Chapter 717: Left-Right Finally Not Put in a Difficult Spot
Left-Right came to a scenic spot with mountains and clear waters, holding a green bamboo staff in his hand, ascending the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain was a temple, at the summit a Daoist temple, and halfway up the mountain an academy. Even if not in the blessed lands and caves of the Haoran World, it was mostly like this.
Left-Right was currently in a place called the Yuhua Blessed Land, a foreign land. With nothing to do, unwilling and unsuitable to move his true body, he had no choice but to send his yin spirit on a distant journey, taking this opportunity to also enjoy the scenery of the world.
This place that Left-Right was traveling through was a sacred land of cultivation in this blessed land, reputed as a mortal immortal mansion, a must-pass place for hermits and immortals seeking transcendence, and the first choice for devout men and women to travel and burn incense.
According to legend, there were many true men in this place in ancient times, who cultivated Daoist techniques and immortal arts in the mountains. Thus, the emperor ordered the construction of the Green Pine Palace at the summit. Later, a true man indeed attained the Dao, rode a black dragon transformed from an ancient pine tree, and ascended to immortality, known throughout the world. The current monarch, seeing this unprecedented and historically unrecorded auspicious sign of heaven and earth, immediately conformed to the mandate of heaven and changed the era name. In the first year of the Auspicious Cloud era, he ordered the construction of the Treasure Accumulation Temple to honor that Daoist immortal's "feather-transformation and ascension." More than a hundred years later, the dynasty changed, and the temple's incense dwindled. The last recorded return of that "immortal" to the mortal world was when he used his supreme divine power to retrieve the Treasure Accumulation Temple, which had somehow sunk into the water, and moved it to the mountain peak.
The emperors of the new dynasty hastily added honorific titles to the ancestor of the Treasure Accumulation Temple, from True Man to True Lord to Heavenly Lord, step by step ascending to heaven. They also bestowed plaques and gave Daoist scriptures to the temple multiple times, making its incense thrive continuously until now.
Later generations had various theories, firmly believing that after this true man ascended, he not only joined the ranks of immortals but was also granted a green talisman and azure charter of very high rank by the Heavenly Emperor, his official position similar to the Minister of Six Ministries in the mortal world. Therefore, wherever he went, the gods of mountains, fields, lakes, and marshes, and the hidden immortals of the sea all came to welcome and pay respects.
Left-Right naturally knew that these blessed land rumors, which tried to paint themselves in a good light, were based on hearsay. The old cultivator regarded as an "attained Daoist immortal" was actually just an ancestral hall offering master in a sect on Tongye Continent. His final achievement was the bottleneck of the Infant Soul realm; unable to break through to extend his life, he could only decay day by day in body and spirit. Then came the large-scale invasion of the Barren Wilderness World. Whether the old cultivator thought his end was near and living a few more years was meaningless, or for other reasons, he chose to die in battle on the battlefield where the demon clan landed on Tongye Continent. The Yuhua Blessed Land could not escape disaster and fell into the hands of a military tent.
The blessed land should have been taken by a core disciple of the sect to Baoping Continent and handed over to Old Dragon City, so that the sect cultivators could exchange for a cultivation land with the Great Li dynasty.
The Yuhua Blessed Land was vast but sparsely populated. Due to its thin spiritual qi and the fact that the sect "heavenly lord" holding the blessed land was unwilling to spend much money, there were few cultivators who barely made achievements throughout history. For a Tongye Continent immortal sect, it was indeed just a mediocre lower-grade blessed land. Spending a lot of money on the blessed land would be counterproductive if it delayed the cultivation of their own mountain's qi refiners. Moreover, even if a sect master had reached the Jade Pure realm, as long as he couldn't achieve the Immortal realm, his lifespan was limited, so he could only see as far as the mountains and rivers in front of him; he dared not talk about what the blessed land would be like a thousand years later. As for other ancestral hall elders, offering masters, and core disciples, with lower realms and shallower Dao, they would be even more short-sighted. It wasn't necessarily that they couldn't see the long-term benefits of improving the blessed land. But in the next thousand years, what benefit would it bring to my great Dao?
