Chapter 317: The Swordsman and the General

Deep in the Forbidden Land.

The Buddha Light still shone.

The Bodhisattva of Tribulation was still fighting, without rest day or night, without a moment's pause.

A scorching sun also rose at the edge of the Forbidden Land.

The human and the demon had already developed a certain tacit understanding; taking advantage of the two Seventh Stage powerhouses being engulfed by the Great Blazing Sun Art, they turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.

Ten minutes later.

The human and the demon hid inside a large tomb.

"We should have shaken them off."

"Mm."

"Let's rest for a bit," Huang Chu said. "My Spirit Power is just exhausted, so now is the best time for cultivation and recovery, though the concentration of Divine Power here is much worse than where we were just now."

"Alright."

Chen Shu sat down cross-legged.

Calculating the time, it was already July.

A month had passed since entering the Forbidden Land.

This world remained frozen at dusk, with no alternation between day and night, and danger was present at every moment. Under these circumstances, the concept of time became very faint; the time for sleeping and cultivating might be in the afternoon or in the morning, which was not something one could control.

Ever since teaming up with this tiger demon, there had actually been some benefits—

This tiger demon's five senses and Spiritual Sense were extremely keen, as if she were born with the ability to foresee danger. After teaming up with her for a few days, the human and the demon had daringly decided to continue deeper into the Forbidden Land where the Divine Power was more concentrated; life is endless, and the quest for death is ceaseless.

The deeper one went, the better the cultivation effect.

The deeper one went, the greater the danger.

At the edge of the Forbidden Land, at most one would be discovered and hunted by a single Seven-Tier Cultivator, and the strength of such cultivators was merely average. Yet, in these past few days, they had been hunted several times by two or more Seven-Tier Cultivators working together, and had even encountered an Eighth Stage once; at that time, Chen Shu had thrown two Eighth Stage Spirit Beads just to barely escape.

Under such danger, the gains were also frighteningly large.

Since Chen Shu had advanced to the Sixth Stage last July, he had only reached the Sixth Stage Mid-Late by April or May of this year. But here, in just half a month, he had already passed the late stage and was now pushing toward the peak.

And it was not just the speed of cultivation that was fast.

Due to the high level of participation of Divine Power, the Spirit Power Quality of a cultivator would have a very large improvement compared to normal cultivation. It was highly possible to possess the Spirit Power Quality of a late stage while in the middle stage of a certain tier, and the Spirit Power Quality of the peak while in the late stage. This increase was permanent; even after advancing into the next tier, it would be retained.

A few hours later.

The human and the demon finished their cultivation, took out food and water, and shared them with each other.

The food Chen Shu brought was quite varied, with everything from meat to vegetarian, vacuum-packed, heat-requiring, canned, and snacks. He even kept a small Spirit Power refrigerator in his Storage Artifact to store some food that needed refrigeration, and he had even brought soda.

Huang Chu, however, was a pure carnivore.

She only brought meat.

All kinds of meat.

Beef, chicken, venison, horse meat, pork, rabbit meat...

Vacuum-packed, canned...

Braised, boiled, salt-baked, grilled...

The Eastern Continent Yaoguo was skilled in animal husbandry, and the quality of this meat was excellent; even with very simple cooking methods, it could have a great taste. Meat imported from the Eastern Continent sold for a very high price in Yiguo, and by tagging along with her, Chen Shu had also satisfied his cravings.

"Fellow Daoist Huang."

"Huh?"

"How many people from your Yaoguo entered the Forbidden Land this time?"

"Including me, there are four," Huang Chu said, clutching a roasted chicken and gnawing on it. "Tiger, Rat, Fox, and Eagle—two women and two men. I don't know if they entered the Forbidden Land or not, but our cultivation levels were about the same when we arrived. Except for that eagle who is a few years older and advanced to the Sixth Stage a few months ago, the others were all at the peak of the Fifth Stage. Even if they only stayed on the outside, they should have advanced to the Sixth Stage by now."

"Tiger, Rat, Fox, Eagle..."

Chen Shu calculated in his mind.

The Demon Race had three deities, which were the Tiger God, the Fox God, and the Rat God. The first three were likely descendants or successors of these three deities, while the last one might be in the same situation as Yan Keling or Wu Eiwei.

"What about your Xia Kingdom?"

"There are quite a few as well, though I'm not familiar with some of them."

Chen Shu knew that the first entity the Yaoguo had come into contact with, and the one that left the deepest impression, was the Xia Dynasty established by Shengzu, so he habitually called this country the Xia Kingdom. In fact, Xia and Yi were both names of dynasties. However, there was no need to be so particular in casual address; calling it Yiguo or the Central Kingdom was fine.

"Among this generation in the Xia Kingdom, Fellow Daoist Chen, you must be the strongest, right?"

"I don't count."

"How is that possible?"

