Longevity begins with alchemy master

call out!
A streak of blood-red light streaked across the sky at incredible speed.

Below him stretched a vast expanse of verdant mountains.

Suddenly, the speed of the crimson light decreased abruptly, and its gaze fell upon a large mountain ahead.

With a deafening roar, the mountain split in two, and a majestic man with two horns on his head emerged, looking up at the sky and meeting the gaze of the man radiating blood.

"Blood Vulture Daoist, it's been a long time."

Blood Vulture Daoist scoffed, "Shaking Mountain Tower, you're still as irritable as ever. This mountain hasn't done anything to offend you."

"The mountain didn't provoke me, but you have angered me." Han Shanque's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he stared intently at Xuejiu Daoren. "You took advantage of the time when I had not yet attained enlightenment to sneak up on me and devour my flesh. I have not forgotten this grudge at all."

Before he finished speaking, he brought his thick arms together, and two huge palms appeared in the void, slapping towards Blood Vulture Daoist.

The combined power of his palms seemed to crush everything.

However, the Blood Vulture Daoist merely raised an eyebrow and continued to strike the body with both palms.

Bang!
The blood-red light exploded, and after the palm disappeared, the blood-red light suddenly closed up again, leaving Blood Vulture Daoist unharmed.

Seeing that Hanshanque was about to make a move, Xuejiu Daoren waved his hand helplessly: "Stop, stop, stop. At that time, neither of us had transformed into a Daoist, and we lacked spiritual intelligence. We were just acting on instinct. Why hold a grudge for so long?"

Ignoring the mountain-shaking gate, he reached out and summoned a black jade and iron rod that landed in his hand.

Blood Vulture Daoist's gaze sharpened; that staff was actually a genuine artifact!
He took a deep breath. "You stubborn bull, you won't listen to anything I say. This is an order from the Duzhen Palace of Cangwu Mountain. If you keep delaying like this, do you want to be punished by the Yuanjun?"

Cangwu Mountain, Duzhen Temple!
With these two names mentioned, the "Shaking Mountain Gate" operation finally came to a halt.

He glared at Blood Vulture Daoist and turned to leave.

"Don't follow me, or I'll eat you alive!"

Blood Vulture Daoist curled his lip, too lazy to argue with the other party, and ascended in the light, still flying towards Cangwu Mountain.

Below, the mountain-shaking gate stood with each step, each stride covering ten miles, the mountains and earth unable to hinder him in the slightest.

Such a technique of "shrinking the earth to an inch" is an extremely skillful earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique).

Even in the human cultivation world, few people can cultivate the Earth Escape Technique to this level, but the Mountain Shaker used it one after another, and his magic power flowed smoothly without any stagnation.

This technique is a unique magical ability of the Earth-Shaking Divine Bull clan.

Keep taking steps, keep moving forward, and you'll get closer and closer to Cangwu Mountain.

During this process, his divine sense detected more and more powerful auras around him.

There are those weaker than him, but there are also those stronger than him!

"Is Cangwu Mountain going to attack the Eastern Wilderness human sects again this time?" Han Shanque murmured to himself.

Under the heavens, the closer one gets to Mount Cangwu, the lower the altitude at which the Blood Vulture Daoist flies.

Therefore, the scenery within a radius of thousands of miles came into his view one by one.

The flickering figure of the Mountain-Shaking Gate is naturally one of them.

However, other top experts from the Million Mountains also appeared in other places.

To the east, eight apes are carrying a carriage, exuding an ethereal aura. That must be the old fellow, the White-browed Immortal Ape, who occupies Immortal Ape Peak.

Behind the eight apes carrying the carriage, two streaks of green light drifted in from afar, accompanied by a fragrant breeze that was refreshing and delightful. Those must be the two beauties, Qinghe and her companion.

In the distance, in a mighty river, waves surged and a magnificent dragon was swimming upstream. All the low-level monsters along the way scattered and fled. The Crimson Demon Dragon had also arrived!

In a short while, his divine sense detected a total of five Nascent Soul demon cultivators!

In the distance, dark clouds filled the sky, and a demonic aura rolled in.

