Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

At this critical moment between life and death, a sly smile appeared on Wu Fan's originally panicked face.

Upon seeing this, the thin-lipped cultivator's smug expression suddenly changed, his eyes widened, and he abruptly turned his head away.

Suddenly, a white tiger, over ten feet long, pounced. Its enormous claws were even wider than its head, and it brought down a powerful wind-attribute force.

At the same time, Wu Fan used his divine sense to unify all thoughts and instantly condensed a "Shocking Divine Thorn" which shot straight towards the thin-lipped cultivator's head.

Faced with the sudden attack from the white tiger, the thin-lipped cultivator was naturally unable to defend with all his might and could only hastily generate a circle of blue spiritual light shield to resist.

"Smack—!!!"

"Ugh~ Ah~~~!"

A slapping sound suddenly rang out, followed by a series of piercing screams with a lingering tone.

He was sent flying several meters away by the white tiger's huge claws, landing on the ground with several deep, bone-revealing wounds on his back.

Seeing this, Wu Fan naturally wouldn't wait for the thin-lipped cultivator to slowly recover from the negative effects of "Shocking God Thorn".

Immediately, he pointed his sword, and the Crimson Flame Sparrow Spirit Sword burst into flames, shooting out like a crimson rainbow.

With a whooshing sound, the Crimson Flame Sparrow Spirit Sword pierced straight into his heart.

Wu Fan then turned his sword finger, causing the Crimson Flame Sparrow Spirit Sword to rotate and stir. The explosive fire elemental power within the sword surged out continuously, creating small-scale explosions at his heart.

Explosions rang out one after another. When they finally stopped, a charred hole the size of a head had been blown through the thin-lipped cultivator's chest, and he was dead.

Seeing the other party's condition, Wu Fan immediately released his divine sense to thoroughly examine the corpse. He went back and forth several times until he was completely sure that the person was dead, and only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

A moment later, he began to activate the fire element within his body, slowly expelling the cold air from his body.

Although the process of expelling the cold air went smoothly without any troublesome follow-up measures, he discovered that the meridians in his feet had been damaged.

"This cold air is so domineering! If I had stayed up another incense stick's time, my legs would probably be ruined."

Wu Fan was secretly amazed, but then he suddenly remembered the previous battle between the thin-lipped cultivator and the cultivator.

When this person started the battle, he had never used ice-attribute spiritual power. It was only after he inserted a blue talisman into his body that he was suddenly able to use ice-attribute spells, and the power of his spells was greatly enhanced.

It seems that the blue talisman used by this person has a similar effect to the "Spirit Gathering and Power Enhancement Talisman" of the first-grade high-level talisman, both of which can temporarily amplify the cultivator's spiritual power and spell power.

However, the thin-lipped cultivator was probably using a second-tier talisman, and it was an ice-type talisman with extremely rare attributes.

With this in mind, Wu Fan stopped thinking about it. Whatever methods the other party used, it was no longer important at this moment.

The most urgent task is to clean up this area, which has been severely damaged by the battle, as soon as possible, so that the two can not leave any traces that can be used to track them.

With a thought, Wu Fan raised his hand and inhaled.

He retrieved all the storage bags hidden on the two corpses remotely, and then two fireballs the size of fingernails shot onto the two corpses. Moments later, the two corpses burst into flames.

Before long, it turned to ashes.

At this moment, Zhao Fu, with big strides, came running towards Wu Fan, shaking his head and swaying.

As soon as it got close to him, it immediately began to rub against him affectionately with its huge tiger head, which took up almost half of its body.

Upon seeing this, Wu Fan naturally understood what it meant; it was asking him for a reward!

Seeing this, he smiled and pinched Zhaofu's cheek. He took out a bottle of second-tier demon beast essence blood from his storage bag and tossed it over.

Zhao Fu immediately grabbed the jade bottle, bit it to pieces, and absorbed the essence of the demon beast inside in one gulp. Then, he let out a satisfied "whoosh whoosh whoosh" roar.

After Wu Fan saw Zhao Fu finish consuming the demon beast's essence blood, he lazily leaned against him and lay down, his tiger head drooping, looking drowsy.

He casually waved his hand and put Zhao Fu into his spirit beast pouch.

During his years in Bamian Mountain, Zhao Fu devoured the essence and blood of many second-tier demonic beasts, and his aura improved extremely rapidly.

According to the normal cultivation progress of ordinary demonic beasts, it would take at least forty or fifty years to advance to the mid-stage of the second tier. But judging from its current progress, it may only take a few years to attempt a breakthrough.

Wu Fan nodded in satisfaction, his figure transforming into a streak of azure light as he continued his rapid westward journey.

......

Ten days later.

Wu Fan did not choose to continue flying on his own. Instead, he rode Zhao Fu, closed his eyes, and slowly recovered the true energy that had been consumed by traveling.

