Chapter 927: Chapter 926: The Secret of Immortality_1
Zhuo Wansheng’s face stiffened as he blankly stared at Shi Xiaole. It took him a moment to regain his composure; his expression no longer held a trace of amiability. "Clever? If Zhuo were truly clever, he would not have fallen for Young Emperor Shi’s traps."
The Grand Elder went through great lengths to investigate Shi Xiaole’s identity, yet he was unaware that Zhuo Wansheng, whom he saw as an honest person, had long figured out Shi Xiaole’s background. Indeed, it was an irony.
Shi Xiaole smiled.
In fact, he had another reason that he hadn’t voiced. When everyone declared their submission, the system did not issue him a completion prompt.
At that time, he knew that things were not yet finished. Considering his suspicions, he had a pretty good guess about the situation.
"Everyone says Young Emperor Shi is a godsend; today I learned that seeing you surpasses your reputation. Zhuo is convinced by his defeat and would like to ask, if Zhuo swears allegiance to the Divine Sect right now and pledges undivided loyalty from this moment forward, would you let me go?"
asked Zhuo Wansheng.
Shi Xiaole was stunned by his composure and shamelessness.
"You’ve tried to set me up three times. I’m lucky to have survived your schemes, and now, you expect me to let bygones be bygones with just a pledge?"
Swearing allegiance to the Divine Sect is one thing, but Shi Xiaole wasn’t selfless enough to disregard personal grudges. After all, he didn’t entirely consider himself a member of the Divine Sect.
"That’s just one condition. In addition, Zhuo can reveal a great secret to Young Emperor Shi. You should know that Zhuo fell for an illusion earlier only because he had restrained himself and wasn’t in prime condition. You won’t be able to forcibly extract the secret from me. Also, I need a promise from the young emperor that no matter what happens, you will never harm me,"
said Zhuo Wansheng, who wasn’t foolish and obviously knew that to save his life, he had to offer something equally valuable.
This confidence piqued Shi Xiaole’s curiosity even more.
Under these circumstances, Zhuo Wansheng still had the audacity to demand his promise, which meant the secret he held must be terrifying. Shi Xiaole didn’t believe Zhuo would try to deceive him. After thinking for a moment, he communicated telepathically: "In addition to pledging allegiance to the Divine Sect, you must also swear eternal loyalty to me."
The corners of Zhuo Wansheng’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t hesitate to take the oath with his martial spirit.
To him, staying alive was more important than anything because there was always hope as long as he was alive. Moreover, whether it was joining the Divine Sect or pledging loyalty to Shi Xiaole, neither seemed too detrimental.
The Third Elder was sweating bullets on the sidelines, but Zhuo Wansheng reverted to his good-natured persona and patted his shoulder with a smile, uttering that the greater good was paramount.
"Rest assured, Sect Leader, what has happened here will rot in my gut."
After saying this, the Third Elder also hastily made his pledge; he did not wish to die.
The Heavenly Will Sect was elated to learn that Zhuo Wansheng had awakened and would soon recover.
Those who had originally pledged loyalty to the Grand Elder did not believe that the Sect Leader, the kind-hearted man, would blame them. On the contrary, his presence gave them confidence, even if they were to merge into the Divine Sect. As for the Sect Leader’s original followers, they were even more at ease, and everything seemed perfect.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole followed Zhuo Wansheng to an underground space.
The stone chamber was built beneath Zhuo Wansheng’s bed and required his unique Vigorous Air to open. The stone chamber’s passageway was filled with traps—a mechanism every three steps, an Array System every five. The methods to disarm these were all associated with Zhuo Wansheng.
It was clear how cunning and cautious the old geezer was; if anything happened to him, the secrets hidden underground would remain buried forever.
The two walked several kilometers, passing through multiple labyrinthine turns, and finally arrived at a spacious stone chamber.
The stone chamber was built with iron walls adorned with a triple-layered Void Origin Realm Array System. In the west side, heavy iron chains as thick as a child’s arm wrapped around three times, imprisoning a burly man eight feet tall.
"Old man, you’re back again."
The burly man smiled coldly, his face a mix of scorn and hatred. His gaze landed on Shi Xiaole and narrowed. "Old man, this wouldn’t be your son, would it? You actually brought him."
Zhuo Wansheng ignored the burly man, turning to Shi Xiaole with respect. "Young Emperor Shi, this is my greatest secret."
"Monster,"
the short word made both Zhuo Wansheng and the burly man jolt.
But they did not know the storm it stirred in Shi Xiaole’s heart.
Back in Peony Town, Shi Xiaole had encountered the Green-haired Monster. Later on the deserted island in Redbud State, he exterminated many Green-haired Monsters and Red-haired Monsters, leaving a deep impression of such monsters’ aura.
The burly man seemed no different from an ordinary person, and his aura was quite normal, but how could he hide from Shi Xiaole, who possessed peak Void Origin Realm-level spiritual power?
If the unique aura of the Red-haired Monster was like a small stream, then the unique aura hidden by the burly man before him was like a roaring river; the two couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath.
"Are you from the Undying Alliance?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
The burly man’s face changed several times as he laughed menacingly, "So what if I am? You’ll never pry anything out of me."
Shi Xiaole released his spiritual power and discovered a terrifying restriction inside the other’s body. Feeling the presence of his mental force, it began to self-destruct immediately, forcing Shi Xiaole to hastily withdraw his power.
"Is he the so-called secret?"
Shi Xiaole asked Zhuo Wansheng.
