NOVEL WEB Chapter 399: The Secret of Immortality
Chapter 399: The Secret of Immortality
“Old trickster of the Poison Dragon Pool, come out and face your death!
Back then, those guards and drivers who perished in that caravan may not have been directly related to me, but they were under my wife’s command.
Because of that, my wife often felt guilty and was plagued by nightmares at night!”
Xu Lian insisted that his sole purpose was revenge, cleverly masking his true intention of uncovering the origin of the perilous site.
The strongest members of the various top-tier factions found this puzzling. They had no knowledge of any past grievances between Xu Lian and the Poison Dragon Pool before he rose to prominence.
After all, in those days, Xu Lian was still an unknown figure, a little nobody unworthy of the attention of major powers.
Xu Lian first entered the radar of the top-tier factions when he participated in the selection for the Yin Dynasty’s imperial son-in-law. A young genius rising from humble beginnings, backed by the likes of the Sword Pavilion, the Huo Clan, the thirteen ancestral clans, and even Time Supreme, overshadowed the Blood Sea Sect in terms of background. Of course, the top-tier factions took notice.
However, at that time, they didn’t pay much attention to him, dismissing him as just another promising talent. In this chaotic era, talents were a dime a dozen. What was truly scarce wasn’t talent, it was cultivation resources.
It wasn’t until Xu Lian obtained the blessing of the Divine Kingdom’s laws within the Hundred Boats Secret Realm that he landed on the list of individuals closely monitored by the top-tier factions.
Therefore, their understanding of Xu Lian’s past was limited. Even after Xu Lian became renowned across the world, subsequent covert investigations by the top-tier factions only revealed that he hailed from a small town in Pingyang County, where he somehow formed a connection with Time Supreme of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands. Beyond that, little else was known about him.
“Come out!”
Xu Lian gave the ancient being of the Poison Dragon Pool no further opportunity to speak. His divine gaze swept over the area, igniting all the pig-like bags floating low in the air.
One by one, the bags burst open, releasing streams of poisonous creatures – snakes, scorpions, centipedes – all of which were instantly reduced to ashes by the divine flames.
The pig-like sacks themselves were reduced to nothing.
However, each of them left behind a piece of rotting flesh that even the divine flames could not destroy.
The strongest members of the various top-tier factions stared intently at these pieces of rotting flesh and finally glimpsed the source of the Poison Dragon Pool.
“Old Trickster, is this your real body?”
Xu Lian understood now.
“Truly thick-skinned and resilient – even divine flames can’t burn it away.”
He controlled the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation and extended a golden hand to grab one of the pieces of rotting flesh. Holding it in his palm, he examined it closely with his divine gaze.
He discovered that while the flesh was severely decayed, it was densely covered with mysterious patterns. “Are these patterns the secret of your immortality?”
The strongest members of the upper-class factions couldn’t sit still any longer. From countless miles away, they stretched out their hands, attempting to seize the mysterious rotting flesh of the Poison Dragon Pool to study its patterns, hoping to unlock the secrets of eternal life.
These supreme experts were tormented by eerie transformations, plagued by illness and pain, and their lifespan dwindled to mere tens of thousands of years-a shocking fate for supreme-level cultivators.
In previous eras, supreme experts could live for hundreds of thousands of years. The secret of immortality hidden within these pieces of rotting flesh was enough to make any supreme expert covet them fiercely.
“ROAR!”
The ancient being of the Poison Dragon Pool could no longer hide. A dragon-shaped skeleton erupted from the ground, radiating terrifying draconic power and unleashing a raging dragon roar.
All the pieces of rotting flesh were instantly drawn to the skeleton, fusing with it to form a desiccated, horrifying dragon corpse. Its original color was indistinguishable; now it appeared as a putrid, brownish mass of decay.
The strongest members of the top-tier factions were startled and withdrew their hands as if they’d been shocked. None of them wished to provoke a direct confrontation with this ancient being. After all, this was a creature that had once climbed the stairs of immortality. The origins of all the perilous sites surpassed the Supreme Realm – they had undoubtedly climbed the Staircase of Immortality, or they wouldn’t have endured until now.
Although this decaying dragon was no longer at its peak strength, “a dead dragon is still larger than a horse”. It was certainly not an ordinary supreme expert that could be easily challenged.
But Xu Lian, who possessed the peak strength of a ninth-class supreme expert, was far from ordinary. He remained utterly calm, his divine eyes studying the decaying dragon with great interest. “Hmm, so the secret to your immortality lies not only in the mysterious patterns on the rotting flesh, but also in a method of preserving your bones and flesh separately.”
The strongest members of the various top-level factions were all eager to obtain the secrets of immortality. Therefore, they began to encourage Xu Lian to kill the decaying dragon.
“Nine Heavenly Divine Son, I’ve heard that all the alchemists in the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands are working tirelessly to concoct Metamorphosis Elixir for you. It seems that your need for it is immense. I’ll reserve a piece of dragon bone and a piece of dragon flesh – I can trade them for Metamorphosis Elixir !”
“Nine Heavenly Divine Sons’ consumption of cultivation resources far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators-this is no secret. I’m also willing to trade the Metamorphosis Elixir . I want the dragon’s skull and its head flesh!”
