Chapter 1083: Scattered Opportunities Draw Cultivators, Righteous and Demonic Battle Blooms the Lotus

After queuing for several hours, they finally stepped onto the portal woven from willow branches on the side of Ba Bridge.

Golden willow branches shuttled through the void from time to time, dragging cultivators out of the portal and tossing them into the Ba River.

Jiang Shang saw those pure gold willow branches; a casual swipe tore through the void, shuttling back and forth like flying swords, incomparably profound.

After leaving his village to venture out, he had also studied and practiced diligently, clutching the Daoist scriptures of Daoist Zhen every day, refining a Earthly Fiend Dragon-Snake Sword of the heterodox path until it could change size at will and shuttle freely.

Only because of this was he noticed and befriended by Senior Sister Yan Cai, who possessed a Supreme Jin Dan.

But compared to the sword techniques demonstrated by those willow branches, his swordplay was as clumsy as a child's!

Shen Bao, however, only looked at the cultivators being dragged out and sighed: "Why are they being thrown out?"

A young cultivator in front glanced at the two of them. Seeing that they were very young and their cultivation bases were quite extraordinary, he said half-mockingly and half-jealously: "Why? They made a killing!"

"The senior immortals of the Louguan Sect opened this blessed land, but they aren't raising locusts."

"Once one harvests too many spirit herbs and exceeds the limit, they will be pulled out of the blessed land by this divine willow... Even so, each of them has likely earned about a thousand strings of cash!"

"The opportunity in this blessed land is like counting money in a sack."

"Although it is rumored that there is quite a bit of vendetta and looting inside, and that the Illusory Moon Pinghu is even more incomparably dangerous, as long as one is careful and restrains their greed, going in once is a huge fortune!"

Shen Bao's face was full of yearning.

A Chang'an cultivator nearby said with yearning: "These days, near Chang'an, hundreds of people have successively formed their cores, and there are even several who have achieved Supreme Golden Cores!"

"In the past, where could you see so many cultivators?"

"Even those who have just reached Foundation Establishment, or haven't even reached it yet, all want to sneak in... As long as they aren't greedy and consume one or two spirit herbs, the possibility of Foundation Establishment is still there."

"Although there is slaughter within the cave heaven, it isn't intense yet, but outside the cave heaven, dozens of people have already been intercepted and killed, just to snatch the spirit herbs they brought out."

An old cultivator pointed at the Ba River.

Sure enough, those cultivators who were pulled out by the Golden Divine Willow and fell into the river scrambled up in a panic. When they wanted to flee, there would always be several people with murderous intent nearby who disappeared along with them!

"Nowadays, many cultivators don't dare to harvest too many spirit herbs for fear of being driven out."

"They only shallowly harvest some spirit herbs that are easy to refine, like yellow essence and lingzhi, and then go off in pursuit of the Cloud Script..."

The old cultivator lectured: "The so-called Cloud Script is the manifestation of the Dao qi practiced by the Louguan Sect immortals within the blessed land. The Dao is originally void, and things exist because of trance; the primordial qi begins, riding the transformation of fortune to take shape. Thus, the dark silence senses and connects, hence obtaining the Jade Slips and Purple Script, only then passing on the learning of the generation; the Jade Box and Cinnabar Formulas descend to aid the floating life!"

"You little cultivators, rather than rushing to harvest spirit herbs and being sent back by the Willow God, it is better to harvest a little bit, then visit the various wonders, see the morning clouds and evening glow, and comprehend the talismanic Great Dao upon them."

"By consuming spirit herbs in this way and practicing on the spot, even if you are driven away another day, your cultivation base cannot be taken away!"

The cultivators listening nearby all nodded one after another, exclaiming: "The old gentleman speaks perfectly!"

The old cultivator sighed: "This old man can't do it... I can't bear to let my children and grandchildren take risks. At this age, comprehending any wonderful methods or Dao formulas is also delusional. This Cinnabar Spirit Response Wonderful Formula is hard to put on paper; if my descendants obtain it, I'm afraid it's not as good as buying a popular scripture in the market."

"I can only gamble once and seek some good medicine!"

