Chapter 120: The Eternal Withering Body
Deep within the four domains of the Demon Abyss, in a place no cultivator had ever reached.
This place was like a forgotten corner of the world, a convergence of all the desolation and decay of the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss. No living creature could survive in this harsh environment.
Countless people had tried to explore the mysteries of the depths of the Blood Sea, but none had succeeded. Even Nascent Soul cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans entered the Blood Sea, never to return.
The Blood Sea never expanded, only passively absorbing the decay from all things in the world, seemingly having no impact on this world, but… no one dared to ignore its existence.
When Luo Xue stepped onto this blood-red soil, she didn’t feel any discomfort.
It wasn’t because of her Yin Poison Resistance or Calamity Poison Body. Besides the ubiquitous, dense Yin energy, there was also scorching air that almost burned her skin.
With every breath, the scorching air filled her body, but this heat only brought her… warmth.
It wasn’t even as uncomfortable as the temperature at the core of the Evil Spirit Sect’s refining formation, although the temperature here was definitely much higher.
This… shouldn’t be a matter of heat resistance.
Luo Xue slowly opened her eyes and wearily squatted down.
She looked within her soul and finally understood why she was so exhausted.
Her sea of consciousness and spiritual aperture were both dormant, only a drop of purplish-red blood was restlessly moving.
“True Phoenix blood essence…”
Luo Xue’s vision returned to the world, her pupils constricting.
She looked at the Blood Sea and vaguely sensed the connection between the True Phoenix blood essence and the Blood Sea. It was because of this that she wasn’t burned by the heat.
In a sense, Luo Xue, having absorbed a portion of the True Phoenix blood essence, was already half an ancient divine beast.
When a True Phoenix spread its wings, it could travel for thousands of miles!
Not to mention blood essence, even a drop of ordinary True Phoenix blood, if integrated into a human body, would bring about earth-shattering changes.
This subtle influence was especially obvious for Luo Xue, who was previously an ordinary human without any special bloodline.
Moreover, for a body that had just embarked on the path of immortality, the suppressive nature of the True Phoenix blood essence was too strong, not a good thing.
Previously, in the outside world, the True Phoenix blood essence was sealed, allowing Luo Xue to slowly absorb it and gradually transform her physique.
Now, having arrived at the Blood Sea, the True Phoenix blood essence was unprecedentedly active, making Luo Xue feel extremely exhausted.
She couldn’t withstand such an active True Phoenix blood essence. Even her silver hair was tinged with purple-red, and her delicate, youthful face showed a hint of strange allure.
Faint True Phoenix Dao patterns appeared on Luo Xue’s body, and a phantom of a True Phoenix enveloped her, displaying its magnificent form, a single glance enough to captivate one with its boundless Dao Aura.
“Have we arrived?”
Luo Xue couldn’t help but ask.
“Not yet.”
A voice echoed in her ears, seemingly True Person Fengyin’s, or perhaps another unfamiliar woman’s.
“Should we continue west?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Luo Xue mustered her strength and continued walking forward.
She trudged through the heavy, blood-red water, which reached her knees.
Not far away, several figures silently watched her.
“A Spirit Condensation cultivator… actually reached this place?”
“When Su Yiyao emerged from the depths of the Blood Sea at the peak of Foundation Establishment, it was already shocking enough… Today’s events are not unexpected.”
“So, why are there two doors? The Gatekeeper’s inheritance… shouldn’t there be only one?”
“Perhaps… this great tribulation… is different…”
Four voices discussed calmly and indifferently, but no one else could hear their conversation.
Further away, a beautiful little girl, carrying a coffin, struggled to approach the Blood Sea.
From somewhere unknown, an imperceptible gaze fell on them, then looked at the four figures standing outside the Blood Sea.
“Liu Lian.”
“Your… servant is here.”
“Bring them back,” the crimson eyes slowly closed. “It’s time… to tell them some things.”
“…As you command.”
…
The war began.
The long-awaited battle between the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss finally erupted.
The Temple of the Nether Spirit attacked first, and You Province couldn’t hold on for long. Within a few days, more than half of it had fallen.
The Everspring Pavilion and the Iron Sea Sect, the sects controlling You Province, were forced to merge to resist the invasion.
On the other side, the alliance with the Peerless Summit Sect didn’t provide much help to the sects of You Province, because within a few days of the war’s outbreak, the Ten Thousand Demons Sect also launched an attack on Qing Province.
