Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 447: Chapter 412: The Dagger is Revealed

Immortal Dao Sect, Inheritance Hall.

Several years had passed. The giant Celestial Trace Crystal Stone situated atop the high platform still emanated a faint, fluorescent glow, day after day.

Amidst the interwoven fluctuations of illusion and reality, a vaguely coalescing human figure had become remarkably lifelike.

At some unknown moment, the seated figure abruptly opened its eyes. At first, they were empty and vacant, as if belonging to a blank shell devoid of a soul.

After a few breaths, the Celestial Trace Crystal Stone suddenly flared. The vacant eyes flickered, and then, a divine light burst forth from within them.

The figure rose, took a single step, and vanished from the Inheritance Hall.

The Celestial Trace Crystal Stone, with its faint fluorescent glow, slowly returned to its tranquil state.

The hall, which had stood for countless ages, also fell silent once more.

...

Demon City.

The faint scent of Celestial Thunder still lingered in the air. Within a deep crater, Chu Mu sat cross-legged. His clothes were still stained with blood and his hair was disheveled, yet he showed no sign of distress. Instead, he exuded a strange, transcendent aura, like that of an immortal.

As he retracted his aura, Chu Mu slowly rose to his feet. The afterglow of "Spiritual Radiance" in his eyes gradually faded. He looked slightly weary, but it was not enough to conceal his excitement.

But then, as the familiar Power of Imprisonment descended upon him, the excited smile on Chu Mu’s face instantly vanished without a trace.

"Young friend, since you have broken through to Core Formation, please fulfill your agreement with me."

The light, airy words entered his ears. Chu Mu found himself pulled from the crater, almost uncontrollably, and landed on the high platform beside the True Demon.

Feeling the still-unbreakable Power of Imprisonment, Chu Mu’s joy from his Core Formation breakthrough was completely gone. The cruel reality of his imprisonment was just as unbreakable as the force binding him.

"This Jade Scroll contains the Refining Technique I have compiled. Take a look."

"In one hour, you will begin the Refinement of this Heart of the Demon Realm!"

The True Demon tossed out a Jade Scroll, then sat cross-legged before the Heart of the Demon Realm.

Chu Mu cautiously accepted the Jade Scroll. The Power of Imprisonment had dissipated. He glanced at the True Demon, who was meditating with his eyes closed, and pondered for a moment before turning his attention to the scroll in his hand.

He extended his Divine Sense into it, and all the information regarding the Heart of the Demon Realm appeared within his perception.

An hour later, Chu Mu slowly put down the Jade Scroll.

He gazed at the Demon Realm before him, seemingly lost in thought.

"Begin," the True Demon said, his voice flat.

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, sat down cross-legged before the Heart of the Demon Realm, and with a wave of his hand, summoned his Crimson True Flame.

He stared at the Heart of the Demon Realm. Now that his Cultivation had reached the Golden Core realm, its allure could no longer stir his emotions in the slightest.

His Divine Sense circulated and, along with the surging True Flame, sank into the Heart of the Demon Realm.

In that instant, although he was physically sitting before the Heart of the Demon Realm, Chu Mu felt his entire being undergo a sudden shift. It was as if he had been abruptly launched into the air, and in a flash, he was looking down upon the entire Demon Realm.

At that moment, the entire Demon Realm seemed to be within his perception.

The ancient, ever-present Spatial Rift, from which endless Demonic Qi still billowed forth, constantly pouring into the realm.

The vast, boundless Corpse Mountain Blood Sea, with its countless floating corpses of the Demon Race, its churning blood plasma, and all sorts of bizarre and malevolent abominations—all of it seemed to be within his perception.

This majestic Demon City, every Array Prohibition, every brick and tile, and even every Demon Puppet standing like a statue...

In the great hall, the cross-legged True Demon, himself beside the Heart of the Demon Realm, the youth in the hall, Li Xiu...

It was as if the entire world was under his control.

’Spiritual Radiance...’

He chanted inwardly. The "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" descended, and under its transcendent cognitive enhancement, this feeling of having the world in his grasp grew even clearer.

He could now clearly feel that this sense of control was not an illusion, but an undeniable reality.

With the Heart of the Demon Realm as its core, countless profound meridians crisscrossed, forming something like a Grand Array that enveloped the entire Demon Realm.

This sense of control he felt originated from this network of crisscrossing meridians...

Suddenly, a realization dawned on Chu Mu.

’A Cultivation Immortal Civilization couldn’t have just appeared out of thin air.’

’Just like how refining a Golden Pill with Celestial Thunder to create a Three-Patterned Pill reveals a glimpse of the connection between the Alchemy Skill and the heavens and earth.’

’And this Heart of the Demon Realm, this Secret Realm Mini World, this network of meridians... isn’t this also a magnificent Grand Array of unfathomable profoundness?’

"Man follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao... and the Dao follows what is natural..."

Chu Mu murmured, the feeling of enlightenment growing stronger.

But at that moment, in just a brief instant, he felt as if he were being repelled by something. He experienced a strange sensation of weightlessness, and when he opened his eyes again, his physical senses had returned to reality.

He instinctively glanced at the True Demon, who was still sitting cross-legged, eyes closed and silent, without the slightest movement.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Mu cautiously extended his Divine Sense into the Heart of the Demon Realm again. That sudden shift, that feeling of absolute control, surged forth once more!

This time, it was even clearer.

The crisscrossing meridians were like a great net—a great net that had been corrupted by Demonic Qi!

’Within it, he could clearly perceive the net’s... hostility toward him?’

With a flicker of thought, he tentatively manifested his True Flame. The moment the True Flame appeared, the inky-black Demonic Qi swirling over the net reacted as if it had met its natural enemy. It churned violently, transforming into all sorts of strange Demons that roared and swarmed toward him!

