Daily Divination From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable - Chapter 358

Chapter 358 Planning an Escape Route, A River of Blood (Seeking Subscriptions)

Lin Xuan Yan’s thoughts coincided with Li Chang An’s.

He had also cultivated many demonic cultivator identities beforehand.

After some discussion,

both felt that choosing the Nether Soul Sect as their escape route was the best option.

This demonic invasion was launched by the current sect leader of the Nether Soul Sect, True Monarch Tianming.

In terms of status, the Nether Soul Sect should be the head of the five major demonic sects in Yan Kingdom.

“Fellow Daoist Li, it’s settled then. After the two countries are defeated, we will become demonic cultivators together, hehehe…”

Lin Xuan Yan chuckled twice and then cut off the contact.

Li Chang An put down the jade pendant, deep in thought.

He felt that

Lin Xuan Yan’s contact seemed to have a testing element.

“Could it be that he suspects me of being a demonic cultivator spy?”

In the past, many people had suspected Li Chang An of being a demonic cultivator spy, especially his opponents who had been taken into the Soul-Bearing Banner.

He did indeed know many demonic spells and possessed a typical demonic cultivator treasure like the Soul-Bearing Banner.

In addition…

The matter of a low-grade spiritual root cultivator forming a core is also questionable.

Where would an ordinary rogue cultivator with a low-grade spiritual root get the resources to form a core?

If Li Chang’an is a spy for the demonic path, then everything makes sense.

“The demonic path has been laying its plans for hundreds of years. It’s normal for them to have spies within the major righteous forces,”

Li Chang’an pondered to himself.

As long as the Nascent Soul True Monarch isn’t a demonic spy, that’s fine.

If there were a Nascent Soul level spy, the righteous paths of the two countries would likely suffer a devastating defeat.

Although Li Chang’an lacked confidence in the righteous forces, he still hoped they could hold out until he formed his Nascent Soul.

