On the east coast, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense! Even the sea breeze seemed to carry a mournful tone. Fully armed troops emerged from all directions, driving unarmed prisoners onto the beach, and then… brutally raised their swords against the thousands of civilians!
The people of the Tang Dynasty were known for their fierce and unruly nature, so naturally some rebelled. However, they were unarmed and could only be slaughtered by the large army.
After slaughtering the thousands, the skinny, monkey-like island army soldiers swiftly chopped off their heads with practiced ease, clearly having done this many times before. The thousands of heads piled up on the beach to form a massive spire, reaching a height of ten meters, a gruesome sight, before they quickly withdrew from this ghostly place.
As night fell, a dark figure appeared atop the tower constructed of human heads, and countless streams of black energy spread from the surrounding area before being absorbed into his body.
"Hehehehe, the living soul is indeed a great tonic. That Earth Immortal realm! It seems it won't be long before I reach it!"
The beach was already stained red with blood, and the same killings were repeated every day, so that the shadowy figure could devour the souls of the living.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Mountain Demon
The forest ended at the source of the stream, where a mountain appeared. The mountain had a small opening, pitch black and without light. Entering through the opening, it was initially extremely narrow, barely wide enough for a person to pass through. After walking several thousand steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.
Jiang Liu's vision suddenly opened up, revealing a sea of clouds that surged like a fairyland.
The exit leads directly into a deep abyss, as sharp as a knife's edge. The clouds and mist obscured the distant, wondrous peaks and landscapes, but as the wind blew, the mist dissipated, revealing a myriad of wondrous sights. From afar, the white clouds resembled pairs of white butterflies, fluttering and dancing around the mountains; from above, they looked like a rolling sea, with only the peaks of the green mountains visible, like small islands appearing and disappearing in the clouds, creating a scene that felt like entering a fairyland.
"Master, if we are looking for the cloud light, we need to go up. I will go ahead first. Master, please be careful, beware of the mountain demons attacking from the mountainside. Falling down would be terrible!" After saying this, the egret flapped its wings and flew straight to the Heavenly Realm, soaring through the sea of clouds in search of the Heavenly Essence Cloud Light.
Flying is a skill that humankind has always dreamed of.
Unfortunately, aside from possessing certain special techniques, only Earth Immortals can soar through the skies. Liezi's ability to ride the wind was merely gliding, not true flight.
The river flows like a monkey climbing between cliffs, while the egrets have already disappeared into the vast sea of clouds.
When the river climbed to the halfway point of the mountain, looking down, one could see that the clouds and mist swirled around it, obscuring its depth; looking up, one could see that the clouds rose and fell, obscuring its height.
The mountain wind howled, and Jiang Liu's ears twitched slightly. He heard a series of cries coming from above, which sounded somewhat like human speech, but were also different.
Jiang Liu continued climbing upwards. Fortunately, there were vines between the steep mountain walls and crevices in the rocks, so Jiang Liu was not afraid of falling.
Before long, the clouds above dispersed, and several monkey-like creatures leaped between the cliffs; the sound came from their mouths.
"These are the mountain demons that Bai Lu mentioned? They must be demons transformed from monkeys! Fortunately, they haven't taken human form. Fighting these mountain demons in this terrain is indeed disadvantageous. Xie Chou was very lucky to escape unscathed last time!"
The mandrill is a monkey-like monster, long and black in color, with immense strength. It can run faster than a leopard and tear apart tigers and leopards with its bare hands; it is the tyrant of the mountains.
When the tiger is away, the monkey reigns supreme.
Although it's a derogatory term, it also shows that monkeys are not weak among animals.
"Awooo..."
The group of mandrills had clearly spotted the river as well. Swinging their vines, they pounded their chests with their hands, letting out several high-pitched cries, before a rain of stones descended upon the river.
"Damn, they even have precision throwing techniques!" Jiang Liu tried his best to curl up, but the stones were extremely accurate and powerful. Jiang Liu cried out in pain, and several bruises instantly appeared on his body. This was the result after he used "Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt." If it were an ordinary person, this rain of stones would have caused them to bleed profusely.
"You beast, take this palm strike!" Jiang Liu planted his feet in the cracks between the rocks, bit his index finger, and began drawing a "lightning talisman" on his palm.
"Heavenly Thunder, heed my command! Descend!"
With a deafening roar of thunder and rolling lightning, the mountain demons roared in terror and scattered into chaos.
Thunder is the nemesis of evil spirits and demons. These mountain goblins hadn't even broken their bones yet, so they were naturally terrified of the might of heaven.
