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

As the light vortex tore through space, Jiang Bai felt his bones being disassembled one by one and then haphazardly reassembled.

Then came the feeling of endless falling, as if someone had kicked me off a towering cliff.

He struggled to open his eyes and saw a dazzling array of distorted colors sweeping past him, intertwining and forming a chaotic vortex.

I don't know how much time has passed.

It might take the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, or it might only take a breath.

boom!

He fell heavily onto his back in the mud, mud splashing onto his face.

Jiang Bai lay there, face up.

The sky was leaden gray, with thick, low-hanging clouds. A few dim rays of light struggled to penetrate the gaps in the clouds, and even when they shone on our faces, they offered no warmth.

Jiang Bai tried moving his fingers.

The little finger of my right hand is slightly bent; it's the only part of my body that can still be controlled at this moment.

A wave of excruciating pain surged through his body. He turned his head and saw that the skin on his right arm, from shoulder to wrist, was covered with spiderweb-like cracks. Hidden within these cracks were small, dark green crystals, like shattered porcelain pieces that had been barely pieced back together.

Pus and blood slowly seeped from the cracks, their dark green color making people feel extremely nauseous.

His dantian was completely empty, and only a thin trace of spiritual power remained, like a candle flickering in the wind.

His cultivation level dropped to the second level of Qi Refining.

Moreover, it's extremely superficial, and its level could drop again at any time.

"That's fucking pathetic."

Jiang Bai was somewhat speechless.

Just then, a notification sounded deep within my mind:

[Teleportation complete, spatial coordinates: Wasteland, Black Swamp]

[Warning: The host is in a near-death state, with life force being lost at a rate of 1% per hour]

[The "Lord of the Secret Realm" quest (3/3) has been completed]

[Should I submit the task reward?]

Jiang Bai used all his strength to concentrate a single thought in his mind:

"submit."

[Task rewards are being distributed]

[Number of deaths +3]

Current total number of deaths: 10

Upon first touching the "Ten Deaths Milestone," a hidden hint is unlocked: when the number of deaths reaches a certain threshold, a deeper system function will be activated, with the next threshold being 50 deaths.

[Random purple keywords being drawn]

[Obtained the purple affix: Symbiotic Poisonous Miasma (Purple)]

When in a poisonous environment, one can slowly absorb the free toxins in the environment and convert them into life energy to repair oneself. The resistance to poison damage will be increased by 40%, and the absorption efficiency is directly proportional to the concentration of toxicity in the environment.

[Note: This entry is for environmental support only and does not provide any active combat bonuses.]

Jiang Bai stared at those few lines of text for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly. The laughter echoed in his chest, triggering another violent cough.

"Give me a life-saving entry..." he gasped, looking up at the gray sky. "System, don't you know I'm like a lame dog right now?"

The system did not respond.

Jiang Bai struggled to turn over, propped himself up with his left elbow, and looked around.

This is a boundless black swamp, with dark green bubbles rising from muddy puddles, releasing grayish-purple poisonous miasma as the bubbles burst.

In the distance, several leaning, withered trees were planted in the mud, their bark peeled off, leaving only jagged skeletons. Further away, one could vaguely see the skeleton of a huge animal partially submerged in the swamp.

Wild Land, Black Swamp.

Jiang Bai struggled to sit up, crossed his legs, and reached his left hand to his waist, finding the dirty storage bag.

Jiang Bai's heart stirred slightly. He endured the intense pain and tried to circulate the mental technique of "Hundred Poisons Tempering Body Technique".

The sparse spiritual energy in his dantian flowed slowly, crawling laboriously along the damaged meridians.

As spiritual energy flowed into his right arm, the surrounding poisonous miasma seemed to be attracted, and wisps of grayish-purple mist entered his body through cracks in his skin.

"Well!"

Jiang Bai grunted, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

When the poisonous miasma invades the body, it feels like countless hot iron nails being driven into the bones. This pain only lasts for a moment, but then the purple entry "Poisonous Miasma Symbiosis" comes into play.

