Chapter 431
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Chapter 431: The Messenger of the Immortal Kingdom Is Here
The group of ascetics is not hard to find.
Outside Lone Goose City, the Western Province stretches into an endless and vast desert.
Looking far ahead, one can see the wind and sand raging, and the world appears a sea of yellow.
Qiao Mu and Wu Qizheng are superb martial artists with vision far beyond the average person; they soon spot a group moving slowly through the yellow desert like crawling ants.
As they got closer, they could see the true appearance of the ascetics.
They wore rough cloth, walked in straw sandals, and leaned on walking sticks as they struggled to move between the sand dunes.
Their skin was rough from the wind and sand, their lips cracked from lack of water, but their eyes were extremely steady, clearly showing they were devoted followers of their faith.
Wu Qizheng used his old trick again, throwing gold and silver to clear a path, and soon blended in with the group of ascetics.
"Aren’t you going to ask about the ‘Human Demon’ disaster?" said an older man with graying hair.
"You can ask Da Hu at the back. That boy is also a poor soul; not long ago he encountered the Human Demon in a village called Stone Hollow, and he was the only one who survived."
"It seems this child is also in shock, so we brought him along. If we can reach the Immortal Kingdom, it would be a wonderful thing."
Da Hu?
Qiao Mu scanned the crowd.
This group of ascetics had more than ten people, mostly middle-aged men with dull and rough skin.
After looking carefully a few times, he couldn’t find any fifteen-year-old boy.
"Da Hu, come and greet our distant guests," the old man called out behind him.
"Hmm." A two-meter-tall giant grumbled a response and stepped forward.
This fifteen-year-old boy was strong like an ox, with a full beard on his face, and on his wide back, he carried a huge backpack the size of a person.
He approached, looking down at Qiao Mu and Wu Qizheng, his deep voice echoing around them.
"Hello?"
Qiao Mu and Wu Qizheng were taken aback.
"When I say hello, I don’t mean it like that…" the old man in charge sighed.
"Never mind, never mind, you can see that Da Hu’s mind isn’t very sharp; it seems he was scared silly by the Human Demon."
Qiao Mu suspected they were not just simple-minded fools but were tricking a big fool into being their pack mule, but he had no proof.
Almost all of these people’s backpacks were being carried by Da Hu.
Yet this person seemed hardly to be sweating, breathing steadily, clearly not tired at all.
"Born with great strength and full of energy, he is a good candidate for martial arts training, but he isn’t very sharp-minded," Qiao Mu commented.
Wu Qizheng had a different perspective on the matter than Qiao Mu.
"It is just like Martial Saint’s way of doing things," Wu Qizheng said.
"Martial Saint despises ordinary people and only pays attention to those with exceptional talent."
"If Martial Saint were to act, he would surely show mercy to his subordinates; he has done this many times."
"Talking about the Martial Saint again… let’s discuss where Kuafu Mountain and the Blood Lotus Immortal Kingdom are," Qiao Mu stepped forward and asked.
“As for the Blood Lotus Immortal Kingdom, we aren’t very sure, but just go north. If you cross the Baojian Valley to the north, you should be able to see Kuafu Mountain.”
“Baojian Valley?” Qiao Mu looked ahead, seeing only endless yellow sand.
Even with his or Wu Qizheng’s keen eyesight, they could not see any valley ahead…
“How long will this journey take?” Qiao Mu glanced at the group’s messy hair and rough skin, estimating that they must have been traveling for at least a month.
“Young man, don’t be too hasty,” the old man chuckled.
“A sharp sword comes from being honed. This journey to find the land of the immortals is also a pilgrimage. It tests our hearts and is a challenge from the land of the immortals.”
“As long as you are sincere, you will find the way to the land of the immortals.”
“You don’t really think that in the Western Province, with so many people, everyone can enter the land of the immortals and enjoy peace and happiness, do you?”
The old man smiled slightly at this, looking quite pleased with himself.
“When we began the journey from Stone Mountain City in the south, there was a group of nearly a hundred people, but now only about ten of us remain.”
“If you count carefully, each of us is among the one in ten who have succeeded.”
Wu Qizheng furrowed his brow slightly and whispered to Qiao Mu:
“This group of ascetics are indeed people of strong faith.”
“To find that fairyland, we will still need to rely on them for guidance, but at their walking speed, we don’t know how many days it will take.”
“They say only by having a sincere heart can one find the fairyland… perhaps the immortal path is hidden, and only these faithful ascetics can pass through?”
Qiao Mu shook his head.
