Chapter 140: True Person Black Prison

"Finally here. This cursed place hasn't changed at all, but I cannot just walk in like this!"

A day later, the exhausted True Man Bingyan arrived at a vast expanse of primeval forest bordering Tianfu Province and Guqin Province. After winding through a maze of turns, he landed on a small hill. Gazing at the endless towering jungle shrouded in a bizarre pale green miasma before him, he muttered to himself in deep contemplation.

If he himself could be described as insidiously crafty, then the True Man Heiyu, whom he was about to visit, was tyrannical and cruel—a textbook example of a demonic practitioner. For the slightest benefit, Heiyu would disown his own kin and flip faces without a moment's hesitation. Bingyan had no wish to be swallowed the moment he stepped inside.

Under the current circumstances, he had no choice but to put on a bold front.

Bingyan silently took out the small box he had brought with him before departure. Inside was his storage pouch from the days when he was a Core Formation stage adept, containing every treasure he possessed prior to his seated transformation. What gave him a headache, however, was a sealing talisman pasted onto the box, known as the "Thought-Transforming Thunder-Wounded Talisman." It was exceedingly difficult to peel off for anyone below the Core Formation stage. In his present body, the mere touch of this talisman would likely instantly reduce him to charcoal by lightning. It was truly a case of spinning a cocoon and trapping oneself.

Still, since he was the one who had applied the talisman in the first place, he naturally knew a workaround.

"Biyun, don't blame me. Let me take a bit of your primordial blood."

He summoned the resting Biyun Immortal Crane over and extracted a drop of its primordial blood. The Biyun spirit beast recognized that the youth before it was its first master from several centuries ago and put up no excessive struggle. However, after having its primordial blood drawn, its aura withered significantly, to the point where it could barely stand.

Fortunately, although the youth's physical body possessed abyssal aptitude, it at least contained spiritual roots.

Having obtained the beast's primordial blood, Bingyan channeled the sliver of weak magical power he had managed to refine over the past two days, crafting the blood into a blood talisman, and flicked it onto the silver talisman on the box.

With a sizzle, the silver talisman emitted a wisp of blue smoke. The surface, which had previously gleamed with flowing light, was contaminated in a small spot by the blood talisman and directly ruined. It dimmed and drifted off the box on its own. This caused True Man Bingyan a pang of heartache; back then, he had expended a tremendous amount of effort to acquire that Thunder-Wounded Talisman, only to end up destroying it himself.

Opening the box, he took out the exquisite storage pouch inside and finally felt a measure of relief.

Naturally, the mouth of the storage pouch also bore restrictions, but they were quite ordinary. In his view, if someone was capable of removing the Thought-Transforming Thunder-Wounded Talisman, adding another layer of restrictions to the pouch mouth would be futile anyway. He familiarly formed hand seals, then pinched the bottom of the storage pouch and inverted it. Amidst a flash of multicolored light, a small pile of items appeared at his feet.

Before his seated transformation, he had also wished to leave behind his natal core and natal magical treasure. However, without magical power to constantly nourish and assimilate them, these two treasures could not escape the corrosion of time. Thus, hardening his heart, he expended his core's vital energy and the treasure's essence to forge two talismanic treasures—one possessing one-tenth of the original treasure's might, and the other possessing one-third.

Aside from the two talismanic treasures, there were several bottles of precious medicinal pills. Bingyan immediately poured out two pills—one for healing and consolidating his foundation, and the other for advancing magical power. Restricted by his current cultivation level, he could only snap off a quarter of each to swallow, while feeding the remaining three-quarters to the Biyun Immortal Crane, which made it feel much better.

The rest consisted of some barely usable materials, and that was the extent of the storage pouch.

Three days later, feeling adequately prepared, Bingyan finally stepped into the miasma-filled forest.

At the center of the forest lay a marshland, where layer upon layer of withered branches and decaying leaves piled atop one another, completely rotted together underneath. From time to time, the remains of various animals could be spotted. The surroundings were permeated by a foul stench, and the water in the small, scattered puddles was a dark, lifeless green. Although it was the height of midsummer, this place evoked chills and made one's hair stand on end with its ghostly, howling winds. Uncomfortable in the extreme, this was the Lankē Marsh, a place of profound silence.

A shadow flashed past—an unwitting grouse had flown out from somewhere and happened to land at the edge of the marsh. Instinct told it that the ground beneath its feet was perilous, and it tried to flap its wings to fly back, but a bizarre suction force firmly gripped it. Its body sank downward, and no amount of struggling availed it. After a short while, bubbling air rose to the surface, and the grouse bobbed up again, reduced to nothing more than a few bare bones.

"Heiyu is, after all, considered an expert of my era, yet he has degenerated into this neither-human-nor-ghost monster that survives solely on animal flesh and blood. How pathetic."

Arriving at the edge of the marsh, True Man Bingyan secretly shook his head and sighed, then gathered his breath and called out in a clear voice, "Fellow Daoist Heiyu, an old friend has come to visit you. Why not emerge and show yourself?"

His voice resounded across the area, yet there was not the slightest response from the surroundings.

"What? Buried underground for too long, afraid to face the light of day? I originally intended to discuss a heaven-sent opportunity with you. Since Fellow Daoist is unwilling to welcome me, I shall take my leave," Bingyan shouted once more, then stood poised and calm, waiting quietly.

