"Master, why did I feel like these so-called spells closest to immortal arts in the mortal world were tailor-made for demons?" Li Feng sat by the stream, his bare feet dipped into the water condensed from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. He clutched a nine-leaf seven-colored Lingzhi Mushroom weighing over two pounds and gnawed on it wildly as he mumbled out those words.
Leaning against Little Cat's back, Zhao Yue'er was combing the soft, long fur on Little Cat's head. Hearing Li Feng's nonsense, she could not help but snap, "Nonsense. These spells were passed down by Patriarch Yellow Dragon True Man. They were spells used by Qi Refining practitioners in ancient times. How could they belong to demons?"
Li Feng raised a bamboo scroll glowing faintly red in his right hand and shouted, "But look at this Heavenly Fire Surge! Once it is cast, with the caster's body as the center, meteors rain down within a hundred-mile radius, earthfire surges up, and the wind of the Ninth Heaven carries God-Slaying Yin Fire from the eighteenth level of hell to burn everything wildly. This is practically a suicidal spell. Other than those great demon lords among demons that Master mentioned, with especially tough bodies and little fear of external harm, who could survive it? If this was not a spell written specifically for demons, then what was it?"
Li Feng took another bite of the Lingzhi Mushroom, chewed several times, stretched out his neck and swallowed before continuing, "We cultivators, even if our Nascent Souls have reached great completion and our bodies have been tempered a hundred times inside and out, would still be chopped in two if a flying sword merely grazed us. Not to mention getting hit by meteors, Ninth Heaven wind, yin fire, or blazing flames from the nine depths. Only those innately gifted demons might be able to withstand them. Hmph, that Ninth Heaven wind is one of the three great tribulations for cultivators. If one's cultivation is even slightly lacking, a scraped patch of skin would mean their soul scattering and spirit dispersing."
Zhao Yue'er frowned and began seriously considering the question. That was true. These spells were immensely powerful, but they often dragged the caster in as well. Given the Cultivation World's current level, anyone struck by such a spell would have no chance of surviving, except for old monsters who had reached the "Void" realm and might still have a chance to flee. After thinking for a long time, Zhao Yue'er did not want Li Feng to think the texts collected by her sect were related to demons, so she said against her conscience, "Not necessarily. Perhaps the ancient Qi Refining practitioners could cultivate their bodies until they were as resistant to blows as demons, with astonishing recovery abilities as well. With their True Essence protecting their bodies, perhaps they would have been fine."
Li Feng sprawled out beside the stream and yawned. "Then what is the difference between immortals and monsters? Mm, mm, I still think many of these spells are connected to monsters. For example, those scrolls preserved by the Gonggong Clan. I do not think the Gonggong Clan was any good in the myths, especially that general under him, that fellow called Liu Xiang or Xiangliu. Wasn't he the one who stirred up waves and made trouble everywhere, only to be slain by Great Yu?"
Zhao Yue'er had no answer. Li Feng suddenly laughed. "So I think our patriarch relied on his powerful magic and ran into someone else's home to snatch away their treasured spell manuals. Or perhaps after the Chan Sect and Jie Sect competed in magic, he simply scavenged them from the corpses."
With a whoosh, a fist-sized stone grazed past Li Feng's head and flew into the stream. Li Feng shrank back in fright and cried, "I'm telling the truth! After painstakingly killing an enemy, if you do not search the body for good magic treasures or see whether they carried any useful spellbooks, then you are simply stupid beyond saving."
Zhao Yue'er screamed in anger, leaping up and kicking at Li Feng. She felt that Li Feng had made her patriarch sound far too disgraceful. How could Patriarch have been someone who picked things off corpses? No matter what, Patriarch had been bright, righteous, great, noble, pure, upright—the incarnation of every human virtue. Li Feng's words were truly smearing mud across Patriarch's face. Heaven and earth bore witness, how could she know that what Li Feng said really was exactly what had happened?
Li Feng shouted and hollered, tossed aside the scroll in his hand, clamped the Lingzhi Mushroom between his teeth, then jumped up and ran. Zhao Yue'er shrieked, "Stop right there! Let me see how I deal with you, daring to make up slander about Patriarch!"
Li Feng merely grunted indistinctly, "Mm, mm, what I said was..."
The two were running circles around the Purple Palace Abode when the entire Lesser Celestial Realm suddenly gave a slight tremble. Zhao Yue'er's heart jolted, and she hurriedly stopped. Li Feng froze, casually tossed the Lingzhi Mushroom from his mouth into the stream, and asked, "Master, what happened? Could Patriarch really have gotten angry and be about to collapse the Lesser Celestial Realm? Mother of heaven, we should run quickly. Otherwise, we will lose our lives."
