Chapter 376: Soul Battlefield
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the Eastern Region of the Azure Cloud Continent, a thick cloud floated 300,000 feet in the sky.
From below, the cloud did not look special at all.
However, in the extremely high sky that did not have air convection, this cloud floated quietly here. Over the years, there were no changes, as if it was frozen in amber and never changed.
From above, on the cloud, there was a vast land filled with vitality.
The clouds here were originally sea clouds. The cloud ball used to drag the bottom of Phoenix Sun City’s floating island was clearly distributed from here.
However, compared to the area here, Phoenix Sun City’s floating auction was much inferior.
Looking down, the sand and rocks here were all crystal clear, as if they were the best jade, clean and flawless.
On the ground grew gra.s.s, flowers, and trees that were like emerald gla.s.s. The fruits on the trees were also clear and bright.
In the center of Cloud Island stood a magnificent and exquisite palace. In the palace, a rainbow light hung in the air for a long time.
Sunlight shone down on the island, s.h.i.+ning with charming light everywhere.
Some rare beasts that had been extinct for countless years on the ground were playing around in this paradise-like world.
There was no need to worry about food and drinks here. There were no natural enemies, so these strange beasts were all fat and strong.
If one casually captured a few mortals and let them live here, by breathing in the dustless air and eating the clean spiritual fruits and spiritual vegetables, they would be able to shed their mortal bodies and live longer than a Golden Core cultivator.
Just living here alone could compare to the 500 years of lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator. Not only that, the pure spiritual fruits here could also increase a cultivator’s apt.i.tude and spiritual root, accelerating their cultivation and improving their physique.
After shedding the mortal body, it would generally achieve the effect of Jiang Li’s Immaculate Body.
It was definitely a paradise that made people envious.
The only strange thing was that a few exquisite spiritual fields had been cultivated on a flat land in front of the palace.
Spiritual qi gathered on the spiritual farm, and water vapor filled the air.
This kind of top-grade spiritual farm could at least accelerate the growth of spiritual materials by more than ten times. The production each year was comparable to a large spirit stone mine.
However, such a precious spiritual farm was not planted with any rare and precious fruits. Instead, it was planted with large radishes.
Originally, it was only an ordinary mortal breed. After countless generations of nurturing in this Cloud Island blessed land, it had evolved into a spiritual plant of a high grade.
They looked like they were carved from jade.
At this moment, on the spiritual farm, a young girl was holding a bamboo basket and excitedly pulling out radishes.
Under the sunlight, it shone with an alluring color.
At this moment, a cloud floated over from below and fused into the Cloud Island.
Three white figures wearing bamboo hats appeared on the island and hurriedly walked towards a palace in the middle of the Cloud Island blessed land.
The girl plucking the radishes in the spiritual field sensed something and transformed into a cloud before disappearing on the spot.
A moment later, in the palace, a peerlessly beautiful woman on the throne opened her eyes and looked at the Cloud Guards and Cloud Servants who were kneeling before her.
It was said that they had brought back something very interesting this time.
“Lady Yun, this is that talisman lightning.”
In front of outsiders, the few powerful cultivators called envoys above the clouds knelt in front of this woman.
After they finished speaking about everything that happened when they met Jiang Li earlier, they held the talisman lightning and lowered their heads to wait for instructions.
The woman called Concubine Yun raised her hand and the talisman lightning landed in her hand.
The simple rune lightning could be seen through at a glance, but the power from the other world inside actually had such a miraculous effect.
“The Human Emperor’s successor has appeared. In this era, he has gained a huge amount of merit. The reopened Nine Provinces is becoming more and more interesting.”
Her eyes closed again, and she blew out a dense purple qi that fell to the ground.
If Jiang Li was here, he would be able to notice that the power of virtuous merit in Concubine Yun’s body had suddenly decreased by a portion at this moment, and then it slowly rose again.
…
In the cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region, Jiang Li was not at the headquarters of the Great Mountain Alliance at this moment, nor had he returned to his hometown.
He arrived at Benevolent Travel Temple, one of the three major sects, and had already stayed here for seven days.
In the secret courtyard of Benevolent Travel Temple, a huge tree wrapped in yellow cloth was floating in the air.
On the six golden ropes binding them, there was a faint golden light circulating. In the bound yellow cloth, it seemed to be the wailing of ghosts and spirits. From time to time, various extremely tragic cries sounded.
As the golden light flowed on the rope, various human faces collided with the yellow cloth, forming distorted faces.
Three of the six ropes were grabbed by the three Divine Monks of Benevolent Travel Temple, and the other three ropes were grabbed by the 300 elders of Benevolent Travel Temple.
