Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 345: Killing Three Nascent Souls

Fang Hao leaned against the cold cave wall, gasping for air. His legs felt as heavy as lead, and every step was an ordeal. This trip to the "Blood Fiend Purgatory" had nearly shattered his bones, and his spiritual energy was completely drained, leaving him even more depleted than when he had fought for his life against Willow Follow Wind.

However, he didn’t dare to stop for even a moment. This bizarre place was far too sinister; who could predict when that mysterious netherworld pearl might go into another frenzy and send him back to that spot to complete some so-called "task"?

Thus, he could only grit his teeth and struggle forward along the path he had come. Every step felt heavy and laborious, as if he weren’t treading on solid ground but on a fleeting, ethereal mist.

As he passed the entrance to the massive underground space from before, he couldn’t help but stop and instinctively cast a hurried glance inside. Though it was only for a brief moment, it was enough to cause a surge of inexplicable fear and unease in his heart.

The black water pool remained deathly still, and the twelve giant pillars stood in silent vigil. Not far from the pool, that old fox Su Xuan lay slumped on the ground in an extremely contorted position. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and his mouth was slightly agape, yet he couldn’t make a sound. Only the extremely faint rise and fall of his chest proved he still had a breath left in him. His entire body was shrouded in a faint black mist—the corrosive power of the netherworld pearl, which was bit by bit grinding away his vitality and Divine Soul.

Beside Su Xuan, the golden puppet that he had disabled with a single palm strike lay scattered like scrap metal, the light at its core long since extinguished.

Looking at Su Xuan’s miserable state, which was worse than death, Fang Hao felt no sympathy, only the refreshing satisfaction of finally venting his pent-up anger. This old dog had plotted against him and tried to steal his Spiritual Root; falling into such a state was entirely deserved!

"Old thing, didn’t you want my Chaos Spirit Root? Better luck in your next life!" A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes as he forced the last sliver of spiritual energy in his body to condense into a sharp Chaos Sword Qi, and slashed it ruthlessly toward Su Xuan’s neck!

"Puchi!"

Su Xuan’s head flew off, and blood sprayed out, staining the black earth by the pool. This old monster, who had been half a foot into the Soul Transformation stage and had called the shots in the Western Region’s cultivation world for centuries, died silently in this desolate Ancient Mine of Buried Gods without leaving a single word, his Nascent Soul destroyed along with him.

Fang Hao stepped forward and unceremoniously pulled the Storage Ring off Su Xuan’s finger. This was the lifelong collection of a quasi-Soul Transformation powerhouse—it was absolutely a massive windfall!

He then walked over to the "remains" of the golden puppet. Looking at this big fellow that had accompanied him through life and death, only to be scrapped right after being reinforced to the Late Nascent Soul Stage, he felt a pang of pain in his heart. Although its core was destroyed and its body shattered, the Materials remained. Especially the parts infused with ten-thousand-year cold iron essence and stardust sand, which were still rare treasures.

"Old partner, I’m sorry. When I have the means in the future, I will definitely find a way to repair you and make you even stronger!" Fang Hao sighed and carefully gathered the golden puppet’s "severed limbs" and the relatively intact parts into his Storage bag. These things took up a lot of space, but he couldn’t worry about that now.

Having finished this, Fang Hao didn’t dare linger and turned to continue toward the exit of the cave.

Just as he reached the vicinity of the cave entrance, he heard a series of anxious shouts coming from outside.

"Elder Su! Elder Su, how are you?"

"What’s the situation inside? Is that kid dead yet?"

It was the two Nascent Soul Cultivators guarding the outside! With Su Xuan dead, they had likely sensed it.

Fang Hao’s heart tightened. He quickly held his breath and pressed himself against the cave wall, carefully peeking his head out. He saw the two Nascent Soul Cultivators standing anxiously at the cave entrance, looking like they wanted to enter but didn’t dare. They had clearly also sensed the strangeness and danger within the cave.

"Big brother, Elder Su has been inside for so long without any movement. Could something have happened?" the Early Nascent Soul Stage assassin with the flickering form asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Bullshit! With Elder Su’s level of cultivation, how could he possibly fall at the hands of a Golden Core brat?" the Middle Stage Body Cultivator barked, though his eyes were also filled with unease. "There must be something strange inside that’s tied Elder Su up. Let’s go in and look!"

The two looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and forced themselves to charge into the cave.

Hiding in the shadows, Fang Hao sneered inwardly. Go in? Fine, I’ll send you to keep Su Xuan company!

He suppressed his aura and followed them silently, like a ghost.

The two Nascent Soul Cultivators were clearly unfamiliar with the cave’s terrain and were worried about Su Xuan’s safety, so they moved quickly. When they burst into the massive underground space and saw Su Xuan’s decapitated corpse, as well as the netherworld pearl hovering over the center of the pool emitting an ominous aura, their faces turned pale instantly, and their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

"Elder Su... is dead?!"

"What... what kind of pearl is that?!"

