Fellow Daoist Entrusts His Child: Immortality Begins with Nurturing a Demoness

Chapter 61 Withered Trees Come Back to Life, Only I Am Enduring (Part 1 & 2)
Five days ago, Yimu Sect.

The moon hangs high, its silvery light spilling out, and the magnificent First Peak Hall, with its warm jade floor and jade lamps swaying and glowing.

Inside the hall, Master Kumu sat in the main seat, while the Foundation Establishment cultivators, led by the Grand Elder, knelt on the ground, their faces pale and their foreheads covered in cold sweat. The hall was completely silent, so quiet that only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

"How is the battle progressing? I have a feeling that the sect has suffered significant losses."

His voice was calm, and the wrinkles on Kumu Zhenren's face seemed to have deepened, revealing no expression whatsoever.

Elder Mu Yuan's lips trembled as he repeatedly kowtowed, his bloodshot eyes brimming with tears of blood.

"We are unworthy! We have failed our ancestors' expectations."

"Our sect has been defeated."

"How could this be?"

The withered wood immortal's voice was mournful, and his cloudy eyes held a hidden glint of light, showing no trace of sorrow.

Unaware of the danger, the Foundation Establishment elders trembled and choked out, “It was our negligence that allowed the Qinghe Sect to steal the Three Talents Illusion Array. When we activated it, we were shocked to find that the array was useless, and our disciples suffered heavy losses as a result.”

"Xianshuiju and Qinghe Sect launched a counterattack and encirclement. Now, more than 50% of our sect's disciples have been killed or wounded."

Mu Yuan was filled with grief. His old face was almost buried in the soil, and he dared not look at his ancestor: "Of the five immortal workshops, two have already fallen. If the ancestor does not take action, our sect's thousand-year heritage will probably be cut off here in five days at most."

"We have failed our ancestors and our sect."

Master Kumu remained silent, seemingly unsurprised upon hearing that the illusion array had been altered.

"You want me to open the secret realm again?"

"We have selected the most talented and promising disciples from among our disciples to serve as the seeds for the future revival of our Yimu Sect."

Mu Yuan did not respond directly. He and the elders kowtowed again, almost pleading with the fate of the sect on behalf of Ku Mu Zhenren.

"We humbly beg our ancestors to allow us to reopen the Yi Wood Secret Realm. We are willing to sacrifice our lives and cultivation to extend our ancestors' lifespan and preserve the flame of our sect."

“Our Yimu Clan is in danger of extinction. Only you, our ancestor, have the ability to protect our clan’s last hope from the chaos.”

What can be done about it?

The withered tree master sighed deeply, it was unclear whether he was tacitly agreeing or refusing.

She slowly rose, her aged body becoming increasingly hunched, her face showing a hint of melancholy and desolation.

"Go, with me here, the Yimu Sect will not perish."

"Thank you! Thank you for your kindness, Ancestor."

The elders were moved to tears. They knelt down and rushed forward. There, on the main seat where Master Kumu had left, lay a sect leader's decree made of a thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood.

“After we offer sacrifices, we are relieved of our burdens, but our ancestors will have to toil for another hundred years.”

With a bitter look in his eyes, Mu Yuan immediately rallied the elite disciples, gave them detailed instructions, and then gathered all the Foundation Establishment cultivators to head to the heart of the sect. With the sect leader's decree, they reopened the secret realm.

The eight elders stood in the Bagua formation, with dark green array patterns shimmering beneath their feet, spreading like a spiderweb across the entire rift valley from top to bottom.

"Life transforms evil, and the withering and flourishing of Yi wood."

Mu Yuan chanted an incantation, settling the central palace. Then, a giant wooden cauldron was erected in the Kun position, with Kan and Li drawing in living water and bright fire, and Zhen and Dui pouring in the essence blood of hundreds of demonic beasts.

The earth shook and the thousand-foot-tall thunderwood split in two. The spiritual veins trembled, and boundless spiritual power gathered from all directions. Grass and trees within a radius of a hundred miles grew rapidly, climbing on each other to form a giant crater about a kilometer in size.

The pit is crisscrossed with ravines and overgrown with shrubs, and teeming with spiritual energy, with mineral veins rising and falling in various places.

"Hear my command, reverse the formation."

Mu Yuan shouted sharply. He had already engraved a complete sacrificial array in the secret realm, just to prevent any unforeseen events, but he never expected it would actually come in handy.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators spat out mouthfuls of blood essence, each offering a part of their bodies. Mu Yuan, on the other hand, directly severed his own limbs and merged most of his body into the array eye. Finally, countless dense blood-red array patterns appeared.

