The First Immortal of Destiny

Lady Scarlet had obtained quite a bit of information about the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons from a high-ranking member of the LiMountain Elixir Sect. In addition to inviting Shen Mo, she also invited several of her Golden Core Realm friends, hoping to form a team to explore the ancient battlefield, jointly resist its dangers, and seek the opportunities that lay within! After all, if they missed this chance, they would have to wait another seven hundred years for the battlefield to open once more. Even if a Golden Core Realm cultivator had a Lifespan of a thousand years, by that time they would be on their last legs, with virtually no room for further progress, even if they found any opportunities.

When asked why Lady Scarlet did not explore the ancient battlefield with her lover, her expression became complex, as if she was hiding something unspeakable. Seeing this, Shen Mo didn’t continue to probe, and after some pondering, agreed to her invitation. His main purpose for visiting the Heaven Patrolling Zone was to seek opportunities to nourish his cultivation; now that an opportunity had presented itself, he naturally wouldn’t let it slip away so easily. If he were to venture into the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons alone, he would inevitably face many dangers and few opportunities! With Lady Scarlet’s intel, things should go much smoother. Even if other Golden Core Realm cultivators were to share the spoils, it was still better than blindly blundering around the ancient battlefield.

After seeing Lady Scarlet off, Shen Mo did not continue with his Alchemy. He left a notice outside his cave mansion to inform those seeking Elixirs that he would be in seclusion for a considerable length of time, with the resumption of trade yet to be determined. After that, he began preparations for the ancient battlefield journey in two months’ time.

”I have over ten types of Grade IV Elixirs on me, totaling more than one hundred and sixty, and more than forty Grade V Elixirs. That should be enough.”

”If I run out of them on the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons, I have plenty of spiritual medicine in my Universe Bag, and I can just concoct a few batches!”

Shen Mo focused his mind on his Universe Bag, taking inventory of the various spiritual items he possessed. As for talismans, Shen Mo had many means at his disposal. Low-class talismans were not as effective as his own magic and Skills, and were extremely costly to use. So, he rarely relied on the Talisman Path! Generally, he would sell them for profit, or give them to his friends and family for protection. However, anything could happen in the cultivation world. There could be situations where even a single spell couldn’t be cast, so he would always keep some high-class talismans on him. High-Level Talisman scrolls, however, were hard to find and required rare materials. With Shen Mo’s current skills in the Talisman Path, he could only craft Grade V talismans. If it were an attack or defense talisman, it would generally be enough to deal with the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm. To use talismans to kill an early-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator, Shen Mo would have to wait until he became a Grade V Alchemist, capable of crafting Grade Six talismans; if he wanted to deal with a peak Golden Core Realm cultivator, he would need a Grade Six talisman! Considering all factors, Shen Mo had a relatively large number of auxiliary talismans, such as the Feather Transformation Charm, on his person. These should be enough for the journey.

Apart from this, Shen Mo’s magic treasures were plentiful, each with its own power! Originally, he possessed spiritual-level low-grade magic artifacts like the Demon Slaying Sword, the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle, and the Skull Head. After mastering the [Spiritual Wisdom] Skill, the seven Big Dipper Swords—Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, and the others—all developed Sword Spirits under the Skill’s constant enhancement. One after another, they were promoted from profound-level top-grade to spiritual-level low-grade! Along with this, the power of The Big Dipper Array also surged dramatically! Furthermore, his most frequently used Soul Refining Flag did not have a specific grade, but its power was comparable to a spiritual-level high-grade magic artifact. In addition, he also had the Thunderstroke Sword, Flawless Dharma Eye, Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand Energy, Dark Cloud Bag, Mountain Pearl, Immortal Binding Rope, and other various functional magic treasures, some of which Shen Mo didn’t use much; some could be refined again by improving Forging techniques, with the assistance of the [Spiritual Wisdom] Skill, to match Shen Mo’s current combat power! Of course, these tasks couldn’t be completed overnight.

Shen Mo’s primary focus was on the promotion of the defensive magic treasure, the Green Cloud Umbrella. This umbrella had undergone several instances of damage and reconstruction. After being reforged with shells of Demon Lord Ming Cang, it spontaneously birthed a sliver of ”Cycle of Life and Death” True Intention. Like the tree-shaped magic produced by the Mother Tree’s green leaves, it could convert some destructive forces into its defensive power, presenting great potential! Over the past half year on Wangxian Mountain, Shen Mo had obtained many precious spirit gold materials through Elixir transactions, and had refined the Green Cloud Umbrella again. However, when this umbrella was forged, the overall shape, the engraving of runes, and so on, had all been set. Even if Shen Mo’s Forging Path had now entered Grade V, and he could directly refine spiritual-level low-grade magic artifacts, he couldn’t upgrade it to a Spiritual Artifact all at once. Unless, he was willing to abandon the ”Cycle of Life and Death” True Intention of this Green Cloud Umbrella and forge a new Green Cloud Umbrella from scratch. But if he did so, even if the newly forged Green Cloud Umbrella was a low-grade Spiritual Artifact, without the self-born True Intention, its defensive power might not necessarily surpass the previous treasured umbrella, and its innately extraordinary nature would fade abruptly. Hence, Shen Mo had been using the [Spiritual Wisdom] Skill to nourish this treasure. It could not only enable it to produce an Artifact Spirit, promoting it to a spiritual-level magic artifact, but also preserve its ”Cycle of Life and Death” True Intention!

”There are still two months left until the agreed-upon day, which should be enough for the Green Cloud Umbrella to produce an Artifact Spirit.”

Thinking this, Shen Mo took out the Green Cloud Umbrella and activated the [Spiritual Wisdom] Skill to empower it. Under the Skill’s influence, the immortal charm of the umbrella’s body rippled, growing more distinct.

Besides all external items, Shen Mo’s cultivation of magic and martial arts had not taken a backseat. Especially with the [Performance Martial Arts] Destiny, he had been focusing on cultivating the Immortal Law ”Divination Book.” This cultivation method was the only middle-grade calculative cultivation method of the Riverside Sect, but divining the future would consume the caster’s Lifespan and fortune. After Shen Mo learned this method, he attempted a divination and found the results quite vague. They were far less clear than the predictions from his [Chanjue] Destiny, and it also drained nearly half a year of his Lifespan. As for whether his fortune was reduced, he couldn’t tell at that time. However, since his Basic Destiny had been improved to [Starry], there should be no major problem. In this case, after Shen Mo had practiced it roughly, he seldom used this magic. However, compared to [Chanjue] Destiny’s ability to predict short-term crises, the ”Divination Book” could vaguely indicate long-term dangers and auspicious signs. As he was about to enter the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons, where both dangers and opportunities were immense, this cultivation method would prove useful. At the very least, it could broadly divine whether his journey would be perilous or auspicious. If it indicated great danger, Shen Mo could make more thorough preparations in advance!

「Two months passed in a flash.」

The Green Cloud Umbrella hadn’t yet developed gnosis, but it wasn’t far off. Shen Mo estimated that it should be able to advance smoothly within a month of him entering the ancient battlefield. Moreover, his cultivation of the ”Divination Book” had also reached the Junior standard.

While Lady Scarlet hadn’t called him to set out yet, Shen Mo took out forty-nine jade divination chips and cast a divination.

”From the hexagrams, this trip is roughly a forty-sixty split between misfortune and fortune; it seems blessings and calamities are intertwined!”

”Since this is the case, I have nothing to hesitate about. With my [Chanjue] Destiny, I shouldn’t be in danger of dying!”