Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 435 Inheritance Jade Slip - An Unexpected Joy
It's rare, even uncommon, for magical artifacts to have restrictions on them.

According to some ancient books that Xiao Chen had read.

In the past, some cultivators were indeed keen to add one or even several layers of restrictions to their magical artifacts.

Users must first refine the outer layer of restrictions before they can refine the magical artifact itself.

However, people gradually realized that doing so had almost no practical significance.

Instead of adding a symbolic restriction to the artifact, it would be better to draw more practical artifact patterns.

Nowadays, unless specially customized, you can no longer find magical artifacts with such restrictions.

It's hard to say whether this represents the demise of traditional culture or an advancement in weapon crafting techniques.

"Hey, this looks a little complicated."

Xiao Chen tentatively used his true essence to impact the hairpin, and found that the restriction on the hairpin was not just a superficial thing.

Even if he wanted to crack it, it would probably take him several hours.

"Never mind, let's talk about it later."

Xiao Chen shook his head, put the gold hairpin into his pocket for the time being, and prepared to check the third and last item in the room first.

It was a jade slip that was only one inch long and half an inch wide, and was emerald green in color.

In a sense, jade can also be considered a type of stone.

Therefore, despite the passage of hundreds of thousands of years, it remains remarkably well-preserved, with almost no spiritual energy dissipating from it.

"A jade slip for transferring skills?"

Xiao Chen originally thought it would be a jade slip for inheritance, but the shape didn't quite look like it.

However, he was too lazy to think about it too much and simply stuck the jade slip to his forehead.

What's inside? We'll find out once we take a look.

The first sensation upon touch is a cool, refreshing feeling.

Immediately afterwards, a guiding force erupted from it, carrying Xiao Chen's consciousness as if back hundreds of thousands of years ago.

It turns out that this jade slip was left behind by the cultivator who died in bed and was responsible for guarding the demons.

At that time, his hair was already white, and his eyes were noticeably cloudy.

His face was ashen and pale, and he sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a jade slip in one hand, his body trembling slightly.

"Pfft~!"

Suddenly, the old man spat out a mouthful of blood, and his already weak energy and spirit diminished by another third.

Xiao Chen could even vaguely see a hint of weariness in him.

"Ha~, ha~, ha~!"

However, the old man chuckled intermittently a few times, then muttered to himself, "Immortality? Hahaha!"

"Seeking immortality and enlightenment? Hahaha!"

His eyes widened suddenly: "I'm not reconciled!"

As soon as these words were uttered, a powerful pressure belonging to the Nascent Soul Great Perfection realm immediately filled the small, dark room.

Although Xiao Chen only saw the records from the jade slip.

However, one could still sense the opponent's aura and the exceptionally powerful force flowing within them.

It was almost as powerful as the Venerable One he had encountered before at Pudu Temple.

Clearly, this is a top-tier fourth-order expert who has almost reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage.

However, in hindsight, he probably never managed to take that step.

Sure enough, the other person's tone suddenly took a 180-degree turn, turning into a slightly choked sob: "I, an old man, am not reconciled!"

After that, the other party seemed to have gone mad.

Sometimes he muttered to himself, sometimes he shouted angrily, sometimes he wept bitterly, and sometimes he laughed loudly.

A dignified Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage appeared to have transformed into a mad old man at first glance.

Xiao Chen listened to his intermittent, fragmented, and even incoherent narration.

It took a while before I roughly figured out what was going on.

In summary, the matter is not very complicated.

With his lifespan nearing its end, the opponent could no longer delay and was forced to make a desperate attempt to break through.

However, as expected, the breakthrough ultimately failed, completely extinguishing any hope of continuing to live.

Perhaps out of resentment, or perhaps out of deep hatred, he clutched the jade slip and left some final words for posterity.

Well, I guess you could call it a reflection or insight.

For some reason, the jade slip was not taken by later generations and eventually ended up in Xiao Chen's hands.

They called it some insights and reflections, but it sounded more like the ramblings of a madman.

As far as the old man knew, the monster outside that claimed to be born holy had lived for tens of thousands of years.

However, it shows no signs of aging.

Time seemed to stand still for the other person. Hundreds of years passed in a flash, yet even their aura remained unchanged.

However, as the caretaker, he had reached the point of exhaustion.

Why?
Why is it that the evil-doing monster that should have died long ago has been able to survive for so long?
He painstakingly cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, even going so far as to guard this prison in exchange for a longevity elixir, but in the end he could only live for less than 1,400 years.

If it were just him who couldn't achieve immortality, then it could be said that he didn't try hard enough.