More than 70% of the Peerless Summit Sect’s disciples were thrown into this war, and the flames of war engulfed the entire border of Qing Province.
Although the situation in Qing Province was slightly better than in You Province, it wasn’t by much.
In addition, the other two forbidden areas, the Primordial Mother Cult and the Demonic Ghost City, also launched coordinated attacks on the Immortal Domain.
A thousand years of recuperation hadn’t brought much strength to the nine provinces of the Immortal Domain. In this war, just like a thousand years ago, the Demon Abyss cultivators had a significant advantage.
Countless prodigies shone brightly during the war, and many also perished.
At the same time, the Heaven-grade pill secret realm became the focal point of this war. Heaven-grade pill cultivators had an overwhelming advantage over Earth-grade pill cultivators.
Moreover, after reaching Nascent Soul, besides their increased combat power, Heaven-grade pill cultivators also had a higher chance of breaking through to Soul Transformation.
Based on the previous Immortal-Demon Wars, this war would last for at least a thousand years.
A thousand years was enough for an early Core Formation cultivator to reach Nascent Soul, and every Nascent Soul cultivator was a valuable asset to both the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss.
A fierce battle unfolded around the Heavenly Cluster Sword Tomb, the Heaven-grade pill secret realm.
Because only cultivators below Core Formation could enter the secret realm, it became a battlefield for the younger generation of prodigies, with countless peak Foundation Establishment cultivators entering.
And the Core Formation cultivators of the major sects guarded outside, while also defending against the enemy’s attacks.
After all, the appearance of every Heaven-grade pill cultivator could change the tide of the war.
However, because the Demon Abyss’s most powerful weapon, the Holy Maiden, didn’t participate in this secret realm, the Immortal Domain side breathed a sigh of relief.
The flow of time within the secret realm was different from the outside world. For every day that passed in the outside world, a hundred days passed within the secret realm.
When the secret realm reopened, they had already been fighting within the Heavenly Cluster Sword Tomb for half a year.
During this half-year of fighting, nearly two-thirds of the prodigies perished within the secret realm, and five successfully formed Heaven-grade pills.
One from the Immortal Domain, and four from the Demon Abyss.
Each of the four domains of the Demon Abyss had a Heaven-grade pill cultivator, while the Immortal Domain only had one, a disciple of the Peerless Summit Sect.
However… although he was from the Peerless Summit Sect, this disciple’s magical treasure was a compass, and he called himself a storyteller.
Indeed, after participating in the assassination of Blood Lord, the storyteller had survived, and so had the actor.
The farmer, the general, and the merchant had all died in that operation.
In this battle for the Heaven-grade pill secret realm, the storyteller, relying on his superb formation skills, protected most of the Peerless Summit Sect disciples within the secret realm and successfully obtained the most Heavenly Vein energy.
It could be said that although they were all Heaven-grade pill cultivators, the storyteller was stronger than the other four.
Because he had obtained the most Heavenly Vein energy, and the Heaven-grade pill he formed was the most complete.
But even so, the Immortal Domain was still at a disadvantage in this battle for the secret realm.
Similar to the situation in the secret realm, the overall situation on the battlefield wasn’t optimistic for the Immortal Domain, but it was also almost impossible for the Demon Abyss to completely conquer the Immortal Domain.
The foundations of the major sects were brought out one after another, hindering the Demon Abyss cultivators’ advance.
After the initial fierce attack subsided, the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss gradually reached a stalemate, and this situation would likely last for a thousand years.
Before the war, the rumors about the Holy Maiden and a certain Peerless Summit Sect disciple were gradually forgotten. When occasionally remembered, it was only considered a diversionary tactic by the Temple of the Nether Spirit, or just a nonsensical farce.
And the missing Holy Maiden was thought to be hidden by the Temple of the Nether Spirit, to protect her from being assassinated by Immortal Domain cultivators before she grew stronger.
This wasn’t a time of peace between the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss. If the Holy Maiden dared to appear in the Immortal Domain, she would definitely be hunted down by Nascent Soul cultivators.
As for the Peerless Summit Sect disciple with the huge bounty on her head, even her name was forgotten by most, only a few who were close to her still remembered her.
The formation master who mysteriously appeared during the Northern Zhou Dynasty incident and toyed with the various Demon Abyss sects had also vanished without a trace.
