Breaking through the poisonous fog, the five men saw a cave filled with strange rocks and several long banners on the ground, each depicting a naked demon. Beneath each banner lay the heads of three ferocious bears and apes, their eyes wide open, teeth clenched, and tongues lolling out, as if emitting silent roars.
But many more banners were broken or torn!
Yesterday's sneak attack killed seven of the twelve people, but also destroyed most of the "Mysterious Yin Gathering Beast Banner" that the Corpse Demon had not yet completed. Relying on the magic weapon bestowed by the Green-Robed Ancestor, the five of them dared to fight the Corpse Demon Valley Chen again. If they relied on their own strength, the three of them would not even be enough to fill the gaps in the Corpse Demon Valley Chen's teeth.
As for escaping, it was something they never even considered. The ruthlessness and cruelty of the Green Robe Ancestor made them dare not entertain the slightest thought of disloyalty.
The "Mysterious Yin Gathering Beast Banner" crafted from this demonic corpse is made by combining the souls of millions of ape bears with black evil threads refined from the foul air accumulated over millions of years in the earth's lungs. It is extremely vicious and consists of eighty-one banners that can be arranged to form the Mysterious Yin Soul Refining and Spirit Gathering Array.
Unfortunately, it was destroyed before it could be fully refined, otherwise it would have been enough to crush the second-generation disciples of Yinfeng Cave in Baiman Mountain.
Although most of it was destroyed, the main banner remained intact, allowing the imprisoned demon corpse Gu Chen to unleash considerable power.
Inside the cave, a small banner, a few inches long, stood alone atop a stone pillar several feet high. At the base of the banner was an oil lamp, its wick emitting a bowl-sized ball of green flame that illuminated the demon banner and the beast's head, making the entire cave appear even more eerie, gloomy, and terrifying.
It felt like the eighteenth level of hell.
As soon as Tang Shi and his group of five stepped into the cave, they heard a strange noise coming from behind the main banner. Then, the cave was filled with creaking and ghostly cries, a cold wind rose, the large and small demon banners fluttered together, and the beast heads all opened their eyes and mouths, as if they were about to fly away.
The five of them each raised their magical weapons: a three-pointed, double-edged sword that could breathe fire, the Maiden's Banner, the Golden Silkworm Gu that could kill a hundred poisons, and the Crystal Palace...
A green-clad monster emerged from behind the small banner, surrounded by a ring of green flames, with wisps of black smoke billowing from its mouth. Even more striking was a bowl-sized ball of reddish-purple light emanating from its chest—the very same ancient, warm jade that was radiating its glow.
The demonic corpse suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs, and let out a strange howl that was both a laugh and a cry, saying, "You dare to come back? Heh heh... I'm short of food, so now that you're here, you're not leaving!"
As he spoke, he pointed, and all the large and small demon banners unfurled, filling the cave with a chilling wind, ghostly cries, and the hissing of beasts. From within the dark green light and shadow, dozens of beast heads, trailing thick fog and black smoke, rushed straight towards them. The green flames beside the demon corpses also transformed into thousands of yellow-green sparks, swarming up like bees, filling the air with a pungent demonic aura.
Fortunately, the five of them had the treasure that the Green-Robed Ancestor had refined over decades to protect them. Although they couldn't defeat the demon corpse, they could easily hold it off for a while.
Jiang Liu was well aware of the demon corpse's power, and he didn't expect Tang Shi and the others to retrieve the ten-thousand-year-old warm jade. He was merely using the twelve people from Baiman Mountain to draw the demon corpse's fire so he could steal the treasure!
Meanwhile, the demon corpse Gu Chen was imprisoned by the long-browed fiery cloud chains and could not leave the cave.
This was Jiang Liu's chance, and his only chance to steal the millennium-old warm jade. Regardless of success or failure, he decided to flee a thousand miles away.
As the two sides fought fiercely, Jiang Liu grinned maliciously, used the "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler" to protect himself, and used the "Yi Sword Technique" to control an invisible sword, launching a sneak attack on the demon corpse.
Chapter 100 The Treasure Hunt (Part 2)
The invisible sword is colorless and formless, making it ideal for sneak attacks. Under normal circumstances, given the cultivation level of the demon corpse Gu Chen, it would not be difficult to detect this flying sword.
But now that they are being held back by several of the Green Robe Ancestor's disciples, how could they possibly detect Jiang Liu's sneak attack?
With a swift sword strike, the ancient jade pendant on the demon corpse's chest abruptly fell, its crimson and purple light dissipating. The demon corpse immediately noticed. Gripping the small banner in one hand, it shook it violently, releasing a plume of black smoke. Simultaneously, its other hand lashed downwards, its iron-blue palm moving like an eagle's claw with lightning speed.
