Eternal Life by Daily Divination

The Heart Demon Tribulation was an unavoidable trial on the path to the Nascent Soul stage. It was bizarre and inexplicable, having claimed the lives of countless Celestial Prides. If Li Chang’an wished to achieve Nascent Soul Formation, he too would have to survive this tribulation. There were no shortcuts to take.

"My Heart Demon Tribulation might be related to immortality," Li Chang’an mused silently, recalling the various records he had perused in the past.

Many ancient texts described that the Heart Demon Tribulation could manifest based on a cultivator’s "fears" and "obsessions." Li Chang’an’s obsession was immortality, and his greatest fear was failing to attain it.

"Before crossing the tribulation in the future, I must collect more treasures that can aid against it. I absolutely cannot allow myself to sink into a Heart Demon Illusion Realm."

Just as he was deep in thought, deep within the Xiao clan territory, Xiao Chen’s Nascent Soul aura suddenly began to dissipate.

"He failed."

Li Chang’an had anticipated this; he wasn’t surprised. As early as when Xiao Chen cried out that sentence in despair, he had guessed that the man wouldn’t survive the Heart Demon Tribulation.

The others present sensed it as well.

Gu Qinghong sighed, "What a pity. He fell at the final hurdle, just one step away from success."

"Indeed. The Heart Demon Tribulation is truly bizarre and unpredictable," He Xiangfeng chimed in with a sigh of his own.

Representatives from the various factions of the Southern Domain couldn’t help but reveal looks of regret.

"No! The Patriarch’s talent is peerless, and he prepared for many years. He even survived that terrifying Thunder Tribulation! How could he fall at this step?"

"Perhaps the Patriarch has already crossed the Heart Demon Tribulation and is simply retracting his aura."

Many of the Xiao family descendants refused to accept reality. With red-rimmed eyes, they stared fixedly into the depths of the clan territory, hoping for a miracle. Xiao Yiyue and the other Golden Core Cultivators fared slightly better, but their faces were also filled with grief.

A short while later, a withered, emaciated figure appeared before the crowd. It was Xiao Chen!

Though he had failed to cross the tribulation, he hadn’t died immediately within it. Instead, holding on to his last breath, he dragged his decaying body out of his seclusion chamber. His Golden Core was now shattered. With only the two-hundred-and-forty-year lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could he sustain his true age of over four hundred years?

He was already a dead man walking. He just couldn’t let go of the Xiao family, struggling outside to leave his final instructions.

"Patriarch!"

Seeing him in this state, the many Xiao family members felt their eyes sting as they welcomed him with tears. Since things had come to this, they no longer harbored any hope. They could only accept this dismal ending.

Xiao Chen looked gaunt and haggard, his eyes clouded. Looking at his grieving descendants, he let out a deep sigh.

"I reached the Golden Core Peak when I was just over two hundred years old. Back then, I was riding high, brimming with youthful ambition, and fancied myself no weaker than the Celestial Prides of the Nascent Soul Major Sects. If I had pushed through in one vigorous effort and attempted Nascent Soul Formation right then and there, would the outcome have been different?"

Unfortunately, time could not be reversed. He could only carry his regrets, using his last bit of time to settle his affairs. After clearly arranging the internal affairs of the family, he brought up the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling beneath the Xiao clan territory.

"This cave dwelling belongs to no one. Everyone here is welcome to explore it. I only ask that you do not make things difficult for my Xiao family descendants."

"That goes without saying. Please rest assured, Daoist Xiao," the crowd responded one after another.

They only wanted opportunities and held no grudges against the Xiao family, so naturally, they wouldn’t make trouble for them. Besides, even without Xiao Chen, the Xiao family was still the number one noble family in the Southern Domain. They had a considerable number of Golden Core Cultivators and could not be provoked lightly.

Eventually, the last breath sustaining Xiao Chen dissipated.

"Fellow Daoists, I shall go on ahead."

His aura fading, he slowly closed his eyes, carrying a multitude of regrets and reluctance. A Celestial Pride of his generation, the Patriarch of the Xiao family, passed away just like that. Many Xiao family descendants lifted his withered corpse and carried it deep into the clan territory.

With this, the matter officially came to a close.

The crowd’s gaze invariably fell upon the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling deep within the fissure. Though eager to explore, none of them moved. After all, the Purple Mist Sect’s Flying Ship was still there. As an Upper Sect, the Purple Mist Sect had the right to inspect the opportunity before anyone else.

A moment later, Zi Xia, Zi Yun, and the others entered the fissure one after another. The crowd closely followed, transforming into streaks of flowing light that flew deep into the fissure and landed outside the cave dwelling’s gates.

"Go!" Zi Yun tossed out a Puppet and controlled it to scout ahead.

The Puppet encountered no Arrays or traps. It smoothly reached the gates and reached out, slowly pushing them open.

Instantly, a wave of scorching heat surged out.

Beyond the gates was, impressively, an Alchemy Room! In the center of the room, a crimson Earth Fire burned fiercely, its light casting a red glow over the entire space. The aura of this Earth Fire far exceeded the Tier Three Earth Fire deep within the Xiao clan territory.

"A Tier Four Earth Fire!"

There were quite a few Alchemists and Artifact Refiners present. Seeing the flickering flames, their eyes lit up. A High Tier Earth Fire would be of immense help to both Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

Above the Earth Fire sat a completely crimson Pill Furnace, exuding an ancient and majestic presence.

"The tier of this Pill Furnace has probably reached Tier Four Top Grade," Li Chang’an judged briefly.

He shifted his gaze toward the depths of the Alchemy Room. A withered figure draped in a crimson Magic Robe sat cross-legged in the back. His head was bowed, and his body bore not a trace of the aura of the living. It seemed he had been dead for a very long time.

However, after the events at the ruins of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, Li Chang’an harbored a strong sense of vigilance toward such mighty figures whose bodies remained uncorrupted. Who knew if he was actually dead or not?

"This person shouldn’t be Senior Master Dancheng," Li Chang’an reasoned silently.

The aura of Master Dancheng he had sensed came from just in front of the figure. Placed before the figure were two Jade Scrolls. One of the Jade Scrolls emitted a dense aura of Master Dancheng.

At this moment, the eyes of the crowd also fell upon the skeletal corpse.

"The corpse remains uncorrupted. Could it be a legendary Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch?"

"That doesn’t seem right. According to ancient texts, if it were truly the corpse of a Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch, we would be able to feel an extremely powerful sense of oppression even from this far away."