Proving Immortality Starting with Hextech Runes

Chen Xu's vision went black, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

He gritted his teeth, a metallic taste rising in his throat, and forced back the blood that was welling up inside him.

The magical patterns beneath the skin flickered wildly, almost crushing the watery ripples on the body's surface.

He felt as if he were carrying a real sacred mountain on his back!

Looking up, the long staircase ahead was no longer visible.

Above the hundred steps is a circular jade platform, no more than ten feet in diameter.

In the center of the jade platform, a cluster of extremely beautiful light floated.

The radiance was only the size of a fist, flowing slowly and exhibiting a strange form that was somewhere between a liquid and a gas.

As the light flowed, it seemed to condense the entire starry sea into a small space.

Its aura is pure and vast, carrying a supreme Taoist charm that cleanses the soul and reshapes the foundation.

Mysterious Jade Marrow!

After overcoming numerous hardships, traversing the chains of annihilation, and enduring terrifying gravity powerful enough to crush a Nascent Soul cultivator, the goal is finally within reach!

However, just as Chen Xu was deeply moved and his gaze was completely drawn to the magnificent jade marrow,

His peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of the scene at the edge of the jade platform, and his heart skipped a beat.

The shadowy area near the edge of the jade platform was not empty.

There was a skeleton sitting cross-legged, quietly leaning against the wall.

Bones!?

At the end of this Xuanqiong Heavenly Staircase, there is actually a skeleton!?

The skeleton has a warm, jade-like luster, as if it has been washed by the spiritual energy of countless years, and the bones themselves are no ordinary object.

It remained in a meditative posture, its head slightly lowered, its empty eye sockets facing the radiant chalcedony suspended in the center of the jade platform.

The skeleton was wearing a Taoist robe that had long since decayed, but its former extraordinary quality could still be vaguely discerned.

Most notably, one of the skeletal hands does not hang down naturally.

Instead, it stretches forward, fingers slightly spread, fingertips pointing directly towards the chalcedony, as if in its last moments, it is still trying its best to touch the treasure that is so close at hand.

Beside the skeletal hand that extends from the skeleton, an antique-style ring lies quietly on the cold jade platform.

Between the legs of the skeletal figure sitting cross-legged, there was a jade slip made of the same material.

This bizarre and shocking scene instantly dampened Chen Xu's ecstatic joy.

The being who could reach this point, climb the hundredth step, and withstand this terrifying pressure, must have possessed unfathomable cultivation in their lifetime.

However, even such a powerful figure perished here, turning into a skeleton, unable to even touch the jade marrow.

How did he die? Did he die from exhaustion? Or was he consumed by the power of the chalcedony itself?

Or... is there an even more deadly danger lurking beneath this seemingly peaceful jade platform?

Chen Xu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning blood and the shock and doubt in his heart.

He did not rush towards the chalcedony immediately, but instead cautiously extended his divine sense.

The jade platform itself is made of a warm, white jade and is covered with runes that are more complex and profound than the steps below.

These runes are currently dormant, showing no signs of energy flow.

The chalcedony floated quietly, radiating pure energy fluctuations, seemingly without any active aggression.

The skeleton... aside from the immense spiritual energy contained within the bones themselves and a sense of resilience that had endured countless vicissitudes, no trace of any restrictions or traps could be detected.

Everything seemed unusually calm, so calm it was unsettling.

"Qingling," Chen Xu called out in his heart.

Inside the Beast Taming Space, Qingling, who was fully recovering, immediately responded: "What's wrong, Senior Brother?"

"I have ascended the jade platform, and the Xuanqiong Jade Marrow is right before my eyes. But... there is a skeleton at the edge of the jade platform, in a strange posture, as if it wanted to take the jade marrow before it died."

"Are you aware of the danger here? Can you sense anything unusual?" Chen Xu quickly shared what he saw with Qing Ling through the Beast Taming Link.

Qingling's divine sense cautiously swept over the shared image of Chen Xu through the Beast Taming Space.

A moment later, her cool voice rang out with a hint of solemnity:

"These skeletons... the bones have turned to jade, and the spiritual energy within them does not dissipate. In life, their cultivation was at least at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, and they may even have touched the threshold of the Divine Transformation stage."

"To perish here is no ordinary occurrence..."

"The aura of chalcedony itself is pure and vast, but... the purer and more powerful the power, the more likely it is to contain unimaginable energy."

"His outstretched hand gesture seemed to be blocked by some invisible barrier or backlash, ultimately leading to his exhaustion and death."

She paused, then continued, "Senior brother, you must be extremely careful when collecting the jade marrow. It would be best to examine that jade slip first; it might hold some clues."

Chen Xu remained silent for a long time after hearing this, and finally, under immense pressure, he moved step by step toward the white bones at the edge of the jade platform.

The closer one gets to the white bones, the clearer the powerful Daoist aura originating from the jade marrow becomes.

Like a warm tide washing over the body, nourishing the meridians damaged by the pressure.

