Immortal Road.

Chapter 264 Breaking into the Territory
At Mao hour, the sky is dark and bright.

Lin Shan, the ancestor of the Yang family, the great elder of the Zhenyue Sect, and the master of Xuchan Cave stood on the wall of Jiangning City, gazing at the undulating dark outlines of the Swallowing Star Mountains in the distance.

This time, only four of them set out together. The burdens from the Lujiang League that they brought with them were left to go into the mountains on their own and leave everything to fate.

"Brother Yang, when do we set off?"

The Grand Elder of Zhenyue Sect's red-soaked nose twitched. He was a straightforward person and seemed to be impatient.

Lin Shan and Master Xuchan of the cave also looked over.

The Yang family ancestor stood there quietly, motionless, as if waiting for something.

After a long time, the morning light brightened.

"Oh~ Never mind, it looks like we can't wait any longer, let's go!"

He shook his head and sighed, looked somewhere in the city, stood up, rode the yellow rainbow light, and rushed towards the horizon.

Lin Shan and the other two also glanced behind them, and after probably guessing the reason, they complained inwardly and flew away on their rainbows.

In an inn in the south of Jiangning City.

Shan Yangzi and Cheng Longzi stood by the window and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the four rainbow lights fade away.

"Finally they left. I thought they were going to block us forever!"

Shanyangzi was filled with resentment and kept cursing the Yang family ancestor for his pettiness. At the same time, he became more worried about the future.

"Looking at this situation, I'm afraid they won't let us go in there. Going there is like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth."

Cheng Longzi was relatively calm, but he was also very upset about the Yang family ancestor's behavior that harmed others and did not benefit himself.

"Most of the Jindan-stage cultivators in the city had already set out at midnight last night. This Yang family ancestor did not catch up with them and dragged it until now. Isn't he afraid of falling behind?"

"It doesn't matter that he has delayed for so long, but he has also blocked us in the city and we can't leave. Now we are all left at the end of the list!"

"But it doesn't matter. Anyway, the main purpose of our trip is to capture the stars and the aurora. It doesn't matter if we go slower. We can just avoid those people."

Shanyangzi has no opinion of his own and has always been convinced by Chenglongzi's arrangements.

"Brother Dao, when do you think it would be a good time for us to set off?"

Cheng Longzi thought for a while, went back to the house, sat down, and drank tea leisurely.

"No hurry, let's wait a few more days. Anyway, the Yang family's ancestor can't wait, so let's just waste time. Who's afraid of who?"

……

Cheng Longzi was right.

The old shady ancestor of the Yang family deliberately took Lin Shan and the other two and ambushed at the entrance of the Star-Swallowing Mountains for a long time. It turned out that he left Jiangning City just to lure the enemy.

But no matter how long he waited, the fish still didn't take the bait, and he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

The other three had been very kind of them to have hung out with him for such a long time. If they dragged it on any longer, it would be really unreasonable.

"Please forgive me, the three of you. I am afraid that if something unexpected happens during this trip, the Yang family's strength will drop drastically, and Shanyangzi and Chenglongzi will come to our door later. That's why I want to eliminate the hidden danger in advance and take precautions."

"Since we haven't been able to stop them, there's no point in wasting your time. Let's set off now. With our abilities, we still have time to catch up."

The ancestor of the Yang family confessed his crimes one by one with a sincere attitude.

Although Lin Shan and the other two were a little anxious, they could understand the concerns of the Yang family's ancestor. They expressed their opinions magnanimously and said with a smile that it was no problem.

"What are you talking about, leader? These two are sworn enemies of our Lujiang League. I should stand on your side. What's wrong with waiting for two more days?"

"Brother Yang, why are you being so polite? I've been waiting for hundreds of years for our friendship, how could I not even be able to wait for half a day? These two are so cunning, they must be lucky!"

"That's right. Just because we can't wait this time doesn't mean we won't meet each other after we go in. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I don't think two casual cultivators in the middle stage of the Golden Core can cause any big waves!"

