12dz Chapter 121 Two Realms Mountain
Chapter 121 Two Realms Mountain
Zhou Mingyuan also came, which was an unexpected bonus.
They probably wanted to humiliate him before he died, so they chased him all the way to Baishi Town.
The fact that Zhou Mingyuan chose to travel by celestial boat instead of teleportation array indicates that he did not want the sect to know his whereabouts, which presents an excellent opportunity.
Zhang Lin had seen the name Liangjie Mountain on the map. It was located about 300 miles northeast of Baishi Town. It was a low mountain range named after its location at the junction of Yunmengzhou and Xijizhou. It was a dangerous place with many dense forests and caves.
Zhang Lin carefully read the secret message jade talisman, confirming that no key information had been missed, and then put the jade talisman away.
This intelligence is more valuable than any magical artifact. Zhou Mingyuan was not alone; he also brought several other scions of prominent families.
Zhou Mingyuan, in order to maintain control, would likely ensure that these people's cultivation levels did not exceed the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
He shifted his gaze to something next to the jade slip: a pale gold token.
This is Zhou Huaili's identity token. The front is engraved with the character "Zhou" and the back is engraved with the characters "Huaili". It is made of spirit gold and is of a high grade.
These tokens served as credentials for members of aristocratic families to travel within their clans and as tokens for receiving their monthly stipends.
Zhang Lin didn't know what use this token would be in the future. Perhaps it could be used to impersonate a member of the Zhou family to sneak into certain occasions, or perhaps it could be used as a tool to frame someone at a crucial moment.
But he knew that it was better to keep something that carried the mark of a noble family than to throw it away.
He sorted through all of Zhou Huaili's belongings, separating elixirs into elixirs, magical artifacts into magical artifacts, and spirit stones into spirit stones.
By the time the last miscellaneous item was put into the storage bag and the last spirit stone was counted, it was already late at night.
That night, he devised a plan to lure two Foundation Establishment cultivators into a fight, and then at a crucial moment, he struck with the Soul-Suppressing Bell, the Blood Fiend Flag, and the Blood Refining Sword, combined with the Eight Transformations Profound Truth Technique and the Earth Escape Technique, to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator in his half-peak state.
The liquid true energy in his dantian was completely exhausted, and his spiritual sense was faintly stinging from over-stimulating the Blood Fiend Banner and the Soul Suppressing Bell. There was a crack on the green scale armor on his left side, which was cut by the wind blade, and the watery sheen of the Tianlan Daoist Robe had also dimmed considerably.
But what he gained that night was enough to leave any Qi Refining cultivator speechless.
He drank the Rockfire Spirit Wine that Gu Beichen had given him in one gulp. As the wine entered his throat, a scorching heat spread along his meridians.
The liquid true qi in the dantian began to slowly recover. Although it was slow, the foundation was still stable.
He stood up and took one last look at the ruins of White Stone Town, which had been razed to the ground by the battle.
The dye house, which had a history of three hundred years, had been reduced to dust. The ruins of the town hall cast long shadows in the moonlight. The charred, withered trees stood crookedly by the roadside, with strips of cloth torn by the shock wave hanging from their branches, swaying silently in the morning breeze.
Most of the undead infected by the death aura were crushed in the aftermath of the night's battle, leaving only a few mutilated corpses crawling in the ruins, emitting faint groans.
Zhang Lin withdrew his gaze, put away the Blood Fiend Banner, and turned to head east.
Instead of taking the official road, he turned south onto a long-abandoned mountain path, his figure gradually fading into the night.
Liangjie Mountain, three hundred li away, Zhou Mingyuan was waiting for good news there, so he personally delivered it to him.
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The night was as dark as ink, and before the dawn, a fairy boat about ten feet long was quietly moored above the stone platform on the southern slope of Liangjie Mountain.
The boat's hull was entirely dark blue-black, with its outer shell cast from cloud-patterned refined iron. Each cloud pattern was a miniature wind-elemental rune, totaling 360, subtly corresponding to the number of the heavens.
The bow of the boat is engraved with an ancient seal script character "Zhou," written in a sharp and vigorous style; it is the family crest of the Zhou family of Qingxuan City.
Three pale blue wind core crystal fragments are embedded on each side of the boat. The wind-elemental spiritual energy sealed within the crystals flows slowly, emitting a faint glow.