But for the Great Li Song clan, it could indeed solve some urgent problems. Using it to relocate the people of the vassal states at the southernmost part of the continent was the most convenient. The low grade of the Yuhua Blessed Land was actually a good thing because the hidden dangers were minimal. The conflicts between the mountains and the mortal world, between cultivators and ordinary people, were almost negligible. Resettling refugees cost almost nothing.
As for why the blessed land ultimately fell into the hands of the demon clan military tent, Left-Right was not very interested. Whether it was due to human greed or unexpected events, the fact was that he, Left-Right, was imprisoned here.
For this man in green robes with a green bamboo staff, the pilgrims on the road didn't pay too much attention, as he was very common.
Left-Right stopped at a place halfway up the mountain where stalls gathered. Among them was a banner that read "Last Place to Drink, Drink Your Fill While You Can."
It reminded people that burning incense required sincerity. Those fond of drinking should indulge here, because if they drank too much while climbing higher, they would be drunk and reeking of alcohol. If the gods with opened heavenly eyes saw it, it would easily cause displeasure, and their prayers and wishes would not be answered.
On the divine path up the mountain to burn incense, besides devout pilgrims, there were many porters who earned money through hard labor. Some carried luggage for pilgrims, while others carried stones up the mountain so that the palace at the summit could accumulate stones to build new mansions. The former earned less money, the latter more. But this hard-earned money was truly backbreaking. So some well-to-do pilgrims would let the porters rest here and buy them a bowl of wine to bolster their strength and spirit.
Left-Right paid for a bowl of loose wine. There were many drinkers, occupying several tables. Left-Right didn't want to share a table with others, so he walked a bit farther away.
Seeing the customer about to go drink far away, the stall owner quickly shouted for him to pay a deposit first; otherwise, he couldn't go too far to drink.
If he encountered a dishonest drinker who, after finishing the wine, simply threw the bowl off the cliff, that would be convenient for them, but for a small stall owner like him, who would he ask for compensation?
Left-Right had no choice but to bring the wine back, pay a few extra coppers to the stall owner, then walk to the railing by the cliff. He gazed at the distant mountains and rivers, which wound up and down like a scene in a basin.
Earlier, when Shou Chen "asked swords" at Tongye Sect, he had actively given Tongye Sect a bright future. Regardless of the demon clan's intentions, it was clearly meant to turn Tongye Sect's great misfortune into good fortune. After all, even the scholar who had assumed the name Zhou Mi had appeared. As the second-highest throne great demon of the Barren Wilderness World, his vows and promises could indeed be taken seriously.
It should be known that at the southernmost part of Tongye Continent, the Yuqui Sect's ancestral hall meeting, which lacked the presence of the sect master, had rejected the proposal of the round-faced woman in the cotton-padded jacket and refused to hand over the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land controlled by the Jiang clan. As a result, the demon clan army attacked relentlessly, no longer holding back.
The irritable ancestral law elder of the Yuqui Sect, while cursing that Jiang Shangzhen was a jinx, was also killing demon clan cultivators.
If I ever kick the bucket, and both the Yuqui Sect and the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land survive, I'll let Jiang Shangzhen come to my grave to kowtow and thank me. The sound has to be loud, or I won't hear it.
This was probably what they meant by "fortunes change." Those who enjoy watching jokes easily become the joke themselves.
The Yuqui Sect had watched Tongye Sect's huge joke for several years. Now it seemed to be the turn of Tongye Sect cultivators to watch the Yuqui Sect's joke. And this opportunity was within easy reach; they just had to nod.
If Tongye Sect's ancestral hall seized this opportunity, it might not be a luxury to directly annex the Yuqui Sect and turn that mortal enemy into a vassal sect.
But the cultivators of Tongye Sect had hearts that were about to break but hadn't yet, because the number of people in Tongye Sect's ancestral hall holding different opinions was exactly half to half.
Left-Right was actually quite surprised. He had originally thought that all the cultivators of Tongye Sect, young and old, would immediately switch sides and drive him out. Unexpectedly, the younger cultivators of Tongye Sect, with lower seniority, were willing to bear both immediate and future worries. They not only refused the invitation from the Barren Wilderness World but also sought out Left-Right and dared to say, "We implore Mr. Left to stay; we will take responsibility for what lies behind you."
The old cultivators who had lived hundreds or thousands of years longer still wanted to live on, while the young people who had only walked the great Dao for a few years were willing to die.
