When Guang Chengzi ascended to heaven, his good deeds were insufficient, so he left behind so many treasures. Whoever obtains them must accumulate and repay a certain amount of good deeds on his behalf. When Changmei Zhenren obtained Guang Chengzi's treasures, he wasted countless years before ascending to heaven.
Haha, the old ancestor knew he wasn't a true member of the Xuanmen sect and had little chance of ascension. As for the Guangcheng treasure, he'd take it if he could, but not getting it wouldn't matter. For a powerful figure like him, unless it was a supreme treasure, most things were dispensable. However, even the Emei Sect coveted supreme treasures; they weren't so easy to obtain.
Seeing that Ancestor Haha wasn't interested in the Guangcheng Golden Ship, Jiang Liu decided to add fuel to the fire, saying, "Ancestor, even if we can't get it, we can't let Emei get it! The one less treasure they have, the better our chances of winning. Emei is about to establish its own prefecture, so we absolutely cannot let them get the Guangcheng treasure!"
“What you said is true, but I can’t go. If I go, there will definitely be some powerful figures going there. The Three Immortals and Two Elders are secondary; those Jile, Fentuo, and Bai Mei are very troublesome. Moreover, I have important matters to attend to with Old Monster Xuanyuan, and I can’t leave.” Haha Ancestor shook his head and said, remaining unmoved by Jiang Liu’s eloquent words.
"However, I can't go, but Master Xiaoyue from my sect, the Third Master of Liuren Cave in Miao territory, and this Demon Corpse Valley Master Chen can all go!"
Jiang Liu thought to himself: Zen Master Xiaoyue? The Third Master of Liuren Cave in Miao territory? Who are these people? They have no magic power, no magic treasures. Are they just going to give Emei experience points? They're not even as good as the original combination of Demon Corpse, Old Demon, and White Bone God!
Haha, the old patriarch didn't invite any experts from other sects, naturally he had his own 'selfish' motives. Although he couldn't use the Guangcheng legacy, the disciples under his 'master' were treasures for protecting their lives!
"Ancestor, these people might not be as strong as you!"
Haha, the old ancestor paused for a moment. Naturally, he also knew the strength of Zen Master Xiaoyue and the strength of the three chieftains of Liuren Cave in Miaojiang.
After a long pause, he said again, "At that time, the Venerable Dulong of Tibet and the Five Poisons Heavenly King Liebaduo will also go there. I will ask Ancestor Xuanyuan what he thinks."
After reaching an agreement, they arranged to meet at Yuanjiang with the demon corpse Gu Chen. The river then flowed towards Yunnan, while the demon corpse followed Old Ancestor Haha towards the Savage Mountain in Guizhou, preparing to request reinforcements and intercept the Guangcheng Treasure.
Chapter 267 Retrieving the Treasure from Yuanjiang (Part 1)
Yunnan, Yuanjiang Riverbank, Daxiong Ridge, Kuzhu Temple.
Upon closer inspection, the temple was situated halfway up a mountain, on a flat area of about a hundred acres, filled with bamboo groves. Beyond the bamboo groves, however, rose a sheer cliff, towering thousands of feet, with the Yuan River flowing below. The other three sides were surrounded by towering mountains and dense bamboo forests.
The temple is situated on high ground. Standing before it, one can see the mighty river stretching for miles, its roar filling the air. The mountain is secluded and rugged, rarely visited by humans, making the scenery exceptionally elegant, serene, and otherworldly. The entire temple is built with bamboo rafters and tiles. Entering the gate, one finds a courtyard of about an acre, covered with lush grass and a variety of exotic flowers. In the center is the main hall, flanked by side halls and pavilions, all with paper windows and bamboo structures, exuding a refined and tranquil atmosphere. Every item and facility is impeccably clean and tidy.
The owner of this hermitage is named Zheng Dianxian. He has been plotting to obtain the Guangcheng treasure for thirty years, but to no avail.
This Guangcheng Golden Ship is hidden deep within the water's eye, hundreds of feet above the ground. It has been drawn in by the Earth's magnetic energy, only able to descend and unable to ascend. The treasure it contains is enormous and heavy, weighing over ten thousand catties. It requires both great magical power and a long period of time to obtain.
Nowadays, this treasure has been sinking year by year, and it is now close to the magnetic mother in the earth's lungs. If one were to enter the water eye with superior magical power, one might be careless, or be ambushed from the side. Although one might not die inside, one would definitely not obtain the treasure; moreover, one must be careful not to break through the earth's energy and ignite the true fire of the earth's veins.
