Chapter 253

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Chapter 253: Inner Demon’s Illusion

Two dark shadows, one in front and one behind, were swiftly moving across the eaves, light and agile like swallows.

Even in broad daylight, these two shadows were so fast that ordinary people could hardly see them clearly.

Qiao Mu followed behind, watching the agile and nimble Impermanent Demon Cat ahead, feeling surprised.

This cat, with its belly almost touching the ground, how could it still be so flexible and fast.

After eighty years of practicing the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps in his dreams, Qiao Mu had achieved a basic level of proficiency and could now leap like a fish, reaching heights of tens of meters.

At this stage of lightness skill, Qiao Mu could easily move across roofs and walls, effortlessly walking on overhangs, cliffs, or rivers as if they were flat ground.

Although he had taken King Qin’s body before leaving, carrying the heavy Blazing Essence Gold King Qin Sword in his hand did affect his lightness skill.

However, this fat cat was not slow either, continuing to lead the way ahead.

Qiao Mu’s mind sank into the Ouroboros Long Life Lock, and a message immediately appeared in his heart.

Death Assessment this time: A (fighting against many using martial arts to defeat immortals).

Lifespan consumed by death: 80 years (16*5).

Remaining resurrection chances this week: 2 out of 5.

Current age: 375 years old.

Vitality: 65%.

Skills: basic.

Agility—Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps (leaping like a fish, basic proficiency).

Strength—Iron Head Skill (mastered) Iron Palm (advanced) Dragon Tiger Vajra Skill (basic proficiency).

Power Burst Technique – Red Moon Burning Blood Technique (Perfected) and Blood Sword Technique (Great Achievement)

…………..

In this life, Qiao Mu chose to practice several tough skills from the martial arts arsenal of the lonely city. He practiced skills like Iron Head Skill and Iron Palm to perfection and great achievement levels during the long years of training.

Qiao Mu is also familiar with the techniques of the "Human Path Sutra" and the "Pure Yang Wuji Skill". However, mastering the "Human Path Sutra" takes a long time for ordinary martial artists.

Qiao Mu has reached the seventh level. Continuing to train further, although the increase in qi and blood seems to be only 5%, it doesn’t mean that Qiao Mu’s total qi and blood has only increased by 5%.

There is a difference between someone who is 295 years old with 60% and someone who is 375 years old with 65%.

"Following the practice principles of the ‘Human Path Sutra’, by the time I reach the eighth level, I should be around 508 years old. By then, the breakthrough in martial arts will likely lead to a significant increase in qi and blood."

The percentage of qi and blood actually measures the proportion compared to the body’s prime period, which is the ratio of qi and blood during youth and adulthood.

If one day Qiao Mu’s blood reaches the ideal 100%, it means his body will be as strong as when he was a young adult, as if hundreds of years have passed without any harm. It’s like an old tree getting a new lease on life.

Thinking this, Qiao Mu quickly climbed up onto the city wall and left the Great Qin City.

The Impermanent Demon Cat sniffed the air carefully, then continued chasing after the direction of the forest outside the city.

It could sense deathly energy, but as a demon cat, its other senses were also excellent.

As Qiao Mu chased after it, a faint mist appeared in the small forest on the hillside.

Normally, at this time of the afternoon with the sun shining brightly, there shouldn’t be any mist.

Qiao Mu sensed something strange but didn’t look back and kept walking at the same pace.

Come on, he was super brave, why would he chicken out?

Qiao Mu just called out to the demon cat leading the way, placed it on his shoulder, and walked into the thin mist.

In the dark depths of the forest on the hillside.

Dao Zhen stared at where Qiao Mu was, his eyes shimmering.

In his palm, a small sword only two fingers long slowly rotated, with tiny runic symbols like tadpoles flowing on its blade.

His most precious two treasures, the Xiaojian Sword and the Heart Demon Mirror, were gifted by Master Elder Qingyi.

The Xiaojian Sword was granted after forming the Golden Core, while the Heart Demon Mirror had been with him for decades.

However, both the Xiaojian Sword and the Heart Demon Mirror were not only used for fighting.

When not activated, the Xiaojian Sword was only two fingers long; using it as a flying sword was underutilizing its potential.