Little Cat had already risen from beside the stream, its two huge eyes fixed fiercely upon the sky. A beast's spiritual instincts told it that something bad had happened.
Zhao Yue'er ran swiftly ahead, tossing back a sentence as she went. "Fengzi, stay here and behave yourself. Little Cat, come with me. I want to see who dared come to the Yiyuan Sect's grounds to stir up trouble. Hmph. If it is those people from the Emei Sect again, do not blame me for activating the Rivers and Mountains Painting and sending them into an illusion to dream sweet dreams... Fengzi, stay here. If a fight truly breaks out, you would not even be as useful as Little Cat."
Li Feng stood dumbly for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not as useful as Little Cat? Eh, it seemed like I had always been the one bullying Little Cat, not him bullying me. Could I really not beat that stinking tiger? Damn it, next time I will burn all of Little Cat's fur off." Li Feng felt that Zhao Yue'er had viciously wounded his self-esteem. He lazily walked to the stream, fished out the Lingzhi Mushroom, and without caring whether it was covered in mud or not, stuffed it back into his mouth and slowly gnawed away.
Above Qingyun Flat, an incomparably enormous illusion shrouded an area twenty miles around. A skinny old man in a golden robe embroidered with countless strange beasts, his face dark and his eyes gleaming green, said with a sinister grin, "It truly is the Rivers and Mountains Painting. Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord, your contribution this time was not small. If we can successfully obtain the Chiyou Banner, then this Rivers and Mountains Painting will be yours. Hehehehehe... Fortunately, I also possess the Chaos Mirror. Otherwise, it would truly have been inconvenient to attack the Yiyuan Sect in broad daylight." He glanced at the illusion overhead and once more let out a smug, shrill cackle.
The black-robed man who had charged into the Rivers and Mountains Painting half a month ago, only to escape in considerable embarrassment, respectfully said, "It was all thanks to Right Saint's divine might. Hehe... If we succeed this time, Right Saint will have rendered a tremendous service to our master. We merely relied on Right Saint's power and contributed a little effort."
Right Saint smugly stroked his narrow, long beard and nodded. "Mm, we can move now. The little doll who arranged the Rivers and Mountains Painting has cultivation far too low, at most early Golden Core. She simply cannot bring out this treasure's true power. Hehe, that makes things convenient for us... Move! What are you all waiting for? Quickly use the Form Transformation Art to suppress the illusion below, then use the Light Splitting Art to retrieve the magic treasure. Must I personally do even that?"
Three black-robed men dressed like Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord answered in unison. With a wave of their hands, more than a hundred streaks of black smoke flashed, and over a hundred black-robed cultivators appeared in the air. They chanted spells together, sending streams of dim gray light downward. At once, the mountains and rivers formed by the Rivers and Mountains Painting began trembling together, rippling in ring after ring like water. The combined strength of these black-robed cultivators was immense. Although the Rivers and Mountains Painting itself possessed no small power, Zhao Yue'er's magic power was too low for her to activate its myriad wonders. As Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord watched the illusion continuously shrink, he gave several strange laughs and spread his hand. The Rivers and Mountains Painting had already reverted into a tiny scroll, floating gently into his hand.
Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord smugly looked at the three identically dressed black-robed men beside him and laughed. "Three Divine Lords, Illusionary Spirit took the lead today. Heh heh... But the Yiyuan Sect calls itself the foremost righteous sect in the Cultivation World. There must be countless magic treasures inside. Once we enter, it will depend on whose luck is better. Perhaps we may even obtain several rare treasures."
A black-robed man with a tiny crystal embedded in his forehead laughed. "Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord, well said, well said. As long as we can bring back the Chiyou Banner, our master will surely grant enormous rewards. If we can obtain a few secret arts, then such rare treasures will amount to nothing."
Another black-robed man, whose entire face was tattooed with pale blue poisonous insects, nodded repeatedly. "Indeed. Spirit Heart Lord is correct. I, Spirit Sky Lord, think the same. As long as we obtain the Chiyou Banner, nothing else matters. I only fear that the Yiyuan Sect's disciples may be too formidable. We may not necessarily be their match. Although Right Saint has already surpassed Spirit Severance, he is still a thread away from the 'Void' realm. If the Five Elders of Yiyuan make a move, Right Saint might..."
