GBP Chapter 360: Treasures in the Ruins
Chapter 360: Treasures in the Ruins
As the smoke from the Autumn Wind Plains cleared, a faint glow began to emanate from the ruins of the Demon Emperor's tomb. Li Qingfeng stood beside the Broken Dragon Monument, watching as streams of light emanated from the cracks in the ground.
This is the "Nine Yin Treasure Light" of the ancient demon clan. Each ray of light carries a treasure: a suspended bronze alchemy furnace. The four ancient characters "Nine Turns Mysterious Pill" on the furnace exude an ancient atmosphere.
A rusty iron sword, with a sharp sword energy lingering on the sword that has not yet dissipated.
There was also the crystal clear jade box, inside which lay the "Ju Yuan Dan" emitting spiritual light. However, on the body of the Dan, strange bone lotus patterns could be faintly seen.
"Alliance Leader Li, this is a great opportunity bestowed upon us in the Northern Wilderness!"
Wang Tong, the new elder of Zhenlong Valley, licked his dry lips. The unwashed purple spots of erysipelas on his cuffs were particularly eye-catching. "My sect is willing to pay 100,000 spirit stones for the mining rights of the third layer of the ruins. I hope the leader will agree."
As he spoke, the disciples behind him quietly set up a "Spirit Gathering Formation." The patterns on the formation echoed with the restrictions on the ruins, creating a subtle resonance. It was obvious that this was a premeditated plan.
Su Zhan of the Imperial Heavenly Divine Sect approached slowly with a smile on his face, holding a jade plate engraved with Dao patterns in his hand. He said respectfully, "If the Alliance Leader can hand over the forbidden token to us for joint management, the Imperial Heavenly Divine Sect is willing to present the fragments of the Heaven-shaking Sword Canon as a token of sincerity."
Lightning runes flickered and danced around the edge of the jade plate, counterbalancing the "Beidou Order" on Li Qingfeng's waist, forming an invisible pressure field, clearly testing the authority of the restriction.
The commander of the Daheng Kingdom rode up to Li Qingfeng and said in a low voice, "We, the seven nations, have suffered heavy casualties in this expedition to support the king. Now we only ask for some healing pills to comfort our soldiers..."
But his eyes were as if attracted by a magnet, staring at the bronze alchemy furnace in the distance.
If this alchemy furnace could be owned by the Daheng Kingdom, it would be enough to improve the country's alchemy skills by a hundred years.
His warhorse pawed its hooves restlessly. The ancient Chinese character "杀" (kill) written on the horseshoe, upon contact with the light of the Xubao, emitted wisps of green smoke.
The cultivators of Dayu Kingdom controlled the puppets and tried to use the technique of "telekinesis" to grab the treasure from the ruins.
However, as soon as the puppet's fingers touched the precious light, they were shattered by a powerful force.
Facts have proven that the restrictions of the tomb ruins have a special resonance with Li Qingfeng's Heaven-Slaying Sword, and only the "Beidou Order" in his hand can safely break it.
The broken part of the puppet revealed the fragments of the Dragon Valley "Beast Taming Whip" hidden inside, emitting faint traces of demonic energy.
"Leader Li, if you are unwilling to share,"
The Prime Minister of the Great Wei Kingdom said with a forced smile, "I'm afraid the blood of the soldiers of the seven kingdoms will be shed in vain."
As he spoke, the jade pendant on his waist shone faintly. It was proof of the secret transaction with Zhenlong Valley for the "Gathering Spirit Pill." The patterns on the jade pendant were surprisingly similar to the bone lotus pattern in the ruins.
The alchemists of the Tianhuo Dan League could no longer suppress their greed.
An elder secretly took the "Rejuvenation Pill" he picked up from the edge of the ruins, but a moment later, his eyes turned red and he looked like a madman. He pounced on his companions and bit them.
It turned out that this pill had long been mixed with Zhu Jiuyin's corpse qi, becoming a poisonous pill that corroded the soul.