When the true fire of the earth's veins is unleashed, it boils the river's waves, causing unprecedented calamity and creating unimaginable evil. Such karmic consequences would even lead to the demise of immortals.
Only one thing can easily obtain treasure, and that is the Golden Spider.
The Golden Spider is, of course, a type of spider whose body can change size at will, a strange insect remnant from ancient times. Its two threads, one gold and one silver, are difficult to sever even with ordinary magical weapons and flying swords. The power of its breath is unbelievable. Like the Patterned Spider produced in Heavenly Silkworm Ridge, it is a venomous creature.
This golden spider had been cultivating in seclusion for three or four thousand years near the celestial palace at the bottom of the White Rhinoceros Pool in the Min Mountains. Before it could be born to harm anyone, it was subdued by a senior master.
Zheng Dianxian also kept a golden spider. Thirty years ago, she moved from Nanming to Daxiongling in order to obtain the rare treasure of Yuanjiang. However, the golden spider she kept only had a thousand years of cultivation and was not strong enough.
For thirty years, they have failed to obtain the Guangcheng relics.
At this moment, several people were standing in front of the Bitter Bamboo Hermitage. If Jiang Liu were here, he would recognize a few of them.
Among them were several beautiful young women, one of whom was Yang Jin, a disciple of the god Nifenta, and accompanied by Ling Yunfeng.
A large golden spider stood behind Yang Jin, bowing and saying, "Immortal, Master Yuqing, my master asked me to borrow a golden spider from Fairy Han to assist you two masters in retrieving the treasure."
"With this golden spider, the success rate of obtaining the treasure will increase by at least 30%. However, the heavenly secrets are in great chaos now, and the most important thing is to guard against evil forces trying to seize the treasure!" The speaker was a nun whose age was indiscernible; she seemed to be in her prime, but there was a hint of vicissitude in her brows.
"We'll meet force with force and water with earth. Although most of us here are juniors, we are not weak and we have the Xuanmen's treasures. Even if a notorious demon comes, he can be killed by our swords." The speaker was Abbess Yuqing, who had participated in the battle at Ciyun Temple, but Jiang Liu had no chance to witness it at the time.
Yang Jin added, "I have another friend, Ye Bin, who lives in seclusion in Little Antarctica. She received my message and has already come over. She is a great help."
"Oh, it's her! She has been living in seclusion in the Lesser Antarctic for three hundred years, and her Taoist magic is extremely powerful. The flying sword she forges is unique, being condensed from the essence of the two extremes of profound ice. When used, it can transform into billions, with endless wonders. She is one of the most outstanding female immortals among all sects. With her coming, we are absolutely certain of obtaining the treasure."
Master Yuqing nodded, then turned to look at the group of juniors: Bai Xia Sun Nan, a disciple of the Bearded Immortal Li Yuanhua; Yue Wen, the eldest disciple of the Cloud Chaser; several disciples of the Cunning Immortal Zheng; and Yang Jin and Ling Yunfeng, disciples of the Divine Nymphal. Moreover, he had also invited several senior experts, but they had not yet arrived, which put his mind at ease.
...
In the chaotic mountains at the border of Yunnan and Myanmar, the surrounding mountains are jumbled up, with peaks reaching into the clouds and towering into the sky.
On the shady side of the mountain, the cliffs rise steeply, impossible to climb. Above the halfway point, the summit is shrouded in mist year-round, its top invisible. To the left and right, winding valleys meander, treacherous and unpredictable, teeming with venomous snakes and ferocious beasts. The dense forests often block out sunlight for two or three hundred miles. Thousands of mosquitoes, snakes, and venomous insects roam the forest, along with swarms of poisonous ants, some as large as a human finger, numbering in the hundreds of millions. Any human or animal that encounters them will be attacked and bitten fiercely, instantly reduced to skeletons.
The miasma was pervasive, killing anyone who touched it instantly; therefore, it was a place untouched by human or animal footprints.
On the sunny side of the mountain, there is a horizontal ridge, with the Cangshan Mountain winding its way in and connecting with the peaks to form a slope thousands of feet high.
On this desolate place, a large dove was alighting.
Jiang Liu sat in meditation facing the rising sun, motionless, as if cast in steel.
"It is indeed difficult for a demon to take human form. Although the strength of this Divine Dove has reached that level, to transform into human form without any mistakes would require a supreme treasure to cleanse its physical body. Otherwise, it would be a long and arduous process. If it transforms into something neither human nor beast, it would be better not to transform at all..." He slowly finished his practice and calculated the date. The Demon Corpse Valley Chen should have arrived with reinforcements by now.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; a dark cloud drifted in from the north.
