plumnovel Chapter 122 Restraint
Chapter 122 Restraint
Chapter 122 Restraint
Xituo County.
White Bone Road, inside a magnificent temple.
On the white bone lotus platform, the two statues of the Lord of the Corpse Forest are enshrined.
His male and female deities are both depicted as skeletons, wearing crowns with five skulls, three wide-open eyes, and each of their four arms holding a bone staff, a bone bowl, a white conch shell, and a branch of the Ashoka flower.
Beneath the main image of the charnel ground sits a guru wearing a tiger-skin robe with a fierce appearance; this is Sangye.
At some point, he awoke from his meditation and called out, "Miaoshui!"
A woman draped in a thin veil and with a delicate figure immediately crawled forward on her knees, holding a white bone bowl in her hands, the contents of which were crimson liquid.
Sangji drank the liquid in the skull bowl in one gulp, and then spoke: "Just now, when I entered meditation, I suddenly saw a beautiful mandala, where the goddess of fortune gave me guidance, and I passed away peacefully in the flames—my true spirit has returned to the Great Snow Mountain, awaiting reincarnation."
Miao Shui Mingfei was shocked. Although Miao Huo was rude and not liked by the other four, his "Fire Bowl" was extremely powerful. It was so easily broken.
"The wondrous fire was used to subdue heretics, but was then killed by them."
Sangji continued, "That heretic cultivates the foundation of the [Jishui] Dao, and possesses a white bone soul banner, which greatly pleases me—"
You sent a message to Miaofeng and Qingjing, but be careful of the talismans on this other cultivator's body; they possess the power of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"That heretic is only at the early stage of the Dao Foundation stage; the two of them working together should be enough to handle him. If that's not enough—we'll send Miaoshan instead. It's not convenient for you, Buddha, to venture deep into Ancient Shu right now—those Purple Mansions are currently very angry; if they were to kill you, wouldn't that be a great injustice?"
"Follow the law!"
Miao Shui Mingfei prostrated herself in reverence and then asked, "What about Miao Huo's funeral arrangements?"
"He suffered a great terror before his death, and his true spirit was slightly damaged—he will probably have to reincarnate several times, as a pig, dog, cow, or horse—"
Sangji said, "As for the position of Mingzi, I will observe him for a while and then select a capable disciple to inherit it."
Miao Shui knew that once she uttered those words, the followers of the White Bone Path outside would likely become even more devout and fanatical.
After all, this is the hope for a quick path to enlightenment!
If Esoteric Buddhism wants to spread eastward, it must absorb these local monks; this is an inevitable trend.
Beixuan County.
This prefecture was located in the far north of ancient Shu, bordering several major tribes of the Hu people.
Fang Qing sent Xu Hei south to seek opportunities and occasionally do some small business.
He himself rode a near-second-tier flying puppet, heading north towards the ancient Shu.
A strong wind is blowing!
He squinted, deep in thought:
Logically speaking, the White Bone Path and the Yin Corpse Sect are irreconcilable enemies, and their paths should clash—I should head south and seek the help of the Yin Corpse Sect to protect myself—
But the problem with everything is that it's all so logical; if I think this way, then Sangji probably thinks the same way—
Even if the divination result is slightly auspicious, it may not be accurate.
Divination results can be misleading.
The White Bone Path originated from the Wuxiang Temple of All Beings, and it also has important figures above the Golden Rank, so they might possess some secret techniques.
Therefore, the divination results could not be fully trusted, so Fang Qing simply went in the opposite direction and came to Beixuan County.
He deduced the hexagram of Beixuan, and concluded that his own safety was moderate, which was acceptable.
"This prefecture has long been harassed by the Hu people—and now it has been invaded by a large Hu army, along with a large number of demons—"
"Nowadays, the Hu people's army can easily send tens of thousands of troops south, and each army has Dao Foundation cultivators or even demon generals guarding and holding the line—compared to that, Li Rulong's rebel army is simply a child's game."
"This place is a melting pot of Shu people, demons, Hu people, and even demonic cultivators—a chaotic place where we can hide and exchange supplies."
With large armies waging war and consuming huge amounts of supplies, it's clearly a good time to sell off goods.
Once this batch of goods was sold out, Fang Qing retreated back to Taibai Island and spent several more decades cultivating until he reached the late Foundation Establishment stage or even the peak Foundation Establishment stage, at which point he could unleash even more of the power of the Tide-Born Pearl.
When the time comes, taking down a Zangie will be a piece of cake.
"But on the ancient Shu side—just the death of one Hei Men Zi Fu and the loss of one member of the Yu Lin Pu family—has the situation become so dire?"
Fang Qing shook his head.
He couldn't see the situation above the Purple Mansion level, but this increase and decrease was definitely not just a matter of losing two Purple Mansions.
In the previous battle at Pujia Mountain City, several ancient Shu Purple Mansions were seriously injured.
The consequences of that battle are only beginning to emerge now.
Yanshanfang.
This market town is located on the border of Beixuan County; further ahead, one truly enters the territory of Beixuan.
Fang Qing, wearing a straw hat and carrying a bamboo basket, walked into the market.
The bustling crowds were a stark contrast to the quietness of other markets.
"What's going on?"
Fang Qing casually grabbed a cultivator who had mastered Qi cultivation and asked him a question.
"senior!"
Upon seeing that the cultivator was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the expression immediately became extremely obsequious: "Reporting to Senior, this is because the barbarian demons have invaded Northern Xuan, and most cultivators have fled here—"
"Has the situation become that serious? What is the situation in Beixuan County?"
Fang Qing, having finally caught a local strongman, asked the question he was concerned about without any hesitation.
