Chapter 215: Royal Secret Letter

Red Bright Harmony Yang Heaven.

The ghost market small world where the outer sect of the Plague Department is located quietly changed.

The mountain gate of the Dao Academy standing tall was shrouded in faint resentment, plus the corpse Qi emitted by the Flat Peach Tree roots, which felt exceptionally pungent when mixed together.

In just seven years, dual cultivation of Buddhism is no longer a secret.

A large number of Plague Department cultivators, in order to seek the stability of the immortal seeds in their bodies, chose to be parasitized by temple monks, condensing 【Sarira】 through refining ghosts.

The so-called Sarira is more like a strange immortal bone nurtured by ghosts, which cannot be peeled off after coexisting with the body and soul, balancing the immortal seeds.

The true gods of the Plague Department also seem to be tacitly approving of the actions of the Little Thunder Sound Temple.

For seven years, Plague Department cultivators have never discovered the drawbacks of Sarira.

As more and more fellow Daoists dual cultivate Buddhism, Sarira has gradually become a shortcut for cultivation, and even a necessary condition.

After all, everyone knows the horror of the Plague Department's immortal seeds.

Almost after stepping onto the path of cultivation, they are destined to become Nuo Immortals of the Plague Department; without Sarira, losing control is just a matter of time.

As the outer sect competition approached, the temple monks gave birth to a large number of ninth-realm cultivators.

"Sigh."

Gao Qiu stood beside the spirit field, looking into the distance at the escape lights shuttling through various parts of the Dao Academy.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to bury his head in activating the iron hoe-shaped lower-grade magic treasure, opening up pieces of wasteland with hard soil.

Not seen for a long time, Gao Qiu looked like a farmer, his rough skin covered with gullies, and a layer of calluses had grown on his palms.

Since Shen Lian went into seclusion to complete the immortal seed, Gao Qiu returned to struggling for a living.

The days of abundant resources previously seemed like an unrealistic dream.

Gao Qiu relied on helping Shen Lian collect elixir formulas in his early years, barely cultivating to the seventh realm.

Unfortunately, his aptitude was limited; after Shen Lian went into seclusion, he had made no progress for several years, the only benefit being that the immortal seed was not easy to lose control.

Of course, he was at least better than his fellow disciples of the same generation.

Most of the fellow disciples who joined the Dao Academy together had long gone to the Flat Peach Garden of the Supreme Emperor Yellow Zeng Heaven to take up posts, continuing to stay in the outer sect, and their lifespan would eventually be exhausted one day.

Gao Qiu revealed a self-deprecating look.

If there were no accidents, he would continue to struggle for another year or two, and he would also have to leave the Sweating Dao Academy.

Gao Qiu had accepted the fact, so he put all his energy into planting spirit materials, so as not to be unable to exchange enough Tai Sui Pills for Flat Peaches.

"I don't know how Senior Brother Tianwen is doing?"

"Could it be that Senior Brother Tianwen has already dual cultivated Buddhism."

The rumors about Shen Lian in the Dao Academy were strange and varied, some saying he had gone into qi deviation, others saying he had fallen into madness like Li Liu.

With the old alchemy room closed for a long time, the outer sect rarely mentioned Shen Lian.

Gao Qiu noticed that among the Plague Department disciples passing through the spirit field, one or two out of ten had already condensed Sarira, the obvious feature being that their backs were highly raised, and resentment was scattered on their body surfaces.

It can be seen from this that the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's infiltration of the Plague Department is increasing day by day.

The number of temple monk offspring is obviously increasing continuously, and no one knows where they come from.

Gao Qiu was stunned for a few breaths.

He didn't have the obsession of Elder Fengjing to resist Buddhism; if he could choose, he would definitely fight for the opportunity to shed his mortal body and become an immortal.

Gao Qiu exhausted his magic power to complete the opening of the wasteland.

Unknowingly, the moonlight like flowers sprinkled over the Dao Academy, and resentment rose within the mountain gate.

He just wanted to return to his residence to rest for a while, when his expression suddenly became astonished, and he took out the old spirit talisman he carried with him from his bosom.

The old spirit talisman became scorching hot, and a thought flashed by.

"Come to the old alchemy room."

