Cultivating To Immortality

Xiao Ju held a Formation Plate in her hand, standing atop a pavilion in the valley: "Master, there are fifty-two Mo Xu Cultivators in the valley, all here."

Song Yan nodded, his lips moving slightly.

"Kill."

On a rainy night at Heyan Mountain, countless sounds of Spells and Spiritual Artifacts colliding and exploding rang out, accompanied by shouts of battle.

Dozens of Qi Refining Cultivators, poised for attack, charged towards the scattered Mo Xu Cultivators in the valley, led by a few at the forefront.

The valley instantly plunged into chaos.

The unprepared Mo Xu Cultivators frantically met the challenge, tangling with the Righteous Path Disciples.

On the high platform, the three Foundation Establishment Realm Mo Xu Cultivators paid no attention to the lives of the Mo Xu Cultivators in the valley.

Peony’s astonishment lasted only a moment, then was replaced by deep excitement.

Her gaze was fixed on that solitary, aloof figure.

This Song Yan actually came, and he was the only Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator!

"Hehe~" Peony’s laugh was sharp: "Little Sir, you’re very bold, daring to come alone~"

"I just wonder how brave you are in bed~"

Zheng Daming, standing behind Peony, frowned as if facing a formidable enemy.

He already had a very high assessment of Song Yan’s danger, and seeing Song Yan standing calmly on the high platform, he felt a faint unease.

Zhuo Hong looked at Song Yan’s slightly slender figure and young face, a greedy and bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.

Perhaps alone, he was definitely not Song Yan’s opponent.

But with Peony and Zheng Daming, these two Mo Xu Cultivators, here, perhaps they could slay this great Sect Prodigy today.

Crimson Devilish Qi already surged around Peony, spreading into the air and encircling Song Yan.

"Look at you, so endearing."

Peony slowly floated into the air, but her gaze flickered to Wu Shuangzhi on the ground.

"She just now boasted..."

Peony deliberately drew out her words, malice glinting in her eyes: "She said Song Yan would kill me in just one move! Hahahaha..."

Wu Shuangzhi was covered in blood, gasping for breath.

Yet, from a moment ago, she felt a gentle Spiritual Qi slowly healing her injuries.

A thick, wide feather cloak drifted down, covering her, concealing her body drenched in rain and blood.

Along with it, a familiar moonlight also fell.

She had seen this moonlight once before in that stream valley in the Yanran Mountain Range.

She had no strength to turn around, nor to look up.

Just seeing the Flying Sword stuck in front of her, seeing this moonlight, Wu Shuangzhi already knew who had come.

"Mm. My Junior Sister is right..."

Song Yan finally spoke.

Immediately, Spiritual Qi on Heyan Mountain suddenly surged, gathering towards him.

As he spoke, he extended a finger, and a faint wisp of Purple Qi surged at its tip.

His indifferent gaze turned to Peony.

"I’ll kill you in one breath."

Buzz—

At this instant, surging Purple Qi erupted from Song Yan’s body, flowing endlessly like a celestial river pouring down.

Song Yan was like a furnace, and wherever the Spiritual Qi passed, it twisted and fluctuated.

Peony’s enchanting face, with its carefully drawn allure, froze at the corners of her mouth as the purple light illuminated it.

Her pupils suddenly constricted, a dangerous intuition rising from her heart, and a chill climbed her spine.

However, there was no time to react, as everyone saw a dreamlike color suddenly emerge from the depths of Song Yan’s golden eyes.

Two ancient lotus petal phantoms slowly rotated within the golden light.

Thump... like a drop of water falling into a calm surface.

Only at this moment did the three Foundation Establishment Realm Mo Xu Cultivators awaken as if from a dream.

Unbeknownst to them, several Flying Swords appeared around the high platform, and now, amidst the surging Purple Qi, Sword Qi flickered.

A solitary moon hung above the high platform.

"Moonfall."

"..."

On Peony’s face, the last remaining trace of astonishment hadn’t fully bloomed before her entire vision was completely consumed by the pure, bright moonlight.

The crimson demonic vines on her body surged, attempting to protect her, but like winter snow meeting boiling soup, they were instantly sliced into tiny dust particles the moment the moonlight descended, without even time to struggle.

Hissing, steaming, and vanishing.

She instinctively tried to cry for help but couldn’t make a sound.

Next to disappear were her vibrant red and beautiful robes... her skin, glowing with a pink demonic light, her long yet stiff limbs... all her existence was obliterated in the Moonfall.

There was no explosive roar, only countless beams of moonlight interweaving and grinding against each other.

Peony’s body instantly disintegrated, turning into a plume of crimson blood mist.

The blood mist ignited with a ’pop’, and from within, a jade green bracelet emerged, falling to the ground.

"..."

Zheng Daming stood in a daze, speechless for a moment.

From the moment Song Yan finished speaking until Peony was annihilated, truly only one breath of time had passed... He hadn’t even felt ashamed of the other party’s boast, and it had become a reality, happening right before his eyes.

