Chapter 221: Wildfire Cannot Burn It All Away (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Wuling Mountain Area, Xiangxi.

It was another Qingming Festival, the time for the Water Gang's Second Master Shi's caravan to return from south to north.

Second Master Shi had wide connections and was bold; his caravan could always find the goods people wanted. This time, heading south, it was said they had reached deep into the Southern Wilderness. It was just unknown if Second Master Shi could get some of the "Purple Zi Zi Huo Lan Tao Malevolence" unique to that area? That kind of miasma would certainly be useful in Wuling Mountain.

Practitioners downstream of the Yuan River were looking forward to it.

At this moment, the caravan of Second Master Shi, whom they were looking forward to, did not disappoint them. They were heading down the Yuan River, and the goods on the Mountain-Carrying Turtles and River-Drinking Toads were piled like mountains.

On top of the leading River-Drinking Toad, Second Master Shi took out his cherished tea set to entertain someone.

There were quite a few people standing in front of the Daoist temple at this time.

The man was dressed in purple, looking very eye-catching, with the appearance of a wealthy noble. He had a long sword tucked at his waist—a silver sword with a lotus-shaped guard and carp carved on the scabbard.

Looking from afar, his clothes were like a purple mist, setting off a white lotus, making the white lotus appear aloof and the person even more mysterious.

"Meeting for the first time, how can I accept a gift from Daoist Ye?"

Shi Buyu looked at the brocade box handed over by the man in purple and waved his hands repeatedly.

The man in purple smiled.

"What does Master Shi mean by this? Listening to my Daoist brother Cheng Xinzhan, there is nothing in the world that Master Shi dares not accept. Why can't you accept it from me? Could it be that you look down on Lianchen's gift?"

The man's phoenix eyes glanced over, causing Shi Buyu's heart to skip a beat even within his own caravan.

"Haha, Master Shi, listen to me. This Daoist doesn't give gifts blindly."

The man named Ye Lianchen suddenly smiled again.

"Master Shi has long been on the waterways. Although I don't know what cultivation method you practice, my Daoist sect says that isolated Yin cannot grow, and isolated Yang cannot last. Being in the water for a long time, Yin energy must have entered your body. Has Master Shi never noticed that the corners of your eyes are yellow and water poison is showing on your face?"

"This box of 'Cinnabar Ganoderma Stove-Burning Elixirs' can remove the Yin poison from the five internal organs without harming the water essence. Take one every month to regulate blood and Qi. In less than half a year, Master Shi, look at your complexion again; it will certainly be very different."

The man pushed his hand forward again.

Shi Buyu was first unhappy at being choked by the man, but after hearing the elixir's effects, he couldn't help but be moved. After hesitating for a few breaths, he reached out and took it, saying,

"Old Shi usually just collects miscellaneous goods from the mountains. A country mountain man, I haven't seen anything good. Such a precious elixir is truly a heavy gift. Daoist, see if there is anything in my caravan that catches your eye, and feel free to take it."

Ye Lianchen shook his head, then leaned forward, as if he had something to say.

Shi Buyu leaned closer as well.

"Master Shi, you said my Daoist brother Cheng Xinzhan and Daoist brother Shen Zhaoming became famous in Xiangxi for destroying the Soul-Lost Stream. Tell me, can I become famous for the Hanging Coffin Gorge?"

"What!"

Shi Buyu almost jumped up like the River-Drinking Toad, looking at this Daoist who spoke such shocking words with a face full of horror.

Seeing this person looking at him with such a fuss, Shi Buyu only felt the elixir in his hand was a bit hot. He leaned close to Ye Lianchen and lowered his voice.

"Daoist, are you not finding my business boring and deliberately saying these things to tease me, Old Shi?"

Ye Lianchen was displeased, his brows furrowed.

"Why, can't the Hanging Coffin Gorge be touched? It is said that the Soul-Lost Stream and the Hanging Coffin Gorge are equally famous. How come my Daoist brother could destroy the Soul-Lost Stream, but Master Shi feels that this Daoist is joking?"

