Immortality starts from the liver proficiency

Chapter 347 Seeking Immortality, Within the Body of a Heavenly Demon
"The Chilong is fond of dragon energy. If Xu Yunfan is lured to the arena, Penglai Pavilion is willing to use the 'Nine Nether Cold Iron Chains' to bind his feet."

The words gradually rang out as a figure emerged from the shadows. This envoy from Penglai Pavilion was surrounded by damp, cold sea mist, and his skin was not human-like, but covered with fine, dark blue-black scales.

Although its facial features resemble a human, it has gill-like lines extending from behind its ears to its neck, and its scarlet mucous membrane is faintly visible as it breathes.

The joints of all ten fingers are abnormally large, and translucent, sharp bone claws extend from the fingertips.

What's most unsettling are those vertical pupils, with a dark line splitting the center of the golden iris, and when the pupils contract, they reflect distorted light and shadow like a snake.

The Taoist priest in green robes from the Xuanzhen Sect stared intently at the envoy from Penglai Pavilion, his eyes sharp as torches, and let out a cold snort.

"Even demons and monsters aren't afraid of dying suddenly one day."

The Penglai Pavilion envoy's vertical pupils shifted slightly as he looked at the Xuanzhen Sect Taoist, a slight grin revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

“Fairy Yunlan is the head of our Penglai Pavilion. Her death will not be left unpunished by our Penglai Pavilion.”

The Penglai Pavilion envoy suddenly unleashed a powerful aura like the raging waves of the deep sea, with wisps of sharp, piercing energy seeping from the gaps in his dark blue scales.

Upon seeing this, the Empress laughed loudly: "I only want him to be torn to pieces!"
-
As night fell, Xu Yunfan stood in an unnamed pavilion in Yujing City, his cold gaze sweeping over the brocade-robed girl who had been stunned by him.

The ornate carvings and painted decorations here suggest that the owner was either very wealthy or of high status; it might have been the private residence of a high-ranking official or the villa of a prince.

The faint sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard outside the window, mingling with the clanging of the armored patrolmen of the Imperial City Guard, but no one noticed the commotion inside the grand mansion's attic.

Xu Yunfan stood atop the pavilion, gazing at the still-burning flames in the distance.

The crumbling walls of the three market districts of Yujing City were etched with deep outlines under the moonlight.

The Xuanwu Martial Arts Arena in the central square is long gone, replaced by a massive crater hundreds of feet deep, with cracks along its edges spreading like a spider web to the surrounding streets and alleys.

This was the aftershock of the clash between Xu Yunfan and the three supreme masters.

Amidst the ruins, a few suppressed sobs could occasionally be heard.

An old woman was rummaging through the rubble for her belongings when she found only half of a peach wood comb that had been cut off by a sword strike.

The child huddled under the remaining beams, clutching a dusty cloth tiger tightly in his arms.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur, the remnants of the Great Sun True Fire that Chu Sheng, the "Blazing Sun Venerable" of the Nine Luminaries Sect, had detonated before his demise.

The dark blue ice crystals that had solidified on the ground foreshadowed the chilling final blow from Fairy Yunlan of Penglai Pavilion.

Xu Yunfan slowly closed his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He had deliberately tried to contain the aftershocks of the Ten Extremes True Qi on the Xuanwu Martial Arts Arena, and even used the True Qi as a barrier to isolate the four directions, but he still couldn't completely avoid it.

We can only try to make amends after this matter is over and the Dao Sect has gained control.

"Are you feeling confused?"

A hoarse sound, like rusty iron scraping, came from behind him.

Without needing to turn around, Xu Yunfan's senses had already revealed the outline of the other.

Beneath his disheveled gray hair, those eagle eyes were like unsheathed swords; he was none other than Dugu Jiu, hiding beneath the Burial Sword Abyss.

At this moment, Xu Yunfan was no longer afraid of Dugu Jiu, the Heavenly Sword. If the timing wasn't wrong, he would even like to fight him to see where his limits were.

"Did Senior Dugu also encounter this situation?"

Xu Yunfan turned around, his hands resting on the Mountain-Shaking and Sea-Suppressing Hammer.

