Seeking Immortality

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the two parties led by Zhang Xusheng and Zhang Hualing were suspended on both sides of the sky with the setting sun as the center, facing each other faintly.

However, the group of people behind Zhang Xusheng looked relaxed, while the elders behind Zhang Hualing looked solemn, and some elders even looked at Zhang Xusheng with a little fear in their eyes, which showed their concern for Zhang Xusheng. And from the expressions of both sides, it also reflected the unfavorable situation of Jiuhua Mountain at this time in some ways.

On the ground, Xu Qingfan was mixed in with the young disciples of Jiuhua Mountain, looking at Zhang Xusheng in the sky with a complicated expression. Obviously, the person in front of him was a man, but his demeanor and temperament made Xu Qingfan feel a kind of peerless elegance.

After realizing that Zhang Xusheng was Xuan Moda, the Kuxiu Valley Master who he had met in the Southern Wilderness, Xu Qingfan's first reaction was that he thought he was wrong, because he really couldn't imagine that Xuan Moda and Zhang Xusheng were the same person.

But combined with the various strange things that happened on Tianhuan Island and Jiuhua Mountain, it turns out that only Zhang Xusheng's other identity is Xuan Moda, which can explain all this.

Although Xu Qingfan only heard Xuan Moda's voice in the Southern Wilderness that time, but did not see Xuan Moda's face at all, let alone have a deep understanding of him, but as the first and only Mahayana Grandmaster Xu Qingfan has come into contact with so far, Xuan Moda's impression cannot be said to be not deep. And Xu Qingfan's good impression of Kuxiu Valley is also largely due to Xuan Moda. Even though Xu Qingfan had doubts about Kuxiu Valley after Zhang Hualing's reminder, he never thought that Xuan Moda would be the mastermind of the whole thing.

In Xu Qingfan's original idea, Xuan Moda should be a kind-hearted old man, an elder with an open-minded nature, a senior who is devoted to the Tao but occasionally cynical, and a respected master with a strong personal charm.

Zhang Xusheng, on the other hand, is more like a distant legend, a traitor who still brings terror to Jiuhua Mountain, a scheming conspirator who can do anything to achieve his goal, a ruthless and merciless demon. A generation of heroes who regard everything in the world as straw dogs.

The image of these two people in Xu Qingfan's mind. It can be said that they are poles apart, but Xu Qingfan did not expect that now he found out. These two people who are completely opposite in his mind are actually the same person.

Xu Qingfan still clearly remembers that when he was fighting hard with the demon soldiers led by Na Xiu and almost died in the Southern Wilderness, it was Xuan Moda who led a group of Ku Xiu Valley monks to come to his aid in time to save him. Xu Qingfan also remembers. When the whole world believed that Ting'er should be imprisoned for eternity, it was Xuan Moda who agreed to Xu Qingfan's adoption of Ting'er against all odds. So when mentioning Xuan Moda, Xu Qingfan is grateful.

It's no wonder that after Xu Qingfan found out that Xuan Moda was actually Zhang Xusheng, he was full of disbelief, as if he was in a dream.

However, it was unknown which of the two seemingly completely opposite existences, Xuan Moda and Zhang Xusheng, was the true character of the middle-aged scholar in the sky? Was Xuan Moda a disguise of Zhang Xusheng? Or was Zhang Xusheng a vent of Xuan Moda? Or, were these two people just two sides of the personality of a peerless genius?

Xu Qingfan didn't know, perhaps, the answer to this question was not clear even to the middle-aged scholar himself?

Seeing Xu Qingfan's changing expression. Jin Qinghan asked with concern: "Senior Brother Xu, what's wrong?"

And Lu Qingshang on the other side also noticed Xu Qingfan's abnormality, staring at Xu Qingfan with concern, his eyes full of confusion.

Xu Qingfan glanced at Jin Qinghan and Lu Qingshang, and said slowly and solemnly in a low voice: "If I'm not mistaken, this Zhang Xusheng should be Xuan Moda from Kuxiu Valley."

"What?"

Although they knew that Xu Qingfan was not the kind of person who liked to talk nonsense, Jin Qinghan and Lu Qingshang still couldn't believe it after hearing Xu Qingfan's words, and just asked in disbelief.