"Fellow Daoist Huang, you have been focused on cultivation and are unaware. The successor of the Great Yi Imperial Family of this generation advanced to the Sixth Stage several years ago; this is no secret." Chen Shu paused, still not mentioning the unnamed person, and added, "And there is also a Personal Disciple of the Sword Sect's Sword Master who was already at the Sixth Stage Mid-Late before entering the Forbidden Land. Their combat power is especially outstanding. As for the others, I don't know."

"As expected of the Xia Kingdom..."

"Fellow Daoist Huang, shall we go further in tomorrow?" Chen Shu asked, looking at Huang Chu. "I still have a few Spirit Beads."

"That is exactly what I intended!"

Huang Chu met Chen Shu's gaze. "After getting used to the Spirit Power concentration inside, coming back out, I always feel like my whole body is uncomfortable!"

"Same here."

"Then I will have to trouble Fellow Daoist Chen again."

"What are you saying? I have to rely on Fellow Daoist Huang a lot." Chen Shu bowed to her.

The human and the demon looked at each other, their eyes flickering.

"These days, I've really been dancing between life and death. It must be that my luck is too bad, dragging Fellow Daoist Chen down with me," Huang Chu thought.

"It's quite a pity to have this tiger girl take risks with me," Chen Shu thought.

"But if I want to go deep into the Forbidden Land to accelerate my cultivation, I have to rely on this powerful person from the Xia Kingdom. I can't let him realize that I'm the one dragging him down," Huang Chu thought, being very clever, "lest he react and stop bringing me along."

"But I still have to rely on this tiger girl's Spiritual Sense and perception to avoid danger, so I have to bring her along no matter what," Chen Shu pondered. "Well, unless I find Zhang Suannai; that idiot's Spiritual Sense is also quite useful."

"I still feel a bit bad about it."

"I feel quite sorry for her..."

"..."

"..."

"Ahahaha..." Huang Chu spoke first, saying to Chen Shu, "Daoist Chen, let's be clear from the start: you and I are only forming a temporary team, and we are both doing so to seek opportunities. Where there is opportunity, there is risk; this is something we both know well. And since we have come here, we each have our own means of self-preservation. Therefore, Daoist Chen, if we encounter a danger that cannot be escaped, you need not worry about me; just flee for your life. Life and death are fated, and wealth is determined by Heaven."

"I think so too..."

Chen Shu said to Huang Chu: "If Daoist Huang feels that I have ventured too deep and the risks have already outweighed the gains, feel free to bring it up, and we can part ways amicably."

"I like the way you talk, Daoist Chen!"

"The Eastern Continent Demon Clan is known for being straightforward; seeing it today, the reputation is well-deserved."

"Ahahaha..."

A hearty laugh echoed from within the great tomb.

Both the human and the demon felt relieved.

"We..."

"Let's go!"

"Alright!"

The human and the demon left the great tomb.

Outside, it was still dusk, and the forest was filled with flickering shadows.

Huang Chu leaped up, jumping onto a large tree, standing on a massive branch, stretching her neck to gaze into the far distance. Her pupils shimmered with golden light, and a massive golden Dharma Image could be faintly seen in the sky far away.

Chen Shu took out his watch and checked the time.

It was ten o'clock in the morning on the first of July.

I wonder what Qingqing is doing now.

Yujing, Zhilan Garden.

The little girl sat on a swing, the swing swaying automatically, but her eyes were slanted, aiming toward a corner of the courtyard.

Her older sister was pinching off flower buds.

It was the height of summer, and the temperature was very high. Most rose varieties produced miserable-looking flowers in such temperatures, so her sister always pinched off the buds to conserve nutrients, allowing them to grow their bodies during this season and bloom in the autumn.

But as she pinched, she suddenly froze.

Standing in place, expressionless, holding a flower bud in her hand, no one could tell what she was thinking.

And she had been like this often lately.

Sometimes she would stand by the window in a daze, sometimes sit on the swing in a daze, and sometimes, while eating, she would suddenly stop moving, as if she had turned into a mannequin, her brain stuck.

The little girl withdrew her gaze, picked up Taozi, and said to Taozi with her head lowered: "Qingqing has gone silly; from now on, you can recognize me as your master."

Taozi heard this and was stunned for a moment.

Immediately, it began to struggle desperately.

The little girl remained expressionless, watching as Taozi escaped from her arms, running all the way to the mannequin in the courtyard, and stopping at the mannequin's feet.

"Woof..."

It pulled on the mannequin's pant leg with its little paw, then turned around and pointed at the swing with its other little paw, barking chaotically.

Qingqing finally came back to her senses, looked down at it, then bent over to pick it up, saying nothing, only sighing softly.

When Chen Shu is not around, one should miss him.

But if there is no longing, a piece of her life is missing, and in this missing piece, nothing can fill the void.

The seventh of July.

Jiang Lai was in the midst of a life-or-death struggle.

A few days ago, he had entered the Forbidden Land together with Yan Keling, who had just advanced to the Sixth Stage; needless to say, the two had become separated.

Two days later, Yan Keling found him.

