Chapter 25

Baimu said, "The Yunqing Sect and the Blood Shadow Sect fought for two days and one night, with countless casualties. The patriarch of Leishan in Southern Continent personally led his disciples to arrive and defeated the Blood Shadow Sect, which left the Supreme Nine Blood Formation with flaws. The evil people were despicable and shameless; the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect led some of the top experts from the ten major evil sects to launch a surprise attack on the Eastern Continent, directly targeting the Yunqing Sect. The patriarch of Yunqing Sect led the remaining disciples to resist, and in the end, they defeated the evil sects and killed the leader of the Blood Shadow Sect, but the patriarch also died of severe injuries."

"The current patriarch, Qianyu Zhenren's father, was a disciple of the law enforcement elder of the Yunqing Sect. He was ordered to contact various sects and abandon their usual hostile attitude towards the Demon Sect. In the end, they finally formed an alliance with the Demon Sect. The disciples of the Demon Sect attacked the desolate and isolated land, directly targeting their stronghold. Meanwhile, the righteous sects and independent cultivators began to besiege the evil sects in the Twelve Continents. This strategy of attacking Wei to save Zhao was highly effective. However, after the evil people retreated, the Demon Sect disciples who entered the desolate and isolated land were surrounded and suffered heavy casualties."

"After this battle, the top nine experts of the Demon Sect were reduced by seventy to eighty percent, and the major cultivation sects like Leishan and Yunqing Sect also suffered heavy losses. The Yunqing Sect even lost their patriarch. The greatest loss was the loss of many Dao techniques by the Demon Sect and the Yunqing Sect. The Yunqing Sect, after deep reflection, added the Hidden Immortal Sect, which consists of senior elders, each with their own unique abilities."

Next, Lin Fan learned that although he was a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, he had only joined the sect and had not apprenticed to any specific master. The sect leader hoped that one day a high-ranking expert from the Hidden Immortal Sect would take a liking to Lin Fan and take him as a closed-door disciple. Before their death or ascension, the experts of the Hidden Immortal Sect would always take a disciple to prevent the tragedy of lost Dao techniques from happening again. However, the sect leader's efforts were in vain, as there were only twelve people in the Hidden Immortal Sect, and eleven of them already had closed-door disciples. The remaining one was an elder from the Purple Bamboo Grove, who only accepted female disciples. Since Ye Wushuang had already apprenticed to the Extinction Zhenren, it was impossible for her.

Baimu summarized, "Although the Demon Sect calls itself a demon sect, they only differ from the righteous path in their cultivation views. They do not bully the weak or fear strong enemies. The evil people, on the other hand, commit countless atrocities and are extremely cruel. Now, it is said that only the Bamboo Sword Hall of the Blood Shadow Sect is considered a demon sect among the evil sects, as they do not kill indiscriminately but do not value human life. The evil sects practice many evil techniques, such as the Heavenly Border Sect's Heavenly Silkworm, which must be planted in a virgin's body. After a hundred days, the Heavenly Silkworm matures and emerges from her abdomen, feeding on her flesh and blood. The method is inhumane. However, the Heavenly Silkworm is extremely vicious and can penetrate protective true qi, enter the body, and devour all internal organs before stopping. Therefore, when encountering evil people, they must be eliminated."

Ye Wushuang nodded, "So my master told me that when facing evil people, one must be seven parts defensive and three parts offensive, and make a decision only after clearly understanding their methods."

Lin Fan frowned, "Heaven and Earth are impartial, treating all things equally. As cultivators, why should we intervene to help the common people? I don't mean that I wouldn't help if I saw injustice. But it seems..."

Baimu nodded, "The cycle of heaven and earth means that evil people face severe heavenly tribulations. Only five hundred years ago did the Evil Emperor break through the Lesser Ascension Tribulation, but his physical body was destroyed, leaving only two souls and six spirits. Due to the incomplete soul and spirit, he could not reincarnate and could only wander in the world forever."

