Chapter 39: Heading to Bianliang (Part 1)

  "Big Brother, are you trying to recruit that person? But I think Master may not have such a high cultivation level either. Those cultivators with high and profound cultivation levels probably wouldn't deign to join us. Big Brother, do you think he might be one of the people from the Orthodox Seven Sects that Master mentioned? The legendary divine immortals often appear in various places in the Divine State, maybe it's really their person, who knows?"

  Huang Handao said, "It's not impossible. For now, we can only stabilize him first and try to find a way to keep him after returning to Bianliang. Even if he doesn't want to help us, at least we can't let him become our enemy. Having one more friend is much better than having one more enemy. Alright, let's focus on the main task for now. I don't know what the Emperor is thinking, sending us here to find this Linglong Jade."

  Having heard this, Hailong withdrew his attention. Although it was only a few words, from the other's tone he had already discerned that Huang and the others were not bad people at heart. Although they had intentions to scheme against him, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. From this, it seemed that the Zhao Song Gu Temple should still be a pretty good place. Anyway, since he was just wandering through the world, he would just go with the flow. Maybe this trip really would bring some discoveries.

  Two days later, after Huang Han and his party finished their business, they came to the inn to pick up Hailong. The five of them set off on the road to Bianjing City, the capital of the Zhao Song Kingdom. To satisfy Hailong's appetite, Huang Han and his party specially hired a luxurious large carriage. Inside, not only was there a soft seat for Hailong to rest on, but also a hidden compartment containing enough delicious food and drink for ten days. Hailong was naturally extremely pleased with this treatment and lay down on the soft seat to enjoy himself. The carriage was very stable, and Hailong leaned against the wall of the carriage, lifted up the window curtain, and gazed out at the beautiful scenery outside. At this moment, he suddenly felt an unusual calmness in his heart, and memories of past events flashed before his eyes one after another. From the time he and Zhang Huan went to Mount Lianyun to pay respects to their master, to later meeting Xiao Jingling and Liu'er Mihou, and all that had happened since then, it was all vividly present in his mind, as if it had happened yesterday. Hailong let out a light sigh. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he had done the right thing by saving Tianqin with the Shu Dan. For three hundred years, she hadn't even come to see him once. Was his sacrifice worth it? Also, why hadn't he died after using the Shu Dan? When he came to, it was as if his whole body had undergone a transformation. Hailong wouldn't naively think that this was due to his own cultivation, because that was impossible. At the time, he had clearly felt his soul scattering, and later, an exceptionally powerful energy had forcefully pulled his soul back just before it dispersed. Who could have saved him? Who had such profound abilities as to be able to gather a person's soul at the moment of crisis? This was probably something that even Tian Dao Zun couldn't do.

  Just as he was thinking, the dragon suddenly felt the carriage come to a sudden stop, and the scenery outside the window froze in place. It was clear that the carriage had stopped moving. Only then did the sound of whistling and shouting erupt from outside, and the sound of horseshoes echoed continuously from the front and back of the carriage, as if thousands of horses and soldiers were surrounding them in an instant. Suddenly, Huang Han shouted loudly, "What kind of bandits are you? How dare you block our path? Are you looking to die?"

  Hailong leaned against the soft cushion and lowered the curtains, a flash of golden light in his eyes. With his Tianyan Tong cultivation, he clearly saw everything outside. It was a large group of people with different attire, numbering hundreds. In front of and behind his party, there were over a hundred warhorses on each side, while many more people emerged from the woods along the road. Looking at their attire and the gleaming ice blades in their hands, Hailong suddenly understood that these were bandits. Bandits robbing cultivators was truly a rare occurrence in the world. He didn't rush out, but instead watched with great interest.

  After Huang Fang's loud shout, the bandits suddenly dispersed to both sides, and three tall horses came to the front. They were three big men with similar faces. From their fierce and steady momentum, it was clear that they were the leaders of this group of bandits. The middle one shouted loudly, and the huge sound wave shook people's hearts like a thunderbolt in the blue sky: "Leave behind your money, horses, and valuables, and then you can roll away."

