Chapter 116: Raw and Ripe Earth Sha, A Fight to the Death Before the Formation

"How much longer until we enter the Xishan Prefecture of the Liang Kingdom?"

Inside a luxurious carriage, Yao Daosheng was leisurely toying with the beautiful maid in his arms, asking the middle-aged cultivator of about fifty years old beside him in a nonchalant manner.

"Reporting to Senior Brother, we will enter the borders of the Liang Kingdom in half a day's time. Once we reach the ferry crossing, we shall find a ferry boat and travel downstream for two days to arrive at Xishan Prefecture."

The middle-aged cultivator took out a jade plate, glanced at it, and answered submissively.

It must be said that although Yao Daosheng was a high-level expert of the Dao Foundation, he looked young, no more than thirty years of age. He wore a blue Dharma robe and had soaring eyebrows, but a pair of narrow, slightly gloomy eyes abruptly lowered his immortal bearing.

"Master, this place outside doesn't seem much more prosperous than the Miao Territory of He Mountain, does it?"

The beautiful maid seemed to have been tickled in a sensitive spot; she giggled and rubbed against Yao Daosheng's chest.

"This Xishan Prefecture is a remote place to begin with, and even Quanzhou of the Liang Kingdom has only been newly opened for two hundred years or so. Once I, your master, step into the Dan Realm, I will take you to the Sea Market in Jiangzhou to have some fun. That is where the essence of a nation and the prosperous place of immortals truly lies."

Yao Daosheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he grasped the soft flesh in his hand, his tone carrying a hint of regret: "It is a pity the clan did not bestow a Floating Cloud Flying Boat for travel. Otherwise, with our dozens of people flying here, I fear we could have reached the Liang Kingdom from He Mountain in just a few days, and we wouldn't have had to waste so much time on the road."

Although he did possess a flying Dharma Artifact, it could not carry passengers, nor was its speed particularly fast; instead, it was not as comfortable as traveling all the way with maids and attendants.

"Senior Brother's path of cultivation is exceptional. Seeing that you are about to attain the position of a True Person, it is only natural that you would be targeted by some mediocrities in the sect. It is just a Floating Cloud Flying Boat; in the future, I fear they will be begging you to accept one."

The middle-aged cultivator offered a small flattery, and Yao Daosheng gave a cold laugh, feeling a bit more comfortable in his heart.

The clan had put in a great deal of effort to help him take charge of the Fuhu Altar in Xishan Prefecture. If they were to bestow a Floating Cloud Flying Boat for transport as well, other members of the Yao Clan would likely have many objections. One must know that the Copper Tuo Yao Clan had more than one Ancestor, and within a hundred years, they would have yet another one.

"Master, while I was in the mountains, I heard talk of things like Yin Pulses and Earth Sha. It seems there are three or five such places on He Mountain. Why must you travel ten thousand miles to this remote place? Isn't it the same within the sect?"

The beautiful maid's waist swayed, and her eyes were so soft they seemed to be dripping water as she curiously asked. Yao Daosheng did not hide anything and laughed: "Miao, you don't know this. These Earth Sha are the spiritual energy and turbid Qi that have accumulated underground for thousands of years. Ordinary cultivators will surely die upon touching them; even high-level Dao Foundation experts who have died in Earth Sha Yin Veins are countless. The few common Earth Sha Yin Veins in the sect have been visited by dozens of Ancestors over the past eon to taste the Sha, and the Sha Qi within those Yin Veins has long since become extremely thin and not very useful. The Yin Vein on the main peak, however, is a Raw Sha; even if a high-level expert with an Upper Grade Dao Foundation were to go in to taste the Sha, their survival would be a fifty-fifty chance. It is not as reliable as this Ripe Sha here in Quanshan, Quanzhou."

"Master, what are Raw Sha and Ripe Sha?"

"Miao, do you know that the earth beneath our feet seems stable, but in reality, it is vibrating and shifting slightly every single moment?"

Yao Daosheng chuckled: "Although it is almost imperceptible, if there is the slightest tremor, it manifests within the Yin Vein, and the Earth Sha becomes like raging waves. If a cultivator encounters this while tasting the Sha, it is like embroidering in the middle of a storm; one moment of carelessness and they are severely injured. This is Raw Sha. But if a master of the array path can comb through the earth veins, clarify the nodes, and gather the Hongchen Zhuqi of mortals to stabilize the Sha, then after a hundred years of stability, this Yin Vein becomes Ripe Sha. Otherwise, why do you think those great Profound sects protect the stability of mortal kingdoms? It is nothing more than cultivating their own 'Sha Fields'. It is just a pity that such great methods are hard to come by, hard to learn, and hard to master for side-door sects."

"It is laughable that Uncle Jiao spent a hundred years laying out his plans, opening up 'Sha Fields' together with Longhu Mountain, only to end up making wedding clothes for my Yao Clan. What does it matter if he is a Golden Core True Person? The He Mountain Sect is ultimately not a place where an outsider like him can act wantonly, hmm?"