Gao Qiu's hands trembled with excitement, murmuring "as expected" repeatedly in his mouth, not caring about recovering his magic power, and hurriedly rushed to the back mountain of the Dao Academy.

"Senior Brother is indeed fine; with his unprecedented aptitude, how could he go into qi deviation."

"If it weren't for the sudden appearance of Tian Shou in the outer sect of the Plague Department, Senior Brother's status as a Daoist child would be unquestionable; as long as he dual cultivates Buddhism, Tian Shou could never be mentioned in the same breath as Senior Brother Tianwen!"

Gao Qiu had witnessed Shen Lian from the time he entered the sect until now, and knew too well the horror of the latter's aptitude.

It is said that the fourth Nuo Immortal also descended because of Shen Lian, and when preaching, he even alarmed three Nuo Immortals, and not long after, he stepped into the ninth realm.

"Senior Brother's seclusion should be to condense Sarira."

"Tian Shou is already at the perfection of the ninth realm, with thirty-six Sarira sitting in his body, just waiting to shed his mortal body and become an immortal after the outer sect competition."

"Presumably Senior Brother will only be better than that..."

While Gao Qiu was thinking, he had already arrived at the old alchemy room.

The old alchemy room was no different from a forbidden area; cultivators who tried to enter it one after another were inexplicably injured in body and soul, and even their foundations were destroyed.

Only a few people knew that the old alchemy room was raising a large number of demons.

On weekdays, Elder Fengjing had to be careful.

Gao Qiu was slightly uneasy, but there were no obstacles along the way, only a pungent, unpleasant smell permeating the back mountain area.

After smelling the odor, the immortal seed in his body actually became exceptionally active.

"Senior Brother... what exactly is he doing?"

Gao Qiu was terrified; he had witnessed fellow Daoists cultivating Buddhism, but it was definitely not this terrifying; the immortal seed would instead fall into a deep sleep.

It seems that the immortal seed has a natural disadvantage when facing Buddhist scriptures.

This also prompted dual cultivation of Buddhism to gradually become the mainstream in the Plague Department.

"Hee hee, Brother is waiting for you in the alchemy room; walk east from the aisle."

A little girl's reminder sounded behind Gao Qiu, but when he turned his head, she was nowhere to be seen, and there were pairs of eyes in the dark constantly peeping at him.

The door of the alchemy room was ajar, and he saw the three-legged tripod at a glance.

The three-legged tripod was covered with cracks, and mycelium was forcibly piecing the magic treasure together, with colorful mycelium wriggling like living things.

Buddhism?

Definitely not Buddhism.

Gao Qiu's pupils shrank, standing in place at a loss.

His knowledge was indeed not high, but he could distinguish at a glance that Shen Lian not only did not dual cultivate Buddhism, but even went in the opposite direction.

The mycelium was filled with at least a dozen types of pathogen immortal seeds.

Shen Lian used the method of alchemy to fuse all the pathogen immortal seeds together, the structure was exceptionally unstable, as if... it was about to lose control at any time.

"Impossible, how could Senior Brother be so reckless?"

Gao Qiu had always been indignant about Shen Lian's situation.

In his view, if it weren't for the Little Thunder Sound Temple's interference, Shen Lian would be destined to become one of the true gods of the Plague Department, a heaven-favored child favored by the Great Dao.

The scene before him showed that Shen Lian was about to become a mindless Nuo Immortal.

Bang bang bang.

The movement of the three-legged tripod intensified, and the aura brought by the pathogen immortal seeds became increasingly unstable.

Countless pathogens intertwined around the three-legged tripod, turning into mysterious Dao rhymes, and the mycelium began to spread, covering the alchemy room.

Gao Qiu suddenly remembered the resources Shen Lian had asked him to collect.

Without exception, the resources would promote the growth of the immortal seed, which ordinary cultivators would not dare to take; could it be that Shen Lian used them to assist in cultivation?

A shocking way of cultivation, simply unprecedented.

The next moment.

The Dao rhyme suddenly converged, and the three-legged tripod fell apart.

Gao Qiu didn't have time to escape, watching the pathogens surge out overwhelmingly, and a figure stood in the center of the alchemy room.

"Receive."

The boundless pathogens returned to Shen Lian's mouth and nose.