This incident had caused quite a stir at the time, but now, it seemed insignificant.
No one had seen that strange girl again. It was as if she had completely disappeared from this world.
Even within the Peerless Summit Sect, her master, Hei Pao, had lost contact with her.
Li Guijiao had been completely forgotten.
On the other side, the four forbidden areas of the Demon Abyss continued their silent advance, and their leaders hadn’t appeared at all.
The Holy Master of the Temple of the Nether Spirit, the Primordial Mother of the Primordial Mother Cult, the Ghost King of the Demonic Ghost City, and the Fallen Immortal of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, they seemed uninterested in this war initiated by the Demon Abyss.
The forbidden area lords were the most powerful beings in this world, the closest to the Ascension Realm.
Even in the Immortal Domain, only a few ancient beings could rival them.
These ancient beings, for various reasons, could only remain in slumber, unlike the four forbidden area lords, who could still occasionally appear in the world.
Everyone believed that when the forbidden area lords appeared, it would be the time for the ancient beings of the Immortal Domain to awaken.
At that time, it would be the final battle of this Immortal-Demon War.
…
But no one expected that the four forbidden area lords were actually in the same situation as the ancient beings of the Immortal Domain.
The reason the forbidden area lords occasionally appeared in the world was that they had representatives acting on their behalf.
Like the Holy Master and the Zither Witch.
The Zither Witch was originally Zither Fairy, a reincarnation of a wisp of the Holy Master’s consciousness, and an Immortal Domain cultivator.
It wasn’t until Zither Fairy’s death that the part of her that belonged to the Holy Master’s consciousness awakened, becoming the Zither Witch.
The forbidden area lords and the ancient beings all had their reasons for not appearing in the world, but the most important reason was the same.
This world… was a cage.
Especially for those close to the Ascension Realm. Only when they reached that seemingly insurmountable barrier did they realize that ascension… was impossible in this world.
Even if they stood at the peak of the world, they could only wait for their lifespan to run out, becoming part of the cycle of reincarnation.
But those who reached such heights, who would be willing to simply turn into dust?
The ancient beings of the Immortal Domain and the forbidden area lords of the Demon Abyss had been searching for ways to break through the Ascension Realm.
The ancient beings comprehended the Heavenly Dao, merging with heaven and earth, trying to break through by utilizing the power of the entire world.
The forbidden area lords started wars, causing decay and decline, searching for the true Blood Sea and River Styx, trying to find the door to this cage and escape.
Both plans had achieved some success.
The ancient beings grasped the laws of the great tribulation, accumulating cultivation through multiple reincarnations, trying to completely refine heaven and earth and become the masters of the cage.
Master Wumu was one of the reincarnations of an ancient being.
The forbidden area lords finally reached the depths of the Blood Sea, saw the door to this world. The depths of the Blood Sea held the answer.
But their plans hadn’t succeeded.
The reincarnations of the ancient beings were difficult to keep alive, most dying in the Immortal-Demon War. The forbidden area lords, although they found the door, couldn’t find the key.
Their game of using the world as a chessboard hadn’t ended yet.
Luo Xue slowly opened her eyes.
The churning Blood Sea seemed solid, only reaching her knees, even though it was bottomless.
The sky was a mix of blood-red and crimson, the surrounding air filled with desolation and decay, as if everything was dying.
She instinctively opened the panel. It was filled with garbled characters, and she could vaguely see some survival point records, rewards from escaping her pursuers.
Being hunted by countless Core Formation cultivators, her survival points had increased dramatically.
But the largest amount came from entering the Blood Sea.
Even the system panel considered entering the Blood Sea in her current state more dangerous than being hunted by Core Formation cultivators.
Being able to open her eyes again was already a miracle.
Luo Xue knew that her current condition was because her body couldn’t withstand the True Phoenix blood essence.
Using her remaining willpower, she put all her survival points into her cultivation aptitude, trying to improve this dire situation.
[Improving Cultivation Aptitude: -1000]
[Cultivation Aptitude Improved: Barely There => Extraordinary Talent]
[Calamity Poison Body Evolved: Eternal Withering Body]
[Eternal Withering Body: The body carries the will of all things withering, containing the laws of death and decay. Spiritual energy within the sea of consciousness and spiritual aperture is converted into withering Qi.]
[Note: For those with the Eternal Withering Body, death is life.]
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