"If I can bring some spirit herbs out, it can be considered leaving a legacy for my descendants!"

"Next to it is Chang'an City, why not enter Chang'an directly after coming out?"

"The Falconry Official and the Dragon Herding Official have long known you would think this way. They are currently collecting an 'entry tax'. They have invited dozens of cultivators who are good at observing qi and have refined Dharma Eyes to watch at the city gate. If you enter the city, they will collect half as tax!"

"Eagle claws!"

"Dog legs!"

"Damn it, things left by the senior immortals of the Louguan Sect for their descendants, they are plundering like this, they really don't want their faces anymore!"

"Now I finally know why so many people are being robbed. Rather than being robbed by them, it's better to fight with the bandits!"

"Robbery is actually not easy. After coming out, many people's cultivation bases have advanced by leaps and bounds. Caught off guard, the bandits have also suffered many casualties!"

A loose cultivator sighed sincerely.

Others looked at him with strange eyes, but saw him say generously: "That's right, among those who robbed the road before, there was a share of mine. Unfortunately, my partner had no eye for people and chose a cultivator who had formed a core inside. Among the group of several people, only I survived. Isn't this also coming to try my luck?"

"Have you heard? The day before yesterday, a golden lotus bloomed in the lake. All nine lotus seeds can be transformed into a lotus platform. It is a natural Buddhist treasure, incomparably profound. Just by sitting on the lotus platform, one can become a Buddha and attain the Dao!"

A monk was not at all pure as a renunciant, and said extremely venally.

But the locals of Chang'an had more well-informed news: "The most powerful one is still the second son of the Li family. It is said that he found a group of partners and ran rampant in the blessed land."

"He has repeatedly injured and suppressed many people!"

"Many aristocratic family disciples say that he turns his face and doesn't recognize people, and his methods are extremely ruthless. Whenever a lotus flower guarded by someone blooms, he ignores the rules and goes up to snatch it. He has already defeated dozens of people in a row and seized many spirit objects. He has truly aroused public anger! Now, many aristocratic family disciples in the blessed land have joined forces and released word that they want to suppress him."

"Zheng Yin of the Xingyang Zheng family, who achieved a First-Rank Jin Dan, was also ambushed and suppressed by him!"

Another well-informed person said: "It was because the Zheng family had another disciple who entered with a magic treasure that they managed to rescue him. Now the one leading the trouble for the second son of Li is him!"

"A First-Rank Jin Dan was suppressed?"

"It is said that the companion beside the second son of Li also has a monk with a First-Rank Jin Dan, and he is evenly matched with Zheng Yin."

"Now both sides are accumulating great momentum, wanting to compete for a red lotus in the center of the lake!"

Disciples of the Demon Consciousness Sect actively squeezed into the crowd, spreading news. Every sentence carried hidden demons. As long as people's hearts were shaken, the hidden demons would sneak into them and turn into all kinds of demonic thoughts.

"That red lotus has been seen by several cultivators who have practiced Dharma Eyes and Heavenly Eyes, and all of them say it is the essence of this blessed land gathered together."

"The red lotus is like a small mountain, like a burning flame! The second son of the Pei family, relying on the Heavenly Star Dharma Eye to observe the feng shui situation, saw nine spirit veins from the lotus mountain range gathering into the flat lake to nourish that lotus flower."

"Just this alone, the spirit objects nurtured by this red lotus will be enough to defy heaven... But there is also the essence of the sun and moon, and the essence of the five elements nurturing it."

"If it weren't born in a blessed land where Primordial Spirit True Immortals cannot enter, I'm afraid it would have already triggered a Primordial Spirit battle. Even so, when the red lotus blooms, many Primordial Spirits will send their disciples to come with sect-protecting treasures."

"Don't look at the fact that many people have great momentum now, but this is the real test!"

The Demon Consciousness Sect disciples wagged their tongues and stirred people's hearts.

But they heard a sharp shout, coming with peerless pressure, riding above everyone's heads.

A young man in Daoist robes with fluttering wide sleeves stood above the crowd and said: "Where did the demon come from to bewitch people's hearts and release demons wantonly?"

