Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

After half an hour, they finished setting up the formation, tossed down some kind of exotic-smelling substance as bait, and hid themselves.

Before long, the lake surface near the shore, about ten zhang away, suddenly rippled, and a demonic wind sprang up. After a few breaths, a vortex emerged from the water, followed by a dark, bulky creature that burst out of the water and paddled towards the shore.

Zhang Yuanjing, finding its appearance peculiar, became interested and stared intently. It was indeed a large crab, but its size was enormous, probably seven or eight chi wide and six or seven chi long. Its two large eyes shone like small, glowing glass lanterns. Most remarkably, its two large pincers were a gleaming gold color, extending nearly a zhang in length and were extremely thick. Judging from its aura, its cultivation had already reached the early stage of the Qi Awakening Realm.

This golden-pincer crab moved swiftly through the water, and in a short while, it reached the shore. Turning sideways, it rushed towards the area where the formation was set up with a series of hasty roars. Clearly, its intelligence was low, driven only by instinct, heading straight for the source of the scent without noticing the strange surroundings.

The five hidden individuals revealed expressions of excitement and tension. After a few more breaths, the golden-pincer crab crashed into the formation as expected, trapped by a cloud of white smoke. It cried out "Hiss, hiss, hiss" a few times, then began charging left and right, quickly becoming disoriented.

After half an hour, the formation's power was almost entirely depleted, and the creature finally broke free from the side, but it was exhausted and listless.

"Attack its eyes, distract its attention!" The white-robed old man shouted, then loudly issued orders, taking out a refined iron chain and throwing it towards the giant crab's two large pincers.

The other four, upon receiving the order, summoned several magical artifacts and simultaneously attacked the golden-pincer crab's two bulging eyes.

The golden-pincer crab, seeing the sudden appearance of the five cultivators, immediately realized that they were the culprits who had trapped it in confusion. It instantly flew into a rage, spewing out one large bubble after another, wielding its two large pincers. First, one pincer batted away the white-robed old man's chain, and then the other pincer opened its large claw, filled with dense, sharp teeth, and snapped at the four magical artifacts.

Knowing the danger, the four didn't dare to confront it head-on. They frequently changed their hand seals, manipulating their magical artifacts to dodge left and right, flying up and down, seeking an opportunity to attack. The white-robed old man's chain circled in the air and bound towards the base of the two large pincers again.

…

This battle lasted for nearly an hour. Although the golden-pincer crab had lost a lot of energy to the formation, its entire body was covered in hard armor, impervious to attacks. It only needed to protect its eyes, and it had almost no weaknesses.

The white-robed old man didn't seem to have any sharp spiritual weapons, so he simply used an iron chain, wanting to bind the demon's large pincers. The golden-pincer crab had a strong combat instinct, knowing its own advantages. It simply stood its ground, wielding its pincers, never giving the iron chain an opportunity, but also unable to escape.

Continuing like this was certainly disadvantageous for the golden-pincer crab. Therefore, although the five had besieged it for a long time without success, they were not anxious.

However, just when they thought they had everything under control, another anomaly occurred in the lake behind them. The water surface splashed and roared, and the wind and waves rose. Another golden-pincer crab emerged, even longer than the one on the shore, nearly a zhang in length. Except for its golden pincers, its entire body was a deep cyan color, and its strength had reached the late stage of the Qi Awakening Realm.

This crab slapped the water a few times, skimming across the surface and instantly reaching the shore, blocking the group's retreat.

The five were greatly alarmed. The white-robed old man shouted wildly, "Retrieve the magical artifacts, summon flying swords and escape quickly!" He abruptly flung a golden spiritual talisman backward, a low-grade Gold Arrow Talisman. With a snap, the talisman burst open, transforming into a golden arrow that shot out with fierce momentum, directly at the giant crab behind them.

The giant crab behind them emitted a muffled "thud." One of its large pincers protected its eyes, and the other quickly extended, clipping at the golden arrow. With an ordinary snip, it cut the arrow into two pieces. The back half dissipated directly in the air, while the front half continued forward, pinning itself weakly onto the giant crab's protective pincer, instantly vanishing.

At this moment, the white-robed old man summoned a flying spiritual artifact, stepped onto it, and was about to escape. However, the giant crab behind him opened its mouth and spat out a dark water arrow, forcing the old man to raise a square shield, blocking the water arrow and losing his chance to escape.

The two giant crabs took the opportunity to attack from both sides, and the old man was hard-pressed to defend, immediately finding himself in a precarious situation. The four Qi Refining Realm disciples watched anxiously from mid-air, each taking out pseudo-spiritual talismans to attack the giant crabs, but they posed no threat.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanjing thought that he had finally encountered cultivators and had also heard about the Huishan Market, which he could use to inquire about information. Therefore, he touched his storage bag, took out the Profound Crystal Axe, and was about to unleash it, but then he thought of something, shook his head, put away the axe, and instead took out the Yin Wind Blade, throwing it into the air, where it disappeared.

He had just realized that these five people had come at night to kill the crabs for their materials. If he split the crab with an axe, wouldn't he ruin a perfectly good crab shell? Since he was doing a good deed, he might as well do it well, and it would count as a merit.

At a distance of six or seven li, the Yin Wind Blade traveled quickly, soon arriving behind the giant crab in the late stage of the Qi Awakening Realm, but it didn't immediately attack. After a dozen breaths, the crab, annoyed by the frequent attacks of the four Qi Refining Realm cultivators in the sky, suddenly leaned back and opened its mouth, spraying out several water arrows, startling the four into hastily dodging.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Yuanjing moved his divine sense, and the Yin Wind Blade flashed across the night sky like lightning, directly inserting itself into the crab's mouth. The crab was shocked and instinctively retracted its long pincers, wanting to block the incoming object.

