Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the depths of the Dunhuang Desert, within a massive sand pit a hundred meters deep, the ancient beast Qiongqi faced the thousands of Daoist Sect members without a hint of fear. It took a step forward, causing the crowd to instinctively retreat, their swords trembling in their hands.
A young boy skilled in beast taming was pushed out from the crowd. Clutching a Jade Flute, his face was pale with terror, yet his eyes held a glimmer of hope as he gazed at the instrument.
The boy played the Jade Flute, producing a clear sound akin to a lark's song. Qiongqi halted its advance, and the crowd erupted in praise for the boy. He turned to his senior brother and exclaimed, "I did it!"
Suddenly, with a loud crash, a massive claw smashed down on the boy's head, crushing it instantly. Qiongqi roared and charged into the crowd, thrashing left and right, tearing into people.
Bai Xiaoxiang, the Master Sister with Arched Eyebrows, drew her sword and executed a flourish. The sword energy slashed toward Qiongqi, causing it to wince in pain. However, the attack barely broke its skin. Enraged, Qiongqi roared at Bai Xiaoxiang; the sound waves were visible to the naked eye. She dodged just in time, leaping into the air, but others were not so fortunate. Blood gushed from their seven orifices as they crashed against the sandy walls, their blood seeping into the ground.
Bai Xiaoxiang landed on Qiongqi's back and thrust her sword fiercely into its flesh. Qiongqi rose up, flapping its meaty wings and sending Bai Xiaoxiang flying.
Zhang Dao'an from Longhu Mountain pulled out a white talisman from his robe. As it ignited, it transformed into a Talisman that drilled into his body, causing him to vanish in an instant.
In the next moment, Qiongqi let out a horrific scream as one of its legs bent unnaturally from being pierced by a sword, blue blood gushing forth.
Soon after, multiple wounds appeared on Qiongqi's body as disciples from Longhu Mountain cheered. Infuriated, Qiongqi charged into the crowd again, slaughtering everyone in its path. A splash of blood hung in the air as it swiped at Zhang Dao'an with its claw. With a muffled grunt, Zhang Dao'an revealed himself but was struck hard in the chest.
Just as Qiongqi was about to devour everyone, Wu suddenly drew a symbol in his palm and chanted aloud: "Yin Yang Wuji, Borrowing the Universe Technique!"
Beams of light erupted from the ground and bound Qiongqi in place. Wu turned to Iron Bull, who was standing nearby with a hammer in hand. "Go!"
"Alright!" Iron Bull responded enthusiastically and charged at the restrained Qiongqi. He swung his hammer down onto its head with tremendous force. Qiongqi was dazed by the blow, stars dancing before its eyes; enraged and with red eyes blazing, it broke free from Wu's binding.
"The beast has gone mad!" someone shouted in panic. Faces filled with terror as people huddled against walls or even pretended to be dead.
Wu swung his tower-like weapon at the charging Qiongqi. With a pained cry, Qiongqi collapsed to the ground. Its claws pierced through its own flesh as it harbored resentment for Five Gang’s earlier strike. Wu retreated while spinning his tower; suddenly, yellow sand began to tremble around him as Huzi faintly heard mechanisms clicking within the tower.
Then, all around them, sand cascaded downwards, burying those who had hidden against the sandy walls pretending to be dead as secret doors opened from all directions.
"Listen, it seems there's a sound coming from inside the door," someone suddenly called out.
Everyone held their breath in silence, glancing around the door. Even Qiongqi was startled by the noise, but there was no movement from within until a black object fell down, squeaking loudly—it was a rat as large as a black dog!
"It’s not coming from inside the door; it’s from above!" someone screamed.
The crowd looked up to see countless rats crawling down the sandy walls above them, with large rats occasionally falling directly to the ground.
"Into the hole!" someone shouted, immediately running into the dark doorway.
Some hesitated, unsure if these giant rats would attack them. Their fears were confirmed when a dozen rats pounced on a young boy, reducing him to nothing but bones in mere seconds. One rat even clung to the boy's face, gnawing at his eyes and causing them to burst.
Panic ensued as everyone fled in disarray. Wu and Huzi also squeezed into one of the dark doors. "Why are we going through this door? No one else is using it!" Huzi exclaimed.
"Trust me, it's the right choice!" Wu shouted.
Soon, only a few dozen mangled corpses remained in the sand pit. Various factions rushed into the dark doors to escape the rat disaster, killing countless rats along the way. The relentless swarm charged toward the frenzied Qiongqi, all of them meeting their end at its powerful strikes.
