A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

According to Jin Jingtian, this final weapon was prepared by the four ancestors of the Jin clan to deal with the possible emergence of cultivators.

When he returned from the sect, he spent almost all of his wealth on purchasing this item.

As for that war puppet, it was clearly impossible for him to buy it given his financial resources.

This was a reward bestowed upon him by a prominent figure within the sect, in gratitude for his selfless act during the trial.

The powerful weapon he himself had prepared was a soul-destroying poison called Soul-Severing Smoke, which was extremely lethal even to cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

When this smoke burns, it releases a large amount of toxic mist, covering a very wide area. If cultivators in the Qi Refining stage inhale it, their souls will be paralyzed, leading to physical death. It is extremely poisonous.

However, it poses little threat to cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, because cultivators at this stage have a qualitative improvement in their magical power and can often master some wide-range wind-based spells, making it very easy to dispel them.

Zhou Ping looked at the open-air platform in front of him, observed the surrounding environment, and was filled with admiration.

The fourth ancestor of the Jin clan was indeed a meticulous person. From the moment he chose to settle his clan here, he had already made full preparations for the difficulties to come.

Jin Yuan was located in a recessed valley, and the ancestral hall was specifically built at the innermost part of the valley.

This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides, which are insurmountable. The only exit is the main gate of Jinyuan.

If the Soul-Severing Smoke is lit here, the resulting massive amount of poisonous fog will all rush towards the entrance of the Golden Garden.

It doesn't even need the assistance of strong winds; normal air circulation is enough to cover the entire Jin Yuan and the area within a dozen miles outside the gate. It is truly a large-scale weapon with no blind spots.

At this moment, Zhou Ping suddenly realized why the Jin clan's ancestral hall was built so magnificently and massively, and so airtight, with only a giant black iron gate as an entrance and exit.

This is the perfect place for the clansmen to take refuge. When enemies attack, the Jin clansmen only need to hide inside and light the Soul-Severing Smoke.

Once all the intruders outside have been poisoned and the poisonous fog has dissipated, one can safely leave the ancestral hall.

Such a deadly weapon could cause the Jin Clan to suffer the consequences if handled carelessly. Therefore, only the successive Jin Clan chiefs are qualified to know the secret of this place.

Zhou Ping picked up the flint next to the giant pot, glanced at the tightly sealed pot, and a hint of caution flashed in his eyes.

Inside should be the Soul-Severing Smoke prepared by the four ancestors of the Jin Clan more than a hundred years ago. He only needs to lift the seal on top and tap the flint a few times to easily ignite it.

At that time, he only needs to retreat to the ancestral hall and close the door tightly, and all the Jin people and invading enemies outside will be poisoned to death.

Even another cultivator who has not yet shown himself may not escape this calamity.

After looking through the book left by Liu Feng, he gained a general understanding of the division of cultivation realms.

He is currently at the fourth level of Qi Refining, which is the middle stage of Qi Refining. Above him are the late stage of Qi Refining and the Great Perfection stage.

Above that is the Foundation Establishment stage mentioned in the book, a threshold that is insurmountable for cultivators.

Only one in a hundred cultivators can advance to the Qi Refining stage; it is as difficult as ascending to heaven. But once one crosses this threshold, one can be considered a true cultivator.

Only by establishing a solid foundation can we truly be considered human beings; this is all there is to it.

According to Zhou Ping's estimation, the cultivators who appeared here should be like him, all at the Qi Refining stage, and it was almost impossible for any to be at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Foundation Establishment stage cultivators have long transcended the realm of mortals. Their magical power and cultivation are extraordinary and extremely powerful, making them true immortals, and they are extremely rare in the secular world.

If he were truly a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, he wouldn't need to sneak into the Golden Garden.

If one comes here openly and honestly to demand the relics of the Jin clan, no one will be able to stop them in the slightest.

Zhou Ping carefully put down the flint and steel, sat cross-legged next to the large pot, and began to think with a frown.

Although the battle at the entrance of Jin Yuan could not be relayed here, it was easy to guess that the outcome was still undecided, giving him time to consider the potential difficulties he might face.

As for the plan to exterminate the clan that Jin Jingtian entrusted to him, he decisively abandoned it from the very beginning.

It wasn't that Zhou Ping was particularly kind; given the Jin clan's schemes against him and the various evil deeds committed by Jin Jingtian, it was far from enough to make him feel compassion or sympathy for the Jin clan.

He was simply terrified; the combined number of people on both sides exceeded a thousand.

How could a mere sixteen-year-old boy dare to engage in such horrific and inhumane methods?

If all these people were coming for him and wanted to kill him, then in a desperate situation, he would not hesitate to light the Soul-Severing Incense in front of him.

But now, these people are almost all complete strangers who have never met him before and have no connection with him. In addition, although the Jin clan has been ungrateful to him, they have a real debt of gratitude for his training.

No matter what, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Furthermore, if all the Jin clan members here were to perish, Jin Yan's whereabouts would become a complete mystery, which was something Zhou Ping did not want to see.

The only thing that made him uneasy at that moment was the safety of himself and his family.

If these hidden dangers are not handled properly, the situation may indeed turn out as Jin Jingtian said, with endless consequences.

Zhou Ping paced back and forth on the platform, shaking his head and frowning, completely devoid of the joy and excitement he had felt when he first reaped his spoils.

The key to his and his family's safety lies with him, the cultivator. After the Jin Clan's relics were lost, other cultivators who came looking for them would inevitably focus their attention on him.

If he could disappear from everyone's sight, the problem would be solved!

This kind of disappearance cannot be just a casual feigned disappearance; their hopes must be completely dashed, otherwise they will continue to threaten the safety of their family members to force them to comply.

After figuring this out, Zhou Ping picked up the flint and steel from the ground and quickly went to the main hall of the ancestral hall. Looking at Liu Feng's corpse, he once again suppressed the nausea in his heart and began to rummage through it.

He stripped the body of all its clothes, took it to a small corner in the square outside, and burned it clean.

Then he returned to the main hall, took off his own clothes, and haphazardly put them on for her.

To make it look more authentic, he even took the Golden Garden Pass from his waist and carefully hung it on the corpse's clothes.

After doing all this, Zhou Ping finally felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. With this arrangement, using his fake death as a deception, the other party would have no choice but to let it go once they realized what was going on.

As for the whereabouts of the Jin Clan relics, we can simply find an opportunity to frame the two cultivators who appeared in the Jin Clan.

When the investigation is completed, their presence in the Jin Clan will inevitably be known to other cultivators!