The Search for Immortality

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Volume 4 Chapter 69: Harvest

At the same time that Number 4 was killed by Xu Qingfan, in a mysterious cave on an unknown hill, Zhang, a member of the "Ming" organization, was sitting cross-legged. Behind him, four people dressed in purple stood silently, quietly watching the four purple crystals before them alongside Zhang.

To the right of these four purple crystals, there were many fragments of purple crystals, suggesting that there might have been a fifth crystal there, now shattered for unknown reasons.

Suddenly, among the five purple crystals, the one on the far right exploded abruptly. The fragments mixed with the existing ones, making it impossible to tell which pieces belonged to which crystal.

After seeing the fourth crystal shatter, the faces of three people in purple behind Zhang changed dramatically, disbelief in their eyes.

Zhang, however, remained calm and murmured softly, "So even Number 4 has died."

After a pause, Zhang slightly turned his head and softly asked one of the people in purple behind him, "Number One, can you analyze this?"

"Yes," replied the shortest of the three people in purple, in a respectful voice that revealed a young woman.

"This time Number 4 and Number Five were sent to carry out the master’s order to kill a rogue cultivator named Xu Fan. According to the information, this rogue cultivator was only at the middle stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage, so sending Number 4 and Number Five should have been a sure thing. But now both have been killed in succession. There are four possibilities: first, a pre-existing conflict between Number 4 and Number Five led to sabotage during the mission; second, Xu Fan possesses a unique secret technique, far beyond what is apparent; third, their whereabouts were discovered by the Qingxu Gate. But these possibilities seem unlikely. Despite their disagreements, Number 4 and Number Five would not dare to have personal issues during the master’s mission, and even if Xu Fan’s cultivation method is profound, it might not compare to the master’s ‘Art of Annihilation.’ Moreover, Number 4 and Number Five are experienced and cautious, unlikely to attract other cultivators."

Zhang nodded slightly and asked, "Then what about the fourth possibility?"

Number One’s face suddenly grew serious, hesitating as he said, "The fourth point, although the most unbelievable, is now the most likely."

"Zhang" frowned and asked, "What?"

After hesitating for a moment, Number One finally said, "Since the last time, Master, you spoke ill of ‘Huang’ at the ‘Ming’ gathering, ‘Huang’ has been threatening revenge. With Number 4’s sudden death, it’s possible that ‘Huang’ is behind it."

Hearing Number One’s words, not only the two people in purple beside him but even "Zhang" had a change in expression, as if the name ‘Huang’ held great power.

After a long silence, "Zhang" slowly said, "Number One, set off immediately and carefully investigate the truth behind Number 4’s death. As for the rest, join me in seeking refuge and preparing to prevent any unexpected events."

Upon hearing "Zhang’s" words, aside from Number One remaining calm, the other two in purple couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and respectfully said, "Understood."

"Zhang" hesitated slightly, then told Number One, "If it’s not ‘Huang’ causing trouble, you must find a way to bring ‘Ni Tian’ back."

Number One said, "Yes."

…

Looking at the scattered bones on the ground, Xu Qingfan murmured, "You were too careless."

Indeed, if Number 4 had taken this seriously from the beginning, Xu Qingfan wouldn’t have had time to think about the flaws in Number 4’s powers. Although he could have escaped using the speed of the "Wind of Desolation" or even used the "Thunderbolt Pill" he got from the market to unexpectedly blow him up, it would have been impossible to kill Number 4 relying solely on his own strength. If Number 4 had teamed up with Number 5 to attack him from the start, Xu Qingfan wouldn’t have been able to escape at all.

When he was initially repeatedly injured by Number 4’s Original Soul, Xu Qingfan almost used the "Thunderbolt Pill," but considering he only had two and each use meant one less, and since he wasn’t at a desperate place yet, Xu Qingfan forced himself to hold back.

In Xu Qingfan’s view, the dangers of the cultivation world were beyond his expectations, and somehow, a mysterious person in purple clothes had set their sights on him. So unless it was a situation of utter desperation, he wouldn’t use the "Thunderbolt Pill," a rare item that required decades of offerings to obtain and was one of his greatest assets when leaving the mountains this time.

Reflecting on his encounter with three purple-clothed individuals, Xu Qingfan realized they were not only cold-hearted but also experts of extraordinary skills, yet he had no clue about their master’s identity, who commanded such loyal individuals.