In the distant sky, Zhang Xusheng seemed to have heard Xu Qingfan's words, with an unpredictable smile on his face. He looked deeply in the direction of Xu Qingfan and others, then turned to Zhang Hualing and continued: "You actually know that I am disabled, so you should know why I came to Jiuhua Mountain this time, right?"

Zhang Hualing sighed slightly, but avoided answering, and just asked: "I think. Uncle Master, you came to Jiuhua Mountain again after two hundred years. I'm afraid it's not just to get that thing back?"

Zhang Xusheng smiled slightly and said lightly: "Of course not. Jiuhua Mountain has been the dominant sect in the world of immortal cultivation for more than three thousand years. The rise and fall is the law of heaven. Jiuhua Mountain has been prosperous for so many years, and it is time for its fate to end."

When Zhang Xusheng said this, his tone was so calm and natural, as if it was easy for him to destroy Jiuhua Sect. Although the Jiuhua elders were angry after hearing Zhang Xusheng's words, they could not muster the courage to refute the nightmare of Jiuhua Sect for more than 800 years. They just looked at Zhang Xusheng with dissatisfaction. Only Xiao Huazhe and Elder Yuchi beside Zhang Hualing snorted in dissatisfaction.

Zhang Hualing, the head of Jiuhua Sect, was not angry. He just asked calmly: "So, whether it is the matter of Huandao or the rebellion of Junior Brother Zhou, it was all planned by Uncle Master?"

Zhang Xusheng nodded and said with a smile: "Hasn't Jiuhua always valued reputation? At the beginning, I could easily be sacrificed for the word reputation. So this time, Jiuhua Mountain's notorious ruin is also interesting."

Zhang Hualing remained unmoved by Zhang Xusheng's sarcasm and slowly analyzed: "Uncle Master, the reason why you haven't attacked me in Jiuhua Mountain all these years is because there are three things that keep you concerned, which can threaten you in the world. Uncle Master, you don't have many things, but you have three things in Jiuhua Mountain. One is the Jiuji Formation. Once you fall into this formation, even with your skills, Uncle Master, you will probably lose your vitality if you try to break out of the formation. The Suzaku Ring, combined with the Nine Palaces Formation, can even give us the strength to directly confront Master Uncle. The third one is the Xuanwu Order. With it, I can easily summon the other five holy places to come to support and face the five holy places' alliance. I'm afraid even Master Shishu is concerned about his strength, right?"

Zhang Xusheng smiled and nodded, and admitted: "These three things are indeed annoying. If it were not for these three things, after the death of the old guy Li Xuhan five hundred years ago, I would personally take action to destroy the Jiuhua lineage." It was destroyed."

Zhang Hualing raised his head and glanced at the top of Jiuhua Mountain, and continued his analysis: "So, Uncle Master, you first used the newcomer competition to set up a dilemma on Huandao. This made our Jiuhua Sect fall into isolation and was confiscated by other sects. With the Xuanwu Order, not only did Jiuhua Mountain gain a bad reputation, but you also had one less thing to worry about. Then, you used Junior Brother Zhou’s dissatisfaction with me to trick him into betraying me. During the battle between Huashan and him, the Jiuji Formation was destroyed due to unfavorable control, and the Vermillion Bird Ring was unable to control because of my greatly damaged spiritual energy. It successively lost its threat to you, and even I, the elders of Jiuhua, also lost their ability to control due to successive battles. And the strength is greatly reduced. In this way, all the factors that may threaten you are lost. It is easy for you to destroy Jiuhua Mountain. This chain plan is really clever. Although he is proud of his strategy, he is ashamed of himself." Zhang Xusheng said lightly with a hint of admiration, "Although there are some discrepancies, your guess is generally correct. It’s pretty good that you’ve made it this far in the game. It’s a pity that you understood it too late.”