He was dressed in black, his aura extremely restrained, just like the black-clad man from the Eight-Faced Mountain Valley back then.

Wu Fan killed the two men who were chasing him that day and found in their storage bags that the two men were actually from the Fuhai Sect, one of the six sects of Yan Kingdom.

Although the Fuhai Sect is not considered a top-tier Nascent Soul power among the six sects of Yan Kingdom, it still has two Nascent Soul True Monarchs, which is incomparable to the Falling Star Valley.

Now, the six sects of Yan Kingdom have invaded Chu Kingdom, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and Zhongtianxu City within its borders have also rebelled. Besieged on both sides, the remaining three sects are weak and powerless, and are simply unable to resist the attack of the six sects.

Looking around, only the intervention of the Nine Provinces Alliance can offer a glimmer of hope and room for maneuver for the cultivation world of Chu.

However, such a major event concerning the survival of a nation's cultivation world is something that a Nascent Soul cultivator would handle and negotiate, and is far beyond the reach of a cultivator like Wu Fan.

His only thought at that moment was to get back to Falling Star Valley as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether Falling Star Valley will remain part of the Chu Kingdom's territory in the future, there will always be a Nascent Soul True Monarch presiding over the valley.

After safely returning to the sect, one should devote oneself to cultivation until reaching the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and then gradually pursue the path of Core Formation. This is the right way.

As Wu Fan was secretly planning his future cultivation, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and he abruptly turned to look to the side, a storm raging within him:

"It was him?! What's he doing here? Is it a coincidence, or has he been secretly following me all along?"

Although he had a series of questions in his mind, he dared not relax in the slightest. In fact, he felt a sense of vigilance he had never felt before.

After all, the person who came was very likely a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Therefore, Wu Fan immediately gave a soft shout, summoning Zhao Fu back into the spirit beast pouch, no longer relying on the spirit beast for transportation, and instead traveled at full speed himself.

His entire body erupted with azure true essence as he unleashed the Wood Release technique with all his might.

Meanwhile, more than ten miles above Wu Fan, a tall and imposing figure hovered atop a golden sword.

The man was tall and straight, with a cold and stern face. His eyes were slightly closed, and his nose was twitching slightly, as if he was sniffing something. However, there was a hint of smug satisfaction on his lips.

This person was Zheng Yue.

At this moment, in his divine sense, a five-colored stream of light, like smoke, drifted from a very distant place.

He inhaled the five-colored light, as if he were smelling something exciting, and couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"That familiar scent again, it's him! Wu Fan!!!"

Zheng Yue slowly opened his eyes, looking in the direction from which the five-colored light had come, his eyes immediately revealing excitement:

"This person's soul power far surpasses that of the Foundation Establishment realm. Besides being born with an extraordinary soul, he must have cultivated some kind of technique specifically for tempering the divine sense. If I can devour his soul, I can definitely restore myself to the level of the early Golden Core stage. I absolutely cannot let this person escape!"

Thinking this, he immediately transformed into a golden light and chased after the five-colored stream of light.

......

Several hours later, Wu Fan was riding Zhao Fu at full speed through the mountains and forests.

He initially used the Five Elements Escape Technique with all his might to escape, which initially allowed him to shake off Zheng Yue's pursuit. However, as soon as he regained his normal flight speed, Zheng Yue would reappear within the range of his divine sense.

It seems that the other party possesses some kind of secret technique that allows them to pinpoint their location.

Thinking of this, Wu Fan felt helpless.

How come they all have secret techniques to track me? The black-clad cultivator from the Overturning Sea Sect was tracked by the Reclamation Token, but what method did Zheng Yue use?

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out when he had been tricked. He could only marvel at the power and mystery of the "Nascent Soul cultivator".

The opponent was a cultivator who appeared to be a Nascent Soul cultivator, so Wu Fan naturally wouldn't stay to fight him. He could only use the Five Elements Escape Technique again to escape.

Several more days passed.

Wu Fan had already exhausted most of his true energy, and Zhao Fu was also exhausted, but Zheng Yue was still chasing closely behind them and they couldn't shake him off no matter what they did.

Wu Fan felt a chill in his heart, having exhausted all options.

As he continued to flee, he still couldn't figure out what tricks the other party had played, or why the other party was always following him like a shadow, even though his whereabouts were completely exposed.

If this continues, once his true energy is completely exhausted, that will be the time of his death.

Wu Fan naturally couldn't just sit and wait to die. Even if the opponent was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he had no choice but to take a gamble.

Fortunately, the other party only possessed Zheng Yue's physical body, and his cultivation level remained at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Even though his soul was extremely powerful and he possessed many strange and secret techniques, Wu Fan also had the Blood Fiend Slash trump card that he had been cultivating for many years.

As long as one can protect their mind and prevent their spirit from being invaded by attacks, they may still have a fighting chance.

However, this battle is dangerous, and he has no control over whether his soul can be protected from attack. But now, he has no choice but to go all out.

