The entry for cultivating immortality states that after dying a hundred times, I attained immortalit

Three days later, in the courtyard.

"The list is still missing seven types of poisonous herbs. At least five of them can be found in the poisonous swamp area outside Tianhen Mountain." Jiang Bai spread a piece of paper full of medicinal herb names on the stone table. "For the remaining two, we can either buy them at a high price on the black market or risk entering the middle area."

Jiang Shan leaned closer to take a look: "Rotting Bone Grass, Ghost Face Mushroom, Red Serpent Vine... these names sound terrifying."

"The second level of my cultivation technique requires thirty kinds of poisonous materials," Jiang Bai put away the list. "The family storeroom can hold twenty-three of them, and I'll have to find the rest myself."

Jiang Lin examined the talismans in the storage bag: "I went to the Poison Swamp area last year. There are hordes of mutated poison dart frogs there. The venom they spray can even corrode low-level magic artifacts."

"That's why we need to operate as a team." Jiang Bai looked at the group present. "Me, Brother Shan, Brother Wu, and Brother Lin, the four of us are enough. Yu Rou doesn't need to go; she can handle the backup and intelligence relay. Brother Hu and Brother Ming will continue to keep an eye on Jiang Wei's side."

Jiang Wu cracked his knuckles: "When are we leaving?"

"Let's go now."

"good!"

The outer perimeter of Tianhen Mountain is a poisonous swamp area.

Four hours later, the four stood at the edge of a black swamp that was bubbling.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and decay, and the ground was covered in mud that was sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, with occasional white bones peeking out from the mud.

"The bone-rotting grass likes to grow in places with lots of corpses."

Jiang Bai squatted down and used a wooden stick to clear away a patch of mud, revealing several grayish-white plants with leaves shaped like tiny bones.

"Found it."

He carefully dug it up by the roots and placed it in a specially made jade box.

Just then, the [Killing Intent Perception] system suddenly issued a warning.

"Back off!"

As Jiang Bai shouted, more than a dozen dark figures suddenly sprang out of the swamp in front of the four of them.

They were a group of poison dart frogs, completely black, with pustules-like bumps all over their backs.

They opened their mouths, and jets of venom shot out like arrows.

"Use a fire talisman!" Jiang

Lin reacted the fastest, instantly throwing out three talismans.

Flames exploded in front of him, evaporating most of the venom.

However, several streams of venom still pierced through the wall of fire, striking Jiang Wu directly in the face.

Jiang Bai stepped in front of Jiang Wu, his right hand outstretched, and a shield of pale green poisonous mist condensed in his palm.

The venom struck the fog shield but failed to penetrate it.

[Toxicity Immunity] renders these venoms harmless to him.

"There are too many!" Jiang Shan cleaved two poison dart frogs that pounced at him with a single stroke, but even more poison dart frogs surged out of the swamp, quickly gathering into a group of more than thirty.

The swarm of frogs simultaneously sprayed venom, which fell like rain in an instant.

"Form a circle!" Jiang Bai shouted. "Brother Lin, continue using fire talismans to clear a path. Brother Shan and Brother Wu, protect the flanks. I'll hold the front!"

The four quickly stood back to back.

Jiang Lin gritted his teeth and pulled out five fire talismans. After infusing them with spiritual power, the talismans transformed into fire rings that spread outwards.

Poison dart frogs are afraid of fire and were forced to retreat repeatedly, but a few still bravely charged through the wall of fire.

Jiang Wu's longsword flashed like a silver light, slicing all the poison dart frogs that pounced at him to pieces.

Jiang Shan was responsible for identifying and addressing any omissions or missed cases.

Jiang Bai maintained the poison mist shield with one hand, and with the other hand, he took out a packet of medicine powder from his storage bag. It was a beast-attracting powder that was very effective against poisonous insects.

He sprinkled the powder onto the frogs.

Upon smelling the poison dart, the frogs immediately panicked and began attacking each other.

"Let's gather the herbs now!"

The four divided the work: Jiang Bai and Jiang Lin continued to fend off the swarm of frogs, while Jiang Shan and Jiang Wu quickly gathered the surrounding bone-rotting grass and ghost-face mushrooms.

Half an hour later, all five rare poisonous materials had been obtained.

"Retreat!" Jiang Bai threw out the last of his beast-attracting powders, and the four of them turned and rushed out of the swamp.

Behind me, the croaking of the frogs gradually faded into the distance.

---

On the way back, it was almost dusk.

"A good harvest," Jiang Shan said, counting the jade box. "Twelve rotten bone grass plants, eight ghost-face mushrooms, red vines..."

The voice just fell.

[Killing Intent Sensing] Crazed Warning!

From all directions, within a fifty-foot radius, there were at least four powerful acts of malice, and they had already formed an encirclement!

"There's an ambush!" Jiang Bai suddenly stopped in his tracks.

But it was too late.

Four figures leaped out of the woods, blocking all escape routes in all directions.

They were all dressed in black, with the iconic ghost masks of Black Fiend Valley on their faces, and jade pendants of tranquility hanging from their waists.

The jade pendant glows with a yellow light, clearly indicating that it is in an active state.