The Xiaojian Sword could multiply into a thousand, as long as one infused it with power, inscribed runes on the main sword, and created a thousand identical swords with the same runes inscribed on them.

Formation deployment using the Xiaojian Sword was one of its abilities but consumed a considerable amount of power.

As for the Heart Demon Mirror, its name derived from inner demons, and it was not just a simple mirror for replicating images.

Today, Dao Zhen is setting up a magical formation using the Heart Demon Mirror as the foundation and the Xiaojian Sword as part of the formation.

Dao Zhen enjoys watching brave ordinary people, including members of the Qiao family.

He has been observing the members of the Qiao family for a long time, witnessing the deaths of many of them, and even having killed an Qiao Miao himself.

"Let’s see, if it’s a member of the Qiao family, what choices will they make in the magical illusion of the Heart Demon…" Dao Zhen said to himself calmly.

There was no complex expression in his eyes, only the usual curiosity, as innocent as a child.

The mist in the small forest became thicker and thicker.

………………..

Qiao Mu held the King Qin Sword in his hand, with a cat that sucked people’s blood on his shoulder, stepping into the misty small forest.

Although he didn’t like death, he wasn’t afraid of it to the point of running away.

"If it’s here, then accept it."

"Since you’re here, let’s bury my body here. The scenery is beautiful here."

Qiao Mu walked into the thin fog, the view suddenly cleared, revealing a village ahead, and in the deep desert, there was a city.

"Is there a desert in the depths of the forest?" Qiao Mu’s mind was a bit confused at first, but he quickly sensed something strange and became alert.

In the time of just a few breaths, he found himself inside an old city deep in the desert.

This familiar old city was the lonely city in the Hundred-mile Desert.

"This feels like a dream." Qiao Mu looked at his hands.

The King Qin Sword in his hand was gone, the vampire cat disappeared without a trace, and even his own body had turned into that of a young boy of around ten, much shorter than before.

In the dream, he was not Qiao Mu but a strange young boy.

"Ah Zhen, why are you wandering around? Don’t run around during wars, don’t cause trouble." A woman holding Qiao Mu’s hand walked through the streets.

The woman had a round face, slightly plump, and was dressed in red silk, clearly not from an ordinary family.

"Let’s go home."

"Really?"

Qiao Mu was slightly surprised.

He had heard from Storyteller Clairvoyance that Dao Zhen’s real name was Gu Zhen.

So in this dream, he was playing the role of young Dao Zhen? What was going on?

Is this an illusion created by magical means? A dream?

Qiao Mu couldn’t figure it out, and didn’t want to. Whatever tricks Dao Zhen pulled, he would just go along with it.

The dream struck Qiao Mu’s surfboard just right. As someone who had spent over three hundred years in dreams, no one understood dreaming better than him. So, he knew how to stay awake in a hazy dream and have a lucid dream.

At this moment, he was feeling brave and daring, not trying to stay awake but letting himself get lost in the dream, as if he had truly become a child named Dao Zhen.

Then, a blurry memory came to mind.

At this time, his real name was Gu Zhen, a local born in a lonely town.

Gu Zhen’s father was a local landlord with a hundred acres of good farmland. After taking over the family business, he also became a rice merchant, managing the business quite well, thriving in recent years and expanding his business.

Even though his business was thriving, during these years when cultivators appeared in the world, he had also led efforts to open up granaries to help during disasters, earning a good reputation in the city.

Gu Zhen’s mother was also a wealthy local, with the family’s influence even greater before Gu Zhen’s father became successful.

In addition to his parents, Dao Zhen had a middle-aged older brother who was a somewhat famous martial artist in the city, skilled in dancing with a spear and stick. He joined the army after the town was besieged.

Gu Zhen’s mother guided Dao Zhen through winding streets and alleys, leading him to the main road at the city gate.

At this moment, there were many people on the main road, with many citizens stopping at the street corner, craning their necks in anticipation.

Qiao Mu followed their gaze and saw the gates of the solitary city wide open, with a group of soldiers in blood-stained armor walking in from outside the gates.

