Immortality Cultivation

There was no splashing of blood, nor was there the sound of a skull shattering. Daoist Chong’s body stiffened abruptly, and the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed and scattered. Under that single finger, all the Spiritual Qi and vitality within his body were completely disintegrated and annihilated by that force of Chaos, down to the most minute level.

"Thud." Daoist Chong’s corpse fell limply to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. His eyes, having lost their luster, remained wide open, filled with endless fear, regret, and bewilderment. Until his death, he could not understand how he, a False Nascent Soul Cultivator, leading two Golden Core subordinates and having set up the Insect Sea Great Array to scheme against a "weakened" Nascent Soul Cultivator who had just finished Undergoing Tribulation, could end up with such a result.

All of this takes a long time to tell, but in reality, from the moment Fang Hao released his pressure to the moment he struck and killed Daoist Chong, it was merely a matter of a few breaths.

Nearby, the Bald Big Man and the Dwarf were being tightly entangled by Old Jin. Although Old Jin was fighting two opponents alone, he relied on his hard body, strange energy attacks, and sharp high-frequency blades to hack the Bald Big Man’s single-horned black python until it was covered in wounds, while also blocking all of the Dwarf’s poison needles and poison mist, even faintly gaining the upper hand.

At this moment, seeing that Daoist Chong had been casually killed by Fang Hao in a single encounter, the two were so terrified that their souls flew away and spirits scattered; how could they have any remaining Battle Intent?

"Senior, spare us! This Junior was blind and offended you; it was all instigated by that old ghost Chong, it has nothing to do with us!" The Bald Big Man knelt down with a thud, kowtowing like pounding garlic, and the scarlet centipede on his neck was also scared limp on the ground.

The Dwarf was even more ashen-faced, trembling so much that he couldn’t speak, only kowtowing desperately.

Fang Hao slowly turned around and looked at the two. His face was still somewhat pale, and his aura was slightly unstable; that seemingly easy "Chaos Spiritualization" finger had actually consumed quite a lot, almost draining the little Spiritual Qi he had recovered. But at this moment, standing there with insect blood on his body and holding the ancient battle heaven axe, his eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year glacial ice, possessing an awe-inspiring, inviolable presence.

"Instigated?" Fang Hao’s voice was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Coveting my Medicinal Pill, tracking me here, and launching a sneak attack while I was weak from Undergoing Tribulation—now you want to brush it off with a single word of ’instigated’?"

His gaze swept over the insect corpses strewn all over the ground, then looked at the two piles of ash in the distance that belonged to Daoist Chong (after being decomposed by the power of Chaos, not even his corpse could be preserved), and finally landed on the two who were still kowtowing incessantly.

"In your next life, keep your eyes open." Fang Hao said indifferently, and then nodded at Old Jin.

"As you command, Master." Old Jin’s rigid metallic voice rang out. A silver light flashed in his eyes, his arms raised, and the pitch-black firing ports aimed at the two kowtowing on the ground.

"No—!" The Bald Big Man and the Dwarf let out desperate screams, wanting to resist and flee. But under the coverage of Old Jin’s dense, rain-like silver energy beams, and locked down by Fang Hao’s Nascent Soul pressure—which, though weak, was still heavy—their resistance appeared so pale and powerless.

"Chii, chii, chii—!" A few breaths later, the screams ceased. On the ground, there were two charred marks, along with some broken Magical Artifacts and Spirit Beast pouches.

The valley returned to silence. Only the pervasive smell of blood and burnt things, along with the faint, lingering aura of the Lightning Tribulation, told the story of what had just happened.

Fang Hao let out a soft sigh of relief, and his back, which had been kept straight, relaxed slightly. A strong sense of weakness surged into his heart; he swayed and had to use the battle heaven axe to prop himself up before standing steady. Forcibly activating his Nascent Soul Divine Ability and drawing upon the aura of the battle heaven axe had consumed quite a lot of his energy.

"It seems that the majesty of the Nascent Soul Stage is not something one can just throw around casually..." Fang Hao chuckled self-deprecatingly, but his eyes shone with excitement. That "Chaos Spiritualization" finger just now, while consuming a huge amount of energy, had a power that left him extremely satisfied. It was a deeper realization of the Chaos Derivation Art after his Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage, combined with the power of his newly born Nascent Soul, which he had tentatively explored. The power of Chaos can evolve all things, and can also return all things to Chaos! Although it was still very crude and consumed a lot, it undoubtedly pointed to a powerful path.

