Madam, please ascend.

Chapter 389 The Method of Immortality
Lan Zhenxin's clothes were tattered, but fortunately the wound on her chest had healed, and her aged skin had become white and smooth again.

She was walking briskly through the woods, her heart filled with growing unease.

Every time she tried to leap onto a branch, the gnarled branches would intertwine like living creatures, pressing her back to the ground.

Not only that, Lan Zhenxin also tried the method of burrowing underground, but the thick tree roots would build new barriers and block her way.

These eerie giant trees seemed to be deliberately toying with her, playing a game of "ghost wall" with her.

Several spirit beasts sat on branches in the distance, tilting their heads to sized up the uninvited guest.

Lan Zhen was extremely frustrated, thinking that he had only intended to catch a spirit beast casually, so how did he end up in this situation for no reason?

The abundant life force of the Longevity Realm seemed to naturally suppress her poison techniques. Moreover, she had a vague premonition that if she rashly attacked the creatures here, it would likely bring even greater trouble.

Whether it was the Brocade Dragon King who could transform into a dragon, or the Water People guarding the Ruins, they were all indirectly reminding Lan Zhenxin not to think that just because she was a Dao Integration Realm cultivator, she could do whatever she wanted here.

However, she was not discouraged by this; instead, her eyes grew brighter.

The greater the risk, the greater the benefit!
Lan Zhenxin scanned the forest and found the rainbow spirit bird she had been trying to capture earlier. She guessed that it might be the key to solving all the problems.

With a slight twitch of her fingertips, a Gu worm shot out without a trace, silently rushing directly towards the spirit beast.

However, just as he was about to succeed, the spirit beast suddenly turned around, leaped into the tree hole, and disappeared. Then, the surrounding trees undulated like waves, and the intertwined branches forced Lan Zhenxin to flee in panic.

"Damn it!" She stared at the maze that had changed its appearance again. The last of her Seven Poison Bracelets jingled on her wrist. Suddenly, she had a strong urge to summon a large number of Gu worms to devour all the trees in the area.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, she glimpsed a glowing light emanating from the top of a giant tree, and her intuition told her that something was amiss there.

So Lan Zhenxin leaped onto a branch, intending to investigate. Interestingly, this time she was not stopped, and the moss did not entangle her feet; it seemed as if they were all letting her pass.

When she rushed to the highest point of the forest and stepped barefoot on the top of the tree canopy, she saw Yun Yi, Su Qing and an old man staring at her, and realized that they had led her here.

Yun Yi, among them, wore a smile, but his expression was truly despicable.

This guy was indeed not dead, and he even managed to grasp the secrets of the Longevity Realm faster than I could.

Ignoring Lan Zhenxin's furious eyes, Yun Yi respectfully asked Xu Junfang, "How did you discover this place, Senior?"

Xu Junfang said slowly, "When I went out to sea to travel, I took five hundred boys and girls with me, most of whom died in a shipwreck."

"shipwreck?"

"I was searching for the legendary fairy island, but I was completely unaware of what was happening when I passed through the Ruins of Return. As a result, all the ships were swept into it. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to wake up and find myself still alive, and already in a secret realm."

"The spatial-temporal turbulence in the Ruins of Return is truly terrifying." Yun Yi still feels lingering fear when he thinks about it now.

Lan Zhenxin took the initiative to approach, and facing the old man whose cultivation level she could not fathom, she dared not speak recklessly and obediently performed the proper greeting.

Xu Junfang glanced at her indifferently, then turned to Yun Yi and asked, "How did you find this place?"

Yun Yi: "Although the messenger sent by the senior failed to meet the First Emperor, he left some clues. However, after a thousand years, these clues are very obscure and the information is incomplete."

"The boy failed to deliver the message and then refused to return, and we don't know where he went."

Lan Zhenxin whispered, "The child that the elder mentioned should be the ancestor of my Ten Thousand Poisons Sect."

"Oh? Tell me."

"I stumbled upon the relics of my ancestor by chance and learned that he had cultivated under the tutelage of Senior Xu Junfang. Unfortunately, his talent was limited, and he only learned the principles of poisons. The relics also mentioned some information about the Longevity Realm, which is why I was able to find this place."

"I see." Xu Junfang looked Lan Zhenxin up and down and sighed, "But of all my skills, he only learned poison techniques. He's really... useless."

Lan Zhenxin felt a pang of guilt and said, "The ancestor said that there is a great opportunity hidden here, so I came to try my luck."

