Chapter 96: Tiger-Wolf Words

Tiger-Wolf Words

In the second great battle at the city gates, the Eternal Dao City side even held a slight upper hand, yet the losses remained extremely heavy. According to the estimates of the Langhuan cultivators, the combat losses reached as high as seventy percent, while the battle formation of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor was nearly wiped out. Based on the information gathered through mutual contact among the cultivators, many among the Langhuan cultivators themselves had also fallen in battle.

Although Eternal Dao City would not force Langhuan cultivators to go into battle to kill the enemy, the high rewards still tempted many cultivators who were bold and confident in their skills. After all, if one could slay an enemy, the return was so generous that it exceeded even the rewards for bringing back Jade Dew. Weighing the options, it was inevitable that some Langhuan cultivators would want to try. Yet, they did not expect that this tragic battlefield would not care about anyone's lofty ambitions. Regardless of one's background or aptitude, once they appeared on the battlefield, if their luck was not good enough, then it would be death and dissipation—there was no second outcome.

"To be so daring and skilled in battle, I truly don't know how True Person Hengze lost." In their leisure time, everyone could not help but admire True Person Hengze. "At the very least, in the Dao struggle at the Foundation Establishment level, the Hengze Heaven was ultimately able to hold the upper hand."

"After all, they are a Dao Ancestor capable of engaging in a Dao struggle with the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor, and a person who could contend with the Creation Dao Lord. How could they be ordinary?"

"Haha, in that case, which Dao Ancestor is ordinary? Among the seventy-two Dao Ancestors in our current universe, which one did not start from a mortal body and mortal things, walking step by step upwards to the final realm? Even if they obtained some fortuitous encounter, that also required them to have such a temperament. If they lacked the courage to contend with the Creation Dao Lord, how could they possibly tame the chaotic and violent Heavenly Dao?"

The cultivators gathered in one place, inevitably mocking and teasing each other, arguing over everything they encountered. Even those Langhuan cultivators who had already joined the city defense teams did not completely alienate Ruan Ci and the others in the end. Although not without a sense of showing off, they actively contacted them, and the intention behind it was very realistic: many Langhuan cultivators had a need to exchange precious materials, but the city defense teams were usually very busy and had no extra leisure time to act as intermediaries for trade. Instead, these cultivators without official duties could run around, facilitating the exchange of goods among the eight city gates for them.

Since everyone was in Eternal Dao City and the gains were extremely generous, and as they became more integrated into this place, the speed at which the city defense team cultivators absorbed spiritual energy could gradually compare to the Langhuan Heaven. Naturally, many cultivators wanted to improve their cultivation here. After all, in the Central Continent, precious materials in one's bag were not necessarily one's own; only when transformed into Jade Pool Spirit Water could one say the benefits were truly in hand. Over the past few months, many cultivators had successively broken through small realms, some moving from mid-stage Foundation Establishment to late-stage Foundation Establishment, which caused quite a small sensation in the city, and more people followed suit. However, the refining and exchange of precious medicines were still more convenient for Langhuan Heaven's own people to do, so the black market within the Langhuan cultivators was also very prosperous.

According to the rules of Langhuan Heaven, acting as an intermediary and taking a cut of the benefits was only natural, and the profits were very generous. However, Ruan Ci and Little Su were not very enthusiastic about this matter, only willing to act as matchmakers for cultivators in a few city districts out of consideration that everyone was from out of town, but they were unwilling to intervene in trade. The other cultivators did not care, and some even secretly laughed at them for being self-righteous, assuming they must be disciples of a Sheng Sect. If it weren't for the fact that everyone was prioritizing cultivation now, they might have united everyone to give them a hard time.

In the blink of an eye, three months flew by, and both sides organized themselves, launching another great battle. This battle was still a small victory for Eternal Dao City and a small defeat for the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor, but in terms of power, it was a huge loss. At this time, everyone could see that as long as the Dao struggle continued, the winner was already destined. The cultivators of Eternal Dao City could reincarnate infinitely, so the combat power of Foundation Establishment cultivators was just a sliver stronger than that of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor. In the endless Dao struggle, even a sliver of advantage would gradually expand, and after countless years, it would eventually transform into a winning momentum. If the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor had no other means, although the result of this battle would be after infinite years, because it was irreversible, it could also be said to be already in sight.

