novelapdf Chapter 90 Danren
Chapter 90 Danren
"Haha, Master Tanchan, well done! You are truly a role model for us all."
At this moment, the beast-taming demon cultivator who had escaped from the thunder and fire stood firm, waving his hand to summon back the two strange-looking demon beasts in the distance, while laughing loudly.
Several fleshy, tentacle-like demonic ropes flew out from his sleeves, nimbly wrapping around the bull-headed, snake-bodied, bone-spiky lizard and another giant bat-like flying beast with ferocious mouthparts, quickly pulling them back to his side.
Xu Changqing then realized that this person was the taciturn member of the Juanlong clan from among the demons in the Li family.
I heard Ahri mention before that this person's name is "Long Qishier," and he is quite powerful. He is good at controlling monsters and is even a biologist who studies the theory of monster mutation and splicing. He also has the nickname "Corpse-Stitching Demon" in private.
"It's fortunate that this guy comes from a prestigious family and acts in a low-key and secretive manner, otherwise, given the direction of his research, he would have been killed by those demons."
Xu Changqing glanced at the two spliced demonic beasts, whose auras were both at the Qi Refining level but exuded an incongruous quality, and thought to himself.
At this moment, the returning lightning whip had merged into the larger main whip in the female cultivator's hand, as if it were alive.
The tip of the main whip split open, like a snake's mouth, swallowing the smaller whip. Instantly, the lightning intensified, and amidst the crackling sounds, the shadowy figure of a python could be faintly seen moving about.
"Hey, sure enough, I told you there are no normal people in this world." Xu Changqing grinned, but his smile froze as he realized that his own style wasn't much better.
"Master Tan Chan, if the two of us join forces, we can definitely capture her, don't you think?" Long Qishi licked his lips with a look of longing.
"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, this humble Daoist is eager to seek the Dao and has no interest in such matters. Fellow Daoist, please make yourself at home."
Having said that, the phantom of the blood lotus beneath his feet flashed, and his figure was already several feet away, clearly indicating that he wanted to extricate himself from the matter.
Long Qishi's face darkened, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
The bull-headed lizard and the bone-spiked bat beside him roared simultaneously, their demonic aura surging, as if they were about to pounce.
However, in the next instant, the two demonic beasts suddenly turned around, carrying Long Qishier, and "poof" disappeared into the ground, escaping through the earth.
It turns out that his fierce demeanor just now was a bluff, just to take the opportunity to escape.
"Lord Chu, let's stop him together!" The man with the red mace shouted urgently upon seeing this, and with a flick of his mace, he actually wanted to join forces with the female cultivator with the thunder whip to stop Xu Changqing.
A nameless rage surged within Xu Changqing: "I've already avoided you, and you still dare to come knocking on my door? Do you really think I'm made of clay?"
"snort!"
He snorted coldly, and the hairpin on his head silently slipped off. While still in mid-air, it transformed into a dark, watery light, which swelled with the wind and instantly condensed into a black dragon with menacing scales and prominent horns.
The dragon's body was dark and exuded a chilling aura. As soon as it appeared, the surrounding air condensed into fine ice crystals.
"Watch out!" Chu Hongling's expression changed drastically. She lashed out with her thunder whip, and a thick thunder python roared out, heading straight for the dragon's head.
However, the black dragon formed from the white bone hairpin was created by a powerful being through the tempering of lightning and fire with his finger bone. It was extremely cold and hard, and also contained a trace of annihilation and death intent.
The black dragon neither dodged nor avoided the lightning python, which coiled around it. Black water churned around its body, and a burst of cold air quickly froze and annihilated the lightning.
With a flick of its tail, the dragon swept across the man with the red mace like a black mountain.
The man was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and had never seen such power before. In his shock, he only had time to hold the red mace horizontally in front of his chest before being struck solidly by the dragon's tail.
"Snap!"
A sickening cracking sound rang out. The man was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. In mid-air, his body was quickly covered by a thick layer of dark blue ice. When he landed, he was a frozen ice sculpture, his eyes wide open, frozen in terror.
The black dragon of Xuan Shui circled back, retracted into the shape of a jade hairpin, and fell into Xu Changqing's hair.
