Tian Gang Chapter 173: Cult (8)
As soon as I saw the appearance of this stone beast, I felt creepy, not only because of its weird appearance, but also because the secret corpse vein was like playing tricks on me.
They are such profiteers that they exchanged half of a stone beast for a complete one!
The old Taoist took the stone beast with a wave of his hand, and his eyebrows slightly raised... Over there, the green ghost corpse had already taken the new stone beast and put it into the ground.
I felt like my head was about to explode. Could it be that this old man...
Let's go, the old Taoist said suddenly.
Ah? Go? I was stunned for a moment, but then I reacted immediately. The old Taoist didn't say much, and waved his hand to withdraw the giant sword, his movements were clean and neat.
Then, he held me with one hand and lifted the half of the stone beast with the other, and left Wushan using the shrinking technique.
The Taoist priest took only three steps, but it was more than 200 miles away from Wushan. He stopped in a forest, which was sparsely populated and surrounded by lush trees with no signs of being trampled.
The old Taoist stood there, placing the half of the stone beast on the ground and looking at it carefully. I couldn't hold back any longer, so I asked him curiously: "Why are you willing to leave? They only gave you half..."
I gave half of it, too, the old Taoist priest replied.
Huh? I was stunned for a moment: Isn't yours complete? I can see it clearly.
The stone beast left by my Five Elements Meridian had dissipated that time, and Wei Qingcang gave me another stone beast. I had split it before, but it had lost too much energy and could no longer support the reappearance of the ancient road. So, I sent half of it for research, and the incomplete part of the other half was condensed by the earth element in the Five Elements Method. So, I didn't suffer any loss. The stone beast itself didn't have much energy, so it must not last too long.
This... I was a little stunned: This is not good.
The secret corpse vein wants to exchange the half-body stone beast for my complete body, is that okay? The old Taoist asked me in return.
I was speechless for a moment. I had just thought that the Secret Corpse Vein were profiteers, but now it seems that this old Taoist priest is much more cunning than them... The stone beast, which had no energy to begin with, actually had parts of itself transformed by Taoist magic.
Obviously, those people from the Secret Corpse Vein did not know much about stone beasts, and the old Taoist's Taoism was unfathomable, so he was able to successfully deceive them.
So that's why you kept touching my sleeve for so long. I said, suddenly realizing something, but then I remembered the Taoist's firm tone and couldn't help asking: What would you do if they really didn't agree?
Take the stone beast before they kill the man, the old Taoist priest replied.
Uh... I thought you were going to just rob or kill them all.
They have no grudge against me. If I kill people to snatch the stone beast, how many people will I have to kill before I can find my junior brother?
Okay, but your great sword is really powerful. I thought you were really going to fight them to the death and wait for the Five Classics to come out. You scared me...
I didn't lie. The old Taoist priest continued: If they really want to do it, I will destroy the entire corpse breeding ground with one blow.
The old Taoist said calmly: "Although the Taoist spirit will consume all my Taoist power and even drain all my energy, I must fight back. The Five Elements Meridian cannot be insulted. This is the ancestral precept."
It’s not that serious. It’s not worth it if it risks my life... I was shocked.
For you, it may not be worth it. But the reason why my Five Elements Vein ancestor left the Five Classics was to prove to the origin that his path was right! Even without blood inheritance, we can still shock the world. But if this prestige is trampled on the ground in my hands, from the ancestors thousands of years ago to my generation, it will become a joke. So even if I die, I must not be humiliated.
I couldn't understand the old Taoist's emotion. For the so-called thousand-year glory, he was not afraid of death? What ancestral teachings? They were all jokes of the ancients, but the old Taoist took them seriously.
If you die, the origin of the Five Classics will be born. Doesn't that prove that you are wrong? I said.
Our lineage is not wrong, it is the world that is wrong. The old Taoist shook his head and said: Even the Eight-thread lineage has fallen to such a state, even if the Five Classics have been passed down through blood, wouldn't it have definitely not ended up like this? And if there were no restrictions on blood inheritance, all the methods of our lineage would have gathered together and recruited many disciples. Even if the world changes again, we can still stand at the top of this life.
Well, I can't argue with you. But I think if you can find the person who originated the Five Classics and explain it to them, maybe...
Why would the right person talk to the wrong person about this? The old Taoist shook his head: You don’t understand.
Well... When I heard the words "you don't understand", I felt so depressed that I couldn't express it. Continuing to discuss this topic would just be a waste of time. The concept of honor and disgrace of a cultivator is not something I can imagine, guess, or adapt to.
Eh...the old Taoist suddenly let out a slight cry of surprise.
What happened? I quickly went over to take a look.
The half-stone beast on the ground was completely covered by stone, and nothing could be seen except the outline of a human figure.
The old Taoist didn't respond immediately. Instead, he squatted down and stroked the stone a few times, then tapped it a few times.
What are you doing? I asked curiously.