His eyes, shifting between yellow and green, blazed with fury. This warm jade was the lifeblood of the demon corpse; he couldn't afford to lose it. Imprisoned within this earthen cave by the long-browed demon, tormented by the earth's winds, his body had long since turned to skeletal remains, preserved only by this piece of warm jade. If he lost the jade, he couldn't leave the Mangcang Mountain cave for even a moment; in time, his primordial spirit would be extinguished, and his soul would be scattered.
Just then, a thunderclap exploded.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Liu had broken through his protective poisonous mist. With the pure yang energy of the "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler" protecting him, these evil energies could not get close and were directly blocked by the nine golden flowers three inches away from his body.
Jiang Liu's carefully prepared "Palm Thunder" struck the demon corpse, causing the hand reaching for the ten-thousand-year-old warm jade to pause.
A sword aura swept across, lifting Wen Yu into Jiang Liu's hand.
"Roar!" The corpse demon roared in fury.
"I, your ancestor, will go first. You all hold off the demon corpse!"
Jiang Liu roared and flew out of the cave, gripping the invisible sword.
Enraged, the demonic corpse Gu Chen rose up, risking the backlash from the restriction, and suddenly emerged from the cave to catch up. He opened his strange, yellow-green eyes, bared his teeth, held the "Mysterious Yin Gathering Beast Banner" in one hand, and made a hand seal, causing the five-colored flames to surge upwards like a tide.
The attack directly engulfed the five disciples of the Green Robe Ancestor. Even with numerous protective magic treasures, several extremely shrill howls echoed from within the cave.
Just as he was about to leap away with his sword, the four walls of the cave suddenly closed up, leaving only a narrow opening two feet wide. Below was the boundless, bottomless hell of thick smoke released by the demon corpse Gu Chen.
Fortunately, Jiang Liu had been taking precautions and had already set up a lightning array at the cave entrance. Upon seeing this, he immediately activated it, summoning a bolt of heavenly lightning that struck the cave entrance, creating a large opening.
Without time to take a closer look, Jiang Liu drew his sword and leaped to the most yin place in the back mountain.
As for the Green-Robed Ancestor's disciples, Jiang Liu didn't care about their lives. Meanwhile, the demon corpse Gu Chen, with a fiery cloud chain around his neck by Long Eyebrows, couldn't leave the cave. Jiang Liu was now preoccupied with the wrath of Emei.
Fortunately, he was outside the laws of nature, so it was impossible for others to deduce that he had taken the warm jade, nor could they calculate his whereabouts. As long as he was not caught on the spot, he could escape by running away and hiding.
"Get the ice silkworm as soon as possible, we can't waste any more time!"
The Wind Cave Ice Cave was quite conspicuous. Upon arriving at the northern part of Mangcang Mountain, there was no need to look around; one could simply head in the direction of the wind. In no time, a cave filled with howling winds appeared before one's eyes. The river was shrouded in a reddish-purple glow, the rosy light swirling back to form a curtain-like protective shield, enveloping the body within and protecting it from the corrosive chill of the Netherworld.
Beyond the purple light barrier, amidst the raging hurricane, countless howling tornado columns, like giant trees, stood in rows of three or five, tearing apart everything in their path. The columns collided with each other, creating a deafening roar.
As he entered the Wind Cave, he saw that the winds were still howling, and black ice and frost filled the air. The Earthly Extreme Wind was originally colorless, but tainted by the black ice and frost, it took on a deep black hue. The black wind swirled into pillars, standing tall in the air, moving slowly and erratically. Sometimes two pillars would gradually approach each other, suddenly colliding with a deafening roar, shattering the pillars and dispersing them into billowing black clouds. It was a terrifying sight. As soon as one or two pillars dispersed, countless more would surge into the sky from the dense black smoke below, surging and turbulent.
Although hurricanes are dangerous, the most dangerous places in the Wind Cave and Ice Cave are the Xuanbing Black Frost. Without the protection of a precious yang treasure or great magical power, one would be frozen stiff in just a few breaths.
Holding the "Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade," Jiang Liu rushed towards the Wind Cave Ice Cave. He felt that every second in this vast and desolate mountain was dangerous, and he wished he could immediately obtain the Ice Silkworm and then escape thousands of miles away.
As soon as Jiang Liu approached the entrance to the cave, a bone-chilling cold swept over him, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. His face instantly turned ashen, and his lips even turned blue. Tiny specks of frost condensed on his hair and eyebrows, demonstrating just how powerful the cold air in the cave was.
Fortunately, he held the "Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade" in his hand. As soon as the chill entered his body, a trace of warmth emanated from the jade, dispelling the cold. Jiang Liu then activated the Yuan Yang Ruler, and nine golden flowers floated and sank, suspended around him, blocking the cold air from the outside. The Yuan Yang treasure, the "Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Ruler," was filled with purple energy, exuding a warm and cozy aura.
