The Secret Way of Immortality

The tall, burly man stood before the pitch-black cave entrance. The dense thicket of thorns nearby indicated that the location was extremely well-hidden.

The man wore tattered Taoist robes, and his exposed skin was covered in pustules, constantly oozing a yellowish-green liquid that caused the surrounding vegetation to wither.

He narrowed his eyes, the pustules seeping a thick, poisonous gas that the mountain wind carried deep into the earth, echoing with chilling sounds.

After a moment, when the cave became utterly silent, he finally moved and squeezed inside.

As the burly man walked, more blisters appeared on his skin, his expression growing more ferocious, his eyes filled with an unspeakable greed.

Before long, he came across more than a dozen corpses, twisted and struggling.

The corpses wore expressions of despair, their limbs showing varying degrees of insectification. Their eyes, before death, stared at the cave entrance not far away, clearly wanting to escape.

Unfortunately, under the pervasive influence of the poisonous gas, their internal organs had long since decayed and died.

The poison cultivator was known as "Blood Poisoner." He had been in Jing Province's surface world for several years, and many cultivators had vaguely heard of his reputation.

However, he did not belong to any faction, but was one of the few rogue cultivators.

Blood Poisoner had come to Jing Province with no intention of obtaining opportunities, merely wanting to earn some resources from the gaps between the various factions.

He bent down to examine the corpses, then roughly tore off the limbs with insect-like characteristics, storing them in a magical artifact.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, human-insects are truly mobile mines. Even low-level human-insects are a rare treasure."

Based on the insectified limbs he had just collected, it would not be difficult to exchange them for a substantial amount of resources.

The various factions had been in Jing Province for a long time and discovered that to ascend from the surface world to the inner world, they had to use insect-worms as a medium, which was even closely related to the deeper worlds.

They created a method of using insect-worms for blood sacrifices, and then used magical artifacts to obtain the key to ascension.

The conditions for ascension seemed simple, but most of the insect-worms in the surface world were only at the Half-Corpse Realm, and Ghost Envoy Realm insect-worms were already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

If they cultivated insect-worms themselves, it would definitely take a lot of effort and be a thankless task. Using ready-made insect-worms was the easiest.

And human-insects, because of their special physique, had organs that would closely integrate with the insect-worms, making them very suitable as a medium for ascension.

As a result, the various factions were openly and secretly hunting human-insects.

Some time ago, before the changes in Jing Province, tens of thousands of cultivators participated in the encirclement and suppression of human-insects under the temptation of ascension.

The cave entrances were filled with piles of broken corpses, all with their insect-worms dug out.

Thus, rogue cultivators like Blood Poisoner, who specialized in hunting human-insects, were born.

If the human-insects had not dug out underground passages like mazes, and if there were no Insect Gu Immortals providing resources, they would probably have been wiped out long ago.

Now the situation was slightly different. Most of the factions had already ascended to the inner world, and some, out of fear of the aberrant Taiyin Star Lord, had successively chosen to withdraw from Jing Province, which had improved the living space for human-insects a lot.

Blood Poisoner grabbed some flesh and swallowed it whole, chewing it.

As he prepared to leave the cave, he suddenly noticed a crack in the stone wall not far away, just wide enough for an ordinary human-insect to pass through.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Blood Poisoner gave a strange laugh. It seemed that the human-insects had not closed the entrance to their dwelling in time before they died, so there must be more to gain inside.

Maybe it was the human-insects' nest...

He retracted the pustules on his skin, and then quietly squeezed into the crack. A deep, narrow passage came into view.

Blood Poisoner walked quickly with excitement, his breathing becoming rapid.

He did not notice that several thumb-thick black snakes were following him from the shadows.

The tunnel was crisscrossed with many branches and dead ends.

But Blood Poisoner relied on his sensitivity to odors, smelling the unique earthy smell of insects.

After twisting and turning for several hours, a spacious cave appeared before him, where he could see more than a dozen simple houses built of thatch.

Nearly ten thousand human-insects lived in the cave. At first, they did not notice Blood Poisoner and were still discussing things with relaxed expressions.

A large area of glowing fungi was planted in the open space of the village, and the human-insects were busy around it.

"Hahaha, I'm rich."

Blood Poisoner laughed unscrupulously, countless fist-sized blisters appearing on his skin, containing unimaginable poisonous water.

"After I kill you all, I should probably withdraw from Jing Province."

"How dare you!"

A violent shout came, and a middle-aged man with graying temples rushed towards Blood Poisoner.