Wu Fan activated his spiritual energy to its fullest extent, speeding through the air towards a strangely shaped place.

As he drew near, his hands began to rapidly change into several hand seals, and in an instant, five array flags shot out from the storage bag at his waist, quickly settling and planting themselves in the ground according to the directions corresponding to the five elements.

As he drew near, his hands began to rapidly change into several hand seals, and in an instant, five array flags shot out from the storage bag at his waist, quickly settling and planting themselves in the ground according to the directions corresponding to the five elements.

Instantly, five-colored light began to converge, forming a formation in which the five colors continuously merged.

Five Elements Trapping and Killing Formation!!!

Seeing that the formation was complete, Wu Fan immediately turned around and flew towards another mountain peak.

Before long, he withdrew his magic power and landed on the mountaintop. He then took out a misty white bead the size of a pigeon egg from his storage bag.

This bead is called the Protector of Essence Bead. It was found in the storage bag of the thin-lipped cultivator, one of the two black-clad men from the Overturning Sea Sect.

After testing it out, Wu Fan discovered that the bead not only had defensive effects, but also served to conceal one's figure, aura, and spiritual energy fluctuations.

So he immediately poured spiritual power into the protective pearl, and the pearl immediately emitted a bright white light. His aura subsided, and his figure disappeared without a trace.

at the same time.

Zheng Yue, who had been relentlessly pursuing Wu Fan, was also extremely frustrated.

He had taken several pills to restore his mana over the past few days, barely managing to stay close behind his opponent and avoid being shaken off.

If it weren't for the innate supernatural abilities inherited from their race, they probably would have lost track of the person long ago.

He had originally decided to pursue them for another day, and if they continued to flee for their lives, he would give up.

After all, he relied on the method of devouring divine souls to dare to pursue so recklessly.

However, if the true essence in the dantian is exhausted, even if one catches up, there will be no power to kill the opponent or seize their soul.

But to his utter surprise, just as he was about to give up, Wu Fan stopped running and instead hid himself away.

The opponent's concealment skills were truly remarkable. If it weren't for his extraordinary talent and abilities, he might not have been able to detect where he was hiding.

But at this moment, Wu Fan had already become his prey, a sitting duck.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yue couldn't help but burst into laughter, and his escape light surged again, increasing his speed even further.

Before long, he slowed down and stopped near the hill where Wu Fan was hiding, and took a few steps forward.

He deliberately looked around, his divine sense exploring every direction, and then spoke in the opposite direction of where Wu Fan was hiding:

"Junior Brother Wu, since we are fellow disciples, why are you avoiding me? I mean you no harm, I simply wish to travel with you back to the sect. Please, Junior Brother, show yourself and let us talk!"

After saying that, he suddenly turned around, brandished the golden sword in his hand, and slashed a beam of sword light directly at the spot where Wu Fan was.

A loud "bang" rang out, and rocks flew everywhere. Wu Fan was not hit, but three crimson spirit birds, each several feet in size, swooped down on him.

Zheng Yue immediately conjured a shield of light around himself, blocking the first Crimson Flame Spirit Sparrow. He then summoned a golden python several meters long, which engaged the remaining two Crimson Flame Spirit Sparrows in battle.

Seeing this opening, Wu Fan immediately retreated rapidly, maintaining a certain distance from his opponent.

At the same time, he condensed a Five Qi Seal in his hand, which quickly grew to half the size of a person and slapped it directly at the opponent's face.

Zheng Yue suddenly turned around, his fist slammed out, and a golden fist shadow the size of a head, extremely solid, clashed directly with the incoming Five Qi Seal.

In an instant, various colors of spiritual light burst forth, and the overflowing light immediately swept across the surroundings.

Immediately afterwards, Wu Fan controlled the Crimson Flame Sparrow Spirit Sword, accompanied by a clear sparrow's cry. The sword blade condensed into the light of sparrow wings, carrying scorching sword energy, and stabbed rapidly toward the opponent's heart.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Yue let out a cold laugh, and the golden sword in his hand also flew away.

The two spirit swords, both top-grade spiritual artifacts, clashed together. A piercing, ear-piercing sound rang out, and the two spirit swords flew back.

Upon seeing this, Wu Fan immediately withdrew the Crimson Flame Sparrow Spirit Sword and turned to flee into the distance.

However, how could Zheng Yue just stand by and let him leave?

A cone-shaped magical artifact, shimmering with purple light, shot out from his dantian and pierced straight into Wu Fan's back.

Wu Fan immediately activated the protective pearl beside him, which emitted a white light to confront the attack, before disappearing again.

A moment later, the Protective Pearl began to shake violently, its spiritual light began to dim, and several cracks began to appear on its surface.

A moment later, a cracking sound was heard, and the spiritual light on the surface of the bead shattered inch by inch, turning into specks of light that scattered outwards.

The Protective Pearl—shattered!