The ancestor of the Yang family was deeply moved and nodded repeatedly.

Everyone then put aside their external affairs and focused on heading towards the Star-Swallowing Mountains.

……

The Star-Swallowing Mountains, as a primitive mountain forest that stretches across the border of three countries, are vast in area, with countless poor mountains and bad waters deep within.

It is home to countless birds and beasts, as well as flowers, plants and poisonous insects. It can be called a paradise for demons.

Since ancient times, there have been many monks of all levels who have attempted to go to the mountains and forests to seek opportunities for adventure. Some have returned with a full load after fighting to the death, but the vast majority have become a pile of unknown bones.

However, history is mostly written by successful people, and coupled with the survivor bias, there are always people who rush in one after another, trying to get rich overnight.

Ancient books also record that from time to time some monsters would come down the mountain and attack human towns and villages, causing all kinds of irreparable massacres. Over time, nine out of ten houses in the surrounding villages were deserted and sparsely populated.

It is said that there were also transformed monsters that sneaked into the human world, learned writing and etiquette, took exams for official careers, and then entered the imperial court to become king or prime minister!

Finally, they were discovered by a powerful human being. They tried to subdue the demon but failed. Instead, a huge battle broke out. The land sank and the earth cracked, and there were mountains and seas. The mortal kingdom suffered heavy casualties, with millions of corpses and blood flowing for thousands of miles.

Many past events eventually become a thing of the past.

Time flies and the world changes dramatically.

The Star-Swallowing Mountains still act as a hotbed, nurturing and breeding endless monsters, hiding countless natural treasures, and hidden opportunities waiting for future generations to discover.

Lin Shan and his four companions went deeper into the enemy's territory, and in order to make up for the half day they had fallen behind, they hurried and rushed forward.

Other cultivators who came in had to travel day and night secretly on the ground, for fear of becoming the target of everyone's attack if they flew in the air. Not to mention being discovered by the birds in the sky, they were also afraid of being discovered by the Jindan stage monsters on the ground.

Generally speaking, most monsters have a sense of territory, and if they find a stranger intruding, they will most likely give a head-on attack.

If they find out that the person is a human monk, some will treat him as if he were Tang Monk's flesh and will be even less polite for the sake of the delicious taste.

The blood, flesh and essence of human cultivators, including the golden elixir in their bodies, are also very tonic for certain species of monsters. It would be a waste not to eat the delicious dishes served to them.

However, for Lin Shan's team, these are not problems.

Because there are three late Jindan cultivators in the team, once the huge spiritual pressure is released, all the monsters passing by will tremble in fear. Who would dare to come up and stroke the tiger's whiskers?
As for the demon kings in the Nascent Soul stage, each of them has a name and a surname. They live in the Tiger Roaring Mountain deep in the Star-Swallowing Mountains. Some of the more intelligent ones even set up their own mansions and recruit a group of little demons as minions. They act arrogantly in their own territories and will never appear in the periphery.

When these three of them were in the late Jindan stage together, Lin Shan didn't have to worry much, they simply crushed their way through.

During the period, they passed by dozens of groups of monsters. The local snakes below hid and crawled obediently without any reaction. Later, they encountered two groups of birds in the sky, which turned around and ran away after seeing them.

Of course, they couldn't just swagger along on the road. Some large ethnic groups still had to be avoided and detoured. For a high-ranking person like the ancestor of the Yang family, it wasn't difficult to obtain this information.

Lin Shan followed them all the way and was terrified, always feeling that they were a little too crazy.

This is the territory of monsters. Aren’t you afraid of a disaster?
Later, after the three brothers explained it to him, he gradually understood the reason.

The world of cultivation actually has some connections with the mortal world.

Not all monsters like to be enemies with humans, and some may not even bother to pay attention to you when they see humans. Monsters are also divided into carnivorous and vegetarian. Only when they reach the golden elixir stage and the demon elixir condenses in their bodies, can they initially open up their ignorant spiritual wisdom and blood inheritance, and use the demon elixir in their bodies to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon to practice.