Shi Buyu slandered in his heart: What kind of person is Daoist Cheng Xinzhan? His Yang arts are the natural nemesis of soul arts, and his first tribulation was the Yellow Heaven Three-Nine Tribulation. Shen Zhaoming's water arts from the Jingming Sect are also unique, and they only narrowly won. What kind of person are you, Ye Lianchen, who suddenly popped up?

Shi Buyu really didn't believe that just anyone coming out of the Mount Sanqing was a heaven-favored genius like Daoist Cheng.

However, Shi Buyu didn't express these words. He just said,

"Daoist Ye, I, Old Shi, am not a person who doesn't care about manners. You were introduced by Daoist Cheng and gave me elixirs, so I will speak clearly. There are two points, Daoist Ye, that you got wrong."

"Oh? This Daoist is all ears."

Ye Lianchen was not annoyed, but instead showed an interested expression.

Shi Buyu said seriously,

"First, the Hanging Coffin Gorge and the Soul-Lost Stream are not the same thing. It's just because in the Xiangxi demonic path, the Hanging Coffin Gorge is first, and the Soul-Lost Stream is second. Others are far behind these two, so the corpse and soul families are often mentioned together. But in reality, the Soul-Lost Stream is far behind the Hanging Coffin Gorge."

"Then why is that?"

Ye Lianchen wondered.

Shi Buyu looked at Ye Lianchen and said slowly,

"Because the souls in Xiangxi are just ordinary souls, but the corpses in Xiangxi are definitely not ordinary corpses."

Ye Lianchen was stunned upon hearing this, then nodded slowly, acknowledging this statement, and said,

"This Daoist has also heard of this. Then I don't know what the second point I got wrong is?"

This time, Shi Buyu changed to a strange and inexplicable expression and said to Ye Lianchen,

"Regarding what I am about to say, first of all, Daoist Ye must not tell Daoist Cheng and Daoist Shen."

Although Ye Lianchen felt this was strange, he still nodded and agreed.

"Master Shi, please speak."

Shi Buyu looked at Ye Lianchen.

"Who told Daoist Ye that the Soul-Lost Stream has already been destroyed?"

Ye Lianchen raised his eyebrows. This sentence made him even more shocked than the first point just now.

"We all know that the White Impermanence is dead, the Soul-Lost Stream is destroyed, and the disciples have scattered like birds and beasts. How can this not be considered destruction?"

Shi Buyu smiled lightly upon hearing this and asked back,

"The two Daoists Cheng and Shen only destroyed the Soul-Lost Stream of the Mengdong River."

"Oh? Could it be that there are several Soul-Lost Streams in Xiangxi?"

Shi Buyu shook his head.

"Yes, and no. Let's put it this way: Daoist Ye, do you know how many times the Soul-Lost Stream has been destroyed in the past thousand years?"

Ye Lianchen seemed to understand, his complexion changed, and he said,

"Master Shi might as well speak more clearly."

Shi Buyu nodded, cleared his throat, and then said,

"We in the Water Gang are all native to Wuling Mountain, unlike the big sects and families, but we do have a heritage. And I dare say, our Water Gang is definitely one of the longest-standing gangs in Wuling Mountain, so we are clear about some things that have been witnessed and passed down from generation to generation."

"This Soul-Lost Stream, the current one is called Soul-Lost Stream, the previous one was called Soul-Calling Cave, and the one before that was called Wandering Soul Mountain. It has been destroyed time and time again, the name has been changed again and again, and that green mist has been born and dissipated, dissipated and born."

"But every time, within fifty years, a new force will rise, exactly the same as the past. It's just that I don't know where the green mist will rise next time, and what the next Soul-Lost Stream will be called."

Ye Lianchen didn't expect such a story. He was silent for a moment, then asked,

"Master Shi, please give me some pointers."

Since things had reached this point, Shi Buyu was not afraid to be more explicit.

"The fundamental reason is that Xiangxi is not a peaceful place; it is demonic soil. Demonic path, speaking of it, has many methods, but the ones that truly count as the mainstream are only soul, corpse, blood, poison, and insect. So as long as there is a place where the demonic path gathers, people who cultivate souls and refine souls will never disappear."

Ye Lianchen nodded.

