Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

Yan Cheng actually hoped that Tian Tong and Cheng Shuang would fight.

As Tian Tong said, Cheng Shuang's ability to instantly defeat Lin Xue might not be anything special in itself.

What's remarkable is that she didn't use any magic techniques at all; she accomplished this solely through her excellent stats.

This reminded Yan Cheng of the strongest Qi Refining cultivator he had ever seen in his life, the golden hairpin-clad female corpse from Shu.

Is the opponent's swordsmanship skill superior? It's just so-so. Compared to the profound and unfathomable "Eight-Leaf Floating Duckweed Sword Manual," the weaponry skills of modern people seem like children's scrambling.

However, with her extreme speed, the woman with the golden hairpin was able to overpower Yan Cheng.

If Yan Cheng didn't possess the unparalleled Yin Xingyan in the numerical supermodel race, even if she broke through to the late stage, she still wouldn't be able to defeat her.

Ultimately, the three divine abilities that Yan Cheng possesses at this moment—[Cheng Ying], [Zhen Miao], and [Lin Yuan]—are not directly used for combat, but rather to enhance his own stats.

The ability to conjure up the true Yin water is a separate matter.

The divine mystery itself is top-tier, but I dare not use it normally.

Yan Cheng thought to himself:

There will be countless more opportunities to clash in public.

"Although the various techniques I possess are wondrous, they cannot be revealed to the public. I suppose I'll have to rely on numerical values ​​alone, just like before, to deal with these fools."

"Cheng Shuang seems to be following the same path. Observing her fight with others will be very beneficial to my future actions."

That's right, it's definitely not because he wanted to see Senior Brother Tiantong get beaten up.

Yan Cheng didn't consider himself a person with a perverse sense of humor. He always stood up for the weak and helped the strong, and only enjoyed watching those who thought themselves extraordinary fall down.

Cheng Shuang is likely the only corpse cultivator on the entire fifth floor of the Longevity Palace who has a chance of defeating Tian Tong, and Yan Cheng has high hopes for her performance.

However, Tiantong's next words instantly diverted the attention of all the cultivators:

"You flatter me, senior."

"【Cold Qi】is not necessarily superior to 【Netherworld】. In recent times, the Northern Territory has produced several True Lords who cultivated the Netherworld Path, but I have never heard of anyone cultivating Cold Qi and forming a Nascent Soul."

"There are many easy paths in this world. Those who are ignorant will think that the easy path is the good path."

"When the road ahead is blocked and there's nowhere left to go, there's no going back!"

Although the terms of address are often mixed up in spoken language, they are used by cultivators like Tiantong, who can be considered a direct descendant with a clear lineage.

There is a clear boundary between ancient times and the recent past.

Strictly speaking, the recent ancient period refers to the 1,800 years since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty.

The Zhou dynasty cultivated the "Upper Yin" and used "Cold Qi" as its assistant, while severely suppressing the "Netherworld" sect.

Even sects and lineages like the Heavenly Corpse Path, which have True Monarchs in charge, still have to hide in the northern foothills to avoid its sharp edge.

Despite this, this path still produces several True Lords.

In contrast, although the path of cold qi has flourished in the northern region for thousands of years, the number of highly skilled cultivators who have achieved significant results in it is very small.

Yan Cheng's cunning had improved over the past few days, and he naturally understood the reasons behind it, as well as the underlying meaning of Tian Tong's words:

"The Netherworld is to the Hall of Longevity what the Upper Yin is to the Zhou Dynasty—a lineage that only allows direct descendants to cultivate."

"If Tian Tong is merely a corpse cultivator now, then his path to enlightenment is certainly hopeless."

"But now that he has the potential to achieve immortality, once he establishes his foundation, he will be a true direct descendant of the Longevity Hall, with a greater chance of advancing further than the disciples who cultivate the Five Elements!"

"On the contrary, cold qi is an auxiliary element of yin, and its apparent preciousness in the Hall of Longevity is merely due to its rarity."

"If Cheng Shuang has the opportunity to establish her foundation, the Highness might not necessarily stop her, but it's unlikely he'd offer much assistance."

Ultimately, the path of Cold Qi has never been very effective since the time of Bei Huang.

"Its only advantage is that it's easier to repair in today's world where spiritual resources are scarce..."

Yan Cheng sighed inwardly.

Senior Brother Tiantong never wins through sophistry; every word he utters is logical and well-founded, like a sharp knife piercing the heart. It's likely that this might provoke the hot-tempered Cheng Shuang to attack immediately.

Cheng Shuang's reaction was calmer than everyone expected; she simply gave Tian Tong a deep look.

The child said:

"Moreover, as far as I know, besides you, there are quite a few other cultivators at the fifth level who have been cultivating over the years."

"When the 'Frost and Snow Technique on the Lake' is cultivated to a high level, even a breath can be as cold as ice and snow... No wonder the spiritual atmosphere here is so chilling."

He turned to look at Yan Cheng, smiling warmly.

"This is just right for Junior Brother's cultivation."

Yan Cheng was inwardly unconvinced, but still smiled and said:

"My senior brother worries about my cultivation all the time, and I have no way to repay him."

Tian Tong laughed:

"That's not difficult."

"After you have settled in the cave for a while, come find me and come with me to the sixth floor."

"The Holy Maiden has decreed that the lady... wishes to see you."

Yan Cheng's smile froze instantly.

Looking at Cheng Shuang again, one could see that the female cultivator, who had been fierce-looking since her appearance, suddenly had a strange expression.

The next moment, only amusement remained in those fierce phoenix eyes:

"I see."

"No wonder you tried to provoke me into meeting you all..."

"It's not that this kid wants to pay homage to my sect, it's that I have to pay homage to his sect!"

……

The Hall of Longevity has six floors.

In a hall where sandalwood incense was burning and white smoke was curling up, a white-robed figure with a hood covering his face paced back and forth, his lips slightly bleeding from being bitten.

Behind the incense burner, a gentle voice rang out:

"Why did you ask Tendo to relay your message?"

"Based on your previous description, Yan Cheng is not a straightforward or foolish person, so he wouldn't hate Tian Tong for that reason."

"This gave Tiantong the opportunity to discuss the plan with him. This move doesn't seem like something you would make."

The saintess said softly:

"My master's wife has never paid attention to matters in the palace, so she doesn't know what kind of talent this Heavenly Child is."

"He is indeed somewhat clever, and his determination to seek the truth is firm, but unfortunately, he is too far removed from where we are."

"Many things that you and I consider common sense, he is incredibly perceptive but cannot see through."

"His Highness will definitely not allow him to attain enlightenment in Huang Tong's place. The Yin Spirit Coffin is destroyed, and the accumulated corpse energy has been exhausted by Huang Tong."

"He can only achieve enlightenment through his own efforts."

"Now that he has been promoted to a true disciple, he will surely think that this is a sign that the court has tacitly approved his attainment of the Dao. He will be so focused on cultivating to the peak of Qi Refining that he will have no time to scheme against us."

"And this is exactly what our master hoped for."

"A physical body that has stopped at the late stage of Qi Refining is naturally not as useful as a vessel that is at the peak of Qi Refining."

"Master may not necessarily want to possess him, but he needs him to diligently cultivate to the peak so that he can be used as a backup plan."

"If my disciple were him, he should not attempt to break through after reaching the peak of his cultivation. He should peacefully enjoy his 150 years of life, which is better than being hastily eliminated after only a few years."

She gazed at the beautiful woman reclining on the couch behind the incense burner and said softly:

"He never understood that the path of the lower-level cultivators is determined by the needs of the higher-level cultivators."

"What could possibly be changed by human power?"