#235 - Whale Falls, All Things Come to Life (4000 words, two in one)

"If you don't agree, then you will die here."

The old man spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.

Xu Ming also believed that this old man could definitely do it.

Since he could save the two of them, he could naturally kill the two of them.

In fact, killing the two of them was just a matter of a thought; the two of them wouldn't even have a chance to resist.

The reason he saved them was because he saw benefits in them, saw the value of a transaction; he had something he wanted to ask them to do.

But if they didn't make a deal with him, then he had no need to keep the two of them alive.

Xu Ming's gaze looked directly at this old man.

The old man's gaze didn't avoid him in the slightest; he was waiting for Xu Ming's answer.

To this old man, Xu Ming's answer didn't matter, even if it concerned life and death.

Xu Ming had once heard the Prime Minister Xiao of Wu Kingdom say:

The higher a cultivator's cultivation, the less it meant they were without desires or that they had seen through everything; rather, their vision was higher.

Moreover, because cultivation meant walking down one's own path, adhering to one's Dao heart, it was difficult to turn back.

Therefore, those who weren't afraid of death would become increasingly unafraid of death, while those who were afraid of death would become increasingly afraid of death.

Xu Ming felt that this old man should belong to the former.

"Senior, you can tell me first. Since Senior has said so, then I certainly have no other choice, if I can accept it."

Xu Ming said slowly.

Disagreement meant death, agreement might mean life, so what choice did he need to make?

However, if the old man's conditions were too excessive, touching his bottom line that was more important than life, then even if he died, he wouldn't agree.

He wasn't a saint, not even a good person, but he didn't want to become the culprit that plunged the world into misery.

"Don't worry, don't be so nervous. I'm not some great villain. The deal I'm making with you will at most put your lives in danger.

Moreover, you two kids might not even be qualified to make a deal with me.

But, if you can do it, then I can guarantee that the opportunity you two kids will receive will be something that most cultivators can only dream of."

The old man said with a smile, but his beard was too long, and Xu Ming couldn't see his smile.

The old man's words were tempting, but the more he said that, the more vigilant Xu Ming became.

In this world, many things have a clear price.

"Gambler," the old man called out, "Get to work."

"Old Master, coming, coming!" A bald man quickly responded.

The man called "Gambler" hurriedly answered a few times, then picked up a stone and cut his wrist.

Fresh blood dripped continuously from his wrist, flowing down along his cage, winding and twisting, staining the rock wall red.

Finally, the "Gambler's" blood flowed to the middle of Xu Ming and the old man.

These bloodstains kept gathering and separating.

Eventually, they formed an obscure array.

"I didn't explain clearly when I introduced the Gambler just now."

The old man said slowly.

"This person likes to gamble, he likes to gamble on everything, gambling money, gambling on treasures of heaven and earth, gambling on life, anything that can be gambled, he will gamble on it.

Gambling is his Dao.

Many people have gambled with him, and when they lost and wanted to renege, they were killed by him, but not by his own hands, but by the oath he made.

He killed too many people, even killing some disciples of famous and righteous sects.

As a rogue cultivator, he has no backing, so he can only be constantly hunted down.

And was eventually brought to this place.

The array in front of you is a gambling oath, and this gambling oath has the effect of the laws of heaven and earth."

"Thank you for the Old Master's personal introduction."

The gambler in the cage cupped his fist in salute.

"Just as the Old Master said, the witness to this gambling oath is not me, but heaven and earth. Although I use blood, which looks scary, like a blood curse.

In fact, using pen and paper is the same. I actually prefer to use black characters on white paper.

But there's no paper and pen here.

White paper and black characters can be used as an oath.

Fresh blood can replace white paper and black characters.

You can talk slowly. After you've agreed, drop a drop of blood into it, and the oath will take effect. Whoever doesn't complete it will suffer the backlash of heaven and earth.

Of course, this gambling oath is useless to the Old Master. The Old Master's realm is too high, and ordinary oath laws have no restraint on the Old Master, but the restraint on you two little kids is too strong."

