Immortal Road.

Chapter 392: Soul and body separated, allies stranded

Lin Shan didn't say anything and just took advantage of her!

The old ape and these monkey monsters resisted instinctively, but when they saw the dangerous look from the new cave master, they were so frightened that they could only submit to the summoning contract.

"Ka, ka, ka, listen carefully. From now on, you must take good care of this ginkgo forest. Every tree must be registered, with its age, yield, growth status, and cultivation log written down."

The Black Skull Demon Lord took over and started his own PUA brainwashing plan, which he was very good at.

"Every year during the ginkgo maturation period, there must be a photo stone to record the fruiting of each tree. You must also take photos of the picking and bagging process as evidence!"

"The final statistical account book will be combined with your daily logs and will be checked one by one by our special accountant!"

"If any demon dares to take advantage of the situation, then he will be summoned to be skinned alive!"

The soul fire in the skeleton monster's skull was burning fiercely, and he uttered sinister and vicious words, which frightened the monkey monsters into trembling with fear.

They have lived in forbidden areas on cliffs and around ginkgo caves in deep mountains and forests all their lives. How could they have seen this?
"Can you do accounting?"

The old ape nodded hesitantly.

“Do you know what KPI is?”

The monkeys shook their heads in confusion.

The Black Skull Demon Lord carried them to the side, took out a small blackboard and began to educate them. It was exactly the same training process as when he was in Wangyue City, when he gave the Lin's Chamber of Commerce those brats.

The only difference was that at that time, he was facing students who graduated from various academies in Lu State, but now he is facing a monkey monster with some intelligence.

Fortunately, the monkey monsters were relatively smart among the monsters, and they finally learned the trick after a long time of teaching.

Lin Shan saw that it was almost done, so he threw the fruit core aside.

"Okay, let's go to the demon cave and take a look."

When the old ape saw the cave master speaking, he quickly led a group of monsters out of the clutches of the Black Skeleton Demon Lord. He was really afraid of this skeleton. After all, he had just been severely beaten up, and it was time for him to learn a lesson.

With the help of a local tyrant leading the way, we soon arrived at the Ginkgo Cave.

There are peach groves everywhere on this mountain, and there is a waterfall hanging down. Behind the water curtain is the location of the demon cave, which can be regarded as a low-end version of the Water Curtain Cave in Huaguo Mountain.

Because of the beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers and the fact that it is located in a forbidden area, everything is purely natural. It is obviously different from the Tianfu Mountain in Lu State and is more quiet.

The sound of the waterfall is so loud that it drowns out the noise of the monkeys playing and the chirping of birds below the mountain. However, to Lin Shan's ears, it brings a long-lost sense of tranquility and peace.

He really hadn't had a good rest along the way.

Seeing the scene in front of me, I was able to relax a little.

Gazing into the distance, I stood on the bluestone unconsciously, my thoughts drifting away, my mind wandering out of the world.

The old ape and his subordinates were waiting anxiously, not daring to disturb the new cave master's interest.

The Black Skull Demon Lord looked around, the soul fire burning in his head slowed down, and he was also enjoying the peaceful leisure time in the mountains and rivers.

until a certain moment.

A naughty monkey started skipping stones on the other side of the stream. The pebbles bounced off the water and landed on the other side at the foot of the forest.

Focus his scattered gaze and bring his relaxed soul back to reality.

"Hua Hua Hua~~~"

The deafening roar of the waterfall gradually became clearer, making him feel that he truly existed in this world.

The old ape was shocked, and fearing that he would displease the cave master, he wanted to go over and catch the monkey.

"Eh~"

Lin Shan waved his hand to stop it, and he felt refreshed. His mind was empty for a while, and he became much clearer without realizing it.

The Black Skull Demon Lord looked at him with a little surprise.

"Brother, you have changed. You have become a little different!"

"Oh?"

Lin Shan turned around and found it somewhat amused to see it talking nonsense.

