Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

Chapter 349: Chapter 346: Meeting the Old Devil

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

After a month of seclusion, Shen Changchuan’s Cultivation aura had reached the First Layer Peak. He was now not far from the Soul Emergence Second Layer.

Moreover, Shen Changchuan could feel that his Cultivation had reached its limit, and his foundation was sufficiently solid. If he were willing to force a breakthrough, his chances of reaching the Soul Emergence Second Layer would be at least seventy percent!

But Shen Changchuan did not rush to do so.

Instead, he stopped.

’It’s great that my Cultivation is progressing quickly, but a rapid, linear ascent isn’t necessarily a good thing.’

’It’s best to pause after advancing a small stage, take time to adjust and polish, solidify my foundation, and gather enough strength before moving forward again.’

’Otherwise, I’d be like a spent arrow that can’t pierce silk. If I rush a breakthrough and use up too much energy, I might not have enough to succeed. The resulting backlash from failure would take at least a year or two of hard work to recover from.’

’That would be an even greater waste of time!’

Improving one step at a time, pausing to polish his skills for a while after a short period of rapid advancement before continuing forward—

this was the cultivation philosophy Shen Changchuan had always followed.

Although he sought speed on the Immortal Cultivation Dao,

he was never greedy for it!

’Next, I’ll spend some time refining the Spirit Medicine Materials I gathered into Elixirs.’

’After that, I’ll go to Dawan Village to settle accounts, deliver these Elixirs, and bring back the Spirit Stones I earned from selling them.’

’Then, I’ll grind out one or two life-saving Tier Two Skills, and after that, I can attempt to break through to the Soul Emergence Second Layer.’

’I’ll aim to get all of this done within three months!’

Shen Changchuan calculated in his mind,

forming a rough plan for the future.

However,

just as he stood up,

he suddenly remembered something.

He slapped his forehead.

”Right!”

”I still need to gather information!”

’I wonder how the negotiations went... Whatever, I’ll go to Senior Brother Hong Yang’s place first and see what I can find out...’

As the thought flashed through his mind,

Shen Changchuan’s figure flickered

and vanished from the Secluded Meditation Chamber.

...

「Meanwhile」

In the Nanyue Kingdom,

at the Seven Extremes Sect.

Here,

mountains of White Bones were piled up at the Mountain Gate.

The sky above was perpetually shrouded in thick, dark clouds, casting the world into gloom.

The continuous mountain range was enveloped in a dense black fog.

From the outside,

all one could see was a colossal mountain shaped like a skull, rising from the earth. It dominated the landscape, casting a vast and terrifying shadow!

And from the two eye sockets of that skull mountain,

an ominous crimson light pierced through the thick fog, flooding out to envelop the entire Mountain Gate!

Deep within the Seven Extremes Sect,

in the Mountain Gate Hall,

a figure with a boyish appearance and a full head of long white hair sat upon a throne made of piled white skulls.

Anyone present at this moment

would have been struck by the intense contrast of an innocent-looking youth presiding over a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The youth was now expressionlessly watching a figure below who was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing relentlessly.

”Ancestor! Ancestor, spare my life!”

”This failure was not due to a lack of effort!”

”That Master Wandering Dragon appeared out of nowhere for some reason, causing the plan to fall short at the last moment!”

”It is not that your disciple was lazy, but rather...”

The figure continued to kowtow

while begging for mercy.

His head was already split open and dripping with blood, a truly wretched sight.

Yet, he didn’t dare stop for even a moment.

If Shen Changchuan had been here,

he would have surely recognized the figure kneeling in the hall, kowtowing and begging for his life.

It was none other than the Direct Disciple of the Seven Extremes Old Demon who had appeared at the last second deep in the Demon Beast Forest, his aura briefly reaching the level of the Divine Travel Realm!

Back then, he had appeared cloaked in supreme might,

ready to slay Senior Brother Hong Yang.

But at the final moment, his master, Master Wandering Dragon, had arrived just in time and nearly slapped him to death with a single palm strike.

Later, Shen Changchuan had also discussed that person while chatting with Senior Brother Hong Yang.

From him, he learned

that the man’s name was Ying Wuya, and he was the head disciple among the seven Direct Disciples of the Seven Extremes Old Demon!

But the Ying Wuya of this moment

had long since lost any trace of his former grandeur.

Not only were his clothes tattered,

but his aura was also extremely weak.

Right now, even a Cultivator at the Soul Emergence First Layer could probably kill him!

”There is no need for that, my good disciple.”

”Since that Master Wandering Dragon appeared, your failure is understandable...”

Atop the skull throne,

the youth spoke faintly, interrupting him.

Ying Wuya looked up, his face filled with surprised delight.

He was grateful that he would be allowed to live,

showing none of the madness he displayed before his fellow Direct Disciples.

But then,

the youth on the skull throne’s next words

plunged him instantly into a bottomless abyss.

”Therefore, this master won’t sentence you to the punishment of ten thousand insects eating your heart. I will grant you a good death.”

As he spoke,

a trace of pity appeared on the youth’s calm and handsome face.

Before Ying Wuya could say anything,

the youth took a sniff of the air through his clean, flawless nose.

An invisible, blood-colored wisp of energy emerged from Ying Wuya’s body, turning into a strand of green smoke that was inhaled by the youth.

At the same time,

Ying Wuya’s body rapidly shriveled,

as if weathered by millennia. His flesh dried up and turned to dust, and his entire corpse dissolved into a pile of White Bones.

A look of intoxicated enjoyment spread across the youth’s face.

After a long moment,

that expression of enjoyment finally faded.

’Sigh, what a pity. I only recovered this little bit...’

The youth murmured in a low voice,

sounding somewhat regretful.

As he spoke,

he extended his right hand, and a multi-colored ball of light coalesced in his palm.

He gazed at this ball of light.

’Although I couldn’t retrieve the item and the mission was an utter failure, it’s not bad that I was able to use this opportunity to advance to the Divine Travel Realm. After all these years, this is the best-developed personality memory I’ve had...’

’Hmm, can’t let it go to waste...’

As he pondered,

the youth’s consciousness instantly swept over the entire Seven Extremes Sect, condescendingly scanning every one of its Disciples.

After a long moment,

he casually selected an Inner Sect Disciple who looked to be in his twenties, with a personality that seemed both cunning and resolute.

”Bring him to me...”

The youth issued the command to those below.

Before long,

the Inner Sect Disciple, his face filled with apprehension, was brought into the hall.

”Ancestor...”

After the others had withdrawn,

the Inner Sect Disciple started to speak.

But the youth clearly couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries.

A light flashed in his eyes, instantly shattering the disciple’s memories. Then, he pulled the disciple toward him from a distance.

Immediately after,

the multi-colored ball of light in his right hand was forcibly injected into the disciple’s mind.

The void seemed to be squeezed and distorted,

and the Inner Sect Disciple’s face melted like a candle!

「A quarter of an hour later」

the unconscious Inner Sect Disciple awoke below.

”Ancestor, what happened to me...”

He looked up,

his eyes filled with confusion.

”Ying Wuya, although you failed this mission and your Realm has fallen to the Soul Emergence Early Stage, it matters not. Just work hard to recover it in the future. You are still this master’s head disciple...”

The youth’s faint voice

echoed throughout the vast hall.

Under the azure glow of the ghostly flames in the vast hall,

the Inner Sect Disciple’s face

clearly reflected the features of Ying Wuya!