Another one!
Blood Vulture Daoist's heart tightened involuntarily.

"What exactly is Cangwu Mountain up to? Why did they suddenly gather so many top experts to attack the human sects of the Eastern Wilderness? But this time, they didn't gather a sufficient number of low-level demonic beasts!"

While he was still wondering, the Blood Vulture Taoist was moving at an astonishing speed and had already arrived at Cangwu Mountain ahead of him.

Lower the altitude as a sign of respect.

Blood Vulture Daoist concealed his escape light and landed on the open square outside the Crossing Truth Hall, where people were already waiting.

He wore a white bone robe, and was handsome with an eerie aura.

"White Bone, it's been a long time!"

The white-boned black serpent narrowed its eyes, "I knew it, you'd be the first to arrive. Wherever war breaks out, you bloodthirsty vulture are always the first to feel it."

Blood Vulture Taoist laughed and did not deny it.

"Go inside first, we've already arranged accommodations for you." The White Bone Serpent turned and walked inside, and the Blood Vulture Daoist quickly followed.

The two had a fairly good relationship among the powerful demons.

This is related to their original habits before they took human form.

One is a bloodthirsty vulture, which craves flesh and blood; the other is a white-boned black serpent, which feeds on bones.

There is no conflict between them regarding food, nor are they natural enemies. They have even fought together before with great success.

After catching up, the Blood Vulture Daoist asked curiously, "What important matter has the Primordial Lord summoned us for?"

The white-boned black serpent glanced at him. "It wasn't Yuanjun who summoned you, but the Lord of the Crossing Truth Palace. Didn't you read the orders carefully?"

Blood Vulture Daoist was taken aback; he had, of course, carefully read the orders brought by the flying birds from Cangwu Mountain.

The inscription above is signed "Master of Duzhen Hall".

But hasn't the Lord of Duzhen Palace always been Youquan?
The secluded spring represents Qixia Yuanjun!

But he quickly realized that Youquan had only been the deputy hall master of the Duzhen Hall and had never used the title of "Hall Master of Duzhen Hall".

Blood Vulture Daoist licked his pointed lips. "Fellow Daoist White Bone, may I ask who the current Master of the Crossing Truth Palace is?"

Faced with this question, the White Bone Serpent snorted coldly, seemingly quite displeased.

"You'll find out then!" He stopped and pointed to an ordinary side hall, saying, "Alright, you'll stay here for the next few days!"

Blood Vulture Daoist stopped the White Bone Serpent from leaving, "It's been a long time since we last met. Now that we've met again, I've raised a pot of Blood Brew. Won't you have a cup?"

Blood Wine!
The white-boned black serpent pursed its lips, seemingly quite tempted.

However, he ultimately shook his head. "Don't try to find out about that person from me. You'll know when you meet him. I have to go and greet other fellow practitioners."

Blood Vulture Daoist did not insist on keeping him. His eyes darted around, and instead of going directly into the hall to rest, he followed behind the White Bone Black Serpent, trailing it from a distance.

He watched from afar as one powerful demon after another arrived at Cangwu Mountain.

The person in charge of welcoming them was not just the White Bone Black Serpent, but also two women.

A woman with a bewitching aura and a fiery figure—Blood Vulture Daoist recognized her; it was He Qingzi. Rumor had it that she had betrayed the demon race and defected to a human sect, only to be captured and brought back by Lord Qing Shuang, the Lord of the Day Sky Palace.

The other one had beautiful features and a gentle temperament.

He didn't really recognize this one.

However, whenever she personally received a powerful demon, she would always smile and speak with a hint of eagerness.

Even old fellows like the White-browed Immortal Ape are deliberately trying to befriend that beautiful woman.

Finding an opportunity, the Blood Vulture Daoist stopped the White-Browed Immortal Ape and asked about the woman's origins.

"You mean the Fairy of the Painted Eyebrows? In the vast mountains of today, who doesn't know her?" The White-browed Immortal Ape stared at the Blood Vulture Daoist with a puzzled look, but soon he chuckled and said, "That's right, you, Blood Vulture, are all alone. It's only natural that you haven't received any favors from her before."