"The barbarian demons, mainly from the Azure Bird tribe, have invaded Beixuan. The old master of the Purple Mansion sect of Beixuan, Shangyong Sect, has stepped forward to lead the resistance. Most of the cultivators in Beixuan County have been conscripted and incorporated into Shangyong Sect, awaiting orders. The few who escaped have scattered to the surrounding counties."
The monk who had submitted answered respectfully.
"Bluebird Division?"
Fang Qing secretly noted that he couldn't enter Beixuan at this time, but he could wander around the surrounding markets and sell the stolen goods.
However, the spirits from another world are not considered stolen goods in this world.
"By the way, where should I go if I want to conduct a large number of transactions?"
He asked another question.
"If you are a Qi-cultivating cultivator, any of the shops in the market will do—but since you are at the Foundation Establishment stage, there are only a few places left in Yanshan Market, such as Tingfeng Tower and Huiyuanzhai."
The cultivator who had given Fang Qing some pointers, bowed respectfully, and watched him leave before wiping the cold sweat from his brow: "He's finally gone—luckily, this senior was quite kind."
Fang Qing entered Tingfeng Tower.
This building is antique and has eight entrances. Inside, there are various exhibition stands displaying many spiritual objects. The various spiritual charms and strange phenomena are intertwined and coexist harmoniously, making it quite extraordinary.
There were several cultivators inside, most of them at the late stage of Qi Condensation, standing by the counter admiring the goods or haggling over prices.
Fang Qing scanned the area with his divine sense and immediately understood: this entire floor was filled with spiritual objects for cultivating qi—but what was going on?
He stopped in front of a sign advertising acquisitions, gazing at the words above it.
"Buying large quantities of [Zhenshui] spirit items?"
To be honest, Fang Qing felt a chill run down his spine for a moment, suspecting that this was bait from some Purple Mansion, specifically sent to lure him in.
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But a thought struck him, and the Plum Blossom Divination Book did not issue a warning.
If the person is a high-ranking figure above the Purple Mansion level, then there is no need to use this method at all.
Just as Fang Qing's mind was racing, a smiling maid approached: "Does this guest possess any [Zhenshui] spiritual items? Our establishment buys in bulk, with preferential prices—"
"Cui'er, wait a moment. Let this old man entertain this fellow Daoist. Ahem—"
An aged voice rang out, followed by an elderly man in a black robe walking slowly towards him. He had a handsome face and must have been very handsome when he was young, but now he was pale and sickly, and he would cough from time to time as he walked.
"Yes, Elder Mu."
Cui'er quickly bowed and respectfully withdrew.
This Elder Mu was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"This fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. May I ask your name?"
Elder Mu invited Fang Qing to a quiet room, ordered a maid to serve him fragrant tea and snacks, and then spoke.
"Xiang Dahu!"
Fang Qing answered with a smile.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Xiang—does Fellow Daoist possess a large quantity of [Zhen Water] spiritual items?"
Elder Mu got straight to the point.
"There are only a few Dao Foundation level spiritual items—but I still have a few questions."
Fang Qing casually took out a jade box, placed it on the table, and opened it to reveal a box full of sea pearls rich in spiritual energy: "Why would Yanshanfang be in such dire need of the [Zhenshui] spiritual item?"
"Fellow Daoist—so you're a rogue cultivator?" Elder Mu was slightly taken aback, then apologized: "The mutual restraint between these lineages is, frankly speaking, worthless. It's just that because of the invasion of the Hu demons, the front lines urgently need all kinds of supplies, and the talismans and magical artifacts made by the [Zhenshui] spirit are the most lethal to the demon race."
"What?! [Zhen Water] counters the demon race? Doesn't that mean the Water element counters the Yin element?!"
Fang Qing felt a surge of emotion for no apparent reason, and thought of Li Rulong.
When we last met, this person was initially quite arrogant, presumably because of Xiu [Bi Yue].
If we meet again, hehe————
Could it be that metal and fire overcome earth and wood, earth and wood overcome water, water overcomes the sun and moon, and the sun and moon overcome metal and fire—like a game of animal chess, where the mouse can eat the elephant? Have I, the water-virtue cultivator, finally stood up?
Fang Qing's mind raced with inexplicable thoughts: Was it true that demons were more easily soluble in water? That old fox, seeing so many [Zhenshui] spiritual objects last time, immediately sold the Purple Mansion cultivation technique—it wasn't because he liked them—but because he wanted to devour their flesh and blood?
"No, [Zhenshui] is merely somewhat restrained by [Biyue] —"
Elder Mu shook his head: "However, this time, the invading Azure Bird Tribe" consisted mostly of cultivators specializing in [Bi Yue].
The Daoist sect is primarily composed of half-demons, so the spiritual materials consumed at the front lines [Zhenshui] are in great demand.
So it only counters [Bi Yue] oh — but that's not bad, no wonder it's called [Zhen Shui]!
"But—why this restraint? Could it be?"
Fang Qing thought of a possibility: Could it be that a powerful figure on the Zhen River had killed the True Lord Bi Yue?
That's truly remarkable.
Elder Mu smiled without speaking: "【Zhen Water】is the proper position of Water Virtue, naturally possessing some extraordinary power—of course, some Water Virtue cultivators believe that 【Bi Water】is the proper position—fellow Daoist also cultivates Water Virtue, what is your opinion?"
How should I see it? I'll sit and watch—
It turns out only the [Zhen Water] element is strong, but my natal [Ji Water] element is strong — how tragic —
But I can switch to another repair shop? Oh, never mind then!
However, after comprehending the "Wind of Ji and Rain of Bi" last time, I now discover that "Bi Moon" is countered by "Water of Zhen"—it seems that the virtue of water and the way of the moon have quite a connection.
Fang Qing shook his head, offering no opinion: "Let's talk about the price of this box of spiritual items."