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

At the crack in the cave ceiling, the gray-black cloud vortex seemed to be gripped tightly by a giant hand, and suddenly contracted.

Before the thunder even struck, a bone-chilling cold had already descended upon the land.

The second tribulation has arrived!

"retreat!"

As the rock wall shattered, five miles away, beside a low hill, the blood-robed giant Tu Gang gave a soft shout, pulled up the old man with the Yin Bone beside him, and retreated more than thirty feet.

A moment later, seven or eight dark purple bolts of lightning, like writhing venomous pythons, struck down from the clouds and landed right where they had been hiding!

There was no loud noise, just a sickening hissing sound. When the lightning struck the ground, the soil immediately turned scorched and black. The rising grayish-white smoke condensed in the air into a blurry human face outline, then dissipated with a silent wail.

The withered face of the old man trembled slightly, and fear showed in his eyes. He asked in confusion, "What kind of heavenly tribulation has this child attracted?"

Tu Gang spat, the spittle instantly turning into ice shards upon hitting the ground. He stared at the distant cave shrouded in lightning, a smile playing on his lips: "The greater the calamity, the deeper that kid's foundation. Killing him is the only way to truly profit!"

The gray-robed elder and the cold-faced woman from the Starfall Pavilion had also retreated behind the boulder. The elder clutched his chest, coughing up a mouthful of black blood, but his gaze remained fixed on the center of the lightning tribulation: "Wait. The lightning tribulation will exhaust his strength and shatter the cave. When the tribulation weakens, act immediately! We must obtain the items he carries, especially the method for controlling souls."

Further away, among the three rogue cultivators who had been attracted, some had already given up.

"This lightning is incredibly evil... if you get touched by it, your soul will probably be corroded!"

"Let's wait a little longer. If he fails to overcome his tribulation, we can always pick up some scraps..."

"You'll have to wait!"

The gaunt old man carrying the medicine basket turned his back to them and left without looking back. The other two exchanged a glance, and although they were somewhat reluctant to part with him, they still stepped back a hundred paces and watched from a distance.

All eyes were focused on the area where purple lightning surged and poisonous mist filled the air.

Within the heart of calamity.

Jiang Bai's vision was now filled with lightning.

As the first bolt of dark purple lightning struck, the holy rune on his right arm glowed automatically, and dark golden light flowed around his body, forcefully resisting the impact. However, what followed was the sinister soul power contained in the Thunder Fury, which, like ice needles, pierced into his pores and went straight towards his sea of ​​consciousness!

"snort!!"

Jiang Bai grunted, and dark golden blood seeped from his seven orifices, interspersed with purplish-black spots.

A wave of excruciating pain surged through his soul, almost overwhelming his consciousness. However, in the center of his mind, the golden sword light suddenly erupted!

【Soul-Slaying Sword Intent】—Suppress!

The sword intent was like a stabilizing needle, calming the turbulent sea of ​​consciousness. The attacking soul poison and resentment melted instantly upon touching the sword light, like ice and snow meeting a raging fire.

However, the thunderbolts were not limited to just one!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!

Dark purple lightning poured down like a torrential downpour. The second, third, fourth... each contained a different kind of soul poison: some aroused inner demons, some corroded the mind, and some were purely destructive!

The ground within a three-zhang radius where Jiang Bai sat was scorched into charred earth by the lightning. The rubble was crushed into powder and turned into purplish-black mud. His figure merged into the thunderstorm, leaving only a dark golden outline that flickered on and off.

The skin was charred and cracked, but under the stimulation of the sacred markings' life force, it healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His bones, corroded by the soul poison, emitted painful groans, but were immediately reinforced by newly formed dark gold patterns.

The most dangerous place is still the sea of ​​consciousness.

Although the [Soul-Slaying Sword Intent] blocked most of the impact, the continuous lightning still made Jiang Bai's soul sway and almost dissipate. He gritted his teeth and tasted a metallic sweetness on his tongue, which made him more clear-headed.

"We cannot retreat... If we retreat now, our foundation will crumble!"

He made a snap decision and activated the [Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body] on his own. The nine stripes on his chest suddenly emitted a bright light and burst forth with a violent suction force.

hum-

Evil poison invaded his body, the residual power of thunder and fire, and even the complex spiritual energy within the heavenly tribulation was forcibly pulled into his dantian!

Within his dantian, the dark golden Dao Foundation phantom suddenly trembled, its surface patterns flashing wildly as it absorbed and crushed the violent energy, transforming it into what it needed!

