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

"Are you sure it's an ancient altar?" Jiang Bai asked in a deep voice.

Jiang Lin nodded with difficulty, his lips already turning bluish-black: "I heard them say that Jiang Wu was chained to the stone pillar in the center of the altar, and Li Yueyao led three teams of people to ambush around him, just waiting for you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly coughed, and black blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Although the toxicity of the Corrosive Pulse Powder was suppressed by the antidote, the injuries from the previous battle and the corrosive effects of the toxin had brought Jiang Lin to the brink of his limit.

Jiang Bai's eyes were deep and thoughtful.

He crouched down and took out a pill from his storage bag.

This is the "Pulse-Regenerating Pill" given to me by Jiang Yuanshan before I left. Although it cannot detoxify, it can protect the heart meridian and slow down the deterioration of the injury.

"Take it." He stuffed the pill into Jiang Lin's mouth. "Wait for me here."

Jiang Lin swallowed the pill, his complexion improving slightly, but he grabbed Jiang Bai's wrist: "Don't go... that's a trap..."

"Jiang Wu is my man."

Jiang Bai pried his hands off, his voice calm, "I brought you into Black Wind Valley, and I will bring you out."

He took the empty talisman box from Jiang Lin's waist and put all the talismans in his storage bag into it—three Explosive Flame Talismans, five Earth Wall Talismans, and two Swift Travel Talismans.

"Take these talismans. If I don't return within half a day, go to the rocky slope and meet up with Jiang Shan and the others."

Jiang Lin gripped the talisman box tightly, his eyes reddening.

Jiang Bai said no more and turned to disappear into the poisonous miasma.

As he moved swiftly, he activated his concealment technique, his figure weaving through the jagged rocks as silently as a ghost.

After a while, the terrain began to rise.

A canyon entrance appeared ahead, with towering cliffs on both sides, the rocks a dark red color, as if they had been soaked in blood.

The poisonous miasma permeating the valley entrance was even darker, almost pitch black.

The map jade slip marks this as the location of the "Ancient Cultivation Altar".

It is said that hundreds of years ago, ancient monks held a sacrificial ceremony here. After the war, their resentment lingered, forming a unique terrain and poisonous miasma.

Jiang Baiting stopped thirty feet outside the valley entrance, crouching behind a giant rock.

He activated [Killing Intent Perception].

The next moment, my scalp tingled.

Warnings came like a tidal wave, indicating that at least four people were lying in ambush behind the rock walls on both sides of the valley entrance.

Deep within the canyon, three malevolent forces are locked onto the entrance.

Deeper still, there were five or six vague perceptions scattered around the altar.

The total number exceeds ten.

So many people from the Li family came!!!

Jiang Bai took a deep breath to suppress the pounding in his heart.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the Breath Concealment Technique, and concealed his aura.

The cloak of invisibility covered his entire body, making him blend into the shadows of the rocks.

He clung to the cliff face on the right side of the valley entrance, inching his way inward.

The two Li family cultivators who were lying in ambush behind the rock wall were unaware of what was happening.

Jiang Bai glided past them from behind, like a shadow skimming across the water.

Upon entering the canyon, the view suddenly opens up.

This is a gourd-shaped valley with steep cliffs on three sides, connected to the outside world by only one passage.

In the center of the valley stands a dilapidated circular stone platform, upon which stand five cracked stone pillars.

On one of the stone pillars, a person was chained with a dark iron chain.

It was Jiang Wu.

His Taoist robe was torn, his body was covered in blood, his head was bowed, and his fate was unknown.

The iron chain was engraved with runes that shimmered with spiritual light, clearly the core of that imprisoning artifact.

There appeared to be only two guards around the stone platform.

One person stood to Jiang Wu's left with a knife, while another person sat cross-legged on the edge of the stone platform, meditating.

But Jiang Bai's killing intent was triggering a frantic warning.

There are array patterns below the stone platform.

