Becoming an immortal and ancestor begins with the golden toad spitting out money.

Chapter 168: Offering oneself as a tree, willingly becoming a prisoner?
At any time, a ram-headed spirit that can control an entire spiritual vein is a being comparable to the Golden Fiend Cloud Spirit.

In a sense, the spirit vein monster has surpassed the so-called invincible high cultivator, and can be considered a combination of the invincible bloodline demon king and the invincible high cultivator.

It should be understood that the ruined fairyland is not merely the tangible but intangible Great Sun Spiritual Realm, but a true blessed land with physical objects.

The Spirit Vein Monster uses metal ore veins as its body, and with the Ice and Snow Evil Spirits constantly "feeding" it like worker ants, even the [Metal] Divine Beast Iron Monkey would probably be slapped away by the Spirit Vein Monster.

As a result, when Su Ji and other cultivators were trapped in the mouth of the spirit vein monster not long ago, due to the difference between having substance and not having substance, it was extremely difficult for the cultivators to fight their way out.

Among Long Teng and his group, Long Teng, as a newly promoted high-level cultivator, was quite powerful. His two protectors were able to reach the top level with the help of treasures, and there were several other companions with decent strength to maintain the formation. When exploring the Frosty Hills, they were not afraid of those ice and snow evil spirits that were at most powerful.

However, when the spirit vein monster appeared, not only the Dao Seed Dragon Soaring, but even the two top-level guardians were in despair. Fortunately, the monster did not intend to kill them, but only captured them and used them as workers to transport ore.

During this process, with only a few powerful ice and snow elves guarding them, the cultivators did have a chance to escape.

However, the cultivators of the Dragon Mountain Sect knew that the entire mine could potentially become part of the spirit vein monsters, and even if they managed to escape the mine, they would not be able to escape the Frost Hills.

As a result, a group of highly respected cultivators and senior figures, who were revered by many cultivators in the outside world, could only pretend to submit and transport the ore, waiting for the sect to send people to rescue them later.

By now, the cultivators had been tormented for almost two days. They were not afraid of being tired, but rather of their physical bodies being damaged while they were away at the Qiu family's residence.

Although the Dongxuan Dao allows one to entrust their life spirit to the Heavenly Soul and Nature Spirit to roam freely, one cannot leave the physical body for too long. Numerous cases serve as a warning to Dongxuan cultivators, and the cultivators of the Longshan Sect are well aware of this.

Of the ten cultivators, four still possessed physical bodies, and Long Teng, a Dao Seed of the Dragon Mountain Sect, was one of them.

Although the physical body has little impact on some advanced cultivators of the Dongxuan realm, Long Teng has also cultivated the Dongzhen path, and he does not want the path of cultivation to become even more difficult due to the death of his physical body.

Furthermore, these captured cultivators had already made preparations: if no one found their way to rescue them in another day, they would risk their lives to escape. Even if they couldn't escape, they would at least send out information about the situation and their location.

Therefore, when the Third Elder of Longshan Sect and others appeared, the cultivators of Longshan Sect were overjoyed and prepared to leave this dangerous and terrifying place as soon as possible.

So much so that when Su Ji uttered the words of advancing instead of retreating, Long Teng's protector looked strange and said, "This young... fellow Daoist, the spiritual vein monster is at the level of immortals and gods. Let alone twenty or thirty cultivators, even ordinary immortals might perish here. Don't underestimate it!"

Ordinary cultivators may still have some romanticized notions about immortals and gods, but Longshan Sect, as the fourth most powerful sect in Yuzhou, has its own immortals and gods and has a clearer understanding of them.

Immortals alone are divided into three types: True Immortals, Mysterious Immortals, and Divine Immortals.

Although true immortals can live forever, they also have to pay a price. They cannot lack the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, and they must undergo a tribulation of life every five hundred years. They will not fight with others unless absolutely necessary.

Immortals are close to heaven and earth and nature, so their combat power is much stronger, but immortals also need to pay attention to magic and magical treasures.

