Immortal Road.

The center of the continent.

Kaiyuan Realm, Vientiane City, Huitongbaohao.

Leaning against the window, I quietly watched the people coming and going downstairs. The midday sun was slightly dazzling, and I heard the sound of the door opening behind me.

squeak~
"Haha, Master Lin, this is the information you want."

Xuan Yaozi handed over a jade slip with a smile, feeling the unfathomable aura of the young man in front of him, and was not sure how far the other party had come now.

"The land of Jiuli is located in the southwest inland. The Hundred Thousand Mountains is just a metaphor. No one knows how many mountains there are actually.

There are countless tribal villages, various ethnic groups and religions fighting each other, and they are barbaric and ignorant and cannot be educated. There are at least eight hundred villages called Guwu Villages.

The information I can provide here is limited, unless you give more precise clues."

Lin Shan took the jade slip, read it once, and put it aside, sighing slightly.

When he came out of seclusion, it was the middle of the second sixty years of the Wanhui Year. In another thirty years, the third and final round of spiritual tide would arrive!
The middle twenty years of this sixty-year cycle were a time for the major holy places to rest and digest. Control over various parts of the mainland was relaxed, and local forces rose up and went out to plunder leftovers.

The Confucian school in the central area of ​​Lu State ended its mountain closure, but this time it did not discuss it with the Xun Gu Sect at all. Of course, it is also possible that Lin Shan was in seclusion at that time, so they gathered together early to compete for opportunities, which was equivalent to leaving the Xun Gu Sect aside.

He was also happy to have some free time and had no time to go to the Central Region. After settling the Xun Gu Sect and the Lujiang Academy, he pretended to be an envoy of the Holy Land and met with the True Lord Xing Yun and Luo Luo respectively, then hurried south to the Kaiyuan Realm in the center of the continent.

Get information about the Jiuli land.

But the "Guwu Village" mentioned by Zhang Yunxi in the interstellar pager was based on the knowledge of the Red Lotus Ancestor ten thousand years ago, and it was also hearsay at the time.

Now, a long time has passed, the world has changed dramatically, and even the Huitongbao number cannot be sure!

Huitongbaohao and the Tianjilou next door are the same company. I can't even find it here, let alone anywhere else.

"I want to find something called a substitute Gu. Can you please make another trip, fellow Taoist?"

"Substitute Gu?"

Xuan Yaozi twirled his beard, looked at Lin Shan meaningfully, and asked him to wait.

A moment later, based on new clues, the other party gave out another file.

After Lin Shan opened it and read it, he was silent and sat in a chair to think. Things were more complicated than he had imagined.

There is indeed a legend about the Substitute Gu in the land of Jiuli, and it is widely distributed and almost known to everyone!
But legends are just legends, no one has ever seen it in reality.

According to what Huitongbao has been able to find so far, it can be traced back to the turmoil in the Jiuli land three thousand years ago!
The sacred place of the witch clan, Tianwu Bone Altar, was attacked by barbarian tribes from all directions. The war was huge and bloody. It is said that the Substitute Gu made a brief appearance in that battle.

The Wu tribe and the Man tribe originally lived together in Jiuli. The Wu tribe was the upper class and the Man tribe was the lower class. The two had a master-servant relationship that had continued since ancient times.

The Heavenly Witch Bone Altar is the authentic royal court of the Witch Clan, comparable to the top holy places of the human and demon races. It has always controlled the Nine Li tribes and dominated all around!

The barbarians lived in the form of tribes, regularly paying tribute to the witch tribe in exchange for mercy and rewards, and making a living by following the witch tribe's wishes.

Faced with the tyranny of the witch tribe, they often performed blood sacrifices and treated the barbarians like animals, skinning them to make drums and extracting their bones to build altars. The barbarians dared to be angry but not to speak out!

But the turning point happened more than three thousand years ago. At that time, an extremely ruthless man appeared in the barbarian tribe. His tribe was destroyed when he was young, and he was forced to flee to the Ten Thousand Mountains. When he returned after learning skills outside, he had already become a powerful person in the Yuanshen period!

