Chapter 1330: The Two Kings Boldly Venture to the Ends of the Earth (Combined Volume)

"This is the Guimu Sect ritual?" Zhang Longxiang looked up.

"That's right, the ancestors committed sins, the wood is already made into a boat, later generations cannot waste it, we are all from bitter origins, we came from bitter lives, we emphasize making full use of things."

"What you said — is it true?"

"No falsehood."

Chest expanding, Zhang Longxiang took a deep breath.

Outside the cave, the tide surged, Liang Qu jumped into the cave using the waves, floated down beside Zhang Longxiang, his heart fire ignited, lighting the candles on the wall, accompanying the introduction, "After the Guimu Sect was destroyed, the imperial court sent people to study it, I don't know if they studied anything out of it, anyway it has always been placed in Jianghuai, every time I come and go, I have to run back and forth, later I arrived at the Yellow Sand River, found it troublesome, so I simply dug it out entirely, dragging the ritual to run."

"I have an impression, your river stone" appeared here twice, I thought it was leftover from searching for Guimu Sect remnants, actually it went down below?"

"Hey."

Liang Qu crossed his arms, noncommittal.

The two looked up.

Three zhang high, ten meters tall, the Guimu sculpture was like a giant spider, its web bared fangs and claws on Zhang Longxiang's face.

The dry arms and the ten shadows on the wall were symmetrical, exactly matching the number twenty.

On the sculpture's palm, treasure vase, treasure canopy, double fish, lotus, right-turning conch, auspicious knot, victory banner and dharma wheel — the double fish were split into two, altogether becoming nine, the vacant topmost position, looking as if it should have a large item.

Zhang Longxiang reached out, just as he pointed to the top vacant spot, Liang Qu explained: "What was placed on top originally was the golden-thread nanmu coffin of the Great Qian Demon Empress and the Great Qian Imperial Prince, taken away by the imperial court, I don't know the current situation."

Zhang Longxiang paced around the sculpture, his heart still silently digesting this extremely huge and astonishing amount of information.

Dream Dynasty — 【17】 Netherworld, Great Li, Mirage Dragon — 【18】 On the path of cultivation, the deeper one cultivates, the more doubts arise.

The Underworld, Great Li, Mirage Dragon—

On the path of cultivation, the deeper one cultivates, the greater the confusion.

No one dares say they understand everything, know everything, and often can reap the answers to problems, feeling delighted and astonished thereby, but today's situation is completely different.

The great war ten thousand years ago is not a legend, immortality is not an illusory pursuit.

This is a tremendous impact challenging personal cognition, a great expansion of worldview!

For those with weaker spiritual foundations, even if the truth is before them, they will deceive themselves and refuse to accept it.

Fortunately, Zhang Longxiang already knew the Guimu Sect patriarch could die and be reborn, on this basis, learning that the sculpture connects to a netherworld created by the Taizu of Great Li, with day and night, is not hard to digest.

Only that Liang Qu could follow the vine to the melon, digging out this netherworld that no one had noticed for ten thousand years, feels astonishing.

Upon reflection.

Since Liang Qu became famous, the causes of many great wars have all been Liang Qu "digging" them out.

"Can I touch it?"

"Go ahead, just don't break it."

"Divine craftsmanship — " Zhang Longxiang reached out to touch the small leg of the Guimu sculpture, marveling more and more, "How exactly was this yin-yang linking ritual made? Why could Great Qian make it? While my Great Shun has never heard of it?"

"Ha, this is a long story, because the materials used are only one."

"What material?"

"The resurrected Qiujin Wu Sheng!" Liang Qu took half a step forward, recounting the information Ran Zhongshi once revealed, "Back then the Great Qian royal family stole Qiujin's corpse, jointly with the Eighth Generation Lotus Sect Master Bema of the Great Snow Mountain Lotus Sect, made only this one.

