I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

What's most infuriating is that at this moment, he still doesn't know Wei Tu's true identity, so even if he wanted to take revenge later, it would be difficult for him to do so.

Moreover, it is different from other secret realms.

There are too many powerful spirit races standing in the Divine Wasteland. Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to go there in his true form to search through all the major immortal cities in the Divine Wasteland.

……

After releasing the puppet to test the "crevice" radiating purple light and finding no danger, they...

Without hesitation, Wei Tu put on his "Water and Fire Immortal Robe," and with a swift movement, he vanished inside.

It is quite different from the crystalline appearance of the purple vertical pupil.

The world inside the pupil is more like a separate little world.

It resembles a "spherical space," about a thousand feet in diameter, surrounded by a purple aura that is exactly the same as, and even more like, a spiritual barrier, as its entrance.

In the very center of this "spherical space" floats an ancient and mysterious circular altar.

At the stone steps of the altar, more than a dozen lifelike "living people" dressed in white robes were kneeling, their hands on the ground in a peculiar posture, as if they were worshipping something.

Strangely, the very center of the altar was completely empty, except for a small stone offering table.

Wei Tu wanted to use his divine sense to investigate, but strangely, as soon as he touched it, a restriction appeared in the void around the altar, preventing him from peeking in.

At the same time, the priests, dressed in white robes, seemed to sense his arrival and turned to look at him in unison, their eyes empty and indifferent.

next moment.

It was as if the great power of time had descended.

The flesh of these priests began to rot rapidly, and their white robes decayed completely in an instant.

After a short while, the priests who had just been like "living people" had become gruesome skeletons scattered across the circular altar.

"Is this a secret realm of inheritance?" Wei Tu was taken aback, took a half step back, and remained highly vigilant once again.

But soon, he thought of something else, and his expression relaxed a little more.

The steps are similar to obtaining "celestial energy".

The Dragon Refining Cave is only the first tribulation.

After passing through the Dragon Refining Cave, you still need to "fish for immortal energy" inside the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle to truly obtain this reward.

Similarly, by using this tattered ancient token, or rather, the "Dragon Emperor's Ancient Token," to open this "eerie vertical pupil," he had only fulfilled the first condition for obtaining the treasure...

Logically, it should contain dangerous objects similar to the "Yin and Yang energies" inside the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle.

However—unlike before, he no longer has the intelligence support of the Feathered Dragon Clan, so this checkpoint has suddenly become extremely dangerous.

"Relax first!"

"No matter how urgent it is, there's no need to rush this moment."

After a moment's thought, Wei Tu closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and began searching for the 'spiritual object' that had resonated with his physical body the instant he opened the eerie vertical pupil.

The next moment, a dazzling ray of light in five colors overflowed from the ancient and mysterious circular altar, slowly rotating like a stream of light and radiating an overwhelming spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, due to the powerful restrictions on the altar, neither his divine sense nor his "Hun'e Evil Eye" could go any further to discover what kind of treasure this spiritual object was.

Even if he tried to fly along this "spherical space" to the top of the circular altar, he could not see the true appearance of this spirit with the naked eye.

"It seems that to obtain this item, we must ascend this circular altar." Wei Tu took a deep breath, slightly raised his hand, and released a low-level puppet to scout ahead.

But then something astonishing happened.

The moment this low-level puppet approached the circular altar, before it even touched the surrounding restrictions, its spiritual power began to decline rapidly at a visible speed.

In the blink of an eye, it became nothing more than an ordinary object, a pile of "scrap metal".

Then, as the spiritual light of the altar's restrictions trembled, the low-level puppet instantly shattered into dust and vanished completely.

"Similar to the gold and silver restrictions we encountered outside..."

"They all have the ability to absorb spiritual energy and transform spiritual objects into mortals."

Upon seeing this, Wei Tu's expression turned solemn.

With his current level of cultivation, it wouldn't be difficult for him to "transform" lower-level spiritual beings into mortals.

But the scary thing is that he doesn't believe the restrictions on the altar are only effective against this low-level puppet.

What if it also works on him, a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage...?

It's no less than courting death.

"Go!" After frowning slightly, Wei Tu's face turned ruthless. He raised his right palm, cut off one of his fingers, and then manipulated the finger to approach the circular altar in the distance.

The next moment, the "Spirit Devouring Restriction" took effect again, greedily devouring the spiritual power of his finger.

The spiritual power in his fingers also began to diminish at a visible rate.

However, because the spiritual power of his finger was hundreds of times greater than that of the low-level puppet, and because his Void Refinement Technique could resist the erosion of the restriction...