It's just a break.

What? Have you attained enlightenment?
"I just felt that your soul was about three inches away from your body. There's no doubt about it!"

The Black Skull Demon Lord's tone began to become serious. He truly felt the difference!

“What does this mean?”

Lin Shan didn't expect that he would realize something extraordinary just by standing here and looking at the scenery, just like the protagonist in the legend?
The Black Skull Demon Lord shook his head.

"It's nothing, it just means that your soul has merged with the heaven and earth, and you have taken a crucial step towards the transformation of your primordial spirit."

"Once a normal person's soul leaves the body, it is extremely difficult to return it intact."

"After all, the soul and the body are naturally glued together perfectly. If they are separated and then put back together, there will always be gaps and inconsistencies."

"This is why some people, after experiencing certain things, become distracted, dazed, and restless all day long."

"It's the same for cultivators. Once they are invaded by inner demons, seduced and corrupted by external factors, even if they pull their spirit back, it will be difficult for them to enter the state of cultivation and enlightenment again, and their cultivation will stagnate and not make any progress."

"But the primordial spirit is different. The initial fusion of the spirit and the essence allows them to travel freely to the outside world. After returning to the physical body, it fits in perfectly, just like water to the sea, which can come and go freely."

"You just left your body three inches away, so your spirit and soul were not affected much. You did not feel any discomfort after returning. This can be regarded as the initial attempt of your spirit transformation without you realizing it. This is also a milestone in the Nascent Soul stage."

"Maybe. It's the result of using too much soul energy."

After the Black Skull Demon Lord explained it, it could only be attributed to the magic of the soul source.

There was sourness in his tone, even a hint of jealousy.

However, now that its biggest financial sponsor is the one who needs to be fleeced, it still has to answer all questions and serve him well.

Just wait for some soup when you eat the meat, or some crumbs will do.

Lin Shan nodded thoughtfully.

My soul and body were separated just now, but I didn't feel any discomfort. Instead, I felt refreshed.

Don't even think about attaining enlightenment; it's not that easy.

However, because the soul source was used too much, the soul began to evolve unconsciously, and the fusion with the essence imperceptibly transformed it ahead of time, which was a pleasant surprise.

You should know that many Nascent Soul cultivators have not been able to reach this step!
Because of his race, the Black Skull Demon Lord specialized in the path of the soul, so he was more sensitive to this and recognized his changes at a glance.

"Hmm, so that's how it is."

The transformation of his soul was still far away from him, so he was too lazy to pay too much attention to these details.

Lin Shan didn't stop and took the lead in flying up. There was a vine bridge at the entrance of the cave, connecting to a big tree on the other side of the stream.

One by one, the monkey demons climbed up from the trees, walked onto the bridge, swaying and showing off wantonly.

Seeing Lin Shan and the old ape approaching, he quickly bent down and crawled, quietly tilting his head to look at them.

Lin Shan ignored him and walked straight across the vine bridge and entered the Water Curtain Cave.

The Black Skull Demon Lord behind him said to the old ape: "It's disgraceful to take care of things whether there is something wrong or not!"

The old ape quickly imitated a human's bow and ordered his followers to disperse the monkeys.

Lin Shan walked in the cave, inspecting his demon territory.

This cave looks like it hasn't been taken care of for a long time, but in fact the monsters are very well-behaved and no one dares to enter casually.

There was a locked door inside. Lin Shan inserted the cave master's token into the groove, and the stone door automatically moved upwards, leaving a hole.

"This cave is too easy. There is no need for a formation master. An old hand can open it with just a little tinkering!"

The Black Skull Demon Lord complained about the simple facilities in the Ginkgo Cave.

The old ape and other monsters didn't dare to talk and could only lower their heads and remain silent.

Lin Shan nodded and immediately gave it the task.

"That's true. Then you can set up a master-level formation for me and improve this cave."

