Chapter 308: Chapter 31 Dunjia Heaven and Earth
Myriad auspicious Qi cascaded from the sky, landing amidst the lush leaves and transforming into a faint glow, sparkling radiantly.
The thousand-foot-tall tree, with its root system exposed above ground, spanned a circumference of about seventy to eighty meters, and the part buried under the ground was even deeper, its extent unknown.
It stood erect in the expansive garden, its leafy shadow covering most of the area. The leaves, verdant like banana leaves, were dripping with life, exuding a vitality that was utterly breathtaking and coveted by all who beheld it.
When the Fourth Prince sensed this overwhelming vitality, he couldn’t help but step forward, but in that instant, the space in front of him suddenly distorted and blurred, and the once-near scenery abruptly receded.
The tree now seemed like it stood at the very edge of the earth, infinitely distant. The thousand-foot height, upon reevaluation, now appeared merely human height.
"Array." Bu Yusheng, his form hidden in a faint golden light, said.
"Indeed, it is an array."
The Fourth Prince stopped in his tracks, not stepping into the blurred space but instead looking at the distant tree and said, "The ancestor who established the Iron Pillar Temple abandoned his name and took up the Daoist life, however, the cultivation techniques and Dunjia techniques belonging to our clan were not discarded, they simply weren’t passed down within the Iron Pillar Temple. This anomaly right now is his doing; creating worlds with Dunjia, turning inches into miles. Without knowing the way in, one would surely perish."
"More than two hundred years have passed, and the Dunjia array still exists, and that tree..." Bu Yusheng gazed toward the distant tree with a tone laced with eagerness.
If it were outside Cave Heaven, the Dunjia array would hardly last this long, as even setting it up would require a great effort.
Only because, outside in the world, not only is the spiritual mechanism absent, but the Five Vile Qi is present as well.
But inside Cave Heaven, the spiritual mechanism remains, allowing arrangements to be made. Of course, the most crucial reason is the large tree stationed at the Array’s eye; without it, the array would absolutely not last two hundred years.
"The fruit of this tree, it is said to revive the dead and mend broken bones—it’s almost an understatement. A mortal consuming it could extend their life by over a thousand years; it is truly a supreme sacred item."
The Fourth Prince spoke earnestly, "Once I secure the fruit tree, I can capture Jiang Li and leave him at the mercy of the Fairy. Additionally, according to our agreement, a quarter of the fruits on the tree belong to the Kunxu Immortal Palace. My honored mentor can use these fruits as ingredients to undoubtedly concoct the Immortal Medicine, accomplishing..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, but those present understood.
Bu Yusheng’s cooperation with the Fourth Prince was not only about capturing Jiang Li.
"Since the Dunjia world is so mysterious, do you have a method to break the array?" Bu Yusheng straightforwardly asked.
"I don’t have a method to break the array, but I have already learned the method to enter and exit," replied the Fourth Prince with a slight smile.
Having long known that the Iron Pillar Temple concealed a Cave Heaven Blessed Land and that within it was a ginseng fruit tree, he naturally knew how to navigate in and out too.
"If it’s Qimen Dunjia, wouldn’t Jiang Li also be able to enter and exit?" Bu Yusheng asked again.
"Ha, I acknowledge that Jiang Li is a man of extraordinary talent, but he is far from being able to break the array,"
The Fourth Prince laughed heartily, took a step forward, and said, "Unless Jiang Li’s master comes, otherwise, breaking the array would be as difficult as reaching the heavens."
"Forget it, seeing is believing. Fairy, please follow me. Once you witness the changes in the array, you will understand the difficulty of breaking it. Please!"
His figure stepped into the blurred space and through a slight distortion, vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Bu Yusheng also hesitated no further and took a step forward.
Following the Fourth Prince, the rest also entered, except for a solitary man in dark clothing, who remained standing quietly on the spot.
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"The Iron Pillar Temple was established by a member of the Ji Family two hundred years ago. By seniority, he is my clan uncle, but after taking religious vows, his name was erased from our family tree, so even I do not know his name,"
Amidst the mountains, a phantom flickered in and out of existence, hastening towards its destination while listening to Tianxuan recount the history of the Iron Pillar Temple.
The Iron Pillar Temple was very unusual, this much, Jiang Li was certain.
Not only did this temple conceal a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, but also because the temple’s founder’s name was obliterated.
Merely two hundred years, which isn’t considered long for a cultivator, yet this man’s name had completely vanished. Even Tianxuan, who is junior to him, did not know his name.
Such complete erasure was too thorough, it was hard not to suspect whether there were secrets involved.
"What about this place’s Cave Heaven Blessed Land?" Jiang Li asked.
"It appears only the temple master of the Iron Pillar Temple is privy to it, even members of the Royal Family are unaware. Otherwise, considering that woman’s character, she would not let it go."
That woman naturally referred to the Princess.
Tianxuan indeed had deep feelings for the Princess, taking a jab at her even now.
"Indeed."
Jiang Li indicated that he agreed wholly, you are absolutely right.
Next, he moved to the most critical part—how to kill someone.
"If the Fourth Prince is only fifth-rank, I have a chance to win, but if he has life-saving measures, then I am out of luck," Jiang Li said.