He reached out and pointed, and a Dharma seal fell. Dozens of black shadow demons manifested, but were covered by the golden Dharma seal and vanished into nothingness.

That Dharma seal did not decrease in momentum and was about to land on the head of the Demon Consciousness Sect disciple mixed in the crowd.

Yet he saw his figure split, and dozens of shadows stood before the wicker gate, chuckling as they said, "The Kongtong Sect has also arrived!"

"Hehe, your sect practices Dharma seals, but such powerful magic is definitely not from your hands. You probably also brought Dharma seals left by your predecessors!"

"Carrying the treasures of predecessors to compete for spirit objects, that's exactly the kind of people you are!"

"But since the Louguan Sect doesn't forbid magic treasures and relics of predecessors, there are probably things inside to restrain you!"

"The Chu family of Henan brought a piece of calligraphy the day before yesterday, wanting to suppress others, but it was snatched away by a little monster..."

"The ancestral magic treasure invited out by the Liu family of Zhong Shan couldn't beat that white deer and was also snatched away!"

"I hope your Kongtong Dharma seal is no exception..."

The lingering sound was faint, and the demon turned into the portal and disappeared.

Only the true disciple of the Kongtong Sect was left frowning: "Better than you demons. None of the white deer in the blessed land like you. Without the cloud qi bestowed, it's hard to even cross the flat lake!"

"Hehe... that's not necessarily true!"

The last strand of sound transmission from the blessed land drifted over.

But it made the Kongtong true disciple shake his head and sigh: "The senior ancestors of Louguan are too open-minded, actually allowing these demons to enter."

"Although it is also the Dao of inaction, if these demons benefit, isn't it the common people of the world who suffer?"

Jiang Shang and Shen Bao looked at each other, both feeling that the water in the blessed land was getting muddier and muddier!

But they had no choice. Although the Central Lands were vast and rich in products, every place was owned by someone. By comparison, this blessed land was truly a great opportunity.

Immediately, the two stepped out together and entered the blessed land.

What met their eyes was still green mountains like emeralds, and rich spiritual energy rushed towards them, but the scene where strange flowers and herbs, lingzhi and precious medicines were scattered under the pines everywhere had long since vanished.

For a thousand miles around, it was like being gnawed by locusts, with pits left after harvesting medicine everywhere.

Even those spirit pines as thick as a person's embrace had people harvesting resin...

Jiang Shang looked at this scene and couldn't help but say: "No wonder that divine willow wants to throw people out. These cultivators are really digging three feet into the ground, not letting go of any good things."

Shen Bao disagreed: "This is already considered good! If it weren't for the limit on the number of harvests, I suspect these big pines would have been cut down by people to burn for ink..."

A loose cultivator harvesting pine resin nearby heard this and grinned: "The little brother is quite clever. It's not that no one cuts down trees, but that these trees take up a large quota, and often after cutting down one or two, they are driven out!"

"I see that the mountains and forests here are quite vast, why does the fellow Daoist only stay here to harvest pine resin?"

Jiang Shang stepped forward and smiled lightly.

The man put away his cutting knife and said: "I am just burning ink. The pine resin here is of supreme quality, and its quality is only comparable to the spirit pines of Mount Huang. Rather than risking going deep into the blessed land, it is better to earn money that can be seen."

"There are tens of millions of spirit pines here. I have harvested several baskets and haven't been driven out yet. It should be that the Willow God doesn't look down on pine resin and lets us harvest it!"

Shen Bao's expression moved, and he looked at Jiang Shang. They seemed to have touched upon some rules of this Louguan Sect blessed land.

"Is it taking in a proper way?"

Shen Gongbao nodded: "Although it's safe, it can't make big money! Our brothers want to achieve a First-Rank Jin Dan. With our foundation, we must have a great opportunity!"

Jiang Shang agreed deeply. He climbed a small mountain nearby, took out a bottle of spirit medicine and applied it to his eyes, then narrowed his eyes and looked vaguely with his peripheral vision.

Sure enough, he vaguely saw many colorful qi rushing into the sky, each forming strange phenomena.

