Volume 7: The Strongest Four Realms Chapter 10: Sand Bandits Attack
Giant Bear City, one of the nine ancient cities in the Mogao Desert, is ruled by the Giant Bear Tribe.
When Lu Qingshan arrived at Giant Bear City, the sky was dark red like fire, and the ground was covered with red. It was just sunset.
He entered through the city gate openly without any concealment.
Shortly after he entered the city, a shop owner in a shop near the city gate quietly closed the door, left through the back door, went to a remote place, patted the spirit beast bag at his waist, and released a demon bird with a white top and black feathers.
The demon bird is only at the first level, but it has natural wings and can fly very fast, making it a good messenger.
The shop owner fed the monster bird a nourishing pill, then pinned a spiritual letter to the monster bird's feet, allowing it to flap its wings and fly high into the sky.
Afterwards, the owner returned to the store again, opened the door, and ran the store and sold goods as usual, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The situation is very tense.
He has been lurking in Giant Bear City for so many years and is a very experienced man.
After killing someone, the swordsman dared to enter and leave Giant Bear City so openly. How could he not understand that this meant that the swordsman was fearless.
Of course, there is another possibility, that the swordsman is extremely stupid and ignorant.
But there is a rule in his line of work: if you want to live long, you can only overestimate your enemy, and never underestimate him.
…
After Lu Qingshan entered the city, he began to explore the monks' shops in the city.
The reason why he came to Giant Bear City was very simple.
Where there is demand, there is a market.
Since the monks of the Giant Bear Tribe use thunder to strengthen their bodies, the lightning protection devices and elixirs sold in the shops of Giant Bear City are definitely the most complete.
Giant Bear Pill Shop, Lu Qingshan stepped into it.
The head cultivator of the Giant Bear Pill Shop was a very young male cultivator, completely different from the old Taoist Huang Zhong of the East Bird Weapon Shop. When he saw Lu Qingshan coming in, he immediately came forward to greet him warmly.
"I need some pills that can withstand thunder, but they have to be of the third grade or above. Pills below this grade don't need to be taken out." Lu Qingshan said lightly.
The young monk in charge was slightly startled when he heard this, but his reaction was very appropriate, with a genuine smile on his face, "Sir, please wait a moment."
Then, the monk in charge turned around and went into the inner hall. After a moment, when he came out, he was holding a transparent jade bottle in his hand.
In the jade bottle, there were five brown-yellow pills the size of longan.
One can vaguely see a thick liquid flowing and swaying inside the pill.
"Blood Rock Pill is a fourth-grade medicinal pill made with Blood Rock Fruit as the main ingredient. After a cultivator takes the Blood Rock Pill, the medicinal power is activated, which can form a thick layer of blood rock on the surface of the skin, protecting the body and isolating the impact of thunder. Even thunder that can injure a Void Refining cultivator can be resisted for a while with the help of the Blood Rock Pill. If its quality can reach the sixth grade or above, the cultivator can even use it to slightly resist the power of the heavenly tribulation." The monk in charge introduced.
When a cultivator reaches a high level, the amount of spiritual energy they draw from heaven and earth will reach an extremely terrifying level. In addition, the lifespan of high-level cultivators is extremely long. If there are no restrictions, then even if the realm of the sky is huge, there will be a day when the spiritual energy will dry up.
Therefore, in order to avoid this situation from happening, the will of heaven will impose many restrictions on high-level cultivators.
One is a natural disaster.
When a cultivator reaches a high level and wants to break through again, he must endure the test of heavenly tribulation.
If you can survive it, your cultivation will be elevated to a higher level, but if you can't, you will die and return everything to this world.
The heavenly tribulation is something that makes countless high-level cultivators shudder at the mere mention of it.
Even the power of the heavenly tribulation can be resisted, so the effect of the Blood Rock Pill can be imagined. Lu Qingshan was delighted and looked at the pill in the jade bottle and asked, "I wonder how much it costs?"
The monk in charge did not answer Lu Qingshan's question, but instead asked, "My name is Xiong Xi, what is your name?"
Lu Qingshan frowned slightly, looked at Xiong Xi thoughtfully, and replied: "Lu Qingshan."
Xiong Xi raised his right hand and threw the bottle of Blood Rock Pill directly, floating in front of Lu Qingshan, and said with a smile: "I'm giving this bottle of Blood Rock Pill to Daoist Fellow Lu for free, just consider it as making friends with Daoist Fellow."
Lu Qingshan took the Blood Rock Pill, played with the jade bottle in his hands, and asked, "What does Brother Xiong mean by this?"
Although the Blood Rock Pill is only a fourth-grade pill, due to its practical value, it should be a priceless pill in Giant Bear City and is worth a lot of money .
If he didn't have a big plan, how could he just give away such a precious pill?
Seeing Lu Qingshan taking the Blood Rock Pill, Xiong Xi clasped his fists and bowed, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation, "There may be outsiders coming here at any time, so it is not convenient to talk. Please come in, fellow Taoist."