This is practically suicide.

The power of heavenly tribulation is something most people would avoid at all costs, let alone draw it into their dantian. However, Jiang Bai follows the path of defying the heavens with poison. His sacred runes have fused with nine extraordinary poisons, and his tolerance for "poison" and "extraordinary power" far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people.

"Ugh—!"

Jiang Baichen roared in a deep, angry voice. The meridians on his body bulged out like earthworms, displaying a strange and terrifying color that blended dark gold and purplish-black. He felt a tearing pain in his dantian. The energy supporting the Dao Foundation phantom began to tremble after being impacted, and fine cracks appeared on its outline.

As soon as the crack appeared, the root patterns of the nine sacred runes inside the base suddenly glowed. These patterns intertwined and formed a complete and mysterious Dao pattern.

boom!

A powerful aura erupted from his dantian!

The illusory image of the dark gold base instantly solidified, transforming into a fist-sized physical Dao base that exuded a mysterious aura. Its entire body was dark gold, with nine holy runes shimmering on its surface and faint sword marks appearing and disappearing.

The Foundation of the Myriad Poisons Dao is complete!

The moment the Dao Foundation was formed, pure poisonous energy surged out of the dantian like a torrent, cleansing the meridians throughout the body!

Patches of charred skin peeled off, revealing a jade-like luster underneath.

The bones were completely enveloped in dark gold patterns, causing their strength to surge.

The turbulent sea of ​​consciousness was soothed by the gentle power, and the soul became several times more solid than before!

Jiang Bai opened his eyes, his pupils shimmering with a dark golden light, and a faint silver sword mark appeared beneath his left eye.

Foundation layer completed, success!

At the same time, the first primordial divine power bestowed by the sacred rune naturally emerged in his mind—

[All poisons return to their source].

With a slight thought, the sacred runes on his right arm trembled gently. The lingering power of the lightning tribulation and the residual power of the soul poison within a ten-zhang radius converged on his body like a surging river flowing into the sea. Upon contact with his skin, they were absorbed and transformed into a wisp of pure poison essence, which merged into his dantian.

Ten breaths.

He clearly sensed that this supernatural power could be maintained for ten breaths. Within these ten breaths, it could almost eliminate most of the poison and ghost attacks, and could also turn a portion of the enemy's spiritual power into nourishment!

"I see……"

He slowly stood up, dust falling all around him.

Looking up, the calamity clouds gradually dissipated, and sunlight poured down through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the ravaged land and several rapidly approaching figures.

"Boy! Prepare to die!"

Tu Gang arrived first, completely disregarding whether the lightning tribulation had dissipated. His giant axe, carrying a strong aura of blood, slammed down on his head like lightning. Wherever the axe wind passed, the ground was torn apart.

Jiang Bai didn't dodge.

He simply raised his right hand slowly and gently clenched it in the air.

The blood-stained blade popped out from behind and landed in his palm.

The moment the sword was in hand, the [Soul-Slaying Sword Intent] naturally adhered to it as if it were a shadow.

The next instant, the blade shot upwards like lightning, meeting the giant axe head-on!

clang--!

The metal exploded with a loud clang, and the shockwave rippled outwards in a ring, sending debris and dust flying everywhere!

Tu Gang's sinister smile froze instantly.

The axe blade seemed to have struck a towering mountain, and a tremendous force rebounded, causing his arms to go numb and his tiger's mouth to split open, with blood gushing out. A nick the size of a grain of rice appeared on the edge of the blood-patterned giant axe!

"How is this possible?!" Tu Gang's eyes widened.

He was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and used his full strength to strike with his axe, but it was blocked by a young man who had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage with his knife, and the axe blade was even chipped by the impact!

Jiang Bai didn't give him time to be shocked.

As the Bloodstained Blade twisted and pushed, the [Soul-Slaying Sword Intent] seeped into the axe like a cold current. Tu Gang felt as if the giant axe had grasped a thousand-year-old ice, and the excruciating pain that pierced his bones made him tremble all over.

Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, Jiang Bai's left palm struck him silently and swiftly on the chest.

A sudden flash of dark gold patterns appeared on his palm, as if lightning was about to strike.

[Vicious Infiltration] activated!

*Thud!* A muffled sound rang out, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Tu Gang's chest caved in instantly, and the blood he spurted out was mixed with fragments of internal organs. He flew backward twenty feet like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground and leaving a shocking long gash.