The Black Skull Demon Lord was secretly annoyed, blaming himself for being too talkative. Why was he looking for work when there was nothing to do?
Inside the cave, there is a vestibule, a stone table, stone benches, and a stone seat covered with morning glories.

It is estimated that the former cave master would meet guests and subordinates here on weekdays.

Entering the back, there are training rooms and storage rooms, plus a wine cellar.

Jars of monkey wine are sealed here, and it is not known whether it is the unique preference of the previous cave owner or the tradition of all cave owners in history.

Lin Shan picked a few jars and looked at them.

In the introduction of the enhancement panel, most of them are two hundred years old, a few are five hundred years old, and as for those that are a thousand years old, they are all gone.

Even if there was, it would probably be drunk up by the demon king or offered to him. It would be impossible for it to remain here.

But it was still a rare spiritual wine after all, so he took it all away without hesitation.

The wine cellar was emptied.

"You immediately find the monkey demon down there to brew some wine and refill the wine cellar for me. Do you understand?"

The old ape nodded his head anthropomorphically, not daring to neglect the new cave master's instructions.

There was nothing interesting to see in the training room, so they went to the storage room together.

It’s really different here!

Hanging on the wall were pieces of blood-stained animal skins, which should have been the battle robes of the previous cave owner, equivalent to human clothing.

Lin Shan threw it to the old ape with disgust and told it to throw it away after it got out.

What comes next is the highlight, the spoils of war obtained by successive cave masters from killing enemies.

The essence bones of the enemy demon generals can be made into decorations or souvenirs, such as necklaces, bracelets, nose rings, earrings, arm guards, knee pads, waistcoats, helmets, etc.
There are more than a dozen Jindan stage animal bones!
It seems that this Ginkgo Cave has existed for a long time and has a glorious history.

Lin Shan naturally accepted it with a smile and threw it all to the Black Skull Demon Lord.

The latter put it in his pocket with a smile, and kept exclaiming that he had made the right choice this time.

"I think it won't be a big problem to refine the materials for a mid-level bone banner."

"With so many materials, it's still impossible to refine a top-level magic weapon?"

Lin Shan was a little surprised. He was a master of refining equipment. There was no need for him to take his kickbacks. He used all of them to refine equipment without cutting corners. He could only refine a mid-level magic weapon?
"It's hard to say. A top-level magic weapon needs to bear thirty-six magic restrictions. Every additional magic restriction is a huge test for the material's endurance."

"If there is no super-level spiritual material, it is best to have at least twenty fourth-level or higher specific spiritual materials to assist in the combination, otherwise it will easily collapse even if it is refined."

"That's why ancient cultivators liked to add super-level spiritual materials when refining ancient treasures. It saves time and effort, is simple and crude, and the magic weapon is not likely to malfunction on its own."

"As the modern cultivation world has developed over the years, the number and types of forbidden laws have increased, but the materials have become increasingly difficult to find, which has led to a decline in overall quality. You can't have both."

The Black Skull Demon Lord was not discouraged. Considering his level, there was nothing wrong with using a mid-level magic weapon for the time being. He could upgrade it when he had the opportunity in the future.

Lin Shan saw that it was already satisfied and didn't say anything more.

The next step was to ask Butler Ape to gather all the monsters, hold a meeting ceremony, show up in the Ginkgo Cave, and announce that he had taken office as the new cave master.

The first three things a new official does when he takes office are to clean up the mess, relax family planning policies, and encourage and promote eight or ten births.

After all, there are only three hundred old, weak and sick people left in the entire mountain, and they can't even form a group of soldiers. This is too weak.

If I'm not there at that time, won't I be bullied by other caves?
Of course, if other cave masters knew that this was Lin Shan’s territory, they would most likely not come to provoke him out of respect for the Demon King Kuihu.

What's scary is that the little demons under his command won't be able to make sense, and they'll come here to cause trouble every now and then, affecting the harvest in his territory.

