Chapter 266: A Hundred Years to Become a Duke

The history of the Nine Passes of Xishu can be traced back to over a thousand years ago.

After each dynasty's founding, they would all be reinforced anew.

The commanders guarding the Nine Passes were no ordinary lot; among them were many talented and extraordinary individuals.

"Scholar Zhang, the commander of this Fifth Pass has an extraordinary background; it is said this general has guarded this place for a hundred years, and he was once a founding duke who followed the High Ancestor of Great Qian!"

On the road, speed is essential in warfare.

The reinforcements from the Dongshen Guan, led by Daoist Jingming, advanced with extreme speed from Haojing City straight to the Fifth Pass.

The Fifth Pass is named Guangwu Pass.

Daoist Jingming led Zhang Jian and others into the Guangwu Hall on the pass, where the commander of the Fifth Pass, Duke Chengguo Xiong Tingwu, was a tall, dark-complexioned general whose eyes flickered with a faint golden light—clearly no ordinary man.

After entering Guangwu Pass, Daoist Jingming introduced the group to Duke Chengguo.

"Duke Chengguo, this is Zhang Jian, Zhang Daosheng, Grand Scholar of the Wen Ti Academy!"

"Scholar Zhang, this is none other than the legendary general of our Great Qian, Duke Chengguo General Xiong!"

"Your Excellency Duke's fame has long been known to me since childhood; today, seeing you in person, you are even more majestic and imposing than I imagined!"

Zhang Jian slightly bowed with clasped hands.

His eyes gleamed with an unusual light; when his gaze had wandered over Guangwu Pass before, he had already sensed something.

This Duke Chengguo Xiong Tingwu is a formidable tough character, so he did not dare to approach for close reconnaissance.

Meeting him today only deepened his sense of the general's extraordinariness.

He might not even be human.

But rather a strange being that has cultivated into a spirit, possibly even a demon god!

A great cultivator of the demon race's primordial spirit!

Zhang Jian's heart stirred with dark thoughts; he did not know what method the High Ancestor of Great Qian used to actually command a demon god to guard this pass.

Xiong Tingwu's dark face broke into a hearty laugh as he said.

"Mr. Zhang, your righteous and noble aura is renowned throughout Great Qian; today, upon meeting you, it is indeed extraordinary!"

This Duke Chengguo was extremely enthusiastic, soon ordering men to set out whole roasted lambs, golden and crisp, which he seemed particularly fond of.

On the first night the crowd arrived at Guangwu Pass, things were still peaceful.

The next day, Daoist Jingming began deploying troops and assigning commanders, asking several cultivators with unusual backgrounds to begin scouting, then led everyone out in all directions.

Zhang Jian was temporarily stationed in Guangwu Pass, waiting for the Dongshen Guan to finish clearing the surrounding demons before proceeding into the ancient battlefield to transmute the battle souls.

Zhang Jian cultivated in seclusion within Guangwu Pass.

Relying on his formidable magical power and extraordinary comprehension as a foundation, the cultivation speed of the Five Dragons True Classic was extremely rapid.

After condensing the Five Dragons' spirits, Zhang Jian continuously deduced the complete structure of the Five Dragons' Dharma Aspects.

The structure of the Five Dragons talismans within his body began to become three-dimensional and multi-dimensional, especially the fire dragon and gold dragon talismans, which condensed at the fastest speed.

Zhang Jian also realized that within the Five Dragons True Classic, this technique also contained cultivation methods for striking special Dao bodies—namely, the innate Five Elements Dao body and the acquired Five Elements Dao body, two special legal bodies.

Regardless of which Five Elements Dao body, one must absorb the Five Elements' essence and qi into the five viscera and six bowels to regulate the Five Elements.

One can then combine it with the technique to ultimately condense the Five Dragons' spirit light, profound and unfathomable, even to the point of eventually cultivating a true dragon primordial spirit.

The Five Elements Dao body is profound, not comparable to the Golden Crow Dao body, but Zhang Jian intentionally intended to absorb it into the cultivation of the innate Dao fetus body.

Once the innate Five Elements Dao body is cultivated, it possesses a very mysterious ability: innate affinity with the Five Elements, and the Five Elements escape technique is profound and unfathomable.

Furthermore, even if the Dao body collapses, one can rely on the condensed Five Dragons' spirit to reassemble the true form.

This technique is extraordinarily mysterious and marvelous.

Of course, after the physical body collapses, recondensing the Five Dragons Dao body certainly cannot compare to the original body forged through a thousand tempers and hundreds of refinements, but it is far better than losing one's physical body as a Yin God venerable and being forced to turn to the ghost god path or enter reincarnation helplessly.

To this point, the value of this Five Dragons True Classic far surpasses many Yin God-level techniques.