At that moment, Left-Right suddenly felt that the world had indeed become better.
In the past, the world rarely put Left-Right in such a spot where he wasn't troubled.
For example, in the past, when encountering those sword immortal seedlings who relied on strength and wielded their swords arrogantly, Left-Right would be troubled: should he kill them or beat them half to death?
As long as Left-Right remained in Tongye Sect and his sword qi was still in Tongye Continent, it was like a fishbone in the throat for the Barren Wilderness World, an irritation that had to be removed.
Xiao Xun, after shattering Xun Yuan's golden body at the Ascension realm, went to the relatively stable South Bodhisattva Continent, saying she wanted to knock down the sun and moon on Chen Chun'an's shoulders and also meet Lu Zhi.
Thus, the wood-clog-clad advisor of the Jia Shen Tent suggested that the sword immortal Shou Chen be responsible for the specific implementation. In the end, they used a lower-grade blessed land with a total population of less than ten million to successfully imprison Left-Right.
Shou Chen seemed to be asking swords of Left-Right, but his real move was to suddenly open the heaven and earth restrictions of the Yuhua Blessed Land and fiercely smash it toward Left-Right. At the same time, within the blessed land, a Jade Pure realm demon clan cultivator with a death wish beckoned to Left-Right. The meaning was obvious: either enter the game, or watch the blessed land shatter before your eyes.
At the same time, Zhou Mi performed a grand technique of swapping heaven and earth, making Left-Right enter the blessed land.
Left-Right did not let the blessed land shatter within the territory of Tongye Sect. Besides slaying the demons with his sword, he also sent his sword qi to travel the heavenly barrier, using his entire body of sword qi as a grand heaven and earth formation to protect the blessed land.
He did not hesitate.
Then Zhou Mi restored the original mountains and rivers, while Shou Chen immediately closed the blessed land's restrictions, isolating the small and large heavens, temporarily imprisoning Left-Right. At the same time, he first let the blessed land take root in Tongye Continent, aligning with the great Dao of the Barren Wilderness World. Then he ordered two Immortal realm great demons to continuously attack the blessed land's barrier with spells and divine powers. Using immortal spells and the great Dao together, they constantly wore down Left-Right's sword intent and cultivation. They neither sought to shatter the blessed land nor allowed Left-Right to be too comfortable in the Yuhua Blessed Land.
After Left-Right stabilized the boundary of the heavenly barrier, he began to carefully examine this small blessed land.
His entire body of haoran sword qi was still far from the mortal world.
If Left-Right wanted to leave the blessed land and return to Tongye Continent of the Haoran World, it was extremely simple. He could just open the sky curtain with a single sword stroke, ignoring the life and death of the Yuhua Blessed Land. Not just Left-Right, even Jiang Shangzhen could do the same by offering that willow leaf.
Therefore, trapping Jiang Shangzhen here was meaningless. Jiang Shangzhen would definitely be decisive with his sword. After drawing his sword, even if millions died in the blessed land, or even if the blessed land shattered and tens of millions of mortals perished, Jiang Shangzhen would not have the slightest ripple in his state of mind.
In the past, Jiang Shangzhen almost capsized in his own ditch. When he questioned the group of unruly earth immortals leading the trouble in the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land, the deaths on both sides of the mountain, both cultivators and mortals, were over a million.
But Left-Right planned to stay here temporarily until he figured out a solution that wouldn't put him in a dilemma.
This made Left-Right's true body completely immobile, as if in meditation at his previous resting place. Zhou Mi's methods were not ordinary. Before Shou Chen smashed the blessed land, he had already set up a "Great Dao Decree" within the blessed land, like a genuine "enforcing the Dao in place of heaven," specifically used to suppress the sword qi of the mortal world. So Left-Right could only travel with his yin spirit. If he made a single move, it would affect the whole body. This so-called heavenly Dao of the place could not harm the sword immortal Left-Right in the slightest, but it would cause disasters across the mortal world.
For example, when Left-Right previously slashed at the demons, he cut a huge ravine ten thousand miles long on the blessed land's sky curtain. This was only because Left-Right tried his best to guide his own sword qi and the great Dao's operation. Otherwise, after killing the demon with one sword, countless calamities would have fallen upon the mortal world.