Zhang Hualing looked directly at Zhang Xusheng and asked in a solemn voice: "To be honest, Junior Nephew, I have already been aware of the alliance between you and Junior Brother Zhou, but I didn't dare to act rashly because I didn't know the specific plan. In this newcomer competition, , I was very prepared, but I still fell into your predicament unknowingly. It was all because of my nephew. I never thought that many monks in the Valley of Penance, who had always been indifferent, would be involved, and I didn't realize it until afterwards. I understand. But I don’t know how you can control them. Now that I have understood everything that I have done, I still have some doubts about this.”

Zhang Xusheng glanced in the direction of Xu Qingfan again and said lazily: "As for this question, one of your nephews already knows the answer. He is a very interesting little guy."

Jin Qinghan and Lu Qingshang were shocked when they heard Zhang Xushengdi's words. Because Zhang Xusheng said this, it was equivalent to admitting Xu Qingfan's guess. Although Zhang Hualing didn't know who Zhang Xusheng was referring to, he subconsciously looked at Xu Qingfan. Xu Qingfan moved his lips slightly and said to Zhang Hualing: "Uncle Master, if I guess correctly, he should be Xuan Moda, the only two master-level monks in the Kuxiu Valley. I have heard of him before. sound."

Hearing Xu Qingfan's words, Zhang Hualing was shocked. Although he knew that the reason must be surprising, he did not expect that it would be this answer. Xuan Moda has been famous in the world of immortality for thousands of years, even earlier than Zhang Xusheng, but he was replaced by Zhang Xusheng at some point, and over the years, he has not been noticed by other monks in the Valley of Cultivation.

Zhang Xusheng glanced at Zhang Hualing with a half-smile, and then continued: "As for you saying that the monks in the Valley of Hard Cultivation have no desires or desires, it is even more of a joke. Everything in the world, once it has spiritual intelligence, will definitely The greediness of the monks in the Valley of Asceticism is their pursuit of immortality, which is stronger than that of other monks, but my research over the years has shown them. It will be of great help, and it will naturally be easy to gain the loyalty of some monks."

Zhang Hualing was shocked, and his expression became more solemn. He had always thought that although Zhang Xusheng was terrifying, he was alone and disabled. Therefore, although his strength was terrifying, he would not pose a fatal threat to Jiuhua Mountain, and Because Zhang Hualing had full confidence in the strength of "that person", plus the "Xuanwu Order", "Suzaku Ring", and "Nine Extremes Formation", he thought that getting rid of him would not be a problem.

But Zhang Hualing didn't expect that Zhang Xusheng's strength had grown to such an extent over the years, and that he was far ahead of others in his mind. He laid out a plan that was so intricate that people knew it was a trap but could not escape. Now he uses the magic he has studied to create so many demons to besiege him, and he has even gained the allegiance of some monks from the Penance Valley. His strength has unknowingly exceeded Jiuhua Mountain. No wonder "that person" wants to get rid of them. Zhang Xusheng would actually do that.

What's ridiculous is that Zhang Hualing thought that Zhang Xusheng should be easy to deal with before. The biggest crisis in Jiuhua Mountain this time was Zhou Huahai's rebellion. It seems that he and Zhou Huahai were misled by what happened two hundred years ago. They thought that Zhang Xusheng should be easy to deal with. Xu Sheng is just a person with great strength but not much mind. He underestimated this person who once forced the Jiuhua lineage into a desperate situation eight hundred years ago. It was only now that he finally realized it and couldn't help but feel self-blame in his heart. feeling.

After a long time, Zhang Xusheng finally regained his composure and said slowly: "The over-perseverance in the pursuit of immortality is certainly a shortcoming of the monks in the Valley of Penance. But uncle, you can discover these shortcomings and take advantage of them. The younger generation can only I admire your skill, uncle."

Zhang Xusheng smiled and shook his head, and said calmly: "Human beings will have shortcomings. If you have shortcomings, you can take advantage of them. And when one day you can easily discover a person's shortcomings and take advantage of them, you can go It's easy. For example, the key to my plan this time is to make you and Zhou Huahai fight each other, which is to take advantage of Zhou Huahai's overemphasis on power. "

Hearing what Zhang Xusheng said, Zhang Hualing's eyes flashed with sadness, and he said slowly: "It's a pity that Junior Brother Zhou, who has been famous all his life, was finally seduced by you." A look of ridicule flashed in Zhang Xusheng's eyes, and he slowly said Said: "Zhang Hualing, don't you understand yet?"