As for   his escape route,

he didn’t lie to Lin Xuanyan. The Nether Soul Sect was indeed his first choice.   ”Of the five major demonic sects, I’ve had the most contact with the Nether Soul Sect and know the most about it.”   ”Besides that, there’s the Five Poison Valley.”   Li Chang’an possessed the Myriad Poison Gu and cultivated a large number of poisonous insects.   Now, he   was a fairly competent poison cultivator.   If the underground palace where poisonous insects were cultivated beneath Changqing Mountain were exposed, most of the major righteous forces would likely consider him a spy for the Five Poisons Valley.   Besides the Netherworld Sect and the Five Poisons Valley, there are   three other major demonic sects:   the Yellow Springs Sect, the White Bone Sect, and the Blissful Heaven Sect.   These three demonic sects’ cultivators have long targeted the Yuan Kingdom’s cultivation world and are rarely seen in the Zhao Kingdom.   However, Li Chang’an still cultivated identities as a disciple of these three sects.   ”These identities should be enough to ensure my safety in this chaotic world.”   ”If all else fails, I’ll retreat to the depths of the secret realm and use its perilous terrain to resist the demonic sects…”   Li Chang’an’s plan was quite clear, considering most possible scenarios. For the   next period,   he closely followed the war between the righteous and demonic factions.   Fortunately, the worst-case scenario he anticipated did not occur.   The demonic invasion was not going smoothly and remained blocked in the northern regions of the two countries.   During this time,   he contacted Zi Xi, seeking the final few treasures needed for the fourth-order grand formation.   Zi Xi informed him that the treasures he wanted were indeed in the sect’s treasury, but they had all been reserved by the sect’s formation masters.   Therefore, Zi Xi specifically sought out True Monarch Zi Xia.   This time, just like the previous transaction involving the Spirit Cloud Fruit, True Monarch Zi Xia also set conditions.   However, Li Chang’an couldn’t meet her demands for the time being and had to give up.   Time flew by.   Several months passed in the blink of an eye.   During these months, the cultivation world of the Southern Region became much quieter.   Due to the regulations of the eight major Nascent Soul forces, all Golden Core, Foundation Establishment, and even Qi Refining forces in both countries had to send personnel to the Northern Region to fight against the demonic path.   Almost every few days, a new batch of cultivators would set off.   Li Chang’an’s Changqing Mountain was naturally also summoned.   However, he had a close relationship with Zi Xi and provided several third-tier puppets, thus exempting him from the summons, allowing him to continue his peaceful cultivation and collect materials.   ”A fourth-tier grand formation only lacks the Golden Marrow and the Purple Heart Stone, but both of these treasures are in the Zi Xia Sect…”   Li Chang’an lay in the medicinal bath, pondering to himself.   Not all fourth-tier grand formations required these two treasures, but the formation he designed for the Fire Cloud God Lord did.   Just then,   a jade slip was suddenly delivered to Changqing Mountain.   Li Chang’an probed the jade slip with his divine sense and immediately heard Yan Hao’s voice.   ”Grandmaster Li, I have many questions about array formations lately. I would be grateful if you could explain them to me.”   These past few days, Yan Hao would occasionally send a jade slip, requesting Li Chang’an to explain the principles of array formations.   Of course, he would also include some treasures and information as payment.   Yan Hao had helped Li Chang’an find one of the treasures needed to set up a fourth-order grand array.   At the end of today’s jade slip,   he included information about another treasure.   ”Grandmaster Li, the Golden Essence you need has recently appeared in the Northern Region.”   ”Not long ago, a fourth-order array master from the White Tiger Sect broke through a fourth-order grand array set up by the demonic path in the Northern Region of Yuan Kingdom. Golden Essence was among the materials used in that fourth-order grand array.”   ”If you need Golden Essence, you can go to the Northern Region. There are still many secret strongholds established by the demonic path there, and there should still be fourth-order arrays among them…”   After hearing this,   Li Chang’an’s eyes deepened as he looked north.   For centuries, the demonic path has secretly established numerous strongholds in the northern regions of both nations.   Recently, the righteous paths of both countries have been working tirelessly to conquer these strongholds, striving to completely expel the demonic forces.   Renowned figures like Zi Xi, Mu Hongyu, and Chi Qingwu, the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, are all engaged in combating the demonic cultivators in the northern regions.   Li Chang’an did not wish to take any risks.   He took out his communication jade pendant and contacted Zi Xi and the others one by one.   According to them, the strongholds established by the demonic path were mostly rudimentary and not particularly dangerous.

As for the Nascent Soul stage of the demonic path,

Zi Xi informed him, “Fellow Daoist Li, there’s no need to worry. The Nascent Soul demons of the demonic path have all been stopped by the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of our two righteous paths, and they have no chance to attack us juniors.”

The current situation is simple.

Nascent Soul experts are fighting one-   on-one , while those below the Nascent Soul stage are engaged in a chaotic melee.

“Fellow Daoist Li, I’m preparing to take action against a demonic corpse-raising ground. Would you be willing to join me in slaying demons?”

“This matter… requires some consideration.”

