The First Immortal of Destiny

Shen Mo did not expect Guan Ling to react so intensely, and for a moment, he was taken aback. Then he relayed all the relevant information about the Immortal’s Mansion, Moon Palace, and Longevity Demon Lord to her!

"Since I obtained this golden page, I’ve studied it for a long time, yet I haven’t grasped any mysteries. For this item to move fellow daoist Guan so much, could there be something strange?"

"It’s far more than just strange!"

Guan Ling pointed at the rune words on the golden page, her face as somber as water, and said, "These characters originate from the Daoist sutra achieved when becoming a Heavenly Immortal, known as the heavenly seal. Only those who have cultivated to the True Immortal Realm can comprehend the mysteries within, often used by True Immortals to record cultivation method and magic, and insights on enlightenment."

"However, what’s recorded on this golden page is a twisted, distorted Great Path insight. It’s clearly the handiwork of leftover evil from the old era!"

"Fortunately, you haven’t reached the True Immortal Realm yet. Otherwise, once you comprehend the meanings of these heavenly seals, your mind would immediately be corrupted, turning you into a complete lunatic. The deeper you study, the crazier you would become."

"You might gain supreme mana and profound cultivation level in a very short time, but by then, you would no longer be yourself, and become a puppet controlled by the twisted Great Path. Apart from continuing in pursuit of this path, everything else would lose its original meaning in your eyes."

"At the same time, that group of old immortals would use you as an anchor point to further infiltrate their power into this world..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo felt a chill down his spine, sweat pouring like rain;

Beside him, Chen Mengze’s face turned pale, unable to control the True Yuan within her body, and a layer of icy frost appeared on her delicate, snow-white skin.

"Fellow daoist Guan, take a look at this Elixir! It doesn’t seem like a benign thing, either."

Remembering something, Shen Mo took out the heavily sealed Immortal Pill from the Demon-Suppressing Tower, obtained the same from the Longevity Demon Lord.

However, unlike the damaged golden page, relying on [Method Eye Candle Wisp], he immediately saw something unusual about this "Immortal Pill." Despite its rich and divine properties, it hid a fierce malice. He never thought of ingesting it, keeping it around only for studying the Alchemy Path!

After carefully examining the "Immortal Pill," Guan Ling quickly reached a conclusion.

This "Immortal Pill" possesses the effect of assisting in comprehending the Great Path, somewhat like an Enlightenment class Elixir, but unsurprisingly, it also comes from the old era’s leftover evil. If someone ingests this pill, regardless of reaching the Divine Bridge or Formless, even if they cultivate to Ghost Immortal, Human Immortal, or Earth Immortal, they would comprehend a twisted, distorted Great Path and become corrupted by it!

Only those from the Divine Immortal or Heavenly Immortal could resist the nefarious properties of the pill and trace back to eliminate the influence of the twisted Great Path on themselves.

The divine Immortal Pill, the damaged golden page, and that bronze halberd were clearly not originally owned by the Longevity Demon Lord, but were instead "gifts" from the owner of the Immortal Mansion.

Judging by the scale and level of the cave paradise and the inherited towering ancient tree, Moon Palace, and other items, the owner of the Immortal Mansion was undoubtedly a powerful Immortal, at least at the level of Human Immortal or Earth Immortal. Coupled with what Guan Ling said, it’s highly likely that the fall of this powerful True Immortal was related to the "Enlightenment Immortal Pill" and the "damaged golden page"!

It’s very possible that their consciousness was corrupted by the Great Path and became a lunatic, and after becoming an anchor point for the infiltration by the old era’s leftover evil, they were killed by other powerful Immortals.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that they might have died from other tribulations while pursuing the Great Path!

"Did I inadvertently help the Longevity Demon Lord transcend a major tribulation?"

Shen Mo came to his senses, recalling how he had risked his life to snatch these "treasures" from the Longevity Demon Lord, only to find each one more treacherous and disgusting than the last—not only were they of no use but they also helped the great demon clear potential dangers from their side, leaving him in a foul mood!

The "Enlightenment Immortal Pill" could be disregarded; after all, since the Longevity Demon Lord hails from the Longevity race, with profound Alchemy expertise, he evidently saw the pill’s hidden danger. Otherwise, he would have ingested it long ago to reach the True Immortal Realm.

However, the damaged golden page was different.

At the time, he had not yet reached the True Immortal stage and couldn’t comprehend the heavenly seals on it;

If he could rely on thousands of years of accumulation to smoothly cultivate to True Immortal, he could understand the meanings of the heavenly seals without needing to study them, becoming an opportunity for the old era’s leftover evil!

Guan Ling, already aware of his experiences at the Immortal Mansion, naturally knew of the grudges and entanglements between him and the Longevity Demon Lord, and she said, "This might not necessarily be a bad thing. If it’s a tribulation for that Longevity demon as well as for you."

"Don’t forget, once corrupted by the twisted Great Path, that Longevity demon would not only go mad but also significantly boost in strength!"

"If a powerful yet insane demon True Immortal came after you for revenge, what are your chances of survival?"

"Moreover, allowing more power from the old era’s leftover evil to permeate, at that point, it wouldn’t matter whether they are mortals or Immortals, cultivators or Demons, everyone would suffer."

Upon consideration, Shen Mo agreed with this reasoning and chose not to dwell on the issue.

Subsequently, Guan Ling heavily sealed the "Enlightenment Immortal Pill" and the "damaged golden page," and threw them into the Death Ghost Realm in a declining world.

As compensation, she gave Shen Mo a jade slip, claiming it belonged to a Non-Phase Monk who died in the cultivation world.

Shen Mo took the jade slip and scanned it with his sense, immediately feeling pleasantly surprised;

Inside were over a thousand elixir recipes, covering everything from Grade V Elixirs to Grade VIII Immortal Elixirs.

Although the alchemical techniques and elixir ingredients indicated they didn’t originate from the Universal Realm, the principles of Alchemy were universal. With careful study, he could reference these recipes to concoct Grade VII or even Grade VIII Immortal Elixirs!

However, soon Shen Mo’s expression turned somewhat peculiar.

This jade slip containing elixir recipes came from a Non-Phase Monk who fell in the cultivation world...

Doesn’t this mean that the relics of any cultivators who died in this world all ended up in Guan Ling’s possession?

No wonder, as an Artifact Spirit, she’s been able to provide countless spiritual item resources for tens of thousands of allied cultivators over tens of thousands of years; her fortune comes from making profits off the dead;

But this is quite ruthless, hunting deities tirelessly while alive, and then having all their relics taken by Guan Ling after death!

Guan Ling, faced with Shen Mo’s insightful and peculiar expression, felt somewhat guilty, quickly diverting her gaze and mumbling, "Leaving the relics in the cultivation world is a waste... retrieving these relics takes significant effort from me... It’s not really making profits off the dead..."

Shen Mo had no intention to meddle, as the oaths they made did not include retrieving and returning their relics to reincarnations or surviving relatives and friends.

Moreover, even he had often engaged in unearthing strong person’s tombs and uncovering cave mansions. But since he embarked on his cultivation journey, the millions of creatures benefiting from him are countless; from his perspective, Guan Ling is already considered "virtuous and kind-hearted," and this matter cannot be simply judged through the lens of ordinary mortals!

The merit of slaying thirteen deities remained, and after much consideration, Shen Mo decided to set them aside for now, as those merits might provide an extra layer of protection for himself and his close ones.

Chen Mengze used the merit from four deities, exchanging for many top-tier resources to prepare for constructing the Divine Bridge!

Having done all these, the two of them walked out of the grass hut together.