Chapter 343

Yan Shu stood on a reef in an unnamed sea area of the East Sea, surrounded by many messy corpses; the severed limbs and broken remains had dyed the seawater red. Before him, three Core Formation cultivators raised their magic treasures, aiming at him from afar.

Yan Shu took out his wine pouch and drank three large gulps in a row.

The clear liquor flowed from his thick beard all the way down to his Adam's apple. Brother Yan's Adam's apple bobbed, looking quite satisfied.

The three people standing before him, though clearly hostile, dared not seize this golden opportunity and only used their magic treasures to protect themselves.

One of the loose cultivators in black shouted arrogantly: "Yan Shu, you've killed so many of our people. My six sworn brothers have had five killed by you. You even dare to offend the Long Gong, and the overseas Buddhist sects hate you to the bone. That is why those of us whose friends and family you killed laid a trap to lure you here and ambush you!"

"Although you are ruthless enough and have killed so many of us."

"But the Third Dragon King of the Long Gong has already stirred up a storm to block your Shaoqing reinforcements! Having killed so many of us, you are already at the end of your rope. Soon, several Long Gong princes will arrive to take the head of a madman like you! We may not be your match, but holding you off until then is no problem!"

The black-clad loose cultivator wanted to break Yan Shu's spirit, but unexpectedly, Yan Shu just wiped away some residual wine and asked with a smile: "I have killed too many demons and monsters; may I ask which ones were your sworn brothers?"

The black-clad loose cultivator's face twitched. He looked at Yan Shu as if he were looking at some kind of demon: "Our seven brothers set up our cave dwelling on Purple Moon Island, and people call us the Seven Island Masters of Purple Moon Island. My third, fourth, and fifth brothers were killed by you because of a verbal dispute. I and my remaining brothers came to seek revenge, and my second and seventh brothers were also just killed by you. My sixth brother fled... leaving only me, the Great Island Master of Purple Moon Island, True Person Po Yue!"

"So it was the people of Purple Moon Island..." Yan Shu smiled slightly, then shook his head and said: "I didn't kill your three brothers because of a verbal dispute, but because they secretly acted as pirates, intercepting and killing the merchant fleets of the sea nations under the protection of my Shaoqing."

"And they even blood-sacrificed thousands of people among them to refine demonic magic treasures!"

Yan Shu finished speaking calmly, then turned his head to ask another taciturn, thin, and withered old man: "What about you? Who of yours did I kill?"

The thin, withered old man cupped his hands and said: "My two sons were the Black Wind Twin Evils, who often intercepted and killed loose cultivators and committed many evil deeds!"

"You must be from Wuchen Island!" Yan Shu laughed: "Your 'Clouds and Mist Entwining Hundred Illusions Kill' is used quite well!"

The thin, withered old man nodded and said: "I dare not bring disaster upon my sect, so please forgive me for not being able to show my true face!"

The last Buddhist monk, holding prayer beads and chanting scriptures incessantly, stopped chanting before Yan Shu could speak. His tone contained immense pain and resentment as he said: "The monks killed by Benefactor Yan were all my senior brothers!"

"Huan Hai, the most famous novice of the younger generation of the Buddhist Konghai Temple..."

Yan Shu recognized him.

He nodded slightly and laughed loudly: "If the Third Dragon King of the Long Gong dares to stir up a storm to block my Shaoqing, naturally my elders will go to take its life. As for you lot, I shall cut you down under my sword. I hope that after you die, you can be without resentment or regret, and not fail your life's work!"

The black-clad loose cultivator's hands trembled slightly, and the thin, withered old man's expression was indifferent and calm; he actually had a hint of being without resentment or regret.

Novice Huan Hai, who had vowed to eliminate all external demons for the Buddhist sect and thus had not taken the precepts, opened his hands and cast his prayer beads, sending circles of light toward Yan Shu.

Behind Yan Shu's head, a brilliant sword pellet leaped out. With a slight flicker, it split into sixteen sword lights, cutting down the prayer beads.

The black-clad loose cultivator and the thin, withered old man also unleashed their magic treasures, casting their most prized spells. One spat out endless black flames, within which a purple moonlight curved like a hook—a formidable magic treasure. The old man transformed into rolling smoke and clouds, surging toward Yan Shu; no one knew how many killing moves were hidden within that impenetrable smoke.

