Eternal Life as False Emperor

Once his realm is stabilized, once he truly possesses the strength of the Crystal Stage, he can resist somewhat.

During the operation of the cultivation technique, the Spiritual Qi in the Dantian Qi Sea, originally swirling like an airflow, gradually stabilized, forming a shape resembling a crystalline gem.

"Uh..." At this critical moment, Zheng Yi suddenly became inexplicably distracted.

The crystallization of Spiritual Qi represented his control over power entering a completely new realm.

Yet this change...

Made Zheng Yi recall a joke he had previously seen, that gallstones are actually Inner Cores resulting from cultivation...

Thinking again about his current state, he couldn’t help feeling like the crystal in his Dantian was a gallstone.

Had the Huiyue Demon Venerable not been right in front of him, Zheng Yi might have burst into laughter.

"Demon Venerable, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but since it’s a matter of life and death, you should at least give us some sort of guarantee, right?" Zheng Yi’s innocent appearance belied the effort he was putting into stabilizing his realm.

Although the Huiyue Demon Venerable sensed some changes occurring on Zheng Yi, he didn’t pay too much attention.

Stabilizing the realm also requires a considerable amount of time.

Especially when breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Crystal Stage, the nature of the Spiritual Qi undergoes a drastic change, which cannot be adapted to in a short amount of time.

He just felt that the speed with which the person before him was adapting seemed quicker than usual, that’s all.

Suddenly, Zheng Yi felt a fierce pressure, as if taking form, pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe.

This was definitely not an illusion; his disciple, Bai Zhirui, had retreated to a great distance.

Yet she suddenly fainted without any delay.

If not for the fact that the Huiyue Demon Venerable was truly wary of Zheng Yi’s potential self-destruction with the Soul Gathering Pearl, rendering him unable to attain anything, he wouldn’t even need to act; simply relying on the oppressive power of Golden Core Great Power could take the lives of Zheng Yi and his companions.

"If I wished for your death, I could take your life in countless ways, and still keep my oath intact."

Originally, the Huiyue Demon Venerable was threatening Zheng Yi.

But upon hearing this, Zheng Yi suddenly slapped his own forehead: "Indeed, thank you for the reminder, Demon Venerable. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have thought of this."

"I ask the Demon Venerable to swear to absolutely let us leave and ensure that after we leave, no secret techniques, divine powers, hiring assassins, or instructing others in any way will threaten our lives."

The Huiyue Demon Venerable twitched at the corner of his eye; never in his life had he seen such an audacious person.

Even those Nascent Soul Divinity Transformation experts of the Nether Spirit Race wouldn’t dare to jest with him in this manner.

Yet the human in front dared to provoke his dignity again and again.

"That’s impossible!"

"Demon Venerable." Zheng Yi concocted a bitter smile: "But you have to give me some sort of assurance, shouldn’t you?"

"You should understand, some things are simply not for cultivators of my level to possess."

"Without this crucial treasure, even if I return to the sect, there’s certainly no good end for me. If you can’t put my mind at ease, then simply kill me."

Zheng Yi stuck out his neck, a defiant posture.

He confidently bet that as long as the Huiyue Demon Venerable hadn’t acquired the treasured item he yearned for, he would definitely be able to restrain his temper.

"So what if obtaining your treasure results in your sect knocking on my door? It seems that securing this treasure might not even be a good thing."

No matter the strength of Zheng Yi’s sect, the Huiyue Demon Venerable didn’t think much of it.

Regardless of how strong a sect might be, it pales insignificantly against the entire Nether Spirit Race.

Simply saying this was to let the human in front know that if he continued to be so ungrateful, the treasures weren’t necessary.

"To want or not to want, is all at the discretion of the Demon Venerable, us weak ones have no choice, right?" Zheng Yi spread his hands helplessly.

"I’m merely hoping the senior can spare me a life."

The Huiyue Demon Venerable’s gaze grew colder; he couldn’t understand what the human in front was thinking.

Would one consider him fearless?

His current actions didn’t seem much different from begging for survival.

But if he feared death...

The audacious human, in negotiating terms with him, seemed entirely unphased as if he had no fear he’d turn hostile.

Uncertain about the opponent’s thoughts, the Huiyue Demon Venerable couldn’t act recklessly.

Thus, he fell into long contemplation.

Now truly vexed, hesitant to abandon the treasure at hand, yet unwilling to let the ones humiliating him escape alive.

Not to mention, if these individuals were to leave, news of his acquisition would surely spread.

Even if he feared no theft, such things are best known to as few as possible.

Observing the Huiyue Demon Venerable’s demeanor, Zheng Yi couldn’t hold back from grinning.

No need to fabricate lies to handle the Huiyue Demon Venerable; he could focus the majority of his attention on running his cultivation technique.

The efficiency of solidifying his realm rose by more than a third.

The crystallized Spiritual Qi within the Dantian grew increasingly dense, resembling a true crystal through introspection.

Moreover, lightning occasionally flashed over the crystal, with more and more Tribulation Thunder’s power being absorbed and refined by Zheng Yi.

As the Dantian transformed, Zheng Yi clearly felt the Spiritual Qi consolidating and circulating much faster than before.

Furthermore, whenever his Spiritual Qi completed a circulation in the Dantian, it emerged stronger than before.

With undivided focus, he ran the Great Five Elements Life and Death Scripture twice in complete circulation.

Suddenly, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi became unusually active.

"Oh man." Zheng Yi’s face changed involuntarily.

Whatever he expected, he hadn’t anticipated breaking through at this key moment!

Despite recently breaking through twice and entering the Early-stage Crystal realm.

Even Zheng Yi himself hadn’t thought despite entering the Crystal Stage, his breakthrough speed would still be swift.

He thought the sole reason for this was probably the Tribulation Thunder refined, containing the Power of the Heavenly Earth Great Dao.

Though the Huiyue Demon Venerable was still torn over what course of action would be most beneficial to him, such grand commotion could not go unnoticed.

Upon discovering that Zheng Yi not only had stabilized his realm but was soon breaking through to the Mid-stage Crystal.

The Huiyue Demon Venerable realized he had once again been outwitted by this human.

At this moment, neither treasure nor any other item mattered to him anymore.

He had only one thought now.

To make this insolent being who dared toy with him, insult his dignity, perish!

"Human! Congratulations on fully enraging me, die now!"

Profound Void Claw!

With one strike, heavens changed, and amidst Zheng Yi’s breakthrough, his Inner Breath nearly became chaotic, spiraling into fire and demonic chaos.

Thankfully, the Pristine Human Emperor Body didn’t require much control; it automatically suppressed the fire and demonic chaos.

Failure to block would mean death.

Zheng Yi fully understood his predicament, desperately mustering all power to block.

Even so, the gulf between them was too vast.

In the instant they exchanged blows, his arm bones shattered completely, and his body’s meridians directly ruptured by a third.

Were it not for the Pristine Human Emperor Body, he’d have died long ago.

Even then, Zheng Yi flew backward like a ragged bag, hitting the ground hard, spewing multiple mouthfuls of blood.

He sighed silently; even breaking to Mid-stage Crystal, dreaming of confronting cultivators of the Huiyue Demon Venerable’s caliber, was pure folly.

Evidently, the opponent held back, probably not wanting him to die too swiftly.

Deep in dire straits, Zheng Yi refused to succumb, immediately commencing cultivation to heal.

Simultaneously, his mind raced, contemplating other methods to break the stalemate.

Footsteps approached, the decisively sinister Huiyue Demon Venerable stopped before Zheng Yi: "I’m somewhat curious what you intend to say now."