The Fate of Eternal Life

Chapter 79 Hope for Escape

The Immortal Mausoleum is a desolate place, filled with hills. Each hill is not very tall, but they are all imposing. Some are shrouded in yin energy, while others are shrouded in auspicious clouds.

Ning Qing stood beneath the giant stone tablet, gazing at the ancient inscriptions, his heart heavy with solemnity. In this forbidden zone of life, even a quasi-emperor could perish if they caused trouble, and even those aspiring to Dao could not act recklessly. Only those on the path of the Emperor could be fearless.

At this moment, Ning Qingyi used the Eight Trigrams of Fuxi to continuously calculate escape routes. However, the Gate of Life and the Four Gates were constantly changing, making the calculations inaccurate and completely ineffective.

This is the divine might of the imperial figures; even if they merely exist here, they interfere with the secrets of heaven and muddy the future every moment.

"Destiny is everywhere and all-powerful. With the power of destiny, we can forge a path to life!"

Having no other choice, Ning Qingyi used the Lesser Destiny Technique. With each hand gesture, the Lesser Destiny Technique cleansed him repeatedly. Finally, the powerful force of destiny condensed into torrents in the air, which formed runes. A mysterious force was then poured into his body.

This is the breath of destiny.

In an instant, in the eyes of Ning Qingyi's primordial spirit, all objects revealed their own destinies; almost in a single glance, he could see through the future.

Ning Qingyi looked towards the path to survival and sensed that the divine power within her body was about to be exhausted. She quickly stopped the Lesser Fate Technique, still feeling lingering fear.

"As expected, with the interference of the imperial figures, the divine power used to activate the Lesser Destiny Technique increased many times over. However, there were still gains..."

Ning Qing got up and walked cautiously, not daring to fly at all. Fortunately, his physical strength was extraordinary, and when he ran, it was as if the earth could shrink to an inch, and his speed was extremely fast.

Along the way, whenever he saw a tomb radiating auspicious light, he would avoid it from a distance, because such tombs either contained unparalleled treasures or buried extraordinary figures, neither of which were things he could afford to provoke at his current level.

Suddenly, Ning Qingyi's senses stirred, and she realized that there seemed to be a living thing moving forward ahead. She quickly stopped and cautiously approached.

In the shadows of several stone tablets, there were three people. One of them stood guard in all directions, while the other two sat and meditated. Judging from their unstable breathing and the bloodstains on their clothes, they were injured.

"It's them!"

Ning Qing was shocked, for the people sitting there recovering from their injuries were none other than Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue from the Ji family, and as for the guards…

Just as Ning Qingyi was about to guess his identity, she found that a pair of eyes met hers, and it was none other than the young ancestor of the Ji family who was guarding her.

"Fellow Daoist Ning, why don't you come out and greet us?" The young ancestor of the Ji family spoke up, and Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue trembled slightly, their auras becoming unstable.

Ning Qingyi paused for a moment, then stepped forward: "I apologize for disturbing you. In my haste, I happened to pass by this place. May I ask which young talent of the Ji family you are, that your cultivation is even higher than that of Ji Haoyue and the others?"

"I am just an ordinary member of the Ji family. You can just call me Ji Zi." The young ancestor of the Ji family said calmly, "If you don't mind, how about we travel together once Haoyue and Biyue have recovered from their injuries? They have taken the holy medicine for healing and will be fine soon."

“Alright, this is the Immortal Mausoleum. The more effort we put in, the more hope we can have.” Ning Qingyi hesitated for a moment, but considering Ji Zi’s character and her own remaining strength, she finally agreed.

As Ji Zi watched Ning Qingyi slowly approach, he made no extra movements. Perhaps because he was the son of the Void Emperor, he had a profound understanding of spatial techniques and was not afraid of close-range assassination.

"Brother Dao, thank you so much for what you did earlier. If you hadn't opened the ancient coffin, we would probably all have been left there." Ji Zi's voice was calm, but one could hear the sincerity in it.

Ning Qingyi did not take credit, saying, "It was just a coincidence. After all, the most dangerous place is the safest place, so I tried to explore there."

Himeko didn't say much; he was usually taciturn and not good at talking to people.

The two guarded Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue in silence, with only the ominous sound of the wind blowing past the giant monument and the burial mound, carrying with it a sense of foreboding resentment.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Ning Qingyi's ears twitched as he heard a sound beyond the sounds of heaven and earth. Just as he was about to raise a warning, he discovered that the Ji family had also looked over at the same moment.

Both could see the surprise in each other's eyes, clearly taken aback by the other's keen observation.

“They don’t seem to be the lost people…” Ning Qingyi could not detect the life fluctuations unique to living beings.