  Huang Han looked at the other party with a cold gaze and said, "Do you know what kind of people we are? You mountain bandits are simply people who can be killed by anyone. With your strength, why don't you join the army to serve the imperial court, but instead choose to become outlaws here, harming innocent people? Today is your day of death." As a member of the Imperial Palace, he was always highly respected and admired, but suddenly encountering bandits made him furious, and his mind had already moved to kill. Although he only had cultivation at the level of Tengyun Boundary, for ordinary people, that was an extremely powerful existence.

  The bandit leader burst out laughing, "You think you can kill us with just the few of you? Even if we don't consider numbers, one on one, you're absolutely no match for me. I think you'd better take off that skin of yours and get lost quickly. Today, I'm in a good mood, so I don't want to kill anyone. Brothers, tighten up the circle, don't let these few fat sheep escape!"

  Huang Fan turned his head and glanced at the horse carriage where Hailong was, saying in a low voice: "This is you looking for death, don't blame me. Remember, when you go to hell, tell the judge that it was Huang Fan from the Temple of Worship who killed you." As he spoke, he floated up, and a purple light flashed, a flying sword surrounded by spiritual energy emerged, rushing straight at the three bandit leaders in front of him. When Huang Fan mentioned the three words "Temple of Worship", the faces of the bandits had already changed. One of them suddenly swung his large axe, forcing it to meet Huang Fan's flying sword. However, how could ordinary objects compare with a cultivator's magical weapon? Without making any metallic clashing sound, the bandit's large axe was quietly cut into two pieces, and the purple light was about to engulf his body. Just at this moment, a golden light shot out from the horse carriage, and Hailong's voice sounded: "You can't kill people."

  With a soft "ding", Huang Fan's body shook, and the purple flying sword had already returned to his hand. He looked at Hai Long in surprise as he floated beside him: "Senior, these bandits deserved to die, why didn't you let me take action?" Hai Long snorted disdainfully: "You're still a cultivator, yet you don't even understand this basic principle? If you want to glimpse the ultimate realm of cultivation, you absolutely cannot accumulate too much killing karma. I see that you've cultivated for at least sixty years, but you're still stuck in the early stages of Cloud Ascension. It's clear that your hands are stained with a lot of blood; otherwise, with your talent, you should be at least two realms higher than you are now."

  Huang Han broke out in a cold sweat all over his body, and Hai Long's simple words made him suddenly enlightened. He hastily bowed respectfully and said: "Thank you for your guidance, junior will definitely reduce the creation of killing karma from now on."

  The leader of the bandits finally calmed down, having clearly felt the sharpness contained in the purple flying sword. If it weren't for the dragon's intervention, he would have been beheaded by now. Not daring to run away, he spoke in a low and humble tone: "I didn't know that the high-ranking official from the temple was here, I've committed a great offense. Sir, if you spare my brothers, I'm willing to commit seppuku right in front of you to atone for my sins." As soon as he finished speaking, two men beside him became agitated, one of whom angrily said: "Big brother, let's fight them! Even if we die, we'll die together!" Another man said: "Big brother, second brother is right. No matter what time it is, we brothers will always be together. Brothers, how about you?" Under his call, hundreds of bandits responded in unison.

  Hai Long smiled slightly and said to the leader of the gang, "You brothers are indeed very united, not bad. However, people like you hiding in these mountains, don't you feel a bit constrained? Just now Huang Han said that you should use your useful bodies to do something useful, although it's not necessarily joining the army, but there are many things that are better than being bandits. To be honest, I'm really not interested in worldly affairs. No matter what happens next, go now, with me here, no one will harm you." The leader of the gang was overjoyed and said, "You, you're willing to let us go?"

  Zhang Zhao said in a bad tone, "The predecessor's words are like an imperial edict, so hurry up and roll." The bandit leader whistled and led his men to retreat instantly, like a tide. This sudden coming and going seemed so abrupt.

  Looking at their departing backs, Hailong said, "This bandit leader is indeed very good at adapting to the situation, yes, he's a talented person, much better than you several. Huang Han, listen up, I don't eat your food for nothing, today I'll teach you a lesson. From now on, unless it's an evil demon or an extremely evil person, never lightly use your killing intent. Otherwise, with your current unstable foundation, once the heart demon invades, you will find it difficult to achieve great things all your life. Do you understand?"