"Is time meaningless to a Dao Ancestor, just as it is difficult for us to walk through the entirety of this Eternal Dao City?"

Three months was enough for Ruan Ci and the others to explore everywhere in Eternal Dao City. On this day, the eight people gathered again near the Qing City Gate, each speaking of what they had seen in the city. Junior Brother Fan said, "I and Senior Brother Ci have already walked through the eight city gates, but we have not walked through the entire city. We cannot circle it; this might be a restriction in the city, but I sometimes have a thought: this city is indeed infinite. Even if there were no restrictions, we could never travel around it."

He was the most submissive and admiring of Ruan Ci, which everyone could see. Li Pingyan was not as loyally following as Junior Brother Fan. This time, the two of them went to try to circle the Dao City, walking for more than a month before returning, because flying was not allowed in the city, and they even risked walking out of the city gate to fly for a long time on the battlefield. But in the end, they still did not succeed and had to turn back. Junior Brother Fan said, "We all know that walking west from Qing City Gate is Zhu City Gate, and walking east is Xuan City Gate. There is a clear order among the eight city gates. By logic, White City Gate and Black City Gate should be adjacent, but as we two crossed the boundary of White City Gate, we came to a brand-new city district. It was not a city district we had seen moved over; all the residents had never been seen before, and the shops and houses were not repeated. It was indeed a brand-new location."

"If the original Dao City was only the eight city gate areas, wouldn't it be a bit too small? After all, this is Eternal Dao City. Perhaps this is a kind of divine ability of the Dao City itself? After all, the residents in the city can reincarnate continuously, and new people join. Even with more houses, there are times when it is not enough. Infinite reproduction might be the original power of this city, just triggered by your act of circling it."

"Or perhaps Eternal Dao City originally had those areas, but as time peeled away, the space became more and more fragmented. Only now, as many of us cultivators have integrated and compensated for the origin, can it manifest more of its original appearance."

Everyone expressed their own opinions, guessing endlessly about the current situation of Hengze Heaven, and their attitudes became more and more serious. Over these three months, they had explored all the areas under the jurisdiction of the eight city gates one by one, and had also walked through all the weak points they could think of, but none of them found any hope of breaking through the space and returning to the shore. At this time, everyone had been in Hengze Heaven for half a year. In another three months, according to custom, the Hengze Jade Dew would manifest. If no one obtained it after it manifested, it would slowly dissipate into the world and disconnect from the Langhuan Zhou Tian. At that time, no one could say clearly what the fate of everyone would be. It should not be too good, because when Hengze Heaven opened next time, no one had ever encountered the Langhuan cultivators who had been lost inside before. Thinking about it, during those thousand years of silent time, they probably all died of lack of spiritual energy.

The tighter the time, the stronger the sense of urgency among everyone. Even among the cultivators in the city defense teams, many were secretly concerned about how to return, so they frequently contacted the eight people. However, they were much more optimistic, only feeling that when the time came and the Jade Dew manifested, the way back would naturally appear. The eight people no longer looked at these cultivators with ordinary eyes, and dared not interact too much, lest they also be affected, their attitudes changing in the dark, no longer actively looking for a way out.

"If the Dao City also needs to absorb origin to manifest the areas it once had, then it means its origin is already very scarce, on the verge of fragmentation. Then many things here can be viewed as a large-scale illusionary realm." Little Su was one of those with extraordinary insights, and only he had been keen on exploring the essence of Hengze Heaven from the beginning. At this time, while speaking, he looked at Ruan Ci inquiringly. "And since this is an Inner Scene Heaven and Earth, there must be Dao Ancestor remnants. We all know that in the Inner Scene Heaven and Earth of Nascent Soul cultivators, there are often remnants with initial humanity. Dao Ancestor remnants might have even higher spirituality than ordinary people. Then, do you think it is reasonable to treat this place as a large-scale illusionary realm hosted by someone, Junior Brother Ci?"