Xu Changqing didn't even glance at the ice sculpture, but said calmly to Chu Hongling, whose face had turned pale, "Consider this a lesson for your colleague. If you speak rudely again and block my way, it won't be as simple as just freezing you."
After speaking, his figure swayed again, the blood lotus appeared and disappeared like a wisp of smoke into the depths of the Taoist temple, leaving only his voice fading away.
Chu Hongling stood holding her whip, gazing in the direction where Xu Changqing had disappeared. She then glanced at the chilling ice sculpture beside her, her heroic face flushed and paled. Finally, she gritted her teeth and gave up the pursuit.
She bent down to check her colleague's aura and found that although he was frozen, his life was not in danger, but his vital energy was greatly damaged and it would take time to resolve the cold poison.
He felt even more apprehensive about the unassuming but ruthless and unpredictable fat Taoist priest.
The interior of the Taoist temple was far more vast and dilapidated than it appeared from the outside.
Inside a hall dedicated to alchemy, the once-painted immortal cloud patterns are still faintly visible on the walls and dome. Although they are covered in dust and peeling, and the colors are faded, one can still glimpse the magnificent scene of clouds and mist during its heyday.
In the center of the alchemy hall, a bronze alchemy furnace several meters tall stood silently. The furnace body was covered with mottled verdigris and dark red rust. The lid was tightly closed, but wisps of dark, blood-like mist seeped out from the gaps, carrying a strange smell of medicinal fragrance and the stench of corpses.
Around the alchemy furnace, a dozen or so alchemists stood, some leaning, some reclining, some sitting cross-legged, and some curled up.
These figures all wore tattered Taoist robes, their skin an unnatural bluish-gray or waxy yellow, stiff as stone, their features blurred, as if their outlines had been melted by the high temperature, or as if all moisture and vitality had been drained away, leaving only an empty shell.
Wearing lotus crowns and moon-white Taoist robes, Mantianying stood with his hands behind his back in front of the alchemy furnace.
His gaze slowly swept over the strangely posed "alchemists" around him, then fell back on the silent bronze alchemy furnace in the center, a burning light flashing in his eyes.
"The *Wu Xin Dan Jing* records, 'Where the earth's veins converge, where water and fire are in harmony, one can set up an alchemical cauldron and seize the creation of heaven and earth.'" Man Tianying murmured to himself, his voice echoing in the empty, dilapidated alchemy hall. "This place is the vital hub of the Ziyang Temple's alchemy, secretly corresponding to the image of 'the Vermilion Bird holding fire,' the position of the Southern Fire, corresponding to the Yin Fire of the Earth's Lungs below, and receiving the Yang Flame of Heaven above. Observe the shape of this alchemical furnace, with three legs and two handles, conforming to the Three Powers and Two Forms, and the cloud and thunder patterns on the furnace body are faintly visible, which is the method of 'refining form with clouds and thunder'... And look at these alchemists."
He strolled over to a seated alchemist, a satisfied smile curving his lips.
"These fellow Daoists were probably at a critical juncture in their cultivation when a sudden change occurred. Their essence, energy, spirit, and even the nascent elixir power were all locked inside this physical body. Over the years, they have been tainted by the yin energy of this place and refined by the residual fire of the alchemy furnace, thus becoming such 'living elixir embryos'."
"Haha, not bad, not bad." Mantianying clapped his hands and laughed lightly. His laughter sounded a bit abrupt in the quiet Dan Hall. "Such a harvest is not in vain for my painstaking efforts, even at the cost of using the Great Shaman Bone Qi Si to stir up the earth's veins and water and fire, and forcibly open this ruin."
"I only hope..." he lowered his voice, filled with greed and anticipation, "that there are even more surprises in this furnace."
Before he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and a beam of spiritual light entered the alchemy furnace.
With a deep "hum", the rust and grime on the surface of the bronze alchemy furnace seemed to come alive and trembled slightly.
The dark, blood-red mist on the furnace lid suddenly intensified, and a faint, mournful howl emanated from within the furnace.
With a thud, the stove lid opened.
Inside, a powerful, corrupted Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator sat peacefully.