Jiang Shu, accompanied by disciples from two families, arrived at Yuan River.

Lin Han and Shi Sheng, having received the news early, cleaned out the Bitter Bamboo Temple at Big Bear Ridge ahead of time to welcome everyone.

Jiang Shu's disciples included the reincarnation of Ke Yizi, a former lesser Sword Immortal, and his disciple Zhuang Yi who were already in Sichuan, as well as Chengdu's young hero Lu Luo who they had encountered by chance and introduced to their sect, and Lu Luo's fiancée Qiu Zhixian, who was introduced by Shi Feiyang through the Flying Sword Transmission. Also, Tao Jun, a young hero from Jiangxi who had previously obtained a Flying Sword at Yellow Mountain but had not been accepted into the sect, had all arrived early to welcome their master.

Not many days later, Ling Hun and Cui Wugu also arrived with their disciples, as did the Snow Mountain Sect's True Master Liu Quan, Seven Star True Master Zhao Guangdou, Xiao Yi and Ouyang Shuang, a couple they had taken in nearby Woyun Village, along with Ouyang Shuang's cousin Ouyang Hong, and Xiao Qing from Woyun Village.

The Bitter Bamboo Temple thus became lively, with three to four dozen Sword Immortals of both younger and elder generations, many of whom were either famous or reincarnations from previous lives. They got along well, exchanging Daoist Techniques, sparring in swordsmanship, and chatting enthusiastically.

Among the crowd, Jiang Shu, Ling Hun, and Cui Wugu were the elders, with Jiang Shu having the best relationship with Shi Feiyang and being designated by Shi Feiyang as the leader for this treasure hunt.

Besides them, Lin Han led Shi Sheng, and together with Yuan Hua and Huo Wuhai, they were the ones with the deepest knowledge of Daoist Techniques.

Additionally, the Great Demons Long Meng and Wu Longzi were involved, as was Bai Guanhong who commanded the Golden Spider Crane, a holy item of the Myriad Gu Sect, and they all gathered to discuss the treasure hunt.

The specific timing of the treasure hunt was set by Shi Feiyang, which was absolutely unchangeable. Although the treasure hunts varied in different places, the most intense and critical moments were the same worldwide, calculated precisely to the hour considering the mutual wariness of several forces.

The main enemies competing for the Magical Treasure were also identified by Shi Feiyang; they included Evil Corpse Gu Chen, released by the Emei Sect from Mangcang Mountain while obtaining the Green Rope Sword, the Heavenly Demon of Snow Mountain and the rogue Seven Finger Divine Demon, Gu Chen also brought several disciples, two of whom were Sect Leader Level.

Former master of Bitter Bamboo Temple, Zheng Dianxian, persuaded in vain by the Emei Sect, stubbornly came to contest the treasure.

Ghostly Dan Wu of the Qingcheng Sect, the disciples of Red-haired Ancestor from the Zhushan Sect, Hong Changbao, and many others from various righteous and evil sects were also coming.

There was also the Nine Fury Divine Monarch from the Demon Cult who had a grudge with Huo Wuhai, and Shenjun Zhenyue of the East Sea who had a grudge with Shi Feiyang.

Yet, the one Shi Feiyang was most concerned about was Grandmaster Ha Ha.

The divination was quite vague; interpreted one way, it indicated that Grandmaster Ha Ha might come, but another interpretation suggested he wouldn't.

Grandmaster Ha Ha might also head to Illusion Pool, lured by Xuanyuan Dharma King to steal Jiayin's burial items given that the Poison Dragon Pill could cure his deviation during meditation.

This man was too cunning, with abilities to shield heaven's secrets and disrupt by involving his rivals. Now, with several factions dueling, the divinations were as chaotic as tangled thread, and even the heavenly phenomena didn't match!

With many masters headed to Illusion Pool and others like Ji Nan from the junction of the two seas in northwest, all top-notch experts.

Nowadays, the Emei Sect, both in terms of its own strength and influence, was much reduced. They would certainly use more cunning strategies. Shi Feiyang could draw people towards them, and they could just as likely plot to draw enemies towards Yuan River, involving super masters like Xuanyuan Dharma King, Grandmaster Ha Ha, and Ji Nan, whose movements were hard to predict, necessitating the utmost preparedness.