But looking around, how many geniuses throughout history have there been, and how many others like him, sitting idly for thousands of years, wasting their time, yet ultimately failing to comprehend the Great Dao.

Heavens, how unjust!
Immortality is also a scam!

Who can seek immortality? Who can truly remain young?
In the end, it was nothing more than a colossal lie that deceived the world.

All this talk of cultivation is fake!

Enlightenment is all fake!

It was all just a dream, and in the end, we can't escape turning into dust.

It's a pity that he didn't realize this when he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage in his early years.

Still clinging to unrealistic hopes, they moved step by step toward that lofty, elusive position of the God of Deification.

Looking back on the first half of my life, I hardly dared to indulge in any fun or pleasure. In the end, only the word "bitter" can describe it.

If there is an afterlife, he would rather be an ordinary wealthy man.

In his final words, he advised all future generations not to believe in seeking immortality or immortality.

Even if one day one attains that supreme position, will one be able to live forever?
He only regretted that he hadn't realized the deception sooner and had given up cultivation like his fellow disciples, returning to manage his family, enjoy his grandchildren, and live a life of worldly wealth and luxury.

"Well, it's not entirely wrong."

Xiao Chen certainly didn't agree with his statement.

However, objectively speaking, a harsh reality is that most True Lords of the Compassionate Sea are probably unable to break through to the next major realm.

For example, a cultivator like the Hundred Apertures True Monarch who only broke through to the Nascent Soul stage at several hundred years old.

The sheer amount of true essence alone is enough to keep him from reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

Other cultivators who broke through earlier also had to be extra diligent, devoting most of their time and energy to secluded cultivation.

On rare occasions when they are not in seclusion, they still have to busy themselves competing for or accumulating cultivation resources in order to gain the qualification to attempt a breakthrough.

However, judging from the facts, it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that cultivation is a complete scam.

In any case, there are indeed more than one cultivators who have successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.

In the new cultivation world, a new Nascent Soul cultivator is born every Immortal Selection Festival.

It's hardly a scam; it's more likely that the other party is nearing the end of their life, which has led to their somewhat extreme views.

"Alas, as long as one cannot ascend to immortality, one is still just a human being."

Xiao Chen could understand the other party's thoughts to some extent, because all people and even all living beings have an instinctive fear of death.

But that's why.

That's why people go to great lengths to seek the way to immortality, why they work tirelessly to collect cultivation resources, and why they brave countless difficulties to fight against fate.

However, fortunately, the old man did not see that the monster survived for hundreds of thousands of years afterward.

Otherwise, he might have been so angry that he would have come back to life, only to faint again.

In the latter half of the jade slip, the old man finally realized, amidst grief and regret, that he could no longer waste his last moments.

So he hastily left behind long passages of techniques, secrets, and many regretful self-narrations.

It can be said that it left behind a legacy, a piece of intelligence, and a memoir.

And at the end, he instructed his descendants who came to collect the jade slips to be sure to include his final insights and memories in their family library by writing a book.

Furthermore, lower-ranking disciples should be allowed to watch, giving them the opportunity to gain enlightenment ahead of time.

It is worth mentioning that this jade slip can be viewed a total of five times, and this is the first time that Xiao Chen has viewed it.

In other words, his faction must have encountered some unexpected situation, which prevented them from sending anyone to receive the inheritance.

The library he mentioned is long gone, so his last idea can no longer be realized.

"Ah, there's actually a fourth-tier Yellow-level cultivation technique?"

Xiao Chen had only intended to broaden his horizons and had browsed through the final part of the cultivation technique.

However, it was discovered that this jade slip of inheritance was exceptionally special.

The order of the various techniques is chaotic, and there are not only Heaven-level secret techniques, but also Profound-level and Yellow-level techniques.

"Oh, what a pity, why didn't I meet you sooner?"

Xiao Chen looked at the Yellow-level spells with some regret: "It made me spend a lot of extra effort back then."

"Wait a minute, why is there a separate True Essence Secret Technique?"

Halfway through reading it, he was surprised to find that there was a very special secret technique of true essence mixed in.

Its name is quite unusual—"Yu Feng's Random Notes".

Judging from the content, it comes from a Nascent Soul True Lord who calls himself the Master of Jade Peak Hall. It is a collection of his insights and reflections that he jotted down while teaching his disciples.

That's right, it's not an insight, but a reflection.

He mentioned several times in his essays that there was actually a large group of fools in the world who couldn't even learn a low-level cultivation technique. This was because, generally speaking, high-level and low-level cultivation techniques were simplified as much as possible, with almost all unnecessary content removed for the sake of cultivation.