Harmony brings wealth, but sometimes you also need the ability to protect yourself.

When monsters give birth to each other, the offspring may not necessarily be monsters, but most likely monster beasts.

Therefore, family affection among the demon clan is weak, and many demon kings and generals give birth to only one child.

Only those who have awakened their spiritual intelligence can be considered as descendants.

Lin Shan encouraged these monkeys to have more children in order to increase the birth rate of the monster race and restore the previous one-hole organization as soon as possible.

The Black Skull Demon Lord took on the job of chief steward and began to train these monkey demons on how to systematically cultivate the ginkgo forest, find ways to increase production, apply fertilizers, accelerate ripening, and even conduct hybridization experiments.

It wants to open up a new cash cow for Tianfu Mountain, so it is very concerned about this.

Lin Shan became a hands-off boss, not asking about anything and leaving everything to his subordinates.

And not far from here is the southern border of the Cliff Forbidden Area.

Aurora in the sea.

After two and a half years, three familiar faces appeared again.

After the dust settled, not only did they not leave, but they kept lingering on the edge, as if they were entangled in something.

Through the flickering layers of auroras, under the magnificent scenery between heaven and earth, one can vaguely see two people being chased.

"Brother Yang, it's been more than two years. It's no use for us to keep chasing after them. If we don't go back to our hometown in Lu for a long time, people might think we've met with an accident!"

"That's right. The longer we stay here, the more those external hostile forces will become restless. They will think that we have died unexpectedly and gradually become malicious. Our family sect is likely to be in danger now!"

An old man with a truffle nose and a red-haired old man with a big belly complained to the middleman and tried their best to persuade him to stop.

"We are now approaching our deadline, and we don't have much time left. This is something that many surrounding forces know. They are probably waiting for the right moment to reap the harvest, and we don't have much time left."

"Rather than wasting time here, it is better to return to Lu as soon as possible, build roads and bridges, make full preparations, contact external aid and leave a way out, and make arrangements for the family sect in advance for the afterlife. This is the top priority."

These two people were none other than the Grand Elder of the Zhenyue Sect in northern Shandong and the Lord of Xuchan Cave, a wandering cultivator in southern Shandong.

Traveling with them was the current leader of the Lujiang League, the ancestor of the Yang family.

I had originally agreed with Lin Shan that we would meet up at Hongyadong half a year later and leave together.

But since then, there has been no trace of Lin Shan.

The Yang family's ancestors and others waited for him but he didn't come. As their own time was approaching, it was inconvenient for them to continue wasting their last years, so they had to leave first.

But what I didn’t expect was that I happened to meet two acquaintances while passing through the Aurora Sea!

The ancestor of the Yang family was very ruthless, knowing that he didn't have much time left. In order to save the family from trouble after he was gone, he decided to get rid of these two enemies in advance.

"Shanyangzi and Chenglongzi have been chased by us in the laser sea for so long, their energy has been depleted and they are exhausted. Now that we are about to complete the mission, you two old brothers must not give up, or else you will fail!"

The two veteran late Jindan masters rolled their eyes and felt helpless when they saw Shanyangzi and Chenglongzi in front of them, who were escaping in a panic but were as stubborn as cockroaches and were able to thrive in the Aurora Sea like fish in water.

Although they are both in the middle stage of Jindan, they feel extremely familiar with the Aurora Sea, as if it were their own back garden. They know all kinds of terrain and road conditions well and have a thorough understanding of the laws of the aurora.

The more I pursued this, the more uneasy I felt.

They've been chasing us for such a long time, but they're still going around in circles. The weirdness of their behavior makes the three brothers, who were already impatient, even more furious.

Time waits for no one, destiny cannot be defied!
The Reed Jade Stalactite was not obtained, and prolonging life has become a delusion. Now he has to be dragged here, and he is afraid that something will happen in the State of Lu too late.

(End of this chapter)