Three or four breaths later, his finger finally became a "mortal object," devoid of any spiritual energy.

But then a series of bizarre events unfolded.

Unlike the low-level puppet, his finger did not shatter into dust. Instead, like the white-robed cultivator who had just appeared on the altar, it quickly rotted and turned into bones, which were then absorbed by the altar and fell onto the stone steps.

"We can only hold out for three or four breaths..."

Wei Tu swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his back.

Fortunately, out of caution, he didn't recklessly rush to seize the treasure. Otherwise, given his level of cultivation, even if he could hold out for a few more breaths... his fate would probably be similar to that of his finger, turning into bones and "dying" on this circular altar.

However, this scene also confirmed his guess.

The circular altar is not malicious. Like the yin and yang energies at the bottom of the "Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle" that bind the "immortal energy," it is merely a barrier set up by the owner of this place. As long as you find the right method, you can obtain the treasure.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately used the "death scenes" of these white-robed cultivators to remind him.

"only……"

"How to break the deadlock?"

Wei Tu looked thoughtful, then flipped his hand and took out the "Dragon Emperor Ancient Token," examining it closely.

Unfortunately, this "Dragon Emperor's Ancient Decree" seems to only have the effect of opening the eerie vertical pupil. Inside the "eerie vertical pupil," no matter how much he tries to activate it, it remains as lifeless as a dead object, without any reaction.

"Could it be related to this?" Suddenly, Wei Tu seemed to have thought of something and took out the ten immortal energies he had fished out from the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle.

For ordinary cultivators, immortal energy is the supreme treasure for building an "immortal foundation".

But for Mahayana practitioners...

It's not nearly as important anymore.

Because one of the hallmarks of a Mahayana cultivator is the ability to condense their own unique "immortal energy" within their body!
However, the strength that "Ah Da" displayed in the previous melee was not what one would expect from a cultivator at the Integration level...

When he threatened him, he even referred to himself as "this immortal"!
In other words, if this cultivator's true form is Mahayana, why would he be so obsessed with the "Ten-Tailed Immortal Qi" in his hand?
Even if it means wasting the precious time to escape into this place, I will save him once and take him away with me.

"The immortal energy born within the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle is the only way to resist the spiritual restrictions of this altar!"

"Other forms of celestial energy do not have this effect."

Wei Tu understood the truth and felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Only this reasoning can explain the strange behavior of "A-Da" as a Mahayana incarnation—after all, as a Mahayana immortal, no matter how greedy he is, it is unlikely that he would make a mistake or oversight at a crucial moment because of such a small greed.

Of course, whether it's true or false, we'll have to try it to find out.

He opened the bottle, took out a wisp of immortal energy, and immediately used his divine sense to separate a strand and wrap it around one of his fingers.

Then, he repeated his trick, cutting off one of his fingers and using it to move closer to the distant circular altar.

as predicted.

This time, although the altar's restrictions were still stripping away and devouring the "spiritual power" in his fingers, the speed was noticeably slowed down under the protection of this wisp of immortal energy.

After holding on for twelve breaths, his finger finally reached the stage of "transformation into mortal form" and became a skeleton.

But that wisp of immortal energy... remained completely unharmed!
"First, absorb the immortal energy, then ascend the altar!"

Wei Tu's eyes gleamed, and he was immediately invigorated.

He flicked his sleeve, drawing back the wisp of immortal energy, and immediately sat cross-legged to begin refining it.

At his current level of Void Refinement, he cannot completely refine the "immortal energy." At most, he can only "merge" some of his magical power with it and then control this immortal energy.

Only after reaching the Integration Realm can one completely integrate this "immortal energy" into their Dharma Body, forging an unparalleled immortal foundation.

However, at this moment, it was enough for him to simply "integrate" these immortal energies briefly to resist the altar's restrictions.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Wei Tu, who had been sitting cross-legged like a sculpture with his eyes closed, finally moved at this moment. He raised his hand and made a hand seal. In the vast blue-green magical power around him, ten tiny white lights appeared, resembling swimming fish, shuttling back and forth in his magical power.

Immediately afterward, he uttered the word "Hurry," and the ten tiny white rays of light rapidly began to "expand," gradually covering the azure magic power from point to surface, perfectly merging with it.

A moment later, the misty blue magic power transformed into blue and white, and then, under Wei Tu's divine control, it turned into a solid, transparent film that adhered tightly to his body.

"Let's try first. If it doesn't work, we'd rather abandon the treasure than risk our lives..." Wei Tu took a deep breath and slowly approached the circular altar.