The octagonal array of patterns slowly rotated, eventually converging on the giant wooden cauldron, covering its entire surface with eerie and demonic patterns.

This is the third-tier, low-grade Yi Wood Immortal Refining Array, passed down through generations of the Yi Wood Sect.

This formation requires a large amount of third-grade low-quality Jade Garden Wood and Xuanpo Stone as its foundation, along with more than a hundred kinds of Qi and Blood auxiliary materials. It takes hundreds of cultivators three months of refining to complete the formation. Its sole purpose is to serve as a container to absorb and sublimate essence and true energy, and to refine immortal longevity pills that can extend the lifespan of cultivators.

Of course, at most, this formation can only refine the lowest-grade second-tier longevity pills, which can extend lifespan by a maximum of one hundred years.

May our ancestors live long and prosper!

Mu Yuan respectfully shouted and took the lead in throwing himself into the wooden cauldron. Countless blood threads swarmed over, climbing and taking root layer upon layer.

Despite the excruciating pain, Mu Yuan remained fanatical, laughing uncontrollably. The other Foundation Establishment elders also did not hesitate, turning around and throwing themselves into the cauldron.

Blood streaks sprouted and took root like tender buds, and the skin of the Foundation Establishment elders visibly dried up. After more than half of their cultivation and blood energy were drawn away, Mu Yuan vaguely sensed something amiss.

Why is my blood, qi, and essence not yet fully replenished?
"Why is this Yi Wood Immortal Refining Array slightly different from what I remember? It seems much more sophisticated?"

Mu Yuan's mind gradually became hazy. He stared blankly at the intricate array patterns inside the cauldron. Although it was still based on the Yi Wood Immortal Refining Array, it was several times more sophisticated and complex. Many of the extended array patterns had extremely low utilization efficiency and showed obvious signs of trial and error in research.

Its advantage lies in its massive scale and the fact that the array patterns are more than five times more complex, increasing its effectiveness by about 70% compared to the original.

No wonder there wasn't enough Qi and Blood to form the array.

"Did I carve it wrong? No, that's not right."

Mu Yuan was confused and even began to doubt himself, but he quickly dismissed it by squinting his eyes; he had not improved his mastery of the grand formation.

In the entire Yimu Sect, only the ancestor who was in the mid-stage of Core Formation had the ability to research and improve the great formation.

"No, impossible. Our ancestor's lifespan is nearing its end, and his consciousness is clouded. He is only clear-headed for two hours a day. How could he have time to study?"

As if struck by lightning, Mu Yuan was thrown into complete disarray, his heart filled with fear and dread.

If the formation was indeed modified by the ancestors, then she must have started studying and deconstructing it at least fifty years ago.

His Dao heart was almost collapsing. His stiff neck slowly tilted up, meeting the icy gaze of the withered wood immortal. His eyes were cloudy, yet a sharp light was hidden within them, and a hint of pity seemed to shine through his coldness.

"Did you, our ancestors, initially seek to prolong your life?"

He murmured softly, but his voice was so faint that no one could hear him.

To refine the Elixir of Immortality, one must not directly engage with cause and effect, nor can one force others. The person presiding over the ceremony must willingly dedicate themselves to the cauldron for the elixir to be successfully formed.

"With such a severe deficiency of vital essence, where are you going to get the replenishment?"

Mu Yuan felt despair. The blood energy within the formation was only about 30%, and the remaining 70% was not enough to gather the blood energy needed to form the pill, even if he refined all the living creatures of the Yi Mu Sect.

"Not bad."

Outside the cauldron, Master Kumu casually made a hand seal, and Mu Yuan and the other elite disciples, whom he regarded as the spark of fire, floated in mid-air in front of the cauldron. In the midst of their terrified gazes, they burst into blood from the inside out and seeped into the cauldron.

The chief sacrifice has already been placed in the cauldron; the rest are merely offerings to replenish vital energy and blood. Whether or not it is forced upon them is of little consequence.

Mu Yuan's eyes were bloodshot, while Ku Mu Zhenren's face remained calm. She made a hand seal with her fingers, and blood patterns spread outwards from her feet, extending into hundreds and thousands of array eyes in a way that reversed the three powers.

"Ancestor, what are you going to do?"

Mu Yuan's eyes were filled with bloody tears. Only then did he realize that the position where the withered tree stood was the true central palace.

"Rest now, I will not refine your souls."

The withered tree's voice was calm, and beneath its feet lay a complex network of blood formations, with formations within formations.

She slowly floated into the air, pointing one finger to the sky and the other to the ground, using herself as the core of the array to activate the sacrificial array that had been prepared beforehand.

