Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

From that day on, Tiegu never mentioned the Skyfire Tribe again.

Not only Tiegu, but the others in the tribe also seemed to have received some advice from him. Their attitude towards Chen Fan did not become apprehensive because of the mountain of precious supplies.

Uncle Stone Teeth would still bring over a few pieces of fresh rock goat meat every now and then; the old witch doctor Mugu would still frequently come to the stone house and argue with Chen Fan until their faces turned red over a prescription.

And that brat named Shidou still dared to run into the herb field to grab the tail of the Netherworld Beast King, and was then grabbed by the collar and thrown back into his father's mine by Chen Fan.

Everything is the same as before, without any change.

This unchanging state is precisely the result Chen Fan desires most.

……

Spring passes and autumn comes.

Time flows like a tranquil river, silently washing everything away on this wasteland.

the first year.

the second year.

The third year.

Until... the fourth year passed.

It was a quiet, late night.

The grayish-yellow sandstorm had just subsided, and a rare dark red full moon appeared in the sky. The cool moonlight filtered through the cracks in the broken stone house, casting dappled shadows on Chen Fan.

Chen Fan sat cross-legged in front of the stone table and slowly opened his eyes.

He finished his daily cycle of the Crimson Emperor's Heaven-Burning Technique. The qi and blood within his body were already as unfathomable as an abyss, but he did not continue cultivating.

He slowly stood up, walked to the window of the stone house, and looked out at the quiet tribe.

In the mud not far away, the Netherworld Beast King was snoring softly. The footsteps of the night patrol soldiers in the distance sounded exceptionally clear in the silent night.

"unconsciously……"

Chen Fan stretched out a hand covered with dark ink-colored scales, and in the moonlight, he quietly looked at the hard and cold texture, muttering to himself, "I have actually been in this third level, 'Demon Heart,' for almost fourteen years."

Fourteen years.

This is a long period of time that is enough for an ordinary person to experience most of their youth.

Even for cultivators, this is a considerable amount of time.

A hint of confusion, which even he himself was unaware of, flashed in Chen Fan's eyes.

Time is a terrible thing. It's like a dull knife, slowly smoothing out the rough edges of your memories.

He realized that he hadn't consciously thought about things in the outside world for a long time.

What has become of the seal on the Great Abyss?

Are those old friends of Tiannanxing still well?

These obsessions that once drove him to desperation and the desperate desire to break through the barrier have begun to fade in this small Black Rock Tribe, in the mundane life that has lasted for fourteen years.

Chen Fan was used to being woken up every day by the crisp chirping of the stone beans.

I'm used to discussing the combinations of low-level herbs with the old witch doctor, and used to listening to Ironbone boast about his glorious achievements in his youth by the campfire.

He even grew accustomed to this ancient demonic body and the pungent smell of sulfur in the air.

"Am I... really starting to forget that I came here to clear the gate?"

Chen Fan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Just as he was lost in thought.

"Buzz..."

An extremely strange spatial fluctuation suddenly spread throughout the stone house without warning!

The disturbance did not alert anyone outside, not even the Netherworld Beast King, whose senses were extremely sharp, was fast asleep in the mud.

Chen Fan's expression hardened, and the Crimson Emperor's Origin within his body instantly reached its limit. He was like a fully drawn bow, staring intently at the void in the center of the stone house.

In that void, specks of starlight appeared out of nowhere.

As the starlight converged, it gradually outlined a blurry yet towering figure.

The figure stood with his hands behind his back, emanating a terrifying pressure that transcended the laws of this world. Although it wasn't intentionally released, even that slight leak of aura made Chen Fan feel as if he were facing a vast and boundless starry sky!

"It's you."

Chen Fan saw the person's face clearly, and his tense body slowly relaxed.

That was the ancient demon Luosha.

The ancient powerhouse who set up these three major barriers to inheritance, trapping Chen Fan here for over twenty years, has finally reappeared.

Rosa did not speak immediately.

His deep, universe-like eyes silently surveyed the extremely simple stone house. He looked at the rough stone table, the pottery jars of herbs piled in the corner, and the field of herbs swaying in the moonlight outside the window.

After a long while, a complex emotion flashed in Rosa's eyes. In that emotion were nostalgia, vicissitudes of life, and a deep sorrow.

"Senior." Chen Fan cupped his hands in greeting, breaking the silence with a calm tone.

Luo Sha turned around and her gaze fell on Chen Fan.

He looked at Chen Fan in his blue robe, and at the calm in his eyes that only comes from years of experience, and a bitter smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"Fourteen years." Rosa's voice was hoarse, as if an echo from ancient times. "You've been stuck in this third level for so long that you've almost forgotten who you are, haven't you?"

Chen Fan was silent for a moment, then nodded frankly: "Indeed. Life here has a kind of captivating magic."

"Because here, it's real."

Rosa sighed, took a step forward, seemingly wanting to touch a rough bone fragment on the stone table, but his hand passed right through it.

After all, he is now just a projection of a remnant soul.

"Do you know where this is?" Rosa suddenly turned her head and stared intently at Chen Fan, asking.

Chen Fan frowned slightly: "This is the Black Rock Tribe, a remote wasteland tribe on the ancient demon star."

"No."

Rosa shook her head, an indescribable pain appearing on her blurred face.

"This is where I used to live."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat, and an incredulous look flashed in his eyes.

This Black Rock Tribe is actually the hometown of the ancient demon Rosa, who once roamed the starry sky and established a formidable reputation?!

Ignoring Chen Fan's shock, Rosa turned his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the stone house, looking towards the silent tribe outside.

"Many, many years ago, so long ago that I can't even remember how many tens of thousands of years ago it was..." Rosa's voice was low and ethereal as she began to recount the past that had been buried by time.

"Back then, I was just like you when you first arrived, a beast slave at the very bottom of the Black Rock Tribe."

"My bloodline is thin, and my aptitude is dull. I am bullied every day, used as a target by the soldiers, and whipped by the foreman with a whip soaked in salt water, just to snatch a piece of half-rotten monster meat and survive."

Rosa stretched out his illusory hand and pointed to the mud pit outside the window. "Back then, I also fed those smelly and stupid Netherworld Beasts by that mud pit."

Chen Fan listened quietly without interrupting. He could sense the profound sense of vicissitude in Luo Sha's voice.