A jet-black mandrill was struck by lightning, its body becoming even more charred, its fur standing on end. Its limbs trembled, paralyzed by the lightning, and its body stiffened. It then fell off the cliff and plummeted to the bottom of the valley.
The lightning disappeared, but the mandrills cried out in alarm, leaping and bounding between the steep cliffs. Another bolt of lightning struck the river, and yet another mandrill fell into the valley.
The deaths of several mandrills have instilled extreme fear in the remaining mandrills.
When Jiang Liu stretched out his palm again, the group of mountain demons fled in terror, watching Jiang Liu from a distance, not daring to approach, yet reluctant to leave.
"Huh! Could there be some treasure inside the mandrill's cave?"
Seeing that the egret had not returned and Xie Chou had not followed, Jiang Liu then disappeared into the huge cave.
Hidden within the cliff face are secrets; the caves bear clear signs of human excavation. The entrance is only as tall as a person, but the interior is a completely different world.
"This must be a cultivator's cave dwelling!"
The cave was brightly lit, with an entrance carved into the ceiling through which sunlight streamed down.
Under that ray of sunlight, there was a small pool about ten feet square, with white water droplets dripping from the surrounding stalactites and falling into the pool.
Jiang Liu's eyes lit up. In the center of the pool grew a dozen slender, long stems that broke through the water, each with a green leaf. Among the leaves of three of these stems, a bright red fruit was hanging.
Of the other dozen or so rhizomes, three also had fruit, but the fruit was green and much smaller. The remaining rhizomes only had leaves and no fruit.
"The Vermilion Fruit!"
Jiang Liu, having thoroughly read through the Daoist Canon, was overjoyed upon seeing the fruit: "I've come at the perfect time; there are actually three ripe Vermilion Fruits. The other three Vermilion Fruits will probably take several years to fully ripen."
Vermilion Fruit, ranked among the top-grade human-level rare treasures, is an essential ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. It can also be eaten directly, but its effects are not as good as when refined into pills. This is precisely why alchemists are the most sought-after profession in the cultivation world. However, eating unripe Vermilion Fruit will bring no benefits and only harm.
Jiang Liu was about to walk over when he frowned. He was used to being cautious, and he naturally had to be even more careful in this unknown place.
Sure enough, upon looking around, they saw a mandrill covered in green fur hiding among the greenery, motionless, its eyes fixed on the river.
Those eyes had golden pupils, which were quite mysterious.
The mandrill, seeing that its hiding place had been discovered, showed no expression and slowly walked out.
This mandrill is different from others, as it is taller and stronger. Just as there is a alpha male in a monkey troop, there is also a alpha male in a mandrill troop.
This strange mandrill is actually a mandrill king!
Moreover, it was a mandrill that had already begun to transform into human form.
"The fruit...is...mine, and you...die!"
With a stomp of its limbs, the Golden-Eyed Mountain Demon King caused the ground to tremble violently. It transformed into a green beam of light and shot up instantly, arriving in front of Jiang Liu in the blink of an eye. Its iron arms, as if cast in steel, became a phantom in the air, and its claws were dark green, clearly concealing a deadly poison.
Jiang Liu snorted coldly, sat cross-legged with his palms facing down, gathered his vital energy, coiled like a tortoise and snake, and the True Martial Illusion suddenly appeared. A golden lotus was planted in the fire, and he threw a punch straight down, with a surging and turbulent sound emanating from his body! It made a sound like waves crashing.
This is not a strong wind, nor a twitching muscle, nor a cracking bone; rather, it is the image of blood surging throughout the body, and sound emanating from within!
The Innate Realm allows one to control the body's essence and blood, achieving terrifying explosive power!
The reason why a general in the army at the Innate Realm could kill a pure cultivator was because of his explosive power that could split mountains and shatter rocks.
"Go to hell!"
Chapter Seventy: The Elixir is Complete
The tortoise and snake coil together, their life force is strong, yet they can grow golden lotuses even in fire!
Jiang Liu reached the Innate Realm and possessed the "True Martial Power." With a single punch, combined with the terrifying destructive power of the "Shock Technique," the Mountain Demon King let out a painful roar, leaped back three zhang, and bent over, vomiting uncontrollably.
This mountain demon king possessed an innately powerful physical body, and after cultivating in these mountains for countless years, guarding a vermilion fruit, its muscles, bones, and internal organs had all been forged into extreme strength.
Jiang Liu's punch, the "Shock Technique," was so powerful that even a heavily armored general at the Innate Realm would find it difficult to withstand. With a single tremor, it struck through mountains and directly damaged the internal organs.