He raised his arm and called himself the Great Chief of Cangluan. He burned his own blood to make a soup, awakening the blood power of the barbarians, and gradually awakening this oppressed and bullied ethnic group.

It is said that every tribe received the gift of "barbarian soup" at that time, and the strength and potential of many tribesmen increased greatly, and then they rose up in rebellion and received responses from all directions.

Chief Cang Luan assembled a large army and combined the strength of countless tribes to forge a peerless treasure. In one fell swoop, they broke through the witch clan’s holy land and cut off the head of the Holy Lord!

Later, the witch tribe's high priest burned his life span, used the Heavenly Witch Bone Altar to cast a death curse, blew up his own soul, and used the [Eternal Black Curse] to pollute the barbarian bloodline. He cursed the barbarians for three thousand years, cutting off their roots. This move was extremely vicious.

Afterwards, the witch tribe's holy land was destroyed, the remnants fled everywhere, and the barbarians were also severely damaged and fell into decline.

In the years that followed, the surrounding human sects slowly set foot on the land of Jiuli, entered the mountains and integrated into the local people. Relying on their own ethnic advantages, they gradually established new strongholds, expanded their territory, and competed with the original residents for living space.

Among them, the Dongli Wudao Sect, the Beili Mingzhu Sect, and the Wushan Yin Family are more famous. These are all major sects of the human race.

The local forces represented by the Wu Clan and the Barbarian Clan are deeply rooted and are also not easy to mess with, such as the Black Water Wu Bone Clan, the Nanli Tuoba Clan, the Helian Bingpo Clan, the Canglang Blood Fang Clan, the Rift Valley Bear Clan, and the Black Swamp Snake Clan.
And the orthodoxy of the Cangluan Royal Court left behind by the barbarian chieftain!

This place is dangerous and has bad waters and dangerous mountains. The people here are vicious. Children play with snakes at the age of three, take poison at the age of five, and perform shaman dances at the village gate at the age of seven, using enemy skulls to perform rituals.

If you want to establish a base here to collect intelligence, the operating cost and difficulty are much higher than other places, so the price is not cheap.

There are three marked places where there are clues to the Substitute Gu.

One is the ruins of the witch clan’s holy land, the second is the ancient witch’s tomb where the Jiuli witch clan made a pilgrimage, and the third is the current Cangluan Royal Court of the barbarians!
The rumor that the Substitute Gu appeared in the Holy Land of the Wu Clan is the closest place to the present time;
The Tomb of the Ancient Witch is a place of pilgrimage for all the Witches. Later, the remnants of the Witches fled and gathered here, and the Witch Bone Clan who had left the holy land took over the baton.

The Cangluan Royal Court was the culprit that destroyed the Witch Tribe's holy land back then. If the Substitute Gu was taken away, it is possible that it would remain in the Barbarian Royal Family and become a trophy.

"Master Lin, the location of the Eight Hundred Gu Wu Village in the Jiuli Land, all the current internal information of the Wugu Clan and the Cangluan Royal Court, plus three spiritual treasures or three sect-defending magical powers!"

Facing Xuan Yaozi's offer, Lin Shan shook his head directly:

"This price is unreasonable. You haven't found the exact location for me. It's just speculation and intelligence."

"But apart from Huitongbao and Tianji Tower, it is impossible for other places to have more detailed information than us."

"Not enough. Unless you or your senior brother can tell my fortune in person, I'm afraid I won't be able to accept this price."

"Master Lin, my senior brother doesn't have much time left. He announced several years ago that he would no longer tell fortunes for others! I also need to live a few more years. The Substitute Gu is a big deal, so I don't dare to take the risk."

Xuan Yaozi didn't want to take on the responsibility, and he didn't want to lose his life in vain.