Shen Lian's martial arts golden body was still at the perfection of the eighth realm, but the martial arts plague elixir was only half a step away from the Land Immortal, and the contained immortal seed had already taken shape, taking the first step of creating his own true scripture.

He scanned the martial arts plague elixir; because the disease sac was damaged, the plague elixir had become completely independent.

The plague elixir was like an organ, connected by blood vessels and meridians, becoming a part of the blood circulation, inseparable from flesh, blood, and bones.

"Senior... Senior Brother, you have achieved the perfection of the ninth realm!!"

Gao Qiu stared in disbelief, his expression unable to hide his fanaticism.

Shen Lian smiled without saying a word, carefully feeling the martial arts plague elixir; it took a full 56 points to integrate the fourteen types of immortal seeds into the martial arts plague elixir.

Plus the torture suffered from nurturing the immortal seeds, the cost far exceeded the ordinary.

Fortunately, after the immortal seeds merged into one, the martial arts plague elixir showed no signs of losing control, even if the aura overwhelmed the martial arts golden body, it did not backfire.

Shen Lian understood he was on the right path, but it was a pity the Immortal Seed remained severely incomplete.

When the primordial spirit communicated with the martial arts plague elixir, he could see countless characters surging, unable to form a complete sentence at all.

"Junior Brother Gao, tell me about the current situation of the Plague Department."

Gao Qiu did not hold back, telling Shen Lian everything, including news of unknown authenticity.

Shen Lian had many thoughts, always feeling that the attitude of the true gods of the Plague Department was too strange; no matter what, the Little Thunder Sound Temple was opposed to the Eight Departments' Daoist lineage, so how could they let the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva spread the Daoist lineage.

"Junior Brother Gao, what are the requirements for participating in the outer sect competition?"

"There aren't any, but going to the ruins of the old Heavenly Court below the ninth realm is ten deaths and no life."

"En, you come with me."

Gao Qiu's mouth opened slightly, thinking he had misheard.

After Shen Lian repeated it, he explained stutteringly: "Junior Brother's cultivation has made no progress, I'm afraid I will drag Senior Brother down."

"It's fine."

Shen Lian considered that after entering the inner sect, having Gao Qiu help run errands would be much more convenient.

If it were really dangerous during the outer sect competition, he would just put him in the ghost gourd, and he didn't think other Plague Department disciples could threaten him.

The ruins of the old Heavenly Court itself might be a greater threat.

"But..."

Gao Qiu had witnessed Shen Lian suppressing the immortal seed and knew the depth of the latter's foundation, so it didn't matter even if he couldn't play a role in the outer sect competition.

He almost agreed, then suppressed his distracting thoughts and said: "Junior Brother's aptitude is inferior; I'm afraid I will become a Nuo Immortal after going to the inner sect."

Shen Lian looked at Gao Qiu and secretly activated the martial arts plague elixir.

"Try it."

"What?"

"Do not resist, try to calm the fluctuations of your primordial spirit."

Gao Qiu was at a loss.

Shen Lian reached out and pointed at his glabella, and a pathogen of addiction quietly drilled into the Niwan Palace, landing on the former's scarred primordial spirit.

Gao Qiu covered his head and screamed, his own immortal seed undergoing a drastic change.

The martial arts plague elixir now possessed the wonderful use of martial arts true domain teaching, equivalent to using the ability of the true scripture to multiply and occupy Gao Qiu's immortal seed.

A moment later, the aura of Gao Qiu's immortal seed revealed a subtle difference.

Shen Lian touched his chin thoughtfully.

"Gao Qiu's immortal seed is still the Sweating immortal seed, but the structure is more stable, and the Dao rhyme inherits the texture of the 【Sweating】 part of the martial arts plague elixir."

At the same time, the immortal seed uses Gao Qiu's body and soul as a hotbed; Shen Lian can easily control the other party's life and can directly erase the immortal seed.

Gao Qiu opened his eyes, the bottom of his eyes only left with the awe that only comes from seeing the Three Pure Ones statues.

An immortal stroking the head to bestow an opportunity?

The problem that has plagued the Plague Department for countless years has actually... been solved?

Gao Qiu sensed the immortal seed; a complicated Dao rhyme scripture appeared in the center of his primordial spirit, making his own immortal seed no longer have the risk of losing control.