Those were spirit herbs that were hard to find in the outside world. Here, every hilltop had more or less spiritual energy rushing into the sky!

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Jiang Shang gasped, and Shen Bao asked nervously from the side: "What's wrong? Are all the good things picked by the people in front!"

His face sank, and he touched the magic treasure in his sleeve and pondered: "If so, our brothers can only do a business without capital once!"

Jiang Shang shook his head and said: "There are too many! They can't be harvested at all!"

"Little Leopard, the experience of hanging out in the Nine Truths Great Marsh in the past is probably useless!"

He raised his head slightly, looked at the flat lake surrounded by mountains, and sighed: "If we search according to the references of the past, I'm afraid we won't find any real good things in this life."

Shen Bao looked at the Illusory Moon Lake and said helplessly: "I have inquired before. The quality of spirit herbs and spirit objects in the Illusory Moon Lake is indeed extremely high, but they are all hidden in layers of illusions. Now many people have sunk inside, and the illusions are becoming more and more terrifying. Most of the people missing in the blessed land now are because of greed and sinking into the lake!"

"I actually think that robbery is faster. Relying on the poison pills you refine, and my delicate mind, doing seven or eight jobs is not a problem."

Jiang Shang looked helpless. After he and Little Leopard left the Nine Truths Commandery, they each had their own encounters.

Relying on his natural good looks, he could still circulate among the aristocratic families to mix in. Little Leopard probably had already gone astray and done a few jobs!

Jiang Shang also noticed that Shen Bao had secretly practiced demonic magic.

But such things could not be persuaded just because the two had a good relationship.

Didn't Jiang Shang himself rely on his alchemy skills and a few magic formulas obtained by chance, and didn't tell Little Leopard?

"Let's go find the white deer first!" Jiang Shang said decisively: "In the Pinghu Blessed Land, those few white deer are the most important. Everyone says that without the cloud qi under their feet, one cannot cross the Illusory Moon Lake..."

The two tied armor horses to their feet and rushed, taking several hours to reach the foot of a green cliff beside the flat lake.

The cliff body was crisp and clear, like high-quality jade. The side facing the lake was vertical and flat like a mirror. The condensed jade that was almost one body was incomparably hard. Even if a sword pill with sword qi and thunder sound was used to stab it, it couldn't break a white dot.

In this green cliff, the shadow of a Daoist was reflected, which was a relic of the senior immortals of the Louguan Sect.

Every morning, when the sunlight first sprinkled on the stone wall, one could see the immortal dancing with a sword. The profoundness of the sword technique, if one accidentally obtained a move or half a move, could make the sword technique advance greatly.

At other times, if someone used their own sword intent to guide it, the sword box on the immortal's lap would ring by itself.

The white deer would descend from the mountain and bestow a strand of cloud qi...

At this time, it was evening, and large pieces of golden glow were collected into the green cliff.

The clouds and glow twisted, revealing many mysterious and unpredictable traces...

Jiang Shang became obsessed as soon as he saw it!

He found a place to sit down and began to comprehend those characters, because the floating patterns of those golden glows were very similar to the mist of pill qi when he refined spirit pills at his best.

…………

Outside the Fire Red Lotus in the center of the lake, Zheng Yin, who no longer had any look of contempt, rode a golden dragon.

Behind him were several aristocratic family disciples with equally extraordinary momentum.

They confronted Li Xiuzuan, and the momentum of both sides rubbed against each other, with small conflicts.

Pei Erke held a compass in his hand, only focusing on observing the trembling of the floating needle. After a long time, he sighed: "There is no star reflection here. The biggest advantage of my Heavenly Star Dharma Eye cannot be exerted, and the Luan Tou Sect is good at observing the situation, seeking dragons, sand, and water..."

"But the situation of this terrain is clear. The mountains are like a lotus flower surrounding a lake. Even if there are dragons winding around sand to form water, it is projected onto these lotus flowers."

"The red lotus has obtained all the spiritual energy of the blessed land and will surely nurture supreme treasures!"

"But how to observe the treasure color and seek the qi rhyme is not my specialty."

Zheng Yin's expression remained unchanged: "Speak human language!"

