noffsinger Chapter 163 Shazhou and Zhengyang Sect
Chapter 163 Shazhou and Zhengyang Sect
Yellow sand filled the sky.
The wind howled.
A massive, earthen-yellow ship, nearly a hundred feet long, emerged from the gloomy clouds hundreds of feet high.
On the deck of the flying boat, there were over a hundred people of all ages, all of whom were Qi Refining stage cultivators.
A corner of the deck.
Lin Li, a young man in a white robe, looked up calmly at the sea of sand and clouds in front of him.
Beside him was his junior sister, Bai Ling'er, who was also dressed in white.
"Senior brother, this place isn't as comfortable as Yunzhou."
"Senior brother, what are we doing here?"
Looking at the endless yellow sand, Bai Ling'er sensed the scarcity of water-based spiritual energy in the surrounding area and asked with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
As a dragon, it naturally prefers to stay in places with more moisture, but the environment in Shazhou is harsh, and the spiritual veins and spiritual energy environment are far inferior to those in Yunzhou.
"Come and slay the evil demon!"
"Senior brother, I have a close friend who died here at the hands of an old demon in the Core Formation stage who is about to pass away. This grudge must be avenged."
"Now is the perfect opportunity to come here while Master is in seclusion."
Lin Li said in a slightly serious tone.
While speaking, he also set up a simple barrier around the two of them, the senior and junior disciples.
"Senior brother, although Ling'er has only just started practicing the Xuanmen technique and has only just advanced to the second level of Qi Refining, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could be sent flying with a single slap from Ling'er's dragon form."
"Having a Foundation Establishment cultivator given to my junior sister is a good opportunity for a treat. The more she eats, the faster she'll advance!"
Bai Ling'er's eyes lit up when she heard what Lin Li said.
There are fights to fight, and you can also go eat cultivators with your senior brother.
While Core Formation stage cultivators might experience toothaches and indigestion, Foundation Establishment stage cultivators would be quite beneficial to her.
"it is good."
Lin Li nodded slowly.
Just now.
On one side of the deck, a middle-aged female cultivator dressed in a purple-red robe walked forward with a kind and benevolent expression, followed by two slender young female cultivators.
"Fellow Daoist, do you have a destination on this journey?"
The middle-aged female cultivator looked at the young and handsome Lin Li in front of her. Although her cultivation level was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, she cultivated a kind of perception-based magic and supernatural power. The only person on this deck that she could not see through was this young white-robed cultivator.
Judging from this, the white-robed cultivator's cultivation level is at least the eighth level of Qi Refining, and may even be at the peak of Qi Refining.
That's why she had the idea of recruiting him.
With such cultivation at such a young age, if we could recruit him into the sect, our master would definitely appreciate this talent he had found.
They will also be granted a large sum of contribution points.
No.
Lin Li shook his head.
He had just entered the territory of Shazhou and wanted to know what the situation of Qianying Tower was like. Judging from the female cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining in front of him and the two cultivators at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining behind him, he might be able to find out some things.
"However, I am interested in joining the Thousand Shadows Pavilion. I heard about it when I was in Yunzhou. There is a powerful Thousand Shadows Pavilion in Shazhou with three Core Formation cultivators."
"I've heard that the Core Formation faction doesn't have particularly strict entry requirements for Qi Refining cultivators."
Before the middle-aged female cultivator could continue speaking, Lin Li pressed her for more questions.
"Thousand Shadows Pavilion!?"
Upon hearing Lin Li's words, the middle-aged female cultivator in the purple-red Taoist robe glanced at the people around her and set up a soundproof barrier around them.
"Fellow Daoist."
Your message is a bit outdated.
"Qianyinglou is now extremely strict in accepting apprentices."
"Of the three Core Formation stage ancestors of Thousand Shadows Tower over the past few decades, only one remains, and that one is a newly promoted one."
"The rumor is that it was because of infighting among the Core Formation stage elders that they ended up with both sides suffering heavy losses."
"Of the three Core Formation stage elders, two died and one was injured. The last human Core Formation cultivator used various precious spiritual medicines to prolong his life for twenty years, but he also perished."
"Fortunately, in just ten years, a Foundation Establishment stage demon clan elder in the ruined Thousand Shadows Pavilion managed to successfully form his core."
"After reaching the Core Formation stage, the Thousand Shadows Pavilion opens its gates wide, recruiting disciples in the Qi Refining stage with clear identities and backgrounds. Furthermore, outside cultivators who practice techniques other than those of the Thousand Shadows Pavilion must master at least a first-tier, mid-grade or higher cultivation skill to be qualified to become disciples of the Thousand Shadows Pavilion."