They waited until Great Qian's defeat, turned into the Guimu Sect, holding the ritual and the protection of the flood dragon, clung to life, and then became what it is now, speaking of which, the Dragon Elephant King also experienced it once. When Heposuo first exterminated the Guimu Sect branch, there were two Entering Zhen Xiang Sect masters on the island, Heposuo had no match, reported upward, then temporarily borrowed the mystic weapons of the Dragon Elephant King and the Yue King."

"I have an impression, but how did the Qiujin Wu Sheng die and be reborn?"

"I don't know." Liang Qu shook his head, "The imperial court guesses, perhaps it was an active attempt by the Netherworld, coincidentally Qiujin Wu Sheng became the subject of this attempt."

Zhang Longxiang retreated several steps, reabsorbing the entire Guimu sculpture into his field of vision, not knowing what he was thinking.

A long while.

Liang Qu asked: "How about it, Dragon Elephant King, want to go in? Or first return to the imperial capital, ask the Holy Emperor? Then set a date? The matter is confidential, there are no written records, only the Emperor's oral decree."

"Not necessary." Zhang Longxiang lowered his head, "I trust Huai Wang, how to enter?"

"Dragon Elephant King is bright! Cultivation fast, decisions also fast."

Liang Qu marveled at Zhang Longxiang's acceptance and decision speed.

From knowing the netherworld to deciding to enter it, before and after actually took less than half an hour, the speed is comparable to an ordinary person deciding in the morning whether to eat a fried dough pancake or an egg crepe, only to say, this degree of action and decisiveness, no matter what they do, will not be bad.

He also did not hesitate.

"Third Prince!"

"Here I come!"

The Third Prince flew in from outside the cave, spitting white mist, expanding as he flew, arriving before the two, he indeed transformed into a hundred-zhang giant dragon, the giant dragon shot out its claws, pointing at its own big mouth.

Liang Qu jumped in first, Zhang Longxiang did not understand, but also followed suit, after which the Third Prince flicked its long tail, diving into the marshland.

"This is — " Zhang Longxiang looked at the vast water space, pupils dilated, "Strange stone space?"

"Just a gift from the Mirage Dragon, the Third Prince obtained all the remaining blessings, then passed them to me, so inside there is a space, only entering and exiting is not as convenient as a normal universe space, must enter from the Third Prince's mouth."

"I see, then what?"

"Then — "

Before the Guimu ritual, Xiao Xingzi stretched his wrists and ankles, bravely sacrificed himself, the Guimu sculpture seemed like a living thing, the hands holding the treasure vase like two gray snakes coiling.

Zhang Longxiang focused entirely, only feeling heaven and earth rapidly darken and turn red, the surrounding scenery completely blurred, as if he were sprinting, then he crossed an intangible "membrane", he keenly sensed something, turned his head backward.

Another "Zhang Longxiang" stood in place, pupils lifeless, dazed and motionless, as if somewhat "dead".

No, precisely speaking, it is himself, his physical body.

Beside him, "Liang Qu" also left his physical body, also somewhat "dead".

Lowering his head, Zhang clasped five fingers, the sensation was real, with no discomfort.

Zhang Longxiang quickly understood his state, looked toward Liang Qu.

Liang Qu first signaled Zhang Longxiang to wait a moment, then took a thread of Zhang Longxiang's qi, and jumped first into the Third Prince's mouth to go out.

In the vast space, only Zhang Longxiang and Xiao Xingzi's subsidiary body remained. Not knowing what Liang Qu was doing, Zhang Longxiang looked around, everywhere was water, gray and hazy, like overcast sky, he stood in the center of a courtyard, the courtyard had everything, wooden posts, reclining chairs, yellow skin bags — full of life energy, looking as if many people usually live here.

"Huala."

The Third Prince leapt into the Ze Kingdom, opening his massive mouth; Liang Qu stood on his tongue waving, and Zhang Longxiang strode in after him.

The dragon's maw closed and opened again; crimson river water surged back in. Zhang Longxiang instinctively retreated, until he confirmed this was merely ordinary river water, then stepped out.

Red!