Sixteen sword lights slashed down, sword qi soaring to the heavens.

The sword light was like a thunderbolt, stern and inviolable. Facing the sword light directly, all three felt the heroic spirit soaring to the clouds and the world-despising fighting intent within it.

The sword light turned once, shattering the string of prayer beads. Immediately following the sixteen sword lights, one sword light, the dimmest yet the sharpest, pierced through Huan Hai's protective Buddhist light in a single strike.

The sword pellet passed through his skull and emerged!

Huan Hai fell into the seawater below without a sound, becoming an inconspicuous floating corpse in this killing field.

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, the sword light split once more. Thirty-two sword lights shuttled through the clouds and mist, and sounds of hacking and killing came from within. A moment later, eight or nine pieces of shredded corpses fell from the clouds and mist.

True Person Po Yue let out a desperate roar, and his crescent-moon-like magic treasure shot out, only to be twisted by the sword light and fixed in the void. A miserable smile appeared on his face as his corpse fell backward. Yan Shu dispersed the sword qi that had seeped into the seawater and surged up to his feet from the undercurrent.

Looking around at the piles of bones beside him, Yan Shu's heart was like black iron, never wavering in the slightest.

"Even at the end of my rope, I can still kill you lot!" Brother Yan drove the sword light, dragging his weary, scarred body, and used the sword light to roll up the magic treasures and storage bags of the few, then looked back one last time.

In the distance, when the Long Gong princes went into battle, the demonic qi of the countless sea-race demon soldiers surrounding them gathered together, already shooting straight into the clouds.

Yet Yan Shu took a step and returned to the Land of Samsara!

Stepping through the stone gate, Yan Shu arrived in the Blessed Land of the Cloud Terrace. He saw Qian Chen practicing Qi absorption on the calm lake, with surging clear Qi permeating the sky above the Blessed Land, resembling a blue sky.

Amidst the rolling blue sky, there was a muffled sound of thunder, and within that clear Qi was a pill Qi, rolling like thunder, accumulating a thunderous opportunity that made Yan Shu's hair stand on end...

Seeing this, Yan Shu laughed: "Qian Shidi has polished his cultivation for several years and has made progress, but why haven't you formed your Core yet? If you don't form your Core soon, I'll be catching up to you!"

Qian Chen withdrew his magic power and opened his eyes. Once he saw Yan Shu, he couldn't look away. Yan Shu was currently entwined with malevolent qi, and the residual sword qi on his body was shockingly sharp, yet he himself was like a supreme sword scabbard, firmly locking that aura away.

Qian Chen laughed: "Why is Yan Yan Shixiong covered in killing intent? And you have some injuries? Moreover, Yan Yan Shixiong, you wouldn't really be waiting for me, would you, which is why you haven't taken that step?"

Yan Shu laughed: "Bad luck, I killed too many people overseas and was ambushed by their friends and family. Even the Long Gong took action; a Primordial Spirit Dragon King blocked my sect's reinforcements and wanted to surround and kill me!"

"Don't I have the Land of Samsara protecting me? I'm not afraid of them! This battle can be considered as polishing the last bit of impurity in my sword embryo. In the next Samsara world, I will find an opportunity to form my Core!"

Yan Shu came to the lakeside and sat down, calling for a white deer to bring him a fairy herb, which he mashed and applied to his wounds.

Qian Chen cupped his hands and said: "Then I wish Yan Yan Shixiong success in forming a First-Rank Core and shocking the four seas with your sword!"

"Haha..." Yan Shu laughed heroically.

But Qian Chen knew how difficult these three years had been for this Yan Yan Shixiong Yan. Just seeing that the elixirs Qian Chen had gifted him were exhausted, he knew that in the hundreds of battles, large and small, he had killed countless Core Formation cultivators, and he didn't know how many life-and-death situations he had experienced to polish his sword embryo and take that step.

If it weren't for the fact that there were truly many cultivators overseas, if he were in the Central Lands, he would have long since become a great demon king that stops children from crying!

Qian Chen casually picked up a green-skinned gourd beside him and handed it to Yan Shu. Yan Shu also casually took it, opened it, and smelled it, exclaiming: "Three years no see, Qian Shidi's pill-refining heat is becoming more and more proficient, but this is too much! I've killed so many people, and the elixirs I snatched haven't been this many!"