He walked over to the corpse of Daoist Chong (which was actually just a bit of ash and tattered robes), picked up the cracked pitch-black insect banner, and rummaged through the two charred patches to retrieve several Storage Pouches and Spirit Beast pouches. A rough sweep with his Divine Sense revealed quite a lot of items inside: Spirit Stones, Materials, insect eggs, various poisons, and some Jade Slips. However, now was not the time to look closely.

"This place is not suitable for staying long." Fang Hao put the items away and said to Old Jin, "Old Jin, clean up the traces; we are leaving immediately."

Although the immediate trouble had been resolved, the commotion just now was not small, and it might attract other Cultivators. He was not in good condition and needed to find a safe place as soon as possible to consolidate his cultivation and recover from his injuries.

Old Jin nodded, and several silver-white scanning beams shot from his eyes, scanning and marking all the traces of the battle in the valley, as well as the remains of Daoist Chong and his two subordinates. Then, he fired several high-temperature beams from his arms, completely incinerating them. He flew into mid-air and released an invisible fluctuation toward various parts of the valley, interfering with and erasing the residual aura and energy traces.

Fang Hao walked to the center of the valley, where the large pit created by the Lightning Tribulation during his Undergoing Tribulation still remained, along with the traces of the precious thunder milk at the bottom of the pit that had not yet fully seeped into the ground. He carefully collected those bits of residual thunder milk and stored them in a jade bottle. This was good stuff; it could not be wasted.

After doing all this, he did not delay any longer. He took a few Medicinal Pills for healing and recovering Spiritual Qi, and under the protection of Old Jin, quickly left the valley that had just experienced the Lightning Tribulation and the slaughter, his figure soon disappearing into the vast mountain forest.

Leaving behind only the insect corpses strewn all over the ground and the faint smell of blood and burning that had not yet dissipated in the air, proving that a short and intense battle had taken place here, as well as the first display of brilliance by a newly ascended Nascent Soul Cultivator.

The vast mountain forest had towering ancient trees. Fang Hao restrained his aura and moved silently through the forest. His speed seemed slow, but with every step he took, his figure appeared dozens of feet away, and when he landed, he didn’t even disturb a single withered leaf. He had changed into clean cyan robes. Although his face was still somewhat pale, his eyes were bright, and his breath was long. The fatigue and wounds left by the previous Undergoing Tribulation and slaughter were mostly healed thanks to the Medicinal Pills and his own formidable recovery ability.

Old Jin followed behind him, maintaining a distance of three zhang. His silver-white metal body occasionally flashed with cold light under the dappled shade, and those emotionless eyes, like the most precise scanner, guarded the surroundings 360 degrees without blind spots. Occasionally, an ignorant low-level Demon Beast would break into the alert range, and before it could even roar, its head would be pierced by a silent silver ray. Its corpse would then be casually collected by Old Jin, decomposed into the most basic Materials, and stored, making full use of everything, never wasting a thing.

While traveling, Fang Hao inspected his internal state. Inside his Dantian, the inch-tall Nascent Soul figure sat upright on a sea of Chaos Qi, eyes slightly closed, with a solemn and majestic appearance. With every breath, it resonated faintly with the external Spiritual Qi, inhaling and exhaling on its own, slowly growing stronger. The Meridians throughout his body were several times wider and tougher than before, and the Spiritual Qi surged within them like a great river, vast and unstoppable. Releasing his Divine Sense, the slightest movement within a hundred miles—the chirping of insects and birds, and even the weak fluctuations of the underground Spiritual Vein—were all clearly reflected in his mind. This was the power of the Nascent Soul Stage; compared to the Golden Core Stage, it was simply a world of difference.

"Heh, Nascent Soul Stage... I, this old man, can be considered an expert now, right?" Fang Hao thought happily, the corners of his mouth unable to help but curl up slightly. Thinking back more than ten years ago, when he was just a Servant Disciple struggling at the bottom of the Azure Cloud Sect, fighting for his life for a little bit of resources to Cultivate, yet now he was a great Nascent Soul expert with a Lifespan of a thousand years, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks with a wave of his hand. In any country or any slightly larger Sect, he would be enough to be a guest of honor, or even establish his own Sect.

This feeling was more comfortable than drinking iced spirit honey during the dog days of summer. More importantly, he had Old Jin, a Late Nascent Soul Stage gold-medal fighter... oh no, a gold-medal bodyguard, by his side. Although this guy Old Jin was a bit stubborn and only recognized rigid principles, and his fighting style was slightly stiff, his strength was genuinely strong. Previously in the valley, that mountain-covering insect tide, along with the False Nascent Soul Daoist Chong and his two Golden Core subordinates, were like paper in front of Old Jin’s overwhelming energy rays and high-frequency blades. With him by his side, Fang Hao felt his backbone harden by three points, and he even walked with a swagger.