Shi Buyu continued,

"And the soul-refining cultivators in Xiangxi can always gather into a force that is not small and has never had a break in heritage. I think Daoist Ye should have guessed that there must be someone supporting this behind the scenes."

Speaking of this, Shi Buyu shook his head and sighed.

"If it were really as simple as eradicating one family or one sect, why would the Three Kings Temple hide from the world, and why would the sword of the True Martial Temple Master have worked for hundreds of years without stopping?"

Ye Lianchen said in a deep voice, "Then I don't know what Master Shi's guess is?"

Shi Buyu smiled slightly. "This, Old Shi, I really don't know. Old Shi can only guess that it is a large sect with a long heritage. And when it comes to large sects with long heritages, I think if we really want to investigate, the Mount Sanqing will certainly be easier than my small gang in the mountains."

Ye Lianchen pondered for a moment, then handed over another bottle of elixir.

"Just now Master Shi said that the demonic path is nothing more than 'soul, corpse, blood, poison, insect.' This Daoist deeply agrees. I think in the land of Wuling, miasma is rampant and poisonous insects are numerous. Our Water Gang must also be disturbed by it. This Daoist has a bottle of antidote here, which is very easy to use and is a secret product not passed on outside the Mount Sanqing."

Shi Buyu's heart skipped a beat again, thinking that this Daoist Ye's words and actions had a pressing flavor, which was very different from the restrained Daoist Cheng, but every word and action happened to scratch his heart.

He took the elixir bottle again, seemingly with some questions, and said,

"The elixirs of the Three Pure Sect must be good elixirs. Like us grass-roots duckweeds, picking some wild fruits from the mountains and boiling them into medicine is already an incredible thing. Where would we understand alchemy!"

"But I, Old Shi, am puzzled. The demonic path in mountain gullies like the Soul-Lost Stream is also good at alchemy. Qin Tianzong, who angered the two Daoists Cheng and Shen and directly led to the destruction of the Soul-Lost Stream, liked alchemy very much. And Old Shi heard that there are far more than just Qin Tianzong who like alchemy in the Soul-Lost Stream. I don't know where they learned their alchemy methods."

After speaking, Shi Buyu began to fiddle with his tea set and stopped talking.

Ye Lianchen changed his complexion.

How could he not hear the subtext of Shi Buyu!

External alchemy is a major branch of the Daoist sect, and there are many who are good at alchemy. But in the world today, if external alchemy is used to specifically refer to a major sect, then everyone will think of the same one.

It's the Longhu Mountain again!

Ye Lianchen held his sword tightly. It seems that the water in Xiangxi is far deeper than he thought.

After a long while, he suddenly let go of the sword and took the tea handed by Shi Buyu.

"The Soul-Lost Stream is still like this, presumably the Hanging Coffin Gorge will not be any worse?"

Shi Buyu really didn't speak, just drank tea.

Ye Lianchen no longer pursued this question, drank the tea in one gulp. No matter, fighting the tribulation with heaven is endless joy, fighting demons with earth is endless joy, and fighting with people is also endless joy!

————

The caravan went down the Yuan River. After a few days, they came to the place where the Yuan River and the Wu River meet.

There was a mountain here, named Tianqiao Mountain, meaning the sheath of heaven, shrouded in dark clouds all year round, without seeing the sun, which was the location of the Hanging Coffin Gorge, the number one demonic sect in Xiangxi.

Master Shi's caravan stopped a distance before the intersection of the river.

The Water Gang does business without distinguishing between Daoist and demonic sects. The Hanging Coffin Gorge is also their seller and buyer.

Ye Lianchen was now sealed in an ice coffin in the caravan, but he had already felt it. This ice coffin was mainly used to isolate the fire evil energy, and there were no other Dharma prohibitions. Although his Green-Eyed Dharma Eye had not been practiced long enough on this incarnation, it was more than enough to see through this ice coffin.

I saw that Tianqiao Mountain was shaped like an inverted coffin, the mountain ridge was rugged like exposed dragon bones, the west side of the mountain was cut out by the Wu River into a hundred-zhang cliff, and the river channel at the east foot connected to the Yuan River turned sharply. The two waters met, and the water evil washed the mountain roots day and night, causing the earth energy to be damp and stagnant.

