The Fish Took the Bait

I was groggily asleep when I suddenly remembered you promised to give Loli ten thousand sect leaders (in my dream), so I quickly got up to update.

Crimson Fire Dragon Ridge

Four thousand years of Daoism Cultivation

And a pill called the Devil Pill!

The Devil Pill is condensed from the five turbid Devilish Qi, supplemented by the bitterness of the seven emotions and six desires, and concocted by the human heart, beast heart, and heavenly heart. It automatically absorbs Devilish Qi within a thousand-meter radius and is incomparably hard, impossible to destroy by human strength.

It can transform into a Devil seed, it can transform into a Monster essence, it can bear consciousness, it can contain one's own body, and it can be used to degenerate into a Devil.

"This..."

Su Qingqiu secretly clicked his tongue.

This thing is actually something that leads people to degenerate into the Devilish Dao. What does he want it for?

To be a Devilish Cultivator?

He's got too much time on his hands.

"Wait... it can bear spiritual light and will..."

Su Qingqiu's eyes rolled. He looked at his own Reverse Scale, then at the Devil Pill, and decided to conduct an experiment.

Great Wasteland

Southwest of the Luo River area, downstream, there is a county called Changping.

It is close to the Luo River, adjacent to the thousand-mile wasteland wetland of the Great Wasteland. Its terrain is superior, and its commerce is extremely busy.

Xuan Ye and his party traveled south from the Dragon-Raising Temple territory. When they reached the Luo River area, the rain that had followed them stopped.

Afterward, they found a boat and traveled along the river, arriving near Changping County.

"The county magistrate of Changping County is Li Baocai. He was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations in the thirty-second year of Zhaoyang and has served as magistrate here for over six years."

"During his tenure, although he had no great achievements, he also had no major faults. He managed to get by steadily in the past few years. Unfortunately, this year, when he was supposed to be transferred and promoted, he encountered a rare flood that occurs once in a century."

"Before this, heavy rain had been falling intermittently for more than three months, and the most recent downpour lasted for seven days and six nights. The Luo River river swelled, causing the people on both banks to become displaced. Even Luojia Mountain upstream was washed away once."

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities, he has encountered them all, and his promotion has been delayed. I also heard that the cabinet has drafted a memorial to the throne, presented to His Highness the Crown Prince, preparing to charge Li Baocai with the crime of dereliction of duty."

On the large boat, the attendant was meticulously explaining the information about Changping County to Xuan Ye.

However, it was unknown how much Xuan Ye could take in. His mind was still on Dragon-Raising Temple, trying hard to recall every detail from that time, hoping to find any trace of the True Dragon.

Unfortunately, after thinking all the way, he found no clues.

Lost in thought, he saw three streams of light, crimson, gold, and black, emerge. Then, a child, only about seven or eight years old, landed on a fishing boat not far from Xuan Ye.

"Where did these Cultivators come from?"

"What a peculiar face!"

Xuan Ye exclaimed.

The newcomer, despite being only seven or eight years old, was clad in a set of crimson and black scale armor. Extremely complex patterns were engraved on the armor, with spiritual light flashing from time to time. It was clear that it was made from the scales of some powerful spirit beast.

In the center of the child's forehead, a red horn stood proudly, faintly emitting red flames, indicating an extraordinary bloodline.

Although his face was young, he possessed an imposing aura that commanded respect.

"A horn on the forehead... Is this a sign of spiritualization for some Cultivators? Can Eunuch Fu discern their origin?"

Xuan Ye asked.

This Eunuch Fu was the Emperor's chief eunuch and the head of the imperial attendants. Xuan Ye, seeing that the mission to Dragon-Raising Temple had failed, secretly joined forces with Eunuch Fu and his entourage to head towards the imperial city.

After all... having an extra companion on the way back would reduce the Emperor's reprimands by a third.

"A horn on the forehead... truly a peculiar sign of spiritualization. Forgive my poor eyesight, but I really cannot discern which family these Cultivators belong to."