The Lesser Ascension Tribulation is a term used by the righteous path. When one's cultivation reaches a certain stage, or when one has killed or saved too many people, a heavenly tribulation is triggered, also known as the Lesser Ascension Tribulation. Once one successfully overcomes the tribulation, they will have an indestructible soul and spirit. If they can overcome the Greater Ascension Tribulation, they can become a wandering immortal. The final step for a wandering immortal is to comprehend the great Dao or the mysteries of heaven, after which they can ascend to immortality. Those who successfully overcome the Lesser Ascension Tribulation and do not face the Greater Ascension Tribulation can live for nearly a thousand years and die of natural causes. As for where they go after death, no one knows. Those who overcome the Greater Ascension Tribulation but do not comprehend the Dao can live for an even longer time and also die of natural causes, but no one knows where they go after death. According to historical records, in the past three thousand years, there have been only seven ascensions, all by righteous path cultivators. Before ascending, they would leave a divine image in the sky, giving a few words of advice to their disciples, and then ascend to the heavens, transforming into a beam of auspicious light that shoots into the clouds.

Unfortunately, in the past five hundred years, no one has broken through the Lesser Ascension Tribulation. The reason is unknown. This is the mysterious will of heaven. However, according to records, the Lesser Ascension Tribulation for the righteous path is the easiest, while it is extremely difficult for the Demon Sect, and for the evil sects, it is impossible to succeed.

The Greater Ascension Tribulation and the Lesser Ascension Tribulation appear when one reaches an extreme. Ordinary heavenly tribulations are common and do not have a tangible manifestation. For example, a rock falling from the sky and killing someone is a tribulation. When the rock falls and someone happens to push the person away, it is called fate. Buddhists believe that tribulations and fate have causes and effects, while Daoists believe there are no causes or effects, as heaven and earth treat all things equally. The righteous path, the Demon Sect, and Buddhism have different views on cultivation. However, whether one cultivates to become an immortal, a demon, or a Buddha, they must go through both the Lesser and Greater Ascension Tribulations. To trigger these tribulations, one needs not only a certain realm but also a certain level of cultivation.

After Baimu finished his explanation, Guyan remained silent, deep in thought. Lin Fan, being carefree, shouted and screamed when he discovered the theft, but after failing to recover the stolen items, he became very calm.

Lin Fan asked, "Fortune-teller, when will the treasure appear?" As he became more familiar with Baimu, Lin Fan no longer called him "elder brother" and gave him a nickname.

Baimu sighed, "Maybe in three to five days, maybe in three to five hours. Let's wait and see."

They waited, and the wait lasted for seven days. The other three spent most of their time on Lotus Mountain, while Lin Fan ran around, chatting with disciples from various sects and independent cultivators. In his free time, he would gather a group to play Tianjiu cards, making the time pass quickly.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, Lin Fan returned looking tired. Ye Wushuang, seeing him from a distance, shouted, "Gambler, what did you con today?"

Lin Fan landed, chuckled, and then sighed, "They won't gamble with me anymore."

Over the past seven days, Lin Fan had won many things, from small items like warm jade to large items like demon bones. There were not many things that cultivators could gamble with. Lin Fan said, "I heard that the Wenglong Valley in the Central Continent has a cultivation market every five years."

"A cultivation market?" Ye Wushuang was very curious, "What do they sell?"

Baimu, who knew a lot, explained, "It is a trading fair among cultivators, where unrefined treasures, swords, and magical artifacts, as well as various rare herbs, are sold. Some disciples even put up their sect's cultivation techniques or Dao techniques for trade. The cultivation market is also the most favored place for alchemists and artifact makers, where they can collect items recorded in ancient texts that they could not otherwise obtain, of course, in exchange for something the seller finds satisfactory. The market lasts for seven days and is set up by the Zixiao Hall, the largest righteous sect in the Central Continent."

Lin Fan asked curiously, "I understand the other items, but magical artifacts? How do you know their quality before refining them?"

"You don't know. Unrefined magical artifacts may not even have their elemental attributes or functions known," Baimu said. "I remember one time at the market, a senior from our Hidden Immortal Sect exchanged a thousand-year-old fox's fur for a magical artifact. After refining it, they discovered that the artifact could only be activated with an evil sect's cultivation technique. In the end, they had no choice but to make the artifact self-destruct."