He would never do anything that would consume his lifespan. If he met a tough guy, it was possible that his lifespan would be sucked dry!
Finally, after some bargaining between the two, Lin Shan took out a sect-suppressing magical power that was incompatible with his own attributes, and the deal was settled.

"Haha, happy cooperation! I remember that the last time Sect Leader Lin came, he seemed to be asking about Star Power. I haven't seen him for more than ten years, but is there any progress?"

Lin Shan felt upset when he thought about this, and he frowned, shook his head and sighed.

“It’s not that easy.”

Although I am no longer the same person I used to be, I'd better hide it for a while. It would be best if I stay in the third round of spiritual tide and surprise everyone!
Xuan Yaozi had a look of doubt on his face. He always felt that there seemed to be something different between Lin Shan's visit this time and the last time, but he couldn't tell exactly what was different.

Could it be that this Master Lin has really gone one step further? Impossible!
He shook his head, abandoning this unrealistic conjecture.

How could it be so easy to become a great master? Spiritual body, skills, and opportunity are all indispensable. He had already investigated Lin Shan's background and naturally had an idea in mind.

The two chatted briefly and Lin Shan said goodbye.

After he leaves.

Xuan Yaozi clapped his hands, and an old man walked in from the back door.

"Second senior brother?"

"Go, add this Master Lin's information to the Continental Wanhui Annual Ranking, and triple the selling price!"

"The Wanhui Annual Ranking? Aren't those the geniuses of the major holy lands, or even those with the potential to become great masters on the continent, qualified to be on it? How could he..."

"Do as I say."

Faced with Xuan Yaozi's order, this person did not dare to ask more questions and bowed in response.

After a while, after sorting out all of Lin Shan's information and adding it to the Wanhui Nian Ranking List, this person looked puzzled.

"I just met Sect Leader Lin. His aura is similar to mine. He is definitely not a person with great magical powers. Why is he so favored by Senior Brother?"

He took out the divination tools and secretly told a fortune out of curiosity.

But I didn't expect terror to strike in an instant!
He was attacked back by some unknown force, and suddenly his body started to riot and he vomited blood, and his hair turned white all of a sudden.

"not good!!!"

Lin Shan didn't expect that someone would target him at Huitongbao.

After all, these people are very stingy. They don’t even dare to count the Gu Witch Village and the Substitute Gu, so how dare they count themselves?
You have learned a lot of skills, but now you are timid and worried. You have learned in vain!
He came to the teleportation array of Wanxiang City. This kind of continental teleportation was ridiculously expensive, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it was astronomical. Only the super-rich in the world of cultivation could afford it.

"I want to go to the land of Jiuli."

"Senior, there is no direct teleportation array in the center of Jiuli Land. The nearest one is Yinque City in the southwest inland!"

The guard told him that Yinque City was an important town in the southwest, located on the edge of Jiuli's territory, and was represented by the Yin family of Wushan.

"Okay, hurry up, I'm in a hurry."

After spending a huge amount of spirit stones and in just half a cup of tea, the eyes blurred and I was teleported to a new place.

There was a wild atmosphere in the air, the sun was shining brightly, and the receptionist was dressed in a bronze-skinned man with a felt hat on his head.

"Your Excellency, welcome to Yinque City. The Yin family of Wushan has made friends with many heroes in the world. If you are not in a hurry to leave, you can come to the inner hall and taste our local specialty Wushan Yunyu Tea."

Lin Shan was too lazy to listen to his advertising and just walked away. However, the other party forced two large boxes of tea on him as souvenirs.

Coming to the streets inside the fairy city, I found that this city is not small in scale. It is worthy of being the connection hub of the continent's teleportation array. The population throughput during the same period exceeds 100,000. Among the cultivators coming and going, humans account for at most half, and the witches and barbarians together account for half.

The witches often wear bone hairpins on both sides of their hair and wear loose robes with spell patterns. The barbarians often like tattoos and use animal skins as aprons.