Just as the two were paralyzed with horror and their minds were in disarray, Fang Hao moved!

He didn’t choose to attack directly. Instead, using the last of his strength, he hurled the last remaining nine-revolutions soul-splitting pill toward the space between the two men, shouting fiercely:

"Explode!"

"Boom—!"

The soul-splitting pill erupted, and countless threads of soul poison instantly enveloped the two. Although the power of this pill had been somewhat diminished, the explosion at such close range still caused their Divine Souls to shudder violently, and they let out shrill screams of agony.

Almost at the same moment the soul-splitting pill exploded, the netherworld pearl seemed to be disturbed again. It vibrated slightly, and an invisible force spread out, instantly sealing the entire space!

The two Nascent Soul Cultivators froze in place, still clutching their heads in mid-scream. Just like Su Xuan before them, they were suppressed by the netherworld pearl’s domain power and couldn’t move. They could only watch helplessly as their Divine Souls were eroded by the soul poison and ground away by the netherworld energy.

Fang Hao watched this scene, his back soaked in cold sweat. He had gambled correctly! This netherworld pearl really would act against "disturbers"!

He didn’t dare delay for a second. Enduring his body’s weakness and the stabbing pain in his Sea of Consciousness, he stumbled forward. Following the same method, he raised his sword and brought it down, decapitating the two Nascent Soul Cultivators. He even destroyed the two Nascent Soul infants that tried to flee their bodies, then quickly took their Storage Rings.

Having finished all this, he didn’t even dare to glance at the netherworld pearl. He turned and ran, using every ounce of strength he had to burst out of the cave and out of this bizarre Ancient Mine of Buried Gods!

...

Outside, the sky was beginning to brighten. The desolate black stone mountains appeared even more deathly still in the dawn light.

Fang Hao found a hidden crevice in the rocks and slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. He checked his "spoils" from this trip—Su Xuan’s storage ring and the storage rings of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators.

As his Divine Sense probed inside, Fang Hao’s heart began to pound uncontrollably.

I’m rich! I’ve really hit the jackpot this time!

In Su Xuan’s storage ring alone, there were nearly a million High-Grade Spirit Stones! There were also mountains of rare medicinal herbs, Artifact Refining Materials, high-rank Talismans, and Jade Slips of Cultivation Techniques... What excited Fang Hao most was a jade box containing a fruit the size of a baby’s fist, pure white and radiating dense vitality and Dao charm—a nascent soul condensing fruit! This was the primary ingredient for refining a nascent soul forming pill!

In addition, there was an ancient animal-skin map marked with a location called "Xuanming True Lord’s Mansion," which was likely the ancient Immortal Cave Su Xuan had mentioned before.

As for the storage rings of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators, while not as rich as Su Xuan’s, they were still worth a fortune, totaling hundreds of thousands of High-Grade Spirit Stones and various cultivation resources.

With these resources, it would be enough for him to Cultivate to the Nascent Soul Stage and even higher!

But Fang Hao quickly calmed down. Wealth moves the heart, but it also invites disaster. Now, he was carrying heavy treasures, had offended Medicine King Valley, and had exposed his chaos pill cauldron and the "Dao Pill Prototype" in front of everyone. He didn’t know how many eyes were watching him.

He definitely couldn’t return to Myriad Laws Immortal City. That place was now a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den; going back would be walking straight into a trap.

"I must leave the Western Region!" A look of determination flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. The Western Region was the territory of Medicine King Valley and the Heavenly Derivation Sect; he couldn’t move an inch here.

"Go east!" Fang Hao quickly made a decision. The Eastern Region was the largest and most complex of the four regions. It was filled with Sects and Loose Cultivators, as well as endless wild mountain ranges and ancient ruins—it was the best place to hide and gain experience.

Furthermore, the Eastern Region was furthest from here, spanning across more than half of the cultivation world. No matter how great Medicine King Valley’s influence was, their reach couldn’t extend that far.

Having made up his mind, Fang Hao didn’t hesitate. He changed into a clean robe, swallowed a few Medicinal Pills to recover his spiritual energy, and after a brief meditation, he summoned the third-grade azure spirit boat and sped toward the east.

He didn’t dare fly too high, staying close to the ground and using the mountains and terrain as cover as he headed east.

Behind him, Myriad Laws Immortal City gradually faded away, along with the conspiracies, schemes, and bloodshed, all left in his wake.

Ahead lay the unknown Eastern Region, a new journey, and... new crises.

Standing on the azure spirit boat, Fang Hao watched the rising sun in the east and let out a long sigh of relief. He knew that from this moment on, his life as a fugitive had truly begun.

But in his heart, there wasn’t much fear. Instead, there was a sense of relief as if a weight had been lifted, and a surging fighting spirit.

"Medicine King Valley, Heavenly Derivation Sect, and all you old monsters coveting my treasures... just you wait. When I, Fang Hao, return after forming my Nascent Soul, I will repay today’s enmity a hundredfold!"

The azure spirit boat turned into a streak of green light and disappeared into the eastern horizon.