"What?"

"You will never understand how far a narrow-minded person will reach after enduring resentment against a person for hundreds of years. Regarding this matter, it was Zhou Huahai who took the initiative to contact me from the beginning, not me who tempted him. He, Zhou Huahai, was originally a character, but his reason was buried by the resentment in his heart. He actually wanted to take advantage of me, but he was taken advantage of by me without knowing it. In the end, it was sad because his mentality was different. , he is still not as good as you after all." Zhang Xusheng shook his head and sighed, seeming to feel very sorry for Zhou Huahai.

When Zhang Hualing heard Zhang Xusheng's words, the sadness in his eyes became heavier, knowing that Zhou Huahai also despised Zhang Xusheng just like him. Said: "Yes, he was so stupid and fought with me under your control. In the end, his vitality was severely damaged, but my uncle gave you a great opportunity to destroy Jiuhua Clan."

The look of ridicule on Zhang Xusheng's face became even heavier as he said, "These are not the only stupid things he has done."

Zhang Hualing was shocked when he heard what Zhang Xusheng said. He said solemnly: "Please give me some advice from my uncle."

"In my heart. Although Zhou Huahai can be considered a figure, he is far inferior to you after all. In order to prevent his conspiracy from being easily defeated by you, he did not even bring any losses to Jiuhua Mountain and made my calculations come true, so I There is a trick left in this plan." Seeing the solemn look on Zhang Hualing's face, Zhang Xusheng's face became more sarcastic, and he said with a gentle smile: "When he was thinking about how to leave Jiuhua Mountain with you. When he was worried about controlling the Jiuhua Sect, I gave him some Heavenly Spirit Pills."

When Zhang Xusheng said this, his voice was soft and gentle, like a lover whispering in his ear. However, after hearing this, all the elders in Jiuhua Mountain turned pale with horror, and they all felt a chill in their hearts.

In order to control the form of Jiuhua Mountain, Zhou Huahai successively gave this "Heavenly Spirit Pill" to more than ten elders and more than thirty elite disciples of Jiuhua Mountain. Later, according to Zhou Huahai, this "Heavenly Spirit Pill" can enhance the strength of monks for a period of time, and it is a magic weapon for him to dominate the world of immortality. But it must be taken continuously, otherwise the spiritual energy in the body will get out of control and go crazy.

Previously, these elders and disciples thought that this "Heaven Spirit Pill" was made by Zhou Huahai, so they knew that although it might be harmful, as long as there was no worry about supply, the benefits would naturally outweigh the disadvantages. Although I was worried, I was not worried.

But now he was shocked to realize that this "Heavenly Spirit Pill" was given to Zhou Huahai by Zhang Xusheng. In this way, even if Zhang Xusheng does not take action to destroy Jiuhua Mountain today, without the supply of "Tianling Pill", half of the elders and one-third of the elite disciples in Jiuhua Mountain will be in trouble at any time. In the middle, at least one will lose all his skills, and in the worst case, he will fall into reincarnation, and the strength of Jiuhua's lineage will be greatly damaged.

In this case, how could the elders and disciples who had followed Zhou Huahai not be frightened? I regretted my decision all the time. And those elders and disciples who had always been loyal to Zhang Hualing all looked scared at this time.

Zhang Hualing did not look surprised, but said with a chuckle: "Although Junior Brother Zhou was indeed overwhelmed by resentment this time, he was not so unconscious. As far as I know, Uncle Master, you sent After giving Junior Brother Zhou the Heavenly Spirit Pill, Junior Brother Zhou immediately found an alchemy master in Yaowang Valley to research the formula for the Heavenly Spirit Pill, and I just found this formula from Junior Brother Zhou.

After hearing Zhang Hualing's voice, an obvious sound of relief came from the elders of Jiuhua Mountain. If this Xusheng's conspiracy succeeds, Jiuhua Mountain will lose nearly half of its strength in one breath. And half of these elders will fall into reincarnation.