Originally, after he refined the nascent soul forming pill and successfully formed his Nascent Soul, his plan was to go to the Eastern Region to explore. After all, although the Western Region was vast, it was still far inferior to the Eastern Region, which had a long-standing Legacy, abundant resources, and countless experts. It was rumored that the Eastern Region had ancient immortal Sect ruins, incredibly prosperous giant cities for Cultivators, and countless rare treasures and Opportunities everywhere. With his current strength, going to the Eastern Region, not to mention walking sideways, at least meant he had the power to protect himself, could seek better development, and find further Opportunities.

But man proposes, God disposes. As soon as he came out of seclusion, he was intercepted outside the Earth Fire Cave by an Elder of the Tiangong Alliance named Mo Yunhe, who was in the Middle Nascent Soul Stage. That battle was dangerous, and he almost lost his life; it was all thanks to Old Jin risking his life to block the attacks, plus the chaos pill cauldron showing its power at a critical moment, and he luckily broke through to the Late Golden Core Stage, only then barely managing to counter-kill the opponent. At that time, from Mo Yunhe’s Storage bag, besides obtaining the Tiangong Token and some Artifact Refining Materials, he also found an old animal skin map.

The map’s material was special, impervious to water and fire, and it marked several locations with a very ancient script. One of them was deep in the "Xuanfeng Mountain Range" within the Great Yan Kingdom of the Western Region, with even smaller words annotated on the side: "Ancient Cultivator’s Legacy Mansion, unstable space, enter with caution." Judging by the ink, it must have been added by Mo Yunhe later. Fang Hao took note of it at the time; an Ancient Cultivator’s Legacy Mansion that could make a Middle Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator solemnly mark "enter with caution" must definitely have good things inside. But at that time, he was only at the Golden Core Stage, and the map explicitly wrote "unstable space." Such places were the most dangerous; spatial rifts, displacement, or even collapse were common occurrences. Entering at the Golden Core Stage was almost like courting death, so he just noted it down and didn’t dare to have any thoughts about it.

But now, it was different.

I, this old man, am now a Nascent Soul Cultivator! And a Chaos Nascent Soul at that, with a Physical Body tempered by the Lightning Tribulation and the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art, outrageously strong. My Divine Sense has even reached the level of the Middle Nascent Soul Stage. I also have a Late Nascent Soul Stage iron-lump bodyguard by my side. With this setup, venturing into that "unstable space" Legacy Mansion in the Xuanfeng Mountain Range should... be enough, right?

"The Eastern Region... I definitely have to go, but not now." Fang Hao stopped, leaned against an ancient tree that required several people to embrace, took out the animal skin map he had obtained from Mo Yunhe from his Storage Ring, and examined it carefully. "That place has too many experts, and the water is too deep. As a newly ascended Nascent Soul, if I go there with a conspicuous Puppet like Old Jin, it’s too easy to attract attention. If I get targeted, it will be quite troublesome. It’s better to... return to the Western Region first and take a trip to this Xuanfeng Mountain Range. Firstly, to investigate the reality of this Ancient Cultivator’s Legacy Mansion; if there really is a Legacy from a Senior, picking up some scraps could enhance my strength. Secondly, it gives me some time to properly consolidate my Nascent Soul Stage cultivation and fully master the Chaos Derivation Art and my Nascent Soul Stage Divine Ability. When my strength is stronger and I have more trump cards, it won’t be too late to go to the Eastern Region."

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. The Eastern Region was like a big piece of fat meat that everyone wanted a bite of, but without good teeth, it was easy to break them. This Legacy Mansion in the Xuanfeng Mountain Range, although dangerous, since Mo Yunhe could mark it, it meant he had either been inside or possessed some clues that others didn’t know. Moreover, "unstable space" was both a risk and meant that it might be rarely visited, with a greater possibility of treasures remaining. With his current strength configuration, taking a little risk was worth a try.

"It’s settled!" Fang Hao put away the map, his eyes becoming firm. "First return to the Western Region, go to the Great Yan Kingdom, explore the Xuanfeng Mountain Range Legacy Mansion, and also, those old grudges from back then should be settled."

He identified the direction; the Great Yan Kingdom in the Western Region was to the north-east.