The elder's nails quickly grew darker and longer, and beneath his skin, veins resembling bone lotuses emerged, identical to the symptoms of the "bone lotus parasitism" that had appeared in the tomb.
"Look! They've gone mad!" the Xuanyang Dao Sect disciples cried out in horror. The cultivators who had taken the elixir were biting each other frantically, and bone lotus-shaped tumors protruded from their chests. The tumors ruptured, gushing black blood. The blood instantly transformed into tiny vines upon landing, quickly entangling the nearby cultivators.
Li Qingfeng was shocked to realize that the Ruins Treasures contained the "Heart-Eroding Bone Lotus Seeds" deliberately left behind by Zhu Jiuyin. These seeds, using the greed of human hearts as soil, waited for an opportunity to be reborn.
Su Zhan of the Yutian Divine Sect seized the opportunity and launched the "Dao Pattern Resonance" technique.
The jade plate in his hand resonated strongly with Li Qingfeng's Beidou Order. Li Qingfeng suddenly felt dizzy. In his sea of consciousness, the image of Yan Nanfeng being imprisoned kept flashing. That was the mental trap set by the remnant soul of Zhu Jiuyin.
The Dao pattern on the jade plate suddenly twisted, transforming into a demonic spell, projecting the illusion of a "Yin Yang Twin Formation" between Li Qingfeng's eyebrows.
"Hand over the token, otherwise, you will become Xu Bao's nourishment just like Yan Nanfeng!"
Su Zhan's voice grew hoarse and deep, and black blood oozed from beneath his Taoist robe. "We've long known that the Heaven-Slaying Sword requires the soul of its host to unleash its full potential, and your soul..."
Before he could finish his words, the skin exposed by his sleeves was already covered with demonic patterns, no different from the puppet master in the tomb.
Wang Tong from Zhenlong Valley suddenly threw out the "Blood Jade Compass", which was a forbidden weapon made from the heart of a great witch of the demon clan.
The compass needle spun wildly, pointing directly at Li Qingfeng's brow, because there were the remaining soul fragments of Yan Nanfeng, which was the key to unlocking the core of the Xubao.
The blood jade in the center of the compass rippled, reflecting the scene of the first generation leader of Zhenlong Valley and Zhu Jiuyin signing a blood contract.
"Back then, the first generation of the sect leader used this compass to form a blood pact with Zhu Jiuyin."
Wang Tong approached with a sinister grin, "Do you think you'll win by destroying the corpse core? Master Zhu Jiuyin has already carved the mark of the Dao Alliance into your bones!"
Around the compass, the patterns of the Dragon Valley Soul Gathering Array and the Demon Clan Blood Array overlapped, forming a strange "symbiotic array" that firmly locked onto Li Qingfeng's spiritual fluctuations.
Li Qingfeng suddenly raised his sword and cut his palm. Blood dripped onto the Beidou Order and condensed into the spirit gathering array pattern of Zhenlong Valley.
He glanced at the shocked crowd and said slowly, "Do you think I'm the leader of the Dao Alliance? No, I'm just a gravekeeper holding a key."
In an instant, the light of Xubao turned blood red, and all the magical instruments bearing the Dao Alliance emblem became scorching hot. Beneath the emblem, the demon race's incantation faintly emerged.
"Look at your spirit gathering array, and then look at the demon race spell on the ruins treasure. They have exactly the same pattern!"
Li Qingfeng pointed his finger at the cultivators from Zhenlong Valley, "Since its inception, the Dao Alliance has been Zhu Jiuyin's 'Soul-Nurturing Furnace'. Use the power of your faith to nourish his body, and through the struggles between the sects, nurture the Bone Lotus!"
His sword blade lightly swept across the bronze alchemy furnace, and on the furnace surface was reflected the image of the Dao League elders and the demon clan's great witch jointly controlling the fire and refining the elixir.