Blood Vulture Taoist was still puzzled.

"Old man with white eyebrows, please explain in detail." The white-browed immortal ape smiled kindly, "Although Fairy Huamei's cultivation level is not high, having only condensed her Nascent Soul in the last two years, her status in Cangwu Mountain, and even in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, is very high. This is because she possesses extremely exquisite alchemy skills, and can also refine pills that allow younger generations to transform into human form ahead of time, helping our clan's younger generation embark on the orthodox path of cultivation ahead of schedule."

Alchemy!
Upon hearing this, Blood Vulture Daoist's eyes lit up.

For the demon race, unless they have a racial advantage, it is very difficult for them to master the various arts of cultivation of the human race.

That gentle and serene female demon was actually a powerful alchemist!
No wonder she holds such a high position!

The old White-Browed Immortal Ape commands a large number of monkey descendants, and this race is quite intelligent, only limited by their ape physique. If he truly obtains the Transformation Pill from the Flower-Eyebrow Fairy, he can break free from the limitations of his original form and develop rapidly.

Thinking of the eight junior apes who had previously carried the White-browed Immortal Ape, now transformed into human form and following behind, it was clear that they had already received the favor of the Painted Eyebrow Fairy. No wonder the old man with white eyebrows was so kind and benevolent to the Painted Eyebrow Fairy, whose cultivation level was far inferior to his.

The Blood Vulture Daoist sighed, "As expected of the Qixia Yuanjun, she can even train a skilled alchemist."

Unexpectedly, the white-browed immortal ape stroked its beard and smiled.

"Blood Vulture, you've got it all wrong. Fairy Huamei wasn't taught by Yuanjun; her master was the Lord of the Crossing Truth Palace!"

"what!?"

Blood Vulture Taoist was even more surprised.

The fame of Cangwu Mountain has been known throughout the vast mountains for over a thousand years.

But to be honest, for the past thousand years, its momentum has been suppressed by the Demon Court established by the ancient Demon Emperor Tian.

It wasn't until the ancient demon emperor Tian fell and Qixia Yuanjun personally destroyed the Mingyuan Sect that Cangwu Mountain truly rose to power.

As a result, a large number of top-tier demon clan experts sought refuge with them.

It was only at this time that the many powerful members of the demon race realized how different and extraordinary Cangwu Mountain was from ordinary demon forces.

The demon cultivators on the mountain are far superior to other experts of the same level in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, whether in terms of strength, cultivation techniques, or even combat methods such as magic weapons and demonic arts.

Even compared to the true masters of the human race's holy land, they are in no way inferior.

But Blood Vulture Daoist did not expect that even the Alchemy Daoist Cangwu Mountain had such a powerful expert.

"I really don't know what kind of existence the Lord of the Crossing Truth Palace is?" he murmured, his eyes filled with longing.

……

The first batch of Nascent Soul demon cultivators to arrive at Cangwu Mountain consisted of seven people.

They were all relatively close to Cangwu Mountain, so they rushed over immediately after receiving the order.

Then, over the course of six months, Cangwu Mountain welcomed more than a dozen Nascent Soul demon cultivators.

However, throughout this process, the mysterious Lord of the Duzhen Palace never showed up, and even his information was kept secret by the demons of the Duzhen Palace.

Some people are afraid to speak, and some people don't want to speak.

Thus, the Lord of Duzhen Palace remained hidden behind the scenes.

Another six months passed before the three great demon emperors descended upon Cangwu Mountain.

The demon cultivators could no longer contain themselves!

Making so many powerful figures wait in vain—isn't that Palace Master Duzhen being far too arrogant?

Deep within the Duzhen Palace, in the most central cave dwelling, the gate remained tightly shut.

Luo Chen sat cross-legged, surrounded by incredibly dense spiritual energy that continuously flowed into his body.

His magical power was also growing rapidly.

Since comprehending the essence of water a hundred years ago and experiencing an accident that caused his cultivation level to surge to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, Luo Chen's cultivation level has not changed much.