The entire immortal ship was shrouded in the protection of three layers of restrictions.
The outermost layer is a warning aura, as thin as gauze, which is triggered upon touch. The middle layer is a wind barrier with high-speed airflow, which would shred ordinary flying swords if they were shot into it. The inner layer is a true essence shield, which is solid and thick and cannot be broken without the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The main cabin of the ship was brightly lit.
The cabin was luxuriously furnished, with three jade cups on a rosewood table, the spirit wine inside still warm.
Several landscape paintings with mist and clouds hung on the four walls, all painted with fine ink, with the mountains and waters subtly flowing in the paintings.
A bronze incense burner in the corner of the cabin was burning ambergris, and the wisps of smoke filled the cabin with warmth.
Zhou Mingyuan sat in the main seat, picked up the jade cup and took a sip, a smug smile on his face.
Today he wore a dark blue brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, and his long hair was tied up with a golden crown, looking every bit the young master of a noble family. He was completely different from the disheveled man who was blasted away by Zhang Lin on the Cuiping Peak arena that day.
"Brother Mingyuan, this time it's a sure thing," the young man sitting opposite him said with a smile.
This person has a feminine face, long and narrow eyes, and when he smiles, the corners of his eyes slant slightly upwards, giving the impression of a venomous snake spitting its tongue.
He wore a dark green brocade robe with an embroidered pine tree on the hem. He held a jade slip between his fingers and turned it gently, his posture relaxed.
Du Heng, the eldest son of the Du family of Qingluo City, is one of the forty-six prestigious families.
"With the Third Master of the Zhou family personally taking action, dealing with a junior in the Qi Refining stage is a piece of cake," Chen Ce, sitting on the other side, chimed in.
Chen, a son of a concubine in Zixia City, belongs to one of the twelve great families, whose main family is one of the representative families of the Zifu Immortal Sect.
He had a square face and looked quite honest. He always spoke with a hint of a smile, which made people unconsciously relax their guard.
But if you look closely at his eyes, you'll find a subtle shrewdness hidden deep within them.
He was dressed in a gray Taoist robe, with a golden longsword hanging at his waist, the scabbard engraved with fine runes.
Zhou Mingyuan put down the jade cup and slightly raised his chin: "Third Uncle has been in this business for ten years. He has at least eighty to a hundred lives on his hands. Killing a Qi Refining Grand Perfection cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage is no different than crushing an ant."
He paused, a cold smile appearing on his lips. "Moreover, this plan was so meticulous. Brother Chen deserves credit for issuing the mission in the name of the Chen family and diverting away all the other sect disciples who were getting in the way."
Even if Zhang Lin had three heads and six arms, he couldn't escape this dead end.
"It's a pity I can't see him die with my own eyes." Du Heng licked his lips, a hint of regret in his voice. "I'd like to see what kind of expression that arrogant guy on the stage will have when he's about to die."
Chen Ce waved his hand with a smile: "Brother Du, your taste is a bit too heavy. What's so interesting about dead people? I'm more interested in what's in his storage bag. I heard that when Lu Yuanshan took him as his personal disciple, he bestowed upon him a magical artifact."
"More than one." Zhou Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, his fingertips slowly tracing the rim of the jade cup. "Our family also has a low-grade spiritual artifact in his possession, and the one bestowed by Lu Yuanshan is at least a low-grade spiritual artifact, though its specific grade is unknown."
"But it doesn't matter. Once Uncle Huaili brings his body back, that magical artifact will be ours."
"The spirit artifact belongs to Brother Mingyuan," Du Heng said with a smile. "I only want the top-grade pill furnace he used to refine the pills. During the outer sect competition, he refined a first-grade top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill. When my father heard about it, he talked about it for half a month, saying that I had been refining pills for three years and still couldn't refine a first-grade superior pill."
"If I can find the pill formula or alchemy tips in his storage bag, as well as that pill furnace, then my trip will not have been in vain."
"Brother Du is too modest," Chen Ce said. "The pills you refine are quite well-known even among the outer disciples of the Danxia Sect."
Hearing this, Du Heng secretly felt smug, then turned to flattery, saying, "What is the reputation of my Du family compared to the Zhou family?"
"Brother Mingyuan, to be honest, you think highly of me by letting me participate this time. In the future, if there is anything I can do for you in the sect, just ask."