Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi

In an instant:

Several strands of Divine Thought swept over, colliding with each other and beginning to communicate immediately.

Obviously, Zhang Yao was not the only one who sensed the commotion of a Magical Battle between Golden Core Cultivators in the distance, as everyone was quite close.

"Judging by the source, it’s at least dozens of miles away... This commotion is no small matter!"

"Nonsense, this exploration is mainly about forming groups, often involving a dozen Golden Core Cultivators fighting; how could the scene of a Magical Battle be small!"

"Should we go take a look? Maybe we can reap the benefits and get hold of some good treasures."

The crowd discussed fervently, and many were tempted by this suggestion.

This exploration, unlike previous large-scale ones, involved several Golden Core Cultivators forming small groups, and conflicts between them were often more restrained, rarely causing conflicts easily.

But on the flip side, once a large-scale Magical Battle breaks out, the treasure that could trigger such a fight must be extraordinary!

Everyone exchanged Divine Thoughts while quickly gathering in one place.

"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, what do you think?"

Nether Abyss Ancestor pondered for a moment, using Divine Thought to ask for Zhang Yao’s opinion.

"When the water is muddy, it’s easier to catch fish; of course, we should get involved in such a scene."

Zhang Yao paused for a moment before continuing:

"But we can’t go now."

"Going now would easily make us a target, better to first approach stealthily and strike when ready."

Sometimes, having too much strength isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Our side is the strongest, and also the most likely to be targeted. If we rashly intervene, it’ll likely raise the vigilance of both sides, potentially causing them to join forces against us.

We should act only when they fight until both sides are exhausted, with their Magical Power and Divine Thought heavily depleted.

"Good, Fellow Daoist indeed thinks thoroughly!"

Nether Abyss Ancestor immediately understood his meaning and nodded in agreement.

Soon, they gathered together, concealing the traces of their Escape Light, and cautiously flew towards the source of the sound.

In the dark and vast underground cave, the spatial structure was so twisted that they could only use the strength of the sound to vaguely locate it. Flying dozens of miles took them more than a quarter of an hour.

As the distance kept decreasing:

They could faintly hear, from the sounds, the clashing of Magical Treasures, the eruption of Divine Techniques, the ripples of power leaking out, sometimes mixed with angry curses and roars.

"The sound is getting stronger; the battlefield of the Magical Battle must be just ahead..."

Nether Abyss Ancestor spoke, his figure vibrating into a vague shadow-like tremor.

A gray aura mixed with faint black energy swirled around them, like a thin veil covering their bodies.

"Remarkable Divine Techniques!"

Zhang Yao lightly probed with Divine Thought, then uttered a compliment.

Not only did Nether Abyss Ancestor’s Divine Techniques conceal their figures, but they also shielded and distorted Divine Thought detection, making it a flawless disguise.

Even more impressive was that this Divine Technique could be used on a large scale, not just to hide oneself, making it a superior Divine Technique.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist overpraises."

Nether Abyss Ancestor chuckled, saying nothing more, and led the group to continue cautiously moving closer.

After half a quarter of an hour:

"Boom..."

A torrent of dark red and dark green surged like a tide, collapsing the walls of the cave on one side on a large scale.

They immediately slowed their Escape Light, not daring to extend their Divine Thought, finding a hidden corner and peeking carefully:

"Boom!" "Swish!"...

In the vast and jagged cave, a dozen Golden Core Cultivators from two factions were engaged in a chaotic battle.

Many Golden Core Cultivators were either fighting one-on-one or in small groups, with various Magical Treasures and Divine Techniques clashing and leaking power, which had demolished half the cave.

The Magical Treasures and Divine Techniques of the Golden Core Cultivators had the power to split ground and shatter mountains; if it weren’t for the suppression of the Earth’s Magnetic Field deep in Mo Yuan, the destruction would be ten times more astonishing!

Even an eye judgment from afar could tell that some Golden Core Ancestors were already wounded but persisted in their fight.

"Goodness, they’re fighting so fiercely."

Zhang Yao, Nether Abyss Ancestor, Jiuhua Ancestor, and other Golden Core Cultivators were taken aback.

But immediately, they felt a surge of excitement—what kind of treasure could make both sides fight so intensely?

Quickly, the answer revealed itself:

"Sima Yan!"

At the top of the cave, amidst two late-stage Golden Core powerhouses engaged in fierce battle, an elder in a deep red robe with fiery red hair and beard let out a long cry, his Divine Thought surging:

"Hand over half of the ’Mitian Sand’, and we will stop fighting and withdraw immediately!"

"Otherwise, if we continue, you won’t gain anything, and instead, you might attract other Golden Core Cultivators or a swarm of Black Death Beasts!"

"Nonsense!"

Opposite him, a middle-aged Daoist in dark green robes with a Black Jade Crown on his head, shouted angrily:

"If you can’t beat me, you think you can play rogue?"

"Still want half of the Mitian Sand? You’re dreaming! Fight if you dare, fight till we’re both destroyed; no way I’m handing over the Mitian Sand!"

In the distant hidden corner:

Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor exchanged a glance, seeing the intense heat in each other’s eyes.

"It’s actually Mitian Sand..."

Mitian Sand is a renowned Grade Four Spiritual Object, considered one of the top treasures of the dark attribute.

Legend has it that this material was condensed from the yin of all phases, and when cast into the air, it could obscure the sky from earth, blocking the light of the sun and moon, and bringing the world into eternal night, hence the name ’Mitian Sand’.

Of course, the real situation might not be as the legends say, but the value of the Mitian Sand is unquestionable. It’s excellent treasure material for crafting powerful Magical Treasures and Grade Four Spirit Pills, something even Lords of Nascent Soul would crave.