He was the Insect Gu Immortal, but due to the resurrection of the Insect Martialists, his lifespan was only twenty years, which meant he was already in his middle and late years.

After several years of training, the Insect Gu Immortal's hostility had dissipated a lot, but his desire to become an immortal and attain the Dao was even stronger.

He understood that as long as he ascended to the inner world, his short lifespan could be extended, but the Insect Gu Immortal also had his own considerations.

From the simple ecological environment in the cave, it could be seen that he used the mushroom resources produced by the human-insects to continuously obtain a considerable amount of resources within Dream City.

This was also the reason why the Insect Gu Immortal did not think about leaving the surface world.

It was unrealistic to lead thousands of human-insects out of trouble together. Ascending to the inner world alone meant there would be no human-insects to help him cultivate resources.

No matter what he did, it would be a lose-lose situation, so it was better to maintain the status quo.

When the Insect Gu Immortal saw that Blood Poisoner intended to attack the human-insects, he immediately took action to stop him.

His right arm suddenly swelled up, and in just a moment, it formed a deformed, bloated elephant foot, revealing the aura of the Yin Difference Realm.

Blood Poisoner was not angry but laughed when he saw this, saying with a sneer: "Human-insects are really a group of fake cultivators taking shortcuts. Even you, a big stink bug, seem extremely weak. How laughable."

"You should really go and see the great world, instead of being a frog in a well."

Bang!

The elephant foot slammed into Blood Poisoner's body like a siege hammer, and his flesh immediately burst open, turning into an extremely thick poisonous mist.

The Insect Gu Immortal inhaled a mouthful of poisonous gas unexpectedly, causing his internal organs to show a tendency to shrink.

His expression was fierce, and when he looked around and found that all the human-insects were screaming and falling to the ground, turning into corpses in a few minutes, his temperament was very important to him, and he believed that he could not save them, so he turned around and left, much to Blood Poisoner's surprise.

Blood Poisoner was slightly stunned. Didn't the other party have any impulse to take revenge?

He was not going to let the Insect Gu Immortal go. The most valuable thing was his Yin Difference Realm insect-worm, which represented the threshold of the deeper worlds.

Blood Poisoner's flesh reassembled into a whole, and he rushed towards the other party frantically.

Just as Blood Poisoner was about to envelop the Insect Gu Immortal, a strange and bloody aura rose in the cave.

"Who is it?!"

The small snakes in the corner twisted constantly, flesh growing from the scales, instantly transforming into an unremarkable man.

"Heavenly Court Plague Department."

"Han Li."

Han Li flicked his hand, and a few drops of blood turned into boulders that smashed towards Blood Poisoner, allowing the Insect Gu Immortal to take the opportunity to escape from the cave.

Blood Poisoner's expression became even more ferocious and terrifying when he discovered that the Insect Gu Immortal had escaped.

"Heavenly Court?"

"I've heard of it. You've stirred up a storm in the three layers of Jing Province. Since you're from the Heavenly Court, I'm sure the major forces will be interested."

Blood Poisoner dodged the boulder sideways. Seeing that Han Li was only at the Yin Difference Realm, but his foundation was far more solid than the Insect Gu Immortal, he used his spells to the extreme.

Han Li did not intend to fight head-on, and spread blood fungus throughout the cave.

Grains of blood fungus, invisible to the naked eye, seeped into the bodies of the unconscious human-insects, and absorbed the toxins in the blink of an eye.

The blood fungus seemed to be a magical artifact, and also had a mustard seed space of several meters, directly collecting the human-insects.

"What a Heavenly Court. Saving the dying and healing the wounded, huh? Aren't you afraid of sacrificing your own life?"

Han Li calmly looked at Blood Poisoner. Just as the latter was five meters away from him, his body disappeared inexplicably in place.

The boulder that had been thrown out not long ago transformed into Han Li.

Under the effect of inertia, the boulder left the cave, leaving only Blood Poisoner alone.

Han Li shuttled through the rocks, the gluttonous method's mountain spirit being brought into full play.

In just a few breaths, he had already arrived at the cave entrance on the surface, with the disheveled Insect Gu Immortal beside him.

Han Li did not say much, and raised his right arm, which transformed into a hundred-meter-high mountain peak.

The sunlight was blocked, and the clouds broke open a hole. Only then did the Insect Gu Immortal understand how terrifying a true Yin Difference Realm was.

Boom!!!

The cave collapsed, and Blood Poisoner's desperate roar could be faintly heard.