Shi Feiyang also planned to lure people to West Kongtong, pulling in the Double Bodies Sect of the East Sea, then using the two evils of West Kun Mountain to draw out their revered Monk, Po Tou, to attack the Great Hero Treasure Vault, along with the old monsters Tian Can and Di Que and landlords of the Kongtong Sect, aiming to seize the Conch Leaf Talisman which was key to their ascension, a fact that was true and no lie by Shi Feiyang...

Without Xiong Man and the calamitous Deng Bagu, whom Shi Feiyang had sent to guard Mingyu Immortal Market, disturbances were expected there too, such as the master of eight demons from western Sichuan, originally from Pipa Village beside Taihu in Jiangsu and later moved to the Golden Light Cave of Big Marijuana Mountain in Miao Border. He sought revenge for himself and his disciple and aimed to plunder the resources of the Immortal Market.

The various heavenly and earthly treasures in Mingyu Immortal Market were akin to a huge vault, attracting countless cultivators. Someone malign had spread rumors, claiming that State Preceptor Master Yuan Yang, tied up at Qiao Mountain, along with his disciples preoccupied at Yuan River, left the market vulnerable for a bold and unrestrained plundering, luring many Sword Immortals towards Tianjin.

Among the famous ones were the three horrors of Heng Mountain, the tiger-headed Monk of Poison Dragon Isle from the East Sea, and Ji Fan from Heavenly Dog Cliff of Qilian Mountain.

Thus, Shi Feiyang specifically assigned Xiong Man, Deng Bagu, and the little Imperial Uncle Zhu Changyuan to preside over the place, to protect the Immortal Market and ward off demons and evils.

All the major players sensed that a great calamity was about to befall the earth, storms brewing on the horizon. Seeing the opportunity to seize some Magical Treasures to enhance their own power, they resolved that if they didn't, they would surely perish in the coming disaster and turn to ashes. Therefore, whether Buddhist, Daoist, Evil, or Demon, all were mobilized. During the initial stages of temple calculations, they exhausted their ingenuity, each conjuring false variables and simultaneously trying to see through the deceptions crafted by others. Twenty to thirty top experts stirred chaos in the arena, the Heavenly Number changing constantly:

In the morning's calculation, Shi Feiyang was in Qiao Mountain, but by the afternoon's calculation, he had returned to Outer Heaven Divine Mountain. It was unclear whether Shi Feiyang himself had tampered with the information to set a trap, or if another expert wanted to use this opportunity to kill through a borrowed knife.

There was also a prediction that Grandmaster Ha Ha was initially going to Yuan River for a treasure, afterwards, invited by Xuanyuan Dharma King to Illusion Pool, and then was found at the Great Hero Treasure Vault in West Kongtong.

The Buddhist experts were no different; divination results kept changing, and a certain cult leader spent countless efforts calculating for three days and nights, only to conclude that Master Fen Tuo was eating corpses inside Illusion Pool, devouring both the bodies of Saintess Jiayin and the seductive corpse Cui Ying—this leader immediately spurted out blood in shock!

There were predictions that Bai Mei Zen Master was about to leave monastic life to marry and take concubines, that the demon corpse Gu Chen would soon ascend, and that Zheng Dianxian had secretly pledged allegiance to Shi Feiyang and was preparing to turn traitor.

The leaders were burnt out by their calculations, but not calculating was not an option. The more they calculated, the more they succeeded; the less they did, the more they failed. Even if wrong, they had to keep calculating, endlessly disrupting and altering the Heavenly Number so that others would make mistakes too.

After several months, everyone was drained physically and mentally, more so than if they had been casting spells against opponents for several years, to the point where some had vacant expressions in their eyes.

It was said that Master Xiao Yi from Little Cold Mountain, having failed to acquire the Demonic Destruction Treasure Scroll from across the Heavenly Dog Cliff in Immortal City through her two disciples, sent Ye Bin to find Xie Shan. Via Xie Shan, she requested assistance from Tian Meng Zen Master, who would in turn go to Green Lotus Valley in Great Snow Mountain to ask Master Zhi to exceptionally open the mountain early so her disciples could obtain the Seven Treasures Golden Banner. Possession of this Buddhist supreme treasure would force Shi Feiyang to leave and prevent him from obtaining the Xuanyuan Two Treasures in the Holy Mausoleum.