Ruan Ci said, "Senior Brother Su's meaning is that the purpose of this illusionary realm is to keep us all here to enrich the origin. And the illusionary realm itself can manipulate where the Hengze Jade Dew manifests, so it might choose to manifest the Hengze Jade Dew in the center of the battlefield, or even during a great battle. In this way, unless one is an outstanding person in the city defense team, it would be impossible to obtain the Jade Dew?"

The conversation between the two was already very convoluted, but the other six all had expressions of listening. Little Su said, "Correct, illusionary realms also have certain laws to follow. All arrays in the world have flaws, but the higher the attainment of the array master, the smaller the flaws. I am wondering if the Hengze Jade Dew is the key to breaking the array, and the array master will use the fact that we are unwilling to intervene in the Dao struggle to limit our efforts to break the array."

Ruan Ci did not speak, her face showing contemplation. Senior Sister Mu said, "An illusionary realm is nothing more than the manipulation of the human heart. In my view, those fellow Daoists in the city defense team are actually equivalent to being puppets of True Person Hengze. Some of them even chose to break through their realm here, which can be said that their hearts have been completely opened to True Person Hengze. If all the cultivators in the city defense team are assimilated to this degree, then after the Jade Dew manifests and is obtained by them, it is actually equivalent to returning to the hands of the True Person. It will be extremely difficult for us to snatch it from their hands."

Junior Brother Fan could not help but praise, "Senior Sister Mu is worthy of being a high disciple of the Guiyi Sect. These words have benefited me a lot. My understanding of illusionary realms will be raised to a higher level because of this."

Senior Sister Mu blushed slightly and smiled, "Junior Brother Fan is really sweet-tongued. I am just stating my own fallacies. In fact, we still don't know whether this Hengze Heaven is a complete Inner Scene Heaven and Earth, or just the remnants of the Jade Pool and Dao Foundation... If it is the former, these guesses are all empty. Even if we fight with our lives, we cannot escape from the hands of the Dao Ancestor."

Shen Qi said coldly, "It must be the latter. Langhuan Heaven is the place protected by the Dongyang Dao Ancestor, and the other World Sects are low-key and self-defending. If Hengze Heaven were truly a complete Inner Scene Heaven and Earth, how could the Dongyang Dao Ancestor tolerate such power regularly intersecting with the Langhuan Zhou Tian? What's more, a complete Inner Scene Heaven and Earth is a fallacy in itself."

After saying these few sentences, he was too lazy to continue. Little Su smiled and added for him, "To a Dao Ancestor, a complete Inner Scene Heaven and Earth is a Great Heaven. Even for a Grotto-Heaven True Person, a complete Inner Scene Heaven and Earth would be larger than the Eternal Dao City we can travel through now. More importantly—if the Inner Scene Heaven and Earth were still complete, why did the owner fall? The Inner Scene Heaven and Earth of a dead person is inherently fragmented. If it weren't for the fact that this person is a Dao Ancestor, I would say that the Dao Foundation platform in the center of the city must be an illusion. After all, we have seen so many cultivators fall, from Nascent Soul down to Foundation Establishment. Which cultivator's Dao Foundation is not shattered when they die? As long as the Dao Foundation is complete and undamaged, no matter how serious the injury, it can be repaired."

Shen Qi snorted, "Busybody. Are we very familiar? Do you need to supplement my meaning?"

He always provoked Little Su, and everyone was used to it. Monk Xiu of the Wugou Sect chanted a Buddhist name and stopped the two, saying indifferently, "Even this Dao Foundation here has actually been cut at the waist. I sat beside the high platform for a month and finally sensed the Dao Foundation level in the dark. From here upwards, the high platform only has five layers."

Only five layers, how can it be called cut at the waist? Li Pingyan could not help but have a trace of confusion on his face. Ruan Ci saw it and said in a low voice, "All Dao Ancestors must have twelve Foundation Establishments. The level we are in now should be the second layer. Below there is another layer where Qi Condensation cultivators and mortals live, but I don't know if there is a Dao struggle there."

Speaking of the twelve Foundation Establishments of a Dao Ancestor, among the eight, only Ruan Ci, Little Su, and Monk Xiu had no shock on their faces. The other disciples were obviously hearing it for the first time, and they were focused for a long time before thanking Ruan Ci and Monk Xiu, "Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist."