It doesn't mean that going into qi deviation is eliminated, but at least there is no need to worry at all times.

He could even take elixirs with greater drawbacks; perhaps his cultivation speed could catch up with ordinary fellow Daoists, and there would be a possibility of shedding his mortal body and becoming an immortal in the future.

Gao Qiu didn't know what to say and wanted to kneel down but was stopped by Shen Lian.

"Pointing you out is just a matter of lifting a hand; how far you can go in the future depends on yourself."

Shen Lian treated Gao Qiu as a white mouse; the martial arts plague elixir could detect the state of the latter's body and soul, to see how to adjust the immortal seed teaching.

There are already those in the martial arts who are in the eighth realm of spirit wandering, so he must make full preparations for the ninth realm.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your great kindness; Junior Brother Gao Qiu is willing to work like a dog or horse."

"We'll talk about the outer sect competition; it should be held in the near future."

Gao Qiu performed a Daoist salute and did not continue to disturb Shen Lian, walking away from the old alchemy room.

Shen Lian spread his palms, and the pathogens surged out like an arm.

Perhaps the immortal seed has other defects after becoming an immortal, but at least he is on the right path now; next, he will continue to complete the plague elixir as much as possible, and wait until the immortal seed is perfect before integrating it into the martial arts golden body.

"The martial arts plague elixir's promotion to Land Immortal should be smooth, but the true shedding of the mortal body to become an immortal still depends on the Longevity Stake and the Indestructible Profound Art."

Shen Lian took a deep breath; just burying his head in cultivation definitely won't work.

Cultivation after becoming an immortal is not clear; currently, he only knows the names of the realms, and it is difficult to imagine how immortals and Buddhas will use the true scriptures in their bodies.

Shen Lian took out the spirit talisman; Elder Fengjing's message mentioned that there was still half a year until the outer sect competition.

He stabilized the cultivation of the martial arts plague elixir, and at the same time took out an object from his dantian.

The elixir fruit, which looks like a Buddha's head on the outside, has skin, flesh, human bones, and brain marrow that are lifelike, and he always feels that the pupils will open at any time.

The spirituality of the Dragon Fish Robe drilled out of the Daoist robe, lying on Shen Lian's shoulder eagerly.

"It's finally done."

Nurturing the elixir fruit with the medium-grade Buddhism 【Tathagata Scripture】 is extremely long, taking almost ten years; no wonder Senior Brother Sha mentioned that the true scripture suppressed by Green Wave Pool is very close to the Mahayana Buddhism.

If the banyan tree hadn't been promoted to the sixth rank, he estimated it would have been extended to about fifty years.

Shen Lian saw the information obtained from the appraisal and couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

【Medium-grade Tathagata Fruit】

【Nurtured by the banyan tree, the medium-grade Tathagata Fruit contains the eight characters of "As is light, making people love and happy," which are evolved into the four things of Tathagata.】

【Consuming Buddha flesh can refine and obtain a wisp of Tathagata Buddha blood.】

Just the Buddha flesh alone makes the long wait worth it.

Before Shen Lian could peel off the Buddha flesh, the career panel revealed a prompt.

【Triggered career, consume 20 points to take the job】

【True Suchness Sandalwood Cicada—Eight-Phase Sakyamuni fit 96.3%】

The opportunity for the lotus platform to be promoted to the seventh rank was obtained without any effort.

Eight-Phase Sakyamuni is obviously involved with the Tathagata Buddha; Shen Lian even had the urge to take the job; Journey to the West, to put it bluntly, is just revolving around Buddhism.

He has indeed been intentionally or unintentionally paying attention to the fifth career recently and has given it some consideration.

But the cause and effect behind Eight-Phase Sakyamuni are definitely indescribable.

Previously, taking the job of Blood Spirit Child caused a bunch of strange things. Eight-Phase Sakyamuni? I'm afraid the Western Spirit Mountain would have to come out in full force to pay homage to the Tathagata.

"We'll talk about it later; the fifth career must be handled with extreme caution."

"The first four careers involved either demons and monsters or grass and wood spirit roots; the lotus platform was exaggerated to the point of triggering the Tathagata career to be promoted."

"Should the fifth career be a Daoist one to change the feng shui?"

