Chapter 155 - 154: Eternal Life

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Eternal Life

Chen Qingyang hid in the bushes and took a closer look. He had obtained 3,121 Immortal Seedlings this time.

At the Fourth Realm of Essence Condensation, this amount of Immortal Seedlings was not considered much. ’Perhaps it’s because my opponent was already half-dead when I made my move.’ ℴℴ𝘮

At this moment, Chen Qingyang’s chest ached faintly. He constantly had to circulate his True Essence to suppress that Qi Mechanism, which needlessly hindered his Cultivation.

He first added all the Immortal Seedlings to the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual. In an instant, his Mingtang Qi Vortex grew a bit stronger.

His True Fire blazed, and he slowly circulated it. Then, using the Nine Yang Separation Fire Technique, he drew upon the Li Yang Earth Fire within the Dragon Pearl to refine the foreign aura in his body.

Not daring to delay for too long, he spent just one hour before he felt his qi flowing much more smoothly. A small portion of the Qi Mechanism left by the Demon Sect man had been refined. Afterward, he continued toward the aforementioned Bailuo Mountain.

Because of what had just happened, he was extremely cautious on the way, traveling low to the ground. While he was still three hundred li away, his Conscious Fish had already reached the base of Bailuo Mountain.

He stopped advancing when he was two hundred li away, using only the Fish to investigate. There was no one to be seen, only the occasional trace of a battle.

’That makes sense. After such a long delay, the Tai Xu Sect disciples have retreated in defeat, and those who should leave have left. The Demon Sect disciples have probably returned as well. The only thing is, I don’t see a single trace of the sky-filling radiant glow that Qian Yuan mentioned.’

After confirming there was no danger, Chen Qingyang hurried over. He gripped the Jade Pendant in his hand and paced around the area several times. He even searched from dawn until noon, but found nothing.

Doubt inevitably rose in his heart. ’Could the Sword Embryo have really been taken by the Demon Sect? Don’t tell me I won’t even get a chance to lay eyes on it.’

As he was searching, Chen Qingyang suddenly detected people approaching from the other side of the great river with his Conscious Fish. He immediately hid himself, leaving only the Conscious Fish behind.

The two of them had extremely high Cultivation. Judging by the speed of their Wind Control, Chen Qingyang knew they would be very difficult to deal with. They didn’t go anywhere else, stopping right at Bailuo Mountain.

"Senior Brother Dong, this is the place where the disciples said the radiant glow appeared. Someone did indeed collect Sword Qi from here. I checked it myself—it’s extremely pure, a rarity in this world. It must have been left by the Cyan Nether Sword Embryo."

’Hearing him speak like that, it seems the Yu Xiao Demon Sect hasn’t obtained the item either.’

The one called Senior Brother Dong was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen. He had a dark complexion and an honest, simple face. He wore a nondescript, grayish-blue long coat and had a plain wooden hairpin in his hair. He looked rather rustic.

"I don’t care about the Sword Qi. But someone here killed a disciple of my Netherworld Peak and took my Netherworld Peak’s Soul Banner. They must die!"

He clenched his fists, seeming extremely furious. Chen Qingyang understood now. The Netherworld Peak disciple he spoke of must have been that young woman, and the so-called Soul Banner was in his possession.

’Could this thing have some special property?’ He hadn’t had a chance to examine it closely since he’d gotten it. It was now only five or six inches long, tucked away in his robes.

The other man looked slightly older, was seven chi tall, and had a short beard. His features were unremarkable, save for a pair of bright, piercing eyes. "You can’t think of it that way, Senior Brother Dong. More than one disciple of our Demon Sect died this time. It’s only normal that one of them would be from Netherworld Peak."

But Senior Brother Dong didn’t see it that way. "Nonsense! Every disciple of Netherworld Peak is one in ten thousand, nurtured from the time they are in the womb just to preserve that single breath of the purest Innate Soul Qi. That Soul Qi is then used to refine their Lifebound Soul Banner. How can they be compared to common weeds!"