However, how could it react to the speed of the Yin Wind Blade? In an instant, before its raised body had fully recovered, the Yin Wind Blade had already cut into its mouth, churning within its body, and then burst out of its abdomen. The giant crab cried out "Hiss, hiss" twice, its aura suddenly weakening, and soon it collapsed on the ground, motionless.

This change happened so quickly that both the white-robed old man and the other golden-pincer crab were stunned. The golden-pincer crab was naturally saddened by the death of its kind and was both shocked and angry. The white-robed old man didn't know whether the newcomer was friend or foe, and he was momentarily apprehensive, quickly considering his options.

Zhang Yuanjing, being a good person to the end, controlled the Yin Wind Blade for another strike, cutting through the remaining golden-pincer crab's eyes. The crab immediately lost its sense of direction, and its body slid sideways as it fled.

The white-robed old man naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. He threw the iron chain in his hand and successfully bound four of the giant crab's legs on one side. The giant crab immediately collapsed on the ground, struggling hard. It also swung its giant pincers to clip at the chain, causing sparks to fly, but it couldn't damage the iron chain.

The white-robed old man took out a long pole with a hook from his storage bag, hooked the iron chain, and pulled hard, flipping the giant crab over. Now, the giant crab was completely out of options. It lay on its back, its pincers and four unconstrained legs flailing in the air, looking very comical.

At this point, the white-robed old man reached out and waved to the four disciples who were circling in the air, looking surprised and uncertain, signaling them to come down first. Then, he clasped his hands towards the night sky, which shimmered with faint starlight, and said loudly, "This one is Min Huiye. I don't know which senior expert helped us. Please show yourself so that Min can thank you in person for your great kindness!"

Zhang Yuanjing naturally wanted to ask questions and laughed loudly, "Fellow Daoist, go and clean up the demon beast corpses first. After you've cleaned up, come over and we'll talk."

He spoke directly, sending out his voice with mana, so they heard him clearly and also knew Zhang Yuanjing's exact location. They were greatly surprised and even more fearful of Zhang Yuanjing's strength.

After half an hour, the white-robed old man Min Huiye hurriedly came over with his four disciples, respectfully bowing and thanking him, and handed over a storage bag: "Senior, this is what was taken from the two golden-pincer crabs. Please take a look!"

Zhang Yuanjing waved his hand, chuckling and saying, "There's no need for that. I was tired from traveling and stopped here to rest. I happened to run into you and your disciples hunting demon beasts, so I lent a hand. This thing is useless to me."

Min Huiye had already identified Zhang Yuanjing's cultivation level and was secretly amazed. He quickly said, "My cultivation place is not far from here. If Senior doesn't mind the simplicity, I implore you to grace us with your presence so that we can show our gratitude."

"Fellow Daoist is kind, but there's no need for such trouble. Just now, I heard your disciple mention a 'Huishan Market' here. I wonder where it's held and when?" Zhang Yuanjing declined Min Huiye's request and asked directly about the market.

"Oh, Senior wants to know about the Huishan Market?" Min Huiye understood, feeling relieved. He smiled and said, "I suppose Senior has come from afar and is not very familiar with the situation of the Three Mountains and Seven Caves. Allow me to explain it to you in detail."

Zhang Yuanjing couldn't help but frown, thinking, "What 'Three Mountains and Seven Caves'? Why are the cultivation forces here so complicated!" However, since this person mentioned the two together, there must be some connection, so he had to listen to him continue.

It turned out that this area, because it was far from the sphere of influence of the Six Sects, had many small and medium-sized sects. Within a hundred thousand li or so, there were the so-called "Three Mountains and Seven Caves." The Three Mountains, namely Huishan, Langshan, and Qiongshan, were three relatively large forces, each with a Golden Core Realm cultivator in charge. The Seven Caves, namely Golden Light Cave, Seven Star Cave, Eagle King Cave,幽月洞, Dragon 行洞,摩天洞,伏波洞, each had several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

These forces were sometimes sects, sometimes families, and sometimes composed of rogue cultivators and their disciples, so they were not very stable. The current "Three Mountains and Seven Caves" was a power structure formed in the last two hundred years, and it was hard to say how long it could last. As for the Huishan Market, it was a market organized by Huishan, one of the Three Mountains. There were also Langshan Market and Qiongshan Market. The three rotated, held once every five years, and the participants were the Ten Great Forces and the surrounding rogue cultivators.

Zhang Yuanjing nodded: "I see. Since it's a regularly held market, there must be a set of rules. Are there any conditions or restrictions for those participating in the market?"

Min Huiye said: "That's right. Either you have a token issued by Huishan, or you have a recommendation jade slip from one of the Three Mountains and Seven Caves. If Senior wants to go to the Huishan Market, I can get you a recommendation jade slip."

"Oh, which mountain or cave are you a cultivator of?" Zhang Yuanjing asked.

"I am one of the five Foundation Establishment cultivators of 摩天洞. If Senior needs it, I will immediately return to the mountain to prepare it for you!"

"How long will it take?"

"Five days will be enough. However, to avoid delaying Senior's journey, I will leave one of my disciples behind to take you to Huishan first. We will meet at Flying Phoenix Valley below Huishan then."

"Fellow Daoist Min is thoughtful. Then let's do that!"

Min Huiye was overjoyed and quickly had his four disciples step forward, lining up in a row, and said, "Please choose one, Senior."

Zhang Yuanjing understood his intention and didn't object. He casually pointed to the young man named Xuming: "Him!"