A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Jin Jingtian walked to the innermost part of the main hall of the ancestral hall, gently turned a candle with his finger, and a hidden door slowly opened before their eyes.

Zhou Ping squinted and peered inside. It was pitch black with no light at all. He thought to himself that the Jin clan's ancestral hall actually contained so many secrets. The four ancestors of the Jin clan back then really went to great lengths.

If one is not a direct descendant of the clan, it is likely that even arriving here would yield little result.

Jin Jingtian took out the tinderbox he carried with him and went inside to light up the lampstands one by one.

Zhou Ping surveyed the interior; it was simple and rustic, with nothing but a jade platform in the center.

Jin Jingtian walked around the jade platform and addressed Zhou Ping,

"This is the place. In a moment, you will activate the Qingyuan Technique and place your palm in the center of the jade platform to open the mechanism and restrictions here."

Zhou Ping carefully observed every detail on the jade platform, frowning as he asked,

"Forgive my ignorance, but with the clan leader's cultivation and abilities, such a jade platform should be easily broken open, right? Why is a special opening technique needed?"

"Break through? You truly know nothing about the supernatural powers and techniques of immortals."

Jin Jingtian chuckled and pointed downwards from the jade platform.

"The Great Uncle has already set up detonating talismans inside. Any act of brute force will immediately activate the built-in explosion restriction, at which point the entire house will be reduced to ashes."

"If it were really as simple as you think, why would my Jin clan have waited until today?"

"The relics of the Fourth Patriarch were specifically left to the descendants of those who cultivate immortality; no one else should even think about them."

After saying this, Jin Jingtian's face revealed a hint of madness, clearly indicating that he had long coveted what was inside the jade platform.

"Oh? What if it were other cultivators? Could they break the seal here?"

After listening, Zhou Ping changed the subject and asked curiously.

Jin Jingtian was taken aback by his question, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, word by word,

"Unless it's not the same Azure Origin True Qi from the same source, even other cultivators won't be able to unravel it."

After speaking, a shadow crossed Jin Jingtian's eyes as he secretly began to observe the surrounding movements.

He quickly grasped the essence of the conflict between the Longquan Sword Sect and the Jin Clan, realizing that there must be cultivators lurking within it.

From the very beginning, he had been secretly paying attention to any unusual movements around him, and after finding nothing, he temporarily dispelled his doubts.

Zhou Ping's sudden question at this moment made him startled and suspicious once again.

Liu Feng, who was hiding outside the ancestral hall, opened his tightly closed eyes at this moment and frowned slightly.

Fortunately, they didn't act rashly. If they had killed the two of them too easily, their hard-won victory would have been lost.

These laymen may not understand these kinds of explosive talismans, but as a cultivator with a lineage, he knows them very well.

Such restrictions can only be broken by brute force if the caster is at least one major realm higher than the caster; otherwise, there is absolutely no possibility of breaking them.

Based on this calculation, only a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator would possess this ability, and he and his master, Daoist Tongxin, are clearly far from being able to achieve it.

After thinking it over, Liu Feng had no choice but to restrain himself and wait for the two of them to open the barrier before making any further plans.

After Jin Jingtian finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the dark room.

Zhou Ping glanced at Jin Jingtian across from him and, sure enough, noticed a subtle change in his expression. He thought to himself that the old fox must have been startled by his words and become wary.

It seems that he was already on guard against the two cultivators from the Jin Clan, and was not completely unaware of them. However, he didn't know why only one of them appeared here.

After thinking all this through, Zhou Ping seemed to have made a decision.

He raised his hand and silently pointed to himself, then to Jin Jingtian, and under Jin Jingtian's puzzled gaze, he pointed back to the door of the dark room.

Finally, under Jin Jingtian's gloomy gaze, he held up three fingers.

"Clan leader, how will you fulfill your promise before I help you open the jade platform?"

"I anticipated your concerns. I promise you that as long as the restriction can be broken successfully, your family will not be disturbed in the slightest, and you will be informed of Xiaoyan's whereabouts."

"The Jin clan is currently beset by internal and external troubles. If you wish to leave, I can let you descend the mountain safely."

Jin Jingtian, seemingly understanding perfectly, cooperated.

"I cannot believe your verbal promises. Why don't we swear an oath here and now? If we break this oath, may we be struck by lightning and annihilated, body and soul. What do you say?"

Zhou Ping's tone suddenly rose, filled with distrust.

"Alright! Let's swear an oath with a high five. Anyone who breaks this oath may be struck by lightning that very day!"

Jin Jingtian hesitated for a moment, then agreed in a deep voice.

Liu Feng, who was standing outside the ancestral hall, revealed a clear look of sarcasm on his face after hearing the conversation between the two, and secretly curled his lip.

These pedantic mortals, don't they even consider whether the heavens have time to pay attention to you? Even some cultivators would disdain the vows of inner demons, yet you've taken them so seriously.

Then he heard the two men's vows coming from inside the ancestral hall, followed by a loud clapping sound.

Just as Liu Feng was inwardly grumbling, Zhou Ping's terrified scream suddenly came from inside the house.

"You old fox! You actually used poison!?"

Immediately following, Jin Jingtian's shocked and angry shouts also rang out.

"You brat! Same to you! What poison did you give me?! I only gave you a small amount of Soul-Separating Powder; your life is not in danger. You...you are so vicious!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence. Liu Feng had already put away his previous disdain and was now listening intently to any sound coming from inside.

He never expected these two to be so treacherous; they were truly astounding to him, actually resorting to poison against each other.

He then carefully took out a poison-repelling pill from his pocket, which could temporarily resist the poison, looked at it reluctantly for a couple of seconds, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Now that he knew the other party would use poison, just in case, Liu Feng had no choice but to reluctantly consume a Poison Repelling Pill to avoid being caught off guard by ordinary people.

He secretly put this debt on Zhou Ping and the other man's head, thinking about how he would deal with them once they fell into his hands.

The silence didn't last long before it was broken by a series of clanging and banging sounds.

"Finally opened! Hahaha! All these treasures are mine!"

"Damn it! That old fox's drug has worked!"

With a thud, the ancestral hall fell into complete silence.

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng, who was outside the ancestral hall, did not act immediately but instead carefully sensed the breathing sounds of the two people.

"Sure enough, there was only one panting sound left. It must be that kid who was drugged. I never thought that the leader of the Jin Clan, who had been planning the Devouring Spirits scheme for years, would end up like this."

Liu Feng stood up without making a sound, and couldn't help but sigh when he thought about Jin Jingtian's ending.

Ultimately, fate cannot be defied. A mere mortal, who dared to defy the heavens and cultivate immortality, still fell victim to the arrangements of the Heavenly Dao.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finally stopped hesitating. He secretly made a hand seal, and a misty wind blade technique reappeared in his hand, ready to be unleashed.

With the lightness technique activated, he silently walked slowly into the ancestral hall.