Chapter 138

: Desert
 
The green faced man knew the identity of Monk Baoguang. The monk was the national advisor to Yue Tuo, and he was also the junior of Monk Baoyue. Rumour had it that he could possibly achieve arhat within a hundred years and going beyond life and death.
Arhat and Dao immortals were pretty much similar to each other.
One will only be considered to have the capital to roam freely between heaven and earth once they’ve reach such high level.
But of course to reach this state did not mean one will never die nor be destroyed. There were other challenges awaiting them too.
To many cultivators, the concept of ‘land immortal’ were just folk tales. People like Monk Baoyue were extremely rare and were considered as pioneers in the world of cultivation.
Just like Xi Huang that houses a big population of demons, the hilltop too was the home to several demon kings. But close to none of them were seasoned demons who could match the supernatural powers of Monk Baoyue.
The green faced man smirked as he felt this girl was so whimsy. But it was also explainable as she holds a big grudge against Buddhist sects. It was natural that she would despise monks.

The sunset dyed the water stream red. At the end of the stream was a desert.
Shen Lian chose not to ride the clouds as the deeper he gets into Xi Huang, the more demons that were in the hidden. Flying in high profile will only make him a target to the demons.
Demons love eating human but a thousand human’s flesh and blood cannot match the quality of one cultivator’s flesh.
The origins of the water stream was unknown but it dried up once it reaches the desert.
It will probably take an ocean to bring life back to this endless sand dune.
Shen Lian stepped into the desert, uncertain if his life would end here, just like the stream of water.
The sun was scorching hot, as if it wanted to set the desert on fire. Technically, it should be late autumn now but it didn’t affect the torridity of the desert.
The sand under Shen Lian’s feet was boiling hot. He wondered if the effects would be better if one to practice the Iron Sand Palm method here in the desert.
Shen Lian walked in a comfortable pace; as he walked towards west, the sun set in a slow pace. Legend had it that a giant tried to chase the sun endlessly and ended up dead from exhaustion on a desert.
After dying from exhaustion, he transformed into a forest of peach trees and the legacy was passed on to descendents.
Shen Lian came across a forest of peach trees. The leaves were extremely broad and the peaches were solid as if it was full of water. In a dry desert, the existence of the peach trees were precious.
The dessert did not only lack moisture but the Qi of vitality was really thin too.
The sun seemed like it was hesitant about setting, as if it will be only satisfied once the last wave of heat was spreaded out.
The sound of a kid crying could be heard. Shen Lian leisurely stepped forward and saw a little girl who looked as tender as the peaches.
The girl stopped crying once she saw Shen Lian, she asked,
Big brother, could you help me pluck some peaches?

Her voice sounded like Ruoxi and she looked similar to Ruoxi. But one thing was a little off – a kid like her should not appear here.
It seemed that Shen Lian did not find it strange and instead lowers his body to wipe off the little girl’s tears, with a gentle voice, he said,
Sure.
He reached out to gently wipe away the tears off the girl’s face.
He then stood up and reach out for the peach. Once he touches the peach, the fruit exploded with oozing black slime. It was terrifying.
Anyone would be disgusted by black slime splashed to their body.
Shen Lian did not realized that the little girl by his side suddenly wrapped on his calf and start munching into it. The leaves on the peach tree turned into faces of grimace as the sun vanished and the sky turned into a chilling cold night.
Compared to the scorching heat earlier, this was the cold winter night.
The leaves of the entire forest of peach trees turned into faces of grimace with ghostly voices.
The tree trunk was like a snake, wrapped around Shen Lian’s waist and arms.
The black slime from the peaches covered the entire body of Shen Lian.
The little girl opened her mouth and it was a mouthful of blood in it as she tightly held on and bite Shen Lian’s calf.
Shen Lian was not shaken neither bothered by the wrapped body. Suddenly, a Qi of Dao Sword gushed towards him and slipped passed Shen Lian by a hairline. The sword aura was extremely stunning and it produced a pounding sound.
Like a burst bubble, the sky turned bright again with a hint of sunset. The little girl turned into a pile of bones while the peach forest turn into a field of dead poplar trees.
Shen Lian’s hand paused at the spot where the sword aura poke through the air buble.
Accompanying the sword aura was a swordsman in pale green, but his sword was kept in the sheath. He had equal eyebrows and looked like he was seventeen or eighteen years old.
He looked at Shen Lian and said,
I am Song Qingyi from Xuantian sect. Friend, you almost fell for the illusion created by the Mirage Demon. Fortunately the Mirage Demon king here was diminished by brother Chen of Qing Xuan. It could have costed your life if you accidentally swayed into the desert.
Shen Lian retrieved his hand without leaving a trace. Song Qingyi did not noticed that Shen Lian’s finger was pointing at the spot where his sword aura destroyed the Mirage Demon.

Thank you Dao Master Song,
Shen Lian thank Song Qingyi as he squat down to create a hole and buried the pile of bones.
Song Qingyi sighed,
There was originally a small tribe here. It was the Mirage Demon who engulfed the spirit fountain here and turned the land within a hundred miles radius into a desert. You would came across a stream of water when you walked in here and that stream was the afterimage of the spirit fountain. But I believe the afterimage will soon vanish.
Song Qingyi felt pitiful as spirit fountains were considered precious. Smaller schools of cultivation depend on spirit fountains to provide a base for their disciples to wash off the impurities on the flesh and blood.
He initially started off from a small family of cultivators and joined one of the big four Dao schools, the Xuan Tian sect and took a leap to learn the methods of Dao.
The pile of bones Shen Lian buried most probably belonged to a little girl from the tribe. The Mirage Demon’s mana was attached to the bones, creating an illusion of a little girl that looked like Ruoxi with the purpose of causing confusion for Shen Lian.
Now that the Mirage Demon was diminished by Song Qingyi, the pile of bones had lost the mana of the Mirage Demon. Shen Lian wanted to bury her so she could rest in peace.
Even if the little girl did not looked like Ruoxi, he would have done the same for any pile of bones, just so that he did not lose touch with humanity that much.
Song Qingyi sighed once more,
Friend, you are a kind hearted person. You looked like someone who cultivates. It will be hard for to survive in this world if you’re not firm and decisive.

He advised Shen Lian earnestly. Only people like Chen Jianmei who were highly skilled with supernatural powers could do it. His sword was one mean to defend from thousands of means of attack. Although he was not capable of doing it, his heart longed for it.
Shen Lian smiled and replied,
I heard Xuantian sect is one of the best school of Celestialism. I didn’t expect a fellow Dao brother to be so peaceful and humble. That sure is a the charisma of a Dao practitioner.