Chu Mu’s pupils shrank. He reflexively swiped his hand, and a crimson light flashed!

A sharpness that seemed capable of annihilating anything instantly fused with his Great Sun True Flame, which had already undergone multiple transformations.

Grasping the illusory crimson blade, he let out a low shout and slashed!

BOOM!

In the unseen world, a heaven-shaking roar seemed to resound!

With a single slash, countless Demons were annihilated by the spreading True Flame and the sharpness of his Sword Intent.

But the Demons were like a tide. In the blink of an eye, they filled the void left by the annihilated, surging toward Chu Mu wave after wave.

Sword Intent bloomed as the True Flame raged.

With his blade in hand, Chu Mu stood alone against the rampaging demonic tide.

Meanwhile, back in the physical Demon Realm, a strange phenomenon had appeared.

In the dim sky, demonic clouds suddenly began to roil. A sea of fire filled the heavens, surging like a tide and throwing the entire Demon Realm into turmoil.

In the great hall, the True Demon, who had been sitting cross-legged, had risen to his feet at some point. He gazed at the phenomenon in the sky, a clear trace of joy appearing on his usually impassive face.

At the same time, near the Spatial Rift where Demonic Qi billowed, a faint figure in a Dragon Robe suddenly appeared.

The newcomer looked up at the rolling dark clouds and the sky-spanning sea of fire, their expression indifferent and unperturbed.

But this phenomenon lasted for only a moment before it abruptly dissipated.

Back in the hall, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes. His face was pale, and his heart was still pounding with fear.

Then, as if sensing something, Chu Mu’s pale expression suddenly turned grim. He snapped his head up to look at the True Demon, all humility gone from his eyes, replaced by a coldness like ten-thousand-year-old ice.

"Refine this Demon Realm, and I guarantee you will leave this Secret Realm safely."

The True Demon seemed not to notice Chu Mu’s icy expression, his voice remaining as flat as ever.

"Senior, are you trying to fool a three-year-old child?"

Chu Mu’s tone was dark. "The Residual Soul is a curse! For every part I refine, I suffer a part of the backlash. I’ll probably lose my life long before the Refinement is even complete!"

The True Demon turned to look at Chu Mu, his tone eerie. "Help me refine this Demon Realm, and I will ensure your life is not in danger. Once the Refinement is complete, no matter how difficult, I will remove the Demon Seal curse for you."

"If you are unwilling, then don’t blame me for being merciless, young friend."

With that, the True Demon flicked his hand, and a flash of emerald green hovered before Chu Mu.

"This is a Bodhi Leaf. Use Divine Control, and it can help you resist a portion of the Demon Soul’s backlash curse."

"Combined with the suppression from your True Flame Sword Intent, it will be enough to guarantee your life is not in danger."

Chu Mu fell silent.

Within his Divine Sense Perception, he could see that a tiny, almost unnoticeable wisp of inky-black gas had appeared on his once crystalline and flawless Divine Soul.

If it were an ordinary corruption, his Sword Intent Barrier would have likely annihilated it before it even entered his Sea of Consciousness. Even if it had managed to invade his Sea of Consciousness, it would not have escaped annihilation by his newly transformed Sword Intent.

But this time, the wisp of inky-black Demonic Qi was like a maggot clinging to bone, practically engraved upon his Divine Soul.

Faced with such a foreign invader, the Sword of Sword Intent circling in his Sea of Consciousness already viewed it as a thorn in its side.

The sharpness of his Sword Intent erupted within his Sea of Consciousness, crisscrossing in a web sharp enough to annihilate anything, yet it was completely helpless against this wisp of inky-black Demonic Qi.

The Sword Intent crisscrossed, but it couldn’t even touch the edges of the Demonic Qi.

It was as if it didn’t exist at all, yet in his Divine Sense Perception, the wisp of Qi was extremely clear.

Although he didn’t know what this Demonic Qi did, the fact that it had invaded his Sea of Consciousness and he was powerless against it... was a catastrophe of the highest order!

And the source of this wisp of Demonic Qi was the Heart of the Demon Realm itself.

When he entered it to perform the Refinement, his Sword Intent had run rampant. For every manifested Demon he slaughtered, a faint trace of Demonic Qi would invade his Sea of Consciousness and seep into his Divine Soul.

He had initially thought it was just an ordinary Demonic Qi invasion and tried to use his Sword Intent to control it, but he couldn’t block it in the slightest. Only then did he realize something was wrong and hastily withdraw from the Heart of the Demon Realm, but it was already too late!

In that Illusory World, the network of profound meridians crisscrossed, extending throughout the entire Demon Realm.

Every single meridian was wreathed in Demonic Qi—each one a Residual Soul of the former Master of the Demon Realm.

’If he continued the Refinement...’

At this moment, the gloom in his heart was beyond words.

’Without a doubt, this True Demon must have known about this all along.’

’From the very beginning, he was probably planning to use me as a scapegoat.’

’I refine the Demon Realm and bear the backlash curse from the Residual Soul of the former Master of the Demon Realm.’

’And this True Demon reaps all the benefits.’

’The real reason he had me break through to Core Formation in this Demon Realm was probably for this very purpose.’

’After all, an Immortal Dao Cultivator achieving Core Formation in this Demon Realm—a Demon Realm still under the control of the former Demon Lord’s Residual Soul Seal... how could I not be treated with hostility!’

’Entering the Heart of the Demon Realm to perform the Refinement was bound to make me the direct target of the former Demon Lord’s Residual Soul Seal’s instincts.’

’With me as the target, this demon could undoubtedly take advantage of the chaos and reap the rewards with ease!’

...

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