Dazzling red!

Clouds, water — everywhere was blood-red. Cluster amaryllis blanketing mountains and fields swayed in the wind.

As for what was different, apart from this dazzling blood-red, it was hard to put into words.

Like an infant crawling across a bed, like a fledgling flying from its nest.

How long since he'd felt this sense of exploration.

Zhang Longxiang couldn't help but step forward half a pace, then crouch down, uprooting a cluster amaryllis: "I'm a Wu Sheng; if I enter rashly, won't the Netherworld detect me?"

"It won't. Many things in the Netherworld differ from the mortal world. The River-Center Stones are placed not by individual, but by sect — I suspect it's a method to save on computational load. As long as the sect is controlled, every individual is in hand. As for whether anyone could threaten the Skyfire Sect, that's nonsense; River-Center Stones are completely unnecessary."

"'Save on computational load'————" Zhang Longxiang chewed it over, somewhat understanding.

"The essence of River-Center Stones is actually the Heaven-Man Union version of 'sudden impulse.' Cultivators resonate with heaven and earth, thus they can sense the whereabouts of the strong; the essence is one's own early warning against crisis and threat."

"But in the artificially created 'Blood River Realm,' heaven and earth are all manifested by the Great Li Taizu. Whether to let people resonate is a single thought away — or rather, it requires extra 'bestowal,' granting it out, real-time marking the Yaolong's position, which inevitably consumes a portion of 'mental power.' Is there any benefit?"

"On the contrary, placing Blood Steles achieves the same management-convenient purpose in a more economical way."

At the same time, Zhang Longxiang swiftly perceived an essence.

"Ultimately, it's not a sound world."

"Right. Taizu still hasn't achieved Transforming Rainbow, and even fell into slumber because of the Dragon Lord — that's our opportunity. Cough, King Longxiang, stop pulling them up; cluster amaryllis are the equivalent of our mortal world's wheat."

"Oh." Zhang Longxiang released the stem in his hand. "Then the Blood Steles you mentioned — how to resolve them?"

"I just went out and temporarily enrolled King Longxiang into the River God Sect. We now share one Blood Stele; no need to worry."

"River God Sect?"

"The sect I founded."

"You even founded a sect in the Netherworld?"

Zhang Longxiang was greatly shaken, with the illusion that he'd just discovered a way to make money and planned to try it, only to find his fellow villagers had already struck it rich via that same path and returned home in glory.

"Hey, when you're out in the world, you've got to have some backing."

Speaking of the sect, Liang Qu poured out the Blood River Realm's general situation and sect rules in one go, plus his grand plan to go against the current!

Rush First Rank, seize a Position Fruit! Grow big and strong, create glory anew!

Nine great First Rank sects, nine Position Fruits.

Zhang Longxiang had never imagined Position Fruits could be so "easily obtained," with considerable feasibility to boot. For a moment his heart surged, but the more he knew, the more questions arose. Compared to Liang Qu, who knew the ropes like the back of his hand, he was still completely in the dark. He mused: "Relying on your sect buys me temporary peace, but a Yaolong appearing out of nowhere — how to explain that?"

"I've thought of this problem too. Currently there's one method: substitute a peach for a plum!" Liang Qu's eyes flashed. "Yaolong in the Blood River Realm have nearly endless lifespans, but this endlessness is traded for through slumber. Some sect patriarchs have even slumbered for hundreds of years; the disciples within the sect have completely turned over."

Zhang Longxiang narrowed his eyes: "Prince Huai's meaning is————"

"We do this and that, like so and so————but first we need to get a certificate."

"A certificate?"

Dawn. The sky was barely bright; sunlight penetrated the waters.

"Haha hey, Master! Madam! I came to see you! Huh, where are you? Didn't you say you were in the Long Gong?"

Wen Wen Shi Yun emerged from the waterway, carrying bundles large and small, striding up to the Long Gong — only to see on the plaza Ta Ta doing a golden rooster standing on one leg, diligently cultivating.