Li Chang’an did not immediately agree.   Zi Xi was not surprised by this.   She had only casually invited him and hadn’t expected Li Chang’an to come.   …   The next day.   Li Chang’an quietly left Changqing Mountain and headed to the Northern Region.   The Northern Region now carried a much heavier stench of blood compared to the past.   Everywhere were traces of battles between righteous and demonic cultivators, and the frost-white earth was stained with patches of dark brown blood.   Li Chang’an quickly arrived at the location Zi Xi had mentioned earlier.   Before him lay a continuous range of mountains in the Northern Region.   Looking out…   Countless snow-white mountain ranges, each tens of thousands of feet high, undulated across the land, resembling giant snow dragons.   ”The demonic corpse-raising ground that Zi Xi mentioned is located beneath these snow-covered mountains,”   Li Chang’an had already sensed the aura of the demonic path.   The demonic aura here was extremely dense, far from an ordinary stronghold; it was likely fraught with danger.   Therefore,   Zi Xi and the others’ flying boat remained stationary outside the mountains.   They were still observing and hadn’t ventured deeper.   ”If it’s an important stronghold, there might be a fourth-order formation,”   Li Chang’an pondered.   He gazed at the mountains, neither revealing himself nor making any movement, simply waiting quietly.   Not long after, midnight arrived.   A golden light appeared before his eyes.   [The divination has been updated]   [Today’s Divination – Auspicious]   [You and Zi Xi entered a demonic stronghold and encountered a fourth-order formation set up by demonic cultivators. After breaking it, you obtained the fourth-order formation treasure “Golden Marrow”]   ”There really is a fourth-order formation!”   Li Chang’an’s eyes lit up.   He had only come to try his luck, but his luck hadn’t expected to be so good. He   ’d just arrived and stumbled upon a fourth-tier grand formation, containing the Golden Marrow.   ”Just how strong is my luck right now?”   Li Chang’an couldn’t help but ponder.   Unfortunately, luck was invisible.   He suspected that he might currently be the person with the strongest luck in the Three Kingdoms’ cultivation world.   Even Ye Hao might not be able to compare to him.   ”Never mind, I won’t think too much about it. I’ll get the treasure first.”   Li Chang’an immediately transformed into a streak of light, no longer concealing his figure and aura, and approached the Purple Cloud Sect’s flying boat.   Sensing his aura,   Zi Xi on the flying boat let out a soft exclamation and turned to look.   The next instant,   Li Chang’an landed on the flying boat.   He smiled and bowed respectfully.   ”Holy Maiden, it’s been a long time.”   ”Fellow Daoist Li, you actually came?”   Zi Xi’s beautiful eyes fell on him, slightly surprised.   Li Chang’an smiled and said, “As a righteous cultivator, it is only right that I contribute to the war between good and evil. I can’t just stay in the rear forever.”   His reasoning was quite sound.   However, Zi Xi was full of suspicion, feeling that he had other intentions.   Her younger sister, Zi Yun, didn’t suspect anything and said with a smile, “I knew it. Fellow Daoist Li, you are upright and hate evil. You are a rare gentleman and would definitely not sit idly by while the demonic path invades.”

Upon hearing this, Li Chang’an chuckled dryly twice, offering no explanation.

His gaze shifted, noticing two familiar faces on the flying boat:

Liu Haichao and his son Liu Xuanfeng!

These two hadn’t appeared in a long time.

Ever since Liu Haichao was tricked by Li Chang’an into killing Wei Xu, the Holy Son of the Huangsha Sect, he had been ostracized by the entire Huangsha Sect.

From then on, whenever he left the Zixia Sect, he was targeted by numerous Huangsha Sect disciples.

Even Liu Xuanfeng was implicated, facing numerous close calls.

Forced

to remain in the Zixia Sect, the father and son cultivated discreetly.

Now, they were able to leave the sect because the Zixia Sect and the Huangsha Sect had reconciled and were united against a common enemy.

“Li Chang’an!”

Liu Xuanfeng’s face darkened.

Liu Haichao also stared at Li Chang’an with an unfriendly expression.

Years ago, they had wanted to kill Li Chang’an and seize his opportunities.

Now, Li Chang’an was right before them, yet they dared not act.

Li Chang’an had come here to slay the demon.

If they were to make a move, they would be going against the righteous paths of both nations.

“Fellow Daoist Zi, Xuanfeng and I are feeling unwell, so we’ll return to our sect to rest.”

With that, Liu Haichao, along with Liu Xuanfeng, transformed into a streak of light and left the flying boat.

He did this, naturally, to avoid Li Chang’an.