The elder of Xuanyang Taoist Sect recited the "Taichu Jingmo Sutra". However, the golden light on the sutra and the blood light of Xu Bao blended together, reflecting the scene of the Taoist Alliance and the demon clan ruling the Northern Wilderness together.
The so-called distinction between good and evil is nothing but a lie fabricated by Zhu Jiuyin to consolidate his rule.
The words "purify demons" on the scripture gradually faded, revealing the ancient demon seal characters "nourish the soul" underneath.
"Zhu Jiuyin uses the Bone Lotus to control the higher-ups of the Dao Alliance and uses the Ruins Treasure to seduce the lower-level cultivators, trapping us forever in the cycle of 'good versus evil'."
Li Qingfeng's voice was filled with sadness. "And these ruined treasures are the new shackles he left for the Northern Wasteland. Each one is stained with his corpse's aura and conspiracy!" He kicked the jade box at his feet, and the "Ju Yuan Dan" inside the box cracked, revealing the Bone Lotus seedling curled up inside.
At that moment, a bloody mist suddenly rose from the depths of the ruins. The looted treasures exploded, revealing the bone lotus seeds within. The cultivators who had consumed the elixir collectively exploded, and bone lotuses burst forth from their remains. Each lotus was engraved with the spirit gathering array of the Dragon Valley.
In the blood mist, the shadow of Zhu Jiuyin emerged. His voice, mixed with the screams of thousands of cultivators, echoed throughout the world: "Li Qingfeng, do you think you can stop me by destroying the corpse core? The greed of the Northern Wilderness cultivators is my most fertile soil!"
Su Zhan of the Imperial Heavenly Divine Sect tore off his disguise, and the shadow of the Demon Clan's Great Shaman appeared behind him. He laughed arrogantly and said, "We have long since signed a new blood pact with the Demon Emperor. The poison of the Dragon Suppression Valley and the Dao patterns of the Imperial Heavenly Divine Sect are all designed to persuade the cultivators of the Northern Wilderness to voluntarily become hosts for the Bone Lotus!"
As he waved his hand, bone lotus vines surged out, entangling the monks from the seven nations who were trying to escape.
Li Qingfeng swung the Heaven-Slaying Sword, and thousands of sword energies flew out from the Xu Bao, forming the "Zhou Tian Locking Demon Formation" that Yan Nanfeng had laid out that year.
Wherever the sword energy went, the bone lotuses withered, revealing the remaining souls of the Taoist Alliance imprisoned inside.
These are the spirits of the elders from past generations who were unwilling to collude with the demon race. They were trapped in the Ruins Treasure by Zhu Jiuyin to nurture their corpse cores.
"Senior Yan had already hidden the method to break the formation within the Heaven-Slaying Sword. He used the clone technique to split his soul into three, infiltrating the three major sects and waiting for his opportunity."
Li Qingfeng's eyes were as sharp as a torch as he looked at Wang Tong in the Dragon Valley. "You think you can control me with the compass and obtain the Xu Bao? But you forgot that the true way to purification is hidden in the fragments of Senior Yan's soul!"
The blood mist gradually receded, and Xu Bao's light returned to its pure state.
Li Qingfeng picked up a "Qingling Pill" without the bone lotus pattern and handed it to the commander of the Daheng Kingdom, saying, "This is the real ancient elixir. The previous ones were all poison bait used by Zhu Jiuyin to split the Northern Wasteland."
As soon as the pill touched the commander's palm, the remaining poison in his body instantly turned into a point of light and dissipated without a trace.
He turned to face Su Zhan, holding the blade to his throat, and said coldly, "Now, you have two choices: either continue to work for Zhu Jiuyin and become the next host of the Bone Lotus, or help me destroy all the treasures with array patterns and restore peace to the Northern Wasteland." A trace of struggle flashed in Su Zhan's eyes, and he finally bit the Bone Lotus seed in his mouth, which turned into a pool of black blood and seeped into the sand.