Therefore, only Earth-level and Heaven-level cultivation techniques include secret techniques for improving the quality of a cultivator's true essence.

Moreover, throughout history, there has been almost no instance of a standalone secret technique for true essence.

Because most cultivators think that they shouldn't make things difficult for disciples who can't even learn Earth-level cultivation techniques.

Under such circumstances, if a cultivator cannot learn a level-one cultivation technique, or if forcing themselves to learn it is too strenuous, the overall efficiency will be lower than that of a level-one cultivation technique.

Therefore, they would be unable to access and cultivate the secret techniques of true essence.

However, the Jade Peak Hall Master believed that they should think of more ways to improve the disciples' strength, thereby raising the overall strength of the sect.

To this end, he specifically collected and recorded the mistakes these people were prone to make, as well as the problems they most frequently encountered.

Then, after spending several years compiling this secret method as simple and easy to understand as possible, he hoped that it could quickly improve the quality of his disciples' true essence.

This simple and easy-to-understand True Essence Secret Technique is only at the Yellow Rank!
Moreover, after the initial creation of the third-order secret technique was successful.

Master Yufeng spent more than ten years, during which he contacted many fellow cultivators of the fourth rank through letters, to compile subsequent fourth-rank versions.

The hope is that while strengthening the disciples, it can also help some lucky rogue cultivators who have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage or joined midway.

To this end, he contacted the Nascent Soul elder who guarded the demons five times, hoping that he could offer some suggestions and insights.

After finally completing this Yellow-level True Essence Secret Technique that leads directly to the fourth tier, he even wrote another letter asking for his corrections.

Therefore, in the jade slip he passed on, he also recorded the complete contents of this secret method and left it to future generations.

"Huh? Is this okay?"

Xiao Chen originally thought that he had nothing to do with such a secret technique of true essence.

But to my utter surprise, I unexpectedly found a separate True Essence Secret Technique here.

Normally, disciples who can't even learn a low-level cultivation technique are usually considered to be in the lower or middle ranks of the sect.

There's really no need to develop such a secret technique to enhance their strength.

This also shows that the sect to which the other party belongs must have encountered considerable external pressure, otherwise there would be no reason for them to have such an idea.

"So this is how true essence is compressed to increase the power of spells?"

Xiao Chen carefully considered this secret technique: "It looks interesting, but I don't know how effective it will be for me."

You should know that he originally possessed the Yang Five Elements Seal, which helped compress the quality of true essence within his body day and night.

Therefore, even if he had not cultivated the True Essence Secret Technique before, the quality of his True Essence was already very strong.

In this case, if we extrapolate from the situation of ordinary monks...

Even if one were to cultivate this secret technique, its effectiveness would inevitably be greatly reduced, and it's even possible that it would have no effect at all.

For example, if Xiao Chen were to consume the flesh of a fourth-tier demon beast now, he would only be able to taste it, and the improvement to his own qi and blood would be negligible.

However, "Jade Peak Notes" is a Yellow-level secret technique, so it's different.

Theoretically, it should be able to benefit from the amplification effect of Hextech enhancement.

If Xiao Chen were to cultivate this secret technique, he might actually achieve miraculous effects that even the technique's founder couldn't have predicted.

With this in mind, he immediately decided that as soon as this exploration was over, he would practice this secret technique to test its specific effects.

"You're the Master of Yufeng Hall, right? You're such a kind person!"

Xiao Chen sincerely praised him and silently made a mental note of the name.

Although so many years have passed, the other party has long since disappeared from the world.

But it doesn't matter. He will rewrite this secret technique when he has the opportunity, and will make a special note of the founder's name, 'Master Yufeng'.

To let more people know about the existence of this skill, and to let this name live on in the hearts of more people.

There's no need to wait; once we're outside, we can share this inheritance jade slip with the True Lords.

However, apart from this secret technique...

What follows are some impractical, conventional inheritances, and a whole lot of regret and remorse.

After receiving the message from the jade slip, Xiao Chen deliberately closed his eyes and reviewed it to prevent any omissions from reading it too quickly.

However, there wasn't much valuable information after that.

In particular, the so-called secrets left behind by the other party are of comparable quality to those of Lingtong Pavilion.

For example, someone claimed to have discovered a large island hundreds of miles long, wide, and high in the open sea, only to find upon closer inspection that it was actually a sleeping giant tortoise.

For example, some monks insist that they have seen a tribe of merfolk with human faces and fish tails.

However, they either couldn't pinpoint the exact location, or after taking people there, they discovered it was just a deserted island with no living creatures and no trace of anything left behind.

Xiao Chen had actually read quite a few stories like this when he borrowed ancient books from the library of various sects.

