Simultaneous travel: Starting from returning to the main god space.

Chapter 295 The Method of Withering and Flourishing Nirvana (Seeking monthly votes! Seeking follow-up subscriptions!)

This is a vast garden, spanning over a hundred miles, containing various rare plants and trees, as well as streams, bridges, pavilions, and palaces.

However, compared to the magnificent paradise of Butian Pavilion, this place has a unique characteristic: it is very old.

Whether it's the bridges or the palaces and pavilions, they all give the impression that they could weather and collapse at any moment, as if no one has lived there for thousands of years, leaving them to decay over time, exuding a special aura like an old man in his twilight years.

"Death energy?"

As Wu Xian walked through the garden, he casually grabbed a handful of wind and sniffed it. His brows furrowed deeply, and he sensed something amiss. It seemed that some kind of power was enveloping the area, plundering the life essence from all the living beings within it.

Wu Xian had anticipated this, and a bright red light instantly rose from his body, dancing like flames, following the pulling force and flowing to the deepest part of the garden.

At the same time, strands of divine light poured down from the sky above, the essence of the countless stars and the moon, like silver raindrops falling into the garden, which looked very mystical.

With a single step, Wu Xian unleashed his ability to shrink the distance to an inch, instantly leaping over a hundred miles to reach his destination.

It was a garden within a garden, surrounded by ancient stone walls, also covered with the mottled marks of time, but much better than the outside, at least very clean, with no dust, as if someone regularly cleaned and maintained it.

Wu Xian glanced around briefly, then stopped paying attention and stepped into the courtyard. The red light on his body flickered like a candle flame, indicating that he was absorbing essence at an accelerated rate and was approaching the source.

After walking about a hundred meters, Wu Xian finally stopped, his eyes reflecting the endless rain of light, a peaceful and sacred scene.

Where the rain of light fell, there was a plant that stood out prominently; it was the sacrificial spirit of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion.

This is a gourd vine, only five or six meters long, with sparse leaves and withered, decaying vines. Even bathed in sunlight and rain, it cannot alleviate its withering and decay.

Only a green gourd beneath the yellow leaves remained extraordinary, swirling with wisps of chaotic energy, giving off a sense of danger.

Wu Xian stared quietly at the gourd vine, golden flames dancing in his eyes. He could clearly see the other's weakness and old age, but the green gourd contained a flame that still exuded terrifying power and contained a familiar aura, similar to the rain god's decree in the Void God Realm.

"The power of laws within the divine fire?"

Wu Xian muttered to himself, recalling the description of the Divine Fire Realm that Liu Shen had given him during their discussion.

In general, this is the first threshold for a cultivator to transcend the mundane. After igniting the divine fire within the body, the physical body, primordial spirit, and magical power will all undergo a qualitative transformation. With every move, one will possess the power to destroy the world, which is something that ordinary Venerable Realm cultivators cannot contend with.

However, those in the Divine Fire Realm are not true gods after all, and their divine fire is not stable, so the increase in lifespan is limited, usually around ten thousand years.

It may seem like a long journey, but if one cannot continue to break through to new heights, one will ultimately have no choice but to accept the fate of dying of old age.

For example, this gourd vine has existed since the founding of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, and has a history of at least tens of thousands of years, far exceeding the limit of ordinary Divine Fire Realm. It can still survive now, entirely supported by a single will.

Now that he had seen the sacrificial spirit with his own eyes, Wu Xian realized that its condition was even worse than he had imagined. It was truly on its last legs, no wonder that in the original work, the Heaven-Mending Pavilion tried every means but could not save it and allow it to live a second life.

It's easy to imagine that without a special stroke of luck or a heaven-defying treasure like an elixir of immortality, this vine would have had a very hard time surviving.

"Who are you……"

A weak voice rang out, deep and hoarse, characteristic of an elderly person.

“I don’t sense any restrictions from the Heaven-Mending Pavilion on you. You are not a disciple of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion.”

As it spoke, the green gourd hidden by the yellow leaves on the gourd vine began to tremble slightly, spewing out more chaotic energy, which then condensed and compressed into the shape of a sword beam. "Who I am is not important; what is important is what I am here to do."

Ignoring the other party's threat, Wu Xian continued to stroll forward with a calm smile on his face: "Old Hu... I'll call you that from now on. Are you interested in making a deal with me?"

The withered gourd vine twitched, and the chaotic energy on the green gourd flickered, as if it were considering something. After a long while, it finally replied, "Speak."

"I have a way to extend your lifespan, and if you're lucky, it might even completely stabilize your divine fire and allow you to break through to a higher realm. However, the success rate of this method is not high, and if it fails, you will die even faster."

As he spoke, Wu Xian pointed to himself again: "But I can promise you that if you die because of this, I will protect the Heaven-Mending Pavilion and preserve its status as a sacred place."

"If you succeed, what do you want next?"

The gourd vine then asked, seemingly without any doubt about Wu Xian's ability to protect the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, even though in its perception this strange child was only at the Cave Heaven Realm.

"It's very simple. I need the qualification to enter the Ancient Holy Academy, and you also need to help me three times unconditionally... Oh, right! Your green gourd looks pretty good too. After you successfully break through, it will probably be useless, so you can give it to me to store beast milk."

"Pretend...to drink animal milk?"

Hulu Teng's voice was somewhat taken aback, as if she couldn't quite understand Wu Xian's thought process.

The previous requirements were one thing, but this green gourd contained His divine fire seed, coveted by countless forces in the outside world. Yet, in His eyes, it seemed to be nothing more than a container for animal milk drinks.

Thinking this, the gourd vine spirit suddenly felt both amused and exasperated, and its originally sluggish thinking became much more active.

"One last question: why should I believe you?"

The gourd vine asked, its tone becoming slightly gentler than before.

"You don't need to believe me, just believe in yourself."

As he spoke, Wu Xian raised his hand and touched his brow, drawing out a ball of blue light and shooting it at the gourd vine. The other vine extended a tendril to catch the ball of light. After confirming that there was no problem, it began to examine the contents inside.

"The Dharma of Withering, Flourishing, and Nirvana?"

The gourd vine's voice was deep and its tone intriguing.

"A very mysterious secret technique. By absorbing a large amount of death energy, one can enter a state of annihilation, and then, in a way similar to the phoenix's rebirth, transform the death energy into vitality, thereby greatly enhancing the strength of the physical body, primordial spirit, and magical power."

Combined with the fundamental cultivation technique I have developed, it is indeed possible to rekindle the divine fire, and even completely stabilize it, helping me to enter the True One Realm.

"It's a pity... you've come too late. If it were ten years earlier, it might have really worked, but I'm too old and can't resist the erosion of death energy at all. I can't even succeed in the first step, let alone extend my life or break through."

"Of course, it won't work if it's just you alone."

Wu Xian smiled slightly, then sat cross-legged on the spot. The red light on his body disappeared, and he began to actively absorb the death energy spreading around the gourd vine.

"But if I'm included, things might not be so clear!"

(End of this chapter)