Han Li glanced at the Insect Gu Immortal indifferently, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Forces will be here soon. Let's go."

"You are..."

"Heavenly Court."

Han Li glanced at the Insect Gu Immortal and continued to add: "The immortal city in your dream is owned by our Heavenly Court. I was sent by an immortal to come here."

The Insect Gu Immortal trembled all over, feeling as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything.

Han Li continued with an inscrutable smile: "I am responsible for guiding you to leave Jing Province and go to the Immortal Realm."

"But before that, let's solve your exhausted lifespan and collect the insect-worms in the surface world."

The Insect Gu Immortal asked uncertainly: "What are the insect-worms for?"

"They can be exchanged for blood crystals."

Han Li said with a smile: "Insect Gu Immortal, you should know what blood crystals are, right?"

The Insect Gu Immortal could only enter and exit the Great Dream Pavilion of Dream City, and always thought that the immortal's dreamland was his opportunity, but he did not expect that it involved a force that seemed to be able to control Jing Province.

"Immortal Realm, Immortal..."

The frustration in his heart disappeared, and his desire to become an immortal and attain the Dao burned like a flame.

"Can I join the Heavenly Court?"

"It depends on your performance. There is an immortal in the Heavenly Court who is proficient in Gu techniques. If you show your value, I can recommend you to him."

As Han Li spoke, he instilled some memories about the Prison Guard Hall into the Insect Gu Immortal.

According to what Ren An said, the Prison Guard Hall would be called the Heavenly Court to the outside world from now on, and it was likely that the six major branches would be subdivided into immortal departments.

The Insect Gu Immortal lowered his head, digesting the useful information.

With his temperament, as long as there was a path to climb up, he would do whatever it takes.

In a sense, the Insect Gu Immortal was very similar to the most senior cultivators in the Prison Guard Hall, selling their own organs for profit.

Han Li successfully made contact with the Insect Gu Immortal. His task was not difficult, after all, the latter was only at the Yin Difference Realm.

But Tang Sheng was a little troubled, because the Great Buddha Heaven was full of Heavenly Aberrant Realms, and the Pig Taoist also had the strength of the Heavenly Aberrant Realm.

Although he had reached the Yin Difference Realm and integrated his Yin God, even compared to Han Li, he was still one of the top of the new generation in the Prison Guard Hall.

But the Yin Difference Realm was completely different from the Heavenly Aberrant Realm.

When Tang Sheng knew the specifics of the mission, he was extremely resistant in his heart, and even had the idea of giving up the mission.

However, after he asked Ren An, he felt that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Most importantly, Tang Sheng received Ren An's instruction that the latter would secretly pay attention to the affairs involving the Great Buddha Heaven.

Tang Sheng thought for a long time and agreed, thinking that he might be able to use this to fight for a Ghost Immortal position.

After making sufficient preparations, under the effect of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation, his body and soul disappeared into the Heavenly Palace in the Stomach World and went to the Great Buddha Heaven.

At the same time, the originally chaotic Great Buddha Heaven was gradually calming down.

Even though extraterrestrial demons continued to descend, the Heavenly Aberrant Realms chose to hide in various places for fear of the person behind the scenes.

On the other hand, in the Small Buddha Heaven, many Bodhisattvas went to encircle and suppress the remnants of the Spirit Mountain Buddha.

However, they could not recognize whether the Buddhas believed in the Spirit Mountain Buddha, which made the progress of clearing the rebels extremely slow.

The Spirit Mountain Buddha was completely promoted as a demon from the outside world.

According to Pig Taoist's speculation, the purpose of the Great Buddha Heaven was mainly to stabilize the situation in the Small Buddha Heaven, so as not to affect the "Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage."

The so-called Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage refers to the upcoming ritual of enlightening the Merit Monks.

Of course, in the eyes of discerning people, the ten thousand Merit Monks were already reserved for the Dipankara Buddha, involving a plan for the Heavenly Dao.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage not only concentrated all the Buddhas in the Great Buddha Heaven, but even ordinary monks would participate.

Each temple had about a hundred places, and according to the number of temples in the Great Buddha Heaven, it was estimated that there would be tens of thousands of monks.

Pig Taoist naturally occupied one of the places.

Among the hundred monks in the Floating Pagoda Temple, he should be the most inconspicuous. His low-key behavior on weekdays made him unnoticeable.

Pig Taoist was able to obtain a place by definitely using unorthodox methods.