The arrangement of the five stone pillars follows a certain pattern, and faint blue spiritual light veins can be seen on the ground, just like the gaps in the scales of a sleeping giant beast when it breathes.

Jiang Bai was very familiar with this thing; it was a modified version of the Five-Pointed Star Spirit-Locking Sword Formation.

It's more complete than the one at Tianhen Mountain; the array's core is integrated with the terrain, so its power has definitely increased significantly.

Jiang Bai hid in a crevice at the valley entrance, his gaze sweeping across the entire valley.

Li Yueyao is not here.

She either hid in a cave or used a more sophisticated method of concealment.

But Jiang Baineng could sense that the strongest malice in the valley was coming from behind the stone platform.

That was the aura of someone at the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, more profound and sharper than the one-eyed man's.

Jiang Bai slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Knowing it was a trap, Jiang Wu had no choice but to save him.

The poison pattern on his right wrist began to circulate, and the three lines lit up in turn.

The deep blue bone-rotting poison, the bluish-purple blood-burning poison, and the paralyzing poisonous mist with a blue base and blood veins—three toxins accumulate in the poisonous patterns, ready to erupt at any moment.

With his left hand on his waist, he already had the poisoned dagger in his hand.

With his right hand loosely clenched, three bone-corroding poison needles had already condensed and taken shape between his five fingers.

Jiang Bai emerged from the crevice in the rock.

He no longer concealed his presence, removing his concealment technique and invisibility cloak, thus exposing himself to the sight of everyone in the valley.

The cultivator who was meditating on the stone platform suddenly opened his eyes and drew his long sword.

Four figures appeared simultaneously on both sides of the rock wall, blocking the valley entrance and the retreat route.

A figure slowly walked out from behind the stone platform.

It was Li Yueyao.

She still wore a black veil, but the chill in her eyes was more intense than poisonous miasma.

He wore a Azure Phoenix Sword at his waist, its scabbard shaped like an azure phoenix spreading its wings, and the azure gemstone inlaid in the hilt was emitting a faint spiritual light.

This is a ritual implement passed down through the Li family.

"You really came." Li Yueyao's voice was unreadable.

Jiang Bai didn't reply, his gaze falling on Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu seemed to sense something and struggled to raise his head.

His left eye was swollen and he couldn't open it, while his right eye was barely opened a crack. The moment he saw Jiang Bai, his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

The mouth movements were: "Go quickly."

Jiang Bai shifted his gaze to Li Yueyao: "Release them."

"Alright." Li Yueyao actually nodded. "Hand over the ancient cultivation inheritance, and I'll let you two leave."

Jiang Bai's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jiang Bai said slowly.

Li Yueyao chuckled lightly, her laughter full of sarcasm: "Still pretending? That skeleton in the Tianhen Mountain cave should have had a mark of inheritance on its palm. The only possibility is that the mark was taken away beforehand."

She paused, her gaze falling on the black veil on Jiang Bai's right wrist: "And you, a member of the Jiang family who should have followed the path of ordinary poison cultivators, have, in just a few months, developed a physical body as strong as a magical artifact, and the toxins you use are so potent that even the Pure Heart Jade Pendant cannot completely purify them... What other explanation is there besides inheriting the legacy of an ancient cultivator?"

Li Yueyao was mostly right.

But she didn't know that the poisonous markings didn't come from that skeleton, but were the awakening of the "Hundred Poisons Tempering Technique" after resonating with the bloodline of the ancient cultivator.

"I'll count to three." Li Yueyao gripped the hilt of the Azure Phoenix Sword. "If you don't hand it over, both of you will die here today."

"one."

The first poisonous mark on Jiang Bai's right wrist suddenly lit up.

Three bone-corroding poison needles shot out, aiming straight for Li Yueyao's face.

Almost simultaneously, he exerted force with both legs, and his body shot towards the stone platform like an arrow released from a bow.

Li Yueyao gave a cold shout and drew her Azure Phoenix Sword.

The sword light swept across like a blue ribbon, and the poison needles that entered the range of the sword light were instantly shredded into dust, like mud oxen entering the sea.