Over these three months, everyone had cooperated sincerely and shared what they had, and each had gained a lot. Even though there was no clue about leaving the city, the relationship was much more harmonious than three months ago. Senior Brother Pu of the Liuming Hall smiled, "The Dao Foundation is cut, and the part above the Dao Foundation has no root to nourish it, so it will dissipate sooner or later. It seems that we still have a chance to get out of this illusionary realm. Even if it is a Dao Ancestor's illusionary realm, what can it do? In the end, it only has the power of Foundation Establishment. Once we find the eye of the array, we can master this array, catalyze the gate of life, and return to the shore. — It seems that Senior Brother Su's idea is very reasonable. We might as well treat this place as an illusionary array to deal with. When the Jade Dew manifests, we will spend our energy on the battlefield, or even pretend to join the city defense team. When the great battle comes, once the Jade Dew manifests, we will immediately join forces to seize it."

Little Su immediately said, "We must never join the city defense team. An illusionary array of Dao Ancestor level will take the opportunity to bewitch the mind even if given a sliver of a flaw. However, apart from this, Senior Brother Pu's view is what I wanted to say."

If following Little Su's line of thought, the eight people only need to join forces to break into the battlefield when the Jade Dew manifests and seize it together to break the array. As for the subsequent contention for the Jade Dew, it can wait until they reach the shore. This requires a certain degree of trust among everyone, and it is best to agree on how to dispose of the Jade Dew afterwards. Senior Brother Pu had obviously thought about it long ago, nodded slightly to Little Su, and continued, "For three months, we have formed a deep bond of kindness. After reaching the shore, I am also willing to give up the contention for the Jade Dew. I only need the fellow Daoist who finally obtains the Jade Dew to share one-tenth of what was bestowed by the sect with me."

Everyone understood in their hearts: he considered his strength not to be the first among the eight, and the possibility of obtaining the Jade Dew was very small. To say to divide it into eight equal parts was a bit excessive, but just wanting one-tenth was better than nothing.

This proposal was just right. Senior Sister Mu said, "I am the same. The knowledge gained in Hengze Heaven this time is more precious than the precious materials that the Jade Dew can be exchanged for. I know my cultivation is not as good as yours, so I only want one-twelfth."

She took a step back more than Senior Brother Pu. Li Pingyan hesitated slightly and also said, "I am the same as Senior Sister Mu."

Junior Brother Fan smiled, "If Senior Brother Ci gets the Jade Dew, I don't want anything. If Senior Brother Su gets the Jade Dew, I want one-eighth."

He directly limited the candidates for obtaining the Jade Dew to two people, which was not wrong, but it seemed to ignore Shen Qi. Shen Qi snorted and said, "I didn't come for the Jade Dew in the first place. No matter who gets the Jade Dew, as long as they fight me, I won't snatch it from them."

Monk Xiu chanted "My Buddha is merciful" and smiled, "A monk has few desires. As long as I can get out of this heaven, I will be satisfied. The bond with all the benefactors this time is the greatest harvest."

Six people had already expressed their positions, leaving only Little Su and Ruan Ci who had not spoken. Little Su looked at Ruan Ci with some playfulness, as if saying, "Look, you didn't buy my help before, and now the price you have to pay is even greater. If you had bought me at that time, we two would have joined forces today, so why would we still have to share with others?"

Ruan Ci smiled slightly. In fact, she didn't care about spiritual materials and precious medicines at all. Anyway, she couldn't use most of them. If it came to aptitude, Lin Xianen and others naturally couldn't compare with these friends in front of her. Paying a little precious material in exchange for the friendship between the two sides was not a loss. However, this consideration didn't need to be known by others, and she couldn't fully agree to this request.

"I do want the Jade Dew, and I am willing to make friends with you all." She skipped Little Su directly and ignored him, making promises to the other six, but the atmosphere was not completely peaceful—Little Su's strength was firmly in second place, and he didn't join, so this alliance didn't really fall into place. "As for Senior Brother Su, we will talk about it privately later."

Little Su smiled, seemingly not opposed, and was about to finalize the details of the plan when Ruan Ci stopped everyone again, "But I think the Hengze Jade Dew will not manifest on this battlefield. If we plan like this, then everyone will really be kept in this Hengze Heaven for a long time."