Immediately, the two quickly set out on the road to find other teammates—Lord Linjian had planted his own marks on several group members, and with the help of these marks, even within the Forbidden Land, he could find everyone.

Before finding any group members, they instead encountered a fox demon.

In short, teammate +1.

Afterward, they ran into a Seventh Stage senior...

The Seventh Stage senior had no intention of looking after his juniors; the moment they met, he launched a frantic pursuit against them. While fleeing, Yan Keling had no choice but to ask Lord Linjian to hold him off so that they could escape with their lives.

After reaching safety, they hid in a tomb.

There are many tombs in the Forbidden Land, all formed by the powerful beings who died here. After the Forbidden Land opened, these powerful beings awakened one after another and left their tombs, leaving them empty. Resurrected Ones do not easily enter others' tombs to search, and the tomb owners rarely return, so as long as one is well-hidden and not seen entering a tomb, it is a good place to hide. But if discovered, one might be trapped inside.

These past few days, they had often hidden in tombs.

But this tomb was somewhat strange; it was larger than any tomb they had ever seen, and it did not seem to have evolved from the rules of the Forbidden Land after a powerful being's death, but rather seemed to have been built by a powerful being who had set foot in the Forbidden Land while still alive.

After the two humans and one demon entered, the tomb's door vanished, so they had to grope around in the tomb, looking for a way out.

Fortunately, that fox demon was proficient in arrays.

After some exploration, the two humans and one demon discovered that this seemed to be the burial place of an ancient general of Yiguo.

Jiang Lai had even studied this general in the Martial Artist Department textbooks.

The general was a Martial Artist by origin and later turned into a Martial Cultivator. Unfortunately, his cultivation talent was truly poor. Relying on his outstanding Martial Artist talent and the resources bestowed by the Emperor, becoming a Seventh Stage Martial Cultivator was his limit, and he could not advance any further. Thus, after laying down his armor, he devoted all the energy of his remaining years to the path of seeking High-level Martial Artists.

The Martial Artist Department textbooks mentioned the method he used to search—

Three Origins Method.

The basis for this method is twofold: first, the principle of Martial Artists merging with a Beast Bloodline, and second, the existence of High-Tier beasts. This general attempted to have Martial Artists fully merge with the Spirit Power within a Beast Bloodline, so that the Martial Artist, much like how a wild beast originally transformed into a High-Tier beast, could use this Spirit Power to break through their limits and achieve a High-Tier state.

Facts proved that this path was a dead end.

First, the evolution of beasts is a process, and the birth of a High-Tier beast is also a process; it is nearly impossible for a Martial Artist to replicate this process within a single generation.

Second, although the "Spirit Power that causes a wild beast to become a beast" and the Spirit Power "extracted from a Beast Bloodline when merging" are similar, they have essential differences; wanting to extract the kind of Spirit Power that causes beasts to emerge from a Beast Bloodline, and subsequently pushing a Martial Artist to a High-Tier state, is also unrealistic.

This is the fundamental reason why this path failed.

However, his research and explorations still have a certain value, and they played a significant role in the development of Beast Bloodline potions for later generations.

It is said that in the final years of his life, it happened to coincide with the opening of the Forbidden Land, and the general, having discovered that his path was a dead end, turned his gaze toward the Forbidden Land. Some say he wanted to use the Divine Power within the Forbidden Land to take himself to the next level; others say he wanted to find a way in the Forbidden Land to use Divine Power to help Martial Artists break through their shackles. These things can no longer be clarified; in any case, the final result was that he led two personal guards into the Forbidden Land and never came out again.

After wandering in the general's tomb for another two days, the two people and one demon found some valuable items and finally found the exit.

But at the exit, there were two stone statues.

One stone statue was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, his robes fluttering, holding a Long Sword in his hand. The other stone statue was a tall figure completely covered in armor, holding a long spear, with their face also completely obscured, making it impossible to see their features.

At first, they did not pay attention to these two stone statues; after all, so many years had passed, and being in the Forbidden Land, no one could have survived.

Thus, the fox demon led Yan Keling and began to break the array, while Jiang Lai, being a crude Martial Artist, could not help and could only sit to the side.

However, at the critical moment, they saw cracks appearing on the two stone statues, and then the stone pieces fell off, revealing the two figures inside.

A green-robed swordsman.

A heavily armored soldier.

Both sides met.

The Long Sword was unsheathed.

The spear body rotated.

The two of them attacked toward them.

In order to let the fox demon and Yan Keling focus on breaking the array, Jiang Lai did not hesitate and fought these two alone.

Unexpectedly, these two were also top-tier Martial Artists in ancient times who had reached the limit of a Martial Artist; fortunately, they had been sealed for a thousand years using a special method, and their strength had declined severely, allowing Jiang Lai to barely hold his own.

Fighting to the end, he was covered in wounds.

Fresh blood stained the green-robed swordsman's Sword and stained the spear in the soldier's hand; their bodies were also covered in marks from Jiang Lai's strikes, all stained with the blood from Jiang Lai's fists, spotted like blooming plum blossoms.