After the gambler finished speaking, the old man looked at Xu Ming and asked, "How is it?"

Xu Ming bowed and said, "Senior, please speak."

"Hahaha! Good!"

The old man laughed a few times.

"First, I'll answer one of your doubts!

Why are these people keeping us here but not killing us!

The reason is simple.

There is an array in this place, and this array is not man-made. Even the most powerful array master in the world could not form this kind of array.

This array is the work of the Great Dao.

Each mountain range within the Tianxuan Sect's territory is located in order, naturally forming a part of the array.

It is extremely difficult to find such a place in the entire world.

Coincidentally, the second-generation sect master of the Tianxuan Sect was an array genius, so he slightly modified the work of the Great Dao and turned it into such an array.

Three Stone Peak is the location of the Tianxuan Sect's mountain range's pulse eye, and also the array eye of the Tianxuan Sect's protective array.

With Three Stone Peak as the center, it can absorb spiritual energy from the outside and prevent spiritual energy from escaping.

Thereby turning the entire Tianxuan Sect into a huge blessed land.

However, the more powerful the array, the more it needs something to suppress it.

This array needs cultivators above the Fifth Realm to suppress the array eye.

Imprisoning cultivators above the Fifth Realm here is equivalent to a kind of medium, which can make this array more stable, and the Tianxuan Sect continuously transmits spiritual energy.

Not only that, but the spiritual energy in our bodies will also be continuously drawn out, returning to the entire Tianxuan Sect.

Boy, have you heard of five words, called 'Whale Fall, All Things Live'.

After a giant whale dies, its body will be transformed into nourishment for countless little guys, nourishing thousands upon thousands of little things, and all things can grow well.

Similarly, in the demon world, there is a city called Kunpeng City.

This Kunpeng City was formed after a Kunpeng fell. Its skeleton sheltered tens of thousands of demons, and its flesh and blood allowed tens of thousands of demons to evolve.

This array is roughly the same meaning.

And we are the whale.

After a cultivator dies, his body will be transformed into nourishment for this world, like fallen flowers, nourishing the soil, and in the coming year, one flower after another can bloom again.

However, only a portion of the spiritual energy will dissipate in the soil near the corpse.

And the carrying capacity of a piece of land is extremely limited.

When the land next to the cultivator's corpse cannot bear so much spiritual energy, then the remaining spiritual energy will escape into this world.

So what the Tianxuan Sect wants to do is to let us die slowly.

The slower our spiritual energy overflows, the more the Tianxuan Sect can obtain.

Our divine souls, spiritual energy, and so on are being disintegrated by this array, continuously supplying the Tianxuan Sect.

At most a thousand years, I will completely die in this place.

These guys are not as powerful as me, but they came in later than me, and it will take about a thousand years.

Xu Ming frowned: "Do other sects have this kind of array? Why don't the Four Holy Lands do this?"

The old man smiled: "How do you know the Four Holy Lands haven't done this?"

Xu Ming: "."

"The Four Holy Lands and Five Great Sects basically have similar existences, but the methods are different.

For example, the Yaochi Holy Land needs the Yaochi Holy Maiden to feed the Tianchi Tree with essence blood every year, in order to stabilize the spiritual energy in the Yaochi Holy Land.

For another example, in the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, there is a fairy sword that is rumored to have existed since the beginning of the world, located in the array eye of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect's protective array. In addition to stabilizing and transmitting spiritual energy, it can also increase the sect's sword energy and sword intent, and receive the gifts of the Heavenly Dao.

There are also some sects that use similar methods, so some sects will cooperate with each other and make various transactions, that's all.

Except for the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, which is alone and doesn't fit in with the group, the reason why the remaining Four Holy Lands and Four Great Sects have been able to stand for tens of thousands of years, and their names have never changed, is also the reason.

We were captured and used as nourishment for the Tianxuan Sect.

When other sects have something to do, the Tianxuan Sect will also reciprocate in a similar way.