"However, observing the flow of energy on his body, it is surging and passionate, like crashing waves. The crimson, gold, and black Magical Power are faintly emanating, and even with my eyesight, I cannot immediately tell how strong it is."

"This might be a powerful individual who has surpassed the seventh rank of Cultivators, reaching the middle three ranks, and can partially spiritualize themselves."

"Your Highness, such powerful individuals are rare. Coupled with such an ancient and monstrous child-like appearance, he is certainly a rare talent. Shall we go and introduce ourselves?"

Eunuch Fu saw Xuan Ye's interest and smiled, suggesting.

There has always been a saying in the world of Cultivators: children, old women, the blind, the lame, and the hunchbacked are the ones you should never provoke, as they are often ancient Monsters.

Although it was just a playful remark, this child Cultivator clearly looked formidable, naturally piquing Xuan Ye's interest.

Xuan Ye, who was in charge of the Imperial Court, was fond of associating with talented individuals. It was said that more than half of the enshrinement officials in the Imperial Court were personally invited by him, which was why Eunuch Fu asked such a question.

"That makes sense! Such a talent, I am eager to meet him!"

"Haha, let's go together, let's go together!"

Xuan Ye laughed heartily.

For a moment, he even forgot the unpleasantness he had encountered at Dragon-Raising Temple.

After all, taking in a rare and extraordinary individual would be a tale worth telling.

And at this moment...

On the fishing boat where the child cultivator had descended, the fishermen, upon seeing this, hastily clasped their hands together, kowtowed, and began to prostrate themselves, repeatedly exclaiming "Immortal Master!"

These common folk naturally knew nothing of the classifications of cultivators. As long as they weren't demons who harmed lives, they would call anyone they saw an Immortal Master.

Of course, the Dragon-Raising Temple was an exception.

Those monks and young nuns had a good reputation in the Great Wasteland area. Most people recognized the mark of the Dragon-Raising Temple and usually referred to them with terms like High Monk, Holy Monk, or Immortal Monk.

"Get up."

"Let me ask you, is this the area of the Luo River? Near Luojia Mountain?"

The one who arrived was none other than Su Qingqiu.

He had used a Devil Pill and his own scales to create this illusory body, then used his Shape-Shifting Illusion ability to transform into a real human form and disguise the Devil Pill's devilish qi.

Unless one was a Land Immortal of the third rank or higher, no one could tell that the child cultivator before them was merely a black Devil Pill wrapped in scales!

"Replying to the Immortal Master, this is already downstream of the Luo River, near Changping County. It's over a hundred and twenty li from Luojia Mountain."

The leading boatman hastily and respectfully replied.

Su Qingqiu frowned.

He had originally intended to visit Luojia Mountain, but he hadn't expected to travel so far. Of course, he had come here by following someone's aura.

However, he couldn't blame the Devil Pill. Remote control of a Devil Pill was already extremely difficult, and he was controlling it through his Reverse Scale, which made it even more challenging.

The Devil Pill could absorb devilish qi. To avoid contamination, Su Qingqiu had thought of the filtering and absorbing effect of his own Reverse Scale. After some tinkering, this Devil Pill had actually merged with his Reverse Scale, and thus the vast amount of devilish qi could no longer affect Su Qingqiu.

"Then do you know how far this place is from the Dragon-Raising Temple?"

Su Qingqiu asked again.

He wanted to see how far his spiritual will could control the body remotely, as once he reached this area, even his vast Daoism Cultivation of fifteen thousand years was becoming difficult to sustain.

"This..." The boatman looked around with difficulty. As an ordinary fisherman, how would he know where the Dragon-Raising Temple, where the Holy Monks resided, was?

"This place is over three thousand six hundred li from the Dragon-Raising Temple. Fellow Daoist, are you here for the True Dragon of the Dragon-Raising Temple?"

"I am Wang Xuan. Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

Xuan Ye, clad in magnificent robes, descended from the sky, looking incredibly flamboyant.

The fish has taken the bait!