Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 341: Sneak Attack and Escape

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, Fang Hao did not take a single step out of Tingtao Villa, claiming to the outside world that the pill duel had been too taxing and he needed to enter secluded meditation to recuperate. In reality, besides repairing and strengthening the golden puppet, he was frantically making various preparations—drawing high-grade Talismans, familiarizing himself with the performance of that third-tier azure spirit boat, nourishing the few remaining nine-revolutions soul-splitting pills in the chaos pill cauldron, and even setting up a small one-way teleportation formation in a corner of his room. Although the teleportation distance was only a hundred li, it might save his life at a critical moment.

He was like a startled rabbit, ears pricked and nerves taut, with all his quills exposed, ready at any moment to respond to a potentially fatal blow.

On the evening of the third day, Fang Hao woke from his meditation. He changed into an inconspicuous gray dharma robe, suppressed his aura to the Early Golden Core Stage, and checked himself in the mirror. After confirming there were no flaws, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door to leave.

Withered Willow Ferry, located three hundred li south of Myriad Laws Immortal City, was a long-abandoned ancient ferry crossing. It was said that during ancient times, this place had been a bustling pier, but the river eventually changed its course and the ferry was abandoned. Now, only a few withered old willow trees remained, swaying in the cold night wind, appearing exceptionally desolate and eerie.

As midnight approached, the moon was dark and the wind was high—the perfect time for murder and robbery.

Fang Hao steered the azure spirit boat, arriving at the outskirts of the ferry silently. He did not land immediately but hovered in mid-air, spreading his Divine Sense like a tide to carefully scout the surroundings.

The ferry was quiet, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the withered willows. Beneath several massive withered willow trees, a stooped figure could be vaguely seen, draped in a cloak with their face hidden; it was Su Xuan.

Standing not far behind Su Xuan were two others. One was burly with a fierce aura, clearly a Middle Nascent Soul Stage Body Cultivator; the other had a flickering, cold aura, like an assassin skilled in stealth, with a cultivation also at the Early Nascent Soul Stage.

"Three Nascent Souls..." Fang Hao’s heart sank. That old fox Su Xuan had indeed made thorough preparations, not only coming personally but also bringing two powerful thugs. This lineup was more than enough to surround and kill an ordinary Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, let alone deal with him, a mere Golden Core.

Fang Hao controlled the azure spirit boat to descend slowly, stopping ten zhang away from Su Xuan. At this distance, he could both attack and retreat; if anything went wrong, he could immediately activate the golden puppet or use an escape talisman to flee.

"Little Friend Ning, you’ve come." Su Xuan slowly raised his head, revealing a withered face beneath the cloak. A kind smile played on his lips, but his eyes shone terrifyingly bright in the night, like two ghost fires.

"Since Senior Su invited me, how could this Junior dare not to come?" Fang Hao cupped his hands, his tone neither humble nor arrogant. "I wonder what exactly is the ’key’ Senior mentioned? And where is the secret land located?"

Su Xuan chuckled and did not answer directly. Instead, he looked Fang Hao up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Oh? After not seeing you for three days, Little Friend Ning’s aura seems... much more condensed. It seems you’ve gained quite a lot during these three days."

Fang Hao’s heart tightened; what sharp eyes this old fox had! He believed his aura-concealing technique had reached the Transcendent level, yet a trace had still been detected. He said calmly, "Senior overpraises me; it was merely a slight insight. Let’s get down to business."

Su Xuan gave Fang Hao a deep look and stopped questioning him, saying slowly, "This secret land is an Immortal Cave left behind by an ancient Cultivator, named ’Xuanming True Monarch Mansion’. The mansion is protected by an ancient array and cannot be entered without the ’Xuanming Token’. By a stroke of Opportunity, I obtained half of a remnant token. I need a special method, supplemented by Chaos power, to complete it and turn it into the ’key’ to open the Immortal Cave."

With that, Su Xuan took an object from his robes. It was a palm-sized, pitch-black token made of a material that was neither metal nor jade. The token was broken in the middle with jagged edges, emitting an ancient and cold aura.

"Xuanming Token?" Fang Hao frowned slightly; he had never heard of this item. But he could feel that this token was by no means ordinary; the aura it emitted even caused the chaos qi vortex within his body to throb slightly.

"Correct." Su Xuan looked at Fang Hao with burning eyes. "To complete this token, one needs Chaos power as a guide to draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and recast the token’s body. In all the world, besides you who possesses the Chaos Spirit Root, I cannot think of a second candidate. As long as you help me complete this token and open the Immortal Cave, the nascent soul pill formula and nascent soul condensing fruit will be presented to you immediately. As for other treasures within the mansion, I can even give you thirty percent!"

Fang Hao sneered inwardly. This old fox spoke so extravagantly about "giving thirty percent," but the moment the Immortal Cave opened, he would likely be the first to die. This so-called "completing the Xuanming Token" would also likely consume a massive amount of Chaos power and might even damage his Dao foundation.

"Senior Su," Fang Hao said solemnly, "what does this Junior need to do to complete this token? Will it cause any damage to my cultivation?"

