Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

The serpent demon's enormous body lay on the ground, silent.

Yu Yan did not move.

Zhou Yan didn't move either.

The two men, several dozen feet apart, stared at each other, both with the same wariness in their eyes.

They were not cultivators raised in a greenhouse; they had encountered many perilous situations and were well aware of the necessary caution.

Who knows if this monster, which has lived for countless years, will play dead, will launch a counterattack before it dies, or will take someone down with it at the last moment before it breathes its last?

Let's wait and see what happens next.

A mountain breeze blew, causing the two men's robes to flutter, but the snake demon's corpse remained motionless.

The snake demon's scales gleamed dimly in the sunlight, and its golden vertical pupils remained open, their pupils unfocused, yet still sending chills down one's spine.

Even in those cold-blooded eyes, one could still discern a hint of resentment.

Of course it was unwilling to accept this; it was just one step away from the second tier, but then a series of unexpected obstacles appeared out of nowhere.

Despite giving it my all, I still lost; who can understand the despair in my heart?

Time flew by, and a full incense stick's time passed, but the corpse remained motionless. The two men stared at each other, neither moving.

Until this moment—

Yu Yan suddenly felt the Heavenly Book in his mind move slightly.

He immersed himself in it, and saw the third...

On the page, a line of small print slowly appeared:

"Slaying a late-stage Tier 1 snake demon grants 500 merit points."

Five hundred merits.

Yu Yan felt a slight surge of joy, knowing that the snake demon was completely dead.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and in the instant his mind relaxed, a sharp pain shot through his waist, causing him to groan involuntarily.

"Dead?"

Zhou Yan's voice came from afar, but he still didn't get closer.

This kid is very cautious, but he still has some conscience, otherwise he wouldn't have turned back halfway.

If Zhou Yan hadn't turned back halfway, killing this snake demon so easily wouldn't have been so simple.

Yu Yan nodded, reached out and grasped the hilt of the knife, and pulled hard.

"puff--"

The butcher's knife was pulled from the snake's body, bringing with it a stream of dark red blood.

The blade still glowed with a faint red light, and the malevolent aura that had accumulated over countless years seemed even more intense than before.

He rubbed the knife against the snake scales to remove the blood, then sheathed it at his waist.

After doing all this, he finally raised his head and looked around.

The mountain path leading to "Ascension Platform" has disappeared, replaced by rugged rocks and withered bushes.

The so-called platform, bronze cauldron, stone steps, and futon all vanished into nothingness, leaving only a few crooked boulders.

The illusion has been dispelled.

Everything in the Taoist temple was an illusion woven by the snake demon using its demonic power.

There is no ascension platform.

There was no ascension ceremony.

It was just a lie fabricated by a snake demon.

Yu Yan's gaze fell on the ground.

The blood mist had completely dissipated, leaving nothing behind, along with the bodies of those people.

There wasn't even a single skeleton.

He remembered that thin figure.

He remembered the hands that reached out to him.

Remembering the other person's dying plea for help...

Yu Yan lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Yan walked up to him at some point, looked at the mess on the ground, and remained silent.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"Those people..."

"That's all."

Yu Yan's voice was very calm, as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

But Zhou Yan sensed something beneath that calm exterior.

So he didn't ask any more questions.

The two stood there, letting the mountain wind blow through them.

A moment later, Yu Yan raised his head and looked at Zhou Yan.

Thanks.

His voice remained calm, but he was generous with his praise.

"Those two palm strikes just now were timed perfectly."

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on his lips:

"Likewise. Yours was ruthless too, a fatal blow at the seven-inch mark."

He paused, then added:

"No matter what, I'm not a heartless person. I just didn't expect you to be so bold as to actually plan to fight the snake demon all by yourself."

Yu Yan's lips twitched slightly, which could be considered a smile:

"Didn't you catch up yourself?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback, then chuckled and shook his head:

"Fine, I admit I was being nosy."

After working together for a while, the two got closer and started talking more casually.

Zhou Yan looked Yu Yan up and down, frowning at the wound on his waist and his pale face:

"You're badly injured. You should find somewhere to recover first. It's not safe up here; it's best to leave as soon as possible."

Yu Yan nodded, but did not set off immediately.

He looked at Zhou Yan and suddenly spoke:

"Brother Zhou."

"Um?"

"Since you have friends from a family of cultivators, do you know where there's a market town nearby?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback, stroked his chin for a moment, and nodded:

"I do know a place. It's about a month's journey from here, a big market town with everything you could want. My friend took me there a few times when he was still alive."

"A month's journey..."

Yu Yan pondered for a moment, then looked up at Zhou Yan.

"Brother Zhou, could you take me there?"

Zhou Yan nodded without hesitation:

"Sure. I need to go there to buy some things anyway."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the snake demon's corpse again:

"Brother Yu, do you still want this?"

Yu Yan shook his head and turned away.

"I've heard that monster meat is quite good; with the nourishment of spiritual energy, it might even be beneficial to one's cultivation."

Hearing Zhou Yan say this, Yu Yan merely glanced at him.

"Don't forget what he just swallowed, and what he ate before that."

Zhou Yan's smile faltered, and he chuckled awkwardly:

"I was just saying that. The body will definitely be given to my friend's family as evidence."

Yu Yan nodded, tried to move his waist, and another sharp pain came.

He frowned, took out a Rejuvenation Pill from his pocket and swallowed it, then looked up at Zhou Yan:

"Let's go."

"Alright, let me move this snake demon into my storage bag first."

Zhou Yan rolled up his sleeves, strained his arms, grabbed the other's tail, and shoved it into the small storage bag.

Just as the two were about to set off, Yu Yan suddenly stopped.

His spiritual threads spread out, and he picked something up from the ground.

A longevity lock.

It's made of silver, not very big, with the words "Long Life" engraved on it. The edges are worn, obviously it has been touched countless times.

Yu Yan took out the longevity lock that Old Zhang had given him from his pocket, and closed the two locks together perfectly.

He still remembered the promise he made when he went up the mountain.

Unfortunately, Zhang Silin will not be going back.

Yu Yan paused only slightly before quickly regaining his composure, quickening his pace to catch up with Zhou Yan.

"This is?"

Zhou Yan asked a question.

"The request I made to you before, from an old man."

He raised his head and looked down the mountain.

Along the mountain road, there were still people waiting there, waiting for their grandson to return.

Wait for his grandson, who went to cultivate immortality, to come home and have a bowl of wontons.

pity--

"Brother Zhou, could you wait for me for a while? I have some things to take care of."

"I'm not in a hurry. What's the matter, Brother Yu?"

"There was an agreement we made before, and we need to clarify it."

Should we tell Old Man Zhang that Zhang Silin is dead?