The seemingly ineffective illusion arrays revealed their true power. The blood of thousands of rogue cultivators from Qinghe Sect, Yimu Sect, and Xianshui Residence, who died in the great battle, converged on the main array through the sacrificial arrays that spread throughout the area and formed an encirclement.

A withered tree occupied the central palace, and a torrent of blood, guided by a grand formation, surged forth from all directions, staining the sky crimson. "Your lives will grant me immortality; as long as I live, the Yimu Sect will live."

The crimson blood gathered and was completely absorbed into the wooden cauldron, like oil being boiled over a raging fire, refining into scalding hot essence blood.

The withered tree stood with its hands behind its back, silently watching the blood river sublimate as it boiled and gradually crystallized, condensing into a clear elixir of irregular shape.

"Clap clap clap—This has truly broadened the horizons of this humble monk."

In the corner, an old monk in dark robes, with a kind face, clapped his hands and sighed softly as he slowly emerged from the shadows.

His aura was as restrained as a deep abyss, as if he appeared here in an instant. Wherever his footsteps passed, the grass and trees withered, creating a space of his own.

His name is Chen Zhang, one of the three Core Formation experts of Xinmo Temple. He is the Grand Elder, has completed three stages of Core Formation, and has reached the mid-stage of Core Formation.

With a calm expression, he strolled leisurely to the withered tree, looking down at the cauldron with a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"Fool! A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to try and drag down a Core Formation cultivator?"

Chen Zhang gently shook his head, his eyes sweeping over the withered tree with both admiration and greed: "In the thousands of years of the Qingyuan Domain, only one person has achieved the third level of the Five Elemental Root Pill. How could his Dao heart be clouded by lifespan? You agree, right, Luo Qianqiu?"

The Heart Demon Temple never underestimated Luo Qianqiu, so they sent him to keep a close watch on him and make sure he died from exhaustion of his lifespan.

His Heart Demon Temple secretly intervened when the Yi Wood Sword was activated last time, successfully disrupting the condensation of the first Immortal Longevity Pill, causing it to split into five.

Unexpectedly, Luo Qianqiu was a true hero, who even in dire straits, he managed to cultivate immortality once more.

Fortunately, the Heart Demon Temple was cautious, and now it would be impolite to refuse this second Immortal Longevity Stone.

"The power of the moonlight is only enough for a True Person to barely form a pill, right? I must thank True Person Luo for refining pills for my Heart Demon Temple."

"You're welcome, take it yourself."

Luo Qianqiu remained calm and indifferent, treating Chen Zhang as nothing. Even though her lifespan was exhausted and she was so weak that Chen Zhang could kill her in just three moves.

"Then it would be disrespectful for me to refuse."

Chen Zhang laughed loudly, about to take the pill, but Luo Qianqiu watched indifferently while forming the Spirit Palace Seal with his hand, causing the pill in his body to reverse and his karmic power to surge.

Dark clouds obscured the bright moon, and thunderous dragons rolled among the clouds, concealing the gathering of a vast and mighty heavenly power.

Chen Zhang was shocked and immediately stopped, looking back in disbelief: "You've gone mad to actively invite the Heavenly Tribulation of Core Formation?"

The Immortal Longevity Pill was inherently against the will of Heaven. Luo Qianqiu actively activated the karmic force within his body, triggering his inner demons, which just happened to attract the tribulation lightning that caused the pill to be formed.

This tribulation, catalyzed by inner demons, changes in power according to the karma of the one suffering it. The karma on Luo Qianqiu's body is so tangible that it seems as if ten thousand ghosts are howling, and it is no less powerful than the Golden Core of the orthodox demonic sect.

This calamity could destroy a Core Formation cultivator. If he forcibly seizes the Core, he has less than a 10% chance of surviving half his life, let alone the withered Luo Qianqiu.

"Under the tribulation of lightning, your soul will be scattered. You know we wouldn't destroy your soul. Why go to such lengths?"

He was greatly shocked by anger and lost his composure for a moment.

Whether he destroys the pill or seizes it, he will be implicated by the heavenly tribulation, unless Luo Qianqiu voluntarily takes the pill and accepts the tribulation.

"Noisy."

Luo Qianqiu's cold eyes flashed like lightning, ignoring the anger, and she raised her hand to take the pill.

"If you don't take what's offered, you're unworthy of being a demonic cultivator. Get out!"

Luo Qianqiu looked at him with disdain, but dared not speak out in anger. Under the heavenly tribulation, who would dare to seize the pill?

Luo Qianqiu extended her index finger, and the Immortal Longevity Pill, attracted from the cauldron, slowly came and hovered at her fingertip.

The heavenly tribulation rolled on, and the thunder dragon roared. The residual power alone was enough to shake the mind of those with anger and delusion, let alone Luo Qianqiu, whose inner demons had suddenly arisen.

