Immortality Cultivation

Fang Hao hunched over, creeping like a weasel stealing a chicken, using the shadows of the mountain ridge to slink silently toward the valley.

He pushed his Ethereal Art to the limit, suppressing his aura until it was practically indistinguishable from a rock, his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes wide open as he stared fixedly below.

The closer he got to the valley, the stronger the fluctuations of Qi and the sensation of Spatial Distortion became!

He could even faintly hear a low, rumbling sound, as if something was slamming against a wall.

He climbed behind a large boulder that overlooked the entire valley and peered down.

One look, and oh boy, it was quite the scene down there!

The valley was small, surrounded by mountains on three sides with only one entrance.

Right now, the valley was a blur of colorful lights, with Spells flying everywhere!

Several groups of people were hovering in mid-air, locked in an intense battle!

A few corpses lay on the ground, and judging by their clothing, they didn’t belong to the same group.

Fang Hao narrowed his eyes and took a careful look.

The fighting primarily involved three factions.

One side consisted of three Cultivators in thunder-patterned combat gear, two men and one woman. Their attacks crackled with lightning, ferocious and intense; they were from the Thunder Sword Sect, a major local Sect in Jizhou.

The square-faced man leading them was clearly at the Middle Golden Core Stage!

Another side comprised four Cultivators in water-blue robes, three men and one woman. Their Cultivation Technique was gentle yet insidious, filling the air with mist as they unleashed various water Dragons and ice spears at their opponents; they were Disciples of the Xuan Shui Pavilion.

Their leader was also a female Cultivator at the Middle Golden Core Stage, who looked quite cold and aloof.

The final group was the smallest, consisting of only two people dressed in ordinary attire, appearing to be Loose Cultivators. However, their attacks were extremely ruthless; one used a blade, the other a hook. Their Cultivation Technique was bizarre and their movement techniques erratic, yet they were somehow managing to hold their ground against the pincer attack of the two Sects.

Both were at the Early Golden Core Stage, but their coordination was seamless; it was clear they were veterans who lived life on the edge.

These three groups were fighting while occasionally launching fierce attacks at the very back of the valley, against a smooth, mirror-like cliff face.

On the cliff face, one spot suffered from severe Spatial Distortion, faintly forming a continuously rotating, multicolored vortex of light, resembling an incompletely opened portal.

The "rumbling" sound from earlier was caused by Spells striking that vortex of light.

"A spatial rift? Or the entrance to a Secret Realm?" Fang Hao understood the situation.

It seemed that an unformed Secret Realm or the entrance to an ancient Immortal Cave had suddenly appeared in this valley, attracting these people.

Since the entrance wasn’t stable yet, these guys were guarding it while stabbing each other in the back, trying to eliminate their competitors to monopolize the treasures inside.

"Tsk tsk, people really do die for wealth just as birds die for food," Fang Hao muttered, curling his lip.

He had no interest in such cutthroat affairs; the risks were too high.

Just as he was preparing to quietly retreat and avoid getting involved in this mess, his gaze inadvertently swept over a Female Disciple in the Xuan Shui Pavilion’s group who was standing slightly behind the others, casting some sort of auxiliary Spell.

At that sight, his eyelids jumped!

This Female Disciple... she looked somewhat familiar!

Although she was wearing the attire of the Xuan Shui Pavilion and her cultivation was at the Great Perfection Foundation Establishment, that profile, that figure...

Images flashed rapidly through Fang Hao’s mind: the Black-Clothed Cultivator in the ruins of the Hundred Flowers Mountain Range who had tried to steal the Star Core and was ultimately killed by him!

And later, the three grey-clothed men in the Ten Thousand Poisons Marsh who had tried to ambush the Thunder Sword Sect!

Their movement techniques and stealth methods shared an indescribable similarity with the auxiliary Spell cast by this Female Disciple of the Xuan Shui Pavilion!

"Could it be... that this group from the Xuan Shui Pavilion is in cahoots with those murderers who specialize in killing and looting? Or... is this woman one of them, having infiltrated the ranks of the Xuan Shui Pavilion?"

Fang Hao felt an immediate sense of vigilance.