Even a Xuanxian of the first level, wielding a mid-grade immortal magic weapon, is not incapable of fighting against a leisurely Xuanxian of the fourth or fifth level.
If a Xuanxian in the first level of heaven only possesses the Xuanxian Dao Fruit, he may be defeated by some high-level cultivators wielding immortal artifacts. There are many examples of people defying the odds and slaying immortals.

As a result, even if a Xuanxian (a high-level immortal) could enter the dilapidated fairyland where immortal treasures could not be brought in, they would not be a match for the monsters of the spiritual veins, let alone the temporary team composed of ghost kings and high-level cultivators.

However, the spirit general of Jinfeng County laughed and said, "Don't worry about that, just follow us!"

If, before obtaining the immortal material Cold Gold, the rescue team was indeed as Long Teng and the others thought, they had no ability to contend with the spirit vein monster.

However, the rescue team not only made the spirit vein monster sever its own head and neck, but also obtained the immortal material Cold Gold, which can greatly enhance its strength.

Most importantly, the spirit vein monsters have their own weaknesses, and the rescue team has figured out a way to deal with them.

The fact that the Day Wandering Spirit resisted the Ice and Snow Evil Spirit without explaining left Long Teng and the other cultivators puzzled. If the Third Elder hadn't been there, they would have questioned him.

Su Ji only needed to use his mind to perform his mystical arts. While using the Earth Yang Spear to attack the Ice and Snow Evil Spirit, he explained a few things.

"The actual controller of the spirit vein monster is a goat-headed elf. However, the goat-headed elf does not have enough control over the spirit vein monster and has difficulty noticing the outside when performing internal micro-management."

"Moreover, it backfired, allowing us to obtain a large quantity of usable Cold Gold Immortal Materials. Now is the time to launch a counterattack!"

Even the Yellow-Eyebrowed King, who dared to impersonate the Buddha in Journey to the West, could only lie on the ground and roll around after Sun Wukong entered his stomach.

Although the spirit vein monster is not made of flesh and blood, its internal structure is a major weakness. Not only is it difficult for the spirit vein monster to maneuver, but every battle also damages its body.

"So that's how it is!" After hearing Su Ji's explanation and seeing the Cold Gold Immortal Material that Su Ji had taken out, Long Teng and the others were shocked.

Su Ji's words were simple, but each step was not easy to accomplish. It must have been extremely difficult to achieve the current situation.

Long Teng, his heart pounding with excitement, said, "When our fellow Daoists arrive, we will launch a counterattack together!"

However, Su Ji suddenly looked behind him, his expression changing slightly.

Unbeknownst to them, the passage used to transport ore through the navel of the spirit vein monster had quietly closed.

Even without Yan Tianchou's reminder, Su Ji knew that the spirit vein monster must have realized their plan and wanted to close all the external portals to eliminate the last weakness.

"Can't wait any longer!"

Knowing that time was of the essence, Su Ji quickly said to the cultivators, "I will send you into the bodies of the spirit vein monsters first. Under no circumstances can we let them go!"

With that, Su Ji handed over the immortal material, Cold Gold, to Long Teng and the others.

It should be noted that this time they dug out a total of twenty-seven Cold Gold Immortal Materials from the throat of the Spirit Vein Monster. Among the twenty-four cultivators, there were quite a few left over because cultivators like the Day Wandering Spirit General didn't need them.

Su Ji possessed the Five Aperture Heart Stones, so he carried five of them on his person. Now that he had given them to Long Teng and the others, they had significantly increased their combat strength.

"【The Mysterious Gate to the Netherworld】!"

A portal suddenly appeared in front of them, while the other end led into the still-open hole in the navel of the spirit vein monster. The mechanical spirit beast was the first to enter and investigate.

It seemed the monster from the spiritual vein had no idea that cultivators could find this place; there was no danger at all near the monster's navel.

Further inside, there were only pits filled with ore, which acted like digestive organs, transforming the ore into part of the body of the spirit vein monster.

Long Teng and the others were already seething with anger, and now that they had the immortal material Cold Gold in hand, their strength had increased significantly, and their fighting spirit was even stronger.

"Alright, let's charge into the monster's body right now!"

There are ten people in total, including Long Teng and his group. Two are top-tier combatants, three are powerful combatants, and the rest are of average strength. With the blessing of the Cold Gold Immortal Material, they will be able to obtain two invincible high-level cultivators and three top-tier high-level cultivators.

