Chapter 819: Immortal Master Cizi
"Damn it, I knew there was something strange about the Longevity Pill! But Senior Brother Qiu wouldn’t listen to my advice. Now he’s turned into a grotesque lump of flesh, and I can’t afford to take care of his hundred and eighty concubines!"
"You still have the leisure to think about other people’s concubines? Worry about your own life first! Just broke through the prohibition, and the celestial treasure flew away on its own. Those fellow daoists who took the Longevity Pill all died unnaturally, and above there’s a deadly formation. It seems like someone is secretly manipulating! Right now, our way is blocked by the big array, and if any changes occur, we will truly have no way up to heaven, nor a path down to earth..."
"Regardless if there’s someone behind it, how can I let the treasure I fancy escape? Leave it behind for me!"
"This place is not suitable for staying long; first, let’s return to the previous palace via the original route and observe the situation before deciding how to act."
"..."
The situation has progressed to this point, and everyone present knows something’s wrong, but their reactions vary.
For example, the Ghost-faced Great Monster and other powerful cultivators confident in their own strength either ride the escaping light to chase the three flying celestial treasures or use magic techniques to try and intercept them.
Some tried attacking the big array enveloping the Jade Moon, only to be struck by terrifying thunder light without exception; those with less strength and ordinary means instantly turned into blood mist, while those with greater skill and high abilities managed to preserve their lives but lost a considerable amount of mana and protective magic treasures, ending up in a sorry state.
Shen Mo, Lady Scarlet, and the Silver-haired Child quickly communicated through Divine Sense and decided, like most others, to first distance themselves from this vortex center and ensure their own safety.
As they quickly retreated to a distant place, the doors of the nearby dozens of palaces suddenly opened wide!
Then, powerful figures began emerging from various palaces, including human cultivators, strong beings from myriad races, and demons and monsters.
From their expressions and behaviors, it was clear they weren’t puppets, corpse refinements, or Imperial Souls, retaining their own consciousness.
Inside Shen Mo’s sleeve, a handful of Spirit Stones turned into powdery residue, constantly using "Insight into All Beings" to examine the details of these strong figures, and was surprised to find... They too were extraordinary creatures from various places in the Immortal Realm, who entered the Immortal Mansion to seek treasures but weren’t from this appearance of the Immortal Mansion; rather, they entered during previous occurrences or even thousands of years ago when the Immortal Mansion manifested and never left!
As these people just walked out of the palaces, they skillfully collected the pools of longevity flesh from the ground, leaving no magic treasure, Universe Bag, or scattered spiritual items behind.
Subsequently, each chose a target and their escaping light rushed towards the scattered crowd!
"Fellow Daoist Ciji!"
Suddenly, the Silver-haired Child seemed to see something unbelievable, exclaiming with shock.
The next moment, an elder with crane-white hair and boy-like features, wearing ancient-style robes, flew out of the escaping light and landed before Shen Mo and his group.
He looked the Silver-haired Child up and down, his face also filled with surprise, which quickly turned into a warm smile. He raised his hand in a Daoist salute: "So it’s Fellow Daoist Fulong! Unexpectedly, you successfully reincarnated and returned to the immortal path, cultivating into the Divine Bridge. You truly have deep fortune!"
This person was none other than the patriarch of the Kang Family, Immortal Master Ciji in the Formless Realm True Immortal, who had "fallen" years ago in the Immortal Mansion Dungeon.
Six thousand five hundred years ago, Immortal Master Ciji had celebrated his four thousandth birthday, and the lifespan of a cultivator in the Formless Realm is eight thousand years. By logic, he should have long since died of old age, yet he’s still alive and well... There is no doubt he must have taken the Longevity Pill for extending life!
"Descendant of the Kang family Hao lineage, greets patriarch!"
Kang Haoxiu, upon learning this person’s identity, was truly shocked and delighted, but seeming to remember something, his delight quickly subsided, and his expression became complex and difficult to read.
"Oh, this junior turns out to be my direct descendant. Able to cultivate to the Divine Bridge Realm, your Talent is considered good!" Immortal Master Ciji glanced at Kang Haoxiu, seemingly like an elder praising the younger, but his eyes showed little emotion, as if the person standing before him was a stranger.
In a few words, the powerful figures walking out of the palaces have already confronted the later entrants to the Celestial Palace, either ruthlessly killing or forcing them to swallow a Longevity Pill after subduing them.
A Celestial Palace strong figure focused on Shen Mo, Lady Scarlet, the Silver-haired Child, and five others but directly bypassed them upon seeing Immortal Master Ciji, not attacking them!
"Fellow Daoist Ciji, what exactly is going on here?"
"Is the appearance of the True Immortal cave mansion, luring outsiders to explore and seek treasure, actually a carefully prepared trap by someone?"
"Since you haven’t died, then where are Fellow Daoist Li and the other three? Why was there no response when I recited your true names back then?"
"..."
Seeing that Immortal Master Ciji had no immediate intent to act, the Silver-haired Child poured out all the questions in his heart, while secretly communicating to Shen Mo and the others to prepare for a great battle.
Immortal Master Ciji had a complicated expression on his face, sighed, and briefly explained the history and situation to everyone.
...
In short.
This was a great demon’s killing trap laid out for the sake of becoming an immortal!
Behind every True Immortal character lies a magnificent, epic cultivation journey; and it’s not surprising for worldly beings whether cultivators or demons to do anything in pursuit of immortality.
The one who laid out this trap was the Longevity Demon Lord, a peak demon in the Formless Realm (Class VI) of the Longevity race!
This Immortal Mansion Dungeon was indeed created by a genuine Immortal, and the so-called celestial treasures were also relics of the True Immortal; however, the Longevity Demon Lord had entered this True Immortal cave mansion over ten thousand years ago, acquired the Immortal’s treasure, and little by little mastered the control core of the Moon Palace’s formation prohibitions.
The pills, broken halberd, and golden page now appearing before everyone were actually bait released by the Longevity Demon Lord!
As a peak entity in the Formless Realm (Class VI), the Longevity Demon Lord had already achieved "clairvoyant consciousness; form and appearance indeterminate; responding to circumstance with transformations, manifesting according to objects" status, being able to sense it when called by its true name and title by its clan from various worlds; through this method, he continuously improved the Longevity Pill, making its effects increasingly extraordinary!
To collect more high-grade longevity flesh, the Longevity Demon Lord set up this trap, luring numerous powerful figures to seek treasures so he could refine their flesh and souls into longevity flesh, then use these high-quality "materials" to produce a large number of high-class Longevity Pills, attempting to accumulate enough to suddenly attain immortality.
Of course, besides collecting materials, some external powerful figures could be selected, like Immortal Master Ciji, to survive and serve under him thereafter.
As for the demons and monsters originally residing in the Immortal Mansion Dungeon, due to the influence of decaying aura and unknown power, even if they took the Longevity Pill, they couldn’t transform into high-grade longevity flesh; thus, the indigenous strong folk in the Immortal Mansion were able to escape doom without being thoroughly wiped out by the Longevity Demon Lord and his followers!