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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
Above the ground, I lay at the bottom of a massive chasm, blood seeping from my mouth, the Dragon Abyss Sword fallen beside me.
Dongfang Jiu casually looked at me and said, "What’s this? I thought it was some old acquaintance from a sect trying to steal my sword. You almost made me unleash my full power."
I lay still on the ground, contemplating my next move.
Dongfang Jiu waved his hand, signaling his followers to capture me.
As they jumped down into the chasm and approached, the Dragon Abyss Sword trembled lightly and flew into my hand. With a sweeping strike, I killed all those who had come close.
"Hmm?" Dongfang Jiu frowned. "How is it possible that you’re unscathed? A mere Divine Transformation Realm cultivator not only withstood my strike but also maintains such stable vitality. Something's off!"
Like a white crane, Dongfang Jiu soared toward me. I unleashed a powerful wave of sword energy and then fled outside the Sword Pavilion. Dongfang Jiu snorted, waving his sleeve to disperse the sword energy of the Dragon Abyss Sword. He said, "Let’s see how far you can run. Wearing a mask like that, I'll make sure to forge an iron mask for you to wear for life!"
I activated Time Walk, vanishing from the chasm and reappearing atop the walls of the Sword Pavilion. Dongfang Jiu looked surprised for a moment as if he had thought of something. An elder from the Sword Pavilion said, "Sir, let me go chase this scoundrel."
"No need," Dongfang Jiu replied, drawing an arc with two fingers while chanting an incantation. Suddenly, I was pulled back by the Dragon Abyss Sword. "You dare to steal the Dragon Abyss Sword without knowing how to control sword techniques? You must be tired of living!"
The Dragon Abyss Sword dragged me along the ground toward Dongfang Jiu. With no other choice, I had to let go and watched helplessly as the Dragon Abyss Sword fell into Dongfang Jiu's hands.
A giant net descended from above. I glared at Dongfang Jiu in anger and then snapped my fingers. Not far away, flames erupted in the Scripture Repository of the Sword Pavilion; it was a trace of Dao Qi I had left behind when I exited the Sword Pavilion. Among the many Daoist Arts learned from the Martial Dao Classic, igniting something from afar was one of the simplest techniques.
As the giant net fell, I vanished from sight and reappeared three hundred feet away on the lake surface, running outward.
"Chase him down! We must capture him and find out who he is!" an Elder of the Sword Pavilion shouted in frustration.
"No need to investigate," Eastern Nine said, watching the direction I fled. "No need to pursue; I know who he is."
"Sir, who exactly is he? His cultivation method is quite strange," asked the Elder of the Sword Pavilion.
Eastern Nine: "He is the son of Yang Sanqian, Yang Hao. He possesses the Book of Life and Death, and likely also has the Martial Dao Classic and the Treasure Compass. My Sword Pavilion has been searching for the ninth famous sword, the Dragon Abyss Sword, for two hundred years without any news. Thanks to him, I believe the Ten Famous Swords will also be found by him."
Dongfang Jiu chuckled, but at that moment, a disciple rushed in with an anxious expression and knelt down, saying, "Reporting to you, Mr. Dongfang, all the information in the intelligence building has vanished."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jiu nearly widened his eyes in disbelief.
Another disciple stepped forward to report, "Sir, it's bad news. The Scripture Repository has been burned down; not a single Dao Jing remains inside!"
Pfft!
Dongfang Jiu spat out a mouthful of old blood and nearly fell off the Sword Control Tower.
At that moment, I was quickly fleeing. Although Dongfang Jiu's sword had not managed to kill me, I was indeed severely injured. Several of my Meridians had been severed, causing my vital energy and blood to stagnate, as if pierced by needles.
The sky quickly darkened, and soon heavy rain began to pour down. It was the Plum Rain Season in Jiangnan. I found an ancient temple on a desolate mountain. Seeing that no one was pursuing me from behind, I entered the dilapidated temple to circulate my energy and heal my wounds.
The Millennium Medicine King Ointment had been completely used up while treating Yunxi, so now I could only rely on my own Dao Qi to heal myself and reconnect the severed Meridians. Otherwise, if the Dao Qi ran rampant within my body, it would cause serious problems.
From the sect in the Qinling Mountains that started using the Martial Dao Classic to secretly learn the Dao Jing, to reaching the Zhongzhou Sword Pavilion, it took me a full two months. During these two months, I finally learned most of what I needed to know about the Daoist World, no longer feeling like a headless chicken.
