Chapter 270

Not long after, Huanghe Zhenren returned, but he brought back nothing but bad news.

"The evil omen has escaped!"

Several Yuanshen Zhenren's faces grew even worse.

Several demonic path Yuanshen escaped, but the heretical demons among the Three Passes suffered a great misfortune, becoming the targets of Dongsheng Guan's reckoning.

On the ridge, Jingming Daoist directed many Dongsheng Guan cultivators to block and annihilate all the heretical sects fleeing in all directions within the mountains.

After Zhang Jian liberated the battle souls of the ancient battlefield at the third pass, he continued onward to the ancient battlefields of the second pass, Hanchi Guan, and the first pass, Tianquan Guan.

However, the battle souls within these two ancient battlefields had already been nearly devoured by the Ghost Mother, so it did not take much effort.

Nevertheless, since Zhang Jian had arrived at the Nine Passes of Xishu, he simply proceeded to liberate the battle souls on the ancient battlefields of the other passes as well, considering it a great merit.

Guangwu Pass

The Duke of Cheng hosted a victory feast for everyone in Guanzhong.

Tianquan Guan, Hanchi Guan, Taiye Pool, and Dudu Long Guan were successively recovered, also resolving the danger at Guangwu Pass.

At the banquet, Xiong Tingwu praised Jingming Daoist and Zhang Jian without cease.

"Dongsheng Guan truly lives up to being the state religion of my Great Qian; as the orthodox masters, they need only act, and the demons scatter, sparing Zhongzhou from a great calamity. I shall raise a cup to the National Preceptor!"

Standing in the seat of honor, Xiong Tingwu's face was full of heroic vigor.

Many deputy generals also rose to their feet, their gazes toward Jingming Daoist filled with respect.

Zhang Jian sat to the side, merely smiling faintly. Seeing everyone drain their cups, Xiong Tingwu again turned his gaze to him, yet said:

"But this second cup of wine must be offered to Mr. Zhang, for Mr. Zhang possesses the great compassionate Dharma, delivering countless beings. In these Nine Passes of Xishu, who knows how many heroes and warriors died in battle long ago, including our Great Qian's sons. After death, they found no rest, but were instead harmed by these heretical demons, who used them to wreak havoc on life, with endless poison. Mr. Zhang's compassion saves the world, his wondrous Dharma subdues the obstinate, and now these sons have finally been liberated. I shall raise a cup to Mr. Zhang on their behalf!"

Hearing his words, the deputy generals beside him at that moment had expressions they could barely maintain, for they had previously slandered Zhang Jian not a little.

Yet they all raised their cups anyway.

Zhang Jian slowly rose and smiled, saying:

"General, you overpraise me. This junior drains this cup!"

He lifted the high-footed bronze wine cup in his hand, drank it lightly dry, and the gathering was one of mutual enjoyment between host and guest.

At this moment, Zhang Jian did not proactively mention the matter of slaying the Ghost Mother.

Especially after learning from Jingming Daoist's mouth that the strong reinforcements had merely wounded two of the five invading Zhenren, with results looking far from ideal, he saw no need to thus display this prestige.

Anyway, the greatest benefit had already been secured!

With his current strength, there was no need to seek merit from Dongsheng Guan!

The benefits gained from seeking merit would rather be outweighed by the drawbacks of revealing his strength!

Below, Jingming Daoist wore a smile on his face, but in his heart he felt some worry.

The later battle results were indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.

Five against five, they had beforehand severely wounded the Old Ancestor of Xuandu, forcing his retreat from the battlefield; then, five against four, they unexpectedly used the Dongsheng Guan killing formation to severely wound the Niexiang Zhenren.

In the end, it was nearly five against three, yet they still allowed the Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang, the Fire Spirit God Lord, and the Ghost Mother to escape.

It could be called a tiger's head and a snake's tail.

These demonic path Yuanshen having escaped this time, the next time to deal with them will be all the more difficult.

Yet he still tried his best to maintain a smile; as the National Preceptor, he coordinated the whole situation and must not reveal any hint, lest it affect the morale of the Great Qian from top to bottom.

Zhang Jian sat to the side; at this moment, beside him was another part of the young cultivators of Dongsheng Guan. He noticed these young cultivators of Dongsheng Guan, and also some elders glancing at his silhouette with a hint of curiosity, but most were still extremely respectful, and no one had their blood rush to their head, jealous and wanting to provoke.

……

Meanwhile, on another side, having escaped the Nine Passes of Xishu, the Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang hurried all the way toward the Two Realms region!

His figure appeared on the south bank of the canal; at this moment he manifested his true form—that of an aged visage, as if he forever wore an icy mask upon his face.