Everyone was naturally puzzled and asked for advice with an open mind. Ruan Ci did not put on airs and analyzed carefully, "Hengze Heaven is transformed from the Inner Scene Heaven and Earth of a Dao Ancestor. All fellow Daoists know this point. Then, what are the remnants of the Inner Scene Heaven and Earth? Everyone knows in their hearts, that is—"

"It is the unforgettable things in one's life memory! It is the biography of a cultivator's life!" Before she finished speaking, Little Su tapped his palm lightly, and Junior Brother Fan was the first to shout, "Senior Brother Ci has unique insights. Correct, correct. What we see now is the shadow of the past, but..."

His support for Ruan Ci had become almost blind after three months of getting along. At this time, he was halfway through speaking, but he couldn't continue, as if he had realized something, but couldn't say it out loud. He couldn't help but scratch his ears and cheeks in a hurry, and a sickly crimson flushed his face. Li Pingyan intervened, "I understand a little—Senior Brother Su just said that even for a Dao Ancestor, setting up an illusionary array requires following certain rules. The intersection cycle between Hengze Heaven and Langhuan Zhou Tian is only one year. We can treat this year as the length of all these memories. This play is at most only one year long. This is one of the rules, or even it can be said that it is at most only eight or nine months, because this illusionary array only started when we stepped into the eight city gates, and it ends when the Hengze Jade Dew determines its destination."

He had been listening to everyone's words just now, and at this time, he integrated them, and it was also orderly, "Rule number two is that the eye of this illusionary array must be an object of great significance in the illusionary array, especially an illusionary array that can confuse a large number of cultivators of the same rank. In order to reduce the consumption of the array master, it must be reasonable. The eye of the array is also the most significant object in the illusionary array, or it appears at the most important moment. This is reasonable."

A brilliance flashed in Senior Sister Mu's eyes, and she shouted, "I understand!"

Then there was a trace of annoyance, as if she was dissatisfied that her magic power was about the same as Li Pingyan's, but her aptitude was not as good. Clearly, her understanding of illusionary arts should be deeper than Li Pingyan's, but she realized the truth a few beats slower than him. However, she was also quite graceful and did not compete, signaling Li Pingyan to continue.

Little Su looked at Li Pingyan with a smile, quite appreciative. Junior Brother Fan and Monk Xiu were already listening intently. Li Pingyan continued, "As for rule number three, it is actually not a rule of the illusionary array, but the law of the Inner Scene Heaven and Earth. The Inner Scene Heaven and Earth reproduces the memories of one's life, which cannot be faked. Then the Hengze Jade Dew cannot manifest in the layer of Dao City we are in, because in this Foundation Establishment city district, the Dao City is actually dominant. According to what we have seen, if there is no special change, in the Foundation Establishment city district, the Dao City will eventually win."

"But we also know that the final result is that the Dao City eventually lost this Dao struggle. It is very likely that the end of this play is that the Dao City's Dao Foundation was cut. This is the special change." Ruan Ci took over the conversation, "Previously we had said that the combat results of Foundation Establishment cultivators are completely meaningless to the overall situation. Above Foundation Establishment there is Golden Core, above Golden Core there is Grotto-Heaven, and above Grotto-Heaven there is Dao Ancestor. Now it seems that at our level, the Dao City indeed won, but I am afraid that at a higher level, the Dao City lost miserably. The Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor cut off True Person Hengze's Dao Foundation, leaving his Inner Scene Heaven and Earth remnants here. That is the most important moment of this play. The eye of the array appears, and it will only appear at the moment when the Dao City truly begins to collapse. No matter at what level, it will not be in this Foundation Establishment realm that has no influence on the overall situation."

Everyone could infer the previous words. Ruan Ci only said half of it, and everyone guessed the general idea. At this time, there was no surprise, only sighs, but Ruan Ci's words were not finished yet. The next words were only known to her.