If that were true, this Xuan Shui Pavilion group was not to be underestimated; they were harboring sinister intentions!

He suppressed his urge to leave and decided to observe a bit longer.

He focused his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to their limit, keeping a close watch on the suspicious Female Disciple and the cold, aloof female leader of the Xuan Shui Pavilion.

Sure enough, he noticed something!

The cold female leader appeared to be at the Middle Golden Core Stage, but when she attacked, her flow of Qi had a subtle, obscure hitch; it didn’t look like a normal Middle Golden Core Stage, but rather... as if she had used some secret technique to suppress her cultivation?

Moreover, the look she occasionally cast toward the spatial rift carried a greedy determination that went beyond simple treasure hunting.

And that suspicious Female Disciple, while appearing to provide support, was actually shifting her feet subtly, occupying a position that allowed her to provide assistance or... launch a sneak attack at any moment!

"Something’s fishy! Definitely fishy!" Fang Hao sneered inwardly.

This was getting interesting.

He settled down, prepared to watch the show.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits?

Perhaps he could play the role of the oriole today!

The battle in the valley grew increasingly intense.

The people from the Thunder Sword Sect attacked with wild ferocity, attempting to force the entrance open; the people from the Xuan Shui Pavilion were insidious and tricky, blocking the Thunder Sword Sect while tripping up the two Loose Cultivators; the two Loose Cultivators were desperate, unleashing various underhanded tricks, hoping to stir up trouble and profit from the chaos.

As they fought, a sudden change occurred!

After absorbing a massive amount of energy from the attacks, the spatial rift shuddered violently and its rotation accelerated. The entrance seemed to stabilize, and one could faintly see a passage filled with stars behind it!

"The entrance is opening!" someone shouted.

The three factions instantly went berserk, abandoning their fight with each other and rushing frantically toward the entrance!

They all wanted to be the first one in!

At this most chaotic moment!

The suspicious Female Disciple, who had been hiding behind the Xuan Shui Pavilion’s group, had a flash of cold light in her eyes. Suddenly, an ink-black nail emitting an ominous aura appeared in her hand!

With a flick of her wrist, the black nail flew like a phantom—not toward the Thunder Sword Sect or the Loose Cultivators, but straight at the back of the cold female leader of the Xuan Shui Pavilion, who was standing not far in front of her!

At the same time, another taciturn male Disciple in the Xuan Shui Pavilion’s group suddenly erupted, stabbing a sword toward the fellow Disciple beside him!

"Junior Sister, you!" "Junior Brother Wang, what are you doing?!"

An unexpected betrayal! A rebellion had actually broken out within the Xuan Shui Pavilion!

The cold female leader seemed to have been prepared; a blue light flashed on her body, and an inner armor appeared, blocking part of the nail’s power, but she was still sent stumbling forward, coughing up a mouthful of blood!

She turned back in shock and fury: "Youying! It really was you!"

The male Disciple who had been ambushed was not so lucky; he was run through the heart by a sword and died on the spot!

Everything happened too fast! The Thunder Sword Sect and the two Loose Cultivators were stunned for a moment, unable to understand why the Xuan Shui Pavilion had started fighting among themselves.

But in that brief moment of hesitation!

The "Junior Brother Wang" who had launched the sneak attack and the suspicious Female Disciple "Youying" had already moved like phantoms, taking advantage of the chaos to instantly rush to the entrance of the spatial rift!

"Junior Brother Wang’s" cultivation erupted—he was also at the Middle Golden Core Stage!

He waved his hand, firing a beam of dark light that temporarily stabilized the suction of the entrance, and the two of them dove straight in!

"Bastards! Don’t let them get away!" The cold female leader’s face turned livid with rage. Ignoring her injuries, she also rushed toward the entrance.

The Thunder Sword Sect and the Loose Cultivators also realized that there were treasures inside! They couldn’t let others get there first! They also rushed toward the entrance!

Instantly, the entrance became a chaotic mess, with several people crowding the doorway, attacking each other, and no one could get in!

Fang Hao watched from the mountain, dumbfounded!

Good heavens! Infighting! Infiltration! Endurance! Eruption! The waters of this Xuan Shui Pavilion ran too deep!

Those two were absolute professionals!