But it also brings an invisible sense of oppression.

Finally, he arrived in front of the skeleton.

A closer look reveals the extraordinary nature of these remains.

The jade-like luster on the bones is warm and understated, remaining firm and immortal even after a long period of time, subtly revealing a kind of resilient Taoist charm.

The jade-like luster on the bones is warm and understated, remaining firm and immortal even after a long period of time, subtly revealing a kind of resilient Taoist charm.

Chen Xu did not touch the bones rashly, but fixed his gaze on the jade slip.

He took a deep breath, and the "Mysterious Water Dragon Awakening Technique" circulated within his body. A thin layer of pale blue water light enveloped his right hand, which he carefully reached for the jade slip.

The moment the fingertips touched the jade slip, a cool and ancient feeling traveled through the water.

It was not aggressive; on the contrary, it carried a sense of relief and liberation.

Chen Xu felt a little more at ease and gently picked up the jade slip.

The jade slip felt warm and smooth to the touch, indicating that its material was extraordinary.

Chen Xu separated an extremely subtle wisp of divine consciousness, like the softest feather, and slowly probed into the jade slip.

In an instant, a message filled with weariness and resentment flooded into his mind:

"If anyone who comes after me sees this letter, my teachings will have been lost."

"My name is 'Xuanjizi,' and I have reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage."

"This Heavenly Rank exerts immense pressure on Nascent Soul cultivators. They endure three hundred years of arduous struggle to ascend it, finally touching the Jade Marrow… yet this thing is not something that can be overcome by ordinary force!"

"Chalcedony possesses a spirit, forming its own universe. It requires an object of the same origin as a catalyst, otherwise it will surely suffer a backlash..."

"I exhausted all the 'Void Absorption Ring' I had cultivated throughout my life, yet I still could not bear its weight; the ring shattered and my meridians collapsed... It was too late for regrets!"

"Within this ring lies the remnant of my life's treasures, which I bestow upon someone with the right destiny. Beneath the jade marrow lies the true core of the Netherworld, holding the secret to ascension..."

"However, to enter its gate, one must..."

The information abruptly stopped there, as if it had been forcibly extinguished by some force.

"A weapon of the same origin? Backlash?" Chen Xu's pupils shrank suddenly as he looked at the ancient ring next to the white bone finger.

This is... the Void-Binding Ring!?

Almost simultaneously, a sudden change occurred.

The Xuanqiong Jade Marrow suspended in the center of the jade platform seemed to be startled by the external aura, and its radiance suddenly intensified.

The magnificent light surged like a living thing, and a ripple containing terrifying tearing power silently swept across the entire jade platform.

"Senior brother, be careful!" Qingling's stern shout resounded in his mind.

The moment Qingling warned him, Chen Xu unleashed the physical power of the third peak level of the Xuan Gu Zhen Mo Gong.

The blue-black demonic patterns beneath his skin moved wildly like living things, and his muscles bulged and bulged, resisting the sudden increase in terrifying gravity.

At the same time, when the "Mysterious Water Dragon-Opening Technique" was activated to its limit, the light blue water light on the body surface instantly solidified.

It transformed into layers of water shields, attempting to use the gentleness of water to deflect the sharp edge of the space tearing apart.

*Sizzle!*

The spatial ripples slammed into Chen Xu's defenses.

The Xuan Shui shield was as fragile as a piece of paper, and it was torn apart mercilessly in less than half a breath.

The ripples, still powerful, slammed into Chen Xu's chest, which was covered in demonic patterns.

"puff!!!"

Chen Xu coughed up a mouthful of blood containing fragments of his internal organs, staining the warm, white jade ground in front of him red.

He was violently thrown through the air like a tattered sack, crashing heavily into the invisible barrier at the edge of the jade platform with a dull thud.

If it weren't for the exceptionally tough bones and muscles forged in the third layer of the Demon Bone tempering, this blow would have been enough to cut him in half at the waist.

Even so, a terrifying, deep wound appeared on his chest, with wisps of chaotic energy remaining at the edges, frantically eroding his life force and preventing healing.

The excruciating pain overwhelmed his nerves like a tidal wave, and Chen Xu's vision went black in waves, his consciousness momentarily blurred.

He struggled to lift his head, staring intently at the even more violent Xuanqiong Jade Marrow in the center of the jade platform.

The radiance of the Xuanqiong Jade Marrow surged violently, like an enraged nebula, and a second invisible spatial ripple had already taken shape.

It was even more refined and swift than the previous one, carrying a sharpness capable of tearing through everything, and shot towards him silently.

Chen Xu was severely injured at this time, and his spiritual energy was in disarray.

The water light that deflected the force of the "Mysterious Water Dragon-Opening Technique" was completely shattered by the first strike, and there was no time for it to recombine.

There is no way to avoid it, and no way to stop it.

But at this critical moment...

The Xuanqiong Key suddenly began to tremble violently without warning.

hum...