He certainly did not have time to waste with these ascetics for ten days or half a month…
“You all are quite remarkable.” Qiao Mu stepped forward and said with a distant look:
“I already know about your strong faith.”
“I won’t pretend anymore; I am actually the Immortal Kingdom Messenger of the Blood Lotus Immortal Kingdom. You have passed the test of the immortal land, and I will take you there now.”
The group of ascetics fell silent; just a moment ago, these two were asking a lot of questions, clearly outsiders.
Even the news about the Immortal Kingdom was told by them. Now, they pretend to be the Immortal Kingdom Messenger without even changing their appearance. Only a fool would believe it!
“Hooray!” The two-meter-tall giant Da Hu grinned widely.
“This time, everyone will become immortals together!”
The crowd of ascetics was astonished.
“We will help you become immortals!”
Qiao Mu also smiled widely. Suddenly, his arms swelled up and turned into two giant hands that grabbed hold of those ascetics.
Each hand held five people, and the two giant hands captured a total of fifteen people.
The terrifying scene left the ascetics speechless, while only the strong man Da Hu kept bouncing around.
He was so tall that at this moment, he was the only one not caught by Qiao Mu. However, he willingly reached out to hug Qiao Mu’s finger.
“Me, me, me, me….”
"Youth, don’t be in a hurry. You have a special seat."
Qiao Mu thought for a moment, then his right wrist quickly moved. A lump of flesh rapidly grew and transformed into a small arm that wrapped around the giant’s waist.
"What kind of monster are you?" The group of ascetics was nearly in a panic.
"Human Demon, you are a Human Demon?!" The strong man Da Hu’s expression changed at that moment.
"Is the three-headed six-armed Human Demon this kind of technique?" Wu Qizheng, nearby, seemed to be pondering.
"I already mentioned that I am the Immortal Kingdom Messenger."
Qiao Mu ignored the crowd’s shouts. He took a slight step, and True strength erupted, turning into a light mist at his toes.
Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps Dragon Transforming Step!
He held onto more than ten people with both hands, his figure like lightning as he swiftly darted through the low air…
…………………..
The wind and sand on both sides quickly retreated behind him.
The ascetics grasped by Qiao Mu were filled with wind and sand, their minds muddled; only Qiao Mu had a slight reaction when asking for directions.
About half an hour later, the wind and sand gradually decreased, revealing a peak standing above the wasteland.
This peak had a peculiar shape, appearing sword-like from a distance, rising several hundred meters high, made entirely of grayish-white stone.
Upon careful inspection, the entire mountain had no cracks; it was a seamless entity, like a massive stone sword, thrusting diagonally into the wasteland.
Looking to the side, the barren mountains ahead split in the middle, forming a dark gorge with towering cliffs on both sides, as though they had been struck by a giant axe.
"We have arrived at Baojian Valley."
The old ascetic and the others were let down by Qiao Mu, and now they were submissive.
"We have arrived at Baojian Valley. What happens next?" Qiao Mu turned around and asked again.
"Walk a little further. In this valley, there is a village where ascetics gather," said the leading old man.
"In this Sword Valley, if you burn incense and pray for 49 days with true sincerity, you will receive guidance from the immortals…"
"That’s easy to say," Qiao Mu replied lightly.
"I am the immortal, guiding you from the very beginning."
"Guiding and leading—since I brought you here, isn’t that equivalent?"
"We’re all quite familiar now, so let’s skip the 49 days of burning incense and praying, shall we?"
The old ascetic: ….
They exchanged glances for a moment and naturally did not dare to refuse, walking calmly forward into the village inside the gorge.
Baojian Valley originally had no villages; it simply became a gathering place for many ascetics, thus creating a village.
Though it was called a village, in reality, it consisted of just a few simple grass huts in the valley.
At first glance, one could see many white bones and dried bloodstains everywhere…
"Hmm?" Qiao Mu and Wu Qizheng stepped forward to carefully examine the entire village.
In their perception, there was not a single living creature in the entire village—only the stark white bones remained on the ground.
The bones were half-covered by dust, but if one looked closely, the dried bloodstains that had not completely disappeared could still be seen around.
"Did this suffer from the disaster of the Human Demon? Even Baojian Valley…" the old ascetic gasped in shock.
While he marveled, he quietly glanced at Qiao Mu, clearly taking him as the culprit.
"Is this a corpse drained by the Taotie Swallowing Heaven Skill?" Qiao Mu bent down and carefully examined the body, asking Wu Qizheng beside him.
"…there is a possibility." Wu Qizheng furrowed his brow slightly.