The Niexiang Zhenren's visage turned pale, his pupils faintly revealing a gray light, yet facing the Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang, his expression was reverent; looking closely, deep within his pupils hid a hint of fear.

On the aged visage of the Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang at this moment spread a gloomy hue; the surging, rushing river waters could not make his mood more open.

"I did not expect that deep within the court of Great Qian there still hid such a vast power; we have underestimated the enemy!"

He spoke slowly.

This time his losses were also enormous.

The final strike of the Tiangang Zhenren, he successfully used the peach-wood evil effigy to escape, but was also cut by that thread of terrifying national fortune sword along the connection between himself and the effigy, wounding his Yuanshen.

The national fortune sword is wondrous beyond compare, absolutely not something easily endured.

Fortunately, Tiangang Zhenren had not yet fully comprehended the national fortune sword nor stepped into the Phase Realm; otherwise, he would probably not be able to leave Taiye Pool.

The Niexiang Zhenren's eyes flickered, and he spoke softly:

"These years, the founder of Dongsheng Sect has been active everywhere, using his benefits to win over a batch of scattered cultivators; now that the fortune of Great Qian has not fallen, those scattered cultivators see profit to be gained and come to assist—this is no surprise. Only when Great Qian truly splits apart will these Yuanshen Zhenren perhaps be unwilling to wade into this muddy water!"

"People exalt the high and trample the low; Yuanshen Zhenren may not be able to transcend the world!"

The Niexiang Zhenren's face curled in a cold smile.

In the depths of the Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang's eyes, a cold light flickered.

After a moment, he said:

"Have the Ghost Mother and the Fire Spirit made contact?!"

"The Ghost Mother is out of contact; the Fire Spirit has made contact, but this fellow says he wishes to enter the deep wilds to heal his wounds, temporarily unable to come meet!"

The Niexiang Zhenren said nothing; the Fire Spirit God Lord clearly fears retaliation from the Niexiang Sect and has fled in advance.

As for the Ghost Mother, she has done something even more absolute—completely out of contact.

The Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang's cheek skin twitched slightly; after a moment, he said:

"Order the Gui Gui Men to, within half a month, have all upper and lower enter the Magic Valley; if any refuse, exterminate them all!"

Beside him, the Niexiang Zhenren slightly nodded his head.

The Old Ancestor of Bai Xiang clearly has already transferred his wrath onto the Gui Gui Men up and down, but given the Ghost Mother's manner as a heretical path Yuanshen, he probably will not care about the life or death of his disciples; having gained an advantage at this time, he probably does not know where he hides, refining battle souls.

The two Nascent Soul True Persons of the Evil Demon Sect were in a bad mood, and at this time they had no intention of staying behind to seek revenge, preparing instead to return first to the Evil Demon Sect to recalculate.

……

Within Hao Jing City, Zhang Jian's figure descended, and as he looked upon the endless flow of cavalry and merchant caravans around him, Zhang Jian's eyes gave a slight smile.

The winter sunlight fell upon his body, warm and cozy, and he first entered the XC District, selecting a paper horse shop.

This time, by liberating the countless battle spirits from the ancient battlefields of the Nine Passes of Xishu, he believed that upon entering the ancestral shrine at this time, he would surely gain something.

However, before entering these paper horse shops, he circulated the Golden Lotus Hidden Breath Technique, slightly altering his appearance and concealing his identity.

Zhang Jian searched the XC District for a while and soon found a shop named Liu Ji Paper Horse Shop.

Inside this paper horse shop, the gold and silver ingots were more exquisite and complete; as for individual sacrificial items, Zhang Jian prepared to carve them himself.

After the previous successful ancestral worship, Zhang Jian had changed his approach, preparing to make some offerings himself, which might yield remarkable results.

The Zhuangyuan Mansion, upon Zhang Jian's return, the entire household became lively from top to bottom.

Zhang Jian continued to carry out his duties in an orderly manner.

Each day he would set aside some time for cultivation, and apart from that, he entered the Great Agricultural Temple to impart part of the breeding techniques to the many officials there—how to cultivate superior species, how to select, and how to improve seeds.

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish!

This is true merit!

Next comes the carving of sacrificial items.

Half a month later, within the ancestral shrine, Zhang Jian concealed this courtyard with the Map of Mountains, Rivers, and the State.

This time he chose to perform the ancestral worship alone.

After all, there was no festival or occasion, and it was neither the first nor fifteenth day of the month; suddenly performing ancestral worship would seem somewhat strange.

At this moment before the ancestral shrine, large bundles of gold and silver ingots gradually turned into blue smoke and vanished in the firelight.

Zhang Jian's main focus fell upon a small, exquisite object in the fire basin.

It was a golden hairpin.

