lunging at the two Core Formation True Men.
They had been truly starved before and had only just managed to swallow Bi Yunzi; now, they craved blood-food even more.
Fang Xi paid no mind to the battle raging in the sky; after all, it was a case of the strong bullying the weak.
Yu Hua, however, suddenly bowed with extreme reverence: "Is it truly my benefactor before me?"
"Indeed, to still recognize me, you truly are a good lad."
Fang Xi chuckled, sitting back down at the tea stall, quite enjoying the sight of the unfolding drama.
"Benefactor guided me into the Dao, and then helped me achieve the Daoist stage. This kindness, this grace, Yu Hua has no way to repay. . ."
Yu Hua bowed again: "It's just that now, although I have achieved Core Formation, I have even more doubts in my heart. . ."
"So, you wish to climb to a higher realm?"
Fang Xi shook his head: "You've taken the wrong path. . . the Immortal Dao is not the Demonic Dao. The deeper you fall, the harder it is to recover. . ."
"Immortal Dao, Demonic Dao. . . " Enlightenment suddenly struck Yu Hua's heart, and he immediately prostrated himself in a deep bow: "I beg benefactor to impart upon me the true Immortal Art!"
"The Dharma cannot be lightly transmitted. . ."
Fang Xi shook his head: "Furthermore. . . if you wish to cultivate my art, you must discard your Golden Core. Are you willing?"
Yu Hua was stunned. . .
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