Generally speaking, such rumors are more common in more distant periods, much less so in the last few hundred thousand years, and almost non-existent in the last tens of thousands of years.

There is only one thing that remains the same regardless of the time elapsed.

That is, they all sound like stories deliberately fabricated for people to boast about, and have absolutely no credibility.

"Legend has it that mermaids' tears turn into pearls, but I don't know when I'll be lucky enough to see them."

Xiao Chen was very curious whether those pearls were ordinary objects or spiritual pearls imbued with spiritual energy.

If it's the latter, wouldn't that be equivalent to a living spiritual vein?
Unfortunately, he can't even confirm whether merfolk really exist in the cultivation world.

This kind of thing might actually be a scam, since some people have indeed seen a Nascent Soul cultivator, but no one has ever seen a Mermaid.

After confirming that I had not missed any key information.

Xiao Chen re-examined the dark room and ruled out the possibility that there was another small secret room hidden inside.

Then they returned to the outer hall.

"Hey~, you're awake."

Xiao Chen saw that True Monarch Die Lang had already stood up, one hand supporting himself against the wall and the other massaging his temples: "You have a good physique, you were the first to wake up."

Before he finished speaking, True Lord Ziyang also sat up, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, and skillfully cast a defensive spell.

His eyes, though wary, held a hint of bewilderment as he surveyed his surroundings.

He clearly remembered that he was observing the situation in the hall, so how did he suddenly faint on the ground?
She only relaxed a little after she saw Xiao Chen not far away.

Then, puzzled, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, what exactly happened?"

"What about that monster? Have you killed it yet?"

Xiao Chen nodded: "Okay, don't rush, sit on the ground and calm down."

"I'll tell you about the current situation after you've all woken up."

They have just been under the control of an illusion and desperately need to rest and recuperate.

At this point, the differences between the six people become apparent.

Although both were newly promoted True Lords, True Lord Die Lang and True Lord Zi Yang, who had broken through earlier, were the first to regain consciousness.

Then came True Lord Rift and True Lord Thunder, who woke up almost one after the other.

Then came True Monarch Mingxiao, who had just broken through half a year ago, half an hour later than them.

Although the oldest, True Monarch Baiqiao, broke through much earlier than True Monarch Mingxiao, he was the last to wake up.

To be honest, Zhang Shouquan ran away just in time, so no one got to see what happened to him.

Otherwise, Xiao Chen really wanted to know if he could resist the demon's illusion, or if he could be the first to wake up.

Although he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage relatively late, the specific circumstances are hard to say.

Unfortunately, he ran away beforehand, and the matter became an unsolved mystery.

After everyone had rested enough, Xiao Chen briefly explained what had happened.

Of course, he omitted the less important parts, such as the siege.

He simply said, "You were all just under the illusion of that monster and were controlled by it."

"And as you know, I happen to be quite good at resisting illusions, so I didn't fall for its illusion."

"So I killed that monster and also checked out the situation here."

"By the way, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

The six people looked at each other, and it was the Hundred Apertures True Lord who asked first, "What is the good news?"

Xiao Chen pointed to the location of the secret room: "The good news is that I discovered that this place is not empty; there is a secret room hidden here."

After he finished speaking, he deliberately paused for a few breaths.

Then he laughed and said, "But unfortunately, we didn't find anything good in the dark room either."

"The only three things I found were a demon-suppressing token of unknown use, a strange ancient gold hairpin, and a jade slip of inheritance."

As he spoke, Xiao Chen took out the three items and laid them out in a row: "I've already looked through the inheritance jade slip, so I don't need it."

"It has four chances left. You can discuss how to allocate these four chances."

“This gold hairpin looks quite pretty, but I have other uses for it, so I kept it for myself.”

"As for this last token, you can take a look if you're interested."

"But I estimate it's only good enough to take back as a souvenir. If any of you want it, just take it."

"If everyone doesn't mind, then let's distribute it this way?"

No one had any objections.

The Hundred Aperture True Lord even stated directly: "Fellow Daoists, not only did I not help this time, but I almost caused more trouble."

"I don't want anything, you can decide how to divide it."

There are only four chances left to inherit the jade slip, but there are six of them.

That means at least two people must be unable to view the inheritance.

Therefore, the Hundred Apertures True Lord simply withdrew from the competition.

"And I."

True Monarch Mingxiao also chimed in, saying, "I just broke through not long ago. I came out here just to join in the fun and broaden my horizons by following in the footsteps of you fellow Daoists."

"So I don't need anything."

Since he has voluntarily withdrawn, the remaining four no longer need to decline and can browse the inheritance jade slips in turn.

(End of this chapter)