Sure enough, a moment later, a hoarse and deep male voice suddenly echoed from all directions, sounding as though its vocal cords had been scorched by fire.

"Hold on. The number of people who know this True Man is here can be counted on one hand. Combined with that obnoxious tone of yours, you must be Bingyan, right? What is this? Reduced to such a pathetic state that you have to rely on seizing a body to survive?"

"Fellow Daoist has sharp eyes. I did indeed seize a body, but it was a split-spirit possession. My main soul still exists safely in this world, so Fellow Daoist needn't concern yourself," Bingyan lied with an expressionless face.

"Heheh, since when can Core Formation stage cultivators master such a great divine ability as dividing their spirit? Fellow Daoist Bingyan, don't tell me you've broken through to the Nascent Soul realm," the hoarse voice sneered.

"Fellow Daoist jest. With the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dwindling into this ghost of a state, how could one speak of the Nascent Soul realm? I merely stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter and happened to cultivate a split spirit," Bingyan had no intention of revealing the great secret of the Purple Capital Spirit Tree.

"That encounter must be no small matter! Not only were you able to cultivate a split spirit, but your present physical body also faintly radiates a treasure's glow. You must be concealing a potent artifact. Fellow Daoist, you certainly parted with quite a fortune. What is this—are you guarding against this True Man?"

"Where would I get such an idea? I am merely guarding against scoundrels along the road, with no intention of targeting Fellow Daoist Heiyu."

"Haha, very well then. Since Fellow Daoist has traveled from afar, this True Man must properly entertain you. Please come down to the underground palace; let us catch up on old times first, and then discuss important business, how about that?" the hoarse voice invited.

Bingyan would have to be an idiot to actually go down there. He shook his head and said, "Catching up on old times can wait. Please show yourself, Fellow Daoist, and I will state my business directly. If it works out, it works out; if not, I must leave immediately. This is extremely urgent!"

The hoarse voice fell silent. After a long while, it suddenly sighed: "Fellow Daoist Bingyan still cannot trust me. Very well, then I shall come out and see this world. If the matter is truly as important as you claim, so be it; but if you have deceived me with empty words, humph..."

As the words faded, the sludge on the surface of the marsh suddenly writhed and rolled. Accompanied by an even more intense stench, a powerful spiritual pressure materialized out of thin air. The corner of Bingyan's eye twitched as he calmly pressed his hand against the storage pouch at his waist.

"Alas, the spiritual energy is actually this meager!"

At that moment, a massive mass of humanoid sludge rose from a spot several dozen meters away from Bingyan. Other details were obscured, save for the terrifying, crimson-red eyes on its head, brimming with malicious and evil intent, which stared fixedly at Bingyan as it uttered those words.

"Indeed, who is to say otherwise?" Bingyan chimed in, swaying his head. "I have come here to seek help from Fellow Daoist Heiyu precisely for this reason."

"This True Man is all ears!" the humanoid sludge crossed its arms and said coldly.

"Here is how it stands: Fellow Daoist is aware that during the Great Tribulation of the Dharma Ending Age, I founded a sect called the Divine Medicine Mountain. For centuries, it developed quite well. Although my lifespan was limited and I was forced to undergo seated transformation, by virtue of my fortuitous encounter, my soul remained undestroyed, and I even cultivated a split spirit. However, my strength weakened to the extreme, to the extent that outsiders launched a sneak attack, severely injuring my main soul and usurping my foundation. Therefore, my main soul sent me here to invite Fellow Daoist to join forces in a counterattack. After all, back then, Fellow Daoist's strength among Core Formation adepts was also exceptional. Even if your cultivation has regressed now, the outsider who forcibly seized my foundation is at most at the Great Circle of Qi Condensation. As long as Fellow Daoist is willing to lend a hand, I am willing to offer half of the Divine Medicine Mountain's foundation afterwards," Bingyan said, blending truth with falsehood.

"Heh, I understand. But I have a few questions for Fellow Daoist Bingyan," Heiyu hummed in a strange, mocking tone.

"Please speak."

"First, no matter how weak Fellow Daoist might be, you after all had a sect protecting you. Yet it was effortlessly stolen by an outsider—how is this True Man supposed to interpret that?"

"It is my fault for not explaining in detail, but the reality is precisely as I say. Fellow Daoist is also aware that with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dwindling to such a degree, the path of immortality has declined into an utterly deplorable state. Where else could any experts be nurtured? Thus, although my Divine Medicine Mountain enjoyed some reputation in the mortal world, this outsider is no ordinary entity; he is one of the top experts in the secular realm. Caught off guard by his sneak attack, the Divine Medicine Mountain simply could not withstand him. At that time, my split spirit happened to be at its lowest ebb, so it is no surprise that this person took advantage of the opening."

Bingyan offered the prepared explanation.

"Even if what you say is true and this person is indeed at the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, he must certainly have forces backing him. Why should this True Man bother getting involved and risking his life? Even if we win, half of your foundation is useless to me. Fellow Daoist, you had better show some sincerity." Heiyu wore the expression of someone who would not stir without profit.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Heiyu has been isolated from the world for too long, to the point of being completely unaware of how the current world has evolved," Bingyan feigned astonishment.

"And so what if I am?" Heiyu displeasure flared.