Jiang Liu didn't move. He waited for the dark clouds to fall before opening his eyes.
Among them were a demonic corpse named Gu Chen, a large, fat monk with white hair and a white beard, whom Jiang Liu guessed must be Zen Master Xiaoyue. There was also another person, who was at least two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a burly build.
As expected, the monk stared at Jiang Liu for a long while before saying, "My Dharma name is Xiaoyue. You are the Divine Dove who has caused a stir in the righteous path. I have heard that you have a connection with that mysterious person. Do you know where he is?"
"What do you want with him?" Jiang Liu asked calmly.
Zen Master Xiaoyue said, “It’s not that I want to find him, but that all the righteous sects in the world want to find him, and Qi Shuming wants to find him! I have a grudge against Qi Shuming, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“I don’t know where he is! Nowadays, no one can find him. Besides, instead of looking for him, we should think about how to obtain the Guangcheng Treasure. I’ve heard that there is an extremely powerful magic weapon on that golden ship called the Guihua Divine Sound. I wonder if the Zen Master has heard of it?” Jiang Liu revealed a hint of information.
"What? The Assimilation of the Divine Sound?"
Zen Master Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow and his voice immediately rose three degrees, sounding extremely shocked.
"Zen Master? What is the mystery of this treasure?" asked Demon Corpse Valley Chen. Another burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist also asked. This man was the master of the Eight Demons of Green Snail Valley, Venerable Poison Dragon.
Zen Master Xiaoyue said in a deep voice, "This Guihua Divine Sound was forged by Guangchengzi at the summit of Kongtong Mountain after nine years of dedicated study of creation. However, it has never been used even once. I have only heard of it! This treasure possesses the wondrous power of Yin and Yang, and no matter how powerful a demon or monster is, those struck by it will surely perish. Not to mention you and me, even our revered master would not dare to take such a risk. Fortunately, this treasure can only be used once!"
Chapter 268 Retrieving the Treasure in Yuanjiang (Part 2)
The master he mentioned was none other than Haha Ancestor. This Zen Master Xiaoyue was originally a disciple of Changmei Zhenren, but Changmei passed on the Emei sect to Qi Shuming, which is why Xiaoyue became a disciple of Haha Ancestor. There were many grudges and entanglements between them, which Jiang Liu was not too clear about.
Upon hearing that the "Divine Sound of Ascension" was only a one-time use treasure, both Demon Corpse Valley Chen and Poison Dragon Venerable secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even so, Yaoshi Gu Chen still said, "Such a treasure must not be allowed to Emei!"
At this moment, Venerable Poison Dragon spoke, his voice booming like a bell: "I wonder what the situation is like on the Yuanjiang River now. There's no time to lose, Zen Master, please help me cast a spell to find out!"
As he spoke, he took out a crystal ball, knelt down, chanted a spell, bit his middle finger, took a mouthful of magical water, and sprayed it onto the crystal ball. This was to cast the Crystal Reflection Technique, which could reveal the situation hundreds or thousands of miles away from a single crystal ball.
With a flick of his finger, Zen Master Xiaoyue cast a spell, and immediately smoke and clouds rose around them. The transparent crystal sphere was shrouded in a white mist.
They all stared intently, their breaths catching in their eyes. After a while, the smoke and clouds dissipated, revealing a temple and a great river on the crystal sphere.
"The Great Golden Spider? I see. Without it, the Guangcheng Golden Ship couldn't have left the Yuanjiang River. Thank goodness, thank goodness, we didn't see any Xuanmen experts. Although Zheng Dianxian and Yuqing have some Daoist skills, they are still somewhat inferior to us. It seems that we will retrieve the treasure within the next few days. Let's go!"
The Poison Dragon Venerable withdrew his spell, and the image in the crystal ball vanished instantly.
Jiang Liu remained motionless, showing no intention of leaving.
Demon Corpse Valley Chen was taken aback, and said in a deep voice, "Shen Jiu, aren't you going?"
“I cannot go. You should know that if I appear, it will inevitably attract the goddess Nifenta. When that old nun is there, none of you will be able to escape. Therefore, I cannot appear in person!”
Jiang Liu had no intention of taking the lead.
"That's not what you told Old Ancestor Haha that day!"
Jiang Liu revealed a hint of sarcasm. Times have changed. If he hadn't said some nice things back then, Haha, the old ancestor wouldn't have been so easy to deal with.
"I'll be in the shadows, and I'll make my move when the time is right!" Jiang Liu said shamelessly. When is the right time? If there's danger, there won't be a right time.