He was no longer the same person who was suppressed by sword intent in front of the Burial Sword Abyss. Now, he had mastered the Ten Extremes Martial Arts and even secretly looked forward to fighting this sword legend.

Dugu Jiu let out a sneer, his withered fingers tracing the old scar on his hand. It was a scar left three hundred years ago when he slaughtered the bandits of the northern desert.

At that time, the entire oasis was shredded into a bloody swamp by the sword energy, and even infants in swaddling clothes were not spared.

By the time he regained his senses, it was too late to turn back.

"A swordsman should be like the moon reflected in a cold pool, clear to the bottom yet allowing no speck of dust."

His voice was hoarse, "Back then, I sat in the Sword Abyss for thirteen years for this reason, and finally understood one thing..."

The night breeze suddenly stopped, causing a slight breeze to rise from the attic and flutter the white curtains.

He saw a glint of blue light flash in the old man's eyes, which made him raise an eyebrow.

The opponent's sword energy had been condensed to its extreme.

"If even the sword heart hesitates, how can one sever the cause and effect?"

Dugu Jiu suddenly turned her head to look towards the imperial city, her gray hair stained with undried blood. "As for why I came to Yujing..."

He grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, "Someone is using a fragment of 'Ten Thousand Chariots Transform into a Sword' as bait, wanting to borrow my sword... to slay a dragon that is about to transform into a dragon."

Xu Yunfan's eyes suddenly blazed with intensity, and his fingers, which were caressing the Shaking Mountain and Suppressing Sea Hammer, abruptly stopped.

"I wonder which dragon, about to transform into a dragon, Senior Dugu intends to slay?"

Dugu Jiu's lips curled up slightly, his withered fingers gently stroking the long sword at his waist. As his fingertips brushed against it, the divine weapon emitted a deep hum.

"How could my swordsmanship be shaken by a mere fragment of a sword manual?"

His voice was hoarse, like iron grinding against stone, and a trace of reminiscence flashed in his eagle eyes amidst his disheveled gray hair.

There are many legends in the world about the fragments of true techniques left unintentionally by powerful beings at the realm of terrestrial immortals. He had been searching for them for nearly a hundred years, but apart from obtaining a few fragments, he found no trace of them.

Seeking immortals and visiting Taoist masters.

But there are no immortals in the world, so how can one seek the Dao?

Xu Yunfan understood. It seemed that Dugu Jiu was unwilling to fight him, or perhaps he wasn't confident in fighting him.

Given Dugu Jiu's approaching lifespan, he would seize any opportunity without hesitation. The so-called "Ten Thousand Chariots Transformation Sword" is likely a true cultivation method, similar to the "Silent Extinction Dust Heart Sutra."

"May I ask what brings Senior Dugu here?"

Dugu Jiu walked to the edge of the pavilion, rested her hand on the railing, looked up at the starry sky, and after a long while, sighed softly.

"The Daoist sect forcibly extracted the dragon vein through the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony... The Xuanhuang Qi was poured into you, making you the pinnacle of the Ninth Realm, but it also disrupted the natural order of heaven and earth. Now, this world may be like it was a thousand years ago, with the Heavenly Demon about to arrive."

Xu Yunfan frowned slightly. Since he joined the Dao Sect, not only Bi Yuan had mentioned it, but he had also met some of the Supreme Elders in the Dao Sect. Whenever this matter was brought up, he felt somewhat at a loss.

He couldn't help but ask in a deep voice, "Senior, what is the origin of this Heavenly Demon? Is there any record of it in ancient books?"

Dugu Jiu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance: "There is very little recorded in ancient books. All we know is that the 'Crimson-Eyed Demon Lord' who ravaged the human world two thousand years ago was a member of the Heavenly Demon lineage, and that the Pure Yang Ancestor killed him with supreme divine power."

"My master said that if you want to find the secret to immortality, you need to look to the Heavenly Demon. I wonder what connection the Heavenly Demon has with the path to immortality?" Xu Yunfan pressed.

Dugu Jiu was somewhat surprised, seemingly not expecting Bi Yuan to tell Xu Yunfan the most fundamental reason.

"Of course there are. There are also opportunities for us on the bodies of the Heavenly Demons. They feed on us, and we have always relied on them for sustenance."

(End of this chapter)