A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Zhou Ping slowly moved his slightly sore and numb calves, then reached into his robes and took out two small porcelain bottles.

The porcelain bottle contained the antidote for the Ephemeral Fragrance Pill and the Wandering Soul Needle, and he took one of each from the bottle and swallowed them.

Actually, he had already taken these antidotes before leaving home, but seeing the fierce battle between the two sides, Zhou Ping couldn't help but feel a little guilty, so he swallowed two more pills.

If other unforeseen circumstances arise later, the use of deadly weapons like the Soul-Wandering Needle will be inevitable. The poison he applied to it was a highly toxic substance prepared with medicinal herbs aged for hundreds of years, so potent that even he, the instigator, was terrified.

Just in case, Zhou Ping took the antidote early on. Since he had plenty of medicine, he didn't feel bad about such a wasteful act.

The central area of ​​the battlefield had long been cleared, leaving only Jin Jingtian and Mo Liancheng engaged in fierce combat.

In their previous duel, the sword energy and spear light that the two unintentionally released could easily tear apart and scatter the nearby crowd.

Having learned from their mistake, no one dared to approach within twenty feet of them again; they all kept their distance.

"Ding!"

A crisp sound rang out as Jin Jingtian's "Breaking Army Spear" struck Mo Liancheng's defensive sword. Sparks flew as the golden spear light and the blood-red sword energy began to tear and devour each other the moment they came into contact.

Jin Jingtian's attack failed, and using the recoil, he turned and floated backward, a solemn expression appearing on his aged face.

The opponent's blood-red sword energy was really troublesome. In every clash between the two, he could clearly feel that as soon as his golden spear light came into contact with the opponent's sword energy, a portion of it would be instantly devoured.

This strange feeling made him feel as if he had been hit on cotton, and he was extremely uncomfortable.

Originally, with Jin Jingtian's powerful true energy at the Grandmaster level, he should have been able to completely suppress Mo Liancheng, a Grandmaster-level martial artist.

However, under this elimination, Mo Liancheng, whose true energy strength was originally quite different from his, actually gained a firm foothold, and the difference in true energy between the two was no longer so obvious.

"So this is the evil sword of the Mo family? It truly lives up to its reputation, actually allowing Old Ghost Mo, a Grandmaster, to directly confront me, a Great Grandmaster!"

Between battles, Jin Jingtian's mind raced as he analyzed the strangeness of his opponent, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

He felt the increasingly active black spiritual energy flowing through his meridians, knowing that his time was running out. The timing of the invasion chosen by his opponent had completely disrupted his plans.

The original plan was to lure out the mastermind hiding behind the Mo family during the battle, and then use the sacred artifact left by the great-uncle to kill him with lightning.

Now it seems difficult. The person hiding is too cautious. Neither side has shown any sign of making a move in the fight so far. It seems they will only show themselves when they are both severely injured.

Jin Jingtian had foreseen from the beginning that there must be someone behind the other side. Otherwise, given the Mo family's style of doing things, how could they dare to easily start a war with the Qingzhu Sect, which is also a first-class power?

Several years ago, he disobeyed his great-uncle's dying wish and rashly went to Guiyuan Pavilion in his mortal body, thus sowing the seeds of this great calamity.

Originally, in the vision of Jin Wanxuan, the fourth ancestor of the Jin clan, if a descendant could cultivate the Qingyuan Gong, he could unlock the sect's reward that was sealed within the clan.

With this item, this descendant of a family possessing spiritual roots can go directly to Guiyuan Pavilion to find the contact point set up there by the sect, and use it as proof to directly join their sect.

At the same time, he sternly warned that if no one in the clan had mastered the Qingyuan Technique, they should never easily seek out the Guiyuan Pavilion.

Otherwise, the secret that the Jin Clan possesses relics of cultivators will be discovered by those with ulterior motives. The principle that "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime" is vividly demonstrated in the dog-eat-dog world of cultivation, and this action will surely bring immense disaster upon the Jin Clan.

Only by becoming a cultivator and directly joining a sect can one gain the sect's protection and prevent others from coveting it.

Jin Jingtian, the number one martial arts genius of the Jin Clan in the past hundred years, reached the Grandmaster realm at a young age and even won the position of clan leader in the fiercely competitive Jin Clan.

He can be described as a prodigy, with unparalleled talent.

But the more outstanding he became, the less he could accept the fact that he had no spiritual roots and could not become a cultivator.

So, after a fierce internal struggle, he still made the choice to go against his ancestral teachings.

Enter the Guiyuan Pavilion in a mortal body to seek the method of cultivating immortality!

Although he successfully obtained the Soul-Feeding and Soul-Stealing Technique from Liu Feng, he also exposed the secret of the Jin Clan's hidden immortal cultivator relics that had been concealed for generations.

After guessing that the person behind the Mo family might be from the cultivation world, Jin Jingtian became increasingly anxious. He had the ability to seize souls but had no one to seize them from, leaving him willing but unable to do so.

Fortunately, the heavens smiled upon us, and the Green Bamboo Sect finally produced someone capable of cultivating the Green Origin Technique.

This delighted Jin Jingtian, who immediately recruited the boy named Zhou Ping into the Jin clan and devoted the entire clan's resources to nurturing his cultivation of the Qingyuan Technique...

Jin Jingtian calculated the time; less than an hour had passed since he took the Spirit-Nourishing Pill, and the seven-day period would be over.

However, the hidden cultivators had not yet shown themselves, which made him extremely anxious.

Can't wait any longer!

If the best opportunity is missed, all the efforts Jin Zu and he have made over the years will be in vain.

He then unleashed a powerful "Overlord Sweep," sending Mo Liancheng flying several dozen feet away. He then turned and shouted...

"Uncle Hong, please protect the clan's sacred artifact!"

Mo Liancheng stumbled back a few steps, managing to dissipate the immense force emanating from the sword. His already pale face grew even more somber.

That old scoundrel Tongxin, he still hasn't made a move at this point, is he really planning to wipe him out as well?

Just as he was hesitating about how to resolve the predicament, he suddenly heard Jin Jingtian's shout and immediately became alert.

A sacred artifact protecting the clan?!

Mo Liancheng stopped his forward charge and turned to retreat, a deafening curse erupting from his mouth at the same time.

"You old codger with the copper heart! If you don't make a move soon, I will immediately lead the Sword Sect disciples out of the Green Bamboo Sect!"

Everyone present was startled by the shouts of the two men, and they all stopped fighting their opponents and cautiously retreated to their respective camps.

Upon seeing this, Jin Jingtian was overjoyed. The other party was so surprised by the sacred artifact he mentioned that it was calling out to the hidden cultivators.

He quickly went to Jin Haiming's side, took a deep look at the wooden box, which was taller than a person, behind him, and said in a deep voice,

"Uncle, you'll be in charge of dealing with it from now on. No matter how powerful the opponent is, they certainly won't be able to gain any advantage from it!"

"Jing Tian! Where are you going?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Haiming and Jin Hong were both startled, wondering what the other party meant.

"I have urgent business to attend to back home. I'd appreciate it if you two uncles could help me out for a moment!"

After Jin Jingtian finished speaking, he rushed into the Jin Garden without looking back, followed by a shout.

"I know you're nearby! If you want to know the truth, come see me now!"