Yao Daosheng was holding forth in front of his beautiful maid when he suddenly raised his eyebrows, tossed the maid aside, and shouted toward the outside of the carriage: "Which fellow traveler is here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire convoy came to a halt. Led by Yao Daosheng, a dozen or so He Mountain Sect cultivators walked out and stood behind him.

On a small hill ahead, five figures were standing, blocking the path of the convoy.

Chen Ci wiped the sweat from his palms, feeling quite speechless. His own Lin Laohu must have never studied any military tactics; he was already weak in strength, yet he didn't use any schemes for an ambush, instead setting up a formation to block the road as if he were afraid others wouldn't see them.

Lin Laohu, do you know that there are eleven cultivators on the other side? Setting aside the leader-vs-leader fight, everyone on our side has to fight two or three people each.

You don't know, you don't care, you only care about yourself!

"It's you?"

Yao Daosheng's eyes, which had been narrowed, opened slightly wider, and although his expression relaxed quite a bit, the gloom in his eyes deepened. He sneered: "You stray dog, how dare you come before me?"

"A petty person, and you want to attain the Dao?"

Lin Qinhu was not annoyed and remained expressionless: "Your name is Daosheng (Born of Dao), yet you will die because of the Dao; it is truly a twist of fate."

"Haha, a mere Outer Transmission Qi Refining cultivator, and you dare to speak so boastfully—eh?"

Yao Daosheng sensed something, but then chuckled again: "I thought you, this Lin Laohu, were a character, but I didn't expect you to have only this much temperament. Could it be that you think you can disregard the True Inheritors of the sect just because you made a hasty breakthrough? Even if you have generated Dharma Power, killing you is like slaughtering a dog."

He pointed his finger into the void and laughed coldly: "A character who has been hovering at the door of the Dao Foundation for ten years, bringing along four pieces of trash who haven't even opened their Hundred Apertures. Ridiculous, ridiculous."

"Follow a tiger and become a tiger, follow a rat and become a rat. You so-called Inner Gate True Inheritor are nothing but a parasite cultivator who enjoys the fruits of others' labor."

Lin Qinhu scanned the many cultivators on the opposite side and said calmly: "The cultivators of our sect base themselves on fierce might. Since you regard yourself so highly, do your disciples dare to fight to the death before the formation?"

Chen Ci: "..." No, Boss, aren't you going to go first?

Yao Daosheng frowned, a flash of surprise in his eyes; he did not answer directly.

Those who come are not good, and those who are good do not come. Since this Lin Qinhu dared to appear here, whether he was here to die or had gone mad, he certainly wasn't here to strike up a friendship. Yao Daosheng believed he could slaughter these ants by himself, so he wasn't worried about anything. After all, he had opened over three hundred apertures during his Qi Refining Stage and had attained a Middle-Upper Grade Dao Foundation many years ago. Although the quality of his Dharma Power was a notch lower than that of an Upper Grade Dao Foundation cultivator, his total volume of Dharma Power was far stronger than this Lin Laohu.

Although this Lin Laohu already had the aura of Dharma Power, his entire body was still surrounded by True Qi. It was clear he had only broken through to the Dao Foundation not long ago and hadn't even had time to refine his True Qi into Dharma Power. He had the realm of the Dao Foundation, but not the substance of it.

Yet, in the span of a few sentences, he had been put on the spot. One must know that a fight to the death between disciples before the formation is a gamble of lives, but what is being contested is the face of those in power.

It is like when the same difficult task is assigned; if others' disciples go forward without hesitation while your disciples hesitate and waver, the difference in quality is immediately apparent even if they are forced to enter the formation under pressure. To any discerning eye, the face has already been lost.

Yao Daosheng was determined to take charge of the Nine Peaks of He Mountain and was vying for the position of an elder with real power. Naturally, he would recruit a base of support, but a fight to the death before the formation was different from other things. Although the people he brought with him dared not disobey him, they also dared not say they would all die for him. If they showed cowardice and caused him to lose face, even if he wiped out that Lin Laohu with a wave of his hand, he would have lost in terms of his ability to command subordinates, and it might even affect his prestige within the sect.

"Which Junior Brother is willing to go into the formation and fight?"

Lin Qinhu said in a calm voice, appearing not to fear that no one would step forward.

Chen Ci's eyes narrowed slightly. Although he had gone all out for this battle, how should he put it? He wanted to advance so badly... but his strength didn't quite allow it. It wasn't cowardice, but a genuine fear of ruining things.

For this first round, he should let the three cheap senior brothers show off... Wait, what do you mean by glancing at me with those eyes?

No, hey, hey, which son of a bitch is pushing me!

Fine, fine, so that's how we're playing, is it?

Chen Ci gave a resentful bow to his own thigh. "I, your servant, have gone all out; Senior Brother, don't you forget our agreement under the pavilion."

Glancing at the opposite side, Chen Ci straightened his clothes, took a few steps forward, took a long breath, and the corners of his mouth sank: "Outer Transmission Chen Ci, here to seek instruction from the senior brothers of the Inner Gate."

(End of chapter)