Just like in the animal world, most of the tens of thousands of species are herbivores.

Generally, carnivorous populations range in number from a few to dozens, and it is rare to see populations exceeding a hundred. This is the norm in the biosphere and is also the suppression of natural laws.

For example, a wolf pack usually consists of seven wolves gathered together, but the number may range from a dozen to thirty to fifty. Some of them leave when they reach adulthood to make a living.

Large wild carnivorous monsters that live in groups cannot maintain large populations because their single diet and limited food sources suppress their expansion and they can only maintain small populations.

In those strange stories, there are often thousands of tigers, leopards and wolves, which are purely the storytellers' fantasy.

As far as they know, the Nascent Soul stage demon king in the Star-Swallowing Mountains can only raise a few thousand little demons in his village, so the food source is a big problem.

Of course, how many demon soldiers and generals one can raise and how many demon beasts a demon king can summon are two different concepts.

After all, most of the Jindan stage monsters in the surrounding mountains and rivers were surrendering to him.

At the beginning, there was a demon king who summoned a beast tide. It is said that he mobilized 72 demon generals at once. Tens of thousands of demon beasts rushed out of the mountains and massacred human cities. This left the impression in the cultivation world that the demon king raised many demon beasts under his command.

In fact, what they have here is a feudal system, with the system of paying tribute and being vassal.

"We won't have any contact with the Nascent Soul Demon King on this trip. As long as we follow the map and cross five thousand miles of mountains and rivers, we will be able to see the Aurora Sea outside the Cliff Forbidden Land."

The ancestor of the Yang family distributed jade map slips and explained to the other three the places that needed attention. All the dangers were avoided one by one, and if they could not be avoided, they would simply force their way through.

For example, directly ahead is a purple forest swamp.

This is a tropical rain forest located in a vast lake. It is covered with swamps and silt, and has lush trees and grasses. Both amphibious and aquatic life thrive and multiply. It is simply unavoidable.

The largest of these are the plant spirits in the purple forest, as well as various wading birds such as egrets, pond herons, cattle egrets, yellow-billed egrets, intermediate egrets and other birds.

Those plant and tree spirits ignored the human monks flying in the sky.

But a group of birds couldn't help it and they flapped their wings and rushed forward in all directions.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp~~~"

"Puff, la, la, lala~~~"

"Lilili~~~"

At the beginning, hundreds of them rushed up, but were swept away by the four people in a few strokes. Bird feathers flew everywhere and their bodies fell to the ground. These birds were equivalent to humans in the Qi training stage and posed no threat to the Jindan Zhenren.

Then they seemed to have caused a big trouble, and thousands of birds began to swarm over them.

The Yang family's ancestors and others remained calm, responding in a way that consumed the least energy. Each of them held a magic aura in their hands, and handled the situation with ease and comfort.

Lin Shan was in a forest of flying birds in the sky, using the simple "Hurricane Technique". His move was different from the previous ones. With the support of the powerful soul power of the Soul Pill Stage, an ordinary mid-level spell actually produced the effect of a banana fan!

"Hula~"

"Hi, hi, hi~~~"

All the birds around were blown to and fro by the hurricane, their feathers ruffled and their wings out of control. Then they were all swept into the distant sky and turned into tiny dots.

"I'll send you away, thousands of miles away."

When Lin Shan saw this scene, he thought of a strange tune for no reason.

Then look at the other three places.

The ancestor of the Yang family was covered in a yellowish-brown light, and countless flying sand and rocks appeared out of thin air, turning all the flying birds in front of him into sieves. This was just an ordinary "Quicksand Technique". Under the magic power of the Golden Core Stage, it turned decay into magic.