Out of sight, out of mind!   Li Chang’an was naturally pleased with

this .   He didn’t want to enter the demonic stronghold with this father and son either, fearing they might stab him in the back.   Zi Xi’s eyes were deep and unfathomable as she glanced in the direction the two had left, then asked Li Chang’an,   ”Fellow Daoist Li, would you like me to act as a mediator and resolve this conflict?”   ”No need.”   Li Chang’an had no intention of resolving the conflict.   The existing conflict was precisely his excuse to act.   He didn’t plan to attack Liu Haichao and his son for the time being, but once they reached the Nascent Soul stage, he would definitely settle scores with them.   If the conflict were gone, what reason would he have to settle scores?   Just then,   another flying boat not far away suddenly slowly approached the Zixia Sect’s flying boat.   The flying boat was entirely bright yellow, with flags fluttering atop it, each bearing the large character “Qi” on both sides.   It was indeed the flying boat of the Great Qi Immortal Dynasty!   On board,   the Ninth Princess of Great Qi, Qi Yao, greeted Li Chang’an with a smile and an air of nobility.   ”Fellow Daoist Li, it’s been many years.”   ”Fellow Daoist Qi,”   Li Chang’an replied with a bow.   Their last meeting was on Changqing Mountain.   At that time, Qi Yao was escorting Jiang Muyu back to the Southern Region and had also come to the Southern Region to seek the inheritance of a senior alchemist.   After that,   she went to the border between Great Qi and the Wang family to fight against the Wang family cultivators.   Now, the two powers had made peace, and she naturally no longer needed to guard the Great Qi border.   Beside her was another person, resembling her but with a stronger aura.   Through Qi Yao’s introduction,   Li Chang’an learned that   this woman was her eldest sister, the Great Qi Princess, Qi Yunjin.   Qi Yunjin possessed an extraordinary bearing, exuding elegance and grace, her entire being radiating a noble air unmatched by ordinary people.   She smiled and said, “Fellow Daoist Li broke the 30,000-year-old tradition of the Azure Wood Divine Tower, earning an extra reward from my Great Qi ancestors. I have long desired to make your acquaintance, and today I finally have the opportunity to meet you.”   ”It’s merely luck,”   Li Chang’an replied with a gentle smile.   After a brief conversation,   the two became acquainted.   ”I wish Fellow Daoist Li good luck on your journey.”   Qi Yunjin did not intend to enter the Demon Sect’s stronghold with the Zixia Sect cultivators, and slowly piloted her flying boat back to its original location.   Besides the flying boats of the Zixia Sect and the Great Qi Immortal Dynasty, there were two other flying boats here,   belonging to the White Tiger Sect and the Yellow Sand Sect respectively.   The leader of the White Tiger Sect was the White Tiger Saintess Cui Baiying, who had met Li Chang’an in Thousand Treasure Valley.   The pilot of the Yellow Sand Sect’s flying boat was Chang Jun, the second disciple of the Yellow Sand True Monarch.   Due to past conflicts…   The two remained stationary on their flying boat, not approaching Li Chang’an to speak.   Li Chang’an then discussed the details of the demonic stronghold with Zi Xi.   Zi Xi explained, “The demonic path has been operating here for a long time. It’s riddled with formations and fraught with danger. Many righteous cultivators have entered before, but they’ve either died or become trapped; few have come out alive.”   It was precisely because it was so dangerous that they hadn’t gone in yet.   She had originally been waiting for a near-fourth-tier formation master.   However,   since Li Chang’an had arrived, there was no need to wait any longer.   Zi Xi was unaware that Li Chang’an had become a fourth-tier formation master.   In her eyes, Li Chang’an’s formation skills were quite remarkable, making him one of the best among near-fourth-tier formation masters, and he should be able to handle the formations here.   After some discussion   , the group set off into the snowy mountains.   The flying boats of the other Nascent Soul factions remained in place.   On the White Tiger Sect’s flying boat…   A retainer asked Cui Baiying, “Holy Maiden, should we travel together with the Zixia Sect?”   Cui Baiying shook her head slightly, “No, I’ve invited Yan Hao, the near-fourth-tier array master from Five Dragon Mountain. Fellow Daoist Yan’s array skills are even stronger than Li Chang’an’s. We’ll go in after he arrives.”   Just then,   a streak of light pierced the sky and landed on the White Tiger Sect’s flying boat.   Yan Hao had arrived!   He smiled broadly and asked Cui Baiying,   ”Fellow Daoist Cui, am I late?”   ”Fellow Daoist Yan has arrived just in time!”   Cui Baiying smiled and immediately steered the flying boat forward.   During the journey, she spoke of array formations.