He wanted to use the opportunity to leave the temple openly and go to the wilderness, and then use the vertical eye on his forehead to disguise himself as a Buddha.

Striving to complete the Spirit Mountain Buddha's commission before the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage began.

In this way, he would undoubtedly be much more flexible, whether it was escaping from Jing Province or fighting for opportunities, he would appear more comfortable.

Pig Taoist was thinking about how to contact the remaining Heavenly Aberrant Realm cultivators and find a way to fool them into cooperating with him.

Suddenly, a monk at the end of the street attracted Pig Taoist's attention.

The monk was more than two meters tall, and his muscles were as angular as rocks. A strong wind was generated when he walked, and his momentum was amazing.

What surprised Pig Taoist the most was that the monk was two major realms lower than him.

"Ascending to the deeper Jing Province must be at least a Half-Step Heavenly Aberrant Realm, right? And why would he appear in the Great Buddha Heaven so blatantly?"

Pig Taoist was really confused, and then he felt a strong sense of fear.

He guessed that the monk's true strength was likely to be far beyond ordinary, and disguising himself as a low realm was just to trick himself into exposing himself.

Pig Taoist turned around without showing any signs and walked in the opposite direction.

He was really scared by Ren An now, and was a bit like a snake fearing its own shadow. Who knew if the Spirit Mountain Buddha had infiltrated the Great Buddha Heaven.

But before Pig Taoist could take a few steps, the monk had already come to his side.

“As if seeing the Tathagata of Mount Ling.”

Tang Sheng said with his palms together. Under the protection of Ren Qing's Disaster Elimination Dharma, even if his voice was not soft, he still could not attract the attention of others.

Taoist Pig looked around warily, hesitating to speak, and asked, "What does the Tathagata want from this old pig?"

“This monk is Tang Sheng.”

“I will accompany you on the upcoming Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand Buddhas.”

Tang Sheng tried his best to keep his mind peaceful, at least not to be at a disadvantage in front of a Heavenly Gu Realm cultivator.

He realized that although the Great Buddha Heaven was very dangerous, with Heavenly Gu Realm cultivators everywhere, it was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime treasure for cultivation.

The Vajra Body that Tang Sheng mastered was created by Buddhist monks. The spells complemented the Buddhist aura and even restrained it slightly.

As a result, when he was in the Great Buddha Heaven, he was stimulated by countless Buddhist auras, which invisibly promoted the progress of the Vajra Body.

【Vajra Body】

【Created by a demented old monk, cultivation requires grinding the skin with metal sand until the flesh and blood are exposed before it can be completed.】

After realizing this, Tang Sheng didn't want to give up the seemingly dangerous task even more.

He felt that if he could stay in the Great Buddha Heaven for a few years, he could try to advance to the Yang God Realm.

Tang Sheng took a deep breath. The air mixed with a faint sandalwood fragrance, which could stabilize his mind, and he didn't even have to worry about the inner demons during breakthroughs.

Taoist Pig had been looking at Tang Sheng, and the more he looked at him, the more he felt something was wrong. The other party's aura clearly had no concealment.

“Are you a disciple of the Tathagata of Mount Ling?”

He felt that it was not difficult for the Tathagata of Mount Ling to create a Heavenly Gu Realm cultivator, so why would it be so shabby, and Tang Sheng didn't have any Buddhist aura at all.

“This monk does believe in Buddhism, but he is not a disciple of the Tathagata of Mount Ling. In fact, I come from the Three Mountains and Five Mountains of the Heavenly Court.”

“Heavenly Court?”

Taoist Pig thought he had misheard and his brain became a mess. How was the Tathagata of Mount Ling involved with the Heavenly Court of the Four Seas Dragon Kings?

“Both the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Realm are remnants of ancient times.”

Tang Sheng stopped there and didn't continue to talk about the information about the Heavenly Court.

He was following Ren Qing's statement and didn't know if it was true or false. After all, the Jailer Hall only recorded five or six hundred years of history, and Cishi only joined in the last hundred years.

However, there were many cultivators in the Jailer Hall who believed in the theory of the Heavenly Court.

It should be known that the Jailer Hall rose too fast. When the cultivators of Xiangxiang reviewed their experiences in recent years, they all had a kind of unrealistic illusion.

Compared to the Jailer Hall being a nouveau riche, with wealth entirely dependent on luck, they were more willing to believe that their ancestors had been rich.

Taoist Pig took a deep breath and suddenly realized the horror of the Heavenly Court's background.

