In the far eastern land of Dongsheng Divine Continent, there is a great sea, and along the edge of the sea stands a high mountain stretching for thousands of miles, blocking the sea water from the east. Even when there are waves thousands of feet high, they cannot advance beyond this mountain, which is called Cangqiong Mountain.
The side of Cangqiong Mountain facing the sea is a sheer cliff towering into the clouds. Having been washed by the raging waves of the sea, nothing grows there at all, the entire surface is a gray rock wall. In the slightly higher areas where the waves cannot reach, probably also affected by seawater, there is not a single plant, leaving a bare, gray patch. Yet the peak of the mountain is covered with clusters of ancient trees, overgrown weeds, and thriving vegetation. The mountain stretches westward, gently descending into a boundless sea of green as far as the eye can see.
The Tian Di Sect, the largest cultivation sect in Dongsheng Divine Continent, is located on the plains at the foot of Cangqiong Mountain. Standing on Cangqiong Mountain and looking toward the Tian Di Sect, countless neat buildings spread out, with flying eaves, twisted and winding corridors, spanning dozens of square kilometers. It is undoubtedly magnificent, and it is easy to imagine that the largest sect in the world cannot be nonexistent or randomly constructed.
Although the Tian Di Sect is considered the number one mainstream cultivation sect, it is not because it is stronger than Xuanqing Temple or Banruo Temple among the three major sects in power, but because it has the largest number of disciples among the many cultivation sects in Dongsheng Divine Continent. Roughly speaking, its disciples number about three thousand.
Among the three most flourishing mainstream cultivation sects, the strongest, in fact, is Banruo Temple, which has relatively fewer disciples. It is said that even an ordinary disciple of Banruo Temple is absolutely comparable to any outstanding disciple in Tiandao Sect. This is the difference between Banruo Temple and Tiandao Sect: Tiandao Sect admits any disciple with some talent, preferring to take in three thousand by mistake rather than miss one, whereas Banruo Temple will absolutely not admit someone without exceptional talent, preferring to miss three thousand rather than wrongly accept one. Thus, invisibly, the total number of people in Banruo Temple is less than one hundred, yet it surpasses Tian Di Sect with three thousand disciples, becoming the leader of the righteous sects.
Deep in Cangqiong Mountain behind Tiandao Sect, a roughly ten-year-old boy dressed plainly is climbing laboriously among the ancient trees, holding a woodcutting knife in his hand. His eyes are fixed on a dead branch on the ancient tree above, and then he carefully climbs toward the branch, supporting himself with one hand on the huge tree branch while freeing his right hand to hold the woodcutting knife and striking with all his strength. With a 'snap,' the dead branch breaks and falls to the ground.The young boy showed a set of tiger teeth, smiled slightly, and then looked up to the higher part of the ancient tree. Upon seeing a large dead branch three meters up, he felt a surge of joy, slowly retreated along the main trunk, and continued climbing upwards toward that dead branch.
When the young boy climbed up to a large tree fork near the dead branch, he steadied himself before preparing to once again extend his right hand holding the hatchet to chop the branch. Suddenly, rustling sounds of leaves came from below. Squinting to look, he saw a middle-aged man covered in blood.
The middle-aged man seemed to have sustained severe internal injuries, very fatigued, and after glancing anxiously behind him for a while, he leaned against the massive trunk of the tree where the boy was, breathing heavily.
The boy was very curious. He retracted his right hand holding the hatchet and quietly looked at the man below, not understanding what had happened.
“Hehe, Poison Scholar, do you think you can escape?” Suddenly, a deep voice sounded from not far away.
The middle-aged man's body trembled. Apparently realizing that he could no longer escape the pursuit, he said nothing more, took a milky-white small bottle from his chest, poured out three red pills, threw them into his mouth, and swallowed them.
After swallowing the yellow pills, the middle-aged man, with a loud sound, tossed the milky-white bottle aside and suddenly stood up, full of vigor, no longer showing the fatigue from before. In an instant, he appeared energetic and spirited.
Just as the white bottle was tossed with a thud, in the blink of an eye, a young monk appeared three meters in front of the middle-aged man. Wearing monk's robes, holding a string of prayer beads in one hand held upright against his chest, he stood there with a faint, half-smile, looking at the middle-aged man. But in his expression was a trace of puzzlement; evidently, he could not understand how a middle-aged man, covered in blood and severely injured, could recover completely in an instant, showing no signs of injury.
The middle-aged man said nothing, just stared blankly at the young monk. At some point, a folding feather fan appeared in his hand.