All of this happened in just two or three breaths, so fast that it was almost impossible to follow.

The rest of the group only just arrived at that moment.

Seeing that Tu Gang had been severely injured in the blink of an eye, the old man with the Yin Bone was shocked. He hurriedly flicked his sleeves, and dozens of white bone beetles swarmed out like a dark cloud, buzzing deafeningly. These beetles gathered in swarms, turning into a gray-white cloud that swept towards Jiang Baixi. Wherever it passed, the air seemed to be corroded, emitting a piercing hissing sound.

The woman from the Starfall Pavilion, cold as ice, wielded a sword with a light as white as snow and a chilling aura, aiming straight for Jiang Baihou's heart. The sword shadows fluttered like snowflakes, constantly splitting, completely blocking all escape routes.

Two rogue cultivators further away saw that after Jiang Baiyi severely injured Tu Gang in one move, his forward charge came to an abrupt halt. The two exchanged a glance and tacitly retreated to a distance of thirty feet, pacing back and forth, clearly intending to wait for an opportunity to strike.

Jiang Bai remained unfazed despite being surrounded.

Without even glancing at the sword light behind him, he raised his left hand, like an eagle's claw, and suddenly spread his five fingers wide towards the swirling cloud of insects.

"[All Poisons Return to the Flow], Open!" A thunderous shout rang out.

The nine markings on his chest shone brightly, like nine stars in a row, and the suction force spread out in all directions. The menacing cloud of insects became chaotic as soon as it encountered the suction force, like fallen leaves in a gale. The gray-white poisonous mist inside the insects fell off one by one and was all sucked into Jiang Bai's palm.

The insect cloud quickly dimmed and shrank.

The old man with the Yin Bone changed his expression drastically and tried to recall him, but it was too late.

Jiang Bai suddenly clenched his left hand, abruptly fusing the inhaled bone poison with the newly generated poison essence, transforming it into a dark gray poison ball the size of a walnut, which he then threw at the Yin Bone Elder.

Although the poison ball flew slowly, the old man of Yin bones felt as if his energy was locked by a force. No matter how he dodged, it was all in vain. He could only grit his teeth and fiercely wave the soul banner, which condensed into a defensive screen made of white bones in front of him.

puff--

The poison ball struck the bone shield but did not explode. Instead, it seeped into the bone shield like a mud ox sinking into the sea. In an instant, the entire bone shield turned from grayish-white to dark gray, and its surface was covered with cracks. Then, with a crack, it shattered into bone fragments all over the sky.

The old man with the Yin bones groaned, and the spirit light of the soul banner dimmed, indicating that he had been injured.

At this moment, the tip of the cold-blooded woman's sword was already three inches from Jiang Baihou's heart!

Jiang Bai still didn't turn around.

He casually swung the bloodied blade backward.

A pale golden arc sliced ​​through the air, slashing towards the most solid of the seven or eight sword shadows.

Ding!

The sword shadows shattered.

The cold-blooded woman suddenly threw her longsword, the blade gleaming with a chilling light. A wave of icy sword intent surged into her consciousness. She cried out in pain, clutching her head and staggering backward, blood spilling from her seven orifices. Her soul was severely injured.

Jiang Bai then turned around, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

Tu Gang struggled to his feet, not daring to go forward again, only clutching his chest and coughing up blood.

The old man with the skeletal frame held the tattered soul banner, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt, already showing signs of retreating.

The two rogue cultivators retreated another twenty feet, their faces filled with fear.

The gray-robed elder from the Starfall Pavilion remained alone in place, his injuries still unhealed. Noticing that his fellow disciple was injured, he forced himself to stagger forward despite his illness, and took out a black jade talisman covered in cracks from his robes, slowly stroking it with his withered fingers.

"Young friend...this matter can perhaps be discussed..." the old man said in a hoarse voice.

Jiang Bai looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"discuss?"

He picked up his knife and walked forward step by step, each step striking the hearts of people.

The Starfall Pavilion guards its secrets in the wasteland and silences outsiders, yet now it comes to discuss this matter with me?

The old man's expression changed drastically: "What do you know?"

Jiang Bai stopped five zhang away, the tip of his knife pointing diagonally at the ground, and said coldly, "I know about the events of three hundred years ago; I also know what you seek today."

The old man's pupils constricted, and his hand holding the talisman trembled slightly.

Jiang Bai stopped looking at him and turned his gaze to the old man with the Yin Bone.