The leader was a burly man who stood nine feet tall, and he made no attempt to conceal his aura as a sixth-level Qi cultivator.

He had two people standing on his left and right, one a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining and the other at the fourth level of Qi Refining, with another cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining holding a bow and standing guard behind him.

"Black Fiend Valley is handling this," the sixth-level leader said in a hoarse voice, "Leave your storage bags, and we'll keep your corpses intact."

Jiang Bai's eyes darkened.

The opposing team has four members, and our team also has four members.

However, the opposing side has two cultivators at the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of Qi Refining; while our side only has ourselves and Jiang Shan at the third level of Qi Refining, and Jiang Wu and Jiang Lin have just reached the peak of the second level.

The disparity in strength is simply too great.

"Shall we make some terms?" Jiang Bai said, drawing a simple symbol on the ground with his foot.

That was the code of the Zhejing Society, meaning "split up and break through, and whoever can leave is one more person."

"You have no right to negotiate." The leader sneered. "The Li family is offering five hundred spirit stones for your head, and the other three are just bonuses."

Jiang Shan gripped the hilt of his knife tightly: "How did you know we were taking this route?"

The leader did not answer, but Jiang Bai already understood.

This must have been informed by an inside informant.

Only Zhe Jing would let others know about this route. Could it be that Jiang Wei and his men are watching me?!

"Let's do it!"

The leader waved his hand, and two Black Fiend Valley cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining rushed towards Jiang Shan and Jiang Wu from the left and right, while the fifth-level cultivator went straight for Jiang Lin.

The leader walked slowly toward Jiang Bai.

"Let's test your poison skills first."

He took off the jade pendant from his waist, weighed it in his hand, and said, "The Pure Heart Jade Pendant, a mid-grade Yellow Rank, is specifically designed to counter low-level poison cultivators. Miss Li specifically reminded me of it."

Jiang Bai remained silent and directly activated [Swift Shadow Step].

With his speed increased by 30%, he instantly circled around to the leader's side and thrust his poisoned dagger straight at the opponent's ribs.

"Too slow."

The leader didn't even turn around; he simply slapped out with his palm.

The palm strike, imbued with spiritual energy, crashed down like a wall.

Jiang Bai was so shocked that he staggered back three steps, feeling a tightness in his chest.

The spiritual power of someone at the sixth level of Qi Refining is completely overwhelming.

On the other side, Jiang Shan had already been injured.

The Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator he was fighting was ruthless, each strike aimed directly at vital points.

Jiang Shan barely managed to withstand ten moves before his left shoulder was slashed open, revealing a deep gash that exposed the bone.

"Brother Shan!" Jiang Wu wanted to rush forward to help, but he was held back by his opponent.

Jiang Lin's situation is even worse.

The Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator summoned a chain magic weapon, which quickly bound his legs.

Jiang Lin desperately threw out talismans, but the fire talisman and thunder talisman were all withstood by the opponent's protective spiritual power.

"Brother Lin's talismans are almost exhausted!" Jiang Wu shouted urgently. Jiang Bai gritted his teeth; he had to break this deadlock.

He lunged at the leader again, this time not with a dagger, but with both palms.

With full force, the Poison Mist Palm unleashed a torrent of pale green poisonous mist.

The leader then took a half step back, activating the Pure Heart Jade Pendant.

The jade pendant emitted a soft white light, purifying the incoming poisonous fog.

But in that instant, Jiang Bai's fingertips twitched slightly, and three poison needles, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, silently shot out amidst the poisonous mist.

By the time the leader realized what was happening, it was too late. Two poisoned needles were deflected by his protective spiritual power, but the third one pierced the back of his left hand.

"A mere trick." The leader frowned and pulled out the poison needle. The wound began to turn black, but he immediately swallowed an antidote pill, and the spread of the black energy slowed down significantly.

Sure enough, the other party had even prepared a combination of the Tranquil Jade Pendant and the Antidote Pill, clearly indicating that they had planned this all along.

"It's my turn."

The leader pulled a large black net from his storage bag.

That was the Spirit-Trapping Net, a low-grade magic artifact specifically designed to capture cultivators. The large net opened, enveloping Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai tried to dodge, but his left and right sides were already blocked by two other Black Fiend Valley cultivators.

The net crashed down.

"Jiang Bai!"

Seeing this, Jiang Shan rushed over without hesitation and slashed at the leader's back with his sword.

"court death."

Without turning his head, the leader struck out with a backhand.

The palm strike, delivered by a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator, landed squarely on Jiang Shan's chest, the sound of bones cracking clearly audible. Jiang Shan coughed up blood, flew backward, crashed into a tree before landing, and never got up again.

"Brother Shan!!" Jiang Wu's eyes were bloodshot, and he charged toward Jiang Shan even at the cost of taking a sword strike.

The Qi Refining Stage 4 cultivator, holding a bow, drew the bowstring taut and released an arrow.

An arrow pierced Jiang Wu's thigh, pinning him to the ground.

Jiang Lin's talismans finally ran out, and he was bound like a dumpling by chains. In just twenty breaths, all four were defeated.