The middle-aged female cultivator spoke in a solemn tone.
They're all dead.
"A newly promoted demon has formed his core."
"Could it be that the Crimson-Eyed Demon has successfully possessed someone?!"
"He's infiltrated the Thousand Shadows Pavilion again, changed his identity, and is continuing to control it!?"
After hearing this information, Lin Li had a guess in his mind.
After all, it's safer for a Core Formation demon to remain an ancestor within their original Core Formation faction after possessing another's body.
Moreover, the Crimson-Eyed Demon King had a thorough understanding of every aspect of the Thousand Shadows Pavilion, making it even easier for him to control it.
If you go to other territories, the original Core Formation forces there usually have Core Formation cultivators in charge, and they will not allow an outsider Core Formation cultivator to take the lead.
"Fellow Daoist, why not consider our Zhengyang Sect?"
"Our sect has two Foundation Establishment ancestors in charge, as well as a second-tier medium-level spiritual vein. Moreover, we are an affiliated force of the Thousand Shadows Pavilion, and now many talented fellow cultivators have come from Yunzhou."
"That is precisely why our Zhengyang Sect wants to take this opportunity to recruit cultivators with exceptional talent like you into our sect."
"A cultivator with such talent as you, Fellow Daoist, would be an inner disciple as soon as you enter our Zheng Yang Sect, and would receive twenty spirit stones every month."
"Cultivation is personally taught by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."
"If you have any questions about cultivation, you can ask the Ancestor whenever he is not in seclusion. Of course, you can only have three opportunities per month."
Then, the middle-aged female cultivator in the purple-red Taoist robe revealed her true intentions and went straight to the point.
If this young cultivator before him truly desired to join a sect and seek protection, the conditions he proposed would be extremely... However, it shouldn't be too outrageous, lest it create an unrealistic and jarring feeling.
"Senior brother."
"I want to eat."
Bai Ling'er opened her mouth, pointed to her mouth, and a look of longing appeared in her eyes.
At this moment, Bai Ling'er smelled the corpse aura on the cultivator's body. Although the cultivator had a talisman to cover it up, for someone with her dragon body, the so-called talisman was completely useless.
A flash of red and blue spiritual light appeared in Lin Li's eyes, and he immediately saw through their true forms that they were hiding.
The middle-aged female cultivator in the purplish-red Taoist robe was shrouded in resentment and malevolent energy, indicating that this so-called "Zhengyang Sect" was definitely not righteous and was more likely to be a heretical sect.
Moreover, the cultivators recruited into the Zhengyang Sect will certainly not have a good ending.
Otherwise, this guy wouldn't have so much resentment clinging to him.
"Young friend, we cultivate a lot of spirit rice in our Zhengyang Sect, and we also raise many spirit deer in our animal enclosures. The deer meat is delicious."
The middle-aged female cultivator's gaze fell on Bai Ling'er beside her, and then she smiled and spoke.
"Senior brother, I want to eat."
Bai Ling'er looked up at Lin Li to the side and said in a slightly childish tone.
Lin Li naturally knew that what his junior sister Bai Ling'er meant by wanting to eat was those two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Zhengyang Sect.
"it is good."
"I wonder if there are any other conditions required for joining your sect?"
Lin Li nodded slowly, looked at the middle-aged female cultivator in purple-red robes in front of him, and asked.
This process naturally needs to be gone through once.
If he were so eager to join the Zhengyang Sect, the female cultivator in front of him would probably become suspicious.
"You only need to complete one sect mission every six months."
"Once you advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, you must not leave the sect."
"You must serve the sect for at least a hundred years before you are allowed to leave the sect."
"Of course, if you meet the qualifications of a core disciple of the sect, then the sect can prepare a Foundation Establishment spiritual item for you."
The middle-aged female cultivator in the purple-red Taoist robe had a flash of excitement in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and her tone became much more relaxed.
"A Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object!?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Li pretended to become interested.
At this time.
After Lin Li and the middle-aged female cultivator in purple-red robes got together, they attracted the attention of some cultivators around them.
In the crowd, a thin, white-haired old man looked at Lin Li and Bai Ling'er with his emerald green eyes, his expression becoming much more solemn.
On her shoulder was a small green monkey, only seven or eight inches tall, squatting there. It also looked at the middle-aged female cultivator in purple and red robes, and couldn't help but bare its fangs.