Xu Junfang then asked Yun Yi, "What brings you and that girl with dragon energy here? The three of you don't seem to be of the same ilk."

Yun Yi: "To be honest, senior, she is of the bloodline of the Great Xia Dynasty. She found the information about the Longevity Realm from an unofficial history. I came here with her to find a medicinal herb called 'Fountain of Immortality'."

"It turns out that one was looking for an opportunity to ascend to immortality, and the other two were looking for a life-saving elixir."

Su Qing asked excitedly, "Senior, do you know about the Fountain of Youth?"

"Of course, the Fountain of Youth is full of vitality and has its own wonderful uses. The reason I sent someone to deliver a message to the First Emperor was because I discovered this medicinal herb."

Yun Yi: "Since you have discovered the Fountain of Youth, why not have the messenger bring it directly to the First Emperor?"

"That's because the Fountain of Immortality alone is not enough to make the First Emperor immortal. To achieve the goal, we need to invite him to the Realm of Immortality."

"But the Void outside is too dangerous. It is likely that the messenger who left this place was prepared to die. The reason why he was unwilling to return here to continue his cultivation was also because he was not absolutely certain of passing through the Void."

Yun Yi felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it, and suddenly an extremely bold idea popped into his mind.

He asked, "Could it be that you sent someone back to deliver a message just to trick the First Emperor into coming here, so that he might die in the Ruins of Return?"

Xu Junfang laughed loudly, "The little boy is quite clever, but I doubt anyone knows about this. When they see the messenger boy, they'll really think I'm wholeheartedly searching for the way to immortality for the First Emperor."

"Senior...why is that?"

"The First Emperor was not satisfied with unifying the secular world and attempted to interfere in the cultivation sects. If this continued, countless lives would be lost."

That's true. Although the First Emperor raised many Qi cultivators, ordinary troops were of little use against the sects in the mountains and were often only used to "send them to their deaths".

Yun Yi still remembered that in the world of the painting, the Sword Forging Manor encountered Eunuch Hai of the Great Qin Dynasty. At that time, Eunuch Hai wanted to take the manor's treasured sword to arm Qi cultivators and attack other sects.

That past is no longer important. After all, since the Qin Dynasty, dynasties have changed hands many times, and the world is now divided between the Xia and Yan dynasties.

Xu Junfang had lived for thousands of years and had long since let go of his obsessions. He said, "If you want the Fountain of Immortality, then you must uncover the secret of longevity here."

"Please enlighten us, senior."

"You little brat, you're dreaming. You're not my apprentice, so why should I answer your questions?"

"What you mean is... if it's your disciple, then that's fine."

Xu Junfang's lower body was fused with the ancient tree, unable to move freely, but his facial features were extremely expressive. He suddenly laughed and said, "What a glib-tongued lad."

Yun Yi said, "I have studied swordsmanship, and I seem unqualified to be your disciple."

"Hmph, at least you have some self-awareness." Xu Junfang's pair of green eyes swept over Su Qing and Lan Zhenxin in turn. Lan Zhenxin immediately reacted to the situation and knelt before Xu Junfang without a word. "Since the ancestor of my Ten Thousand Poisons Sect was your disciple, then logically speaking, my poison skills originated from Senior Xu!"

Xu Junfang's expression was a half-smile, then he looked at Su Qing and asked, "And you? Do you look down on this old man?"

Su Qing showed no hesitation and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This junior has already become a disciple of Daoist Xuancheng of the Fuyou Sect. My master treats me like his own flesh and blood, and this junior will never do anything to betray my sect."

"Oh?" Xu Junfang was clearly surprised that the other party would reject him, and instead became more and more interested in her.

He casually said, "Did your master ever tell you that your body is a natural crescent furnace, and that as your cultivation improves, a Mysterious Female Pill will be conceived within you?"

Su Qing's expression changed drastically.

"Once this Mysterious Female Pill is completed, it can provide a continuous supply of spiritual energy. However, you yourself cannot use the pill, only..." The old man saw that Su Qing's face was already so red that it was almost dripping blood, so he deliberately did not finish his sentence.

Yun Yi had some knowledge of alchemy, but he had never heard of anything like the "Crescent Moon Furnace" or the "Mysterious Female Elixir." He had heard that some alchemists used the human body as a furnace, but that sounded really bizarre.

He whispered to Su Qing, "No wonder when I first met you, I felt like you were a magic pill. It turns out it really is true."

This was clearly Su Qing's secret; she had never told anyone, not even the entire Fuyou Sect, except for Daoist Xuancheng.