She didn't move, but made a hand seal with her left hand.

The ground patterns suddenly lit up.

The five stone pillars trembled simultaneously, and a pale blue spiritual light shot into the sky, weaving into a giant net in mid-air that enveloped the entire valley.

Five-pointed Star Spirit-Locking Sword Formation - Activated!

Jiang Bai felt a sudden heaviness all over his body.

An invisible pressure surged from all directions, as if I were sinking into a quagmire. The flow of spiritual energy began to stagnate, and moving even an inch required several times the effort.

But his momentum did not diminish.

The guard on the stone platform roared and swung his sword down. The blade flashed fiercely, aimed straight at Jiang Bai's head.

Jiang Bai neither dodged nor avoided, raising his left arm to take the hit head-on.

"clang!"

The blade sliced ​​into his arm, leaving a wound about an inch deep, and blood splattered everywhere.

But that's about it.

The body, tempered to the second level, has bones with hardness approaching that of a mid-grade magic weapon.

The blade was stuck between the arm bones, unable to go any further.

The guard's expression changed drastically, and he tried to draw his sword and retreat.

Jiang Bai reached out with his right hand, grabbed his throat, and twisted it forcefully.

The throat bone was fractured.

The body collapsed to the ground.

Another guard pounced behind him, his long sword aimed straight for his back.

Jiang Bai dodged to the side, the blade grazing his ribs and spraying blood. He grabbed the back of the blade with his left hand and kicked backward with his right foot.

The guard's sternum collapsed, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into a stone pillar. He fell to the ground without a sound.

In the blink of an eye, the two guards were killed.

At this moment, the suppression from the sword formation grew stronger and stronger.

He felt as if the spiritual energy in his dantian was frozen, and its circulation speed had obviously slowed down.

The activation of the poisonous patterns also began to be difficult, and the rate at which the toxins accumulated slowed down significantly.

"It's just a desperate struggle."

Li Yueyao's voice came from outside the formation.

She slowly walked into the sword formation, her Azure Phoenix Sword pointing diagonally at the ground.

The sword formation's spiritual light flowed around her, yet it did not suppress her in any way—this sword formation was originally set up with her at its core.

"I'll ask you one last time, are you going to hand it over or not?" Li Yueyao stopped three feet away from Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai did not answer.

The second poisonous mark on his right wrist lit up, and the scorching blood poison surged along the meridians to his right hand, turning his entire arm into a strange bluish-purple hue.

He stomped his feet hard on the ground and his body shot up.

The third poisonous pattern was activated simultaneously, and paralyzing poisonous mist gushed out from her sleeve, enveloping Li Yueyao's entire body.

"A trivial skill."

Li Yueyao sneered and slashed out with her Azure Phoenix Sword.

Where the sword light swept past, the pervasive poisonous mist melted away instantly, like frost and snow baked by the scorching sun.

She quickly formed a hand seal with her left hand, and the spiritual light of the sword formation suddenly converged, transforming into five cyan chains that shot towards Jiang Bai from five directions.

The chains moved with lightning speed, completely blocking all angles for dodging.

Jiang Bai gritted his teeth and unleashed a powerful right punch. His fist collided with the chain with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves scattering in all directions.

Jiang Bai was sent flying backwards instantly, his right fist was torn open, and his finger bones were shattered with excruciating pain.

But using the momentum of his backward flight, he forcefully twisted his body in mid-air and lunged towards Jiang Wu on the stone pillar, hoping to cut the iron chains...

"wishful thinking."

Li Yueyao's voice suddenly rang in his ears. Without him noticing, she had appeared beside Jiang Bai, her Azure Phoenix Sword piercing out like a venomous snake's tongue, aimed straight for his back. Jiang Bai twisted his body forcefully, the sword grazing his ribs, spraying blood, the wound deep enough to expose bone. He groaned, gripping the iron chain tightly with his left hand and pulling hard, but the chain wouldn't budge—it was the core of the binding artifact, and in his current state, he couldn't break it.