Zhang Jian hopes to comprehend the profound mysteries of the Five Elements' creation within it and integrate them into his innate Dao fetus body.

Tracing this technique to its root, since rebirth can occur within the Five Elements' qi, after full comprehension, could one also be reborn in other innate spiritual mechanisms between heaven and earth?

Guangwu Pass, within the Pass Commander's Hall

"This Scholar Zhang really can sit still; he even managed to calm his mind and enter closed-door cultivation!"

At this moment in the hall, several deputy commanders had rather unpleasant expressions.

The demons of the Fourth Pass have frequently come to harass the Fifth Pass lately; if not for the Fifth Pass's elite troops and strong generals, and the fact that they also cultivate Dao soldiers, they might not have been able to hold out.

They are fighting desperately up front, while Zhang Jian cultivates in the rear; a group of deputy commanders immediately became greatly dissatisfied.

Xiong Tingwu paid no mind, merely waving his hand slightly to signal everyone to quiet down.

"Scholar Zhang is a civil official, naturally not a military post, so naturally there is no need for him to go to the front like us and fight desperately; he has his own place!"

After a slight pause, seeing the deputy commanders' gazes upon him, he said lightly: "You also need not pay heed to the provocations from outside the pass; wait for the good news from the State Preceptor!"

Another deputy commander beside him, Zhao Man, slightly furrowed his brow and could only sigh.

"If only the State Preceptor could eliminate these demons and restore tranquility to our Five Passes!"

Zhao Man was dispatched to the Fifth Pass as a deputy commander five years ago; seven years prior, he followed Yang Gonghu in pacifying the southern commanderies' rebellions and achieved great merit; five years ago, he had hoped to remain in the Haojing City Imperial Guard, but he still requested the court to send him to this western Sichuan Fifth Pass to serve as deputy commander.

Mainly to become a disciple of Xiong Tingwu and embark on the path of cultivation.

Having experienced battle after battle, Zhao Man also clearly understands the limitations of ordinary martial generals before cultivators—unless one can step onto the path of earthly immortals and demons, otherwise one cannot defend against the many schemes of cultivators.

Xiong Tingwu's expression differed; he slowly walked out of the hall, his gaze sweeping toward the place where Zhang Jian was cultivating in seclusion.

The other deputy commanders, with low cultivation, could not perceive it, but he could faintly feel countless Five Elements spiritual mechanisms gathering at the place where Zhang Jian was in closed-door cultivation, the spiritual pressure heavy and profound.

Zhang Jian's cultivation is not low.

……

Two days later, Daoist Jingming returned alone, yet brought good news.

After two days of fierce battle, the Dongshen Guan party had already cleared the demons surrounding the battlefield to the left of the Du Long Pass.

This battle yielded brilliant results, not only slaying a portion of the old demonic masters but also repelling and heavily wounding a primordial spirit elder ancestor.

At that moment, Zhang Jian emerged from seclusion, accompanying Daoist Jingming to this battlefield on the left side of the mountain range near Toxic Dragon Pass, to help suppress the battle spirits and vengeful entities within.

This battlefield at Toxic Dragon Pass lies deep in a mountain hollow, forming a crescent-shaped basin, where a pit of ten thousand corpses exists, its interior filled with drifting mist through which the light of forbidden laws circulates.

"Scholar Zhang, this is the place!"

Zhang Jian glanced at the misty slopes below, nodded, and immediately stepped forward into it.

His powerful Yang Spirit divine sense could already perceive the flowing and overflowing vengeful entities within the mist, but in his sight, the vengeful entities in this battlefield were actually not heavy; the battle spirits seemed to have mostly escaped.

"No, it's more like they've been nearly absorbed by someone!"

Zhang Jian glanced into the pit of ten thousand corpses, where the original shrine of the Iron Eagle Divine General guarding this site had been completely toppled, and the deity once worshipped there had already entered extinction.

He sighed with his eyes, having revised the *Great Qian Compendium*, so he naturally knew which general this Iron Eagle referred to—a cultivator who followed the High Ancestor of Great Qian, who, after falling, received a divine edict as a ghost god posthumously and was tasked with guarding this place.

Yet in the end, he still could not escape the fate of falling and reincarnation.

At this moment, Zhang Jian cast his gaze toward a certain spot underground, where a faint, elusive gaze had been steadily fixed upon him.

He gazed upon the shattered golden form of the Iron Eagle Divine General and sighed solemnly.

"General, your righteousness—sacrificing life to attain the Dao—today, I, as this official, shall fulfill the uncompleted legacy you left behind!"

With a raise of his hand, a green lotus blossomed from his palm, instantly filling the entire pit of ten thousand corpses.

The Green Lotus Dharma Realm blossomed, compassionately saving all beings!