But the sarcasm on Zhang Xusheng's face did not weaken at all, and he still said in a story-telling tone: "It's useless. The original name of the Tianling Pill is Shengling Pill, which was a failed product after my experiment a hundred years ago. Its use is It can greatly increase the level of cultivation and realm of use, and the effect is very obvious. But the reason why it is called a failure is that you all know that it must be taken continuously, otherwise it will go out of control. Become a demon. But I’m afraid you don’t know the second point.”

Having said this, Zhang Xusheng paused slightly, and everyone on the field paused along with Zhang Xusheng. An extremely strong ominous premonition arose in my heart.

Zhang Xu Shengxiao admired the expressions on the faces of the Jiuhua elders with interest, and continued after a long time: "And the second point is that the increase in taking power comes at the expense of a large consumption of one's lifespan. . In other words, this magical pill can be described as a chronic poison. Once you take it, you will die quickly, but if you don't continue to take it, you will die even faster. At that time, I thought it was just a failed experiment. It’s a good thing, but I didn’t expect that it would one day make great achievements.”

After finishing speaking, Zhang Xusheng smiled at the Jiuhua elders in front of him, his smile was so kind and peaceful. But seeing this smile, the elders only felt a chill in their hearts. Especially those elders who had taken the "Tianling Pill" were even more disheartened, knowing that their hundreds of years of cultivation were ruined today.

However, although they were so angry that they wanted to cut Zhang Xusheng into pieces with a thousand knives, when they saw Zhang Xusheng's seemingly harmless face, the elders only felt a breath that was more terrifying than death rushing towards their faces. No matter what, No longer able to muster the courage to fight, he just stared at Zhang Xusheng with a strange expression.

After Zhang Hualing heard Zhang Xusheng's words. His body shook violently, his face became paler, and his originally peaceful eyes were suddenly filled with shock and despair, and he was speechless for a while. Obviously Zhang Xusheng's design was beyond his expectation. Jiuhua Mountain is where Zhang Hualing has guarded throughout his life. At this time, Jiuhua Mountain was about to suffer such heavy losses. It can almost be said that half of the strength was lost in a short period of time. For him, he was probably more disheartened than the elders and disciples who had taken the "Tianling Pill".

Look at Zhang Hualing's expression. A trace of satisfaction seemed to flash across Zhang Xusheng's face, and he said softly: "Actually, you don't have to be sad about this. After all, the Tianling Pill is just a precaution for me. Now I want to destroy the whole thing with my own hands. Jiuhua Mountain, those Heavenly Spirit Pills will never have the chance to have their intended effect, and you don’t have to feel heartbroken by watching the decline of the Jiuhua lineage.”

As Zhang Xusheng finished speaking, the demonic monks behind him all laughed. But all the monks in Jiuhua Mountain looked ashen, facing the life and death situation in Jiuhua Mountain, for a while they no longer had the heart to resist.

Hearing Zhang Xusheng's sarcastic words, Zhang Hualing did not refute. The look on his face was gray and almost transparent. He was obviously still sad about the "Tianling Pill" incident just now. After a long time, he finally reacted, and it seemed that he had finally reacted. After recovering from the blow, he did not attack or abuse Zhang Xusheng as he had imagined. Instead, he slowly took out the cigarette rod and flint from his waist, lit a dry cigarette for himself, took a deep breath and exhaled a thick smoke ring, and then said slowly: "It seems that you are still worried about what happened eight hundred years ago. Master and the others had no choice but to do what they did back then. Why do you have to kill all the Jiuhua lineage? "

Hearing Zhang Hualing mention what happened eight hundred years ago, a complicated look appeared on Zhang Xusheng's face, which seemed like nostalgia and resentment, but it was fleeting. He shook his head and said calmly: "Eight hundred years have passed since that incident. I should have forgotten everything after such a long time. How can I still be persistent?"

Zhang Hualing was slightly startled. He was about to say something when he heard Zhang Xusheng continue: "The reason why I want to destroy Jiuhua Mountain today is not only because I want to get back the thing that belongs to me, but there are other reasons. Reason. And this reason is much bigger than the grievances between me and Jiuhua."