After a violent bout of vomiting, the mandrill king appeared to be unharmed. Its golden pupils shrank to slits, and it pounded its chest and howled.
You can clearly see his muscles bulging, showing a tendency to develop into a Vajra.
"Berserk mode? Transformation?"
Jiang Liu wouldn't let him go berserk. With a "Fragrant Elephant Crossing the River" maneuver, he shot off like a cannonball. At the same time, his palms were covered in lightning, white arcs of electricity constantly dancing on his skin, and countless birds were chirping loudly.
Thunderclap, Thousand Birds!
No longer holding back his energy, Jiang Liu decided to kill the mountain demon king in one strike.
The Thousand Birds' penetrating power was no less than that of the Thunder Tribulation Peach Wood Sword. This strike was like a spear flashing with lightning, piercing through the dark green fur, through the muscles and bones, and into the chest of the Mountain Demon King.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed, a heart the size of a human head, pounding violently, was snatched directly from the mountain demon king's chest. As Jiang Liu retreated rapidly, the heart, now separated from the body, continued to throb.
A huge hole appeared in the mountain demon king's chest, like a magnificent flower blooming on his chest. As his blood and energy dissipated, his muscles, which had just bulged, slowly contracted like a deflated balloon.
Those golden eyes showed an expression of disbelief, then he collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitched violently a few times, and then stopped moving.
Fresh blood spilled all over the ground, emitting a strong, foul stench.
Jiang Liu threw the heart on the ground and kicked the mountain demon, which was already dead beyond any doubt, except for its pair of eerie eyes that were wide open.
He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
He removed the mandrill's inner core, then pulled out its ten venomous claws, and threw the corpse off the cliff.
He carefully picked the three vermilion fruits, put them in a jade box to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking out, and then sat cross-legged on the ground to meditate and recover his vital energy.
When the river had almost recovered, the light at the cave entrance dimmed, and a dark figure blocked the entrance, walking in with heavy steps.
Jiang Liu's eyes snapped open, and after recognizing the person who had entered, his tense body relaxed. He then said, "Xie Chou, are you injured?"
"Master, this is just a superficial injury, it's nothing serious! You really have eliminated these mountain demons! I've destroyed the entrance, which should keep the East Sea monkeys at bay for a while!" Xie Chou said nonchalantly.
But Jiang Liu knew that he must have suffered a great battle. Given his defensive capabilities, his body was covered with wounds of all sizes, like a baby's mouth turned outwards.
"Take a Rejuvenation Pill first! I'll protect you while you recover. Oh, and there's a Vermilion Fruit here too, absorb that as well!"
Xie Chou plopped down on the ground, swallowed the "Rejuvenation Pill" first, and said, "I knew what treasure these mountain demons were guarding, but I didn't expect it to be the Vermilion Fruit!"
Xie Chou resealed the Vermilion Fruit into the jade box, but he did not intend to absorb the essence within it.
Jiang Liu searched around but found no hidden rooms or secret caves. This cave had obviously been abandoned for hundreds of years before being occupied by a group of mountain demons.
Apart from a single red fruit plant, there was nothing else of value.
Jiang Liu sat atop a cliff, watching the surging sea of clouds. On the horizon, a large bird seemed to be chasing something, but it was too far away to see clearly.
"However, the scenery here is beautiful, with countless clouds and a secluded place, so it could be developed into a hiding place. It's a pity that the spiritual energy is slightly less than that of Qianlong Mountain... Alas! I destroyed the spiritual veins by exploiting them, so Qianlong Mountain probably doesn't have much spiritual energy left either!"
Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and fiery red clouds filled half the sky.
A clear cry pierced through the clouds, and then a white egret was seen breaking through the clouds and flying towards the river.
A white egret landed beside Jiang Liu, its beak holding a wisp of something like cotton candy, as light as mist or snow. Jiang Liu held it in his hand; it seemed weightless and about to float away.
Bai Lu took a pill from Jiang Liu's hand and swallowed it. Then, weakly, she said, "Master, we finally caught this cloud light. Has Ah Chou returned? Yes, it's good that he's back. I need to rest properly; my wings are practically cramping up!"
After a period of treatment, the water buffalo's external wounds have all healed.
With Xie Chou and Bai Lu on guard, Jiang Liu felt at ease. Even if the invaders from the East Sea knew he was here, they wouldn't be able to send a large army up this cliff. Jiang Liu then began cultivating the "Cloud Light Stone Flowing Pill" according to the pill formula.