It was precisely because I learned so much that I recalled a saying from Guo the Blind: the more truths one knows, the more terrifying they become.
Just like my recent confrontation with Dongfang Jiu, it was akin to striking a stone with an egg.
There are nine levels of Taoist cultivation: Entry-Level Realm, Purple Qi Coming from the East, Foundation Establishment, Spirit Transformation, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Dao Fruit, Great Ascension, and Transcending Tribulation.
The Entry-Level Realm is where Taoists begin their cultivation. To practice Qi cultivation, one must have a strong body; thus, physical refinement is necessary before entering this realm. The Entry-Level Realm is about perceiving the first strand of Dao Qi within oneself. This process can take anywhere from three to five months or even up to ten years. As the saying goes, all beginnings are difficult—this is precisely what it means.
The Purple Qi Eastward Boundary is the second level of cultivation. Those at this level absorb morning energy at sunrise each day and transform it into their own Dao Qi. This is the fastest method of cultivation for this realm because absorbing morning energy often causes one to emit Purple Qi. Since it involves absorbing sunlight from the east, it is called the Purple Qi Eastward Boundary.
The Foundation Establishment Realm is the foundation of Taoist cultivation, serving as a threshold where one begins to store Dao Qi and unlock the hidden treasures within their body. During this period, cultivators can practice Daoist Arts to enhance themselves.
The Divine Transformation Realm represents a qualitative leap for cultivators. Upon reaching this realm, a cultivator's soul transforms into the Primordial Spirit, which possesses more formidable offensive capabilities than the physical body but has zero defense. If the Primordial Spirit is damaged, it results in death; while ordinary people may have their souls reincarnate in the Underworld after death, cultivators typically see their Primordial Spirits obliterated, leaving no chance for rebirth. This is the punishment from the Dao for cultivators who seek to alter their fate.
Cultivators in the Core Formation Stage, after breaking through the shackles of the Divine Transformation, will generate an inner elixir within them. This elixir is usually golden and is thus referred to as the Golden Elixir. It floats above the Qi Sea and crystallizes the cultivator's Soul power, which is graded from ordinary to perfect. The more flawless the Golden Elixir, the stronger the Soul Power.
Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm are true masters of Daoist Sects. A talented cultivator can reach this level without consuming precious materials or using sect treasures only after cultivating for a full cycle of sixty years. The Nascent Soul itself is also graded, with its foundation based on the Golden Elixir. As the Golden Elixir matures into a Nascent Soul, it absorbs Souls and integrates them; if the Nascent Soul perishes, so does the body. However, if it separates from the body, it can seek a new vessel to survive—this is an innate ability possessed by masters in the Nascent Soul stage.
The Dao Fruit Realm follows immediately after the Nascent Soul Realm. Upon reaching this stage, the Nascent Soul matures and can freely transform between itself and its Soul. Any Taoist at this level will develop a unique Divine Ability that differs from Daoist Arts; it is an innate ability magnified infinitely that does not require Dao Qi or incantations to manifest. However, such Divine Abilities are often seen as trivial due to restrictions imposed by the Dao that prevent cultivators from gaining excessive power without cause. This realm is called Dao Fruit Realm because very few individuals produce a Dao Fruit, which condenses their abilities into a fruit-like form held in the palm of their seated Nascent Soul. More importantly, this fruit can be seized and consumed by others.
Throughout history, during the peak of the Daoist World, there were hundreds of thousands of experts in the Dao Fruit Realm. A great war broke out among Daoist Sects over Dao Fruits; at that time, the Dao Sovereign believed this was a punishment from the Dao against those in Daoist Sects and used powerful techniques to suppress their emergence. Afterward, Dao Fruits gradually disappeared and became exceedingly rare unless produced by Perfect Golden Cores or flawless Nascent Souls; otherwise, they were seldom seen, significantly reducing conflicts in the Daoist World.
The Mahayana Realm is considered the eighth and often final level of cultivation for practitioners. Historically, whether they were Daoist Grandmasters or founders of certain sects, all eventually reached this pinnacle of cultivation known as Mahayana—where one elevates their cultivation methods to perfection beyond further enhancement. Any Daoist Arts can be executed at their ultimate form; it is said that the Five Great Supremes are masters of this realm. At this stage, it becomes exceedingly difficult for individuals at the same level to kill one another since both body and Soul have reached their peak; cultivation methods have also achieved their utmost potential with various means of self-preservation.