Leading them was a middle-aged general riding a tall horse, with sharp eyes and a noble appearance mixed with a scholarly air.

Despite his good looks, he was already half covered in blood at this moment, showing clear signs of fatigue in his expression, indicating that the battle just fought was far from optimistic.

The soldiers in front were stained in blood, while the rear carried bodies in horse-drawn carriages, their faces covered with white cloth.

"This time, even fewer soldiers have returned," remarked a passerby sorrowfully.

"After all, they are fighting against immortals, how could mortals possibly stand a chance against them… They must pay the price."

"Though they have died, they all died as heroes…"

The Hundred-mile Desert had formed for two to three years now, while the remnants of the Great Yan army had been trapped in this city for two to three years.

"Stop looking." As Qiao Mu stared at the corpse on the carriage, Gu Zhen’s mother reached out and turned his head back.

"How did you all come here?" Among the soldiers, a young man took off his helmet and looked at Dao Zhen and his mother. He was Dao Zhen’s older brother.

"Came to see when you would die." The woman visibly relaxed, but there was still no kindness in her words when she saw the young man.

"Don’t come here again in the future." The older brother of the Gu family spoke in a low voice.

He was full of spirit, but the thought of his own gruesome body being brought back if he died was unbearable to him.

The scene changed, and in the blink of an eye, they were already inside the Gu family’s home.

Dao Zhen squatted in the courtyard, playing with ants with a straw. But then he heard his parents arguing inside the house.

"Still dividing the grain? Haven’t we already received enough in our family?" Gu Zhen’s father spoke, clearly getting a bit worked up.

"We are businessmen. Distributing grain for disaster relief earns us some face, some reputation. Gu family has already done enough, what more do you want?"

Gu Zhen’s mother’s voice said, "Don’t we still have three full granaries at home?"

"Sending some food to the garrison is not too much. Do you think we are dying for someone? Every time the garrison goes out to fight, there are many casualties."

Gu Zhen’s father became angry, "Are you trying to act like a saint here? If we give away the food, what will happen to our family?"

Gu Zhen’s mother replied, "We still have three granaries, and there are only a few of us here. It’s okay to give away a small portion, I’m not asking you to give away all of our family’s food."

Gu Zhen’s father became even more upset, "It’s not your family’s food, and you don’t feel sorry for giving it away? The land outside the city has turned into a desert, how much of our ancestors’ hundred acres of good farmland is left to cultivate? This city has been besieged for two or three years, the food in the city is decreasing day by day, sooner or later we will face famine, I am just preparing for the worst."

"If this city continues to be besieged, money will soon be useless, food is the real currency, I am setting aside a family fortune for our old family. Many families have fallen in troubled times, but we are not wealthy enough to be in that position yet."

As a landlord who built up a successful business as a rice merchant, Gu Zhen’s father had foresight… but this city was not experiencing ordinary unrest, it had been completely cut off from the outside world. No matter how much food he had, it couldn’t be exchanged for wealth, and even if it could, it would be meaningless.

Gu Zhen’s mother argued back, "How can soldiers fight on empty stomachs? If the garrison can’t hold on, will we still survive? Your eldest son is also a soldier, why don’t you think about that?"

Gu Zhen’s father’s face stiffened, but he continued to argue:

"These grains are grown in our fields, which have been passed down from our ancestors. They belong to our family. Why should we give them away for free?"

Gu Zhen’s father and mother stopped arguing when they noticed Dao Zhen, the two brothers, standing at the door.

The argument came to a sudden stop.

"Father, didn’t you donate grains to help during disasters in the past years? Why are you being selfish today?" Gu Zhen’s older brother looked disappointed.

He thought their father was a kind merchant, a "great philanthropist", which was why he later joined the army.

Gu Zhen’s father looked a bit embarrassed, and simply said:

"It’s all about seizing opportunities. As businessmen, we must assess the situation and act accordingly."

"The city is cut off from the outside world, and the army is trapped inside. If I don’t donate grains, Li Changge will soon come to ‘borrow’ some."

"If he doesn’t come to borrow, other people in the city might come to steal. And then they might even tear us apart."

"Send out the grain earlier, at least can earn some respect."

Gu Zhen’s father said this and gradually calmed down.