The toxins in the body were broken down and transformed into warm, gentle streams that slowly nourished the nearly depleted meridians and flesh.

Although the recovery is as slow as a snail's crawl, it is indeed improving little by little.

"Thankfully it worked."

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Bai's eyes.

He continued to maintain the flow of his energy while listening intently to the sounds around him.

The swamp was eerily silent, with the occasional rustling of the wind through the withered reeds and the occasional hissing of unknown insects. Yet, beneath this deathly silence lurked a chilling atmosphere.

That was the unique, primal flavor of the wilderness, where the strong prey on the weak.

After about half a cup of tea's time, faint human voices suddenly came from afar.

Jiang Bai immediately stopped practicing his internal energy, made a hand seal with the fingertips of his left hand, and slightly moved his mind.

【Shadow Stealth】Activated.

His figure blurred briefly like a reflection in water before merging into the surrounding black swamp, his aura completely concealed, and his presence greatly diminished.

He huddled up, hiding deep within the waist-high black reeds, peering out through the gaps in the reeds.

The group of five people came from the southeast.

The leader was a lean man with a hideous scar on his face, running diagonally from the corner of his left eye to the corner of his right mouth. He wore a patched animal skin jacket and had a curved knife hanging at his waist. The scabbard was made of some kind of black animal bone. His cultivation level was probably around the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Four people accompanied him, two of whom were men and two of whom were women. They were all relatively young and wore clothes made of rough animal hides or hemp cloth. They also wore some bone ornaments. Their cultivation level was within the third or fourth level of Qi Refining.

"Brother Scar, after this trip, can you get two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills?" a young female cultivator with a ponytail asked, her voice carrying a flattering tone.

Scarface spat and said, "Dream on. Swamp crocodile skin is going down in price right now. The whole thing about the ancient cultivator's cave in the north is making headlines. Who would want this kind of junk?"

"An ancient cultivator's cave?" Another short, stocky male cultivator's eyes lit up. "Is there really any treasure inside?"

Scarface chuckled mockingly and said, "People from Black Swamp Fortress, White Bone Stronghold, and Blood Vine Village have all gone. It's said that seven or eight late-stage Qi Refining cultivators have already perished. If we rogue cultivators join them, we'll just be easy prey."

The ponytail-wearing nun muttered, "But you can't skin crocodiles for the rest of your life..."

Scarface's tone turned cold. "In this desolate state, without a sect to back you up or a master to protect you, villages, fortresses, and markets may sound nice, but they are actually just larger bandit dens. Murder and robbery are commonplace. If you rob someone today, someone will rob you tomorrow. If you understand this, you can live a few more years."

As they talked, they had already walked to a place less than twenty feet away from where Jiang Baicang was.

Scarface suddenly stopped in his tracks, his nostrils twitching slightly.

"It smells bloody."

His eyes suddenly sharpened, and his right hand pressed against the bone knife at his waist.

The remaining four immediately scattered, each taking out their weapons—two bone spears and a short axe—while the female cultivator pulled out a leather pouch from her bosom, the opening of which faintly shimmered with green light.

Jiang Bai's heart sank.

His wound was still bleeding, and the dark green pus emitted a unique odor that could not be masked even with the Shadow Step ability to conceal his presence.

"Search," Scarface ordered coldly.

The four of them advanced slowly in a fan shape, their eyes sweeping over every clump of reeds and every mud puddle.

Jiang Bai held his breath, his left hand quietly reaching into his storage bag, his fingertips touching several cold objects—the legacy left by the Black Fiend Valley Master. He touched a jade talisman, carved with patterns of lightning and fire, slightly warm to the touch.

Mysterious-rank Thunderfire Talisman.

This is a talisman crafted by a Foundation Establishment cultivator; even after detonation, it can still severely injure cultivators below the Foundation Establishment level.

However, the explosion range of the talisman is difficult to control, and at such close range, he himself would probably not be able to escape unscathed.

"Here it is!"