The generals of the seven nations exchanged glances. The general of the Daheng Nation was the first to dismount, kneeling on one knee. He spoke loudly, "We are willing to obey the orders of Alliance Leader Li. After all... no one wants to become food for the Demon Emperor after death."
The other six generals followed suit. Only the remnants of the Dragon Valley attempted to escape, but were stopped by Li Qingfeng's sword energy.
"The Ruins treasures can be divided, but all artifacts engraved with the Dao Alliance or demon clan emblems must be destroyed."
Li Qingfeng took out a blank jade slip and engraved the "Xu Bao Covenant" with the Zhan Tian Sword.
The jade slip automatically floated in the air, emitting a majestic light. "Anyone who violates this will have their soul slain by sword!" The light of the jade slip swept across the crowd, leaving an indelible mark between everyone's eyebrows.
When everyone started to sort out the treasures, Li Qingfeng noticed that a disciple from Zhenlong Valley secretly hid a piece of blood jade.
He did not expose it on the spot, but secretly left a mark on the jade with sword energy.
It turns out that within this blood jade, there is a remnant of Zhu Jiuyin's soul, waiting for the host to take the bait out of greed.
As soon as the disciple's fingertips touched the blood jade, a strange red light flashed in his eyes. However, this abnormality was temporarily suppressed by Li Qingfeng's "Soul Locking Technique".
Han Yinyue walked up to him and asked in a low voice, "Do you really believe they will abide by the convention?"
Li Qingfeng looked toward the ruins of the Dragon Suppression Valley, which was currently under reconstruction. Although the Gathering Spirit Tower there had been destroyed, countless alchemy furnaces were still buried deep underground. He said in a deep voice, "The internal strife in the Northern Wasteland has never been rooted in Xubao, but rather fear and greed. However, at least now, they have witnessed the dangers of Xubao."
In the shadow of the Xubao sorting area, Wang Tong quietly took a bone lotus seed.
The seed quickly took root and sprouted in his body, but he used the secret method of Zhenlong Valley to forcibly suppress it.
He looked at Li Qingfeng's back, a sneer appearing on the corner of his mouth.
In his opinion, Lord Zhu Jiuyin had already figured out everything, and the so-called "Xu Bao Convention" was just a means to make the monks in the Northern Wilderness relax their vigilance.
The real killer move is hidden in the "Nine Yin Secret Vault" at the core of the Xubao.
"Just wait, Li Qingfeng. When you think you are in control of everything, the rebirth ceremony of Lord Zhu Jiuyin will begin." Wang Tong reached out and touched the blood jade compass in his arms. The compass needle was pointing deep into the core of the Xubao.
There, an altar built with the bones of the Dao League elders quietly awaits the host of the "Yin Yang Twins".
......
When Li Qingfeng returned to the Black Abyss, Yan Nanfeng's soul-calming bell suddenly rang.
He pulled out the fragment of the Hunyuan Fengyaolu from his pocket and found a line of bloody words on the page: "The treasure of Xu is the treasure of the heart. If the heart is disturbed, the treasure will be disturbed."
A faint light seeped through the edges of the torn pages, illuminating the scene of monks from seven nations sorting through the treasures: some used their sleeves to block the light of the treasures, while others pretended to fall and took the opportunity to hide the elixirs. In this faint light, everyone's greed was exposed.
He looked up at the starry sky and saw that one of the Big Dipper stars was slowly dimming.
That was the mark of Yan Nanfeng's soul, which was gradually dissipating.
And in the shadows of the stars, a bone lotus quietly blossomed. The patterns on its petals were identical to the compass in Wang Tong's arms, foreshadowing a new crisis brewing in secret.
......
Three months later, news arrived from the seven nations: 30% of the cultivators who had been allocated the Xubao had suddenly gone mad. Mysterious bone lotus patterns appeared on their magical instruments, and their behavior was indistinguishable from the "Bone Lotus Puppets" of yesteryear. Li Qingfeng read the description in the communication jade slip and gripped the Heaven-Slaying Sword tightly.