"Previously at the Yiyunbei ferry, I heard that someone excavated a secret realm in Huang Shoushan. Huang Shoushan is actually transformed from a phoenix head. We all bypassed the vicinity of Huang Shoushan and also know how majestic and continuous this mountain is. What kind of great battle could cut down a phoenix? Why is the entrance to Hengze Heaven in the Baoyun Sea? Why has there been only one entrance to the Baoyun Ferry for millions of years, which is through the Fengfu River? Yiyunbei, what is the phoenix head looking at?"

Ruan Ci said indifferently, "When I inserted the silver hairpin and walked into the city gate, I vaguely heard a phoenix cry. How rare are innate phoenixes? Only Dao Ancestors are qualified to raise them. Thinking about it, only Dao Ancestors are qualified to use the vast forest area like the Luyumingtang as a place for phoenixes to drink water. Until today, in the southeast of our Central Continent, monsters are still dominated by snakes, insects, and birds. Thinking about it, countless years ago..."

"Those snakes and insects are the bait for the phoenix, and the monster birds are transformed from the phoenix's essence. Luyumingtang is the place where the phoenix drinks bamboo leaf spirit dew," Li Pingyan whispered, a trace of realization appearing on his face, "And Yiyunbei is exactly the place where the owner of Yiyunbei stayed before the phoenix spread its wings and flew high... The place where Hengze Heaven manifests is connected to that innate phoenix everywhere. It is highly likely that the Hengze Jade Dew will manifest at the moment the phoenix is cut!"

Ruan Ci said coldly, "Correct, an innate phoenix is at least at the Grotto-Heaven cultivation level. It might have died right beside us, but if we only stay at the current level, we will never touch the Hengze Jade Dew. To seize the Hengze Jade Dew and return to the Langhuan Zhou Tian, we must first find a way to cross to the Grotto-Heaven level and survive in the great scene of the phoenix's fall to have a sliver of hope."

Following her and Li Pingyan's words, everyone could not help but show a look of yearning, as if they saw the scene of the Eternal Dao City standing in the southeast corner of the continent hundreds of millions of years ago, above the ten-thousand-mile bright hall, with phoenixes flying and feathers rustling. But hearing this sentence, they could not help but change their expressions. Senior Sister Mu said in a lost voice, "How is this possible! How could we survive by luck in such a dispute?!"

Her doubt was by no means unreasonable, but this was not the question everyone cared about most. Senior Brother Pu shouted, "Let's not talk about this first. How should we cross to the Grotto-Heaven level? We have searched all the noteworthy places above and below the Dao City and found no passage. Now there is only—"

He suddenly covered his mouth, looking around at his companions' expressions in surprise. Junior Brother Fan was extremely excited, grabbed his hand, and laughed, "Correct, Senior Brother Pu, we are going to climb the Dao Ancestor's Dao Foundation! Climb from the second layer to the fifth layer! Pass through the Dew-Bearing Plate and cross to the Grotto-Heaven level!"

He rubbed his hands together, his face full of impatience, and shouted, "Great, great! Senior Brother Ci, being with you is truly unspeakably great! If I were a girl, even if I killed thousands of rivals, I would definitely marry into your house!"

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Updated, sorry for the long wait, I will send red envelopes to everyone in a while!

Junior Brother Fan uttered tiger-wolf words! It seems a bit gay~

Eating beef offal pot brought by Dad from his hometown at noon today~ Happy~

As for literature, there is nothing to recommend. It has entered a terrible period of literature famine...

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-09-18 12:06:21 and 2020-09-19 12:03:33~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Yu Yu Wan Yao x2; Dao Dao x1;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Suancaiyu 110 bottles; Lianmuwugui 40 bottles; Zhuguang, Buyongxie 30 bottles; Asong 20 bottles; Landmine 19 bottles; Lengshuizao 15 bottles; Chao Xihuan Dushu, Weibamaoer, sidewalker, Beidaoguohao de Lizhi, Cai Jucheng de Laogong, Shusheng Zhao, Qu Ni de Heiyanquan 10 bottles; 24141023 5 bottles; Muwan, Su Mu Xing, nanostar, 18205385 2 bottles; Jiaxin Binggan, yzac, baby Leyao, Binglanse de Yu, Mo, Zhaosheng Wu Guyou, Shaonv Yangmie-mie, Quanshui Dingdong, Chengbi, Yunran 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!