“Color is what the eye sees. It’s like the difference between light and dark. It stains the root of the eye, so it’s called the color dust.”
“Sound is what the ear hears. It’s like the difference between silence and noise. It stains the root of the ear, so it’s called the sound dust.”
“Smell is what the nose smells. It’s like the difference between fragrance and odor. It stains the root of the nose, so it’s called the smell dust.”
“Taste is what the tongue tastes. It’s like the difference between salty, sour, sweet, and spicy. It stains the root of the tongue, so it’s called the taste dust.”
“Touch is what the skin feels. It’s like the difference between cold and hot. It stains the root of the skin, so it’s called the touch dust.”
“Law is what the people know. It’s like the difference between good and evil. It stains the root of the intent, so it’s called the law dust.”
“Six Dusts, Six Desires, Six Orifices, Six Paths, Six Realms, Six Roots. There’s no limit to them. My Buddhist Six Roots are pure. Amitabha!”
They chanted the six Clarity Incantations together and continuously suppressed the ghosts and spirits in the yellow cloth.
What was wrapped in the yellow cloth was naturally the graveyard’s Nine Nether Wood.
Jiang Li discovered that in its territory, relying on himself to slowly kill those ghosts was really too slow.
On second thought, he was the Alliance Leader of the Great Mountain Alliance. Why did he have to do everything himself?
When he was young and weak back then, he was unable to protect himself. Once the precious treasure in his hand was exposed, it would bring endless trouble.
Even Golden Immortals did not have the ability to protect a Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth like the Nine Nether Wood in ancient times. Naturally, they had to be careful not to let anyone know.
However, it was different now. The current Jiang Li had strength and authority. At the very least, no one in the cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region could pose a fatal threat to him.
Not to mention the three great sects who were on the same side as him.
Even if one of them really intended to attack him, Jiang Li would no longer be afraid.
Therefore, he could completely be a little bold in his current actions. Even if there were any signs, who could investigate him, the Alliance Leader of the Great Mountain Alliance, thoroughly?
Therefore, he went to Benevolent Travel Temple and used their six Clarity Incantations to exorcize the ghosts in the Nine Nether Wood.
After covering it with a yellow cloth, Jiang Li said that he had discovered a Soul Capturing Ghost Wood in the area that had been ma.s.sacred by the Myriad Slaughter Sect.
In order to prevent it from building up, they had pulled it over and handled it in advance.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, if others came to seek help, Benevolent Travel Temple would definitely want to see the true appearance of the Ghost Wood.
However, Jiang Li only covered it with a yellow cloth and tied the red rope. Even the Benevolent Travel Temple would not ask about his secret.
They obediently did the ritual without any objections.
After seven days in a row, Jiang Li could sense that the ghosts in the current Nine Nether Wood had mostly been cleansed, and they were no longer as tough as before.
A few of the previous Divine Monks of Benevolent Travel Temple were still stationed at the front line and could not return, so the power of the Six Clarity Incantation was far inferior to its strongest period.
However, how could the Nine Nether Wood, which was already an arrow at the end of its flight, withstand this?
The ghosts had been exorcized, and there were only a few left.
After chanting the last spell, the last ghost face in the yellow cloth dissipated unwillingly.
The few Dharma Masters on the mat heaved a sigh of relief.
“Alliance Leader Jiang, we’ve succeeded.”
After pulling back the six ropes, Abbot Le Ku, who was standing at the side, turned around and informed Jiang Li who was waiting at the side.
With Jiang Li’s current reputation, he could even invite the Benevolent Travel Temple’s Abbot to help him.
After all, this person’s arm and eye had grown back relying on his medicinal pill.
“Thank you for your hard work, Divine Monks. I feel really sorry for letting you work hard before your injuries recover.”
Jiang Li hurriedly thanked them. Most of these monks were injured, so agreeing to help at this moment was giving him, the Alliance Leader, enough respect.
“Alliance Leader Jiang, you’re too polite. It’s our duty as monks to exorcize the souls of the dead.”
“It’s our fault for making Alliance Leader Jiang worry now.”
Abbot Le Ku clearly misunderstood something.
Jiang Li had just resolved the life and death calamity of the Great Mountain Region and was rus.h.i.+ng to deal with the area after the human kingdom was ma.s.sacred.
In the past, such matters of the mortal countries were usually thankless tasks and no one was willing to interfere before the establishment of the Great Mountain Alliance.
This led to the frequent formation of ghost territories in various places and the appearance of ghosts. Many places were invaded by ghosts acc.u.mulated over the years, and the people were living poorly.