"The dragon-seeking and earth-vein seeking of my Taiyi Sect belongs to the Luan Tou Sect, which emphasizes judging the shape and meaning, while the Louguan Sect is the leader of the Li Qi Sect, specializing in observing qi!"

Pei Erke spread his hands helplessly: "Everyone's orthodoxy is different, it's very difficult!"

"We have been waiting for a month! This lotus flower has no intention of blooming at all..."

Zheng Yin said: "The news of the Louguan Blessed Land is spreading wider and wider, and more and more people carrying heavy treasures will come. There are many people staring at this Fire Red Lotus. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid we won't be able to suppress those strong dragons crossing the river."

Pei Erke curled his lips: "Without me, I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to suppress this group of people like the second son of Li!"

Li Xiuzuan also asked Cui Dan in a low voice: "There have been several confrontations in the past few days, and there are more and more onlookers. Have you found any clues to open the red lotus?"

"Could it be that we also need to have an epiphany like Zhi Society, that the lotus flower is in one's own heart?"

Cui Dan repeatedly observed the qi and color, and shook his head: "The red qi crosses the sky for three thousand zhang, hanging upside down in the firmament covering five colors. This red lotus must have nurtured something very extraordinary!"

"But no matter how I calculate, the time has not come..."

"I probably know what time to wait for!"

Li Xiuzuan turned back and said happily: "Nineteenth brother... no... Uncle Zhong!"

Li Zhong rode a white deer, carrying a sword and a bow. Li Xiuzuan looked at the bow and sword carried by Li Zhong with envy.

What kind of equipment is that, and what kind of equipment am I?

Autumn Water Hong Sword.

It's just a good famous sword, crafted by the famous craftsmen of the Xue family imitating that batch of Pu Yuan divine swords of the former Ji Han.

The Trembling Gall Spear is also just a divine long spear, stored in the armory left by the former Xiliang Kingdom of the Li family.

The Divine Sparrow Golden Fetus Bow is quite good, it's from the same batch as Li Zhong's bow, a batch of military equipment collected at the Golden Tiger Terrace that the Cao family tried their best to build!

The Yellow Piebald Horse, although it is also a famous dragon-breed horse, I'm afraid it's not as good as the four horses pulling my father's carriage.

And Li Zhong carries the Divine Sparrow Golden Fetus Bow and crosses the Great Xia Longque Sword.

The Copper Sparrow Spear in his hand is a divine weapon manifested by a magic treasure, and the white deer under his crotch, although it is a water essence auspicious beast, has demonic qi that is dense and killing intent that is shocking.

Only heard Li Zhong pull the white deer and say lightly: "I let the white deer take me around the flat lake. There are several places that are very strange, especially a blood-stained gravel beach. The sword marks there are very strange, and the red marks on the gravel are like bloodstains, even that flat lake is turning red!"

As he spoke, Li Zhong closed his eyes slightly, and the broken sword in his hand was suddenly pulled out.

The sword light rolled with a strand of red, and it slashed exactly on the red lotus!

But saw the lotus flower move slightly, as if bowing its head, and the flower bud that had been quiet for a long time suddenly bloomed a little.

Triggering movement in all directions.

Li Zhong then put away his sword and said: "If this lotus flower wants to bloom, it needs to lead the demonic nature. Only after it suppresses enough demonic nature will it bloom!"

Li Xiuzuan suddenly realized: "We have to feed demons to it?"

"The senior immortals of the Louguan Sect have too much killing intent! Need to use the demonic path to sacrifice the lotus before it can open?"

Li Zhong explained: "This Fire Red Lotus is mostly a thing for refining demons by the senior immortals of the Louguan Sect in the past. The things nurtured in it are just incidental to refining demons. The blessed land has been closed for a long time, and there is no more demonic nature for the lotus flower to refine, so it has been slow to open!"

These words were not hidden from Zheng Yin in the distance. They looked at each other and confirmed that they had not misunderstood.

Zheng Yin only spoke slowly and said four words.

"Righteous and Demonic Great Battle!"

This is to let a slaughter between the righteous and the demonic break out in the blessed land!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1084 =====