"it's over."

Li Yueyao's second sword strike arrived. This strike was devoid of any fancy moves, merely a simple straight thrust, yet the spiritual energy condensed on the blade caused the surrounding air to whistle sharply.

With no way to dodge, the three poisonous markings on Jiang Bai's right wrist simultaneously erupted with light: deep blue, purplish-blue, and blue with blood vessels—three kinds of toxins surged wildly within his body, converging along his meridians towards his dantian. This was a method he had never tried before, detonating all the toxins stored in the markings at once. Although he hadn't mastered the true poison explosion technique, he could barely simulate its rudimentary form using the characteristics of the poisonous markings.

"Explode!" Jiang Bai roared. Centered on him, the three-colored poisonous mist exploded violently, not spreading slowly, but bursting forth and instantly enveloping an area of ​​ten feet in radius. The rocks within the area sizzled as they were corroded, and the spiritual light of the array patterns on the ground fluctuated violently. Li Yueyao's expression changed slightly, and she withdrew, creating a momentary gap in the pressure of the sword array.

Now! Jiang Bai transformed his left hand into a blade, gathering all his remaining spiritual power, and slashed at the chain's clasp. With a clang, the clasp cracked, but it was still a little short. Just as he was about to strike again, the Azure Phoenix Sword pierced through his chest—the blade entered from behind and emerged from his chest, the spiritual power on the sword exploding within his body, his meridians rupturing inch by inch, his dantian feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy blow.

Jiang Bai froze, looking down at the sword tip protruding from his chest, blood dripping down the blade.

"I said it's over." Li Yueyao's voice came from behind, and she drew her sword.

Jiang Bai staggered forward and fell heavily against the stone pillar.

Blood gushed from his chest, quickly staining the ground red.

My vision began to blur, a buzzing sound filled my ears, and my strength was draining away with my blood.

He struggled to lift his head and look at Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu stared at him with wide eyes, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a sound.

I'm sorry.

Jiang Bai silently recited in his heart.

Then, darkness engulfed everything.

***

Dead Space.

In the chaos and nothingness, Jiang Bai's consciousness slowly coalesced.

It's the same familiar process.

Three beams of light appeared before my eyes, coalescing into word options. This time, the options changed.

The first beam was green light, which condensed into the words: 【Sword Formation Specialization (Green)】—Increases the ability to break sword formations by 30%. The second beam was blue light.

This was the first time Jiang Bai had ever seen an entry for blue-quality items.

The Chinese characters appeared in the light: [Poison Explosion (Blue)] - Compress and detonate the toxins stored in the body to cause area damage.

The destructive power depends on the quantity and quality of the toxin.

After detonation, the poison pattern will enter a one-day empty period, during which it will be unable to store new toxins.

The third beam was white: [Injury Transfer (White)] – Temporarily transfers a portion of one's injuries to a contracted spirit beast or puppet, with the transfer amount not exceeding 30% of the injury. Jiang Bai's gaze fell on the blue entry. Poison Explosion.

This was the move he tried to imitate before he died.

With it, combined with the thirty toxins stored in the Poison Pattern, the explosive power will far exceed imagination. Although there is a cost of a Poison Pattern depletion period after use, in desperate situations, this is a decisive measure. Moreover, this is the first blue attribute. The quality improvement brings not only power, but also a possibility—the possibility of moving to a higher level.

Without any hesitation.

Jiang Bai chose [Poison Explosion (Blue)].

A blue light entered his consciousness. A flood of insights into the compression, detonation, and control of toxins rushed into his mind.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar pulling sensation came. Consciousness began to sink, returning to the body.

***

Jiang Bai opened his eyes.

He stood outside the canyon entrance to the ancient altar, crouching behind a giant rock. His right hand was pressed against the rock face, his fingertips feeling the rough texture.

There were no knife wounds on his back, and no gaping hole in his chest.

He was reborn back to the moment before he stepped into the valley.