"The elixirs outside have too much pill poison, and their origins are also problematic. I'm afraid someone has left schemes in them. Moreover..." Qian Chen revealed a hint of a wry smile: "I was blocked in the Land of Samsara for two years, so I could only bitterly cultivate my magic power and refine some elixirs in my spare time!"

"Now..." Qian Chen pointed to the Cloud Tower in the Blessed Land, where more than a dozen similar small gourds were placed: "The mature spirit herbs in the Blessed Land have almost been used up by me. Now, I don't have much else, but elixirs are plenty... but Yan Yan Shixiong, haven't you noticed that the white deer here have gotten fat?"

Yan Shu looked back and saw Qian Chen's own little deer, clicking his tongue: "Oh my! Is it swollen?"

Qian Chen was helpless: "I was busy refining pills and cultivating, and busy suppressing something, so I didn't have time to manage them, and they just ate until they were that fat!"

"There are also the Gold and Jin Yin Tongzi Pigs, the Ear-Dao Pigs, plus these four big white pigs!"

Yan Shu sighed: "Feng Shi has truly suffered following Ning Ning Shimei Ning!"

At this moment, the calm lake where Qian Chen was sitting suddenly boiled. Qian Chen was neither anxious nor impatient, and said to Yan Shu: "Yan Yan Shixiong, wait for me a moment!" He saw an iron ring struggling in the lake, with a talisman on it shining brightly, firmly sealing it. Qian Chen's magic power transformed into an array, drawing on the magic treasure transformed from the origin of the five directions of the Blessed Land...

The Ascending Dragon Ruler, the Zhurong Banner, the Flat Peach Tree, the Hong Hong Sihai Bottle, and the Five-Colored Altar.

The Five Elements Profound Light intertwined, and the shadows of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts gathered on a gold-red long spear, firmly nailing the iron ring to the bottom of the calm lake.

After such a commotion for three hours, the iron ring gradually calmed down.

Only then did Qian Chen have time to free his hands. Seeing Yan Shu's face full of shock, he pointed to the iron ring in the lake and asked: "This is... a spirit treasure?"

"Yes, a spirit treasure that entrusts the Primordial Spirit and True Spirit." Qian Chen was also helpless: "As long as a spirit treasure entrusts a True Spirit, it can exert the power of a Primordial Spirit without the owner present. Although it doesn't have the infinite wonders of being in the hands of a Primordial Spirit, spirit treasures have spirits, and their autonomous reactions are enough to give one a headache."

"When I went to Jiankang, I provoked a Primordial Spirit True Person and barely escaped from his hands, but I brought this burden back."

"It has to be suppressed once in the middle of every month. The Lord of Samsara doesn't accept spirit treasures with True Spirits entrusted! If it weren't for the help of Ning Ning Shimei Si's father, I'm afraid I would have had to throw this thing out of the Land of Samsara."

Qian Chen was mainly reluctant to part with the Copper Sparrow Spear, so he could only make do with it!

Yan Shu laughed and threw out several storage bags, saying: "See if there's anything useful; they are all overseas specialties!"

Qian Chen disdainfully rummaged through some clothing in the storage bags, threw them all into one bag, looked up and said: "Yan Yan Shixiong, by specialties, do you mean murder and looting?"

Yan Shu was slightly stunned, then laughed loudly: "Overseas specialties really are murder and looting! I don't know why, after killing each other all day long, they never seem to die out!"

At this moment, another stone gate opened in the Blessed Land, and Ning Qingchen walked out with Feng Shi. When Feng Shi saw the few white deer that had grown a circle fatter, as well as the Gold, Silver, and Copper Pigs and the Ear-Dao God that were sticking out their bellies and looking heroic, its eyes immediately turned red.

The Big Yellow Chicken shot a ray of solar divine light from its eyes, making the Gold and Silver Children jump repeatedly. The Ear-Dao God took out a talisman brush, drew a hole in the void, turned around, and drilled into it.

The Ginseng Doll stood by, sucking its finger, fearfully watching Feng Shi, the Gold and Silver Children, and the four white deer fight into a ball.