The water vapor steamed up along the mountain wall, connected to the dark clouds on the top of the mountain, blocking the sun and locking the Yang all year round.

Ye Lianchen was amazed.

He had read the books on observing Qi and raising corpses thoroughly. Just by looking at it, he could see many ways. The mountain became a "living coffin land," the cliff became a "hanging corpse cliff," the water became a "Yin fish mouth," and the clouds became "corpse saliva clouds." It was simply a ready-made treasure book of raising corpses.

On the way, Shi Buyu also told Ye Lianchen that Xiangxi is good at producing zombies, and this place is even more so.

The Water Gang is good at using turtles, toads, fish, and snakes to transport goods, and the Lu Bang is good at using horses, tigers, centipedes, and pythons. But the latter is special. They also use corpse driving to transport goods, and sometimes the corpse itself is the goods they want to trade, so the Lu Bang's corpse drivers are very famous in Xiangxi.

But listening to Shi Buyu, even the most experienced corpse driver has to bypass this place, otherwise the talisman paper will be completely black, the corpse will grow green armor, and it will no longer obey the corpse driver's orders, but will walk into Tianqiao Mountain by itself.

The Lu Bang's corpse drivers have a saying: "Don't rest at Tianqiao Ferry, the Yuan River turns and ghosts grind their teeth," which refers to the extremely Yin pattern of this mountain and water entanglement.

The Water Gang has never had this concern and is very popular in the Hanging Coffin Gorge. Only this time, it was really an accident. This time, Shi Buyu collected a batch of high-quality corpses in the Southern Wilderness and wanted to sell them to the Hanging Coffin Gorge, so he stopped far away.

Seeing the caravan stop, someone from the Hanging Coffin Gorge came to greet them.

Three people flew out of Tianqiao Mountain, all in black faces and black robes. After these three people talked to Shi Buyu, they came to the Mountain-Carrying Turtle where Ye Lianchen was sitting.

The backs of the Water Gang's Mountain-Carrying Turtles were covered with high buildings, three or five stories low, eight or nine stories high. The ice coffin where Ye Lianchen was located and the other twelve ice coffins were placed on the bottom floor. Shi Buyu and the three people from the Hanging Coffin Gorge walked in.

When the three approached, Ye Lianchen could see that their black robes were pure black, like ink. But their masks were blood-red, covered with small black ghosts, so they looked black from a distance, and when viewed up close, the red in the gaps between the small ghosts showed through like bloodshot eyes.

These three could not see their age or expression. One of them said with a hoarse voice,

"Master Shi, what kind of good corpses did you bring back from the Southern Wilderness this time, and you even sent a message specifically."

Shi Buyu laughed so hard he couldn't find his eyes, waved his hand, and a caravan worker opened an ice coffin beside Ye Lianchen.

This is!

Before the three from the Hanging Coffin Gorge could react, Ye Lianchen had already widened his eyes.

He forced Shi Buyu to find a way to mix him into the Hanging Coffin Gorge, so when Shi Buyu said that there was a batch of corpses transported from the Southern Wilderness in his caravan to be sold to the Hanging Coffin Gorge, and let him pretend to be a corpse sealed in an ice coffin, Ye Lianchen agreed. For the time being, he had no way to say anything about Shi Buyu's behavior of trading corpses.

After entering the ice coffin, he held the idea of not looking at what shouldn't be looked at, and never thought of looking through the ice coffin to see the corpse.

So until this moment, he saw the corpse Shi Buyu wanted to sell this time, and also understood why Shi Buyu said proudly that he was selling a rare fire evil corpse this time.

Because more than twenty years had passed, he still recognized the corpse lying in the ice coffin at a glance.

Bai Heqiao!

A Miao friend he met at the Qili River market!

The day of the true evil rushing into the acupoint, he entered the Rotten Taoshan with himself!

That's right, that day he died in Rotten Taoshan, his corpse fell into the evil acupoint, and after being eroded by the "Purple Zi Zi Huo Lan Tao Malevolence" for more than twenty years, it is indeed worthy of being called a rare fire evil corpse!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 222 =====