Immediately, the seemingly frail old man turned away, no longer looking at the female disciples of the Zhengyang Sect.
When his grandson came to Shazhou from Yunzhou, he sent him a message saying that he had joined an excellent sect, the Zhengyang Sect.
But then there was no further news.
After Zhou Xun lost contact with his grandson, he took the initiative to inquire about the situation and, through the connections of an old friend, spent a lot of spirit stones to buy a spot on the ship.
After boarding the ship, Zhou Xun learned from a talented disciple that the female cultivators who had recruited him were the disciples of the "Zhengyang Sect" he was looking for.
Zhou Xun only had one grandson. After running away alone, the grandson was unaware of the dangers of the world and was tricked as soon as he left home. His fate is still unknown.
Now, when he saw the disciples of the Zhengyang Sect on this ship, and they gathered around a young pair of senior and junior disciples on the deck, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
He could imagine that his grandson must have been in a similar situation back then.
Not long after.
Zhou Xun hid on one side of the deck and, after watching the several female disciples of the Zheng Yang Sect, dressed in purple-red robes, leave, slowly opened his slightly cloudy eyes.
It will take another two days to reach the Giant Shadow City, the destination of this airship.
Zhou Xun felt it was necessary to remind the young brother and sister that if they were taken away by the Zheng Yang Sect like his grandson, they might perish in some remote corner sometime in the future.
In the blink of an eye, half an hour later.
When the airship entered the storm on the sandbar, the array barrier outside the airship began to rise and fall, as if it had been subjected to a considerable impact.
Many of the monks on deck went into the cabin.
"If the interstate flying boat experiences turbulence, it is normal. Fellow Daoists, please do not rush onto the deck."
"The cabin is the safest place."
Outside the cabin, the cultivators on the airship kept repeating their words as they walked through the passageway.
The words were spoken.
After a while.
The entire airship began to rock from side to side, and it continued for about fifteen minutes before it calmed down.
Lin Li was unaffected. His divine sense, comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, was released from the flying boat. He had already sensed that three Foundation Establishment stage Sand Lizard demons were waiting for them on the path that their flying boat was bound to take, dozens of miles ahead.
Each of them kicked up a cloud of yellow sand, their figures disappearing into the clouds and mist.
"The Foundation Establishment cultivators on this flying boat might know more about the Thousand Shadows Pavilion."
Lin Li made up his mind.
When he and his junior sister left the Three Immortal Mountains in Yunzhou, they concealed their figures and kept the range of their magical power fluctuations below the Foundation Establishment stage.
Their purpose was to avoid being noticed by other Nascent Soul stage monsters.
The safest course of action would be to disguise oneself as a Qi Refining cultivator and gradually leave Yunzhou.
Even Nascent Soul stage cultivators would find it difficult to detect their weaknesses. At present, due to the matter of the sea monster, the entire Yunzhou and Lingzhou regions are in a state of panic.
The business of navigating the inter-state route from Yunzhou to Shazhou can be done by any force with the means and ability to successfully transport cultivators.
Basically, all the cultivator factions would choose to get involved and profit from it.
Just as Lin Li was about to leave the cabin, his divine sense detected a thin, old man at the seventh level of Qi Refining, who was crouching and wearing a loose black robe. As he swiftly passed in front of Lin Li's cabin door, he slipped a phonograph into the doorway.
After taking the dark gray phonograph in his hand, Lin Li activated it with a wisp of magic power.
A slightly deep, hoarse voice came from it, and it was clear that the voice was disguised.
"There's something fishy going on at Zhengyangmen, don't go near them!"
The phonograph's content is very brief, and there is no further explanation.
Lin Li was surprised to find that there was a Qi Refining cultivator on the flying boat who could remind him. There was no doubt that this Qi Refining cultivator meant well.
"Senior brother."
"The owner of this phonograph is a good person."
After hearing what was said, Bai Ling'er spoke to Lin Li.
"Um."
"People in this world come in all shapes and sizes, some good and some evil."
"However, judging from the contents of this phonograph, the other party is indeed well-intentioned."
Lin Li nodded slowly and began to speak.
"Walk."
"Let's find the Foundation Establishment cultivator who's in charge of this flying ship first."
"If we can subdue them and also find out some information about the Thousand Shadows Pavilion, that would be even better."
Lin Li led Bai Ling'er out of the cabin. If the Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed here didn't know what was good for him, he could have his junior sister Bai Ling'er swallow him whole.