Soon, the restrictions on the circular altar appeared, and just like the reaction Wei Tu had tested earlier, they contained a powerful pulling force, frantically devouring the surrounding spiritual energy.

However, thanks to the protection of this "Ten-Tailed Immortal Aura," he only felt slightly uncomfortable after it landed on him.

At this rate of absorption, let alone half an incense stick or a full incense stick, he could easily hold out for half an hour.

At this moment, there is no doubt that one can rush directly to the center of the altar and take away that shimmering, mysterious treasure.

But at this moment, Wei Tu did not let his guard down.

After carefully passing through the outermost edge of the altar's protective barrier, he was forced to stand on the lowest stone steps of the circular altar under the powerful anti-air barrier within.

As his feet touched the ground, the "finger bones" of his two fingers, which had been drawn to the altar, shattered into powder with a "crack" under some inexplicable force.

At the same time, Wei Tu also instantly felt a strange sense of life slipping away.

“It’s time…” Wei Tu’s expression changed slightly. He had already noticed the graying temples at his temples.

Clearly, the restrictions on this altar are not only effective in "devouring spirits"—as initially demonstrated, they also possess an unpredictable power that could instantly turn the group of white-robed cultivators on these stone steps into bones.

This power is the power of time!
Under such a rapid flow of time, even someone as young as him would find it difficult to replenish the life essence that had been greatly depleted due to the passage of time in an instant.

"One breath is equivalent to ten years."

Wei Tu's expression was solemn.

Even cultivators who reach the Nascent Soul stage or higher do not possess infinite lifespans. After reaching the age of ten thousand, they must undergo a Heavenly Tribulation of Life Extinction every five hundred years. Only in this way can their lifespan be extended.

The Heavenly Tribulation of Extinction is not only a punishment from Heaven and Earth for cultivators, but it also contains a certain amount of "life essence" that can allow cultivators to "rejuvenate" and extend their lifespan.

In other words, given this rate of time, if his lifespan were forced to reach the age of "ten thousand years," he would very likely die of old age on this circular altar.

Ten thousand years is, at most, a thousand breaths...

And this, we also need to factor in his own lifespan. Undoubtedly, it will be even more restrictive.

The time constraints are tolerable.

Most critically, Wei Tu also felt immense pressure on this circular altar, like the floating steps outside the "Lingyan Heavenly Palace," which was extremely time-consuming and difficult to overcome.

"Fortunately, the distance to this altar is much shorter than the floating steps of the 'Spiritual Palace'..."

Wei Tu calculated the time, then his face hardened, and he rushed towards the center of the altar.

Under this immense pressure, his physical body, which had been pushed to its limit, continuously emitted a dense blood essence, as thick as mist. However, under the "Spirit Devouring Restriction," it was quickly absorbed back into mortal matter, turning into dried mortal blood that clung tightly to his skin.

After more than ten breaths, Wei Tu was covered in blood and his whole body was soaked in blood.

After a hundred breaths, Wei Tu rushed to the middle level of the altar, about two hundred steps away from the center of the altar.

However, once he arrived at this point, the pressure on the altar increased dramatically, making his steps much more difficult.

"At this speed, it will be difficult to achieve within a thousand breaths."

Upon seeing this, Wei Tu frowned slightly.

If the pressure of the restriction remains unchanged, he should be able to reach the center of the altar within a thousand breaths.

The problem is that the "pressure" of this restriction will undoubtedly increase as his progress shortens.

"There's relatively little resistance to retreating... I can leave the altar in at most ten breaths..."

After hesitating for a moment, and realizing that he still had room to retreat, Wei Tu gritted his teeth and persevered, drawing upon the magical power within his body to rush towards the center of the altar.

Two hundred breaths.

Three hundred breaths...

Time passes slowly.

At the "four hundredth breath", Wei Tu suddenly realized that the restrictions on the altar seemed to have disappeared, and he no longer felt the oppressive feeling of carrying a giant mountain on his back.

Besides this restriction, the power of time also inexplicably disappeared.

In that instant, his lost life essence returned to his body, his white hair turned black again, and the decaying aura on his body disappeared.

“This…” Wei Tu paused, slightly taken aback.

However, this was not the time for him to ponder the reasons behind this. With a flick of his sleeve, he dashed directly towards the center of the altar in a blur.

The instant they reached the center of the altar.

The spirit, which had been obscured by the barrier and was not clearly visible, but was filled with dazzling radiance, finally revealed its "true form" to him.

It was an ancient lamp that had already "gone out." The lamp base and pillar were made of bronze and had green rust spots, while the lamp dish was made of amethyst, a material similar to that of the "eerie vertical pupils"...

