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

Jiang Bai sat cross-legged at the edge of the altar, meditating for a full hour.

The wind in the canyon was biting and piercing. As it swept across the remains of the altar, it stirred up some ashes, which gently settled on the bluestone. When he opened his eyes, the foundation of the Myriad Poisons Path had been replenished, and dark golden light flowed slowly within his dantian. Moreover, his divine sense had returned to its peak state.

He stood up and walked toward the center of the altar.

Three fragments of the evil artifact floated in the air, slowly rotating. As the distance gradually closed, the eerie light on the surface of the fragments began to flicker faster, as if they had sensed something.

Ten steps, eight steps, five steps—

hum!

The fragments trembled violently!

An invisible force suddenly emerged, as if countless invisible hands were forcefully pulling at Jiang Bai's brow, chest, and dantian, trying to rip something out of his body.

The golden sword light in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly shone brightly.

Jiang Bai grunted, and the nine sacred runes running from his right arm to his chest activated on their own. Dark golden light flowed like water beneath his skin, condensing into a thin layer of light shield. This pulling force collided with the light shield, producing a harsh friction sound, but failed to break through it.

"And you even dared to devour my soul?"

Jiang Bai's eyes turned cold.

This fragment of the evil artifact clearly retained some kind of instinct, possessing a strong craving for the souls of living beings. He stood still, allowing that power to continue impacting the sacred rune protection, using this as a perfect opportunity to test the [Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body]'s ability to cope with this kind of erosion.

The pulling lasted for about twenty breaths.

The holy runes shone steadily, their dark golden patterns appearing and disappearing on the skin's surface, blocking all external forces. Meanwhile, the eerie light emanating from the fragments of the evil artifact gradually faded, and the pulling force weakened.

Jiang Bai then lifted his foot and took two more steps forward.

When they were only three feet away from the fragments, a phantom slowly emerged from behind a broken stele.

"Don't... go any further."

His voice was hoarse and dry, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.

Jiang Bai stopped and turned to look.

The spirit of Zhang Meng, the garrison commander, floated out from behind the monument. He was more transparent than when they last met, and it seemed that one could see the broken stones behind him through his body. In his hand, he held a piece of white jade the size of an egg. The jade was as warm and smooth as mutton fat and emitted a faint white glow.

Soul-Suppressing Jade.

Zhang Meng pointed to the fragment in the center of the altar with his other hand and said, "It is still in a state of 'hunger'. The soul in your body is more solid than that of an ordinary person, so it smelled the scent."

Jiang Bai didn't reply, but just looked at the jade in his hand.

Zhang Meng handed the Soul-Suppressing Jade forward: "This is what you want."

"Conditions," Jiang Bai began.

Zhang Meng pondered for a moment, and the outline of his soul trembled slightly in the wind. He gazed into Jiang Bai's eyes and slowly said, "There are two things. First, if you are able to do so in the future, find out the name of the person in charge of the Starfall Pavilion and inform everyone."

"And the second one?"

Zhang Meng spoke slowly, "This jade must never be used for evil purposes. It can calm the soul and prevent possession, but it can also be used to refine the soul and harm people. I have personally witnessed many good things turn into disasters, and this jade... must never become a source of trouble."

Jiang Bai nodded: "Okay."

"I swear by my inner demons," Zhang Meng added.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Bai raised his right hand and placed it on his chest, saying clearly, "I am Jiang Bai. I swear by my inner demons that if I have the ability in the future, I will definitely find out the name of the person in charge of the Starfall Pavilion back then and announce it to the world. This Soul-Suppressing Jade will never be used to carry out evil methods such as soul refining. If I break this oath, my Dao foundation will be shattered and my soul will be forever lost."

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible constraint seemed to descend and tightly bind his soul.

Zhang Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his soul became even more transparent.

He slowly tossed the Soul-Suppressing Jade into the air. The jade traced a graceful arc in the air before landing in Jiang Bai's palm.

A warm, smooth touch came from his hand, carrying a hint of coolness. The flocculent patterns within the jade flowed slowly, as if they were alive. Jiang Bai could clearly feel a peaceful and serene power emanating from the jade, enveloping his soul—the lingering agitation from his earlier battle with the fragments of the evil artifact had largely dissipated.

This is really good stuff.

Zhang Meng was about to speak when Jiang Bai interrupted, saying, "The jade has been given to you, but there are still some things... that I need you to know."