Now that the Great Mountain Alliance was established, the first Alliance Leader, Jiang Li, worked hard to set up Prosperous Jiang Hong Inn everywhere to rope in those small demons that ordinary cultivators looked down on. From the root of the matter, he changed this situation around.
Without them, the ghosts that often appeared and caused trouble, and the small demons that were everywhere, were also restrained to a certain extent. It was said that the happiness index of the people in the mortal countries had increased exponentially.
Coupled with the fact that the concentration of spiritual qi was rising year by year, the production of ordinary food was extremely exaggerated. Basically, with a field to farm, they could feed a large family without worrying about starving to death.
The citizens’ desire to reproduce had also soared recently.
After all, population was the foundation of everything. In a few hundred years, the effect of this would allow the Great Mountain Region to be reborn.
Compared to Alliance Leader Jiang’s actions, these monks who only knew how to chant scriptures and build paG.o.das or temples appeared to be a little embarra.s.sed.
In fact, there were also people who suspected that Jiang Li had gathered ghosts to refine ghost soldiers. After all, he had displayed the power of his ghost soldiers several times back then.
However, this possibility was immediately eliminated by them.
This was because even if they sold the entire Great Mountain Alliance, they would not be able to raise so many ghosts.
Therefore, they naturally felt that Jiang Li was purely doing this to allow the Great Mountain Region to develop better.
After a round of pleasantries, Jiang Li finally dispelled the thought of letting their disciples go down the mountain to eliminate demons and defend the Dao with great difficulty.
‘If those ghosts are eliminated by you, my ghost soldier army will lose its supplement.’
After putting away the Nine Nether Wood in the graveyard, Jiang Li walked into a room that was provided for him, raised his hand, and tore off the huge yellow cloth.
From the yellow cloth, a turbid rock fell. It was the residue of hundreds of thousands of ghosts.
This thing might be able to be made into an artifact, so Jiang Li temporarily put it away.
Then, Jiang Li looked at the Nine Nether Wood in the graveyard. The Bodhisattva Heart Sutra circulated, and a parallel mind was cut out. It silently collided with the huge tree.
He closed his eyes and entered with the other four parallel minds.
The consciousness s.p.a.ce of the Nine Nether Wood in the graveyard was not much different from Jiang Li’s Nine Nether clone. Without the ghosts floating in the sky, it had already become empty and lonely.
In the center of the consciousness s.p.a.ce, the withered tree still floated there.
Soul Formation cultivators had already nurtured their Essence Souls.
He felt the huge tree. Although it was flickering in the wind, its essence was still tough and powerful. It was completely different from ordinary souls.
If he did not use the Ghost Lantern Cold Flame, it would not be easy to defeat such an Essence Soul in the Soul Battlefield.
Although Jiang Li held extraordinary strength in his hands, and he and the Divine Statue clone could fight a Soul Formation cultivator head-on without being at a disadvantage, he was still at the Golden Core realm in the end.
His soul had not transformed into an Essence Soul, so it was naturally impossible for the parallel mind to form one.
It was fine if they fought with their main bodies. In the Soul Battlefield, they were naturally much weaker.
Therefore, even when dealing with the heavily injured Nine Nether Wood, Jiang Li still chose to bully it with numbers.
The two Sword Heart Slashes led the way and instantly lit up the Soul Battlefield.
The Nine Nether Wood in the graveyard suddenly exploded. The roots and branches began to grow crazily, pouncing towards the outsiders like a tsunami.
The weak sword cultivator clone immediately retreated. The Nine Nether clone stepped forward and similarly created a large number of roots and tree branches to obstruct him.
However, because their strength was inferior and it was an away game, they immediately fell into a disadvantage.
On the left, the lotus platform dragged the statue clone into the air. The Buddha Demon’s thousand hands bombarded forward like raindrops, and a large number of tree branches shattered into pieces.
Every strike of the Divine Statue clone carried the faith and chaotic will of the believers. Even the Essence Soul would be affected by these chaotic minds.
On the other hand, the yaksha clone summoned a monstrous sea of blood and slapped forward. This was pure madness from the Asura World.
The terrible evil thoughts corroded and destroyed all the roots, even corroding this s.p.a.ce.
This was the Soul Battlefield. The thing lost here was the power of the soul. It could not be replenished with just a bit of spiritual qi.
On the other hand, Jiang Li himself transformed into a black dragon that roared with dignity.
Behind him, the blood shadows of the hundred beasts and the Asura Demon statue appeared, wantonly destroying everything in this s.p.a.ce.
The Nine Nether Wood of the graveyard, which was at the end of its rope, could not last long under such a method.