Qian Chen nodded slightly: "Feng Shi's cultivation has strengthened quite a bit..." He looked at Ning Qingchen and nodded: "Ning Ning Shimei Ning's cultivation progress is even greater..."

Purple clouds flowed around Ning Qingchen, and her True Essence was already overflowing on its own; she was only one step away from Core Formation. Qian Chen exhorted: "Although Ning Ning Shimei's accumulation is sufficient, the essence of this Cloud-Mist Dao method is still low. Even if you form a Core, it will only be Second-Rank. Ning Ning Shimei should accumulate for a while longer and ponder the Dao methods of the Guanghan Palace."

"Wait until I have fully comprehended the Dao methods of the Cloud-Mist Sect and combined them with the pill method of the Guanghan Ice-Soul Pill, and I will create a pill method for Ning Ning Shimei that can form a First-Rank Golden Core!"

Ning Qingchen laughed: "I'll trouble Yan Yan Shixiong!"

"Yan Yan Shixiong's illustrious reputation of subduing dragons and elephants with your sword and challenging Primordial Spirits with your spear has reached even my ears in Northern Wei. If it weren't for the Sima family splashing so much infamy on you, perhaps the twenty-eight characters of the current Central Lands would be led by Yan Yan Shixiong!"

She came before the two and knelt down, saying: "So Yan Yan Shixiong is not from Great Jin, but a direct descendant of the Li family of Longxi!"

"Why have my white deer gotten so fat? Were they beaten swollen by Feng Shi?" Ning Qingchen turned her head inadvertently and saw an animal that looked like a pig. Looking closely again, she finally saw the shadow of her beloved little deer.

"Yan Yan Shixiong Qian, Yan Yan Shixiong Yan, and Yan Shixiong Sister Ning!" Si Qingcheng pushed open the stone gate and burst in, shouting and screaming.

"That old thing Sima Shi actually still wants to arrange my marriage!"

Ning Ning Shimei Si said angrily: "My father is still here! Who does he think he is? My father is now sitting in the Three Mao Temple, and he hit him once with the Heavenly Master Seal. The Wang and Xie families have also refused to give him face several times. Hmph! They are having a hard time!"

Saying this, she sighed helplessly: "It's just a pity for the Imperial Uncle. He is clearly a good person, but this Emperor of his! It's better not to be one than to be one!"

After venting her resentment at being grounded, Ning Ning Shimei Si called up the Lord of Samsara's exchange list and said: "Yan Yan Shixiong, we can already start team missions! After completing the mission, we will be an official team!"

"I'm initiating the mission now. Remember to agree, so that the next mission will be changed to a team mission."

"Will the next mission start in three days?"

Yan Shu nodded: "Then I'll recover from my injuries first."

After talking for a while and exchanging some intelligence on Southern Jin, Northern Wei, and overseas, Yan Shu returned to the Cloud Tower to go into seclusion.

The few exchanged some resources, and Qian Chen explained Dao books to the two junior sisters, pointing out the key points of their Core Formation.

Two days passed in a flash. On the morning of the third day, the four gathered under the white jade platform of the Lord of Samsara and opened the information for the next mission world.

"Three hundred years ago, demons and monsters threw the world into chaos!"

"Internally, demons and monsters posed as the Imperial Preceptor to wreak havoc; externally, the five great demon kings of the demon race led the masses of demons to invade the realm, causing the Great Ming Dynasty to perish! Under the leadership of the five great demon kings, the masses of demons slaughtered the human race, with white bones exposed in the wilderness, and less than one in ten living beings remaining. Human cultivators also died in battle one after another, and there are few survivors of the righteous path in the world!"

"The remaining human race had to seek refuge under the command of the only demon king who held goodwill toward the human race and did not participate in the slaughter and destruction of Great Ming—the Demon King Chi Tie."

"The leader of the masses of demons, the Peacock Great Wisdom King, was extremely dissatisfied with this. After the human resistance forces rescued another batch of humans intended as tribute, the five great demon kings decided to take action, attack Demon King Chi Tie, and wipe out the last inheritance of the human race!"

"This is the tragic song of the human race, but it is also the golden age of the demon race!"

"Initiating team mission, initiating faction mission—The Feast of the Masses of Demons!"