The soul floated to a distance of about ten feet in front of Jiang Bai, raised its almost transparent hand, and pressed it on the Soul-Suppressing Jade.

"With the power of jade, I will pass on a memory to you."

hum-

The Soul-Suppressing Jade suddenly emitted a dazzling white light!

The scene before Jiang Bai's eyes blurred instantly, and then he found himself in the burial wasteland of three hundred years ago—

No, back then this place wasn't called the Burial Ground.

It was just an ordinary border desert, with the flags of the border guards fluttering in the wind in the distance. The sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

The altar was newly built, and the chiseled edges of the bluestone still remained. Floating in the center of the altar was a complete object, about the size of a washbasin—a compass, entirely black, its surface engraved with twisted runes. There were seven notches along the edge of the compass; where something should have been embedded before, now they were empty.

A group of about thirty people in black robes stood on the east side of the altar, with an elderly man with a cold expression at the head. He had deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and his black robe sleeves were embroidered with seven twisted lines surrounding a single eye.

Starfall Pavilion, Seven Vein Elders, Ghostly True Man.

The border garrison was arrayed on the west side, their armor gleaming, their long spears standing tall. The general standing in front was a middle-aged man with a square face, wearing a dark red cloak and a sword at his waist. This man was Zhang Meng, the former garrison commander—Zhang Meng who was still alive at that time.

The voice of the Ghostly Immortal was dry and hoarse, like the sound of two stones rubbing against each other. He said, "This is a sacred object lost by my Starfall Pavilion. I have come today to retrieve it."

Zhang Meng gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and said in a deep voice, "Items bestowed by heaven should be handed over to the imperial court. If you wish to obtain this item, you may come with me to see the supervising officer, and the court will make the final decision."

"No need."

The Ghostly Immortal slowly shook his head, and the man in black robes behind him also took a step forward. Instantly, the spiritual energy fluctuations in the surrounding air became more intense, and dark red patterns gradually appeared on the ground around the altar—this was the array that had been set up in advance.

Zhang Meng's expression changed drastically: "You—"

Before he could finish speaking, the Ghostly Immortal had already raised his hand to form a hand seal.

"The Myriad Souls Devouring Array, activate!"

In an instant, the dark red patterns suddenly burst into light, transforming into a blood-red pillar of light that pierced the sky. The black compass in the center of the altar trembled violently, its runes flashing continuously, radiating a chilling allure.

"Damn it, he's forcibly refining that thing!" Zhang Meng roared. "Form the array! Protect your souls!"

The border guards reacted swiftly, immediately forming a battle formation, their blood energy coalescing together. However, the people of Starfall Pavilion were not so lucky; the Ghostly True Man did not reveal the true danger of this formation to his subordinates.

The first man in black robes let out a scream.

His body seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, black smoke emanating from his seven orifices, his soul forcibly pulled from his body, transforming into wisps of green smoke, which were then swallowed by the compass. Then came the second, the third…

The formation has gone out of control.

The compass's pull grew stronger and stronger, no longer distinguishing between friend and foe. The border guards' formation crumbled after only ten breaths, soldiers falling one after another, their souls leaving their bodies and being drawn towards the altar.

Zhang Meng's eyes widened in fury, almost bulging out of their sockets. He raised his sword and slashed at the center of the formation, but was immediately struck by a recoil that split his hand. He turned his head to look back and saw that many of his companions had already fallen, and the rest were struggling to hold on, their faces full of pain.

"Damn it!" he roared as he charged at the Ghostly Immortal.

But at that moment, a crack appeared on the surface of the compass.

hum-

A jet-black stream of air shot out from the crack, instantly enveloping the area around the altar. Wherever the stream passed, flowers and plants withered, sand and stones turned to ash, and human bodies instantly shrank.

The excruciating pain of having his soul forcibly ripped from his body nearly made Zhang Meng faint. He mustered the last of his strength, bit his tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the token at his waist—a secret life-saving technique of the border guards that allowed them to attach their remaining souls to objects.

Before his vision blurred, he saw one last thing:

The Ghostly Immortal's physical body was engulfed in black mist, rapidly disintegrating, his skin cracking, and his flesh gradually dissipating. Just as he was about to disappear completely, a palm-sized, pitch-black nascent soul emerged from the top of his head, circling the core fragment that had fallen from the center of the compass, before transforming into a beam of black light and disappearing into the ground, vanishing without a trace.

Then, darkness engulfed everything.

My memory ends here.

