Chapter 1265: Pendant

Emperor Zhao Han’s main problem at the moment was his lacking lifespan. If he had such life-prolonging medicines, wouldn’t he be invincible?

Yun Jianyue explained, “In order to reach the earth immortal rank, you must have your own unique dao and principles. The principles of his own body are already largely different from this world’s. These medicines that prolong life are formed from amassing the ki of this world; that means they inevitably carry the principles of this world, which are different from his earth immortal principles. That’s what makes them ineffective.”

Yan Xuehen said, “Currently, the emperor is without equal. Compared to his peers, he is not particularly old either. Unfortunately, he has already experienced heaven and man deterioration, so his death is already inevitable.”

“What does ‘heaven and man deterioration’ mean?” Zu An asked. He had never heard those terms before.

“An earth immortal, unfortunately, still has the word ‘earth’ in their rank,” Yan Xuehen said. “Unless they break through and become a true immortal, they will eventually be rejected by the will of the world. If this rejection becomes severe, it causes the phenomenon of heaven and man deterioration. The earth immortal gradually approaches death, then ultimately turns to dust, once again becoming one with the world.

“Zhao Han’s deterioration seems to have arrived a bit earlier than normal, but no one knows what the main cause of the issue is. We can only speculate that it might be related to the permanent dao injuries he suffered in his battle against the Fiend Emperor.”

Zu An was alarmed. He asked, “Then doesn’t that mean that the current Fiend Emperor is also about to kick the bucket?”

“His life is pretty much at its limit too. That’s why he’s summoning the various fiend races to the Fiend King Court for a meeting. I believe he wants to start planning for what happens next,” Yun Jianyue said. “The Fiend Emperor is a previous generation expert who has lived for even longer. Meanwhile, it hasn’t been too long since Zhao Han entered the earth immortal rank. Back then, in that battle, the Fiend Emperor’s own cultivation was a good chunk higher, and yet he ended up being half a move inferior, thus granting Zhao Han his undefeated reputation.”

Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, “Then isn’t Zhao Han losing out big here?”

Being undefeated was being undefeated, but he had just risen up to the earth immortal rank, which was the best time he could have to enjoy himself for a long time, and yet he had immediately ended up facing heaven and man deterioration.

“This is not a matter of losing out or not. At their level, their considerations are entirely different from those of an ordinary person,” Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

When he heard the sounds of battle getting more and more intense, Zu An asked, “Are these medicines helpful for your injuries at all? I’ll help you two seize them.”

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both shook their heads and replied, “The higher the cultivation, the more difficult it is to become injured. However, if we do get injured, it becomes more difficult to heal from. These medicines are miraculous, but they aren’t too useful for us.

“Only some great treasures can be of use. Otherwise, we can only leave it up to time and slowly recover.”

Yu Yanluo asked about which treasures could help them recover quickly. The two women smiled, but didn’t say anything. Such things were all way too precious, no less rare than divine weapons. How could they make others worry over such things?

“Right, where is that fat daoist?” Yan Xuehen wondered, suddenly remembering him. She looked around, but didn’t see Wu Liang anywhere.

Zu An was also alarmed. He had been paying so much attention to their injuries that he actually forgot about that damned fatty! Fortunately, he had previously attached a strand of his divine will onto Wu Liang. He looked up and into the distance, saying, “He’s already gone deeper inside and hasn’t stopped the entire time. Not even those medicines were of any interest to him.”

Yun Jianyue said with a cold expression, “Hurry and follow him. Even I’m starting to become curious as to just what he’s here to do.”

Since the spiritual medicines weren’t too useful for his companions, Zu An gave up on the thought of fighting over them too. The group headed deeper in. When they passed by where the medicines were, they saw a group that had been talking cheerfully mere moments before, now at each other’s throats.

Xiong Great and Xiong Second had a close relationship, so they had an advantage. The others weren’t stupid and quickly worked together, but their relationship wasn’t as good. After all, Duan Tiande would never join forces with Qiao Heng and would rather join the bear brothers.

Even though there was a difference in cultivation between them, it wasn’t a decisive difference. The medicines changed hands several times.

Suddenly, the medicines were knocked into the air, landing in front of Zu An’s group. Zu An reflexively caught one. He felt a cold sensation running along his hand and was startled. This must be the Soul Splitting Herb.

Two figures rushed over. They instinctively rushed forward to seize it. One of the men shouted anxiously, “That’s ours!”