Xu Qingfan sighed slightly but didn’t dwell on it further. Instead, he began carefully examining himself, and aside from the wound on his chest, he found he hadn’t sustained significant injuries during the fierce battle. However, this was only on the surface; having withstood Number 4’s Original Soul attacks eight times, the damage to Xu Qingfan’s Original Soul was beyond words. Even though the battle was over, his mind was still in a daze, and using his Original Soul even a little caused immense pain. Xu Qingfan estimated that it would take him at least half a year to heal from such a significant injury.

While pondering how to heal his mind’s injuries, Xu Qingfan slowly descended from the sky, casually walking towards the bodies of Number 4 and Number 5 that lay on the ground.

With the battle over, it was time to clean up the battlefield.

With the experience from last time, Xu Qingfan was more skilled now. Though not completely proficient, he swiftly stripped the two purple garments from Number 4 and Number 5’s bodies, levitating them in the air. Then, pointing at the garments, he shouted, "Break!"

After breaking the "Sleeve Space" technique on the two purple robes, Xu Qingfan heard continuous clattering sounds as a large number of spirit stones, magical artifacts, and elixirs tumbled out of the garments.

Looking down, Xu Qingfan saw the ground covered with sparkling lights that dazzled his eyes. He estimated there were more than three thousand spirit stones, along with dozens of bottles of elixirs and nearly ten magical artifacts. Additionally, there were two or three green slips.

Like before, Xu Qingfan first collected various spirit stones and elixirs he recognized, then set aside those he didn’t know the uses for.

Among them, two red jade bottles caught Xu Qingfan’s attention because of the name engraved on them—"Blood Spirit Pill."

Xu Qingfan was familiar with this elixir, known for being one of the most infamous concoctions among evil path cultivators. Each pill was made from the refined essence blood of two hundred and eighty-eight virgins, possessing the power to heal flesh and bones and alter life and death. In the world of cultivation, the healing ability of the "Blood Spirit Pill" ranked among the top ten.

Thinking about the method used to craft this elixir made Xu Qingfan feel nauseous, and he had an urge to throw the "Blood Spirit Pill" away. However, after some thought, he carefully placed it into his sleeve.

After dealing with these elixirs and spirit stones, Xu Qingfan turned his gaze to the seven or eight magical artifacts. These artifacts emanated a sinister aura, and just looking at them made it feel like ghosts were wailing in his ears. He picked up a black longsword among them, which was the most sinister of all, its evil aura surpassing that of the other six or seven artifacts combined. On the longsword were engraved the words "Defy Heaven."

Seeing the words etched on the sword, Xu Qingfan’s expression became grave, and he gasped. He hadn’t expected to find such an artifact in the hands of these two person dressed in purple.

It was well-known to Xu Qingfan that the legendary "Defy Heaven" was famous not for its power, but for its ability to grow stronger. The method and principles behind crafting "Defy Heaven" were lost with the downfall of the demon path cultivators. However, it was said that when a cultivator is killed by "Defy Heaven," their Original Soul is captured by it, and the weapon’s power increases. A fully matured "Defy Heaven" was counted among the most powerful artifacts of the demon path, second only to the "Nine Demon Bead."

Looking at the "Reverse Heaven" in Xu Qingfan’s hand, it seemed not to have absorbed too many cultivator’s Original Souls, and he couldn’t tell who these two people in purple were.

Xu Qingfan didn’t know that this "Reverse Heaven" was accidentally found by Number 4’s master, "Zhang," in a cave left by a demon path cultivator. It was meant to be an asset against "Huang" in the future. Number 4 brought it out this time to let them kill more cultivators and help "Reverse Heaven" evolve.

After examining the dark long sword closely for a long time, Xu Qingfan finally determined it was the famed "Reverse Heaven" of the demon path and found it in his own hand.

After a long while, just like before, Xu Qingfan put "Reverse Heaven" and several other artifacts into his sleeve, determined in his heart to find a safe place and seal "Reverse Heaven" to hide it. If this artifact were obtained by those with ill intentions, it would surely cause chaos in the cultivation world.

After putting away the artifacts, Xu Qingfan turned his gaze to the remaining two green slips, picked one up, and immersed his Divine Sense into it, beginning to explore its contents.

"Art of Annihilation?"

A moment later, Xu Qingfan withdrew his Divine Sense from the green slip and muttered to himself.