“I’ve heard that Fellow Daoist Yan has made rapid progress in array formation recently, his skills far surpassing other near-fourth-tier array masters.”

“It’s just luck,”

Yan Hao replied humbly.

He explained that his astonishing progress was due to guidance from a senior.

Cui Baiying asked, “Fellow Daoist Yan, have you perhaps taken a grandmaster of array formations as your master?”

“I would like to become his disciple, but that senior refuses to accept me,”

Yan Hao sighed bitterly.

Cui Baiying was curious about the senior’s identity.

“Fellow Daoist Yan, is that senior a rogue cultivator?”

“I cannot reveal this, please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Cui. That senior is always low-key and dislikes outsiders knowing his strength.”

Knowing Li Chang’an’s personality, Yan Hao kept his mouth shut and did not reveal his true identity.

Seeing this, Cui Baiying did not ask further.

…

Meanwhile.

Li Chang’an and Zi Xi and the others had entered the depths of these mountains.

Before them lay a towering ice wall, tens of thousands of feet high.

A long, bloody river flowed from a fissure in the ice, its waters teeming with the corpses of cultivators from both sides.

That fissure was the entrance to the underground corpse-raising ground.

“We’ve arrived.”

On the flying boat, everyone’s expressions were grave.

A moment later,

they leaped off the boat, transforming into streaks of light and entering the fissure.

A dense chill and the stench of blood instantly assaulted their senses.

Li Chang’an, wary, landed on one side of the blood river, spreading his divine sense to survey the surroundings.

Ahead of him

were more than ten tributaries of the blood river.

These crimson waters surged from the deepest part of the corpse-raising ground, gathering the blood of countless cultivators, staining the millennia-old ice on both sides crimson.

Each tributary was filled with swollen, dismembered limbs.

After some discussion,

they followed the third tributary, venturing deeper into this vast underground world.

The further they went, the more pronounced the chill became.

“Glug glug…”

A few blood bubbles occasionally rose from the blood river beside them, as if some kind of monster lurked within.

They hadn’t gone far when they discovered the corpses of more than a dozen Zixia Sect disciples.

Most of the corpses were mangled and scattered along both banks of the blood river.

Wu Shuo sighed, “I warned them that this place was extremely dangerous and they shouldn’t act rashly, but they wouldn’t listen and insisted on entering ahead of time.”

Clearly,

these Zixia Sect disciples had encountered powerful demonic cultivators.

Their expressions before death were mostly filled with terror, though a few showed resolute determination.

“Collect!”

Zi Yun waved her jade hand, collecting the corpses of many disciples, intending to take them back for burial.

The road ahead grew increasingly cold and dark, and the number of corpses they saw along the way gradually increased.

In just a quarter of an hour,

they had collected hundreds of corpses of disciples from various sects.

Perhaps due to the extreme cold and vigilance, everyone was tense, even their heartbeats had quickened.

“Thump thump… thump thump…”

Li Chang’an frowned slightly, pressing his hand to his chest.

In such a place, a racing heart seems perfectly normal.

But he vaguely sensed something was amiss.

He immediately transmitted his voice to Zi Xi: “Holy Maiden, tell everyone to stop. We’re trapped in a formation.”

(End of Chapter)