"It could be a Yin Corpse, they've caught up with us." Himeko's expression was somewhat grave.

"Should we fight it out first, or move it away and decide later?" Ning Qingyi asked. He could sense that as the distance shortened, the aura emanating from the Yin Corpse became more and more obvious, and it was very likely that it was a Great Completion King-level existence.

Ji Zi spoke up, "I only caught a glimpse of it in the giant pit earlier. May I ask if you possess a quasi-Emperor weapon?"

Ning Qingyi neither denied it nor confirmed its origins, but simply nodded.

“If you trust me, Brother Dao, I can move that Yin Corpse to your Quasi-Emperor Artifact. What do you say?” Ji Zi said in a deep voice, “This is the Immortal Tomb. You are of extraordinary origin and may know what kind of people are inside. It is not advisable to make a big fuss.”

“However, the quasi-emperor weapon is still too much of a commotion. Let’s use an array to cover it up a bit. Could you please send the location of the Yin Corpse here, fellow Daoist?” Ning Qing nodded and then provided a coordinate.

This is a hill not far from the two of them, which is relatively flat.

"I understand," Himeko nodded.

"Then leave the rest to me." Ning Qing nodded and quickly headed towards the small hill.

In the blink of an eye, chaotic energy swirled behind him, and four divine pillars appeared, carved with dragons and phoenixes, possessing a majestic and towering presence, as if they could support the heavens and the earth.

Once Ji Zijian Ning Qingyi had finished making arrangements, she took a step and disappeared from the spot, her whereabouts unknown.

"Fellow Daoist Ning, you've arrived."

Three moments later, Ning Qingyi received Ji Zi's message.

He looked up and saw the void in the sky trembling, and a figure appeared out of nowhere.

"The Four Gods Formation, activate!"

Ning Qingyi didn't hesitate at all. The four stone pillars seemed to materialize from the void, radiating boundless brilliance. The light was magnificent and vast, like giant walls rising up.

True dragons, divine phoenixes, white tigers, and black tortoises rose and fell amidst the radiance, putting immense pressure on the Yin Corpse that had entered the formation.

"Roar!"

The Yin Corpse roared, its voice seemingly capable of shattering the heavens; clearly, it possessed at least the strength of a Great Completion King.

It stands three zhang tall, its entire body is blue, covered with a layer of fine scales that gleam coldly. It has a human torso and head, with long, blood-red hair, and a huge tail trailing behind it. Its feet are like those of an elephant, thick and powerful.

What kind of creature is this? Both Ning Qingyi and Ji Zi were greatly surprised.

I have never seen a corpse like this before. It is very likely that it was one of the myriad races of the Northern Dipper in the past, who accidentally entered the corpse pit after death and began a new journey of life.

"Stay here!"

Ning Qingyi used the Chaos Divine Pillar to trap the Yin Corpse, and then without hesitation, he summoned the Primordial Azure Gold Pagoda and mercilessly crushed it down, forcefully turning the Yin Corpse into ashes with his precious body.

"What a profound divine power! Without array flags or foundation stones, it can set up an array in the blink of an eye..." Ji Zi glanced at it with some amazement, then looked at Ning Qingyi. "After all, our sect is most skilled in array formations, so it's normal for them to have such divine power." Ning Qingyi continued to emphasize his background.

"The secret of the character '组' (group/set), my father once said, is the general outline of all formations in the world, and even the Great Emperor's Killing Formation cannot defeat it. Now that I have seen it, it is indeed profound." Ji Zi said calmly.

Just then, Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue finally woke up.

"Little Ancestor!" Ji Haoyue called out anxiously, completely unlike her usual demeanor.

Ji Biyue's expression was equally grim. Both of them knew Ji Zi's true identity, which meant that Ji Zi was the natural backbone of the Ji family, someone worth protecting with one's life.

As a result, during their escape, not only did they not help Himeko, but they even made Himeko take action to protect the two of them.

Now they have completely disappeared without a trace, which is undoubtedly a devastating blow to the two of them.

Fortunately, Ning Qingyi and Ji Ziling had extraordinary senses and quickly turned around after noticing the two of them waking up, which stopped them.

"Little Ancestor!" Ji Haoyue exclaimed excitedly. He was usually quite cold, but at this moment, he seemed like a child.

Ji Biyue was the same, her eyes filled with lingering fear and worry. When she saw Ning Qingyi returning with her, she exclaimed, "Little Celestial Venerable!"

"Not long ago, I met Fellow Daoist Ning here. After discussing it, we decided to go out together. We were just dealing with the Yin Corpses that were tracking us," Ji Zi said calmly.

