Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

The Fire Source itself struggled to raise its head, its gaze vacant as it stared into the void, as if searching for Chen Fan's figure:

"I have no other desires. Beneath this altar lies the true secret of that ancient immortal; in the storage pouch at my waist are the top-grade magical treasures I have collected over the past four thousand years and a complete copy of the 'Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique.' These... are now all yours."

"I only ask one thing of you... If one day you can leave this forbidden zone... I hope you will scatter my ashes on the summit of Fire Cloud Mountain on Fire Cloud Star... That is where I attained enlightenment..."

As he spoke the last few words, the voice of the Fire Source True Being was already barely a whisper.

"Clatter."

A single, cloudy tear slid down his withered eye.

"Take this mantle... I hope you... take good care of yourself..."

The moment the words fell, the Fire Source's head suddenly slammed down, crashing heavily against its chest!

The last faint, eerie green flame in his eye socket went out with a soft "poof."

At the same time, the last trace of his Void Refinement aura receded rapidly like a tide and dissipated into the air.

Even the five Zhenyuan Nails that were firmly pinning him down lost their target, and the blood-red array patterns on them instantly dimmed, turning into dull, ordinary iron.

Dead silence.

The entire Blackstone Square fell into a truly deathly silence.

"He's dead! Eunuch Chen, he's really dead this time!"

Eunuch Wei jumped three feet high with excitement, pointing at the shimmering water and shouting, "Listen to this! He even gave his last words clearly, and he even shed tears! The formation can't sense his life force anymore! How could this be fake?"

"We're rich! We're rich! The storage bag of the Void Refinement Old Monster, and that secret of some ancient immortal! Eunuch Chen, let's get out of here! The treasures will rust if we stay any longer!"

Eunuch Wei was so excited that he rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining.

However, Chen Fan remained seated steadily on the futon, like a lifeless stone sculpture.

His dark eyes showed no joy whatsoever, but instead flashed a chilling glint of extreme danger.

"Last words? Tears? Passing on the mantle?"

A cold, mocking smile slowly crept onto Chen Fan's lips, his voice carrying a chilling rationality. "A ruthless killer who lured dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators here as food. An old monster who lowered himself to survive, creating clones to lie in wait for three thousand years! A vicious character who, even on his deathbed, was preparing to take others down with him..."

"Do you think someone like that would suddenly have an epiphany on their deathbed, treating their enemy as their successor, and tearfully giving their final instructions?"

The excitement on Eunuch Wei's face froze instantly: "Uh... well... when a person is about to die..."

"A leopard can't change its spots." Chen Fan interrupted him directly. "This kind of old monster is inherently selfish and insane. If he truly knew he was going to die, he would definitely choose to self-destruct his essence, blowing the entire altar and all those treasures into the sky, so no one could get them! His dramatic performance has only one purpose..."

"He's betting that we're inherently suspicious and that a simple fake death wouldn't fool us, so he deliberately staged this melodramatic scene of a hero's decline and entrusting his mantle to others. All of this is to break down our psychological defenses!"

Upon hearing Chen Fan's analysis, Eunuch Wei couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Then... what are we going to do? Just watch helplessly?" Eunuch Wei swallowed hard.

"Since he's put so much effort into his performance, wouldn't it be a waste of his hard work if we didn't give him some kind of response?"

Chen Fan snorted coldly and finally stood up.

However, he did not step out of the golden bowl. Instead, he flipped his left hand and took out a large pile of materials that exuded a strange aura from his storage bag.

A section of Netherworld Bamboo, as black as ink, several 'Substitute Talisman Papers' covered with intricate runes, and a lump of 'Mysterious Yin Spirit Mud' exuding a strong Yin aura.

These things were all plundered from the evil cultivators he had killed during the Hundred Sects Conference and the Boundless Sea.

Normally we wouldn't need it, but it came in very handy right now.

"Eunuch Chen, what are you doing? Are you cursing him by sticking effigies in your mouth?" Eunuch Wei's eyes widened.

"Testing the waters."

Chen Fan flicked his fingers in rapid succession, and the pure spiritual power of the late-stage Nascent Soul stage transformed into countless fine spiritual threads, which swiftly shuttled and wove in mid-air.

The section of Netherworld Bamboo was quickly shaved into a skeleton, the Profound Yin Spirit Mud was sculpted into the outline of flesh and blood, and finally, the substitute talismans were tightly pasted onto the surface.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a paper puppet with the exact same height and build as Chen Fan appeared in the quiet room!

But that's not enough.

Chen Fan knew that ordinary puppets could not escape the detection of the Void Refinement Old Monster's divine sense.

He bit his tongue sharply, forcing out a drop of his life essence blood. With a flick of his finger, the blood blood accurately entered the paper puppet's brow.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Fan closed his eyes, enduring the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart, and forcibly separated a wisp of his spirit from his sea of ​​consciousness and injected it into the puppet's body.

"Buzz!"

The paper puppet trembled violently, and its previously empty eyes suddenly lit up with a glimmer of life.

Chen Fan once again activated the power of the fusion of immortals and demons, covering the puppet with the essence of the three gates of cause and effect, life and death, and stillness without reservation.

When everything was done, what stood in front of Chen Fan was no longer a crudely made paper figure, but a living person radiating the spiritual power fluctuations of the late Nascent Soul stage, carrying a sharp sword intent, and even breathing exactly the same as Chen Fan!

"Holy crap!" Looking at the two identical Chen Fans, Eunuch Wei took two steps back in shock. "They look even more alike than twins! Even we can't tell them apart!"

"We can't hide it for too long, but as long as we can fool him for a moment, that's enough."

Chen Fan's face paled slightly. The separation of his soul and essence blood aggravated his already unhealed injuries, yet the light in his eyes grew even colder.

"go."

With a thought, Chen Fan gave the paper puppet a command.

The paper puppet nodded expressionlessly, then flashed and flew directly out of the space of the golden bowl!

……

Outside, at Blackstone Square.

A chilling wind blew, and the ruins were filled with a nauseating stench of death.

"Whoosh!"

A slight ripple suddenly appeared in the void, and a cyan figure appeared out of thin air behind a broken stone pillar about a hundred feet away from the altar.

It was Chen Fan's paper doll incarnation!

After the avatar appeared, it did not rush forward, but instead hid behind the stone pillar with extreme vigilance, peeking out half of its body and coldly staring at the fire source on the altar.

After observing for a full half hour and confirming that the Fire Source itself was still lifeless and that even the five Zhenyuan Nails showed no unusual movement, the avatar slowly emerged from behind the stone pillar.