Moreover, Master Xuancheng repeatedly instructed her to keep the secret, otherwise, if the news got out, it would be a disaster for her.

Lan Zhenxin carefully examined Su Qing from head to toe and exclaimed, "You've been hiding this really well! The Innate Crescent Moon Furnace Physique is a once-in-a-millennium talent."

Combining Su Qing's expression with Lan Zhenxin's winking, Yun Yi finally managed to vaguely guess a part of the truth.

In simpler terms, the Crescent Moon Furnace is the lower dantian, and the corresponding female organ is...

Yun Yi quickly looked down at his nose and pretended not to understand.

Su Qing said, "This junior only seeks the elixir; I have no other desires."

Xu Junfang asked, "What if I threaten you with the Fountain of Immortality and force you to become my disciple?"

Su Qing immediately looked troubled.

Yun Yi couldn't help but say, "Senior Xu, my Senior Sister Su Qing is very shy. Could you please stop teasing her?"

Xu Junfang laughed heartily, "Alright, little girls are really easy to tease. You don't need to become my disciples, just take over my mantle so that you don't waste these good things in the Longevity Realm."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing breathed a sigh of relief, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Yun Yi asked, "Senior, can you now tell us the secret of immortality?"

Xu Junfang snorted coldly. To be honest, among the three, he found Yun Yi the most pleasing to the eye. However, this boy's swordsmanship was extremely unusual, and he must have received guidance from some sword immortal.

If I were to pass on all my skills to him, he would surely not make good use of them and would be overshadowed by the way of the sword.

Xu Junfang was unwilling to do so. As an ancient relic who had lived for thousands of years, he naturally possessed a sense of pride.

He said, "Didn't you already guess it down there?"

Yun Yi was taken aback: "Back then, I said these trees seemed to be transformed from humans, and then you brought them here... You mean, these towering trees are all the children from back then?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the trees beneath his feet rustled.

Considering Xu Junfang's current appearance, Yun Yi exclaimed in surprise, "So the method of immortality is to turn people into trees."

Xu Junfang said slowly, "The human body has a limited lifespan. Unless you cultivate to the Ascension Realm, no matter how high your cultivation level is, it will eventually come to an end."

"But if one transforms into a tree, wouldn't one be utterly powerless against natural disasters and man-made calamities?"

“This is true outside, but this is the Longevity Realm, where no disasters can affect them.”

Su Qing: "This kind of immortality... seems to be completely different from what people want."

Lan Zhenxin: "That's right. Such immortality is more like a poison, causing people to lose their original appearance and become trapped in the trees, never able to end their own lives."

Xu Junfang looked pleased: "Longevity, hehe. People yearn for longevity because they can't bear to part with everything they have and can't let go of their ideals and ambitions. It's never just about surviving."

"When I and those children first arrived, we thought that immortality was within our grasp. We thought that as long as we stayed here and multiplied, it would be a good thing."

"Unfortunately, hundreds of years later, when I realized that immortality came at a price, it was already too late."

Su Qing: "From a medical perspective, this method of achieving longevity can indeed help patients stay away from illness and pain, and it can also eradicate the lesions permanently."

Lan Zhenxin: "From the perspective of the poison path, the method of immortality is the most poisonous one I have ever seen. Turning a person into a vibrant, indestructible tree, watching the world change and the world turn into mulberry fields, that is the most terrifying torture."

Hearing their statements from completely different perspectives, Yun Yi suddenly understood why his senior had sought two successors.

Xu Junfang nodded and said, "You two have completely opposite temperaments. One of you is suitable to inherit my medical skills, and the other is suitable to inherit my poison skills."

Yun Yi chimed in, "One is medicine, the other is poison."

"That's right, you can only choose one of the two, otherwise you'll end up like me, neither human nor ghost."

Yun Yi: "I have a question that I've been holding back for a long time, but I don't know if I can say it."

Xu Junfang: "Stop with the nonsense, just get to the point."

"Senior Xu, what realm are you at now?"

"Hmph, immortality is naturally the Ascension Realm."

"Aren't Ascended Realm cultivators unable to absorb spiritual energy in the mortal realm? Why have you remained here for thousands of years?"

"This has to start from the origin of the Longevity Realm."

Yun Yi asked curiously, "Does the Longevity Realm hold any secrets?"

Xu Junfang glared and said, "Nonsense! Do you think the Longevity Realm just appears out of thin air?"

"Did it fall from the sky?"

"You're only half right. It did fall from the sky, but not from the heavens."

(End of this chapter)