Chapter 154: Nine Nether Dao Scripture
After the sword cultivator clone obtained the token, he did not stay behind to ‘farm points’ and s.n.a.t.c.h more tokens.
That kind of action might be able to show off, but in reality, besides offending people, there was no other benefit.
Especially since this was only a clone. At this level, so what if he was in the limelight? It still had no positive effect on his main body.
The clone, Tang Yan, stepped on the flying sword and slowly left the stone forest field. None of the other nearby Foundation Establishment Cultivators dared to stop him and allowed him to take away a token representing his chance to advance.
Many of them suspected that the clone had run out of spiritual qi and could no longer fight. However, what if they guessed wrong?
The flattened stone forest was still vivid in their minds. There were not many brave souls present who wanted to die.
After casually tossing the token to the staff member, Tang Yan was surprised to discover that he was not the first to come out.
On the jade board representing the Foundation Establishment stage, there were already five names.
While he was using his ultimate moves to clear the scene, someone had already successfully obtained the token and came out to complete the task.
Although the sword cultivator clone did not think of rus.h.i.+ng for time and only slowly finished everything, it did not take long.
He was not surprised that someone was faster than him. However, there were five of them. This was not an ordinary sight.
Hmm? There was actually a disciple from the Immortal Ascension Pavilion among the five?
The disciples of the Immortal Ascension Pavilion were not considered powerful among the many sects in the Great Mountain Region.
The general impression was that they were all mostly weak and only relied on medicinal pills and artifacts.
However, this person’s name was ranked second on the jade board. Since when were the disciples of the Immortal Ascension Pavilion so capable?
After handing over the token, Tang Yan’s name was finally placed at the sixth position.
He immediately shook his head and did not care about these trivial matters anymore. He did not intend to stay behind to continue watching the battle and instead rode his flying sword back to the sect’s encampment.
Not far away, a group of sword cultivators who were also carrying flying swords on their backs looked at his distant sword light and revealed expressions of praise.
“He won without arrogance. His temperament is not bad.”
“This Tang Yan kid suffered a great calamity previously and managed to survive. It’s time for good fortune to come.”
“After being absorbed by the Golden Core zombie demon, he fell into the dirty Yin Corpse Blood. Under those circ.u.mstances, not only was he fine, he even awakened a special talent in spiritual qi. This is a blessing for our Shu Mountain.”
The few Shu Mountain elders who were watching the battle outside gathered together. They were not stingy with their praises towards this resurrected disciple Tang Yan.
Tang Yan had forgotten most of the Dao Techniques he had learned in the past. Although he had awakened his Sword Heart, they were originally worried that Tang Yan would not be able to recover from this setback.
Even if he did not, it would take him a long time to learn new spell techniques and recover his strength.
However, he did not expect that not only would Tang Yan not be at a loss, but in a mere few months, he had risen to become one of the five strongest Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.
“But Little Tang Yan still lost a lot of his memories. He doesn’t even recognize me as his master anymore.”
A sword cultivator who was holding a wine jar in his hand and had a drunken flush on his face felt a little helpless when speaking about this. He raised the wine jar and took a few more gulps.
“Old Fan, don’t be sad. As a cultivator, eternal life is the goal. A mere twenty-something years of memories is nothing. There’s still a long way to go.”
“However, I heard that when your disciple was under the Mother River, he seemed to have seen something incredible. What’s the exact situation?”
An elder beside him asked. However, Jiang Li had already asked his sword cultivator clone to reveal a portion of the information earlier.
He naturally did not say too much in detail. The most important part, the spiritual root, was not mentioned.
This was because after obtaining the Spiritual Root Branch, he already had the possibility of benefiting from the conflict between the two sides.
If he revealed everything about the spiritual root seed in one go, it would first cause others to suspect that he knew of this information. It was very likely that he would put this clone in a disadvantageous situation.
Secondly, if the information was completely leaked, perhaps someone would advocate a large-scale hunt to destroy these spiritual root seeds. However, there was no good way to identify the disciples who had been possessed. It was very easy for people to panic and cause chaos in the entire situation.
It was even possible that someone would target the mystical ability of the spiritual root seed that could change fate and thus collect and use those seeds without permission, resulting in an even greater catastrophe.
After all, greed was human nature. It could not withstand even a little test.
Finally, there was also the point that Jiang Li “did not care” the most. From the appearance of the Spiritual Root Branch, those spiritual root seeds seemed to have an extraordinary meaning to it and were rather important.
That Spiritual Root Branch was about to be made into a second clone by Jiang Li. At that time, these unknown spiritual root seeds would become easily obtainable for him. How could Jiang Li bear to give the benefits to others for free and give up?
Therefore, he only used the memories of his death as an excuse to tell them about the huge monster hidden under the water, hoping that the sect could investigate it.
As for what they could find out, it was not something he could grasp.
“I’m not sure yet, but Elder Zuo Kong and Elder Zuo Luo have already gone to investigate. If there’s anything unusual, they should be sending back the news very soon.”