【Refining Buddha skin can turn skin and flesh into a cassock enlightened by the Buddha.】

"Skin turning into a cassock; wouldn't I be reduced to a skinned monk in image."

Shen Lian directly peeled off the Buddha skin; the structure of the Tathagata fruit is exactly the same as a human head, and the skin even has some adhesion to the Buddha flesh.

He carefully handled the Buddha skin and threw it to the Dragon Fish Robe while it was still alive.

Ah woo.

The Dragon Fish Robe swallowed it in one bite, and suddenly rosy light leaked out, immediately falling into the transformation of being promoted to a treasure, with internal and external spirit patterns that were incomparably mysterious.

【Consuming Buddha bones, the whole body's bones will achieve Seven-Jewel Buddha Bones in 456 years.】

Shen Lian was slightly hesitant; Seven-Jewel Buddha Bones should be some kind of extraordinary immortal bone, and he was somewhat wary of facing unknown things.

He examined the skull for a few breaths, then dug out a piece of bone the size of a fingernail.

Shen Lian swallowed the bone piece in one bite; the bone piece turned into a seven-colored liquid as soon as it entered his throat, following the blood into the glabella bone.

The glabella bone was stained with seven colors, and the bone structure underwent subtle changes.

Shen Lian activated the food-supplementing supernatural power, and the nutrients of the Buddha bones moved to the stomach; if he sensed something wrong, he could directly stop the immortal bone from forming.

"With my current physical body, it wouldn't be a big problem even if I changed a skeleton."

Shen Lian ground the Buddha bones into powder, mixed it with medicinal wine, and poured it into his stomach; the transformation speed of the Seven-Jewel Buddha Bones began to intensify, but it could be seen that it was indeed counted in centuries.

? CO

【Refining Buddha brain can brand the eight characters of "As is light, making people love and happy" on the golden body. Remember, remember, those who hold the scripture must carry the scripture westward!!!】

Shen Lian took the crystal-like Buddha brain into the center of the lotus platform.

After finishing the Tathagata fruit, the day of the outer sect competition gradually approached, and the cultivation of the ninth-realm perfection of the martial arts plague elixir had also stabilized.

Shen Lian looked through the window and saw the figures of Nuo Immortals looming at the bottom of the mountain.

The ruins of the old Heavenly Court are usually in the interlayer of the ghost market and can only be traveled by using the bodies of Nuo Immortals; it is very strange that the outer sect competition is set in the Immortal Prison Room.

The bronze bell on the top of the mountain was struck, representing that the outer sect competition was about to begin.

"Speaking of which."

"The Nuo Immortals of the Plague Department should resist cultivators who dual cultivate Buddhism, right? The probability of problems in preaching in recent years is obviously increasing."

Shen Lian muttered to himself: "If the entire Plague Department dual cultivates Buddhism, the Nuo Immortals will definitely lose control; how will the true gods handle it..."

Boom!!!

A loud noise came from the mansion where the elders of the Sweating Dao Academy lived.

Shen Lian's face was grave, and he hurriedly sent a message to ask Elder Fengjing.

Elder Fengjing replied in a deep voice: "It's not me, it's Elder Qiuyang... he has gone into qi deviation, the immortal seed has lost control and gone into qi deviation."

"Elder Qiuyang hasn't already dual cultivated Buddhism, how could he lose control?"

"The general trend."

As soon as Elder Fengjing finished speaking, the doors and windows of Elder Qiuyang's mansion opened wide.

Extremely twisted scriptures overflowed, like mayflies, but with a few more characteristics of corpse maggots, making the ground and walls rot.

"Elder Fengjing, is he becoming a Nuo Immortal?"

"En."

The disciples of the Dao Academy turned their heads one after another; after looking directly at the scriptures, corpse spots appeared on the surface of their internal organs, and they retched up flesh and blood fragments.

Only Shen Lian stared without blinking.

The Plague Department Nuo Immortal formed by Elder Qiuyang was different from the conventional ones, but revealed a different kind of beauty everywhere, especially when observing the trajectory of the mayflies.

【Triggered career, missing necessary conditions to take the job】

The scriptures gathered in mid-air, the scene like the street lamps in Shen Lian's previous life in summer, with countless mosquitoes chasing the light.

Slowly forming a section of intestines.