Jiang Bai came to his senses and found himself still standing on the ruins of the altar, the white light of the Soul-Suppressing Jade in his palm gradually receding.

Zhang Meng's soul was even more faint than before, almost becoming a semi-transparent shadow.

"Did you see that?" he asked.

Jiang Bai nodded: "The Ghostly Immortal is not dead; his Nascent Soul escaped with the core fragments."

Zhang Meng's voice was extremely weak, as if it might disappear at any moment, "That fragment... is the true 'heart' of the evil artifact; the rest are just scraps."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I obtained the Soul-Suppressing Jade from the corpse of the Starfall Pavilion steward. He held it tightly as he died, presumably because he sensed that the jade could resist the black energy, but ultimately it couldn't resist for very long."

Jiang Bai looked down at the jade in his hand.

After the memory faded, he noticed an extremely fine crack inside the jade. This was not a newly formed crack, but one that had existed for a long time and had only become visible when the memory was triggered.

"This jade has been severely damaged," he said.

Zhang Meng nodded and continued, "This jade can still be used. Its function is to condense the soul, which can prevent things like being possessed. This will be of great benefit to your future development in the cultivation world."

The soul began to gradually dissipate, turning into specks of white light from the soles of the feet upwards.

Zhang Meng looked down at his disappearing body and a sense of relief appeared on his face.

"Kid," he said, "you must live well until the day you can get justice for them."

As soon as he finished speaking, his soul completely dissipated, transforming into countless specks of light. These specks of light spun once in the wind of the wasteland before slowly rising into the sky, merging with the gloomy heavens.

Jiang Bai stood still for three breaths.

Then, he raised one hand high, bowed in the direction where the light disappeared, and performed a salute.

After the ceremony, as he straightened up, his eyes were calm and undisturbed.

The system notification will sound at an appropriate time:

[Complete the hidden quest: The Soldier's Last Wish]

[Reward: The affix "Soul Jade Resonance (Blue)"]

[New Quest Triggered: Track Down the Whereabouts of the Ghostly Immortal (Long-Term)]

Jiang Baixin had a sudden thought and checked the new entry.

【Soul Jade Resonance (Blue)】When wearing the Soul Jade, it will slightly enhance the perception of soul magic and improve resistance. It can also resonate with the Soul Jade, activating the protective power remaining in the jade in critical moments.

Not bad.

He carefully kept the Soul-Suppressing Jade close to his body, hanging it on his chest. When the jade touched his skin, a warm and cool sensation slowly spread, filling his soul. The fatigue accumulated from continuous battles, tribulations, and fights was greatly relieved.

He turned around and looked at the three fragments of the evil artifact in the center of the altar.

The ghostly light continued to flow, but it no longer tried to pull at his soul, probably because the aura emitted by the Soul-Suppressing Jade had given him some kind of understanding.

Jiang Bai didn't touch the fragments.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator was reduced to nothing but a Nascent Soul for escape. Touching it now would be suicide. He memorized the shape and aura of the fragment, as well as the array patterns left on the altar, and then turned and left.

As he reached the mouth of the valley, he glanced back.

The altar ruins were shrouded in gray mist, indistinct and vague. The broken bluestone, dried bloodstains, and floating fragments lay quietly on the ground, silently telling the story of the little-known tragedy that took place three hundred years ago.

"Fairness..." Jiang Bai repeated the two words softly.

I will give them justice, but before that, they must first repay the life they owe me.

After saying this, he leaped up, transforming into a stream of dark golden light, and disappeared into the wind of the wasteland.

The canyon returned to silence.

The wind, carrying ashes, swept across the altar, as if singing a requiem for these souls who would forever remain there, a song no one would listen to.

Buried in the wasteland, Blackstone Market.

In Old Huang's tea shop, the owner was pouring tea for a customer with a copper kettle when he suddenly paused.

He looked up toward the wasteland and squinted.

"Boss, the tea is full!" a customer reminded him.

Old Huang snapped out of his daze, smiled, picked up a rag to wipe the water stains on the table, and then threw himself back into his busy work.

However, a subtle hint of seriousness appeared in his eyes.

A Foundation Establishment stage fluctuation emanated from the depths of the wasteland, followed by a soul power tremor that made his heart pound, though it lasted only a short time.

"It's only been a few days," he muttered to himself, shaking his head and no longer pondering it.

Some things, the less you know, the longer you live.

This is the law of the desolate land.

This is also the most practical truth in the world.