He still didn't answer. Suddenly, he drew a simple empty symbol with one hand, and then used his finger to make a sword and started to cut at the stone.
The fingers wrapped in blue light were like the sharpest knife in the world, slicing away at the stone layer. Suddenly, his fingers collided with the stone layer, making a "ding" sound.
The Taoist priest took his fingers away, and I bent down to take a closer look, only then did I discover that there was a layer of golden substance under the stone layer that had been cut away. It looked a bit like gold, but judging from its transparency, it looked more like jade.
What is this? I asked curiously. I have never heard of a stone beast with two layers of things wrapped around its body. The stone beast that the Taoist priest split open at the Five Elements Taoist Temple was just a layer of stone.
I don't know, but it's very hard. The old Taoist priest answered while stroking the golden jade on the second layer with his hand, as if he was identifying it.
The Taoist power could not penetrate and was completely blocked. The old Taoist priest said again.
How does the Secret Corpse Vein use it? I asked in confusion.
Not sure. The old Taoist shook his head and replied: Maybe they are useless at all, or maybe they have unique secret methods. After all, Wei Qingcang brought something from ghosts and gods.
That’s... Hey, what are you doing?
The old Taoist kept moving his hands, and pieces of stone were flying around. He answered without turning his head: Open it completely and see what it is.
This is what I wanted to know, so I didn't stop him. Instead, I waited expectantly. After a few minutes, the old Taoist thought that shaving layer by layer was too slow, so he simply drew another empty symbol and punched hard.
With the power of the void talisman, the old Taoist was like a giant beast with infinite strength. As he kept hammering, the stone layer made crackling sounds and soon cracks appeared.
Not long after, all the stone layers were completely knocked away, and the half-broken stone beast completely revealed its original appearance.
This is... I am a little surprised and amazed.
Although the golden jade is not very transparent, it is still possible to vaguely distinguish that the stone beast in front of us is not much different from us humans. It can even be said that they are exactly the same.
Its eyes were half open, and its expression was somewhat ferocious, as if it was in great pain. It was wearing a light purple half-helmet, but it looked like it had been through a great battle, with only a small part of the armor left. There were obvious cuts on its waist, and even half of its palm was cut off.
What on earth is this thing… Why does it look like it has fought with someone? Moreover, the cut is very smooth, because the golden jade that seals it is like a mirror.
What is this? I asked.
The old Taoist looked at it carefully, but could only shake his head: I don't know. It looks very much like a human, but why is it sealed like a stone beast? If I can find a way to cut through this barrier, I can use my Taoist power to identify it.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Isn't that the same as saying nothing? If I could cut open the jade and dissect it, it would definitely be more thorough than your ability to identify it with your Taoist power.
That's right! An idea suddenly occurred to me, and I quickly said: We can find Mr. Liao. Although your Taoist power is useless against it, Mr. Liao's laboratory has many advanced machines, and perhaps they can cut through this layer.
The old Taoist did not respond immediately, but stood there thinking about something.
What's wrong? Are you still afraid of being robbed by him? I asked.
I was thinking, since even I can’t unlock this layer, why not exchange it for other stone beasts, the old Taoist priest replied.
I was stunned for a moment, and then I was dumbfounded. What kind of brain does this old man have? Why does he always want to cheat people? He exchanges things he can't handle for other people's treasures. What kind of Taoist priest ? Come back with me and open a shop!
But this stone beast... well, perhaps it is not very appropriate to call it a stone beast, because after all, it is very different from the stone beasts I have seen before.
Anyway, this thing belongs to the old Taoist, how he handles it is his business, I can only give suggestions. However, if such a strange thing is really exchanged for those stone beasts, I always feel it is a pity.
At this time, there was a movement in my pocket. I opened my pocket and saw that Jiaoye's eyes were not open. Xinzi was about to vomit and was shaking his head to try to crawl out. The direction his head was facing was exactly the strange thing on the ground.
I was speechless and quickly put it back into my pocket. This guy was too greedy, he was still dazed and wanted to eat it just by smelling it.
You got into trouble because you ate too much, so you should just go to sleep. I buttoned my pockets and covered them with my hands to prevent Mr. Jiao from sneaking out.
There was nothing to study, so the Taoist put half of his body into his sleeve. I was amazed at what he saw. The Taoist really looked like Doraemon! Sometimes I wanted to sneak into his sleeve while he was asleep, to experience the strange feeling of shrinking from big to small, and to see what was hidden inside.
Huh? While I was daydreaming, the old Taoist suddenly exclaimed again.
What's wrong? I asked quickly.
Someone is coming, the Taoist said, and then he grabbed my sleeve and said, "Let's go."
At this moment, a black gas suddenly emerged from the ground and turned into a palm that grabbed the old Taoist's ankle.
The Taoist priest raised his leg and chopped down, crushing the hand. Although he was not hurt, he let go of the hand that was holding my sleeve and looked to the left.
I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Who is so bold as to even arrest an old Taoist priest...