“Poison Scholar, hand over the item, and I, poor monk, can still give you an intact corpse,” the young monk said coldly, his expression filled with a deadly intent.The middle-aged man still didn't speak. He was already showing obvious signs of impatience, abruptly rising to his feet, leaving behind a phantom image, and charging toward the young monk. The young monk sneered coldly with a "hehe," and without any visible movement, he leapt from the ground, flying nearly ten meters into the air.
The middle-aged man ran straight ahead, stopping abruptly about five meters away from the spot where the young monk had just stood, looking utterly embarrassed and disheveled.
At this moment, the young monk had descended from the high air, standing behind the middle-aged man, flipping smoothly to face him, and remaining silently there. The boy atop the ancient tree could only see the young monk's back, unable to observe any of his expressions.
However, the middle-aged man had already turned around anxiously, and his expression was clearly visible.
Only then did it become clear: the middle-aged man, besides being covered in blood, looked pale. Between his brows was a profound sense of disappointment, and his eyes shone brightly, fixed intently on the young monk.
‘Greedy donkey without desires, you, as the chief disciple of Prajna Temple, don't focus on learning your own sect's techniques, yet you chase me for over three thousand miles—isn't it all for the “Rogue Cultivation Technique” I possess?' the middle-aged man said, somewhat bitterly.
The words 'Prajna Temple' struck the boy in the ancient tree like a bolt from the blue. This was the symbol of the highest status in a righteous cultivation sect. He could never have expected that in this desolate wilderness, he would encounter a disciple of Prajna Temple—and the chief disciple at that. His special status was far beyond that of an ordinary disciple. Moreover, a typical disciple of Prajna Temple was far better than an excellent disciple of Tiandao Sect. As for the chief disciple, there was no need to say more. For a simple firewood-gathering disciple of the Tiandao Sect who had seen little of the world, seeing the chief disciple of Prajna Temple was an immense honor.
‘Toxic Scholar, this isn't something I can be blamed for. The cultivation methods of sects across the world may vary, each with its own merits. And while the cultivation techniques of Prajna Temple are arguably unrivaled in the world, compared to your “Rogue Cultivation Technique,” they still fall far short. With such an opportunity, naturally, I cannot let it pass.'After I master the cultivation methods of the Prajna Temple and then add your 'Rogue Cultivation Technique,' wouldn't I be invincible across the world? By then, I can dominate the whole world, hahaha...” At this point, the young monk let out an extremely arrogant laugh, and within this laughter, there was already a faint posture of looking down on the world.
The boy on the ancient tree, who had always been extremely respectful toward this monk, upon hearing these words, couldn't help but feel great resentment. How could the senior disciple, the leader of the righteous path, harbor such thoughts? How is this different from the evil path?
The middle-aged man snorted with a cold laugh: 'I never thought that the senior disciple of the Prajna Temple would covet such a cultivation manual. This is the sacred evil cultivation scripture created by my evil ancestor, the proud scholar of the sinister path, after a lifetime of effort. As a person of the righteous path, you should despise it!'
The young monk, however, did not get angry and chuckled: 'You don't need to worry about that. Just hand it over. The rest of the matters are none of your concern.'
The middle-aged man shook his head regretfully and sighed lightly: 'Alas, it's a pity. Neither of us can hope to cultivate it now.'
The young monk was momentarily stunned and involuntarily asked in alarm: 'Why?'
'Have you forgotten my name? Try sensing the energy.'
'Ah!' The young monk exclaimed in shock: 'You... when did you poison it?'
'Hehe, I already sprinkled the colorless and tasteless deadly poison while rushing toward you just now,' said the middle-aged man with a relaxed expression.
The young monk stood there, motionless. After a long moment, he said obsequiously: 'Senior Elder Jing, it was entirely my fault just now. I hope you, sir, will forgive me and grant me an antidote. In the future, no matter what, if you give a command, whether to face a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, I will not hesitate.' Saying this, he had already clasped his fists and bowed his body.
The boy on the ancient tree, seeing the young monk's attitude take a 180-degree turn, was already somewhat angry, shaking his head incessantly on the tree trunk. Is this the so-called disciple of the righteous path leader of Prajna Temple? Now, he couldn't help but start doubting the Prajna Temple.The middle-aged man's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Now you think to beg me? I'm not so foolish. If I gave you the antidote and saved you, you'd still come to kill me afterward."
Hearing this, the young monk exclaimed in panic, "No, I wouldn't dare! Elder Zhong, I beg you, please just give me the antidote. I'll kneel to you." Saying this, with a thud, he had already run to the middle-aged man's feet.
The middle-aged man waved his right hand, his expression resolute, and snorted coldly, "Hmph, so this is the chief disciple of Banruo Temple? You don't need to kneel. I absolutely will not give you the antidote." Saying this, he turned his body and strode forward.