As expected, Zhu Jiuyin's residual soul completed its first infiltration with the help of the Ruins Treasure, taking advantage of the cultivator's greed and trying to reshape its body.
"Alliance leader, Wang Tong from Zhenlong Valley has disappeared with Xubao."
Han Yinyue's voice was filled with anxiety. "Someone saw him heading to the Far Western Desert. That place... is the traditional territory of the demon race." As she spoke, she unfolded the map. In the dust and sand of the Far Western Desert, the outline of the demon race's "Blood Moon Altar" could be vaguely seen.
"It seems that this so-called treaty is ultimately untenable. But that's a good thing. It saves us the trouble of finding the traitor."
Li Qingfeng took the map and drew a circle in the westernmost desert. His Heaven-Slaying Sword left a deep scar on the map. "Notify the seven nations to reorganize their armaments. This time, we must completely sever Zhu Jiuyin's roots!"
......
When Li Qingfeng led the disciples of Luoyun Sect into the extreme western desert, they were shocked by the scene before them.
Wang Tong was using Xu Bao to build an altar. In the center of the altar, the fragments of Zhu Jiuyin's corpse core were suspended.
Beside him stood the supposedly dead Blood Eye Prince, and a group of mysterious individuals dressed in Daoist Alliance attire. Between their brows, they all had bone lotus-shaped Dao patterns carved.
"Li Qingfeng, welcome to Master Zhu Jiuyin's rebirth ceremony."
Wang Tong opened his arms. His skin had completely transformed into a demonic form, and bone spurs shaped like lotuses sprouted from his back, making him look ferocious. "Do you think destroying the tomb will stop us? No, the true Demon Emperor lives on in the hearts of the cultivators of the Northern Wilderness. As long as greed remains, we will make a comeback!"
......
Prince Blood Eyes waved the Blood Cloud Banner, and the desert instantly transformed into a battlefield illusion of the ancient autumn plain.
In front of Li Qingfeng's eyes, his comrades fell one by one, and Han Yinyue's body was tightly entangled by the bone lotus.
He knelt at Zhu Jiuyin's feet and took the emblem symbolizing the Taoist Alliance.
The cracks on the emblem transformed into bone lotus roots, piercing his heart fiercely.
"This is the fear in your heart, and it is also the fear of all the monks in the Northern Wilderness."
Zhu Jiuyin's voice rang out from the altar, carrying an endless gloom. "As long as fear persists, I will never perish. Do you think destroying the Ruins Treasure will purify people's hearts? No, human greed is the most powerful barrier!"
Li Qingfeng swung his sword at the illusion, only to find his sword energy rebounded by his own fear. He suddenly remembered Yan Nanfeng's words: "The way to break the impasse lies in being neither a Taoist nor a demon."
So, he put away the Heaven-Slaying Sword, opened his arms, and let the Bone Lotus vines entwine him. The moment the vines pierced his heart, he smiled with relief.
"Come and see what's hidden in my heart."
He stared directly at Zhu Jiuyin's shadow with a determined gaze. "What I fear isn't death, but Northern Wasteland falling into an endless cycle of reincarnation again. But now I understand that the key to controlling reincarnation lies in our own hands. The Heaven-Slaying Sword slays not external demons, but the demons within our hearts!"
The moment the bone lotus pierced Li Qingfeng's heart, the fragments of the Heaven-Slaying Sword in his body burst out with dazzling light.
The souls of the cultivators whose spirits were corroded by the Ruin Treasure followed the light and returned to their bodies.
The greed and fear in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by clarity.
Wang Tong and the Blood-Eyed Prince retreated in terror upon seeing this. The Bone Lotus vines instantly turned to ashes in the light.
"It turns out that the true way to purification is not to rely on external force, but to let the human heart make its own choices."
Li Qingfeng muttered to himself, his eyes looking into the distance, a new decision already made in his heart...