Typically, Ancient Fierce Beasts exude an aura of dominance that terrifies lower-level beings. Yet for some reason, these rats showed no fear of Qiongqi. Despite the mountain of rat corpses piling up around it, they continued to swarm forward until Qiongqi was ultimately overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, above the sand pit, a handsome young man with an elegant demeanor smiled slightly. "Though there are treasures in the underground maze, those who enter may narrowly escape but likely won't make it out alive. I’d rather take what’s in Buddha Cave."
The young man's hair was tied back neatly; he was Song Qianqiu.
Song Qianqiu circled around the deep sand pit and entered the Ancient Cave. Above him on the dune, Yunxi watched his retreating figure expressionlessly before also entering the Ancient Cave.
Inside the Ancient Cave, both sides of the Passageway were littered with bleached bones. Not far from the entrance was a place where a candlestick had once stood; below it lay a broken chain that seemed to have once restrained Qiongqi.
As Song Qianqiu traversed the Passageway, he arrived at a massive palace surrounded by clay-built chambers filled with countless scriptures scattered about. In the center of this palace stood a stone platform upon which sat a slender Taoist priest. The priest appeared lifelike and rather ordinary-looking but wore a golden robe of a celestial being. In front of him was an altar inscribed with a name: Wang Yuanlu.
Wang Yuanlu was the infamous Wang Taoist who had sold countless ancient Buddhist texts from the Dunhuang Sutra Repository to foreigners years ago.
Song Qianqiu brushed aside the dust in front of him with Wang Taoist's plaque, revealing a few words inscribed on the stone platform: "This immortal, Wang Yuanlu, is the indomitable true immortal guarding Dunhuang. Anyone who trespasses into the Scripture Repository must kneel three times and bow nine times; otherwise, they will face calamity and die a miserable death."
Song Qianqiu cast a faint glance at Wang Taoist and threw the plaque at his face.
He then looked around the Scripture Repository, where scattered books lay on the ground, all remnants of texts. The shelves were in disarray, and as Song Qianqiu carefully examined each cataloged book number beside the shelves, he finally found several volumes of Buddhist cultivation methods in a narrow alcove: "Cloud Dream Buddha Skill," "Great Sun Sutra," "Twelve Methods of Muscle Transformation," "Zen Heart Method," and three others.
A smile appeared on Song Qianqiu's face. Having entered the Nascent Soul Realm with exceptional talent, he found that the benefits of his Perfect Golden Core were immense. He could grasp any cultivation method almost instantly. Most importantly, the perfect Nascent Soul formed from his Perfect Golden Core was incredibly powerful. Once he stepped into the Dao Fruit Realm, he would surely manifest some extraordinary divine ability.
"The Cloud Dream Buddha Skill is the renowned cultivation method of the ancient Buddhist Sect's Sleeping Arhat. Once mastered, one becomes invincible among peers. The Twelve Methods of Muscle Transformation was created by Zen Buddhism's ancestor Dharma to enhance a practitioner's aptitude. My perfect aptitude doesn't require training; only this Great Sun Sutra—the highest ultimate technique of the Buddhist Sect—once mastered, grants immortality and sanctifies the physical body. This is it!"
Unable to contain his excitement, Song Qianqiu sat down and opened the Great Sun Sutra. However, as soon as he flipped open a page, a burst of flames erupted from the Dao Book. Startled, he tried to extinguish it but suddenly felt a wave of panic wash over him as he furrowed his brow at the burning Buddhist texts on the ground: "Dao Fire?"
"Quite unfortunate for you, Song Qianqiu," Yunxi said coldly as she walked in from outside the hall. "Back at Azure Cloud Sect, you desperately wanted to obtain the Azure Cloud Sword Classic but could only learn half due to your status as an heir. You secretly practiced countless unorthodox methods until you became neither human nor ghost. Now your body has suddenly become so coordinated—have you reshaped it?"
Looking at Yunxi, Song Qianqiu felt a twinge of fear. However, recalling that he was now in the Nascent Soul Realm and that Yunxi had been poisoned by Nangong's True Fire of Taiyi a year ago—despite her recovery—he believed he still had a fighting chance. Angrily, he exclaimed, "You didn't die after all! How dare you ruin my plans!"
With that, Song Qianqiu drew his sword and lunged at Yunxi with an expansive sword technique aimed directly at her face. Yunxi extended two fingers and lightly flicked the sword tip, causing it to tremble and emit a ringing sound. Song Qianqiu felt his wrist go numb as he was sent flying backward.
"What’s going on? The poison from True Fire of Taiyi couldn’t even be resolved by Nangong! How is this woman not only unharmed but also more powerful?" Song Qianqiu thought to himself.
Yunxi remarked, "Using Azure Cloud Sword Technique against me? I can’t believe you thought of that."