Seeing no way to proceed, the young monk's murderous intent surged. Taking advantage of the middle-aged man's inattention, he instantly gathered all his power, letting the Buddhist beads slip from his hand, flying like lightning toward the middle-aged man's back.
The boy on the ancient tree did not expect the young monk to ambush the middle-aged man. When he saw the beads fly out, he shouted, "Watch out!"
The middle-aged man wasn't on guard because of the boy's warning. Even before the boy had the chance to call out, the folding feather fan in his hand had already leapt backward, intercepting the beads. He turned around in an instant, controlling the fan through his mind to twine and fiercely clash with the beads in midair.
The beads spun rapidly in the air, gradually forming a dense black ring. Step by step, it approached, violently striking the folding feather fan at the edges, producing a series of crisp impact sounds.
Clearly, the force of the folding feather fan was lacking. Under the furious collisions of the spinning beads, it inched closer toward the position where the middle-aged man stood.
Seeing the situation turn critical, the middle-aged man's mind focused; the folding feather fan snapped open with a whoosh, forming a colorful peacock screen that blocked the beads in front. Each time the beads slammed forward fiercely, the vibrant peacock screen dipped slightly toward the middle-aged man's position. Yet the screen was extremely flexible and immediately restored to its original form, bouncing the rapidly spinning beads back.After a period of stalemate, the young monk who had already stood up shouted sharply. The string of rapidly spinning prayer beads emitted a dull pop and instantly dispersed. The black light circle stopped, and the beads split into twelve individual beads, bypassing the colorful peacock screen and targeting twelve vital points around the middle-aged man's body. The middle-aged man was unhurried. He quickly reached out with his right hand, folding the feather fan to form a multicolored feather fan that immediately retracted, flashing back like lightning and landing in the middle-aged man's hand. Almost at the same time, the twelve jet-black beads that had dispersed into Buddhist beads were already within arm's reach. The middle-aged man let out a low growl and shot up into the sky. The twelve beads were so fast, how could they all be dodged in such a split second? In the blink of an eye, just as the middle-aged man had leapt about a meter away, five beads had already struck his leg, piercing through and spraying out five streams of fresh blood. How could he possibly dodge in such a split second? In the blink of an eye, just as the middle-aged man was about a meter away, five beads struck his leg, piercing through and spraying out streams of fresh blood. The boy atop the ancient tree cried out in surprise, instinctively throwing the hatchet from his right hand at the young monk. After throwing the hatchet, the boy immediately realized—this was a battle between good and evil—why would he be siding with someone from the evil path? Attacking the disciples of the righteous leader Banruo Temple—what's going on??\ Luckily, just as the hatchet slipped from his hand, the young monk had already leapt up, creating a gray shadow of monk's robes. His whole body flew like an arrow released from a bow, flying toward the middle-aged man in the air. With a thunderous crash, both hands struck the middle-aged man. "But." A pool of fresh blood poured down from the five streams of blood, spraying out. The middle-aged man was very resolute, not uttering a single cry of pain. His body quickly lunged backward. "Clang." Only then did the hatchet finally touch the ground. In the midst of the flying blade, the young monk had already knocked the middle-aged man flying. What a swift attack this was!?The sound of the machete hitting the ground had just fallen, when there was another 'bang' — the middle-aged man had already crashed onto an ancient tree more than ten zhang away, and then with a light sound, fell to the ground.
At this moment, the young monk trembled, staring at his own hands in horror as they continued to swell rapidly, and the dark aura gradually spread throughout his body.
"No." The young monk let out a cry of despair and then slumped helplessly to the ground, completely without strength.
"Heh heh, you didn't know, did you? The earlier poisoning symptoms were merely caused by the inconsequential intermittent inhibitory power powder. What truly threatens your life is the Condensed Qi Detox Pill I swallowed. Once it melts inside the body, the poison spreads throughout the body. As long as your hands touch my body, you will be poisoned and die." Saying this, he looked at the young monk, full of regret, and slowly continued, "You need not regret it. Even if you hadn't fought me, even if your hands hadn't touched my body, you would still not escape the fate of poisoning after my death, because you will look for what you want on my body."
Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the youth on the ancient tree was completely stunned. What a terrifying thing this was, and what a meticulously laid plan!
Even in death, he would not let his enemy go.
Is this what a practitioner of the dark path is like? Thinking of this, the boy on the ancient tree couldn't help but turn his gaze to the middle-aged man. Are practitioners of the righteous path necessarily good people? After staring at the middle-aged man for a while, the boy couldn't help but shift his gaze toward the shivering young monk.
His mind was in total chaos. The so-called distinction between good and evil now left the boy feeling somewhat confused.