Since Jiang Li was quite adept in the art of escaping, Tianxuan had given him talismans that were defensive in nature this time; if used properly, they could potentially kill a fifth-rank.
But if the Fourth Prince possessed similar measures, then Jiang Li was at a loss.
"Regarding this, Tianxuan had no concern at all, replying, ’No need to worry, fifth grade and above can no longer bear the killing moves.’"
"Hmm?"
"If the Divine Sense of cultivators below sixth rank is like Qi, then the Divine Sense of a fifth-grade cultivator is like water, while fourth-grade killing moves are like ice. The gap between Qi and ice is too great, so even if there is an impact, it is very minimal, but water and ice are different."
Tianxuan explained, "Either the water turns into ice, or the ice melts into the water. Although they can coexist, the risk is extremely high and it’s very easy to lose control."
When water turns into ice, Divine Sense is gone, resulting in death.
When ice melts into water, it might increase some Divine Sense, it might cause an anomaly in Divine Sense, practically half-dead.
As for losing control... the Sea of Consciousness explodes, leaving no intact corpse.
Under such circumstances, there are likely very few fifth graders who would dare to do this. To stuff a bomb into one’s own Sea of Consciousness in order to save one’s life for a certain period of time, only those with normal brains wouldn’t consider it.
Even if there are any, most of them probably die halfway through.
So there’s no need to worry about the Fourth Prince’s killing move.
In this situation, Jiang Li still sees some chance of winning.
Moreover, the best outcome is to kill the Fourth Prince, but if that fails, he could still try to stop him from getting the ginseng fruit tree. If even that fails...
’Then just hide back in the Sect, wait until a comfortable living is served before coming out again. No, it should be waiting until two bowls of comfortable life are served, then coming out again.’
It’s just that the second bowl is a bit difficult.
The elder sister is a paper tiger, but the master certainly isn’t.
Touching the real tiger’s buttocks is not something that can be done overnight.
During this conversation, Jiang Li’s pace did not slow down at all, as he had already passed through the dense forest and overgrown bushes, arriving near his destination.
This was also a Daoist Temple, built against the mountain, and even the main gate and the walls of the temple were similar to those of the Iron Pillar Temple, with their positions nearly identical, just without the "Iron Pillar Temple" sign hanging on the door.
The gate of the Daoist Temple was half-opened, no sign of people within, but it wasn’t showing signs of perennial desertion either; the plants and vegetation grew properly in their places, with no scene of rampant weeds.
This was undoubtedly abnormal, but in this Cave Heaven Blessed Land, where even sunlight was absent, being abnormal was not unusual.
Dream Butterfly, with wings like crystal, flitted into the temple, navigating familiarly.
Because the layout of this Daoist Temple was exactly the same as the Iron Pillar Temple, Jiang Li was naturally at ease.
’If that’s the case...’
Dream Butterfly elevated its height, flew into the air, and looked towards the tree enveloped in myriad aura, ’The ginseng fruit tree is exactly in the position of the Iron Pillar.’
This was when foresight came into play.
Jiang Li had strolled through the Iron Pillar Temple repeatedly in the past, very familiar with the layout, almost instantly determining its exact position upon seeing the direction of the tree.
’The materials are better than those of the Iron Pillar Temple, but only slightly. This place should not be Wuzhuang Temple, but rather a Daoist Temple built by an ancestor of the Ji Family.’
Dream Butterfly slowly entered an invisible state, dancing gracefully in a world unseen by others, flying towards the back of the temple.
About fifteen minutes later, Dream Butterfly gently landed on a projecting eave.
Through Dream Butterfly’s vision, Jiang Li looked ahead and saw that the platform where the Iron Pillar stood was replaced by vast yellow earth spanning several hundred yards.
In the center of this land, a towering tree swayed gently, bathed in the auspicious aura, its branches moving and the child-like fruits clearly visible.
And at the edge of the front, a man with short beards, yellowish complexion, seven feet tall, dressed in a dark robe, stood quietly.
"Southern Heavenly Department Director, Zuo Zhao."
Seeing this man through Dream Butterfly, Jiang Li’s expression grew stern.
The Director of the Southern Heavenly Department was a fifth grade, and with Jiang Li’s current resources, killing a fifth grade couldn’t even be guaranteed, let alone two.
A fifth-grade cultivator is not a dead person to allow killing moves to hit him directly. If it hadn’t been for Jiang Li being more skillful before, making Jiang Wuming collide with the killing move himself, he might not have been able to remove this obstacle.
"This really is terribly bad news," Jiang Li murmured.
No wonder no one was seen in the temple; one Zuo Zhao is worth a hundred sixth ranks.
At least with a hundred sixth ranks, Jiang Li could gradually erode them, but a fifth grade made him feel troubled.
"Difficult, oh difficult."
With a sigh, Jiang Li silently entered the temple.
Judging by his demeanor, he seemed not to have given up.
Tianxuan also heard Jiang Li’s words. Seeing him entering the temple, she immediately advised, "The Cave Heaven Blessed Land won’t stop us for too long, just one day’s time and we can break through to come in, you just have to wait until then..."
"What if, before that, the Fourth Prince becomes the master of the Cave Heaven Blessed Land?"
Jiang Li responded, "I still want to try myself first. It’s better to keep my life in my own hands."