Crimson Silk danced behind Yunxi and shot toward Song Qianqiu. He narrowly dodged several strikes from her Crimson Silk as he flew backward. Slamming his palm onto the ground caused a sandstorm to rise up; Yunxi’s Crimson Silk blocked it but was riddled with holes from the sandstorm. She shot another strand of Crimson Silk from her sleeve toward him. In response, Song Qianqiu waved his right hand, conjuring a wave of water in front of him that slowed down her Crimson Silk immensely. Grabbing one end of it suddenly, he yanked hard, causing Yunxi's Crimson Silk to snap and burn to ashes in his Dao Fire.
Frowning slightly, Yunxi unleashed another set of Crimson Silk from both sleeves that surged toward Song Qianqiu from all directions. He spread his arms wide as water light rippled around him; all the Crimson Silk was caught in his grasp and burned away by his Dao Fire.
"Now that your Crimson Silk treasure has been destroyed by me, let’s see how you plan to fight back!"
Yunxi heard the words and leaped forward, while Song Qianqiu revealed a smile as he watched her approach. As soon as Yunxi's hand touched the Void Barrier in front of him, her speed would be infinitely slowed. At that moment, he could shatter her heart pulse with a single strike. Among peers, the Yang Family's Void Barrier was invincible. Song Qianqiu had absorbed Yang Long's Golden Core and learned the Yang Family's Void Barrier technique. If it hadn't been for Yang Long facing Dao Fruit Realm's Rain Master Luo that day, any other young contender would have been no match for him.
Yunxi's palm landed on the Void Barrier as expected, her movements slow as if frozen in time.
Song Qianqiu gathered Dao Qi in his fist, ready to strike down Yunxi. However, he suddenly noticed that the barrier before him, which resembled rippling water, had instantly frozen.
"When did she gain such power? Could she have already reached Dao Fruit Realm and comprehended a Divine Ability?"
As Song Qianqiu speculated in his heart, the barrier that had encased him in ice suddenly shot out countless Ice Spikes. He hurriedly protected himself with Dao Qi, but still found himself pierced and bloodied. He retaliated with a punch that shattered the Ice Spikes, but he was left covered in blood, his once handsome face marred by numerous small puncture wounds.
Song Qianqiu trembled, his fingers twitching as the Flying Sword shot back into his hand. Yunxi glanced at the Flying Sword, her gaze sharp. The sword turned back and struck down on the stone platform with a clang, severing Wang Taoist's head.
Wang Taoist's head rolled onto the Cushion below the stone platform, blood still gushing from his throat, pooling on the stone surface and emitting a sizzling sound. Mechanisms clicked beneath the Cushion as arrows shot out from below Wang Taoist's body. At the same time, sand swirled from all directions as countless arrows flew forth.
Yunxi and Song Qianqiu dodged the arrows. Injured and startled by Yunxi's recent attack, Song Qianqiu feared she might suddenly strike him down. As a result, he failed to evade in time and was grazed by several arrows.
Wang Taoist had inscribed commands on the stone platform for anyone who intruded into the Scripture Repository to kneel thrice and bow nine times; however, he had also set up mechanisms beneath the Cushion that would turn anyone who triggered them into a pincushion if they were not experts of the Daoist Sect.
Yunxi easily dealt with the ordinary arrows. Once the arrow traps ceased firing, she looked at Song Qianqiu and said, "Old Sect Leader, Yun Donglai still seeks revenge for Elder’s death; I will use your life’s blood as an offering."
At that moment, an enraged roar echoed from outside the Scripture Repository, accompanied by countless screams of rats. Within the sand pit, innumerable rats were crushed to death by Qiongqi, bursting into a spray of blood and leaving behind mangled corpses. The yellow sand was stained crimson, exuding a foul odor.
Qiongqi's divine might swept across all directions; the sand surged violently, causing collapses within the cave where ancient scrolls tumbled down.
Seizing a moment to breathe, Song Qianqiu realized he was no match for Yunxi and dashed toward the central stone platform of the Scripture Repository. He knew there must be something amiss with either the platform or Wang Taoist’s corpse; otherwise, how could Wang Taoist remain so lifelike after over a hundred years? Even his blood was still warm!
Song Qianqiu pushed aside Wang Taoist’s body and indeed found an ancient book beneath it. The book was wrapped in stone skin, its shape barely discernible with some Sutras inscribed upon it. Almost instantaneously after Wang Taoist’s body left the platform, it shriveled into dried flesh.
The moment Song Qianqiu grasped the stone-wrapped ancient book, Sutra energy spread across his arm and seeped into his blood meridians through his wounds. He attempted to break free but found himself seemingly immobilized.