Early Foundation Establishment Realm, this level of power disparity... only those few Dao Children had given him a similar feeling.

Escape!

After only a moment of stunned, Zheng Daming transformed into a golden light, shooting straight into the sky.

Along with him appeared a pink sword light, which was Zhuo Hong, also attempting to flee.

Zhuo Hong was terrified at this moment, using almost all his means to escape.

Unfortunately, simple sword flight was still too slow.

The Purple Qi Unification Truth had only been circulating for one or two breaths, and Song Yan felt that the Sword Qi within his Zhen Dao Sword Mansion was inexhaustible and endless.

The Ring Moon Sword Array retracted, and on the sword body of the Unmoored Boat, the wind and thunder roared even louder than usual.

"Go."

Song Yan moved his sword finger, and the Unmoored Boat shot straight into the sky.

Everyone on Heyan Mountain only felt a flash before their eyes, as if a bolt of lightning had streaked across.

Yet, a straight golden line appeared between heaven and earth, lasting only a breath before disappearing.

In the blink of an eye, the Unmoored Boat returned to Song Yan’s hand.

On the hilt of the sword hung a Storage Bag.

A moment later, Zhuo Hong’s corpse fell from high in the sky, smashing to pieces somewhere in the valley.

"..."

Several Qi Refining Disciples on perimeter guard looked at the figure in the sky, exchanging glances.

Although they knew Senior Song Yan’s strength was formidable, according to intelligence, one of the three opponents was a Dao Child candidate, whose strength should not be underestimated.

Originally, they thought Senior Song would be entangled in a fight with the three here, waiting for Senior Cong Yuzhen to arrive.

As it turned out, Senior Song Yan didn’t seem to be one for prolonged battles... At this moment, the young figure in the sky was slowly descending, landing on the high platform.

Xiao Ju had already leaped there, picked up a jade bracelet from the ground, and respectfully handed it to him.

"Master, that Zheng Daming."

Song Yan took the jade bracelet, examined it for a moment, then waved his hand: "No need to worry about him."

"Fellow Daoist Yu Zhen will take action herself; we should leave some battle merits for her."

"Yes."

...A hundred li away, Zheng Daming was fleeing.

He felt a faint sense of relief, glad that Zhuo Hong was also slow in escaping.

Having slain Zhuo Hong, even Song Yan would be powerless to pursue him further.

Recalling Song Yan, he truly felt that this person was too abnormal.

How could a Disciple from a Border Region Sect be so powerful, almost on par with the Prodigies of the Central Region and the Dao Children of the Demonic Ruins... Although Zheng Daming had not wanted to be an enemy of Song Yan before, that was due to his cautious nature.

From Peony’s perspective, it was normal to think that Song Yan would be easily captured.

It was precisely because he had witnessed the vast difference between himself and true Geniuses that he believed such a person could not possibly appear in this barren Border Region.

But he really did appear.

"Song Yan..."

Buzz—

Just as he was frantically fleeing, thinking he had escaped danger, the torrential rain in this world suddenly changed.

The heavy rain poured down, and every raindrop seemed to be pulled by something, its speed sharply increasing and its trajectory changing as it fell.

Tens of thousands of streams of water light intertwined, forming chains, creating a giant water prison that connected heaven and earth, enveloping all directions.

Zheng Daming’s yellow escape light plunged into this vast rain curtain, and its speed instantly decreased by more than tenfold!

"What?!"

The escape light stagnated, struggling and churning as if in a swamp.

In a moment, its Spiritual Light extinguished.

In the sky not far away, beneath the dark clouds, a gentle figure silently watched him.

It was Cong Yuzhen of Shooting Sun Sect.

A bell hung beside her, gently swaying at this moment.

Clang... the Guest-Retaining Rain.

"Collect."

The vast rain suddenly converged, transforming into countless translucent and tenacious water tentacles, firmly binding the large mass of struggling bloody light and the blurred human figure within it.

Finally, it formed a peculiar water sphere about ten feet in size, with water ripples flowing on its surface and blood-red churning within, suspended beside Cong Yuzhen.

Cong Yuzhen flicked her large sleeve, collecting both the water sphere and the incessantly struggling phantom of Zheng Daming within it.

Looking towards Heyan Mountain from afar, her calm face couldn’t help but show a hint of astonishment.

However, she didn’t look for long before retracting her gaze.

"Let’s go."

Then, she led the accompanying Qi Refining Disciples and left the place... Heyan Mountain.

Song Yan sat casually on the high platform, the surging Purple Qi around him rapidly receding.

The light quickly dimmed.

This Purple Qi Unification Truth seemed to be the first time Song Yan had used it in actual combat.

Not long after he obtained this method, he began to prepare for Foundation Establishment.

After Foundation Establishment in the Sect, came the Dragon Pool Mountain gathering. At that time, with the Mo Xu Cultivators causing trouble, he hadn’t had a chance to try it.

Thinking about it, today was truly the first time.

In the eyes of others, Song Yan had only made two sword strikes, causing two of the three Mo Xu Cultivators to die and one to flee.