Compared with ordinary Nuo Immortals, the Daoist Heavenly Venerable Stomach transformed by Elder Qiuyang presented the gray-black color of a corpse, and the stench came to his face.

Inside the Daoist Heavenly Venerable Stomach, human flesh and blood were wriggling.

"It seems."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes, looking at the various expressions of the Dao Academy disciples.

"Either the true gods of the Plague Department are all dead, or they are heading straight for the Little Thunder Sound Temple, and have never thought about the possibility of turning back."

The Daoist Heavenly Venerable Stomach turned into the style of a cassock, and the human flesh and blood inside grew to a hundred meters in size, the Nuo Immortal turning into a temple monk wearing a cassock.

In fact, calling it 【Nuo Monk】 is more appropriate.

The Nuo Monk's Dao practice exceeded ten thousand years, and its aura was a few points stronger than the temple monk.

Several Nuo Immortals showed signs of rioting, but in the end, they did not encircle the Nuo Monk, letting the Nuo Monk land in the market, with the intestine cassock coiling around the buildings.

Elder Fengjing's pupils shrank; as soon as the Nuo Monk appeared, he received a message from the inner sect elder, so he had to speak: "Disciples, listen to the order."

"If you participate in the outer sect competition, you can go to the Immortal Prison Room through the newly promoted Nuo Immortal."

The cultivators hesitated again and again, and some approached the market.

The Sarira in their bodies actively communicated with the Nuo Monk; not only was there no danger, but the efficiency of Buddhist cultivation was instead blessed by the Nuo Monk.

In the future, the Nuo Monk will occupy a dominant position in the preaching of the outer sect.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

More and more cultivators drove flying swords into the market.

Because of the sudden emergence of Buddhism, there were more than twenty ninth-realm cultivators; if all the Dao Academies were counted, there would be at least two or three hundred.

According to the proportion of the inner sect in the past, there will be a blowout of Land Immortals in the future.

Ninth-realm cultivators who did not dual cultivate Buddhism were in a dilemma; under the current situation, this group of normal people would instead become the target of public criticism.

The strong wind whistled.

A gap was broken in the thick fog of the back mountain.

Shen Lian, who had not moved for seven years, soared up, the plague elixir aura he emitted was incomparably pure, obviously not dual cultivating Buddhism.

"Ommm~~"

The Nuo Monk suddenly raised its arm, but was blocked by the Nuo Immortal before it could touch Shen Lian.

Shen Lian steadily drilled into the half-virtual, half-real intestines of the Nuo Immortal, as if he were in a flesh and blood cave, with the other end connected to the endless void.

The Dao Academy was silent, and not a single person followed Shen Lian.

Elder Fengjing sighed repeatedly.

"The Plague Department is all practicing Buddhism; how can Tianwen resist the general trend."

"True gods, if your cooperation with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could be delayed for a hundred years, perhaps the situation of the Plague Department would really improve because of Tianwen."

Elder Fengjing's mind flashed with Shen Lian's words, the latter's firm plan to solve Tian Shou during the outer sect competition.

If Tian Shou dies, I'm afraid the Plague Department will be even more chaotic.

At this time.

Gao Qiu gritted his teeth and left the Dao Academy, driving a clumsy secret technique into the intestines.

No one cared about a seventh-realm cultivator; they wanted to know the outcome of the Plague Department's Dao struggle, and whether Tianwen was struggling on his deathbed.

Shen Lian and Gao Qiu walked one after another toward the end.

A short journey of a few minutes, but there was a sense of trance of shuttling through the transmission tree, and the end of the intestines was darkness where one could not see one's fingers.

Shen Lian was about to summon the ghost gourd, when he suddenly realized that sneaking into the outer sect competition meant Gao Qiu would likely not get a spot afterwards.

"Junior Brother Gao, no matter what danger you encounter, stay calm, and we will meet up later."

Gao Qiu nodded in response.

Shen Lian stepped into the end without hesitation, and the infinite darkness wrapped around him.

He vaguely heard voices talking outside the darkness.

"How many Plague Immortals will go crazy at the Queen Mother's Flat Peach Feast?"

"Not clear, twenty or thirty?"

"Hope they aren't locked in the south corner of the Immortal Prison Room under our jurisdiction." ===== CHAPTER 216 =====