  A green light flashed in his hand, and a beautiful wine gourd suddenly appeared. Hailong gulped down several mouthfuls, and let out a satisfied sigh.

  Hesitating for a moment, Huang Ou said: "Senior, are the things you said true? But I've never killed anyone before, so why is it that after cultivating for such a long time, my cultivation level is still only at the initial stage of Fow Tiger?" This was the first time she had spoken to Hailong since he threatened her that day. Although her gaze fell on one side while speaking, the obvious aversion had clearly weakened a lot.

  The dragon smiled and said, "So our ice beauty can also take the initiative to ask questions! If I'm not mistaken, the cultivation method you're practicing shouldn't belong to any of the seven orthodox sects. Although the initial cultivation method isn't bad, due to the lack of guidance from a master, your progress is slow. What you need now is a genuine cultivation method. Otherwise, judging from your current situation, even if you wait another three hundred years, you won't be able to reach the fetal formation realm. You should know that the fetal formation realm is an important boundary for us cultivators in the early stages. As long as you cultivate the Dao fetus, your cultivation will naturally soar, and your lifespan will increase to over a thousand years. But judging from your current situation, I'm afraid you'll die of old age before even forming the Dao fetus."

  When Huang Xuan heard Hailong's first sentence, she couldn't help but blush slightly, but after hearing the rest, she couldn't help but look at Hailong and ask, "Senior, what kind of cultivation method is considered orthodox? Is it not the orthodox method that our Master practiced? He is the leader of our Qinghe Gate!" Hailong replied calmly, "How can these small sects be compared to the Seven Orthodox Sects? Let's go, the bandits have left, and we should continue on our journey." After finishing speaking, he floated up and returned to his carriage. Huang Xuan and Huang Han looked at each other in dismay, then glanced at Zhang Zhao and Li Wei, who was driving the horse carriage. The four of them had the same determined look in their eyes. The four of them dismounted their horses and knelt down respectfully in front of the carriage. Huang Han said, "We humbly request that Senior accept us as disciples to teach us the most orthodox cultivation method."

  The dragon was eating a chicken leg and almost choked when he heard the words, using wine to send the chicken leg into his stomach. He coughed several times and said: "Do you want to kill me? Don't talk to me while I'm eating from now on. My whereabouts are unpredictable, and I don't plan to accept apprentices for now. I'm busy with my own affairs. Moreover, it's better for you not to get involved in the struggle between good and evil, which will bring no benefits to you. The sect I belong to doesn't allow external transmission of its teachings, so I won't be able to teach you. However, as long as you serve me well, I can give you some pointers based on your original teachings, at least letting you enter the fetal completion realm in your lifetime shouldn't be a problem. But don't do this again, betraying one's master and worshiping another is also a taboo in the cultivation world."

  After hearing Hailong's words, Huang Han and the other three couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Huang Yu looked at his brother and said: "Senior, you don't have to worry about our sect. From the first day we became apprentices under Master, he told us that if we had the opportunity to find an even stronger master, he would not stop us in any way. He only said that our cultivation method was lacking because of limited skills and inability to improve. If you are willing to accept us as your disciples, it would be our honor. Even if it's just a nominal disciple."

  Hai Long nodded and said, "So, your master is indeed very wise. Alright, since you insist, I'll accept you few as my nominal disciples. However, I don't guarantee that I'll teach you anything useful. I'm a lazy person who only cares about enjoying life, and doesn't bother with other things."

  Huang Hui looked at his brother and said firmly, "No matter how you will treat us in the future, I am still willing to take you as my master. Master is above, disciple Huang Hui pays homage to you." He then respectfully made a triple bow with nine knocks to Hai Long in the carriage. Huang Han hesitated for a moment but also made the same gesture. Zhang Zhao and Li Wei woke up and seemed to have a bad impression of Hai Long, unable to make up their minds for the time being.

  Wishing you all a happy new year again and may all your wishes come true. Yesterday I was exhausted after releasing 18 chapters for VIPs. If you have any recommendation tickets or VIP votes, feel free to use them.