"Black Lotus Sect remnants, bow your heads and accept your execution today!"
A powerful roar filled with vital energy came from the center of the plaza, followed by rumbling thunder, wave after wave.
Small lightning snakes even spread around the plaza, crackling and flashing non-stop.
The entire underground plaza was filled with flickering ghost fires, lightning and thunder, and swirling dust, as if the end of the world had arrived.
There were also occasional gusts of cold wind, scraping against Lin Shan's body and causing him pain!
"Lei Zhenzi!"
A shrill howl came from the distance, the sound piercing and ear-splitting, filled with an unshakeable venom.
...
Is someone fighting here? Lin Shan, crouched in the corner, was startled.
Since transmigrating to this world, he had only heard of tales of Immortals from storytellers, but had never seen one with his own eyes, nor did he know if they were real. He had always been skeptical.
Today's encounter completely overturned his previous understanding.
'Cultivators actually exist in this world?!
Then what was the point of me working so hard, getting up early and going to bed late for so many years, practicing martial arts?'
The huge disparity caused his emotions to fluctuate wildly.
Before he could think further, the venomous voice in the plaza sounded again, but this time it was no longer ear-piercing. Instead, it was like a devil's whisper, making the surrounding air viscous. It swirled into cold winds that lingered, then surged madly towards the center of the plaza.
At this time, the dust in the center of the plaza gradually thinned, and a thin, small black figure could vaguely be seen, sitting cross-legged and motionless. Beneath his knees was a high platform resembling an altar, surrounded by several ghost fire stone pillars.
Directly above his head was a huge hole, and bolts of lightning continuously fell from the large hole, targeting the figure on the altar. Countless tiny lightning snakes simultaneously branched out and spread towards the surroundings of the plaza.
The eerie low murmur just now seemed to come from the figure. Lin Shan, using the reflection of the lightning, seemed to see the black figure sitting cross-legged, holding a stick in his hand and faintly tapping something.
"Tap!"
"Tap!"
"Tap!"
Countless cold winds condensed towards the center of the plaza. The devil's low murmur slowly turned into chanting, the sound gradually becoming loud and agitated.
Lin Shan covered his head, feeling as if countless ants were gnawing at his brain. He was dizzy and disoriented, as if in utter darkness!
...
Finally, it felt as if long centuries had passed, or perhaps it was just a single instant.
All the thunder, chanting, and tapping sounds in the plaza vanished.
The whole world became quiet.
Lin Shan lay sprawled on the ground, exhausted. Having just experienced something worse than death, he just wanted to sleep well.
The great battle in the distance at the center of the plaza seemed to have ended during his torment. The air was filled with the smell of burning, and the surroundings were covered in rubble and dust.
...
"A thousand years ago, the Black Lotus Sect massacred Mortal kingdoms to refine Yin Corpses, becoming the public enemy of the Cultivation World, and was jointly eradicated by various sects. But the fish that slipped through the net have multiplied and thrived from generation to generation, truly tenacious!"
A muffled sigh came from the large hole above the plaza. Only the voice was heard, not the person.
Lin Shan on the ground struggled to look up at the plaza. At this time, the vision around him was slightly clearer. Although half of the ghost fires on the stone pillars had extinguished, some were still burning strongly.
"Ho cough cough... For these past few hundred years, my sect has been hiding repeatedly, avoiding the world. Now, we are even hiding in barren mountains and wild ridges.
We haven't done anything harmful to heaven and reason anymore. This old man is merely using the corpses of the dead to refine corpses, yet you still want to completely exterminate us!"
The thin, small old man in black on the altar was hunched over, coughing and spitting blood non-stop. He faced the large hole above, sometimes laughing madly, sometimes cursing.
After half an hour, he seemed to have cursed enough. A young Daoist with a Daoist bun and wearing a blue Daoist robe slowly descended from the large hole above. His face was square, he held a whisk, and he had an air of being untainted by the mundane world.
It seemed that the person the old man in black robes had just shouted was indeed the "Lei Zhenzi."
Lin Shan lay on the ground, not daring to move. During the height of the battle, he couldn't control himself.
Now that things were calm, he was afraid that the two of them would discover him, a mere ant.
Lin Shan secretly watched Lei Zhenzi in front of him, his heart surging with emotion. This image perfectly matched his previous fantasies about cultivators. He looked like a proper orthodox Daoist!