"Sorry to bother you," Ning Qingyi said.

Ji Haoyue and Ji Biyue quickly greeted each other. Although Ning Qingyi initiated this operation, many forces decided to go on their own, so despite their resentment, they remained outwardly calm.

"Fellow Daoist Ning, do you have a way to get out?" Ji Zi asked.

"I know some divination methods, and I can barely figure out where the way out is..." Ning Qingyi stated his conclusion.

The three members of the Ji family were both surprised and delighted. Upon hearing this, Ji Zi quickly made a decision.

"Brother Dao, please lead the way."

"Let's go."

Led by Ning Qingyi, the group of four gradually looked out of the Immortal Tomb.

At this moment, if a peerless figure were to look down upon the entire Immortal Tomb, they would see that Ning Qingyi and his companions were not rushing out of the Immortal Tomb in a straight line, but rather walking through the Immortal Tomb along a special trajectory.

"Ah..."

On a burial mound, several old crows, exuding an aura of death, flapped their wings on a withered old tree outside the cliff, emitting eerie cries filled with sorrow.

"thump!"

A white rabbit darted out, followed by a weasel. They were both incredibly old, with almost all their fur gone.

Then, a large, emaciated snake, as thick as a water vat, slowly crawled out and snaked towards the distant cliffs.

"I have a feeling this place is so ominous... It seems like a place only people who have reached the end of their lifespan would come to." Ji Biyue said with some fear.

However, Ji Zi was taciturn, and Ji Haoyue had a grudge against Ji Biyue, so she naturally ignored him.

"Whoosh!"

A strange, eerie bird suddenly descended from the sky. Its body was as black as a raven, with a human face but also a bird's beak, a black, hooked shape like a knife. It was over a meter long, as black as ink, and its body exuded an extremely heavy yin energy, as if it had a dead man's head, making the entire withered ancient tree feel somewhat cold.

Himeko frowned: "This seems to be a kind of corpse bird, which was almost never seen in ancient times. It feeds on the bones of the strong, and legend has it that anyone who has been wailed by it will not live long."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Corpse Bird began to wail at the four of them.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Ning Qingyi suddenly made a move, using the Chaos Divine Pillar to open up an array once again, turning the Corpse Bird into dust, which attracted the attention of Ji Haoyue and Yue Ji Biyue.

"Alright, that way nothing bad will happen."

Ning Qingyi finished speaking calmly and continued walking forward. Soon, the two encountered more corpses, but with their combined efforts, they were easily killed.

And so, a week passed, and the group arrived at a valley, getting closer and closer to the edge of the Immortal Tomb.

This is a very open valley, nestled among hills and mounds, with a lake in the middle, as smooth as a mirror. At this moment, the sunset has already dyed the horizon red, giving the lake a golden glow.

"What's that? A lotus flower! It looks like it's become the king of medicine!" Ji Haoyue pointed to a deep blue plant in the lake, shimmering with a dreamlike glow.

Just as the group was about to go in for a look, the lake suddenly roared, and waves surged skyward.

A humanoid creature appeared. Its hair was as white as snow, and its skin was deathly pale, making it look like a zombie. It stretched out its large claws and grabbed at the group.

"What is this thing?" The group was startled and quickly backed away.

Ning Qing used the Chaos Divine Pillar to trap the Yin Corpse in the formation once again. This time, the three members of the Ji family entered the formation and used their most proficient skills to grind the corpse to death.

"boom!"

Just then, the lake water surged violently, the iron chains rattled loudly, and there were terrifying creatures below.

The four men's eyes flashed with divine light as they looked into the lake. They were immediately taken aback when three more ancient corpses rushed up from below, still comparable to top-tier experts.

Four people, four ancient corpses, fought each other within the forbidden formation.

Ning Qingyi was the first to eliminate the enemy, freeing her up to help Ji Haoyue kill the enemy. Ji Zi also stepped in to help Ji Biyue overcome the difficulty.

In the end, all the corpses in the lake were cleaned up, and the lake calmed down.

"Shall we pick it?" Ji Biyue asked, somewhat concerned. She took a closer look and realized that this was the King of Herbs. She was eager to try it.

“No, lakes are not safe places.” Ning Qingyi rejected the idea. In fact, the closer they got, the more pronounced his sense of crisis became.

"Let's do as Fellow Daoist Ning says," Ji Zi said, making the final decision.

They circled around it from a distance, and then they saw a corpse bird fly by. Suddenly, the lotus flower swayed and swallowed the corpse bird whole.

"This is!" Ji Biyue exclaimed in horror.

"This is the Immortal Mausoleum, a forbidden zone of life. Anything can happen here. Let's keep going."

(End of this chapter)