A gleam of light flashed in Lu Qingshan's eyes.
But he was skilled and courageous, so he was not afraid at all and just stood up and walked inside.
The furnishings inside are different from those outside. Although the area is much smaller, it is decorated elegantly and generously.
Inside the house, there was a middle-aged male cultivator sitting there. The strange thing was that he was wearing a Confucian scholar's robe and looked gentle and elegant, which was out of place with the rough temperament of the Western Desert.
"Dad, this is Fellow Daoist Lu Qingshan," Xiong Xi said respectfully, while introducing Lu Qingshan, "This is my father, Xiong Li."
After introducing his identity, Xiong Xi quietly left.
Lu Qingshan immediately understood that the real person should be the monk dressed as a Confucian scholar in front of him.
Xiong Li had already come forward and said with a smile, "I hope Brother Lu will not be offended by my abrupt behavior."
"Manager Xiong, what do you want to tell you?" Lu Qingshan asked.
"Did Brother Lu personally kill the sand bandit leader Sindhu a few days ago?" Xiong Li's expression became serious, and he asked straight to the point without beating around the bush.
In Dongque City, the bandits have arranged their own channels to transmit messages. The Nine Clans have been passed down for thousands of years and have taken root here. How could they be inferior to a foreign bandit?
In fact, the Giant Bear Tribe also has its own sources of intelligence among the other eight tribes. It’s not that they have to do anything, they just don’t want to become deaf.
The same is true for the other eight tribes.
Therefore, the news of Lu Qingshan's sword entering Dongque City had already spread to the other eight tribes.
"It's me." Lu Qingshan nodded. He knew everything about it and was not shy about it.
"Sindhu is the bloodline of the old man Vulture, and the old man Vulture is a vengeful person. He must be extremely jealous of you and want to get rid of you as soon as possible. The news that Fellow Daoist Lu entered Giant Bear City in such a grand manner will probably reach the old man Vulture in no time. You are about to face the danger of being killed by the old man Vulture. Does Fellow Daoist Lu know about this?" Xiong Li asked again.
"Manager Xiong, just speak frankly ." Lu Qingshan looked at the middle-aged male cultivator in front of him and said slowly.
"Well, I won't beat around the bush," Xiong Li pondered for a moment and said, "Daoyou Lu was outside Dongque City and said frankly that he had killed Shendu. He also showed up in Giant Bear City so blatantly. I boldly guess that Daoyou seems to have something to rely on and is not afraid of the revenge of the old vulture. He even has some ideas about the old vulture?"
"It is said in the outside world that these sand bandits are very arrogant in the Mogao Desert, and even the Nine Clans Alliance is helpless against them. I would like to see how powerful this old vulture man is." Lu Qingshan was not surprised when his thoughts were revealed by Xiong Li, and there was even a hint of sarcasm in his words.
His move was an open conspiracy, tantamount to issuing a declaration of war to the sand bandits.
He first announced to everyone the news that he had killed Sindhu, and then had a brief exchange of moves with Dong Queyan, revealing his identity as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Even if Sindhu did not have the bloodline of the old man Vulture and the status of his direct disciple, the old man Vulture, who was in the middle stage of the refining void realm, would definitely have reacted.
Otherwise, if he remained indifferent when his men were killed by a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could he convince the people and how could the sand bandits continue to maintain their power in the Mogao Desert?
"Fellow Daoist, you are so righteous." Xiong Li's eyes were filled with excitement, hatred, and shame, and his emotions were extremely complicated. "Old Vulture is in the middle stage of the Vulture Refinement Realm, so he should be the number one cultivator in the Mogao Desert. In addition, he is an evil cultivator who acts without scruples. The nine major clans are big and powerful, so if they are not sure, they naturally dare not provoke him. If they want to take down Old Vulture in one fell swoop, they can only be sure if all the great cultivators of the Vulture Refinement Realm of the nine clans work together. But the fact is that although the nine clans are an alliance, they are not united. They are all afraid that one of them will die when they encircle and suppress Old Vulture, so they can only swallow their anger and let the sand bandits wreak havoc in the Mogao Desert."
In the world of cultivation, high-level cultivators are the backbone of a family, sect or tribe.
The grade of a sect is mainly determined by the number of high-level monks.
The number of people in the Sword Sect is only 3,200, while the number of people in the Sword Washing Pool is over 100,000. Why is the number one sword-cultivating sect in the world the Sword Sect, and not the Sword Washing Pool?
The reason is very simple. Not to mention the number of top-level cultivators, the Sword Sect has a sword immortal, but Xijianchi does not have one. In this regard, the Sword Sect can suppress Xijianchi and make him stay in the second place forever.
Although the Mogao Desert is vast, it is sparsely populated, with a population of less than 10 million.
Therefore, the combat power of the cultivators at the Lianxu stage is basically the limit of the cultivators in this area.
The nine tribes were able to be ranked among the nine major tribes because each of them had a cultivator who practiced refining techniques.