Right Saint was displeased inwardly and let out a cold snort. The last black-robed man immediately said, "Spirit Sky, what nonsense are you saying? No matter how formidable the Five Elders of Yiyuan are, their strongest, Daoist Qingquan, is only at early Spirit Severance. There is quite a gap between him and Right Saint. Why do you not quickly apologize to Right Saint?"
Spirit Sky suddenly came to his senses and shuddered all over. Still in the sky, he threw himself down in full prostration before Right Saint. "Right Saint, Spirit Sky misspoke. I beg you to forgive me. Spirit Sky meant well. I only feared that the Five Elders of Yiyuan would cast aside all shame and join forces to attack you. Such a thing is not beyond those righteous-path people. I beg you to take care of your golden body. The future of the four of us rests entirely upon you."
Hearing Spirit Sky Lord speak so pleasingly, Right Saint could not help nodding with a smile. "Forget it. You misspoke in the moment. I, Right Saint, am broad-minded—how could I take it to heart? Hehe, there is actually nothing to worry about. The Five Elders of Yiyuan cannot possibly come out to fight. The Chiyou Banner is no treasure that can be easily refined, especially since they want to refine it with righteous-path spells. Hehe, are they not asking for suffering? The Yiyuan Sect's twelve chief disciples have all suffered severe injuries as well, so there is no need to worry about them. The only one left is the daughter of the Yiyuan Sect's leader. Who else is there? Mm? Oh, could it be that useless tiger demon?"
Right Saint burst into laughter, while Illusionary Spirit, Spirit Sky, and Spirit Heart were deeply puzzled. "Right Saint, where did your information come from?"
Right Saint pointed at the last black-robed man and said, "Spirit Absolute Lord gave the Blood God Cult's scriptures to several worthless disciples of the Emei Sword Sect last time. Hehe, this news came from them. Heh heh, it is rather amusing. Emei, also a righteous sect, actually did us a great favor." Right Saint smugly recounted how Old Daoist Wu Shen had led people to the Yiyuan Sect to demand justice, then suddenly launched a vicious attack and seriously wounded all twelve Yiyuan Sect disciples.
Illusionary Spirit, Spirit Sky, and Spirit Heart suddenly understood. When they looked at the smug Spirit Absolute Lord, a few more traces of jealousy appeared in their eyes.
After laughing for a while, Right Saint looked at the hazy blue-green light below and nodded. "Wonderful, the Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array—wonderful! If it were another formation, I might have trouble dealing with it. Unfortunately, I was once trapped in this formation a thousand years ago, and every change of life and death within it is clear in my heart. Heaven has decreed that the Yiyuan Sect will perish at our hands, hehe. I know nothing whatsoever about formations, yet I happen to know this God Slaying Array, hailed as the foremost killing formation of antiquity, as well as the palm of my hand."
After boasting for a while, Right Saint said, "Back then, I offended several wandering immortals in the East Sea and was trapped in an incomplete Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array. Hehe, I was trapped for three full years, but did I not still break free in the end? Everyone, do not worry. This formation is powerful, but it needs people to preside over it. The Yiyuan Sect has no one left apart from a little girl. This formation requires at least six people to operate at full capacity. So do not worry. Follow me down."
Right Saint gave several more strange laughs and transformed into a plume of black smoke that plunged into the Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array. Illusionary Spirit and the other four froze. "An incomplete Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array? But the one here at the Yiyuan Sect should be complete, should it not? Then, then..." Seeing that Right Saint had already charged in, they could only steel themselves and lead over a hundred black-robed cultivators down in a mass of black smoke.
Right Saint had made a mistake. He had indeed been trapped in this formation before, and he had indeed broken out of it, but as he himself had said, that one had been incomplete. The formation laid down by the Yiyuan Sect was not only complete, it also contained some exceedingly subtle changes. Thus, the moment he led his subordinates inside, he discovered that he had arrived in a strange space. Heaven and earth were only several dozen feet apart, yet stretched away without end. The sky was blue, the ground white, and pale mist curled through the air. Small mountain peaks floated in orderly layers throughout that heaven and earth. With one glance, it was impossible to tell how many there were.
Right Saint laughed loudly. "Look, it is exactly the same scene as what I encountered back then. Mm, let me think. Which direction and which mountain peak did I charge through back then? Mm, after entering the formation, sense the movement of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Along the direction in which it flows, among the mountain peaks with red light flashing, the ninety-fifth one... Mm, that is how it was... Eh... Why are there no mountain peaks flashing red?" Right Saint was dumbfounded, while the four Divine Lords and more than a hundred subordinates behind him stared at one another, speechless.
PS: The story begins... Ten chapters will be posted today.
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