And the most important point:

The amount of Mitian Sand that Sima Yan had snatched was certainly significant; otherwise, it wouldn’t be enough to make the Golden Core Cultivators fight so fiercely, unwilling to let go.

"Wait for the right moment, then strike directly!"

Nether Abyss Ancestor calmly transmitted his voice:

"I, along with Fellow Daoist Qingxu, will deal with Sima Yan and seize his storage treasure, while the rest will focus on blocking..."

He meticulously analyzed the situation, laid out the strategic plan, and assigned everyone’s tasks.

Among these, the most crucial part was naturally the action that he and Zhang Yao were responsible for.

They had only one chance; if they missed the strike, they would have to immediately escape, or else staying would be extremely dangerous, and they were certainly no match in a head-on confrontation.

"...Now, everything will be entrusted to Fellow Daoist Qingxu."

Nether Abyss Ancestor solemnly bowed.

"Don’t worry about it."

Zhang Yao smiled slightly and responded.

Mitian Sand was his greatest opportunity in entering Mo Yuan this time and was absolutely not to be missed.

In the future, he would inevitably go to the Celestial Continent Nine Mansions to seek treasures and spiritual objects, and he couldn’t do that without a substantial fortune. This action was the best opportunity to accumulate wealth.

Just the portion of Mitian Sand he would receive might be enough to double his fortune, how could he not gamble on it?

After all, his escape light speed was unparalleled in the world, and if he failed, he would be the fastest to escape.

"Rumble..."

After the fierce battle continued for another half an hour, the situation began to change.

Normally, with the magical power of a Golden Core Cultivator, fighting for days and nights wouldn’t be an issue, but in Mo Yuan, it was different.

The suppression of the Earth’s Magnetic Field was pervasive, not only greatly reducing everyone’s magical power potency but also making it difficult to recover magical power, even with the supply of Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones reaching its limit.

Under the intense slaughter, some Golden Core masters with shallower merit gradually couldn’t hold on—most of these Golden Core masters were on Sima Yan’s side.

The originally deadlocked scale of victory suddenly showed a clear tilt.

"Hahaha..."

In the top layer of the underground battlefield, the elder in a deep red robe let out a long laugh:

"Sima Yan, your men can’t hold out any longer!"

At this point, he no longer discussed conditions, launching a relentless attack with divine techniques fiercely bombarding, becoming increasingly intense.

What half of the Mitian Sand? Now he wanted all of it!

"...Boom!"

Sima Yan said not a word, his face dark as iron, suddenly unleashing a terrifying divine technique, transforming into a black and green tide sweeping in all directions.

In this instant, the magical power mechanism on his body became chaotic, clearly having paid a certain price for a short burst of power.

"The bastard is desperate!"

The red-browed elder immediately had this thought and instinctively turned his escape light to retreat.

His side had already gained the upper hand, there was no need for a relentless pursuit, risking mutual exhaustion; a slow attrition would suffice.

But no one expected that the imposing black and green tide would suddenly disappear midway, transforming into countless dark green feathers dispersing in all directions.

And Sima Yan’s figure took advantage of the dark green feathers’ cover to transform into a shadowy green rainbow light, fleeing madly.

He abandoned his companions and ran away.

"Go, go, go!!"

He desperately mobilized magical power, using his flying escape divine technique, fleeing deeper into the cavern.

Half a side of Mitian Sand lay in his storage bag, such a fortune was enough to purchase a large Spirit Vein in the Celestial Continent!

If he truly managed to escape alive, this fortune would be the foundation for his future ascension to Nascent Soul!

As for those companions, they were merely temporary, loose allies; he had no psychological burden in betraying them.

"Sima Yan ran away!"

"Bastard!"

"Sima Yan, stop!"

Immediately, earth-shattering roars, howls, and divine thoughts reverberated through the entire dark cavern.

Both sides’ cultivators ceased fighting and pursued Sima Yan’s escape light, with the red-browed elder chasing the fastest, his expression furious and enraged.

"Damn it! This bastard is really cunning!"

He never expected, after years of hunting geese, to be pecked blind by one; after roaming the world for hundreds of years, to be tricked by such a crude method!

"Boom!" "Boom!"...

Over a dozen escape lights chased desperately but could only watch as Sima Yan ran farther and farther away.

Sima Yan dared to flee the battlefield naturally because he had confidence; he had refined his flying escape technique into a divine technique, cultivated to the Realm of Perfection, with escape light speed much faster than cultivators of the same rank.

Most Golden Core cultivators were of the middle three grades Golden Core, with very limited divine techniques to inscribe and refine, naturally focusing on offensive, defensive, and life-saving divine techniques, with few willing to inscribe flying escape divine techniques.

Among all the Golden Core cultivators present, even if someone had it, their cultivation was far inferior to him; and the only one whose cultivation was comparable didn’t have an inscribed flying escape divine technique, thus could only eat his dust.

"Hahaha..."

Sima Yan laughed heartily, full of pride and joy.

He clearly knew that today’s action offended over a dozen Golden Core cultivators, otherwise, he wouldn’t have run only when the situation became unfavorable.

But it didn’t matter; once he successfully escaped, he had ways to hide his identity and pursue the path to Nascent Soul!

"No!"

"Damn it..."

The owners of the dozen escape lights were glaring with hatred, watching helplessly as Sima Yan ran further away, about to enter a black tide tributary, using it to shake off the pursuit:

"Swish!"

A concealed cavern’s color suddenly faded, like a curtain being pulled away, abruptly revealing its true form!

The astounding magical power aura vibrated in all directions!

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

In an instant, over a dozen magical treasures and divine techniques simultaneously bombarded towards Sima Yan’s escape light!