Inside the lamp dish, a five-colored liquid, about the size of a fingertip and resembling lamp oil, was slowly solidifying.

And beneath this mysterious ancient lamp...

On the altar was a scroll about ten feet long, depicting a vast sea dotted with numerous small islands.

But as Wei Tu's gaze fell upon the painting, or rather, the "sea chart," the "scenery" within it seemed to come alive, with the seawater flowing gently like a stream.

"Are they the seven sea regions of Dinghai Immortal Ruins?"

Upon seeing this, Wei Tu's face lit up with a slight joy. He could clearly sense spatial fluctuations on the sea chart.

The spatial nodes within it should, barring any unforeseen circumstances, be connected to the "Seven Great Seas" of Dinghai Immortal Ruins. Simply touching these "spatial nodes" will allow for easy teleportation to the corresponding locations.

However—this object is described as a painting, but it seems to form a whole with the offering table and circular altar below, and under the protection of the restriction, it is difficult to shake it in the slightest.

The only thing not protected by the restrictions is that mysterious ancient lamp.

However, after obtaining the item, no matter how much Ren Weitu examined it, he could not discern any magical or wondrous uses from this treasure.

"Could it be related to the lights? Is that glow from the lights?"

Wei Tu stroked his chin, pondering a possibility, and attempted to use his magic to ignite the wick of the mysterious ancient lamp.

But soon, he was dumbfounded.

He discovered that he couldn't light the ancient lamp with his magical powers.

However, at that moment, the altar in front of him suddenly shone brightly, condensing into a dense array of dragon-shaped spiritual runes that flew towards him.

In an instant, these spiritual texts arranged and combined, transforming into hundreds of neat lines of small characters.

"Longevity Lamp..."

Wei Tu's expression kept changing as he read out the true name of the ancient lamp from these ancient characters that belonged only to the dragon race.

He, a cultivator from another race, didn't understand the ancient script of the Dragon Clan in the slightest. But the profound meaning contained within this spiritual script was enough to help him comprehend everything.

The reason for his changing expression...

This [Longevity Lamp] was far beyond his expectations.

This treasure is closely related to the "trials" he experienced on the circular altar, especially the "power of time" that can plunder the life essence of cultivators...

However, this is not the true power of time, but merely an illusion created by the wondrous powers of this treasure.

Once this lamp is lit, it can be used to forcibly steal all the life essence from the enemy.

Therefore, the word "longevity" in this lamp can be interpreted from another perspective as... plundering the essence of cultivators to replenish one's own body!

It belongs to the most evil of all evil artifacts.

However, in this respect, this treasure and his method of plundering cultivators' "life force" are similar in that they are essentially the same.

The difference is.

This method is not subject to divine retribution, and there is no need for him to restrain himself like he did before reaching the "Hidden Fate Realm".

Furthermore, the "life essence" that is plundered can also help other cultivators, unlike life force, which can only be absorbed by him alone.

The reason why this treasure became a "reward" in this trial ground is quite simple.

It is a "miracle treasure" prepared by the true dragon clan to replenish the bloodline of those "dragon descendants" whose bloodline is not pure.

This aligns with the original intention behind the establishment of the "Dragon Refining Sea"!
This is also the cruelty of the True Dragon Clan.

In the eyes of the True Dragon Clan, dragon descendants with low bloodlines are not even considered human. If they can consume a certain number of dragon descendants to create a "True Dragon" with pure bloodlines, it would be a huge profit for them.

However, in order to prevent low-quality dragon-born cultivators from taking advantage of this place and bringing disaster to the cultivation world, certain restrictions have been specially set up on the altar.

—It is difficult for any dragon-born cultivator who is not under six thousand years old to reach the top!
One breath is ten years.

Four hundred breaths is equivalent to four thousand years of life essence.

If a dragon-descended cultivator has a lifespan of over six thousand years, there is only one word for death if they come to this secret place!
This condition is extremely demanding!

Those who can reach this point are at least at the "half-step Integration" level, so how could their lifespan be less than six thousand years?

This is precisely why the restrictions disappeared completely after Wei Tu had only walked halfway up the altar.

Of course, this restriction is not necessarily effective.

At least Wei Tu doesn't believe that "A Da," who plotted this treasure, lacked the ability to overcome the altar's restrictions and successfully obtain the treasure.

Whether it's an evil weapon or not is not important.

"This is a treasure that even Mahayana practitioners would covet..."

"Plundering life essence can not only be used to replenish one's own bloodline, but also... a powerful divine ability to defeat enemies!"

Wei Tu exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing his inner joy. (End of Chapter)