The leader walked up to Jiang Bai, who was trapped in the spirit net, and squatted down: "I heard you can come back to life? Miss Li specifically instructed that your head be cut off, so let's see how you revive."

Jiang Bai didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the leader's waist.

Besides the Qingxin Jade Pendant, there was also half a bluish-gray jade pendant hanging there, engraved with patterns of intertwined poisonous vines, exactly the same as the half on the table when Jiang Wei had his secret meeting.

"So it was you."

Jiang Bai laughed. "The contact person for Black Fiend Valley." The leader's eyes changed slightly: "You know too much."

He drew a short sword and pressed the tip against Jiang Bai's chest: "Don't worry, I'll give you a quick death. After all, you're worth five hundred spirit stones." The short sword pierced through, and a sharp pain shot through him.

But Jiang Bai didn't look at the sword; he stared intently at the half of the jade pendant, memorizing every detail.

The fracture lines, the way the poison vines coiled, the degree of wear on the edges. The sword tip pierced through his back, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"This death was quite symmetrical," Jiang Bai muttered to himself, coughing up blood, "a hole in the front and a hole in the back."

Darkness engulfed consciousness.

[Fourth confirmation of death]

[Optional terms are being generated...]

In the darkness, three orbs of light appeared.

The first ball of light contained white runes: [Trapping Array Perception (White)] - to sense array fluctuations in advance.

The second orb of light is a green rune: [Poisonous Blood Splash (Green)] - When injured, blood turns into poisonous mist to counterattack.

The third orb of light is also green: [Concealing Breath (Green)] - Greatly reduces the presence of your aura.

Jiang Bai's thoughts swept over the three options.

[Trapped Formation Perception] is useful, but what we need more right now are survival and reconnaissance capabilities.

【Poisonous Blood Splatter】Sounds good, trading injury for injury, but the opponent has the Tranquil Jade Pendant, so the effect is reduced.

【Concealing Breath Technique】Can reduce one's presence, making it easier for assassinations and reconnaissance.

Moreover, this skill is perfect for dealing with the traitor next.

"I choose the third one."

A green light entered between the eyebrows.

[Concealing Breath Technique (Green)] Acquired: Active skill. When activated, it greatly reduces the user's aura, making them difficult to detect for those whose cultivation level is no more than two major realms below the user's. Lasts for 15 minutes, cooldown is 1 hour.

[Respawn point anchored: a moment before the ambush]

It was dusk, on the way home.

Jiang Bai suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Shan asked.

The [Killing Intent Perception] has not yet issued a warning, simply because the ambushers are not yet fully in place and the concentration of malice is insufficient.

But Jiang Bai remembers.

A hundred meters away, archers were hidden in the woods on the left, two people were behind a rock on the right, and the leader with the sixth level of cultivation was in the middle of the path ahead.

"That's the wrong route." Jiang Bai turned around. "Let's take a detour."

"Take a detour?" Jiang Lin glanced at the sky. "If we take a detour, we probably won't be able to get back before dark."

"We have to go around it." Jiang Bai's tone left no room for argument. "I have a bad feeling."

The three exchanged a glance and asked no further questions.

The four immediately changed direction and disappeared into the dense forest on the side.

Half an hour later, at the original ambush point.

The leader frowned, staring at the empty path: "They didn't come."

"Have we been discovered?" The archer leaped down from the tree.

"Impossible, unless someone leaked the information." The leader stroked the half of a jade pendant at his waist. "Let's retreat first, and discuss the mission another day."

On another mountain road.

Jiang Bai and his four companions were moving at a rapid pace.

"What was wrong with that road we just went by?" Jiang Wu couldn't help but ask.

"There's an ambush."

Jiang Bai said, "There are four people from Black Fiend Valley, two at the fourth level of Qi Refining, one at the fifth level, and a sixth-level leader."

The three men's expressions changed drastically.

"How did you know?" Jiang Lin pressed.

"I received intelligence," Jiang Bai casually made up a reason, "In short, there's an ambush."

"How did Black Fiend Valley know our route?" Jiang Shan asked in a deep voice.

Jiang Bai did not answer, but looked in the direction where his family was located.

Jiang Wei was not the only traitor.

Inside the Zhejing Society, it's probably also...

"Let's go back and talk about it first," he said. "This matter needs to be considered carefully."

The four men, carrying the poisonous materials, returned to the Jiang family before nightfall.

In Jiang Bai's small courtyard, he sat alone at the table, using a pen to draw the pattern of half a jade pendant on a piece of paper.

The pattern of intertwined poisonous vines has three distinctive features at the broken edge.

"Jiang Wei has half, and the Black Fiend Valley leader has the other half." He put down his pen. "Is it to unlock a certain place? Or to serve as proof of identity?"

The moonlight outside the window was cold and clear. Jiang Bai put away his drawing paper and blew out the oil lamp.

His fourth death earned him the [Breath Concealment Technique].

Another item was crossed off the list: Black Fiend Valley was confirmed to be in direct collusion with the traitor.

What remains: break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, eliminate the traitors, prepare for the martial arts competition, and survive the life-or-death battle...

"Take your time," he murmured to himself in the darkness, "Anyway, I have plenty of time."