Firstly, he didn't have enough time to cultivate because he was wandering around the Azure Sky capturing the Qi of the Heavens. Secondly, refining the Crimson Heaven Sword Qi consumed a lot of mana. But most importantly, his cultivation level had risen too quickly back then, and he didn't dare to pursue progress, so he kept suppressing it and refining his rapidly increasing mana.

Now, a century later, his Nascent Soul Ninth Level realm has become incredibly stable.

Now, with the help of a fifth-tier spiritual vein, his cultivation level has once again begun to improve visibly.

But Luo Chen didn't really care about this increase in magical power; he cared about something else.

A fifth-order spiritual vein will naturally attract spiritual energy!

This was something Luo Chen had known before.

But what Luo Chen didn't know was that the amount of spiritual energy attracted by the fifth-order spiritual vein was enormous!
Being inside, whether it's refining magical power, manipulating thoughts, or even comprehending the true meaning of laws, everything is much, much faster than outside.

Spiritual energy is the best auxiliary resource for cultivators to comprehend the true meaning of laws and enter a state of enlightenment. Even advancing to the Nascent Soul realm requires a large amount of spiritual energy.

Its existence is ubiquitous, yet it is difficult to find; there are very few of it in the world.

Only a fifth-order spiritual vein with extremely rich spiritual energy can naturally attract a large amount of spiritual energy to linger for a long time.

The moment Luo Chen entered the Duzhen Cave, he understood why advancing to the Nascent Soul stage required a fifth-order spiritual vein.

Such an abundant amount of spiritual energy is enough for a Nascent Soul cultivator to take the final step!
For a full year, Luo Chen lived there, casting aside all distractions and entering a state of ascetic cultivation.

Not only did his magical power increase, but he even entered a state of enlightenment once.

That time, he felt golden flames surging around him, and a sense of life and death, and reincarnation filled his heart.

Although he ultimately didn't gain any real insight, his mastery of controlling his own Nirvana Flame greatly improved after exiting the state of enlightenment.

Luo Chen guessed that if he had succeeded that time, he might have comprehended the "true meaning of Nirvana" within the Law of Fire.

Just as he comprehended the true meaning of decay and prosperity with the help of the True Fire of Decay and Prosperity back then, it is only natural that he could comprehend the true meaning of Nirvana now that he is surrounded by the Sacred Fire of Nirvana and has had a sudden enlightenment.

Unfortunately, the true meaning of this law seemed too powerful and too high-level, causing Luo Chen to fail at the last minute.

"The Great Dao is three thousand, and its laws are countless!"

"Every law contains a different true meaning."

"From the most basic primordial power to the true meaning changes of the same attribute but different natures, if one can ultimately comprehend all of them, does that mean one has truly attained enlightenment?"

Luo Chen was quite certain that the True Meaning of Nirvana and the Origin of Fire were beings of the same attribute, both belonging to the Laws of Fire. The only difference was that one was of a higher level and the other of a more fundamental one.

When placed within the laws of wood, the relationship is similar to that between the true meaning of withering and flourishing and the origin of wood.

Therefore, the above conjecture arose spontaneously in his mind.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he reached out and beckoned.

A sound transmission talisman flew in from outside the cave, spontaneously combusting without wind, revealing the gentle voice of a thrush.

"Teacher, everyone on the demon cultivator roster has arrived."

Luo Chen suddenly realized, extinguished the communication talisman, changed into the Hundred Feather Robe representing the Duzhen Palace Master, and stepped out of the Duzhen Cave.

As soon as she came out, she saw the Fairy of the Thrush standing beside her, looking at her with gentle and adoring eyes.

"Thanks a lot."

"It's not hard work. I've already benefited greatly from the alchemy teachings my teacher. Doing a little something for my teacher is nothing."

Luo Chen smiled and shook his head at this cheap disciple, "Where are they now?"

The Fairy of the Painted Eyebrows hesitated for a moment, then quietly explained the situation of those demon cultivators to Luo Chen.

After listening, Luo Chen raised his eyebrows slightly.

Are you dissatisfied with me?

With a light laugh, the man in feathered robes flicked his sleeves and calmly walked towards the Hall of Crossing Truth. (End of Chapter)