"The three of us are enough! Moreover, we also have the help of Lieba and others..." Zen Master Xiaoyue said. Treasures are tempting, and more people mean more people to share them. Besides, the enemy doesn't seem to be that strong.
The three left and headed straight for Yuanjiang.
Jiang Liu, in fact, wasn't very interested in the Guangcheng relics. He had already obtained the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler, which was practically a top-tier treasure among the relics. There weren't many other treasures left that could excite Jiang Liu.
Purple and Green Twin Swords, Mani Beads, Tushita Fire, Cosmic Disc, Nanming Fire Sword, Heart Lamp... just a few items!
"It seems that the Heart Lamp appeared when we were retrieving the treasure in Yuanjiang. It is a Buddhist treasure with boundless power!"
Jiang Liu flapped his wings, and his body instantly changed, becoming smaller and smaller until he became a normal dove, showing no trace of the divine dove. Then he flew towards Yuanjiang.
If a powerful being like Niphanta were to see this ability to change, he would naturally recognize it at a glance, but he would still have to confront it head-on!
As the river slowly drifted to the surface of the Yuanjiang River, the battle had already begun.
Xiaoyue fought a nun, and with a broken jade hook, she utterly humiliated the nun. The origin of this broken jade hook was that it was forged by the ancient Gonggong clan using the essence of Taiyi and ten-thousand-year-old cold crystal. It could be launched to defend against enemies at will.
However, just as they were about to kill the nun, a cold light flew in from the horizon, saving the nun and then fighting Xiaoyue to a standstill.
Meanwhile, Demon Corpse Valley Chen and Poison Dragon Venerable were fighting a group of people. Flying swords darted across the sky like dragons, and magical treasures were of various colors, including those from the Xuanmen and Buddhist sects.
There were a few other demonic cultivators, but their strength was too weak. Jiang Liu glanced at them and knew that these demons were about to ascend to heaven.
Jiang Liu recognized several of the magical treasures and flying swords at a glance, including the "Lotus Sutra Vajra Wheel," which he was very familiar with.
What caught Jiang Liu's attention, however, was a crimson flying sword that soared across the sky like a flying dragon.
"The Nanming Blazing Fire Sword! What a fine Nanming Blazing Fire Sword! With this sword, the demon corpse is in grave danger. No amount of magic power will help; it can't withstand someone with better equipment. This flying sword should be a celestial artifact, and a very high one at that..."
"Huh! That thing blocking Xiaoyue's way is actually the Ice Soul Divine Light..."
Before Jiang Liu could even look around, the demon corpse Gu Chen let out a miserable scream and then fled frantically.
Suddenly, a woman appeared on the battlefield. With a flick of her left hand, a magical artifact flew up from a small lamp. The artifact was only three inches in size, emitting a pale yellow light, with red, white, and blue rays of light shooting out from its sides. These rays were also only about a foot long, radiating brilliant light with extraordinary intensity. As soon as she made her move, the three rays of light, using the yellow light as their axis, spun like a windmill, forming a four-colored wheel of gold, red, blue, and white that struck the demon corpse.
"The Heart Lamp? The Heart Lamp has appeared!"
Just as Jiang Liu was enjoying watching a grand spectacle, a large whirlpool rose in the Yuanjiang River. Looking down across the water, two golden spiders, one large and one small, sat facing each other on the surface, their radiant light shining from the water's depths. Guang Chengzi's golden boat was about to be sucked out of the water.
The two golden spiders seemed to be running out of strength. They roared angrily while struggling to draw in the golden boat. The spider silk they sprayed was as thick as a human arm, with each spider producing no less than a hundred strands. It was white as snow, like a silver rope, strong and straight, and poured into the water.
On the water, several wooden boats were moored, with several people standing on them. They paid no attention to the battle in the sky, but instead stood with their hair loose and bare feet, holding swords, and focused intently on the water. Moreover, they were protected by spiritual talismans and divine light.
These are all people who seek treasure.
Jiang Liu had excellent eyesight and spotted Ling Yunfeng at a glance—the girl he had released on Baiyang Mountain. He saw her holding a black token in her other hand, her eyes fixed intently on the two spiders, not even blinking.
The golden spider's angry roar grew even more shrill, and in the blink of an eye, a deafening boom resounded, and dazzling golden light burst forth. The golden ship, which contained the treasures of the ancient Golden Gate, had already emerged from the river waves.
Instantly, the river surface surged with towering white waves, the monstrous waves standing like mountain walls.
Hundreds of silver chains formed a net around a strangely shaped golden boat, several meters long. Rays of light shone from it, dazzling the eye with golden radiance.