"As for you... you chased me all the way from Ping'an County to the desolate state, wanting my Poisonous Pattern Origin?"

The old man with the sinister bones bobbed his Adam's apple and hissed, "I... am willing to withdraw immediately, and from now on... let's keep to ourselves..."

"It's too late."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Bai had already vanished.

Only a fleeting afterimage remained in place; his true form had already appeared three feet in front of the Yin Bone Elder!

The old man with the Yin bones was terrified. He shook the banner with all his might and spat out his blood essence. Thick black ghost energy rose from the banner and transformed into a hideous ghost head shield, which he used to shield himself.

Jiang Bai neither dodged nor evaded; the [Soul-Slaying Sword Intent] on his Bloodstained Blade suddenly surged, burning fiercely like a raging flame, and he slashed down with deadly force!

The moment the blade collided with the ghost shield, the ghost head suddenly let out an extremely shrill shriek. The shield surface was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks. Jiang Bai flicked his wrist, and the blade broke through the shield surface like a hot knife through butter, slamming hard into the bone pole of the soul banner.

Click!

The white bone banner broke instantly!

The old man with the Yin Bone was struck as if by lightning. His body trembled violently, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood. His aura instantly weakened. He tried his best to turn around and run away, but Jiang Bai's knife was a step faster than lightning.

A dark gold arc swept across his neck like a shooting star.

There was no blood.

The old man's figure froze instantly. His head slowly fell off, and no blood flowed from the broken neck. Only a wisp of grayish-white smoke rose out—indicating that his soul had been completely destroyed by the [Soul-Slaying Sword Intent].

This evil cultivator who had been entangled in Ping'an County since the beginning of his life was finally brought to justice.

Jiang Bai sheathed his sword, not even glancing at the corpse, and turned to look at the elder of the Starfall Pavilion and the two rogue cultivators.

The old man's face was ashen, and the jade talisman in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered into several pieces. His lips trembled violently, but he could not utter a sound.

The two rogue cultivators were so frightened that they turned and fled, disappearing into the wasteland in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Bai did not pursue.

He walked up to the old man, picked up the broken talisman, and took off the antique storage ring from the old man's hand, casually putting it away. As for the jade tablet of the Starfall Pavilion, he simply stomped on it and crushed it.

"Go back and tell the Starfall Pavilion."

Jiang Bai looked at the old man's unfocused pupils and spoke calmly.

"I want what's buried in the wasteland. If you're not happy, come and take it."

After saying that, he ignored the limp old man and the unconscious woman and turned to clean up the battlefield.

Tu Gang had already fled, leaving only a trail of blood.

Jiang Bai didn't take it to heart. He took the Yin Bone Elder's storage bag and tattered banner, picked up the broken-horned axe left by Tu Gang, then found a clean stone to sit down, and began to take the pills and regulate his breathing.

Although he won this battle, he had survived two tribulations and fought fiercely against several Foundation Establishment cultivators, which greatly depleted his energy. The Myriad Poisons Dao Foundation in his dantian slowly rotated, absorbing and releasing poisonous essence to nourish his meridians.

Half an hour later, Jiang Bai opened his eyes, his breathing had stabilized.

He stood up and looked into the depths of the wasteland.

With the foundation laid, the formidable enemy has temporarily retreated.

But the matter is not over yet.

Starfall Pavilion will not let this go, Bloodfang Stronghold will surely retaliate, and there are eyes lurking in the shadows...

However, that's a story for another time.

Jiang Bai took out Zhang Meng's garrison token from his bosom and gently stroked the cold character "戍" with his fingertips.

"Now, it's time to retrieve the 'Soul-Suppressing Jade'."

By fulfilling the agreement with Zhang Meng, a karmic debt could be settled, and more secrets about the Starfall Pavilion and the "Soul Devouring Compass" might be discovered from the remains of the evil artifact.

He put away the token, and in a flash, he transformed into a stream of dark golden light, heading towards the evil artifact.

Behind them, the scorched earth ravaged by lightning and battle gradually blurred in the gray fog of the wasteland.

The news that "Poison Pattern cultivator Jiang Bai, having reached the Foundation Establishment stage, triggered an unusual phenomenon, slaying several Foundation Establishment cultivators and causing the crowd to retreat" spread like wildfire throughout every inch of the desolate state.

A new storm is brewing.

At the eye of the storm, the figure moving forward did not stop.