And recently, I feel that something is wrong.

The array of Three Stone Peak has changed. This peak is no longer the existence of an 'array eye', but has become an alchemy furnace.

If I'm not mistaken.

It is very likely that the current sect master of the Tianxuan Sect has obtained some kind of method, and wants to kill us at some point, and integrate our luck into the entire Tianxuan Sect.

As for why the other party wants to do this, I guess it should be that the Tianxuan Sect master wants to break through."

"Breakthrough?" Xu Ming asked in confusion.

"That's right." The old man nodded. "If I remember correctly, the Heavenly Mystery Sect's Purple Dawn Ceremony should be coming up soon, right? You're here to congratulate them, aren't you?"

"Yes." Xu Ming nodded, not hiding anything.

"Then I guessed correctly. After we die, all of our spiritual power and luck will be absorbed into the Heavenly Mystery Sect. Then the Sect Master will kill some of the Heavenly Mystery Sect disciples, who carry the sect's fortune, and merge the two.

The people who come to congratulate the Heavenly Mystery Sect are definitely of high status. Many sects will send their core disciples to get acquainted and see the world.

These people also carry fortune.

Finally, he'll kill the guests too.

The fusion of these three will definitely allow him to break through.

He should be able to break through from the Immortal Realm to the Ascension Realm.

But being able to use this method also means that the Heavenly Mystery Sect is declining day by day.

In the past, the Sect Masters of the Heavenly Mystery Sect were at least Ascension Realm cultivators.

But now, they don't even have an Ascension Realm cultivator. How laughable is that?"

"." Hearing the old man's words, Xu Ming's heart trembled.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Ming would never believe these words.

But since these words came from the mouth of a imprisoned Ascension Realm expert, he had no reason to lie to him.

Furthermore, the old man's words corroborated what Mo Zhu'er had told him.

The two people's words completely lined up.

Xu Ming's guess was: The Heavenly Mystery Sect Master, Xia He, is cooperating with the Black Lotus Sect of the Western Regions. It's very likely that Xia He's formation came from the Black Lotus Sect, so the Black Lotus Sect naturally knows all of Xia He's plans and will help him.

As for Xia He being hunted down?

So what?

Once Xia He reaches the Ascension Realm, who besides cultivators of the same realm can kill him?

Two Ascension Realm cultivators fighting would only result in mutual destruction. Would any other Ascension Realm cultivator risk their life to fight Xia He?

Besides, even if there was such a person, so what?

As long as Xia He wants to leave, no one can stop him.

Xia He could even go to the Western Regions to establish a sect, right next to the Black Lotus Sect, and the two sides could join forces.

Xia He really has a good plan.

He's really vicious.

"So you understand now." The old man continued, "We are probably not going to live much longer."

Xu Ming frowned: "What does senior mean?"

The old man smiled and looked directly at Xu Ming: "Do I need to continue? It's simple, save us."

"."

Xu Ming really wanted to say that it wasn't simple at all.

What realm am I in?

What realm are you in?

These chains and cages that are trapping you look extraordinary. How could I possibly save you?

"Don't worry, when I say save us, I don't just mean right now."

The old man smiled.

"With your current strength, you can't even pull out a single nail from my body, let alone save us.

Next, we will teach you a technique. This technique was created by me based on the Heavenly Mystery Sect's Guardian Formation.

If the current Sect Master of the Heavenly Mystery Sect really intends to do this, then the Heavenly Mystery Sect's formation will definitely be in a relatively unstable state. If you use this technique, you might succeed.

There is also another method, which is to kill the current Sect Master of the Heavenly Mystery Sect."

Xu Ming, Xu Xuenuo: "."

"Don't look at me like that.

I'm not crazy.

Right now, you two are indeed too weak, but we have a way to make you stronger.

Let's try it first."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo could react, a sword qi condensed into a small sword and directly pierced into the space between Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo's eyebrows.

Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo's eyes went dark, and they fell directly to the ground.