At this moment, the ascetics behind them had already come forward to help bury the bones of the dead.
"Dust to dust, earth to earth. They are all fellow seekers of the immortal realm, so let us send you on your journey."
Qiao Mu did not disturb them; instead, he walked casually toward Baojian Peak ahead.
He reached out his hand and gently touched the mountain.
Looking closer, there were no obvious cracks in the mountain; it was all one piece.
"It truly is a work of artistic genius," Qiao Mu said with an expressionless face.
"If I had never seen a cultivator, I would doubt whether there are truly ghosts and gods in this world."
The stone sword, hundreds of meters long, formed a mountain by itself, looking as if it was one piece. The canyon nearby looked as if it had been chopped with an axe and a knife, making people unable to stop themselves from imagining.
"What amazing craftsmanship! This is truly a miracle."
At that moment, the old man had already gathered the bones and walked over.
"This Baojian Peak, they say it is a divine sword that fell to the human world during a battle of heavenly beings. It is truly a sword of the gods. Why would mere mortals need it?"
"When this divine sword first fell to the earth, it was only the size of an ordinary sword, just three feet long."
"Later, an old traveler from far away passed through the Western Province, saw this sword, and said it was not an ordinary sword. Only a divine being could use it, and only a divine being or their reincarnation could pull it out."
"After the news spread, many skeptical men from all over the Western Province came to check it out."
"Some were strong by nature, some had practiced martial arts for many years, and some were high officials from the court…"
"But no matter who it was, none could move this sword even a little."
"As the news spread, the fame of the magic sword grew louder."
"Every day, many people came to try the sword, and the line could stretch from one end of the valley to the other, with travelers coming and going endlessly."
"So, the magic sword became tired of the crowds, and on a starless night, all the travelers who had tried to draw the sword had a strange dream."
"In the dream, the magic sword spoke to those people…"
At this moment, Qiao Mu interjected, "It said, ‘Don’t touch my hilt?’"
"Ah?" The old ascetic, in the middle of telling his story, was suddenly interrupted by Qiao Mu and looked a bit confused.
The old man paused, then continued, "What it said was that only a god or the reincarnation of a god could draw the sword, but the loquacious old Taoist revealed the secret, so it didn’t want to wait anymore."
"The next day, when the first rays of morning light brightened the valley, the original magic sword had completely vanished, replaced by the towering Baojian Peak, and a huge canyon had also appeared beside it."
"So, in the legend of us people from the Western Province, this Baojian Valley marks the boundary between humans and gods."
"Ordinary people overestimate themselves and try to touch the divine sword, which has caused this place to have a great mountain and canyon across the wasteland."
"Beyond this place, you should be able to find the Blood Lotus Immortal Kingdom and the Kuafu Divine Mountain."
"I see." Qiao Mu nodded.
"You have been KFC’d."
"Huh?" The old ascetic was stunned again.
"What I mean is, I am not only the Messenger of the Immortal Kingdom, but also the reincarnation of a divine being!"
Qiao Mu strode towards the hundreds-of-meters-high stone peak, wrapping his arms around the mountain wall and taking a deep breath.
His arm muscles tensed instantly, and the smooth lines became pronounced as he exerted force, clear and seamless like a marble sculpture.
The stone peak remained still.
"Shape Changing Skill."
In the terrified eyes of the ascetics, Qiao Mu’s body suddenly swelled and grew, transforming into a small giant nearly ten meters tall, with his arms thickening once more.
The stone peak remained completely still, with only a few pieces of dust falling.
The old ascetic finally sighed with relief.
"Blood Meat Forbidden Technique: Blood Meat Oven."
The already stretched body crazily expanded again, with fingers swollen like five iron pillars.
Crack.
The gray-white mountain showed spiderweb-like cracks, as Qiao Mu dug deeply into the mountain with all ten of his fingers.
With a loud roar, he lifted the stone peak upward with all his strength.
Thundering.
At this moment, the loud noise filled the surroundings, and the ground shook, causing cracks to appear beneath their feet.
Just as the ascetics were greatly startled and almost fell to their knees, the trembling quickly lessened and soon returned to calm.
Qiao Mu took a few quick breaths, then furrowed his brow and stepped back a few paces, looking up at the stone peak.
He wondered if it was just his imagination, but the stone peak seemed not only heavier but also taller. The once hundreds-of-meters-high stone sword peak now appeared to reach nearly a thousand meters, soaring into the clouds.
"Which demon is causing trouble?" A voice echoed from the sky, as a rainbow light approached from afar.