There are also many old wizards telling fortunes along the streets. There are quite a lot of fortune tellers in the southwestern cultivation world, and there are long queues at each stall.

There were also many groups of barbarians performing totems and parading in the streets, occupying the main roads and beating drums and gongs. Bystanders took it as a matter of course and took detours.

Many shops do not sell talismans or magical instruments, but the spells of the witch tribe and the bone tools of the barbarians, which are local specialties.

There are all kinds of strange snakes, rats, ants and beasts in the cage, which look stubborn and unruly.

There is a large and imposing mansion in front of us. In front of the door there is a fighting platform with a long pole hanging on it. A red banner with "Talent Recruitment List" written on it is hung on a pole.
There were people on the stage next to them who kept beating gongs and shouting:
"The Yin Clan of Wushan has once again headed south to open up and conquer the land of Jiuli. We invite heroes from all walks of life to join us. All personal gains on the front lines will belong to us. Not only will we receive benefits, but we will also receive supply support from the rear. Daoists who want to get rich, come quickly."

"I me me!"

"I come!"

"Don't push, you stinky barbarian, go line up behind me!"

"I'm going to sack your mother."

Unexpectedly, there were not many humans applying, but there were many witches and barbarians!
Lin Shan couldn't help feeling surprised. The Yin Clan of Wushan was a powerful family among the human race. An alien race attacked the land of Jiuli and seized the living space of the local indigenous people. These Wushou barbarians actually acted as their guides?

He walked forward and found that this was the City Lord's Mansion. There were densely packed enlistment signatures at the door. Every battle had rich reports, and these people were scrambling for them!

He asked the people watching the fun nearby, and when they saw that he had just arrived from out of town, they enthusiastically explained it to him.

It turns out that these Wuman people are of complex composition. During the long process of historical evolution, their ancestors once left the land of Jiuli and ventured out into the outside world, causing those born after them to gradually lose a sense of belonging to the group.

In addition, the atmosphere in the cultivation world here is profit-driven, so as long as they can make money from war, they don’t care about morality at all. When fighting, they will be the most ruthless among their own people! The human race’s aristocratic families love to recruit these cannon fodders!
To be sure, the Wu tribe and the barbarian tribe living in the Jiuli land were not easy to deal with either, but because they did not get along with each other and their respective tribes had been suffering from internal strife for years, they often lost battles.

The strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians has also become the mainstream strategy of human beings to conquer Jiuli today.

A lot of people were having fun watching, and people around gradually joined in the discussion. Lin Shan heard a lot of recent rumors, especially one piece of news that made him instantly alert!
A while ago, the barbarian Cangluan Royal Court fought for several months in the land of Beili and defeated the Beili overlord, the Mingzhu Sect, beheading tens of thousands of people and leaving corpses everywhere.

It is said that it has the support of the Black Lotus Sect!
"Why would the Black Lotus Cult get involved with the Barbarians?"

Lin Shan secretly thought that something was wrong.

I have a hunch that my old boss, the Black Lotus Cult, will not do anything without profit, and is stirring up trouble on the mainland, so there must be a deeper conspiracy!

He had a mission this time, which was to help Old Ancestor Honglian obtain the Substitute Gu as soon as possible, and try not to conflict with them, especially after witnessing Fairy Qinglian's breakthrough of her soul in the Heavenly Dao Space.

Others have different opinions. Some think that the Black Lotus Cult wants to harvest the faith of the Yi people, some think that the Black Lotus Cult wants to usurp the throne, and some suspect that they are planning to hold an unprecedented blood sacrifice.
After Lin Shan couldn't get any information out of them, he planned to get up and leave.

But when he inadvertently glanced at the other side of the city lord's mansion gate, he found that there were some portraits of people who were wanted by the Wushan Yin family with a reward, and one of them caught his eye instantly!
It looks familiar at first glance, so take a closer look.

this is not.
A thorny child?

I am an archaeology expert from the Kun Sect. How come he is here after being missing for so long?
(End of this chapter)