Strictly speaking, this is a formed magical artifact; Zhang Jian imitated the Milky Way Golden Hairpin of the Jade Pool Holy Mother from mythological legends, using a portion of spatial-type runes to forge it into a magical artifact.

In fact, this magical artifact differs greatly from the Milky Way Golden Hairpin of the Queen Mother of the West in mythological legends.

The only possible function of this magical artifact at present might be that the Zhou Tian Star Power within it can slightly tear the air; aside from that, its only function is sharpness.

It can be considered a minor magical artifact.

Zhang Jian wanted to try it, to see whether using this object in worship would be effective.

Anyway, if it doesn't work, there's actually no loss.

In Zhang Jian's sight at this moment, the 'Milky Way Golden Hairpin' before his eyes gradually turned into powder; he noticed it was not melted by fire, but transformed into a wisp of blue smoke that vanished.

This indicates the worship was successful.

"Feasible!"

This made Zhang Jian's eyes light up involuntarily.

He had previously tried burning the Blood Soul Banner obtained from the Ghost Mother and the Myriad Soul Skull Banner, but to no avail; he never expected that using this small magical artifact would instead succeed.

……

In the Vast Immortal Realm, azure rosy light flowed and shifted; at this moment, streams of flowing light flowed before Qingxia Daoist Monarch, and numerous streams of light, like mist and haze, merged into her body, while another stream of divine light gradually formed around her.

Gazing at the progress, a faint smile appeared in her eyes; after ascending to the Daoist Monarch realm, completing the first Daoist Monarch-level Dao method so quickly truly made her mood excellent.

All this stems from various heavenly and earthly spiritual materials, as well as abundant resource allocation, which has saved her much time, unlike other ancient immortals who must devise ways to re-exchange resources or enter numerous ancient forbidden lands to struggle for benefits.

She now only needs to exchange out these few unnecessary treasures in her hands, and she can save much time from arduous cultivation.

The Jade Pool Holy Land is inherently a unique realm of the celestial realm, also a gathering place for many ancient immortals, where resource exchange is most convenient, and precious things are never lacking.

The premise is simply having resources.

Now, with the aid of these few treasures in her hand, she easily broke through the blockade of the Taiyin Immortal Monarch and opened up the situation.

But just at this moment, her eyes suddenly flickered, and her body flashed, appearing instantly before the Two Worlds Pool.

Before her eyes, the nine-colored waters of the Two Worlds Pool surged upward, and boundless golden radiance shone forth from within.

"Have offerings come up again from the lower realm?"

This thought arose in Qingxia Daoist Monarch's mind, and instantly a faint smile appeared in her eyes.

But see, in the next instant, vast golden radiance emerged from the pool water before her eyes, almost forming a golden river winding and flowing toward her, the golden flood river nearly submerging into Qingxia Daoist Monarch's body; her body's divine light flowed and shifted, and at this moment, her eyes faintly glowed with golden light.

"Four hundred fifty thousand flawless incense!"

She expressed some astonishment; this time the scale of the worship was hardly different from the previous one.

The scale of this worship is greater each time.

Qingxia Daoist Monarch's expression remained unchanged; at this moment, her gaze once again turned toward the nine-colored pool water.

As she had expected, moments later, heavenly sounds echoed within, the great Dao's rhythm burst forth, and within seemed a grand merit golden light to blossom forth, yet see, as if a silver river of stars flew out from within, instantly transforming into a magnificent, noble golden hairpin.

The tip of the hairpin takes the form of a phoenix, the hairpin shaft is extremely slender, yet covered with silver patterns, above which faintly appear countless intertwined innate patterns, flowing with innate qi.

Merit golden light entwined!

Merely touching it slightly, Qingxia Daoist Monarch could not help but be moved; the worship treasure obtained this time has indeed crossed the threshold of merit magical treasures.

Such a treasure of this level, even Qingxia Daoist Monarch has never possessed before.

"Milky Way Golden Hairpin!"

The treasure slightly in hand, Qingxia Daoist Monarch immediately knew its use.

"Just right, in a while it will be the Holy Mother's Era Birthday; I originally did not know what gift to present to surpass the Taiyin, but this treasure's appearance has resolved this urgent matter."

Qingxia Daoist Monarch's eyes revealed a hint of a smile.

However, thinking of the return gift, she felt somewhat embarrassed; this time a merit magical treasure has appeared, yet she cannot repay it with ordinary things, otherwise it would seem like an unfathomable reward.

But after a moment's thought, she gradually had an idea; with a thought, she directly took out a streak of red light and threw it into the Two Worlds Pool, and after a moment it vanished without a trace.

……

In the Zhuangyuan Mansion, Zhang Jian was currently cultivating the Round and Complete Five Dragons True Scripture.