Su Xuan seemed to have expected this question and smiled. "Rest assured, Little Friend. You only need to circulate your Chaos power and inject it into this token. I will be at your side to protect you; there will be no danger whatsoever. As for the consumption, once the Immortal Cave is opened, there is a spiritual spring inside that can help you recover quickly."

Fang Hao remained silent for a moment, pretending to be conflicted, before finally gritting his teeth. "Fine! I will trust Senior this once! But I have a condition: after the token is completed, Senior must first pay half the reward—the nascent soul pill formula—before I am willing to exert my full effort."

A barely perceptible cold light flashed in Su Xuan’s eyes, but it was quickly masked by a smile. "That is only natural. Once the token is completed, the Pill Formula will be given to you immediately."

As he spoke, Su Xuan actually took out a Jade Slip and tossed it to Fang Hao. Fang Hao caught the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense, his heart jolting. The Jade Slip indeed recorded a complete and extremely complex nascent soul pill formula, more detailed than any description he had seen before, even noting several substitute medicinal herbs; it was definitely not a fake.

This old fox had actually produced the Pill Formula just to gain his trust!

Fang Hao solemnly put away the Jade Slip, took a deep breath, and walked up to Su Xuan. "Please protect me, Senior."

Su Xuan nodded and gave a look to the two Nascent Soul Cultivators behind him. The two immediately moved apart to the left and right, faintly guarding Fang Hao and Su Xuan in the middle.

Fang Hao sat cross-legged and grasped the half-remnant Xuanming Token. It was bone-chillingly cold, as if he were holding a piece of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice. He closed his eyes and fully operated the Chaos Derivation Art. The chaos qi vortex in his Dantian slowly accelerated its rotation, and a wisp of pure Chaos power flowed down his arm and into the token.

"Buzz—!"

As the Chaos power was injected, the half-remnant Xuanming Token jolted violently, erupting with a brilliant black light! At the break, strands of black airflow seeped out, wriggling like living things as they attempted to condense into the missing portion.

Seeing this, a look of wild joy erupted in Su Xuan’s eyes. He quickly formed hand seals, injecting his own majestic spiritual energy into the token to guide Fang Hao’s Chaos power in repairing it.

However, just as the repair of the token reached its most critical moment, a sudden change occurred!

A murderous glint flashed in Su Xuan’s eyes, and his originally kind smile instantly became incredibly sinister. He abruptly changed his hand seal, and a cold, malicious force followed the token like a venomous snake, ruthlessly boring into Fang Hao’s body!

"Fang Hao! I shall happily accept your Chaos Spirit Root!"

Su Xuan was actually intending to forcibly strip away Fang Hao’s Chaos Spirit Root while he was exerting his full Chaos power and was completely defenseless!

"Old dog! You truly harbor ill intentions!" Fang Hao snapped his eyes open, the color of Chaos flashing within them. Far from being panicked, he revealed a mocking smile.

He had long expected Su Xuan to make a move and had been secretly on guard! The moment Su Xuan’s cold force invaded his body, Fang Hao’s mind shifted, and the golden puppet that had been lurking in his spirit beast bag suddenly appeared!

"Roar—!"

The two-zhang-tall golden puppet, its body an interwoven pattern of dark gold and dark red, resembled a primeval behemoth. Carrying the terrifying pressure of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, it threw a punch at Su Xuan! This punch contained the violent demonic power of an Earth Fire Dragon Lizard inner core, and the space where the fist wind passed slightly distorted!

"What?!" Su Xuan’s face changed drastically. He never expected that Fang Hao would have a Late Nascent Soul Stage Puppet hidden by his side! In his haste, he could only abandon the attempt to strip the Spiritual Root and strike out with all his might to meet the golden puppet’s iron fist!

"Boom—!"

An earth-shattering explosion rang out! A violent shockwave of energy swept across, and the two massive withered willow trees were instantly reduced to powder! Su Xuan groaned, his figure staggering back as a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Although his cultivation was profound, he had been forced to fight in haste and was ambushed by the golden puppet, causing him to suffer a minor loss!

And Fang Hao, borrowing this counter-shock force, retreated violently while unhesitatingly activating the high-grade escape talisman in his hand! At the same time, he summoned the golden puppet back into his Storage Ring.

"Stop him!" Su Xuan shouted sharply.

Only then did the two Nascent Soul Cultivators react. One summoned a giant axe, while the other’s figure turned into a cloud of black smoke, pouncing toward Fang Hao.

However, Fang Hao was well-prepared. While retreating, he flicked his finger, and a nine-revolutions soul-splitting pill shot out, aimed directly at that Middle Nascent Soul Stage Body Cultivator!

That Body Cultivator felt the terrifying Soul Poison aura on the soul-splitting pill, his face changing drastically. Not daring to take it head-on, he could only dodge. In that split second of delay, Fang Hao had already turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the night.

"Chase him!" Su Xuan’s face was ashen as he wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "He can’t have gone far! Even if I have to chase him to the ends of the earth, I will bring him back!"

Withered Willow Ferry returned once more to a deathly silence. Only the massive crater on the ground and the violent energy lingering in the air proved the existence of the soul-stirring confrontation that had just occurred.