"Just send out the grain." Gu Zhen’s father said impatiently:

"Our family is big and wealthy, sending a bit is no problem."

Considering his eldest son’s feelings, he finally nodded.

After a while, when there was no one around, Gu Zhen’s father secretly brought Dao Zhen over and whispered:

"Child, don’t listen to your brother, his brain is messed up, always talking about fighting for Great Yan, fighting for the people."

"In this desert, where is there even a Great Yan? If the court had intentions, they would have sent reinforcements long ago, how could it come to this?"

"With your brother’s temperament, he’ll likely end up seriously ill sooner or later."

"Okay," Dao Zhen answered seriously, blinking his eyes.

"You have always been very thoughtful since you were little, just not very talkative… sigh, don’t be like your brother in the future," Gu Zhen’s father sighed.

"Your brother is not suitable to inherit the family business, our Gu family still needs to rely on you… in any case, in business, we should go with the flow with these four words."

……………

The scene changed.

Dao Zhen was still playing with ants in the yard, but inside the house, there was now an extra coffin.

Gu Zhen’s mother sat numbly in front of the coffin, tears washing her face.

Gu Zhen’s father showed no tears on his face, just a blank expression.

"You wanted to be a hero, do you know the price now?"

Gu Zhen’s father walked to the door of the pantry at home and looked at the full storage of grains inside, feeling empty inside.

Dao Zhen was still playing with ants, his eyes clear and without much emotion.

But at that moment, he suddenly looked up.

The shadows in the sky changed, and above the clouds appeared an old daoist with white eyebrows, standing on a cloud in the sky.

"The great way is fifty, the sky extends to forty-nine, and there is a glimmer of hope." The old daoist with white eyebrows looked down at the city below, waved his sleeve, and dozens of sparkling stones fell like raindrops, scattered throughout the city.

"This item is called the Spirit Measuring Stone." The voice of the old daoist with white eyebrows echoed:

"If any ordinary person in this city can make the Spirit Measuring Stone show anomalies, they have spiritual roots and can cultivate the immortal way."

"If there is truly someone with spiritual roots among the ordinary people, they can join the Immortal Gate and leave this place."

The old daoist with white eyebrows came and left quickly. By the time the generals in the military camp in the city gathered upon hearing the news, he had already disappeared into the clouds, leaving only dozens of Spirit Measuring Stones scattered throughout the city.

One of the stones fell right in front of Dao Zhen’s house.

The sound of hooves approached, and a middle-aged general picked up the Spirit Measuring Stone. He looked at it carefully and noticed a faint glow coming from it.

"Changshi, do you really have spiritual roots? Our Li family won’t die out now." A voice came from the side, and a middle-aged general with stern eyebrows and bright eyes walked over, bearing a resemblance to the first speaker.

When Qiao Mu heard this name, he looked up, starting to make guesses in his mind.

Li Changshi, the old man guarding the armory in the deserted city, appeared to Qiao Mu as quite elderly. He only had half a face remaining, but it was clear that he must have been quite handsome in his middle age.

Next to Li Changshi stood Li Changge, as Qiao Mu presumed.

Qiao Mu had heard the elderly soldiers of the deserted city mention Li Changge’s name many times. He was the former deputy of Martial Saint and the founder of the Spiritual Technique, passing away prematurely.

When Li Changshi heard this, he furrowed his brow and casually tossed the Spirit Measuring Stone in his hand, frowning as he said:

"Brother, are you kidding me? You want me to join the Immortal Gate?"

"Clearly, this is a trick from the Immortal Gate. They are trying to cause chaos and confusion among the people in the city."

"In my opinion, we should gather up all the stones scattered by Taoist Qingyi, not leaving any behind."

Li Changshi remained calm and clear-headed.

If the inhuman don’t leave any way out for the people in the city, then the people will have no choice but to fight to the death until the city falls.

If it is really discovered that there are talented individuals with spiritual roots, people’s attitudes may change.

It’s possible that some people may be willing to send talented individuals to the Immortal Gate just to save their own lives.

Li Changshi is a strong-willed Spirit Refining martial artist, but not everyone can resist the temptation to save their own lives.