The last realm among the Nine Major Realms is Transcending Tribulation. This refers to calamities that are unpredictable; those who have perfected Mahayana can forcibly awaken their celestial roots for Transcending Tribulation ascension. According to records in Wudang's Dao Jing, Martial Sage Zhang Sanfeng vanished after his Transcending Tribulation—disappearing under divine lightning with no trace left behind or knowledge of his fate.
Later on, Zhang Sanfeng's most accomplished disciple inherited his position as sect leader and also cultivated to Mahayana Realm. On his day of Transcending Tribulation, thousands gathered to witness as his physical form was struck into ashes by lightning from a clear sky while his Soul dissipated.
Whether looking back thousands of years or forward six hundred years, few Daoist Grandmasters dared to provoke tribulations after reaching Mahayana Realm.
In late Mahayana stage, one's lifespan nears its end; Dao Qi begins to disperse externally. The average lifespan for ordinary people hovers around eighty years; cultivators typically live only one hundred twenty or thirty years at best. Those in Mahayana Realm rarely exceed one hundred fifty years old; even with prolonged use of Elixirs of Life, surpassing two hundred years is improbable. Folklore records that Peng Zu lived for eight hundred years and a man named Chen Qingyun lived for four hundred years—but these remain tales crafted by humanity.
Individuals in Mahayana Realm grow old; their bodies begin to decay while their Dao Qi disperses externally. The difficulty of Transcending Tribulation ascension increases significantly; if one chooses not to ascend through tribulation, they may live another ten years before returning their soul to Underworld for reincarnation as a child. Conversely, choosing Transcending Tribulation carries a ninety-nine percent chance of turning into ashes—a choice few would willingly make.
This time I clashed with Sword Sect Master Dongfang Jiu; even wielding the Dragon Abyss Sword was futile against him in a single exchange. Dongfang Jiu appeared nearly seventy yet retained his youthful appearance; I suspected his cultivation fluctuated around what could be considered seventh-level Taoism—the Dao Fruit Realm—making our theoretical gap vast—thousands of times greater. Even though my aptitude surpassed his, I was merely an ant in his eyes; had I not achieved sanctity in my physical form coupled with my elusive movement techniques, escaping him would have been impossible.
I coughed lightly and expelled a mouthful of foul air; my severed meridians had been reconnected and within my Qi Sea, Dao Qi continuously repaired my internal injuries.
I had explored many renowned Daoist Sects and became well-versed in various cultivation methods and techniques of Daoist Arts. However, aside from Dragon Tiger Gate's Rift Path core method, I had not acquired any other sect's core cultivation methods nor found any unparalleled sword techniques hidden within Sword Pavilion's Scripture Repository.
The Underworld Sect and the Five Supreme Sects are heavily guarded. I barely escaped from one of them, and I absolutely cannot go to the Serpent Cult or the Yinshan Yang Family.
According to records from the Daoist Sect, the Nanhai Guanyin Monastery is shrouded in mystery, passed down through generations, with no one knowing its exact location.
Although the Yaochi Sacred Land is located in the distant Kunlun Mountain, due to the Death and Life Register Incident over twenty years ago, many sects united to wipe out the Yaochi clan, making its location widely known.
From the information I obtained from the Sword Pavilion, I learned that seven days from now, the Mountain Guardian Barrier of Yaochi will disappear.
At that time, various sects will gather to mine for Holy Medicine in Yaochi, and many already know that I am still alive. They will surely press the Yaochi Saintess for information about her son’s whereabouts.
When Yaochi was besieged back then, they had no choice but to activate the Mountain Guardian Formation. The disciples within were killed by extraordinary individuals from various sects using secret techniques; both elders and the sect leader were exterminated, leaving only the Yaochi Supreme and the Yaochi Saintess alive.
The Yaochi Supreme was stripped of his cultivation and imprisoned in the Infinite Abyss, while the Yaochi Saintess remains eternally trapped within the Mountain Guardian Barrier.
Yaochi is situated on the immortal Kunlun mountain, a Holy Land abundant with Herb Growth and Holy Medicine, which everyone desires to obtain.
I stepped out of a dilapidated temple on a desolate mountain. The rain had not yet stopped as I set off towards Kunlun Mountain.
“Mother, I have arrived.”
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