The Five Dragons Dharma Aspect gradually condensed and manifested in his mind, five-colored runes intertwining, as if five ceaselessly intertwining and wandering true dragons.

But every scale of this five-colored true dragon phantom was covered with densely packed five-element runes, extremely tight; at this moment, the five elements unified, forming a five-colored treasure wheel hovering in the void, and a grand five-element true meaning took shape from his divine sense.

At the same time, a five-element seal condensed and emerged at the center of the treasure wheel.

Feeling the formation of the five-element seal, Zhang Jian opened his eyes.

Having reached this point, the Five Dragons True Scripture had already been cultivated to the stage of Great Accomplishment; further delaying until the Yuanshen level was temporarily unnecessary.

His current plan was to perfect the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram.

As he thought, the five-element true meaning transformed into a stream of light that merged into the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, causing the rolling heavenly and earthly divine energy within it to become even more substantial.

"Next comes the Illusory and Real!"

Zhang Jian's gaze sank in contemplation.

Earlier, he had obtained a copy of the Wu Xiang Jing from the East Study; having once again witnessed the Ghost Mother's Illusory-Real Transformation Heavenly Ghost Divine Ability, he had gained some insight, confidently creating a Yin Spirit-level Illusory-Real Transformation Technique, which was not difficult.

Having cultivated the Five Elements Intent to Great Accomplishment, Zhang Jian's mood improved considerably; after exchanging a few words with Qi Yuhua later, he lay down to sleep in his clothes.

And at midnight, he naturally awoke; this time, his Yang Spirit clearly sensed the disturbance of the 'Ancestral Portrait' in the ancestral shrine, his Yang Spirit roaming, he slipped into the ancestral shrine.

Yet he saw a red light fly out from the 'Ancestral Portrait', as if a phoenix of flowing red light had fallen into his hand.

Shortly afterward, on the luo bed, Zhang Jian's Yang Spirit entered the aperture; he lightly rose from beside Qi Yuhua.

Clad in his garments, he appeared in the courtyard; where his gaze fell, a piece of beautiful jade emerged in his hand.

And there was also a great deal of detailed information.

A smile appeared in his eyes; this time, the benefit he obtained was unexpected.

Phoenix Jade.

A phoenix ancient immortal of extremely high cultivation in heaven and earth, transformed after failing to impact the Dao Lord.

Its phoenix essence collapsed, its physical body fell in the Great Destruction, and a portion of pure essence and qi fell to the Nine Heavens; by chance, it was attracted to a jade vein, combined with innate spiritual material, the Innate Qianyuan Treasure Jade, and formed into this piece of Phoenix Jade, which contains a portion of phoenix essence and qi, and the Nirvana Divine Flame, capable of nourishing the physical body.

This treasure belongs to fire, containing innate fire spirit power; if one cultivates fire-attribute marvelous methods, combined with its Nirvana flame, one can strengthen one's fire-attribute foundation and bones, with a certain hope of attaining an innate Nirvana Dao body.

Innate Nirvana Dao body: a naturally indestructible body; each successful Nirvana makes the physique further strengthened.

If it falls into the hands of the Phoenix Clan, one can use this opportunity to cleanse, transform the bloodline, and awaken the Nirvana Divine Ability.

"What a treasure!"

A glimmer of brightness appeared in Zhang Jian's eyes; this level of treasure could be called a peerless divine object; if it fell into the hands of a fire-attribute Yuanshen True Person, its use would be immense.

Zhang Jian turned his gaze; his mind already had an idea regarding the disposition of this piece of Phoenix Jade.

This treasure falling into his hands undoubtedly makes it difficult to exert its maximum effect.

Although he possesses a fire spirit root, he does not primarily cultivate fire-attribute techniques.

Zhang Jian prepared to give it to someone.

Precisely, to give it to a mountain god.

The Fengling Mountain God.

Fengling was originally a phoenix body, but due to being forcibly calcined while pregnant, it became a ghost phoenix body; now it is using the power of the phoenix soul and phoenix feathers to restore the true phoenix form, and the appearance of this piece of Phoenix Jade can help her make up the final missing piece, to be reborn as the orthodox divine beast phoenix body through Nirvana.

Perhaps it can even condense an innate Nirvana Dao body.

Such a constitution, one would think, should also be extremely rare among the phoenix clan.

A hint of a smile appeared in Zhang Jian's eyes.

Fengling now presides over the Four Symbols Hidden Dragon Grand Formation; to some extent, it is also his Dharma Protector deity, and more so, it is guarding the Zhang family dragon vein for him.

If it can transform into the true phoenix form, in the future it will also become a valiant general by his side.