After finishing speaking, seeing the questioning look in Zhang Hualing's eyes when he looked at him, Zhang Xusheng just smiled slightly, but did not continue. He just asked: "Okay, I have answered so many of your questions. But my question is that you But there’s no answer yet. Should you return that thing that belongs to me?”

Zhang Hualing asked: "If this junior returns that thing to you, uncle, will you let go of my Jiuhua lineage?"

Zhang Xusheng shook his head slightly. Said: "No, I said that there are other reasons why I want to destroy the Jiuhua lineage today."

Zhang Hualing's face showed a sarcastic look similar to Zhang Xusheng's. Said: "In that case, why should I return that thing to you? I think if you don't have that thing, it will be useless no matter how successful your experiments are, right?"

As Zhang Hualing's words fell, the dozen or so people with different appearances behind Zhang Xusheng became very angry. They were obviously angry with Zhang Hualing's words. As soon as Zhang Xusheng gave the order, they took action to kill Zhang Hualing with a thousand swords. cut. One of the monsters with a dragon head and a rat tail snorted coldly: "After we destroy Jiuhua Mountain, we will naturally find that thing for my master."

Zhang Hualing simply ignored the threats from the demons or monks beside Zhang Xusheng, and just looked directly into Zhang Xusheng's eyes without giving in. The originally peaceful eyes were filled with murderous intent and resentment.

Zhang Xusheng was not angry. Instead, he looked at Zhang Hualing with a hint of appreciation in his eyes and said with a smile, "Are you threatening me?"

Zhang Hualing asked calmly: "Will you accept my threat?"

"No. I can naturally find it after I destroy Jiuhua Mountain. Zhou Huahai told me the approximate location of that thing."

"In that case, I'm not threatening you. But I can assure you that the thing is no longer there."

"It seems that we can't reach an agreement?" Zhang Xusheng seemed confident and didn't care about Zhang Hualing's words.

"Uncle Master, you just wanted to enjoy the angry and desperate expressions of us juniors from the beginning of the conversation and get pleasure from it. Have you really thought about getting that thing back through negotiation?" Zhang Hualing said with a sneer.

"You saw through it, but why did you keep talking to me for so long? As far as I know, you are not a talkative person." Zhang Xusheng was slightly stunned and asked with interest.

Zhang Hualing remained silent.

"It seems that you seem to be stalling for time?" Zhang Xusheng observed Zhang Hualing's expression and said in surprise: "Did you prepare any surprise for me?"

Zhang Hualing continued to remain silent, obviously acquiescing.

Zhang Xusheng nodded. He said: "It seems that your preparations have been completed. Then let me see what kind of surprise you can give me."

While saying this, Zhang Xusheng waved his right hand slightly. The demons behind him roared and rushed towards the young disciples of Jiuhua Mountain under his feet again. But the situation this time was different from the last time. Because there was no obstacle, all the demons under Zhang Xusheng entered Jiuhua Mountain, so there were more than a thousand demons attacking Xu Qingfan and others.

The number of these demons was not much less than that of Jiuhua disciples, but the weakest demons also had the strength of late-stage cultivation, and their overall strength was much higher than that of Jiuhua disciples. In addition, they were fearless and had various strange supernatural powers. For a time, all the low-level disciples of Jiuhua were at a disadvantage. Even if Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and Lu Qingshang tried their best, they still couldn't stop Jiuhua disciples from being killed. For a time, the situation was extremely unfavorable to Jiuhua disciples.

The more than ten demons or cultivators who had been surrounding Zhang Xusheng attacked the Jiuhua elders in the air. Although the number of these demons or cultivators is much less than that of Jiuhua elders, they are full of energy and much stronger than ordinary demons. In the previous battle, these Jiuhua elders not only consumed a lot of spiritual energy, but also suffered internal injuries of varying degrees. For a while, they could only fight on equal terms.

Seeing the critical situation of the Jiuhua disciples under his feet, Zhang Hualing was very anxious. He was about to take Xiao Huazhe and Elder Yuchi to help, but he found that Zhang Xusheng had appeared in front of the three of them without knowing when. The smile on his face was calm and peaceful, and he slowly said: "I am your opponent."

At the same time, three demons with snake-like appearances like Nangong Qingshan rushed towards Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and Lu Qingshang.