In the battle of the Mother River, the people of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak had suffered a huge loss. Originally, they were still holding back their anger.
It was only because the Golden Core zombie demon had been killed that they could not do anything else.
Now, they knew that under the water, the Golden Core zombie demon was not all that was there. There were still existences hiding deeper in the shadows.
As such, how could the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak endure it? They had already restrained themselves by not directly overturning the d.a.m.ned Mother River. How could they really remain unmoved?
They had only sent out two Golden Core sword cultivators to scout the area. If they really attacked, it would be a rapid all-out strike.
Many large and medium-sized sects would easily turn into history under the wrath of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak.
Jiang Li’s move was called manipulating a tiger to devour a wolf. He did not believe that a huge tiger like the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak could not beat a tree.
At that time, when the two sides fought, Jiang Li would be able to fish in troubled waters like he did back then. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Not long after Tang Yan obtained the token, another few cultivators walked out from within.
Among them, there was another unfamiliar face. When the name on the jade board appeared, many people discovered in surprise that another person was registered under the Immortal Ascension Pavilion.
Among the ten people who received the tokens first, two were disciples of the Immortal Ascension Pavilion.
This was really abnormal.
Obtaining the token the fastest did not necessarily mean that the cultivator was stronger. However, at the very least, it meant that the cultivator at least had the effect of suppressing the chaotic situation in a certain aspect in order to stand out in a stalemate.
For example, unparalleled speed, artifacts that could not be destroyed, etc.
Logically speaking, it was impossible for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of such a level to be unknown no matter how low-profile he was. However, none of the two people present knew each other.
It was not difficult to understand the reason behind this. Immediately, many people looked in the direction of the Immortal Ascension Pavilion with unfriendly gazes.
After so many years, they had almost forgotten that the Immortal Ascension Pavilion was actually an external force.
The other party had borrowed the power from the outside of the Great Mountain Region. This meant that once the Immortal Ascension Pavilion’s Great Mountain Branch obtained victory, the benefits distributed would definitely be transmitted to the headquarters of the outside world.
It was natural for them to do business within the Great Mountain Region. However, if they were to take away a portion of precious resources and send it to the outside world, it would undoubtedly slow the development of the Great Mountain Region.
Not only that, but the Medicine Garden Mystic Realm would produce many high-grade spiritual herbs. Once they attracted the greedy gazes of the outside world, with wolves surrounding them, the cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region would probably have to face a difficult war.
Many factions looked at each other and quickly came to a consensus. They would definitely crush all of the people from the Immortal Ascension Pavilion in the next round!
The clone, Tang Yan, did not see the tacit understanding between the sects. Even if he did, he would not care much.
At this moment, he had already returned to his room and was sitting cross-legged. In the next moment, all the muscles in his body collapsed and his consciousness left his body.
This round of the compet.i.tion was simply not intense to the extent where he needed to use Sword Heart, so the use of his Sword Heart Slash today was still kept.
In the Misty Mountain Range, Jiang Li had also entered the coffin s.p.a.ce. The Yin Burial Coffin then sank into the ground, leaving no traces on the surface.
He used Mayfly’s Dream on the ancient statue, and the second Parallel Mind squeezed into the other party’s consciousness. Then, he stood in front of the ancient tree together with the first Parallel Mind.
At this moment, the ancient tree was incomparably miserable. The tree roots and leaves seemed to have been eaten by locusts, becoming spa.r.s.e.
The ghosts of the Scaled Demons hanging on it had long been exhausted.
The ancient tree was covered in ravines as well. Sword strikes covered its entire body, and there were even three overlapping Sword Heart Slashes at the center, and it was almost about to break this thing apart at the trunk.
As for the towering divine tree in the distance, although it was still ridiculously tall, it no longer had such a powerful deterrent force.
The distance between them was much greater than back then.
This was because the connection between the mental world was definitely mutual. It showed that the spiritual root Jiang Li captured was already about to collapse.
“This will be the last strike!”
The sword cultivator clone was filled with confidence and was already very confident about this. During this period of time, he had been executing Sword Heart Slashes every day. His Sword Heart talent, which had not awakened for long, had become more and more proficient. Perhaps he would be able to advance another step soon.
All that remained of the ancient statue was a pitiful vine that waved in the air as it attempted to unleash its final attack.
The ancient tree’s vines were more effective against spirit bodies than the ghostwood tree. If a Parallel Mind was caught by the vines, they would suffer even if they were tied together.
However, in the next moment, a blazing sword light that reflected one’s state of mind blossomed in front of the sword cultivator clone. It instantly cut the vines that were sweeping over like pythons into several pieces. Then, it did not lose momentum as it ruthlessly slashed at the deepest sword scar in the middle of the ancient tree’s consciousness.
Crack!
The ancient statue was finally cut apart in the middle. The two parts of the statue that were sent flying lost all their vitality in the air.
The spiritual root in the distance finally disappeared completely, and the connection was severed. In the end, starting from the breakpoint, the ancient statue tree gradually shattered, scattering into pieces of wood that slowly dissipated.