Having passed through the hurricane at the cave entrance, amidst swirling ice shards and blankets of black frost, Jiang Liu had successfully reached the depths of the cave.
A hurricane howled above the cave, while the bottom remained remarkably calm. Jiang Liu suddenly felt the "Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade" in his hand become unusually heavy, almost causing it to slip from his grasp. He quickly grabbed the jade. In the blink of an eye, a burst of silver light rose from the black ice and frost beneath the ground, blocking the purple aura emanating from the jade. The interaction of yin and yang had caused the jade to almost slip from his hand.
This must be an ice silkworm.
Jiang Liu was overjoyed upon seeing this.
Attracted by the warmth of the jade, a creature about two feet long, shaped like a silkworm, pure white with a faint silver sheen, flew over. It was indeed an Ice Silkworm, and he quickly took it into his hand. However, it was quite strange that although this creature was extremely yin and cold, it did not feel cold to the touch.
Jiang Liu found it very strange. Although the ice silkworm was a yin and cold essence, it had completely suppressed its own coldness. This must be what they mean by the saying "things will turn into their opposites when they reach their extremes".
【Sun Palace Ice Silkworm】
[Formed from the essence of the Five Elements Water, condensed from the icy energy of ten thousand years!]
[Top-grade prefecture level]
He put it in a jade box and tossed it into his storage space. This item was extremely valuable, far more precious than the silver ox transformed from the "Eastern Taiyi Yuanjing." One could discern its value simply from its state of being alive and dead!
Not wanting to linger here, they withstood the hurricane and rushed out of the cave.
Having obtained the two treasures, Jiang Liu headed east, not daring to fly on his sword, but moving quickly on the ground, while constantly paying attention to the situation in the sky.
Sure enough, after Jiang Liu had traveled more than a hundred miles away from the main peak of Mangcang Mountain, he saw several sword lights appear in the northern sky and descend from afar.
A moment later, it raised its sword and flew up again, heading towards the direction of Baiman Mountain.
Jiang Liu chuckled softly and said in a low voice, "This is truly a close call! If it had continued into the night, the consequences would have been unimaginable. I hope Baiman Mountain can hold you off for a while..."
They dared not linger, traveling day and night for three days, until they emerged from the Ten Thousand Mountains and headed towards the East Sea.
Chapter 101 The Fish Demon of Yanhu Lake
The Emei Sect's most precious treasure, the Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade, needed for establishing the sect, was lost. Even the Emei Sect Leader, the True Man Qi Shuming, personally calculated its fate, but to no avail, as if this precious primordial treasure had never existed. In truth, the "Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade" had already entered the storage space, and with the "Escaped One" obstructing cause and effect, even the Long-Browed True Man's descent to the mortal realm couldn't deduce its existence.
They then used their great magical power to divine the Green Robe Ancestor's movements, but all they could see was that his soul had already been scattered.
Qi Shuming and Xuanzhenzi, one of the three immortals, joined forces and used the Zhou Tian Yi Shu (Book of Changes) to deduce the heavenly way, but the heavenly secrets were hazy and chaotic. Everything seemed ambiguous and was not as clear as before.
Inside the Emei Immortal Abode, everyone's expressions were solemn. After a long silence, Qi Shuming said in a deep voice, "Everyone, the great calamity has changed, and the secrets of heaven are unpredictable. The establishment of Emei Abode is imminent, and we cannot afford any more mistakes. The Three Heroes and Two Clouds predicted by Ancestor Changmei must also not have any unforeseen circumstances, as this is the foundation of Emei's glory. Fortunately, the Purple and Green Twin Swords have already appeared, so there is no need to worry about them. The loss of Wen Yu must not be revealed. Junior Brother Zui, you will secretly investigate Wen Yu's whereabouts!"
The Drunken Taoist nodded and said, "Since my fellow disciples have important matters to attend to, then I will go instead!"
Xuanzhenzi, one of the Three Immortals of the East Sea, looked solemn and said in a deep voice, "The South Sea Swordsman, Ding Yin? This person was possessed by the Green Robe Ancestor. We all know the Green Robe's strength. That old monster has cultivated a second primordial spirit. Even if we join forces, we can only destroy his physical body. His primordial spirit can only be destroyed by the Life and Death Obscurity Illusionary Annihilation Dust Array... But why does this divination show that the Green Robe has already been completely destroyed in reality?"
"The secrets of heaven are unpredictable, senior brother. Could it be that Green Robe was killed by Ding Yin?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
"There are very few people in the world who can single-handedly annihilate the Green Robe's primordial spirit!"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, while Qi Shuming produced a letter and handed it to his senior brother, Xuanzhenzi, saying, "We'll discuss the matter of the Green Robe later. If he appears, I will join forces with the Three Immortals and Two Elders to kill him using the Illusionary Annihilation Dust Array. Recently, the eccentric beggar Ling Hun sent a letter; he wants to seize Qingluo Valley and establish the Snow Mountain Sect. We'll give him face and help him take over the Qingluo Valley Demon Palace. For Emei to establish its headquarters, it needs to unite with the righteous path and avoid becoming a target of public criticism. Our three heroes and two cloud-like disciples can also gain experience—two birds with one stone! What do you all think?"