The short, stocky male cultivator suddenly shouted and thrust his bone spear fiercely into the reeds where Jiang Bai was hiding!

Jiang Bai reacted almost simultaneously.

He suddenly pushed off the ground with both legs and rolled to the left into a muddy puddle!

The reeds were pulverized by the bone spear, and mud and water splashed everywhere.

The effect of [Shadow Stealth] was broken by the attack, and Jiang Bai's figure was exposed to the five people's sight.

The ponytail-wearing female cultivator was taken aback, then a greedy look appeared on her face. "A Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator, and severely injured at that!"

Scarface scrutinized Jiang Bai from head to toe, his gaze lingering particularly on the storage pouch at Jiang Bai's waist. He then smiled slightly and said, "Young man, did you fall from the teleportation array? Looks like your luck isn't so good."

Jiang Bai slowly stood up, his left hand hanging at his side, his right hand drooping limply.

He didn't speak, but just stared coldly at the five people.

The short, stocky male cultivator licked his lips, pointed his bone spear at Jiang Bai's chest, and said, "Hand over your storage bag, or you won't live."

He didn't need to say anything more. The male cultivator next to him was rather impatient. He raised his short axe high and was about to rush over.

Scarface raised his hand to stop his companion, his gaze falling on Jiang Bai. He said, "Boy, with your injuries like this, resisting is tantamount to courting death. If you hand over the items, you will be allowed to commit suicide without further torture. This is considered the rule in the Desolate State, and it will save you face."

Jiang Bai sneered:

"Could it be that the rule in this desolate state is simply to rob?"

Scarface said as if he had heard something funny, "Are you stupid, kid? In the entire cultivation world, spirit stones are the rules, fists are the rules, and living is the rule. If you are weak, that is your own fault."

Jiang Bai nodded, deeply agreeing, realizing he had been presumptuous.

He slowly raised his left hand and reached for the storage bag at his waist, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

A look of delight flashed in the eyes of the five men with scars, and their guard was slightly relaxed.

Just as Jiang Bai's left hand touched the storage bag.

He suddenly flipped his left hand, and the black thunderfire talisman was already in his palm!

The last wisp of spiritual energy in his dantian was frantically squeezed out and injected into the talisman like a fuse!

"Not good!" Scarface's expression changed drastically, and he retreated rapidly!

late.

Jiang Bai slammed the Thunderfire Talisman heavily onto the muddy ground beneath his feet, then curled up his legs and his body shot backward like a shrimp.

He silently recited in his mind, "The incantation is like a knife, and the talisman is like a sheath..." Then he said, "Today I will teach you the first rule of the desolate state."

boom--!!!

Blinding lightning and crimson flames exploded from the talisman, instantly engulfing an area of ​​ten feet in radius!

The soil was hurled several feet high, and the black-purple lightning snakes danced wildly in the flames. The scorching air swept violently in all directions. The short, sturdy cultivator was the closest and only had time to let out a sharp cry before he was engulfed by the lightning and fire and instantly turned into charcoal.

The female cultivator with the ponytail was thrown into the air by the blast wave and fell into a mud puddle. Half of her body was charred black, and her fate was unknown.

Although Scarface and the other two retreated quickly, they were still touched by the edge of the lightning and fire. Their protective spiritual light shattered, and several scorch marks appeared on their bodies, revealing their disheveled appearance.

Using the recoil from the explosion, Jiang Bai flew backward like a kite with a broken string, and fell into the depths of the black swamp twenty feet away with a thud.

Muddy water filled my mouth and nose, blurring my vision.

He held his breath and, with his remaining consciousness, used his left arm to paddle forcefully, continuing his journey into the heart of the swamp.

A furious roar came from behind:

"Chase him! He can't have gone far!"

Jiang Bai never looked back.

He gritted his teeth and waded through the murky mud. His wound on his right arm was soaked in sewage, and he felt excruciating pain from time to time, but he dared not stop for a moment.

After swimming about a hundred feet, when his lungs were about to run out of oxygen, he finally touched a hard object protruding from the water.

It is a solitary hill.

