Burial Furnace

"A duel?" Zhang Yuan was a little confused.

Can this be done?

Isn't the secret realm just a place where only those with the ability can enter and explore?

How can you decide ownership by challenging someone to a duel?

"Neither side wanted to escalate the conflict into a full-blown fight, which would result in many deaths. Plus, they might both have some hidden cards up their sleeves, so they agreed to have Foundation Establishment stage cultivators duel," Duan Tian explained. "Each side sends five people, fighting one-on-one. The winner continues, and the loser is eliminated. The side that loses all five of its members first loses. The winning side gains control of the Xuanhuang Relic Realm."

"Where should we compete?" Zhang Yuan asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Liu Ruxue is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and she has a Heavenly Spiritual Root, exceptional talent, and combat power far surpasses that of others of the same level.

If the Jade Maiden Sect were to send someone to fight, she would be the only choice.

On the other hand, Ma Yutang of the Dengtian Sect is also in the late Foundation Establishment stage, and his father is an elder in the late Nascent Soul stage, so he must have given him a lot of ways to protect himself.

In addition, Lu Muyao is also like that, and she has mastered the terrifying Deceitful Heaven Sword.

Although Liu Ruxue has also learned the Deceitful Sword Technique, the outcome of a fight against them would be unpredictable.

"It will be in Qingmu Town," Duan Tian said. "Because it's close to the secret realm and there are many cultivators there, they can all witness it together. The time is set for one month from now."

"Then I can also watch the battle?" Zhang Yuan thought to himself with secret delight.

"Of course," Duan Tian laughed. "Then all the cultivators in Qingmu Town can watch the excitement; the scene will definitely be spectacular."

He suddenly changed the subject, lowering his voice mysteriously, "Senior, I obtained an incredibly powerful treasure in the Xuanhuang Ruins this time. Unfortunately, I can't comprehend its power. Could you perhaps offer some guidance?"

He looked at Zhang Yuan expectantly, his eyes filled with admiration and trust.

He was convinced that Zhang Yuan was a Mahayana stage master—after all, he had personally witnessed Zhang Yuan use the Fire Serpent Technique to burn two Foundation Establishment cultivators to death, turning them, their armor, and their swords into ashes.

"Let's take a look?" Zhang Yuan also became interested.

Duan Tian was overjoyed, thinking that Zhang Yuan had agreed, and quickly and carefully took out a piece of dark gold paper from his storage bag.

The text is densely covered with ancient characters, the strokes are complex, the structure is unique, and it exudes an aura of antiquity and mystery.

"This is something I obtained after risking my life countless times." Duan Tian spread the page on the counter and said solemnly, "At that time, I obtained a spiritual herb, and dozens of cultivators and more than a dozen demonic beasts were chasing me. I fled in a panic, and I lost my footing and fell into a hole."

The hole was very deep. I fell down for who knows how long before I reached the bottom.

Inside was an ancient tomb, quite large, but almost completely collapsed.

I dug for ages and all I found was this one page.

Then I dug a few more times and unearthed a nest of spirit-devouring worms, densely packed, numbering in the hundreds or even thousands. I was terrified and quickly ran away.

He gestured as he spoke, his face still showing lingering fear.

"I don't recognize these characters, but I know this must be a top-tier treasure. Senior, you are very knowledgeable, you must know what this is."

Zhang Yuan picked up the page and read it over and over again.

The material is very special, neither gold nor jade, it feels warm and smooth to the touch, with a slight coolness.

He didn't recognize a single character in the text. The strokes were twisted, like earthworms crawling, or some kind of mysterious runes, exuding an ancient and obscure aura.

He used his divine sense to investigate, but found nothing unusual—the characters seemed to possess a strange power; as soon as his divine sense touched them, it was as if he had fallen into a fog, unable to see anything clearly.

"Damn, you're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Zhang Yuan muttered to himself, he didn't know either.

He took the page, stood up, and walked into the cremation hall.

Duan Tian followed Zhang Yuan to the door and saw him casually throw the paper into the stove. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open; he almost cried out.

"This thing is useless. It's better to burn it." Zhang Yuan patted the dust off his hands and said casually.

Dark golden flames suddenly erupted, instantly engulfing the page.

The paper quickly curled and melted in the flames, with a red glow first appearing at the edges before the entire page burst into flames, like a withered leaf struggling in the fire.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared without a trace.

Duan Tian was dumbfounded, his heart aching beyond measure.

This is a top-tier treasure!

Even when someone offered him a top-grade spirit stone, he refused to sell!

Now, it's just been burned like this?

Almost simultaneously, a pure primordial power, carrying countless profound pieces of information, surged into Zhang Yuan's mind like a tidal wave.

Images, texts, and runes flashed rapidly through his mind, weaving together to form a complete picture.

His temples throbbed, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

It turns out that this is an extremely terrifying forbidden technique called "Heaven and Earth Life Reduction".

As the name suggests, it involves consuming one's own lifespan to transform it into terrifying combat power, unleashing a fatal blow.

It is the ultimate trump card that cultivators use to turn the tide in a life-or-death situation.

This forbidden technique was originally a book, and this page is only the first page, which records the general outline and the first move—consuming one month's lifespan in exchange for combat power far exceeding one's own realm.

When activated, lifespan transforms into a strange power, flowing into the limbs and bones, allowing the cultivator to unleash several times or even dozens of times their combat power in a short period of time.

That power was violent and domineering, enough to destroy any enemy that stood in its way.

This technique is called "Heaven and Earth Reduce Lifespan by One Month".

There are also the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth moves, which correspond to consuming one year, ten years, one hundred years, one thousand years, and ten thousand years of lifespan, respectively.

If one could unleash the sixth technique, its power would be terrifying enough to kill any powerful enemy—regardless of their cultivation level, it could annihilate them in one strike. The prerequisite is that you have that much lifespan to expend.

Without it, of course, it cannot be used.

Zhang Yuan felt both surprised and regretful.

To his surprise, he unexpectedly obtained another incredible trump card;

Unfortunately, only the first move was shown; the subsequent moves were never seen.

"Senior, why did you burn it?"

Duan Tian looked heartbroken, as if he had lost some priceless treasure. His brows were furrowed, and his voice was tinged with a sob.

"This is an extremely powerful technique called 'Heaven and Earth Reduce Lifespan'," Zhang Yuan explained. "I've already mastered it, and I'll teach it to you later. As for that page of paper, keeping it is like 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' So I destroyed it for you."

Duan Tian was stunned for a moment, then his sorrow turned to joy, and he was so excited he almost jumped up: "Hahaha! I knew you could understand it, senior! Teach me quickly! Teach me quickly!"

He was so excited that his face turned red, his hands trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of admiration and expectation as he looked at Zhang Yuan.