However, a woman off to the side had already seen that it was Zu An’s group and quickly stopped him. Then, she smiled at Zu An and said, “Treasures choose their owners. Since the medicine has already selected an owner, that is heaven’s will. We will just give it to the young master.”

The woman was naturally Princess Suolun, while the man next to her was Prince Yin Sha, who followed her everywhere. Just then, he had naturally joined hands with her in the fight. Princess Suolun knew fully well that considering the strength Zu An had previously displayed, as well as the profound cultivation of the women at his side, there was no way she and Prince Yin Sha could seize the Soul Splitting Herb back. Furthermore, Zu An had saved her, so she might as well give it to him as a gift to gain a bit more favor.

She turned around and took a look. A hint of regret appeared on her face. If she went back now, there would clearly be no chance to seize the other medicines either.

Prince Yin Sha was a bit unhappy when he saw the woman of his dreams concede in such a gentle manner. However, when he thought about how Zu An had even defeated the Western Lion previously, he didn’t act up in the end.

Zu An gave the Soul Splitting Herb in his hands a look and asked, “Is this medicine perhaps quite important for the princess?”

Princess Suolun pursed her lips and said, “It is indeed extremely important. I have a senior who suffered a setback when he was cultivating his soul in his earlier years. He needs this medicine to recover. If the young master is willing to part with it, this lady will definitely pay a satisfactory price.”

“Satisfying me… That's a bit difficult,” Zu An said with a chuckle.

“Young master, if there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to speak. The Suolun Clan still carries some weight in the Demon Race,” Princess Suolun replied, her eyes shining. Based on what Zu An was implying, it seemed to be negotiable.

“Anything?” Zu An asked, subconsciously sizing her up and asking with a thoughtful expression.

Princess Suolun’s heart skipped a beat. She looked a bit embarrassed. She didn’t know how to reply at that moment.

Prince Yin Sha was furious. Is this guy pretending that I don’t exist?!

You have successfully trolled Prince Yin Sha for +499 +499 +499…

When he sensed Yu Yanluo and the other women’s dangerous gazes, Zu An chuckled and tossed the Soul Splitting Herb into Princess Suolun’s hands. He said, “I was joking. Consider it a present.” Afterward, he immediately continued to chase after the fat daoist Wu Liang.

Princess Suolun hadn’t expected Zu An to give something so precious to her! She stood in place with a stunned expression for a moment, somewhat absentminded as she watched him gradually fade into the distance.

Yun Jianyue couldn't help but mutter, “This guy is deceiving another family’s young lady. I’m even starting to wonder whether Honglei was tricked precisely like this back then.”

Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. This was probably how Chuyan had been done in too. For some reason, she felt a wave of annoyance. She shot back, “Did you not say that your disciple’s charm technique has already fully matured? She should have completely duped this guy, so why was she so easily tricked instead?!”

Yun Jianyue remained silent for a long time. After a long time passed, she released a long sigh and said, “How could I have known that there were actually male vixens in this world?”

…

The group had unwittingly arrived in a great hall. The floor was a white expanse, seemingly covered in a layer of pale dirt. When they stepped on it, their feet sank several inches into the ground.

“Is this snow?” Yu Yanluo wondered, somewhat surprised. The color was a bit too strange for dirt.

“No!” Yan Xuehen replied firmly. She cultivated the Snowflake Sword, so she was extremely familiar with snow. She warned the others, “This place is filled with an aura of death. Everyone, be careful!”

“This was all created from the decay of skeletal remains,” Yun Jianyue said. She had reached her current level by climbing through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so she was the most familiar with such things. She quickly discerned what the layer of white dirt was.

Behind them, the fiend race experts had more or less wrapped up their battle over the medicines. Thinking about the treasures to come, they went over one after another. However, when they heard Yun Jianyue’s explanation, they were overwhelmed with shock and horror.

Bones were the sturdiest parts of the body to begin with, and they would often continue to exist even after thousands of years. And yet, there was only decayed bone dust here. Just how much time had passed, then?

Just then, they noticed Wu Liang squatting on the ground several dozen zhang away. In front of him was a perfect set of skeletal remains. Not only had the remains not decayed, they were still completely flawless. They sparkled like jade, and they even gave off a bit of pressure. It was easy to see just how powerful their owner had been in life.

Wu Liang carefully removed a sort of necklace from the remains. The rope was clearly made of something extraordinary, but after so much time had passed, it turned to dust with just a touch. However, Wu Liang didn’t mind too much. What was in his hands was a light golden pendant. He looked incredibly moved.