In the meantime, the ten cultivators, under the cover of the Third Elder, gathered together and leaped into the [Tongyou Xuanmen].

The third elder of the Longshan Sect was the last to enter, and he reminded everyone, "We will enter the monster's body first. When the Jianri Spirit guides the other fellow cultivators, please be extremely careful!"

For the sake of the overall situation, Su Ji also needed to support other cultivators, which forced him to face the siege of dozens of ice and snow evil spirits, which seemed extremely dangerous.

However, Su Ji simply nodded and smiled: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, these ice and snow evil spirits, at most powerful, cannot harm me. You should all be more careful. Before I bring you all here, do not venture too far..." The most important thing at this moment is to prevent the spirit vein monster from closing the opening of its navel. The Third Elder of the Dragon Mountain Sect understood the gravity of the situation and earnestly assured him before leaving:
"Fellow Daoist Golden Toad, rest assured, the spiritual vein monster is worth more than ten million strands of divine power. My chance to attain enlightenment may lie in it, so I must not let it go!"

As the fourth most important sect in Yuzhou, Longshan Sect has more than just the Longteng Dao Seed in its lineage. The Third Elder was also a Dao Seed of Longshan Sect when he was young, otherwise he would not have mastered the superior Xuan Technique and become an invincible high cultivator.

However, becoming an immortal is not simply a matter of cultivation level.

When Su Ji advances to the advanced stage of the Cave Profound Realm, he needs a root method that achieves the balance of Yin and Yang.

Even cultivators nearing the Immortal realm need to make many preparations to safely pass the tribulation of lightning if they wish to advance to the Profound Immortal realm.

Even those with Dao Seeds from the Dragon Mountain Sect need to collect rare treasures themselves, and even then, they may not be able to successfully transcend the tribulation.

Otherwise, if every Daoist could become a Xuanxian, where would the declining Xuanmen sect be?
Su Ji nodded, and after the Third Elder of the Dragon Mountain Sect entered the navel portal of the spiritual vein monster, he suddenly disappeared into the encirclement of a group of ice and snow evil spirits.

The next instant, Su Ji arrived outside the encirclement and used the [Shadow Escape] technique to continuously pull at the Ice and Snow Evil Spirit, which reduced some of the pressure on the twelve cultivators who had entered the monster's body.

Inside the monster's navel, many cultivators began to activate the Frost Gold Immortal Material to freeze the portal, but the effect was not very good.

At this moment, the Third Elder of Longshan Sect suddenly shouted and transformed into a sturdy tree giant. He used more than a dozen branches as arms to support the constantly writhing gate and even planted his roots inside and outside the gate.

However, the spirit vein monster was so powerful that it only crawled forward once, and many of the roots of the tall trees were torn off, and even a large chunk of soil and rock were brought out with it.

In an instant, the expressions of many cultivators changed.

Just now, the monster hadn't made a sound, but now it's starting to move. Even if it can't escape with the cultivator inside its belly, it can at least block the opening of its navel with the ground...

Just then, shouts of battle suddenly came from afar. Clearly, the cultivators who formed the Azure Dragon Formation had arrived.

Having learned of the commotion caused by the cultivators, Su Ji finally had a direction to use his mystical arts. With a wave of his sleeve, a passage appeared before him.

The next moment, Su Ji disappeared from the mine and arrived not far from the cultivators who formed the Azure Dragon Formation.

At this moment, even though some ice and snow elves merged together like a snowball and possessed top-notch combat power, they were still no match for the Azure Dragon formation, not to mention the white-robed high cultivator clearing the way with the Taibai Sword Shadow.

"Everyone, we have reunited with the missing fellow Daoists from the Dragon Mountain Sect. They have now entered the body of the spirit vein monster, and all that is needed is for you to launch the final assault!"

Having said that, Su Ji waved his sleeve again, opening a path for turning back.

The white-robed high-ranking cultivator of the Taibai Dragon Clan transformed into a sword light and took the lead, followed by the many cultivators in the Azure Dragon Formation, with Su Ji being the last to catch up.