Hearing this, the other man’s tone took on a mocking edge. "Heh heh, one in ten thousand. You have to kill ten thousand pregnant young women to pick just one. Such methods... When it comes to ruthlessness in the Holy Sect, your Netherworld Peak truly stands alone!"

"Hmph!" Senior Brother Dong was getting angry. "Nonsense. Everything born between heaven and earth has its own fate. Everything produced by heaven and earth is for my use. Death is their fate, and being used by me is also their fate."

With that said, he formed a hand seal. His True Qi surged, and in the empty air, he condensed a vertical eye.

It was a kaleidoscope of colors, and as it shifted, it looked as if countless multicolored insects were twisting and crawling over each other. It was wreathed in thick black qi, which burned in the shape of a flame.

It was so sinister and bizarre, it looked as if it had crawled up from the Nine Netherworld. Chen Qingyang only glanced at it through his Conscious Fish and felt he was about to be sucked inside.

’What kind of evil art is this!’

The eye emitted a golden light that swept across the surroundings in a circle. Chen Qingyang hastily suppressed his aura, flew another few dozen li low to the ground, and put nearly a hundred li between them.

Senior Brother Dong formed another seal, and the eye vanished into thin air. "I can’t see any problems. Could it be that we only managed to collect a few wisps of Sword Qi, and the real Cyan Nether Sword Embryo was taken by the Daoist Sect?"

When he asked this, even the eavesdropping Chen Qingyang began to wonder. ’Could it really have been taken by the Tai Xu Sect disciples? Qian Yuan was being hunted at the time, so maybe his information wasn’t clear.’

The other person just smiled and said, "Senior Brother Dong’s Cultivation has improved again. You can even use the Eye of Demon Luo. It seems the only thing you lack for Foundation Establishment is a wisp of Earth Deity!"

As far as Chen Qingyang knew, reaching this level of Cultivation meant one was at Half-Step Foundation Establishment.

A trace of helplessness crept into Senior Brother Dong’s smile. "Our Holy Sect is brimming with talent, far more than the Daoist Sect. The competition for Earth Deity is brutal, so I’m afraid it won’t be that easy to obtain... You’d better not forget your promise to help me!"

The other person immediately smiled and cupped his hands in a salute. "You help me, I help you. That’s how it is. In just over a hundred years, the Eternal Life Assembly will begin again. Although the Daoist Sect took the Cyan Nether inheritance, that Li Qianxue is still in a coma. If we can crush them in one fell swoop, the Holy Sect will be the sole ruler of Cyan Nether State, and we won’t lack for these things in the future!"

But Senior Brother Dong shook his head. "It’s hard to say. They might not be able to find a Heaven Repairing Glaze Pill in Cyan Nether State, but they can always look elsewhere. And I’ve heard they’re already gone to do just that."

The man spoke again, "I think you’re overthinking it, Senior Brother Dong. The affairs of the Holy Sect are not yet for those of us below Foundation Establishment to worry about. Let’s just look out for ourselves for now. Since we haven’t found anything here, why don’t we head back?"

Senior Brother Dong shook his head again. "My junior sister died to the east. I have to go take a look there."

After speaking, he rode a streak of green light and sped away. The remaining man circled the area twice before flying off toward the other side of the great river.

Listening to their conversation, Chen Qingyang didn’t know what the Eternal Life Assembly was, but when he connected it to what they said about crushing the Tai Xu Sect, the idea of a ranking system—A, B, C, D; E, F, G, H—easily came to mind.

’Perhaps the hierarchy of sects in Cyan Nether State is decided at this Eternal Life Assembly.’ The further one climbed, the more one realized how vast this world was. ’Truly, there is always a heaven beyond the heavens, and another heaven beyond that!’

Since those two with their high Cultivation had found nothing, there was naturally no need for him to continue searching. He had been out for three days; it was time to go back.