If any tribe's Vulture-Refining Monk unfortunately dies during the siege of Old Man Vulture, then that tribe will inevitably be annexed by other tribes.
In the world of monks, there is benevolence, righteousness, and morality, but they are certainly not much.
No one dares to take the risk.
"Why are you telling me all this, Manager Xiong? Is it to explain things to me?" Lu Qingshan asked back.
"This old vulture is a great evil cultivator in the middle stage of the Refinement Vulture Realm, with ruthless methods. Fellow Daoist seems to be only a Nascent Soul cultivator, but I wonder how confident you are that you can defeat the old vulture. How do you plan to kill him?" Xiong Li asked with a bow.
"As a swordsman, I naturally rely on the sword in my hand to kill people. What else could it be?" Lu Qingshan was able to maintain some patience for the sake of the bottle of Blood Rock Pill.
Xiong Li seemed to understand that if he didn't give out some useful information, he wouldn't be able to get much information. He flipped his left hand and a talisman covered in Sanskrit appeared in his hand.
Xiong Li handed the talisman to Lu Qingshan and introduced it, "When I was young, I had the honor of meeting a disciple of the Tantric Sanbao Temple who came to the Mogao Desert to practice. Now he has become a great cultivator of the Refining Void. This is a secret talisman that I bought from the Tantric sect through him, taking advantage of our friendship. It contains a Tantric spell: Buddha's Child Lotus."
Lu Qingshan took the talisman and thought, "Tantric barrier spell, Buddha's lotus?"
Among the Western Regions , Longxiang Temple is the number one sect of physical cultivation, and the next best sect of physical cultivation is the Tantric Sanbao Temple.
Tantric disciples are different from those who practice Vajra Indestructibility in Longxiang Temple. They usually practice both physical and magical skills. They are particularly good at this barrier spell, and the Buddha's Lotus is one of its representative spells.
As soon as the lotus of the Buddha emerged, Buddhist music and Sanskrit chanting were heard, the Dharma image suppressed the situation, and the Buddha's light saved everyone, as if the Buddha's kingdom had reappeared.
The strength of the cultivators in the Buddha's kingdom will be greatly compressed, their spiritual power and soul will be weakened, and their physical body will also be suppressed, making them unable to recover.
Xiong Li nodded. "The power of this Buddha's Lotus is so strong that even if the old vulture is hit by it, it will be difficult for him to break free in a short period of time. If combined with the explosive power of the sword cultivator, it may have a miraculous effect."
"Is this the personal idea of Shopkeeper Xiong, or the idea of the Giant Bear Tribe?" Lu Qingshan asked playfully.
"It was my personal idea," Xiong Li's eyes showed a trace of gloom, "The Nine Clans were unwilling to join forces to deal with the Sand Bandits, and the Sand Bandits also knew their limits very well and never openly provoked the Nine Clans... Until my Taoist partner, when he went out alone, was kidnapped by the old vulture and used as a furnace..."
"I am just a cultivator who managed to condense a weak infant with the help of elixirs. The clan leader couldn't do anything to the old vulture, so how can I talk about revenge?"
Xiong Li's face flashed with self-mockery, and his clenched palms were so tight that veins bulged because he was holding them too tightly. "But over the years, I have never given up the idea of revenge. This talisman is what I prepared to use against the old vulture. I just regret that my strength is low. Even if I had this thing, it would definitely not be able to make up for the huge gap between me and the old vulture, so I didn't act rashly."
"Now, my time is up and there is still no hope for revenge until you show up. If you really want to kill the old vulture, then you can take this talisman. It should be helpful to you. The bottle of Blood Rock Pill I gave you earlier can be regarded as my reward."
Lu Qingshan thought about it, and finally put away the secret talisman, nodded slightly, and said, "Then I will be disrespectful to refuse it."
Dealing with the old vulture was part of his plan. The Blood Rock Pill and the secret talisman containing the Buddha's lotus spell were both unexpected gains, so he naturally accepted them with pleasure.
As for sympathy for Xiong Li, is there any? Perhaps, but not particularly great.
Because he knew clearly that if Xiong Li had not been kidnapped because of his Taoist companion, his attitude would have been the same as that of the Giant Bear Tribe, to protect himself and let the bandits do what they wanted, as long as they didn't provoke him.
In fact, this is also the attitude of most monks in the world.
A sophisticated egoist.
There is nothing wrong with being selfish, but Lu Qingshan has always believed that since cultivators possess such powerful powers, certain emotions are still necessary.
…
Shortly after Lu Qingshan entered the Giant Bear City, a little monk with red lips and white teeth, carrying a little bird demon between his sleeves, quietly entered the ancient city with a solemn look.
And in the Mogao Desert, several terrifying auras rose into the sky one after another, crossing the sky at a terrifying speed and heading straight for the Giant Bear Ancient City.
The most eerie and terrifying aura among them came from the leader of the sand bandits, Old Man Vulture.
