Chapter 8: Zi Yu's Smoke of Life

  Xiao Ziyang grabbed the Seven Ghosts Flag in one go, but then hastily threw it away.

  The moment he grasped the Seven Ghosts Flag, he seemed to suddenly enter another world. Before his eyes was a sea of blood red, countless evil spirits wailed and howled in his ears, those terrifying noises making him feel like his heart was about to burst.

  Fortunately, Xiao Ziyang reacted extremely quickly and threw away the Seven Ghost Flag the moment he entered the illusion. This magic tool was not something an ordinary person could control.

  Xiao Ziyang glanced at Mo Fan with a hint of regret, before shifting his gaze back to the evil cultivator's corpse.

  He bent down and began to search the man's body. His face lit up with joy as he pulled out a soft leather pouch from the man's bosom. The pouch was about the size of a palm,

  Worn with a belt at the chest.

  Xiao Ziyang hastily untied the bag and opened it, revealing two books, a jade slip, several talismans, a few jade vials, and a small bulging cloth pouch.

  Xiao Ziyang didn't bother to look at it again, tied up the opening of the bag, and stuffed the leather pouch into his bosom.

  He looked at the scorching demon flag on the ground, thought for a moment, pulled out the wooden knife from the body of the evil cultivator, dug a hole in the mountain wall and buried the demon flag.

  After disguising himself on the burial mound, Xiao Ziyang wrapped the evil cultivator's bones in his clothes and hastily left the Double Bear Fort.

  The northern part of Ganzhou in the Western Liang Empire was covered by a range of continuous big mountains.

  This mountain range is called Taifu Mountain by the people of Western Liang. It makes the northern part of Ganzhou exceptionally barren, and at the same time blocks the footsteps of nomadic tribes from the north grasslands moving southward. The name Taifu Mountain comes from this.

  In Taifu Mountain, there is a narrow and long basin-like land that stretches for thousands of miles, with a width of 200 miles, resembling a spinning top.

  This basin is the only densely populated area in northern Ganzhou and the only county, the location of Shanin County.

  There is only one steep mountain path in and out of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Taifuku Mountain Path.

  Taihu Mountain Road winds its way for over 300 miles, passing through a sea of mountains with dense forests.

  It is the only passage connecting Sanin District and Kannan Plain.

  Ganzhou is the most northwestern border area of Western Liang State, and Ganbei is also the poorest and most remote region in Ganzhou.

  The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, which is the truest portrayal of this place, so it has become a paradise for fugitives and robbers.

  Taifeng Mountain Road is the lifeline of Shanbei County and also the lifeline of the mountain bandits in the Taifeng Mountains.

  The basin nurtured tens of thousands of people in Ganbei, and also supported thousands of thieves in the Taifu Mountains. As a result, the escort agency was a very prosperous industry within the mountainous counties.

  Xiao Ziyang was twelve years old when he followed his adoptive father on this Taifu Mountain Road to escort goods, and he was as familiar with this mountain road as his own backyard.

  After leaving Double Bear Village, Xiao Ziyang found a cave in a mountain not far from the mountain road.

  He entered the cave and lit a fire. He threw the evil spirit's bones into the fire piece by piece.

  After burning the evil spirit's bones, Xiao Ziyang was about to throw his clothes into the fire as well, but he pinched a bulging purse.

  He opened it and couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face. To his surprise, most of the contents in the pouch were purple gold coins, totaling no less than a hundred pieces.

  The immortal master is indeed different from ordinary people, and he actually carries so much wealth with him.

  Xiao Ziyang put these hundred pieces of purple gold coins, together with those obtained in Qinglong Village, into a bag and stuffed it into his bosom.

  A moment later, he put away his smile and his expression actually revealed a hint of tension. He reached out to press the leather pouch on his chest that was obtained from the evil cultivator, and couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive in his heart - did this contain the legendary cultivation secret manual?

  He was just looking around in the stronghold, but he didn't have a mind to escape.

  Xiao Ziyang untied his leather pouch, and his hands actually trembled slightly.

  He opened his leather bag and pulled out a book with a deep blue cover on which were written three large, ancient characters: "Ming Huo Jue".

  "Practicing immortality... secret recipe..." Xiao Ziyang muttered to himself, eagerly opening the book. However, the first sentence in the book made his heart sink.

  The book begins by stating: "Those who cultivate this move must possess a fire-type spiritual root of seventh grade or higher, as well as a yin-type physique of 'Three Yins' or higher."

  "Those who are not qualified, forcibly cultivating, will have unpredictable disasters!"

  Xiao Ziyang slowly put down the book, took a long breath, and pulled out the second book from his leather bag. This book was more than twice as thick as the previous one, with four bold characters "Zi Yu Sheng Yan" written in ancient script on its purple cover. These four characters made Xiao Ziyang's eyes light up. From the perspective of calligraphy alone, these four characters were also the work of a master!

  He couldn't help but have high expectations for this book. When he opened the cover and saw the first sentence, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

  "Cultivate this technique and you must possess the Chaotic Spiritual Root! The Chaotic Spiritual Root is rarely seen in ten thousand years, you should strive to find it, to pass on my teachings!"

  Disappointed Xiao Ziyang looked down, but a sentence below made his eyes light up.

  "If you don't have the Chaotic Spiritual Root, even if you can still cultivate this technique, it will be at the cost of your life, in exchange for some divine abilities. You must remember!"

  After reading this sentence, Xiao Ziyang's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation before a resolute expression as hard as steel appeared on his face.

  He carefully placed the purple book by his side and took out several other things from the leather bag. A jade slip looked ancient, warm, moist and transparent, obviously a high-quality beautiful jade, but there was no text or pattern on it, and he didn't know what it was used for.

  On a sheet of paper with a complex pattern drawn on it, the pattern is messy and seems to have no meaning.

  Xiao Ziyang looked at these ghostly symbols and had a very fond feeling, as if they contained some kind of harmonious law.

  He didn't know how amazing it was that he could produce such a feeling, because even the most talented among the cultivators, without months of study and comprehension, might not be able to produce this kind of feeling!

  Xiao Ziyang did not know any of this; he simply curiously put the paper charm back into his bag.

  Several jade bottles contained different kinds of dan medicine, it was unknown what they were used for.

  He took out a small cloth bag from his belt and opened it, revealing more than thirty colorful stones inside.

  Xiao Ziyang took out one from the middle, this stone was red in color, about the size of a thumb, and irregularly spherical in shape. He determined that it was an ordinary stone, not a gemstone. Although this thing was very bright, its essence was dull and unrefined, without any sense of transparency, and absolutely unlike beautiful jade or agate.

  The size and shape of the remaining stones in the cloth bag were similar to this one. Xiao Ziyang took out a few more to examine, but didn't notice any differences. He then tied up the small cloth bag and casually put it into his leather bag.

  Xiao Ziyang put the two books back into his bag, and when he picked up the book "Zi Yu Sheng Yan", he couldn't help but pause for a moment. But after a brief moment, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and without hesitation, he put the book into the bag and tied it back to his chest.