"Boat Boss!"

Ta Ta slanted a glance, waved a claw to shoo Wen Wen Shi Yun away — don't block the sunlight, delay its absorption of heaven and earth essence.

"Ai."

Wen Shigu tilted his head and sighed, forever missing the Ta Ta from his first visit to Master's home — that one was attentive and enthusiastic, would even perform somersaults and lead a softshell turtle for him.

Now————

Wen Shigu fished in his pocket, pulling out a heavy silver ingot.

"Shu!"

A black shadow flashed; Ta Ta dodged past, sharp teeth clamping the silver ingot, beaming with joy, immediately executing a 360-degree backflip, performing a Kunpeng spreading its wings.

"Boat Boss, know where my Master is?"

Wen Shigu produced another, tossing it up and down.

"Shu!"

Ten consecutive backflips later, Ta Ta knelt on one knee, turned sideways, both claws pointing north in unison.

"Deal!" Wen Shigu immediately ran over, just in time to see Kai Longxiang and Liang Qu emerge together, and the cave behind them. "Hiss, Master! And Longxiang Yong!"

"My disciple, Yue Yong's grandson."

Kai Longxiang nodded, exchanged greetings, and hurried off.

A whole night — too many things needed transforming, too many things needed preparing. He had to make a trip to the Imperial Capital immediately.

"Shi Ru Guang Shang ah!"

On the stairs, Kai Longxiang took a deep breath, watching sunlight shine on the Long Gong; the dazzling fire trees and silver flowers gradually dimmed.

Southern Border, Northern Court — all flags furled, drums silenced. He thought it would take three years of normal cultivation; never expected that beyond the world, there was actually such a splendid other heaven and earth, where one could even flow openly!

The Netherworld — how many experts does it have?

"Master, Happy New Year!" Wen Shigu held a gift box in one hand, the other spread open.

"Tsk, don't know which shop you randomly bought pastries from on the road, coming to exchange for my hundreds of thousands worth of jade tablets." Liang Qu curled his lip, fished out two jade tablets from his bosom, tossed them to Wen Shigu. "Just you alone?"

"The gift is light, the sentiment heavy. My dad and mom are behind————" Wen Shigu grinned, looked at the jade tablets. "Slay Jiao or Golden Body?"

"The 'First' one is Slay Jiao, the other is Golden Body. Don't mess it up; I don't have many."

"Hey, got it, got it, thanks Master!" Wen Shigu's face was excited; he immediately put away the jade tablet, then looked left and right, lowering his voice, "Master, did Long Xiangyong go over there too?"

"Yeah, actually from the very beginning it was Long Xiangyong who brought me."

Wen Shigu widened his eyes: "So Long Xiangyong cultivating so fast is also because of the time difference?"

"Yeah, Long Xiangyong was discovered when I was hunting tigers; I was a bit earlier than Long Xiangyong, discovered it when I was hunting wolves; you're different, you discovered it even earlier than me and Long Xiangyong, do you know what that means?"

Wen Shigu sucked in a cold breath, his heart pounding wildly.

"I'm going to break Master's record?"

"Dream on! Holding the sun and moon, plucking the stars and shifting the constellations — looking across the world, your master is just like a firefly in pitch-black poverty, so distinct, so outstanding! Compared to me, you're far off!"

"?

"

Ten days of leave passed in a flash.

Lan Jicai started attending the government office, handled the New Year affairs, and set about preparing to refine the Mei Fruit container.

Kai Longxiang rubbed his fists and wiped his palms, sharpening his knife in eager anticipation.

The Haiya King wrote quite a few love letters to Hai Fangzhu one after another, stating he was about to come to Jianghuai, but just wouldn't come O

Until Liang Qu and Bai Yuan left the Long Gong and the North Waters.

——

Fat Fish had just finished packing up his luggage, preparing to return to Qinghe Bay for work, when suddenly two porcupinefish rushed over.

"Black-market fish, black-market fish, there's a fish coming to ask for a poem!"

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