302: Chapter 197 The Immortality Pill is about to make one Immortal_2 302: Chapter 197 The Immortality Pill is about to make one Immortal_2 Existence is unique, the dharma form of the Human Immortal Skill unmatched in all the world.
“So this Fox Fairy is hiding in the shadows, ready to strike at me at any moment?
Then when will the Twelve Demon Ancestors come?”
Chan Xi replied, “It’s uncertain, but back then, Qingcang Master severely wounded them, and to this day, only the Fox Fairy can move about freely.”
One against more than ten, killing three, and crippling the rest?
Gu Wen marveled inwardly, his own master truly defied the heavens.
“The fox demon is adept at transformation; be careful yourself.
In a while, we must leave Immortal Land,” Chan Xi advised, then turned to look at Chan Xi, the woman who bore a resemblance to himself.
“I swear on my Daoist heart that both you and I are human, not incarnations.
Would you be willing to journey with us?”
According to the original plan, they were the Daoist Sect’s last glimmer of hope.
It’s just that Gu Wen’s talent had surpassed theirs, and the spotlight had shifted onto him.
Now, if he did not go, the Three Pure Daoists would also need to leave.
Chan Xi shook her head slightly and said, “I will assist Gu in seeing through to the final step.
Once the matters of Immortal Land are concluded, I will come to find you.”
—————–
In the evening, Luo River was breached, and Nanchun Army emerged victorious.
Jiang Jucai entered the city, resorting to his routine tactics, demanding a significant protection fee from the gentry as military provisions.
He then discovered that for the Luo River gentry, his protection fees were actually less than the taxes.
He added a little more, an additional thirty percent to the protection fee.
The Luo River gentry still paid in full, for apart from taxes, they also needed a lot of money for graft to the various officials, big and small.
How would the common folk from Nanshui know of Luo River’s wealth?
Jiang Jucai took the ledgers to show Gu Wen, who was busy helping Chi Yu Zi with her hair.
Her hair had grown a lot during this period, and being deprived of her senses, she couldn’t take care of it herself nor had the inclination.
She had become quite a wild girl.
“Mr.
Wen, here are the ledgers.
We’ve seized a total of three million Silver Taels, enough to pay the Nanchun Army’s wages for two months!”
Jiang Jucai was jubilant, dancing with excitement while recounting Luo River’s wealth.
Their invincibility stemmed from military achievements and titles.
Currently, most people were not interested in titles; they preferred the tangible Silver Taels instead.
And Jiang Jucai was gradually coming to appreciate his rising status, his originally revered family now treating him with utmost courtesy.
“Three million taels?
When I went to rob the treasury back then, Luo River collected hundreds of thousands in taxes per month, and that was just the toll from many trading houses.”
Gu Wen spoke, not looking up, his Chopping Clouds Sword slowly slicing through white hair.
Chi Yu Zi swayed like a weeble, letting herself be manipulated by another.
“Ask them for another five million taels.
If they can’t deliver, then let their heads meet me.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Jucai’s mood darkened instantly, as angry now as he had been pleased before.
He treated others kindly, yet they took him for an easy target.
“By the way, how many Spiritual Medicines have they handed over?”
Gu Wen suddenly inquired again, this being his real concern.
Unlike the remote region of Nanshui, many families in Luo River had connections with the Immortal Sects and actively sought Spiritual Objects.
Jiang Jucai replied, “We’re still in the process of demanding them.
They say they need to discuss it and will deliver by tomorrow.”
“Then they need not see tomorrow’s sun.”
Gu Wen spoke with a chill in his voice, turning his head to look at Jun Yan, who sat in a corner’s shadow, and said, “Old Lord, it seems you can hardly suppress your Heavenly Corpse demonic nature.
It’s a good opportunity to deal with this—just remember, don’t eat people.”
Shadows concealed the upper half of Jun Yan’s face as he grinned and said, “I know, but I won’t leave any survivors.
Heh, heh, heh…
No matter the Buddhist, the Daoist, the Demon, no matter their sect’s background, I will kill them all.”
“Use my sword to kill.”
Gu Wen tossed the Chopping Clouds Sword to Jun Yan.
—————–
Among the disorderly pile of rocks by the stream, between the trickling shadows of the water, the Fox Fairy stood barefoot in the stream, bending down to pick up the fallen branches and leaves.