Xuanzhenzi glanced at the letter in his hand, then handed it to the Drunken Daoist, saying, "It's perfectly acceptable! I know of a female Daoist, the Goddess of Calamity, Zheng Bagu, in the Great Snow Mountain. She's a close friend of Master Yuqing. Although she wasn't a righteous person, she has now reformed and possesses the Snow Soul Pearl. That Snow Soul Pearl is condensed from the essence of ten thousand years of ice and snow, possessing countless wondrous uses, most notably capable of breaking fire magic. We can bring her into Emei and glorify our sect. There's another matter: the disciple of the ascetic monk, Laughing Monk, is in danger in the Hundred Barbarian Mountains. We need to send someone else to subdue the Spider. The Heavenly Fire Spirit Pearl cannot be lost..."
"Senior brother, my son Jin Chan has already set off for Tiancan Ridge, accompanied by Canxia's disciple, Zhu Wen. We need to send someone else to look after him. We'll discuss this later; there's no rush!"
...
Just as Master Miaoyi was deducing the "Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade" at Mount Emei, the river flowed to the Jiangzhe region, which was known for its immense wealth.
In an inn, Jiang Liu took out a briefcase-sized box from his storage space, opened it, and found it filled with cosmetic-like items and skins shaped like human faces.
Human skin mask!
Of course, it couldn't be real human skin anymore; it was a little gadget that Jiang Liu bought in the "Dragon and Snake" world, and now it's finally coming in handy.
This is a high-polymer simulated face mask, each worth tens of thousands of US dollars. Many international spies are nicknamed "man of a thousand faces" because they use these masks to change identities and appearances to evade capture! Those spies' makeup skills allow them to transform themselves into someone else in a minute.
Jiang Liu naturally didn't have such advanced skills. He took a face mask, put it on his face, and then slowly applied makeup with a soft brush, foundation, and other products.
An hour later, Jiang Liu finally finished his makeup to his satisfaction. Looking at his face in the mirror, he found it to be slightly rounder and much more amiable, quite different from before, and there wasn't a single flaw to be found.
"High-tech stuff is really useful! Now no one can recognize me by my appearance! I can't use thunder magic anymore; it's too obvious and would easily expose my identity. Fortunately, I still have Guang Chengzi's sword control technique. It's a righteous sword technique, and I've only used it once in front of the demon corpse. Time to change my appearance and return to the martial world!"
After tidying up his things, Jiang Liu leaped out of the window and disappeared into the night with a few bounds.
Jiang Liu was heading towards Baiyang Mountain, hoping to see the "Baiyang Diagram Explanation" left behind by the Baiyang Immortal. Although he had obtained the "Guangcheng Heavenly Book," it was a sword technique, and his main cultivation method was the "Purification Mantra," which was commonplace in the Journey to the West world. He didn't want to learn the evil technique "Hundred Poisons True Scripture." After thinking it over, he realized that only the "Baiyang Diagram Explanation" was easy to obtain, so he decided to go and see it.
Upon arriving in Jinhua, central Zhejiang, a few inquiries were made, and the location of Baiyang Mountain was obtained.
Just as he was about to head there, he heard that three evil dragons were causing trouble in Yandang Mountain. Jiang Liu didn't want to get involved in these matters, but suddenly he noticed that the fragment of the Yangzhou cauldron in his arms was slightly warm.
A thought suddenly struck me, and I felt there was hope.
Although it was unknown what had triggered the reaction of the Yangzhou tripod, the river still flowed toward Yandang Mountain.
At Yandang Mountain and Yanhu Lake, the wind and rain were fierce, and it seemed as if swords were flashing through the storm.
Jiang Liu stood in the wind and rain, looking at the towering waves of Yanhu Lake. He saw a giant serpent stirring up huge waves in the wind and rain.
On the eastern shore of the lake, a sword suddenly flashed, and the serpent was instantly cut into several pieces, its bright red blood staining half the lake red.
Jiang Liu held the fragments of the Nine Cauldrons, and a fluorescent light, invisible to outsiders, pointed directly into the heart of Yanhu Lake.
"Look at that sword light! Its sword energy spans hundreds of feet, definitely the work of a celestial being. He killed this serpent like slicing melons; he could kill me in a single strike. Nine Cauldrons! Wait a minute, let him leave before we steal the treasure. If he takes the treasure too, I won't have the strength to rob it!"
As the river flowed and murmured, the wind and rain showed no signs of abating, and in fact seemed to be getting even more intense.