Zhuo Wansheng took out a dagger from his sleeve. Its quality was clearly top-tier among mid-grade weapons. Infusing it with his energy, he made a shallow cut on the burly man’s arm; fresh blood just began to emerge when Zhuo withdrew it into his mouth from a distance.
He showed an expression of enjoyment.
In the blink of an eye, Shi Xiaole was horrified to find that Zhuo Wansheng’s life force had undergone a subtle change, becoming slightly stronger than before.
One must know, the direct manifestation of human lifespan is the life force. Martial artist of the Dragon Gate Realm live for three hundred years, those of the Divine Barrier Realm for five hundred years, and those of the Void Origin Realm for three thousand five hundred years, with each breakthrough significantly increasing a martial artist’s life force.
However, even for Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm, as time goes on, their life force will gradually weaken. Some Martial Emperors who specialize in the martial ways of wood and life might be able to slow the decline of their life force, but overall, it is not reversible.
Zhuo Wansheng, after absorbing the blood of the strong man, had actually increased his life force by a bit, which was astonishing to Shi Xiaole!
"I don’t mean to hide it from you, young emperor, but I, Zhuo, am now seven hundred and thirty-one years old. I became a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm two hundred and forty years ago, but my potential has been reached, and it’s very difficult to improve my power. However, since acquiring Tu Jiu, consuming his blood daily has steadily increased my life force."
"And Tu Jiu, who was captured by me to this place over a hundred years ago, despite being stripped of his power, has not changed in appearance till now!"
Zhuo Wansheng’s words struck Shi Xiaole’s heart like a hammer, making him think of two words that could drive the world mad with longing yet remain elusive—immortality!
In Peony Town years ago, didn’t that wolf-hearted village head capture many green-haired monsters, trying to research the secret of immortality from them?
Undying Alliance, could it refer to eternal life and immortality?
The identity of Tu Jiu was complicated. How many people like him were there in the Undying Alliance?
One question after another hovered in Shi Xiaole’s chest, causing his heart to tremble with fear because he suddenly realized that the Undying Alliance was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined – ten times, a hundred times over.
What might it be planning after staying hidden for countless years?
"Young emperor, this secret is ours alone. From now on, you and I, master and servant, will share the blood of Tu Jiu. I believe that, with the young emperor’s stature and the aid of the power of immortality, sooner or later you will ascend to the ninth level, sweep the heaven and earth, and become the eternal ruler of East Victory Continent!"
The more Zhuo Wansheng talked, the more excited he got, his old face flushing red, seemingly envisioning a scene where he commanded the winds and clouds, standing above millions.
Tu Jiu, the strong man, however, watched the two coldly and let out a scoffing laugh.
"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! Two insignificant scums dare to whimsically dream of dominating the world. Hahaha, not to mention the many elders of the Undying Alliance, even the rising stars of the alliance could easily crush the likes of you once they come forth. Just watch, this world will tremble before our alliance, and you all will die!"
Zhuo Wansheng repeatedly struck, swelling Tu Jiu’s face several times over, but moments later, the swelling disappeared, and the arm that had been previously cut healed instantly.
Truthfully, Shi Xiaole never believed in so-called eternal life, but the life force within Tu Jiu was indeed dense and far superior to his own.
He found it impossible to drink the blood of the other, but suddenly a thought arose: could he use the other to research the martial way of life and death?
"Old Zhuo, step back."
Shi Xiaole waved his hand.
Zhuo Wansheng thought that Shi Xiaole wanted to hog it all for himself and reminded in a low voice, "Young emperor, you should not drain the pond to get all the fish, sustainable development is the fundamental approach."
Shi Xiaole glanced at him sideways. Zhuo Wansheng did not dare to say more and hastily retreated.
Ignoring the brazen Tu Jiu, Shi Xiaole drew the Spring Fury Sword and slashed a large gash across his chest, blood spewing forth and instantly being suspended mid-air by the Vigorous Air.
"Bastard!"
Tu Jiu cried out in pain.
Yet Shi Xiaole had already sat down cross-legged on the ground, his mental power released and infiltrating into the blood.
Life and death are two sides of the same coin; where there is life, there is death. Thus, by thoroughly understanding the way of life, one could also gain insight into the way of death.
It didn’t take long for Shi Xiaole to discover that the composition of Tu Jiu’s blood was very different from his own. He followed these differences, analyzing bit by bit, comprehending, and gradually reaching the state of void and selflessness.
As the blood was exposed to the air, it lost its activity after half a 2-hour period. This time, Shi Xiaole was ’gentler’, only making a shallow cut on Tu Jiu’s body, extracting a drop of blood.
"You are greedier and more foolish than that old thing, to actually fantasize about unraveling the secret of immortality. Truly overestimating your abilities!"
Tu Jiu kept scoffing endlessly.
They were mutated beings, their life force naturally much stronger than ordinary people by several folds, but even the elders of their tribe were far from comprehending the secret of immortality. This was the greatest pursuit of the Undying Alliance!
Time flowed like water.
Shi Xiaole stayed in the stone chamber for a month, yet the gains from this one month were no less than the half-year he spent behind the Wuling Villa.
He knocked out Tu Jiu with a casual blow, then completely released the essence of the martial way of life and death.
Forty percent mid-stage.
Forty percent late-stage.
Forty percent peak.
Boom!
Rich life force filled the stone chamber, a portion transformed into the force of death, all gathered within his body. Shi Xiaole’s martial way of life and death broke through to the initial stage of fifth percent.
He made a cut on his hand with the Spring Fury Sword, ran the martial way of life and death, and in just ten breaths, the wound crusted, flaked, and healed as if it had never been there.
