Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 288 Difficult to Kill. (Second Update!)

Inside the dilapidated palace, Zheng Que watched as the last wisp of black energy between his brows was absorbed by the Book of Life and Death, and the surrounding scenery began to ripple.

In the blink of an eye, he returned to reality and saw that the old guest room was empty. Mu Xiangu and the ghost bride were nowhere to be seen, and the Dream Master had also disappeared.

He was all alone in the room, huddled around a crumpled quilt.

Without hesitation, Zheng Que immediately got up, took out a brand-new robe from his storage bag, quickly put it on, and walked towards the door.

The sky outside was already bright, and the bright light illuminated the entire Wanshan Temple clearly, completely dispelling the eerie and gloomy atmosphere of the night.

Through the courtyard wall, you can see the distant mountains with their red and yellow hues and vibrant leaves, a unique and colorful sight of Danqiu Peak.

In the courtyard, on an open space not far away, a black banner was stuck diagonally—his soul-summoning banner!
Zheng Que quickly stepped forward, picked up the soul-summoning banner, and after a quick inspection, found that Qing Li and Nian Nu were both inside the banner, and their condition had fully recovered.

He continued walking out and happened to run into Shu Yunying and Ku Lan, who were wandering in the side courtyard.

Shu Yunying's yin energy has been fully restored, and Ku Lan is also enveloped in yin energy at this moment, in excellent condition.

After confirming their current situation, Zheng didn't waste any more words. He immediately ordered the two ghost servants to follow him and then headed towards the gate.

Soon, he returned to where he had come from, turned past the screen wall, and saw the gate of Wanshan Temple.

Since it was now daytime, the gate was wide open, with no obstruction between the inside and outside.

Zheng Que stood beside the screen wall, listening and sensing carefully. At this moment, all around was silent, as if there was no one else in the entire Taoist temple except for him.

He took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

The moment Zheng Que stepped across the threshold, he felt a sense of lightness throughout his body, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

We've finally left Wanshan Temple!

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had brought out the "law" and from now on, the entire Wanshan Temple would just be an ordinary "strange thing".

Without the "laws," Senior Lu Maohong and the other surviving cultivators should soon find an opportunity to leave.

Just then, he heard the sound of a cartwheel moving behind him.

Zheng Que looked back and saw a familiar convoy emerging from the gate of Wanshan Temple. Seven carts carrying taxes were being controlled and directed by an old man in a green robe, passing through the gate one by one and leaving the temple.

It's Lu Maohong!

Beside the carriages and horses were several familiar figures, all fellow cultivators who were escorting the taxes this time.

really!

Without the "law," all the rules in the Wanshan Temple lose their support.

With Lu Maohong's cultivation at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, he was already capable of breaking the deadlock.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately stepped forward, greeted Lu Maohong for a few words, briefly explained the key situation, and the two met up and quickly left the place.

Perhaps because he had encountered three "strange" events along the way, he had used up all his bad luck, and the rest of the journey went extremely smoothly.

After several days of travel, the group arrived in the prefectural city, weary from their journey.

After successfully handing over the taxes, Zheng Que, through Lu Maohong's introduction, met the prefectural magistrate. This magistrate was known for his appreciation of talent. Seeing that Zheng Que was still young but already had the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining and his spiritual power was pure, he was quite impressed. After a long conversation, the magistrate specially taught Zheng Que a forbidden technique of the imperial court, called the "Sacrifice to the Origin and Wither Technique".

This technique can burn his primordial spirit, lifespan, yang energy, and even his fundamental essence, in exchange for a qualitative leap in strength in a short period of time! This is a forbidden technique that is only used in life-or-death situations.

After imparting the forbidden techniques, the prefect strongly recommended Zheng Que to participate in the imperial examination for immortality.

Although Zheng Que knew that the imperial examination for immortality was extremely difficult and dangerous, he had now obtained a "law," had four capable ghost servants by his side, and could also command two ghosts at the peak of the [Scissors Prison]. After a little consideration, he readily agreed.

Next, under the guidance of the prefect, he successfully registered for the immortal examination. He overcame numerous obstacles and was invincible. His cultivation level also broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

In the end, Zheng Que won first place in the imperial examination and was recommended by the governor of Tuzhou to go to the capital to participate in the palace examination.

On the day of the palace examination, he performed exceptionally well, astonishing everyone present. The regent princess was delighted and immediately appointed him as a Yellow Gate Attendant to serve by her side.

The Regent Princess made no attempt to hide her favoritism towards Zheng Que, showering him with gifts and favors. She even secretly flirted with him using the zither and personally invited him to meet her late at night.

At this time, Zheng Que's cultivation level had reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining. He immediately realized that this incomparably beautiful and powerful regent princess was his destined marriage at the Heavenly Foundation Establishment stage!
He readily accepted the princess's invitation and, at midnight that day, arrived at an exquisite painted boat outside the city to meet the regent princess in secret.

The painted boat was magnificent and had already prepared a variety of spiritual dishes and wines, with music, singing and dancing to add to the festivities.

The Regent Princess rarely changed out of her solemn and elaborate palace attire, but instead wore a crimson gauze dress, which was both gorgeous and charming. Under the lamplight, she looked even more vibrant and alluring.

She personally served Zheng Que the dishes and introduced the scenery around the royal city... The two drank and chatted happily, and after a good time, they were both a little drunk.

Before they knew it, the two had ended up talking about the rosewood bed inlaid with boxwood, ivory, and glass in the inner room.

Looking at the Regent Princess in front of him, whose dress was half-undone and whose shoulders were not yet exposed, Zheng Que began to activate the [Yin Yang Harmony Secret Record] without any hesitation.

As his cultivation level steadily increased, he felt the spiritual energy within his body rapidly boiling, about to break through a certain barrier and advance towards the Foundation Establishment realm.

Moreover, what was built was a Heavenly Grade Dao Foundation!
However, just when his path to enlightenment and marriage were both bright, a strange black shadow suddenly appeared in the inner room of the pleasure boat!

The Regent Princess, who was cultivating with him, exclaimed in alarm, "An assassin!"

The next moment, the assassin slammed a palm strike toward Zheng Que's head!

This palm strike came suddenly and with overwhelming power. Before it even touched Zheng Que, the force of the wind it generated made him feel suffocated. The pressure coming at him was as heavy as a mountain and seemed irresistible.

Zheng Que's pupils suddenly dilated; this was the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage!

With his current cultivation level, if he were hit by this palm strike, he would surely die!

In the blink of an eye, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately used the [Sacrifice of Life and Death Technique]!
But the moment the spell took effect, the regent princess who was practicing with him and the assassin who had appeared by the bedside suddenly attacked at the same time. One of them grabbed his wrist as he was making the hand seal, while the other pointed his finger at his brow.

puff……

The [Sacrifice to the Origin of Life and Death Technique] failed to be executed, and the terrifying palm force that struck him shattered like a phantom.

Zheng Que suddenly came to his senses and saw that he was still in the simple guest room of Wanshan Temple. The old wooden bed was in disarray, and Mu Xiangu was lying on her back under him, one hand covering her mouth tightly and the other hand gripping his wrist firmly.

The ghost bride, dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown, stood by the bed, a cold, pale finger pointing directly at his brow.

Zheng Que stared blankly at everything before him, his thoughts in utter chaos.

Was everything I just experienced... all an illusion?
At that moment, a familiar yet malicious voice suddenly rang in his ears, tinged with a hint of amusement: "Not bad!"

"You're a bit harder to kill than the last one..."

(End of this chapter)