However, how could a thrifty cultivator like Jiang Li allow such a great opportunity to vanish in vain?
The second Parallel Mind that was the size of a palm immediately went forward and displayed the Soul Observation (Soul Seizing) chapter of the Great Carefree Bodhisattva Heart Sutra.
Immediately, an invisible suction force appeared from his second Parallel Mind. The floating green lights were instantly attracted to it.
Countless green lights surged in, and his palm-sized second Parallel Mind quickly swelled.
It was originally in a humanoid shape. Apart from its size, the second Parallel Mind was identical to Jiang Li’s main body. As it grew under the nourishment of the green light, its image gradually became more like a plant and not a human.
On Jiang Li’s side, he seemed to be in a rather sorry state in the coffin as he squatted on the ground while holding his head.
A large amount of information flowed through the filtering process and a portion of the most valuable information was selected.
However, even so, this quant.i.ty of memories still tortured Jiang Li until he felt like dying.
The senses of plants and animals were different.
The sensory memory of an animal was important. Many of the other details were subconsciously ignored even if their body accepted them.
However, plants were different. Their slow ‘nerves’ could receive feedback from every leaf and root without any difference.
Perhaps it was just a breeze, a ray of sunlight, and a raindrop, but what this ancient tree remembered might be more than the sum of an animal’s life.
Such a huge amount of information was impossible for ordinary plants to bear. If they had memories, the duration of their memories would be less than seven seconds.
However, the one in front of him was a Spiritual Root Branch. How could ordinary plants compare to it? It actually preserved all the information intact.
Moreover, this Spiritual Root Branch had existed for countless years already. The amount of information it acc.u.mulated was simply unbelievable.
Therefore, even after experiencing the filtering of the Bodhisattva Heart Sutra, this memory made Jiang Li end up on the brink of tears!
However… even with that said.
While this kind of process was painful, Jiang Li would not be willing to stop.
It was because in these memories, the Spiritual Root Branch’s understanding of nature and itself was obtained in every moment.
Most importantly, as Jiang Li had expected, this Spiritual Root Branch was also of the Yin-Wood attribute!
After realizing this, Jiang Li could not help but be overjoyed. It was no wonder he felt that this item was destined to be with him and could be of great help when he saw it in the cave.
Even its attributes were the same as Jiang Li’s. There were many benefits that could be brought to him.
If the ghostwood tree was a one-star Yin Wood and the Bloodsucking Wood was a four-star Yin Wood, then the Spiritual Root Branch was at least an eight-star Yin Wood. It was only below the Spiritual Root’s main body!
In Jiang Li’s eyes, the profundities revealed by every single action of this branch of memories were absolutely much higher than his main cultivation method, Ghost Wood Art.
Under the cleansing of the vast amount of memories, he could feel that his understanding of Yin and Wood attribute spiritual qi was rising rapidly like a rocket. Many of the originally difficult points in the spell techniques were now as simple as eating and drinking. He understood them immediately!
This memory was instilled in him for an entire day. In the mountain range outside, with the cultivators fighting with their lives on the line, Jiang Li lay in the coffin, quietly looking at the ghost flames above with lifeless eyes. He was completely indolent and motionless.
After a long time, Jiang Li shook his head and recovered from his shock.
He stretched his body. He had stayed in the memory of the Spiritual Root Branch for too long. He almost forgot what it felt like to have hands and feet.
This painful and happy feeling could finally end.
Jiang Li stood up and casually plucked a seed from a glowing vine by his side.
He let go of the seed and threw it forward. A dense spiritual qi fluctuation instantly erupted, and the small seed emitted a dark green light. In the next moment, it suddenly swelled into a black wooden dragon more than twenty meters long. In an instant, it entangled a wandering zombie in front and tore it apart!
Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction. Ever since he started cultivating his body, he had basically relied on the methods of body cultivators to fight. The Dao techniques and spell techniques he had learned had basically become supplementary ornaments.
However, after experiencing this Spiritual Root Branch’s memories, the power of his spell techniques had also greatly increased, already surpa.s.sing most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
This was truly dual cultivation. In the future, who would still dare to call him a brute?
However, this benefit was actually just an added bonus.
Jiang Li stepped on the air as if he was walking up the steps, walking to the side of the Spiritual Root Branch.
With a wave of his hand, a large amount of talismans and rune chains that covered it automatically fell off. Evil Yin-Wood spiritual qi fluctuations instantly surged out.
The spiritual qi and Yin qi in the coffin were absorbed at a high speed. It directly formed a continuous spiritual qi vortex with the Spiritual Root Branch as the center.
Under the nourishment of this dense Yin qi and spiritual qi, the Spiritual Root Branch that had already become extremely weak finally recovered a little spiritual qi.
Immediately, dense and mysterious characters slowly appeared on the Spiritual Root Branch. This was a scripture bestowed by the heavens to the Wood-Yin Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth. Its name was Nine Nether!
< Nine Nether Dao Scripture >