When they arrived at the original mine, the white-robed Gao Xiu had already carved a path through the ice and snow evil spirits, which were struggling to recover their bodies everywhere.

However, the portal to the navel of the spirit vein monster, which was originally not far away, is now just a thick stone wall that is gradually receding into the distance.

The group of cultivators rushed over, only to discover that the so-called stone wall was actually the skin of the spirit vein monster, which was incredibly thick due to having devoured countless metal ores.

Even though their strength had greatly increased due to the Frost Gold Immortal Material, they would still find it difficult to break through the monster's flesh in a short time. If it successfully escaped to some underground place, even if they caught up with it, they would find it difficult to do anything.

After all, the deeper underground, the greater the pressure. The monsters of the spiritual veins can withstand the endless erosion of the earth's energy. Even if the cultivators can keep up with the Azure Dragon Formation, their spells and supernatural powers may be greatly reduced.

"This is how to do!"

Some people were worried, some frowned, and some immediately attacked the spirit vein monster.

However, even the seemingly invincible Taibai Sword Shadow, a high-ranking cultivator in white robes from the Taibai Dragon Clan, could only leave a hole less than two feet in the monster's skin.

Compared to the monster's flesh that is several feet thick, it is nothing. By the time the cultivators clear a path, the cultivators who entered the monster's body first may have already suffered heavy casualties.

Just as the cultivators were at a loss, tree roots suddenly sprouted from the belly of the enormous spiritual vein monster.

Then, a loud shout was heard, and a tall tree-man emerged from under the monster's belly, creating a space less than ten feet in size.

In an instant, Su Ji's eyes lit up, and he suddenly waved his sleeve in front of him: "[Tongyou Xuanmen]!"

The Azure Dragon formation was so massive that they couldn't even enter it in time. However, the white-robed high cultivator of the Taibai Dragon Clan and Su Ji leaped in before the [Tongyou Xuanmen] was crushed.

"Taibai Sword Shadow!"

As soon as the white-robed cultivator went out, he attacked the navel of the spirit vein monster.

At this moment, although the giant tree-man's dozen or so branches and arms had been broken off, some branches still transformed into arms and began to grip the navel of the spirit vein monster.

"Sunlight!"

Without hesitation, Su Ji activated six beams of sunlight, causing the spirit vein monster to tremble.

At this moment, a white-robed high-ranking cultivator from the Taibai Dragon Clan summoned a piece of immortal material, Frost Gold, as tall as a person, and forcefully propped up a space. Other cultivators followed suit and eventually used six pieces of Frost Gold immortal material to open up a passage.

"【The Mysterious Gate to the Netherworld】!"

This time, the cultivators within the Azure Dragon Formation finally seized the opportunity and plunged headlong into the [Tongyou Xuanmen].

At this point, the cultivators no longer needed to linger near the navel of the spirit vein monster, and each of them charged inward with a fighting spirit.

Although the Third Elder of the Dragon Mountain Sect did not lose his life, his cultivation level dropped by 30% during the outburst, and he looked extremely miserable. He could only recuperate in the Azure Dragon Formation.

Many cultivators were furious at this, while the cultivators from Longteng were filled with shame.

The two protectors gained near-invincible combat power due to the immortal material Cold Gold, but they were only relying on external objects. When they discovered that someone was attacking the spiritual vein monster, it was the truly invincible near-immortal high-level cultivator, the Third Elder, who stepped forward and managed to lift the monster's belly a full ten feet high.

It can be said that in terms of psychological qualities, adaptability, and fearlessness, these two protectors are completely inferior to the Third Elder of Longshan Sect.

Along the way, although some icy evil spirits tried to obstruct them, they were no match for the group of cultivators.

The two guardians of Longteng did their best to make up for their previous shortcomings and quickly reached the belly of the spirit vein monster.

Upon entering the belly of the spirit vein monster, one can see the high platform where the ram-headed elf is located. Although it is protected by a circle of ice and snow evil spirits, it appears to be vulnerable.

Seeing that the monster's roots could not stop the cultivators' growing killing intent, the ram-headed elf on the high platform finally spoke with a bitter expression.

"Gentlemen, spare my men! I am willing to be taken prisoner!"

(End of this chapter)