Unlike how he had snuck in through a thieves' hole, this person had directly punched a large hole from the mountaintop and descended from the sky! Going straight for the enemy's heart!
His lightning techniques were even more exquisite, leaving Lin Shan yearning just now.
"For hundreds of years, the Black Lotus Sect has been spreading evil statues in the nearby prefectures and counties, collecting Mortal Luck and faith, attempting to recast the Incense Golden Body. The various sects of the Great Song Cultivation World are already aware of this. This humble Daoist is also acting under orders."
The young Daoist was neither happy nor sad, as if stating a trivial matter.
"Hateful! If not for a few Mortal grave robbers breaking in while I was in seclusion and leaking the news, how would you have found me in this barren mountain and wild ridge.
It's fate, it's destiny!"
The old man in black robes was indignant, wailing mournfully on the altar. He was truly unwilling.
...
When Lin Shan heard these words, he instantly felt the information was immense.
Evil statues? Luck? Faith? Incense? How is this related to Ancient rhyme?
He carefully recalled all the antiques he had seen before. Only the "spring river duck play picture," some black lotus buddha statues, and the Nightingale Token contained Ancient rhyme. And these ancient objects seemed to have some intricate connection with human Luck, religious faith, and incense.
Vaguely, he felt as if he had grasped something.
...
In the dim underground plaza, ghost fires flickered. The verbal sparring between the two on the altar also seemed to have ended.
"Enough! As for right and wrong, I will take you back to the sect and let the Master decide."
After subduing the old man in black robes, Lei Zhenzi ignored his curses and insults.
After chanting some incantations, he conjured a thunder cloud, lifted the helpless man in black, and flew directly towards the large hole above his head.
From beginning to end, he didn't even look in Lin Shan's direction. Perhaps he had already discovered his presence. But a mere Mortal was not worth a second glance in the eyes of a cultivator.
Seeing the two fly into the cave above, Lin Shan's heart suddenly grew anxious. He couldn't afford to overthink anymore. Enduring the stiffness and pain all over his body, he rolled and crawled, running and shouting:
"Immortal Senior, please wait! I don't seek opportunities, I only wish to serve by your side!"
"Immortal... Immortal Senior?"
...
Running to the center of the altar, Lin Shan stared blankly at the large hole above his head. A beam of cold moonlight shone on his face.
Immense disappointment filled his heart. Witnessing the power of cultivators' magic, anyone would feel a sense of powerlessness and yearning.
He was naturally no exception! Who doesn't yearn to live forever and look down upon all the ages?
Having missed this Immortal chance, he didn't know when the next one would be, or perhaps he would never encounter another one in his lifetime!
Just then, something seemed to fall from the hole above. A leisurely voice followed the moonlight downwards:
"You have been infiltrated by Yin energy. If it is not removed within three days, you will likely develop a chronic illness in the future. I will give you this Warm Yang Jade Pendant."
The voice echoed in the cave, layer by layer. The owner seemed to have already departed.
Lin Shan quickly caught it with both hands. Looking closely, a transparent yellow jade pendant lay quietly in his palm. A warm current instantly entered his body from his hands. The warm current circulated throughout his body, making him feel warm all over, like soaking in a hot spring.
At the same time, the light screen in front of him flowed, and the transparent enhancement panel appeared:
[Earth Yang Warm Jade]
Quality: First-order Spirit Material
Description: Warm jade produced abundantly in volcanoes, one of the common Materials for refining low-grade magic artifacts.
Enhancement required: 8 points
...
"This is..."
Lin Shan marveled at the miraculousness of this warm jade. Not only did it instantly expel the cold from him, but it was also a material for Artifact Refining.
'Materials can also be enhanced?'
He turned the jade pendant over and over, playing with it, and at the same time quickly bowed towards the cave entrance: "Thank you, Immortal Senior!"
Regardless of whether that person had gone far, this bow was naturally sincere.
Although he couldn't cling to the leg of Lei Zhenzi, this cultivator, this time, the person had given him a warm jade, which solved a hidden danger for him. Lin Shan was still secretly grateful, thinking that he was indeed a senior expert of the Righteous Path.
Feeling his body revitalized, Lin Shan naturally didn't forget the purpose of his visit.
Finding Ancient rhyme.