At the same time, it involved both the Daoist and Buddhist families. There were at least three Heavenly Gu Realm cultivators on the surface, which was already comparable to the Insect Nest, which had four mistresses.

Taoist Pig noticed that Tang Sheng's spells could produce anomalies with the Buddhist aura, and immediately realized that he was probably here in the Great Buddha Heaven to cultivate, as well as to be his eyes and ears.

He felt a little aggrieved, but he could only accept it.

“Dharma Master Tang Sheng, you can stay in the temple for now. I will arrange for you to go to the Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand Buddhas then.”

“It's not just me, there should be another Heavenly Court cultivator coming to the Great Buddha Heaven.”

“Who?”

Taoist Pig's expression became more and more uncomfortable. He didn't know what the Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand Buddhas was like, but he already felt restricted.

“The Plague Department, Taoist Hewen.”

………

When Ren Qing found Taoist Mu She in the underworld, the latter was using a bamboo pole-like magic weapon to fish out corpses from the rushing Styx River.

Taoist Mu She had long been accustomed to his identity as a ferryman in the underworld.

He no longer paid attention to his sealed cultivation, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to ferrying, staying by the Styx River day and night.

Because Taoist Mu She noticed that as long as he kept staring at the Styx River, he could occasionally recall vague memories of his life.

He knew that the Mu She Taoist in his previous life had created spells and was very talented.

If he could inherit the lost memories, Taoist Mu She was confident that he could restore his cultivation, and even go further was not difficult.

Taoist Mu She was a little distracted, and as a result, the Yin Qi in his body quickly overflowed.

But he didn't have any joy. He quickly looked around, and sure enough, he saw Ren Qing standing motionless on the top of a grave not far away.

“Long time no see, Taoist Mu She.”

“Yes…”

Taoist Mu She gave a wry smile. One year outside, nearly ten years in the stomach world. Unknowingly, he had been a ferryman for decades.

“Have you ever thought about leaving the underworld?”

“Please let me go.”

Taoist Mu She looked like he had been smoothed out by life. Even if his cultivation recovered to the Heavenly Gu Realm, he was still a skinny ferryman on the surface.

Ren Qing said to himself, “You created two spells in your previous life, one is called Snake Molting Technique, and the other is Ba Snake Ode.”

“And I can also provide you with the Jiaolong spine that you once longed for.”

Taoist Mu She didn't know what to say. Indeed, the ambition in his heart was rekindled by Ren Qing's simple words.

“Is one spine not enough?”

Ren Qing pointed to the rushing Styx River, and the sound of bones colliding rang from the source.

Before long, dense Jiaolong spines surged along the water. The aura from the dragon race made the soul in Taoist Mu She's skull beat uncontrollably.

Taoist Mu She took a step forward subconsciously, but in a daze, the Jiaolong spine disappeared again.

Ren Qing pointed at Taoist Mu She's brow, directly pulling his consciousness into Dream City and coming to the notice board where cultivators were coming and going.

Taoist Mu She came back to his senses and immediately realized that he could enter and leave Dream City.

As long as he had blood crystals, he could exchange for all kinds of resources, including even the spine of a true dragon, but the price was expensive.

Taoist Mu She looked at the tasks on the notice, most of which had conditions for acceptance.

Only one external task not only rewarded a large number of blood crystals, but also could be accepted even if he was not a member of the Jailer Hall.

Taoist Mu She showed a wry smile. Obviously, when Ren Qing contacted him, he had already considered all aspects and would not allow him to refuse.

He tore off the paper recording the task, glanced at it briefly, and put it away.

Before Taoist Mu She could react, Ren Qing used the Heavenly Demon Possession, directly sending his body and soul to the Great Buddha Heaven.

Under the gaze of Taoist Pig and Tang Sheng, the little snake in the corner shed its skin and flesh, the spine continued to proliferate, and finally turned into a skeleton.

“You are…”

Taoist Pig was facing a formidable enemy. This cultivator's absolute strength was no weaker than him.

Taoist Mu She took out a straw hat from his storage bag and put it on.

He first felt that the water in the Great Buddha Heaven was extremely deep. There were at least five Heavenly Gu Realm cultivators within a few hundred miles, and most of them were Buddhist.

Secondly, Taoist Mu She also noticed that there was a familiar Yin Qi in the Great Buddha Heaven.

“Lady White Bone? It's quite lively.”

Taoist Mu She raised his head and looked directly at Taoist Pig and said, “Heavenly Court Plague Department.”

“Taoist Hewen.”