The great elder of Zhenyue Sect used his skills, and once activated, white light emerged and a layer of white rock wrapped around his body. He rushed forward regardless of anything, and all the monster birds flying along the way were hit and their bones were broken, and their beaks were broken when they pecked at him. Lin Shan was familiar with this spell, it was the "Stone Skin Spell" that low-level cultivators loved the most.

The Lord of Xuchan Cave opened and closed his hands vigorously, and the fiery red hair on his head fluttered. Every strand of hair was like a sharp sword, and countless sword rains protected his body. The passing demon birds were cut into pieces cleanly and neatly. No one knew where the broken hand came from.

The four of them secretly observed each other, hoping to see some truth from the false, but when they found that everyone was hiding their weaknesses, they had no choice but to rush forward.

As they went deeper, the purple forest swamp welcomed a bustle that had not been seen for a long time. More and more demon birds joined in. They had limited intelligence and when they saw countless of their kind rushing forward to surround them, they thought that some benefit was coming and so they followed suit and flew up into the sky.

The four of them were all hiding their magic power, using only a small amount to maintain their spells. They were determined not to consume too much on the road, as long as they could get through here.

However, this place is so vast that there are always Jindan-stage monsters alive. They haven't seen such arrogant outsiders in so many years, and one by one they couldn't help but join the siege.

Suddenly, a loud egret cry was heard, and the birds all around responded, gradually merging into layers of sound waves.

"Come on!!!~~~"

"Come on!!!~~~"

"Come on!!!~~~"

The sound had already formed a sonic attack, penetrating directly into the soul, not to mention the indiscriminate spread. The fish in the shallow layer of the lake below were killed and floated to the surface with their bellies turned upside down.

Lin Shan's spiritual consciousness was strong, and he specialized in cultivating soul pills. His soul orifices absorbed and released soul power back and forth, wrapping up the Niwan Palace layer by layer, and it was not affected too much.

The three ancestors of the Yang family were all cultivators in the late Jindan period. Their spiritual awareness was equally strong, and each of them had their own unique methods, so they all resisted.

At the same time, they felt an evil wind coming from the front. Four or five Jindan-stage monsters turned into a white line, hiding among the birds in the sky and launching a sneak attack. Their speed was as fast as a rainbow!

"Ding ding ding ding ding~~~"

Under pressure, several people could not help but react as quickly as possible and activated their magic weapons to resist.

The speed at which a magic weapon can defend against the enemy autonomously is much faster than casting spells.

The small water-blue sword in front of Lin Shan was flying. It was this sword that had just knocked down the egret monster bird. As expected of a Jindan-stage monster, its sharp beak had long since transformed into something extremely hard, comparable to the material of a magic weapon.

The Broken Water Sword's strike just now couldn't even leave a white mark on the person's mouth.

The ancestor of the Yang family was holding a jade seal with a coiled yellow dragon carved on it. In the hazy air, there was a faint halo spreading around his body. Even outsiders who probed with their spiritual sense would feel a sudden weight increase, as if they were carrying tremendous pressure.

This jade seal seems to be extremely powerful, with gravity forming a domain of its own.

The Grand Elder of Zhenyue Sect took out a stone stick, which was as pale as quartzite. Circles of light could be seen from top to bottom of the stick, changing over and over again in a continuous cycle.

When this stick was swung, anyone who was hit by it suffered from broken bones. Even the Jindan stage demon bird that attacked him was knocked dizzy and disoriented by the stick.

At this time, the Lord of Xuchan Cave was smiling with a big belly, holding a treasure bottle in his hand. From time to time, balls of real fire flew out of it and turned into flaming weapons to help him defend against enemies. The swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks and forks looked the most extraordinary.

The two evil birds that attacked him were both charred and covered in dust. They kept screaming at him. He felt a little afraid and did not dare to move forward again for a while.

The four of them looked at each other in silence, looking at the weapons in each other's hands.

That day in the Lotus Fragrance Garden in Jiangning City, everyone agreed not to bring any magic weapons on this trip and all placed their hopes on relying on each other. How can this be explained now?

(End of this chapter)