However, Tian Meng Zen Master refused. He conveyed some advisory words to Xiao Yi through Ye Bin, indicating that since Master Zhi had already decided to open the mountain once every sixty years and his worldly desires had ceased, he would not break that rule and prematurely open the mountain, attracting karmic consequences. He would only open the mountain when the time came, and whoever was fated would obtain the treasure, and if not, then it was to be let go.

Master Xiao Yi, left with no choice, had to pin her hopes on another Buddhist supreme treasure, the Conch Leaf Talisman.

The Seven Treasures Golden Banner and the Conch Leaf Talisman were among the most distinguished Magical Treasures in Buddhism, with only a few Daoist treasures like the Heavenly Mirror and Jiuyi Tripod comparable. Securely hidden within the Holy Mausoleum, if they could acquire just one, it would force Shi Feiyang to leave and allow them to claim the remaining two.

The first conflict eventually broke out at the Yihai Ridge Illusion Pool, primarily because Xuanyuan Dharma King strategically took advantage, sending Poison Hand Mo Shen to marry the seductive corpse Cui Ying in Illusion Pool, and summoning many demons and evils there.

Years ago, Saintess Jiayin had fallen in love with a Great Demon from West Kunlun—Red Lotus. After turning foes later, they engaged in duels twice without determining a winner, agreeing to decide life and death in their third duel. They imposed mutual prohibitions on each other's Lifebound Primordial Spirits, casting the most vicious, evil Spells in the world from afar.

Jiayin was thus traumatized emotionally, despising all men in the world and swearing by the Heavenly Demon to curse any man entering Illusion Pool, ensuring their death.

However, her disciple Cui Ying's favorite indulgence was men. She repeatedly sneaked out to consort with them, infuriating Jiayin immensely. The final straw came when insurgency thoughts arose in Cui Ying due to a man, prompting her to betray her master and act on that betrayal. Unable to tolerate further, Saintess Jiayin ultimately struck her dead with a strike from the Qian Gang Five Divine Thunders.

Now guarding her own corpse with her spirit, Cui Ying gradually resurrected over the years, unlocked the gate to Illusion Pool, and resided there seeking a husband who could protect her. Considering Illusion Pool as her dowry, she planned to bring everything to her husband's household after marriage.

This attracted many deviant warriors, some lusting after the beauty of the previous seductive Madame, others coveting the treasures within Illusion Pool. They gathered, and while Cui Ying forbade them from fighting, declaring that whoever could help her evade calamity would earn her hand in marriage.

While these demons and evils didn't openly engage in combat, they fought relentlessly behind the scenes, some even stepping into duels to determine the victor.

But once Poison Hand Mo Shen arrived, they recognized their inferiority in spellcasting skills and background. No one could compete with him.

Cui Ying also acknowledged Poison Hand Mo Shen as her future husband, expressing her intention to join Xuanyuan Dharma King's sect after marriage, envisioning a life of matrimonial bliss.

The brazen couple, disregarding all forms of propriety, rewarded each other within Jiayin's former cave dwelling, from day to night, and night till dawn, rewarding each other in such frenzied ways that leaves swirled throughout the cave.

Knowing Jiayin despised men and hated Cui Ying for her affection toward other men, they intentionally chose to indulge in such activities within her old resting place.

Jiayin, still maintaining her physical body within the cave and her Primordial Spirit meditating deeply at the cave's base, was deeply affected by all that occurred in Illusion Pool, yet restrained her impulses to intervene lest she deviate into demonism. Thus, her enemies, especially the Old Demon from West Kunlun, would seize such an opportunity to capture her Primordial Spirit and subject her to endless torture and humiliation.

Thus, their act of mutual rewarding, besides their enjoyment of the process, aimed to disrupt Saintess Jiayin's tranquility and wisdom, essentially sabotaging her lifelong cultivation.

Eventually, the couple even planned to excavate more chambers, inviting the renowned Tian Yao, along with her female disciples and granddaughters, allowing the attending demons and evils to select partners freely. In every corner of the three levels and five chambers of Illusion Pool, they engaged in mutual rewarding, even group rewarding, striving to provoke Jiayin to the brink of exploding with rage.

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