A deep hum suddenly sounded.

Immediately afterwards, a warm energy burst forth from the depths of the key.

This force instantly created an exceptionally solid spatial ripple within a foot of Chen Xu.

laugh……

The second deadly chalcedony spatial ripple slammed heavily into the barrier supported by the Xuanqiong Key.

The anticipated devastating, tearing sensation did not materialize.

The energy ripples that were enough to easily tear apart Chen Xu were quickly dissolved and disintegrated when they collided with the spatial ripple barrier formed by the Xuanqiong Key.

The barrier fluctuated violently, causing the invisible barrier at the edge of the jade platform to vibrate and hum.

Chen Xu could even feel the jade platform beneath his feet trembling.

But the barrier itself held firm with exceptional resilience, stubbornly blocking Chen Xu's path by a foot or so!

"It actually blocked it!?" Chen Xu was shocked.

At this moment, the Xuanqiong Jade Marrow seemed to be completely enraged.

Its radiance suddenly contracted, then burst open again.

Countless spatial cracks, as thin as hair, shot out indiscriminately from all directions.

The air was silently torn apart, and deep grooves were plowed into the indestructible white jade of the jade platform by these tiny spatial cracks.

This was an indiscriminate and devastating attack, covering every inch of the Jade Platform.

But the Xuanqiong Key reacts even faster!

It seemed to possess its own sentience, sensing this deadly threat, and hovered in front of Chen Xu, its entire body radiating an unprecedented silver glow.

The barrier instantly became several times more solid and thick, and its area expanded, resembling a semi-transparent, giant silver cocoon.

Countless fine spatial cracks rained down on the silver cocoon like a storm.

Ding ding ding ding...!

Each impact caused the giant silver cocoon to ripple violently.

Chen Xu, inside the giant cocoon, felt as if he were in the heart of a raging storm.

An invisible shockwave penetrated the barrier, causing his blood and qi to surge, his internal organs to feel as if they were about to shift, and the wound on his chest to burst open, with blood gushing out again.

He gritted his teeth and used all his strength to activate the "Mysterious Bone True Demon Art" and the "Mysterious Water Dragon Awakening Technique" to stabilize his body.

The Xuanqiong Key was frantically draining the spiritual energy from Chen Xu's body, like a bottomless pit.

Chen Xu's face turned deathly pale at a visible speed, but he dared not relax in the slightest and poured all his remaining spiritual power into the key.

This silent struggle lasted for a full ten breaths.

Ten breaths felt like an eternity to Chen Xu.

His spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and his soul was experiencing a tearing pain from over-activating the key.

The silver cocoon formed by the Xuanqiong Key also dimmed considerably.

Finally, the chalcedony's violent spatial storm seemed to have exhausted its enormous energy, and its offensive gradually slowed down.

The entire Jade Platform space temporarily returned to calm.

The Xuanqiong Key also dimmed its light, transforming back into the ancient token shape, hovering in front of Chen Xu.

However, its surface luster is dull, indicating that a huge amount of material was consumed.

The barrier disappeared, and the terrifying pressure was once again applied to Chen Xu without reservation, causing him to stagger and fall to his knees on one knee.

"Cough...cough..."

He struggled to lift his head, his vision blurred by blood loss and excruciating pain.

But the magnificent yet deadly radiance of the Xuanqiong Jade Marrow in the center of the jade platform was still clearly visible.

It seemed to have suffered considerable damage from the previous violent attack, as the speed at which its light flowed had noticeably slowed down.

"An artifact of the same origin... the Void Storage Ring..." The information in Xuanjizi's jade slip flashed through his chaotic mind like lightning.

Xuanji Zi failed because his Naxu Ring was not a true "artifact of the same origin".

Then what is it? Is it this Xuanqiong Key?

Does its ability to withstand attacks from chalcedony mean that it is of the same origin as chalcedony?

Thinking of this, Chen Xuqiang mustered his almost completely depleted true essence, stretched out his right hand, and grabbed the Xuanqiong Key that was floating in front of him.

The dim key suddenly lit up, frantically devouring and absorbing Chen Xu's almost depleted spiritual power.

The sudden inhalation made Chen Xu's vision go black, as if he was about to completely faint at any moment.

"We cannot let our guard down! Xuanji Zi failed because his Storage Ring was not of the same origin!"

"This key can block attacks from chalcedony; it must be crucial!"

Chen Xu poured the last remaining trace of spiritual power into the key, even going so far as to activate the "Mysterious Bone True Demon Art" to forcibly squeeze out the potential of his physical body.

"Buzz!!"

As if reaching a certain critical point, the Xuanqiong Key, which was frantically absorbing spiritual power, suddenly trembled.

Its dull silver luster suddenly became dazzling, transforming into a silver-white beam of light that shot with perfect accuracy toward the magnificent yet violent Xuanqiong Jade Marrow in the center of the jade platform.

The moment the beam of light came into contact with the chalcedony, a strange "fusion" occurred.