At the very least, he could save the Spirit Stones he had on hand by cultivating and healing at Nine True Temple.

「Dusk.」

Jiuzhen City was immersed in the twilight quiet. The city guards dragged their weary bodies, waiting for the last caravan to enter before closing the gates. Afterward, they would go for a good drink—the greatest joy of their day!

Chen Qingyang also entered the city at this time. He spent some silver to extend his stay at the inn, then laid out his gains to inspect them one by one.

The Demon Sect man’s Protective Magical Artifact, numerous Spirit Stones, a token, a map, and other things... and of course, the most important item was the Incense Burner.

Chen Qingyang held it in his palm now. It had the texture of wood and the color of ink. An aura of qi flowed around it, and he could feel its domineering nature and powerful corrosive force.

He had heard the man say with his own mouth that he would use this Incense Burner to refine Qian Yuan. Chen Qingyang sent a wisp of his own qi toward it, but it was still incompatible and was corroded by the magical artifact.

’If I can’t control it, how can I use it?’ This time, he employed the Nine Yang Separation Fire Technique, channeling the Power of Li Yang Earth Fire and pouring it into the artifact in an instant.

Fierce though the Incense Burner was, it was ultimately just a magical artifact. Now that it had lost its master, it naturally couldn’t resist this force and was quickly overwhelmed.

Chen Qingyang then began the meticulous process of Refinement. Although he couldn’t yet fully control it, he could feel its aura growing much more compliant.

He continued the process, slowly but surely suppressing it completely. Then, he maneuvered his Conscious Fish inside and gradually took control of the magical artifact.

With a thought, the Incense Burner appeared in his palm, now only the size of a thumb, easy to tuck away. When he willed it again, it would instantly materialize before him, emitting a powerful aura.

This magical artifact could harm enemies, and it could also be thrown out at a critical moment to block a blow. He could absolutely use it as a Protective Magical Treasure.

Of all the magical artifacts he had come across recently, this was the only one that Chen Qingyang found worthy of his notice.

Next, the object in his palm became the Soul Banner. Looking at it now, it had the texture of white jade and a deep, ethereal blue color. He probed it with his qi and felt no resistance, so he submerged his Conscious Fish into it, only to find an empty expanse.

It was like passing through time and space into another world. The entire sky was a murky green, indistinct and illusory, real yet false. The more he looked, the more lost he felt... It was majestic and mysterious, yet carried a deep, sinister chill.

’Senior Brother Dong said this was refined from a carefully selected breath of Innate Soul Qi. It’s common knowledge that souls are born in the Netherworld. Could it be that the path cultivated by Netherworld Peak is a method to communicate with the Netherworld through this?’

After all, the Eye of Demon Luo that Senior Brother Dong had used gave Chen Qingyang the feeling that it had crawled straight out of the Underworld.

He studied it for a long while but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. In the end, he could only put it all away, keeping just the Profound Wood Incense Burner on his person.

Within a few breaths, he arrived outside Nine True Temple.

The night was deep now. A single candle was lit in the house, casting Liu Tao’s graceful silhouette upon the window.

She was currently meditating.

Hearing Chen Qingyang push the door open, she immediately opened her eyes and looked him over, her gaze filled with deep concern. "Why did it take you so long to come back?"

Chen Qingyang wasn’t in a hurry. He first sat down at the round table and took a sip of tea. "You wouldn’t know, Senior Sister, but something happened outside the mountain, so I went to sneak a peek at the commotion."

To his surprise, Liu Tao replied, "How could I not know? More than ten of our senior brothers and sisters were injured, and seven or eight died. It was a huge incident. Even Xuanwei Master was enraged. I was so worried about you, but I was afraid you’d come looking for me and I’d be gone, so I just kept waiting!"

Chen Qingyang looked at her earnestly, his tone softening. "Senior Sister, look, I’m back safe and sound. You don’t have to worry so much in the future!"