Breaking a branch to make a brush, and using a leaf as paper, she drew a Cloth Daoist standing atop the mountains and seas.
“Fellow Daoist, your drawing is truly marvelous, capable of capturing a hint of Qingcang’s grace.”
A man dressed in flamboyant vermilion robes appeared behind her at an unknown time, shaking his head as he commented:
“But you’ve captured too little tenderness, too much severity.
It doesn’t seem like you’re sketching a person, rather conveying emotion—expressing your fear.”
The Fox Fairy’s movements momentarily paused, then she continued dipping her branch in the water for ink, drawing as she asked, “Three thousand years ago, I admired her talent and walked with her for a decade.
Once she knew of my fox demon nature, she did not hesitate to sever ties, how could it not be severe?”
“By that time, you had already slaughtered the Human Race for five centuries, do you think she should not have acted as she did?”
“Her talent should not be confined by her clan’s birthright.
A Transcender should stand independently between heaven and earth.”
“But you have not detached yourselves from Jianmu either.
Among the Twelve Demon Ancestors, who knows how many have used Jianmu’s assistance to transcend?
You are just another version of the Immortal Sect and the underworld, and when Jianmu becomes a full Saint, you shall all die.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Be it the beings of heaven, earth, or humanity, or the spirits, at least I do not wish for the Cultivation World to produce another Saint.”
Wu Kong, the City Lord, uttered somewhat presumptuous words, and the Fox Fairy at first was stunned, then laughed heartily,
“If we could influence a Saint, why should we be afraid?
Conversely, what power do you have to intervene in the matter of becoming a Saint?”
The existence in the underworld who merely awakened signified the arrival of the Life Span Tribulation among the three disasters and nine tribulations, causing half of the great powers under heaven to perish.
It completely altered the number of powerhouses in the entire world, akin to a mere thought, all living creatures vanish.
Immortals are incapable of deciding the life and death of countless great powers with a single thought.
City Lord Wu Kong said, “If Qingcang comes back to life, she can contend with Jianmu, and even defeat Jianmu.”
“And then all of us will have to die,” asserted the Fox Fairy, “She will not allow any being other than the Human Race to exist, at least not those who wield power.
Wouldn’t that mean that the Human Race’s Saint wouldn’t be a Saint anymore?”
City Lord Wu Kong also asked, “What does our clan have to do with us?
Didn’t you just say ‘transcendence’ earlier?”
Both fell silent for a moment before City Lord Wu Kong cut straight to the point, “It’s unknown whether Qingcang will become a Saint, but Jianmu’s route to sainthood is clear.
If Jianmu dies, it would be beneficial for both you and me.”
Once, he too wished to aid the Human Race, but Qingcang was too intransigent; at the time, it was tantamount to a suicide mission.
Wu Kong did not want to outright antagonize Jianmu and sacrifice himself.
The Fox Fairy was speechless; she knew what the other wanted to do.
It was nothing more than attempting to recruit and plant spies, and choosing her meant there must be some preparation because she indeed had such thoughts.
Even within the Human Race, there were dissensions among the Three Religions; the Devil Clan had so many factions that the Twelve Demon Ancestors could produce twenty-four different opinions.
But a Semi-Saint like Jianmu could suppress everything, just as Qingcang once suppressed the Three Religions of humanity.
Wu Kong, the City Lord, intensified his efforts, “We don’t need to personally enter the fray, just give the Human Race some appropriate help.
For instance, let’s say a certain Demon Saint, or even a Devil Ancestor, we pass the message that they are to move against Gu Wen to the Daoist Sect.”
The Fox Fairy’s upright fox ears twitched, she kept her composure, tilted her head and inquired, “Is that so?”
“Naturally.” City Lord Wu Kong smiled without saying a word, “We two can share information, and I can do things that might not be convenient for you.
If the Human Race loses, we won’t be exposed.”
The Fox Fairy pressed her vermilion lips together, and after a long time, she transmitted her voice, “Recently, the Immortality Pill contacted Jianmu.
Once it has become an Immortal, it will fall into a short slumber, and needs our protection.”
“It’s actually plotting Immortality?
Where is the Immortality Pill now?”
“I do not know, but it must be in the Human Race’s Earth Realm.”
In the Devil Clan’s Earth Realm, Jianmu’s incarnations abound; if the Immortality Pill does not achieve Immortality and enters that realm, it will most likely be consumed.