But then a smile finally appeared on her cold lips, and under the raging lightning, she swallowed the longevity pill without hesitation.

Upon tasting the Longevity Elixir, withered trees come back to life; the dry, emaciated skin visibly becomes rosy and plump, the hunched back gradually straightens, becoming as upright as a pine tree, and the aged features become delicate and lustrous.

Her phoenix eyes were indifferent, devoid of any emotion. Her eyebrows were like clouds, and her lips were slightly thin and full. Dan Yuan transformed into a plain blue robe, her smooth black hair cascading down to her waist, with a tuft of white hair hanging down like a waterfall of stars.

Her features weren't stunningly beautiful, but they were just right. Her snow-white neck was adorned with three star-shaped beauty marks, giving her an aloof and ethereal image that kept everyone at arm's length.

The Yi Wood Immortal Refining Array was upgraded, taking the essence and blood of over a thousand cultivators to create immortal pills, granting the cultivators a lifespan of one hundred and fifty years.

"Crazy guy"

After taking the pill, the thunder dragon surged, and the demon stumbled and fled.

Luo Qianqiu pursed her lips slightly, a smile appearing on her jade-like face. Her brows remained unwavering. In her hand, her inner energy transformed into a sword, and beneath her feet, the earth cracked as she soared into the sky, bathing in the tribulation lightning.

In Feiyunfang, the sounds around him seemed to have been muted. Luo Fanchen's eyes were glazed over, the hairs on his forearms stood on end, and he felt as if his blood was about to freeze.

Before him, the old woman's face was serene, but the Record of the Eight Desolate Demonesses popped up on its own, with two lines of text that were extremely conspicuous.

Luo Qianqiu, the Rebellious Demoness (A Withered Tree Reborn, Only I Am Everlasting)

[Five Elements Pseudo-Spiritual Root, Current Admiration Value: 0]

[Currently available enchantresses to bind: 1 (Bind?)]

He possesses five spiritual roots, yet he cannot discern his cultivation level?
Luo Fanchen is not a fool. The Records of the Eight Desolate Demonesses contains stories of peerless demonesses capable of overturning the entire world.

This old woman's appearance must be a transformation, and her cultivation is unfathomable. Unlike Mo Xue, she is a fully grown, genuine demoness.

It was no coincidence. He knew very well what encountering the demoness during the turmoil of the three sects' war meant.

Feiyunfang is doomed!
"Young man, may I ask how to get to the steward's office?"

The old woman's eyes were filled with amusement as she sensed a lost trace of the essence of the Immortal Longevity Pill on the Qi Refining ant before her.

It's quite interesting that a mere Qi Refining ant could see her, who had successfully transcended tribulation and was in the late stage of Core Formation, without being deceived by her protective core essence.

Her starry eyes swept across dozens of streets, where more than two hundred Jie cultivators and remnants of the Yimu Sect had poured in from the closed protective array. They would arrive here in a moment and sweep through the Immortal Market.

"Go straight ahead. Walk to the end, and you'll find it."

Luo Fanchen's voice trembled uncontrollably as he felt a crushing sense of dread emanating from the old woman before him, a fear stemming from a difference in the level of life she represented.

Even though she didn't reveal any cultivation level and appeared to be an ordinary person.

"Indeed, there will be turmoil tonight; young ones, be careful."

After the old woman finished speaking, the sense of urgency that had almost overwhelmed Luo Fanchen suddenly disappeared. He was slightly taken aback, and when he looked up again, the other person had already vanished.

The cacophony returned, filled with shouts of killing and wails, as several powerful streams of true energy rapidly approached the street where he was.

"what happened?"

A faint stench of blood lingered in Luo Fanchen's nostrils, and he was greatly alarmed. He had no time to rejoice at having escaped with his life; instead, he felt as if he were being watched closely.

Turning back, a golden spiritual blade pierced through his back. He had no time to move and barely managed to activate his true essence to protect himself.

boom--

Luo Fanchen coughed up blood and was thrown more than ten meters away, feeling as if his internal organs were about to shatter.

He wasn't seriously injured, but his opponent's cultivation level was far superior to his, at least at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Despite the large number of enemies, Luo Fanchen was anxious but didn't foolishly try to be a hero. After taking a Concealing Breath Pill, he desperately used his escape technique while the enemy was indiscriminately slaughtering the surrounding cultivators, and finally managed to escape from the back street.

Feiyunfang is finished, so what if the owner of Jubaoge returns?
Even with the stewards of Feiyunfang, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators tied together are no match for the real demoness.

We must hurry back to the mansion and take Qiuyun and Moxue away.

(End of this chapter)