"Uh-oh." Song Qianqiu cursed himself for being too clever for his own good, realizing he hadn't used Dao Qi to protect himself while retrieving the book. At that moment, an inexplicable Sutra surged into his body, and before he could react, Yunxi was already intent on killing him, leaving him no chance to evade.
Yunxi frowned slightly as she observed Song Qianqiu's pained expression. With a flick of her finger, the sword on the ground soared into the air, aiming for Song Qianqiu's head.
Grinding his teeth in regret, Song Qianqiu felt immense sorrow. After all his cultivation efforts, he never expected to fall victim to a mere scripture. Just as the sword was about to touch his neck, a radiant light enveloped him and he suddenly vanished into thin air.
"Hmm?" Yunxi stepped forward, scanning the surroundings. The space around her was completely sealed, yet Song Qianqiu had disappeared without a trace; the void remained still, but one person had inexplicably vanished!
Yunxi snorted dismissively; it was no big deal. Just as she was about to exit the Scripture Repository, the walls began to tremble and collapse, while the ground beneath her feet crumbled away.
The stone platform shattered as figures emerged from all directions, passing through Yunxi's body. They were all extraordinarily beautiful, with skin like cream and faces like frost, radiating a soft glow. Dressed in fine silks and brocades, they danced gracefully.
Yunxi found the scene too bizarre and attempted to retreat from the Scripture Repository, but the entrance had collapsed, leaving her with no way out.
She summoned Dao Qi to form a protective barrier around herself as yellow sand cascaded down. The Scripture Repository continued to collapse amid tremendous shaking; this earthquake seemed to last an eternity until those women's Light Shadows passed through the walls and vanished.
"Why do I feel like I'm rising?" Yunxi wondered. She approached the edge of the Scripture Repository and pushed against the wall with her palm.
As the yellow sand fell away, it revealed an open sky outside. When Yunxi reached the edge of the Scripture Repository, she realized she was now high in the air; something had lifted it up and carried it into the void.
Amidst the tremors, shelves of books shattered, and yellow sand fell from the walls. Only then did Yunxi see that all around the Scripture Repository were flying murals in various poses, ethereal like celestial beings.
The yellow sand continued to descend below. Various sects rushed to provide support; only one Leiyin Temple existed within Dunhuang. Thus, when the monks of Leiyin Temple heard the commotion, they hurried here first. The Emei Sect and surrounding sects from Shu Mountain also arrived to witness this spectacle.
In the high clouds floated a Sand City supported by Crimson Silk, surrounded by scenes of flight as yellow sand scattered down.
The Crimson Silk shimmered under the Great Sun's rays, emitting a rainbow of colors that nearly obscured the sun itself as it covered everything above. This long and massive Crimson Silk was what held up Sand City; its origin was invisible and its endpoint unknown.
"This is an ancient Supreme Artifact, Tai Xu Ling. Its power can split mountains and shatter peaks, tearing apart the void. It appeared briefly thousands of years ago during a fierce competition between Buddhism and Taoism for supremacy before vanishing without a trace. It surpasses Dao Tools and stands alongside the Eight Sacred Artifacts of the Taoist Sect as one of the top Divine Weapons," an elder with arched eyebrows explained.
"I seem to recall that there are records mentioning this in the Leiyin Temple," an elder from Leiyin Temple said.
An elder from Arched Eyebrows added, "The Founding Master of Emei once investigated the whereabouts of Tai Xu Ling. However, he returned empty-handed, not expecting it to be buried underground all this time. No wonder it has now emerged, radiating light across the universe!"
"Hey, look! Is there someone standing in Sand City?" someone pointed towards Yunxi, who was beside the Scripture Repository.
Yunxi was filled with confusion, unsure of what was happening. She felt surrounded by a tremendous force, and large pieces of Crimson Silk floated past her eyes. Below, she could vaguely see a crowd gathering.
Sand City continued to collapse, with yellow sand falling and the ground beneath the Scripture Repository sinking. Countless scriptures drifted down from above, and many disciples from various sects rushed forward to snatch them up, thinking they were books.
At that moment, the entire Sand City fell apart, and the Scripture Repository completely collapsed. The people on the ground scrambled for safety, and without any support, Yunxi stepped onto a piece of Crimson Silk and began to glide downward.
The Tai Xu Dragon in the air swayed, gradually shrinking from several tens of thousands of feet long until it matched the length of the colorful ribbons in the flying mural, trailing behind Yunxi. The crowd watched in awe as Yunxi descended, many doubting their own eyes, thinking it was the Nine Mystic Maiden descending to earth.
Finally, a sect leader stepped forward and pointed at Yunxi with a harsh tone, saying, "Hand over Tai Xu Ling to the Old Man!"
Comment 0 Comment Count