Jiang Bai struggled to climb ashore from the water, collapsing weakly onto the jagged black rocks, panting heavily, each breath producing bloody foam.

He turned his head to look back at the way he had come; there was no sign of pursuers in that area of ​​water for the time being.

Jiang Bai's lips curled up, revealing bloodied teeth, and he said coldly, "Want to take advantage of me? You'd better ask the King of Hell if he has any extra lives for you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he could no longer hold on, his vision went black, and he fainted.

I don't know how much time passed.

Consciousness slowly returned.

Jiang Bai opened his eyes. The sky was still gray and he couldn't tell what time it was.

He realized he was still lying on the lonely hill, his body still weak, but the suffocating feeling of impending death had eased, the bleeding from the wound on his right arm had stopped, and the dark green pus had congealed into a hard scab. The [Poisonous Miasma Symbiosis] was slowly taking effect, and tiny wisps of poisonous miasma were being absorbed into his body, gradually transforming into a weak life force to repair the damaged meridians.

A system notification popped into my mind:

[The symbiotic effect of the poisonous miasma is in effect; basic operational capabilities are expected to be restored in three days.]

Three days.

Damn it, lying in this godforsaken place for three days, what's the difference between that and waiting to die?

He struggled to sit up and looked around. The isolated hill was very small, only seven or eight zhang in circumference, and about three chi above the water. A few clumps of withered, black grass grew sparsely on it; all around were endless black swamps, the water of which was dark in color and bubbles rose from time to time.

It's safe here for now, but that also means there's nowhere to escape.

Jiang Bai took out a small jade bottle from his storage bag, poured out two Qi-restoring pills, and swallowed them. The pills entered his stomach and transformed into a warm current that spread throughout his limbs and bones. Although the effect was minimal for a serious injury, it could at least add a trace of spiritual energy to his dantian.

He sat cross-legged and began to circulate the "Hundred Poisons Tempering Technique" once more.

With the Qi-restoring pill as a foundation, and the continued effectiveness of the [Poisonous Miasma Symbiosis], the cultivation technique runs increasingly smoothly. The surrounding poisonous miasma slowly gathers, penetrating the skin and seeping into the body. As it flows through the meridians, it still brings waves of stinging pain, but after the pain subsides, the true healing process begins.

Time passes little by little.

As darkness fell, the fog in the swamp grew thicker, and the grayish-purple miasma flowed slowly like a living thing in the twilight.

Jiang Bai suddenly stopped practicing his martial arts.

He raised his head and looked up at the sky.

A huge shadow was slowly drifting in from the southwest, with a wingspan of at least three zhang (approximately 10 meters). The flapping of its wings produced a dull whistling sound. It was a giant bird, but its feathers were very sparse, and its bare flesh was covered with festering sores. Its head had lost all its feathers, and its eye sockets flickered with eerie green flames.

Bone-rotting vulture.

Jiang Bai had seen a record of this kind of monster in the miscellaneous notes in the Jiang family library: it was a specialty of the Black Swamp in the Desolate State, it liked to eat carrion, was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood, and the strength of an adult was roughly equivalent to that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

The rotting bone vulture circled twice in the air, its eerie green eyes fixed on Jiang Bai on the lonely hill—or rather, on the dark green scab that had formed on the wound on his right arm.

Jiang Bai slowly stood up, his left hand reaching for his storage bag. Although the bag contained several talismans and magical artifacts, in his current state, he couldn't even unleash one-tenth of their power.

The Bone Vulture let out a piercing screech, its wings suddenly folding as it swooped down like a black arrow. A gust of wind swept over them, carrying with it a strong, pungent stench of decay.

Jiang Bai narrowed his eyes, his left hand already drawing the Thunder Fang Sword, which he had obtained from Chen Lei, from his storage bag. The sword was dull, only emitting a faint flash of lightning when infused with spiritual power.

"Oh……"

He chuckled, watching the massive shadow grow ever larger, and muttered to himself, "Just got rid of the wolf, and now the vultures are here?"