That ten-thousand-mile ravine, which seemed to tear a gap in the sky curtain, appeared to the few cultivators who had set foot on the mountain in the blessed land like a rainbow of sword qi. It hung long in the sky between heaven and earth, its glassy luster flowing unceasingly with the sword qi.
Left-Right's sword qi had to stay far from the mortal world, used to prop up the borders of heaven and earth, preventing the demon clan cultivators' spells and divine powers from freely breaking the blessed land's barrier.
Otherwise, at the slightest heavenly anomaly, the common people of the Yuhua Blessed Land would suffer various natural disasters: either torrential rain lasting ten days, causing floods; or years of drought, turning thousands of miles into barren land; or heavy snow falling all winter, freezing everything.
At first, Left-Right thought there might still be a demon clan hidden expert within the blessed land, waiting for an opportunity—perhaps a throne great demon hiding here. But after patrolling, he found nothing.
That was also normal. If a great battle shattered the blessed land and destroyed the mountains and rivers, that would allow Left-Right to completely break free from his cage. Then it would be his turn to pour all his strength into his sword strikes, not to mention that would be far from the simple affair of Jiang Shangzhen offering his willow leaf and poking here and there.
After confirming that there were no hidden great demons in the Yuhua Blessed Land, Left-Right began his yin spirit out-of-body journey.
The blessed land was called the Yuhua Blessed Land, a name with great meaning, but in reality it was undeserving. It was merely the private property of a low-grade sect-type immortal clan on Tongye Continent.
In the past, a cultivator from this place condensed a golden core and "ascended" to leave. In the "Heaven Beyond Heaven" of Tongye Continent, on the subsequent path of cultivation, he was recruited by that sect-type immortal clan. Even though the cultivator hid deeply, his hometown blessed land was still detected by the mountain's ancestor through some clues. After some deduction, following the traces, they roughly located the place. Spending decades, they eventually fished this small blessed land out from the "nearby shore" of the river of time.
After that, it was only natural to open the gate wide, descend as an exiled immortal, survey the blessed land, plunder the natural treasures born with the times, and search for fine jade suitable for cultivation.
However, the products of this blessed land were too barren. The natural treasures worth looking at were few and far between. So-called cultivation geniuses were even more intermittent in succession. Occasionally, one would be found, brought out of the blessed land, and nurtured with all one's heart, but they would often prove useless, at most achieving a golden core. For a sect-type immortal clan, even holding a blessed land, it was a typical case of income not covering expenses.
As for other mountain's registered immortal masters and children of wealthy noble families, who would spend money to travel to the blessed land in the guise of exiled immortals, the profits were too small due to the blessed land's low quality and grade. So the other immortal mountains of Tongye Continent all felt it was a losing deal. Over time, the Yuhua Blessed Land remained a lower-grade blessed land. All the world's sects were willing to upgrade a middle-grade blessed land to upper-grade, spending immortal money tirelessly. But upgrading a lower-grade blessed land to middle-grade? They really weren't willing. Thus, a saying arose among the mountains: "A lower-grade blessed land is worse than none at all."
If it fell into the hands of a large sect, they could disregard costs and eventually make a long-term profit, turning a loss into a gain. But historically, many small sects without sufficient capital often suffered from it. Most eventually chose to sell it to a wealthy mountain sect.
The grade of a blessed land depended not only on the vastness of its mountains and rivers and the size of its population but also, most importantly, on the amount of spiritual qi contained within heaven and earth. Otherwise, no matter how vast the blessed land was, covering tens of millions of miles, or how large the population, tens of millions, ordinary mortals were not suitable for climbing the mountain and cultivating. The threshold for cultivation was too high, the bottlenecks too great. As a result, cultivators would only reach the lower five realms, not even hoping for the Cavern Dwelling realm. Or their so-called "attaining the Dao and becoming immortals" would only be the first layer of the middle five realms, the Cavern Dwelling realm. Naturally, the blessed land's grade could only be rated as "lower."
As for this Yuhua Blessed Land, the thirty-sixth generation Daoist of the Azure Dragon Palace at the mountain summit, the first temple master of the Treasure Accumulation Temple, was a cultivation genius who gathered the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and had myriad auspicious fates. In a lower-grade blessed land, he not only achieved the unprecedented Gate to Dragon realm but eventually even cultivated a golden core. Therefore, he was favored by the great Dao of heaven