Only he knew the stakes involved.

These people from the Demonic Ruins, each with unpredictable and strange methods, if it came to prolonged struggle, Song Yan actually had little confidence in his efficiency in killing them.

But fortunately, most of these Mo Xu Cultivators had a strange, inexplicable arrogance.

Therefore, as soon as Song Yan judged the disparity in strength between himself and the enemy, he would immediately use a powerful killing move to suppress them before they could react.

However, this point was also largely due to the advancement of the Insightful Void Sword Eye.

It could make the opponent silently fall into a mirage-like illusion.

"Hoo—"

At this moment, his straight back tensed slightly, and a faint fatigue quietly emerged from the muscles and bones of his limbs, slowly spreading.

However, this fatigue had no such great impact as mentioned in the Purple Qi Unification Truth.

He didn’t know why.

Song Yan vaguely guessed that it was either related to his Sword Dao Foundation Establishment or to the Purple Qi.

He leaned more towards the latter.

Since entering the Dao, he had followed the unique tradition of his Sect, cultivating daily, absorbing Qi from the morning sun.

And this secret method was also called Purple Qi Unification Truth, perhaps there was some connection.

In any case, this was a good thing.

His gaze calmly swept across the battlefield below.

Without the Foundation Establishment Mo Xu Cultivators in charge, what fighting spirit did these Qi Refining Mo Xu Cultivators in the valley still have?

On the Righteous Path side, the Qi Refining Disciples of Cave Abyss Sect and Shooting Sun Sect had also emerged from their initial shock.

Continuing to encircle and suppress the Mo Xu Cultivators.

The remaining few Mo Xu Cultivators in the valley were trapped beasts, scattered by the high-spirited Righteous Path Cultivators, their defeat was imminent.

Song Yan roughly glanced around, deciding there was no need for him to intervene further.

At this time, contrary to his usual behavior, he did not put away the spoils of war or recover his strength; instead, he immediately began to study the jade bracelet Xiao Ju had just handed him.

This bracelet was not a Spiritual Artifact, but Peony’s storage ornament.

A universe bracelet.

In this Cultivation World, Spiritual Artifacts used for storage were not limited to just universe bags; bracelets, pendants, belts, and so on also existed.

According to legend, many spatial-type Spiritual Treasures and Spirit Treasures also had storage functions... Thinking about it, the endless treasury probably belonged to this category.

However, in the Cultivation World of the Border Region’s Chu State, Storage Bags were the most common.

This was also the first time Song Yan had obtained such an item.

He immediately wiped away the spiritual imprint on it, his Divine Thought sinking into it to search, seemingly looking for something.

Just then, he suddenly felt someone approaching him.

Song Yan slightly raised his eyes, and it was Wu Shuangzhi.

She folded the black feather cloak and handed it to Song Yan with both hands.

Xiao Ju took it.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Song, for saving my life."

Song Yan looked at her, and slowly spoke: "I remember you."

Wu Shuangzhi was startled, then slowly nodded.

"Go quickly and tend to your injuries."

Song Yan lowered his gaze, about to continue searching for what he wanted.

But then he heard the woman speak, her voice firm: "No need, Senior Song just secretly transferred Spiritual Qi, and my injuries are mostly healed now."

"Shuangzhi still needs to avenge her younger brother."

Wu Shuangzhi bowed and turned to leave.

For Senior Song Yan, perhaps both his action in the stream valley back then and saving her today were merely done in passing.

If he hadn’t helped back then, she and her younger brother Zilin would have already died at the hands of Zhongmiao Sect Cultivators.

This debt of gratitude, she didn’t know how to repay.

But now, she had to personally kill those two Mo Xu Cultivators to avenge her younger brother.

Xiao Ju stood beside Song Yan, looking at Wu Shuangzhi’s retreating figure, a look of admiration in her eyes.

"Wait."

Song Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "What Spiritual Artifact do you usually... use?"

Wu Shuangzhi was startled.

She had been captured by Mo Xu Cultivators, her Storage Bag was taken by them, so she naturally had no Spiritual Artifacts.

"I used to use Flying Swords, but after Senior Brother Song saved me in the Yanran Mountain Range that year, I switched to using a saber."

Cultivating the sword might require very high talent.

But a saber, once picked up, was ruthless enough to protect her younger brother.

Unfortunately... a saber?

Song Yan raised an eyebrow, a little surprised, when he heard this.

A saber as a Spiritual Artifact was actually not very common in the Cultivation World; it was too fierce and easily stained with malevolent Qi, which was not conducive to one’s state of mind.

In Song Yan’s impression, only Gou Sheng, that "crude person" who entered the Dao through martial arts, used one.

He hadn’t expected such a gentle-looking Junior Sister to also use a saber.

He had indeed judged a book by its cover.

"Hmm..."

Song Yan glanced into Peony’s bracelet but didn’t find a saber.

After only a moment of thought, he took out a blue and white horizontal saber from his own Storage Bag.

Song Yan waved his hand, and the saber slowly flew towards Wu Shuangzhi.

"Take it."