“I also want the dragon’s skull and head flesh!”
“You already asked for the dragon’s head, so why don’t you settle for the tail bone and tail meat?”
“No way! I want the dragon’s head. Do you think I’m stupid? The head is obviously where the essence is concentrated.”
The strongest members of the various factions began to divide up the dragon’s remains, leading to arguments that almost escalated into violence.
The dragon’s head, the essence concentration? Xu Lian was confused. Everyone seemed to be fixated on the Dragon’s Head, but he wasn’t sure how they had arrived at this conclusion. Was it purely instinctual?
Or perhaps the supreme experts wanted to study the secrets of immortality hidden in the dragon’s head, hoping to achieve their own form of eternal life by preserving the head indefinitely.
“You despicable rats among the supreme experts, how dare you think of dividing my body!”
The decaying dragon roared in anger, truly enraged. A superpower that had once ascended the Stairway of Immortality had never been so humiliated by a group of supreme experts.
Xu Lian took action. The golden hand of the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation reached out and grabbed the decaying dragon. “I will give you one last chance: leave your dragon body behind, and your dragon soul will be allowed to leave unharmed.”
Enraged, the decaying dragon fought back fiercely against the thirty-six Heavenly War God Battle Formation controlled by Xu Lian.
However, calling it a fight was generous – it was more like a one-sided beating.
Hidden in the Poison Dragon Pool, the dragon had clung to life in a severely weakened state. It was nowhere near its peak strength from its prime years; in fact, it possessed less than one percent of its former power. It was completely incapable of resisting the peak ninth-class supreme strength of the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation .
Xu Lian unleashed his left hand with the Great Desolate Dragon Grasp, pinning down the decaying dragon, while his right hand manifested techniques from the Sacred Spirit Record, conjuring forms resembling the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, the Yin Dynasty Imperial Capital, the Blood Sea Sect, and more. He unleashed a barrage of devastating blows on the decaying dragon.
The strongest members of the various high-level factions watched in awe. The Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation, consisting of thirty-five top experts and Xu Lian, who possessed the peak strength of a ninth-class top expert, was truly formidable. First, it dismantled Misty Ghost Mountain, and now it was overwhelming the Poison Dragon Pool – both perilous sites had been utterly powerless to resist.
The decaying dragon groaned in pain, emitting angry, sorrowful cries. “Shameless whelp of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands! Bullying me while I am old and weak – you will pay for this humiliation tenfold in the future!”
“Hmph, hiding in the Poison Dragon Pool, harming countless lives, and you still feel wronged?”
Xu Lian’s will to kill was firm.
He flicked his hand and drew the Sword of Destruction . The sky darkened as terrifying blood-red lightning spread across the sky, converging at the tip of the sword.
Raising the Sword of Destruction high, he brought it down toward the dragon’s head with full force!
With his current peak of Ninth Stage Supreme Realm, he could fully unleash the might of the Sword of Destruction .
This single strike sent shivers down the spines of all the strongest members of the top tier factions, and filled the decaying dragon with a sense of impending death. Although the Sword of Destruction was a “dead sword,” it could still recreate a fraction of the murderous intent of the Jiang family’s ancestor.
Suddenly, the Decaying Dragon exploded on its own, shattering into countless fragments. It escaped from Xu Lian’s Great Desolate Dragon Grasp, scattering in all directions like rays of light, crossing space to flee toward the far reaches of the universe.
Xu Lian’s expression changed slightly. He swung his sword toward the direction with the most fragments, and those pieces were instantly struck by blood-red lightning, disintegrating into ash.
The strongest members of the various high-level factions quickly moved to grab the remaining fragments.
As for how many fragments escaped or were taken, no one could say for sure.
“Senior experts, what about the Metamorphosis Elixir you promised me?”
Xu Lian began to demand payment.
But the senior experts reneged on their promises.
“What Metamorphosis Elixir ? This tiny piece of dragon bone, no bigger than a fingernail, I obtained myself-it’s not like you gave it to me.”
“I didn’t manage to grab anything-how can I give you Metamorphosis Elixir?”
Xu Lian cursed these sly old foxes inwardly, but he could do nothing about it. He couldn’t possibly challenge every high level faction at once.
After leaving the Poison Dragon Pool, he planned to investigate the Ghost Child Ridge next. However, apart from Supreme Expert Dantai Wujie of the Yin Dynasty, the other thirty-four Supreme Experts refused to continue.
“Nine Heavenly Divine Son, maintaining the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation has greatly depleted our divine power. If you go to another dangerous place, our power reserves will be exhausted. By then, we won’t have enough power to subdue the Qian Dynasty’s foundation monster, and that would spell disaster.”
“You have already explored two dangerous places, that should be enough. Concentrate on subduing the Qian Dynasty Foundation Monster first. Don’t violate the rules of the Great Wheel of Calamity, or both you and we will face annihilation.”
Xu Lian considered their words and realized that they were right. He decided to change his plans, prioritizing the subjugation of the Qian Dynasty’s foundation monster. After that, if the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation could still be maintained, he could always explore the origins and mysteries of the Ghost Child Ridge and the Red Sedan Bridge later.
Thus, he set off toward the imperial city of the Qian Dynasty.