The First Immortal of Destiny

Everyone’s True Yuan had not yet recovered. Under these circumstances, moving recklessly through the ancient battlefield was exceptionally dangerous.

After some deliberation, Shen Mo and the others found a spot in a ravine to settle. The cultivator from the Profound Invisible Sect set up a simple concealment Formation, and they all waited quietly for the demonic power to dissipate.

During this time, a few Spirit Sea Realm cultivators passed by and discovered their tracks. Seeing that Shen Mo and his group couldn’t even use Escape Skills, the newcomers assumed they were poisoned or gravely injured and thus unable to cast spells. Noticing their extraordinary magic robes and valuable magic treasures, these cultivators mistook them for an easy prize and brazenly attacked!

As a result, Shen Mo didn’t even need to make a move. Fu Jianghuo and others, simmering with pent-up anger, unleashed their soul power and shattered the souls of these few attackers.

Competing with soul power is incredibly dangerous, but there is an insurmountable gap between the Spirit Sea Realm and the Golden Core Realm; the same applies to souls.

Facing the longevity flesh Evil Spirit, which was not a living entity, Fu Jianghuo and the others’ soul power could not harm the Evil Spirit in the slightest. However, it was not difficult to use it to kill low-class cultivators, and the damage to their own souls was minimal.

Those Spirit Sea Realm cultivators had only themselves to blame. Blinded by greed, they knew their opponents were Golden Core Realm experts, yet still foolishly attempted to take advantage of them.

After killing those few, the cultivator from the Profound Invisible Sect used their highly Mana-rich Flesh and Blood to re-establish the Formation. With this, they no longer needed to fear even if powerhouses of the same cultivation level attacked!

Half a month passed.

The demonic power afflicting everyone suddenly vanished, and their True Yuan almost instantly ”revived.”

Outside the misty radiance of the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons, figures flew out one after another—it was Shen Mo and his party.

”Shen, we owe our escape from danger to your profound Skill. If you have free time in the future, please visit my Profound Invisible Sect for a few days. Our sect will certainly welcome you with utmost hospitality!” Elder Xu Nan of the Profound Invisible Sect hovered in mid-air, eagerly extending the invitation to Shen Mo.

The other surviving Golden Core Realm cultivators also stepped forward, either expressing their gratitude or inviting him to visit their respective sects as a guest. Shen Mo smiled and bid farewell to each of them.

Shortly, they all transformed into streaks of light and dispersed.

Shen Mo and Lady Scarlet also manifested their escaping lights and flew towards their temporary mansion in the Hidden Phoenix Mountain Range.

”Senior Brother Qingyun, in three more years, the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons will fade into the void. Do you have any plans to explore for opportunities again?” The escaping light carrying Lady Scarlet kept close to Shen Mo’s side as she inquired via her divine sense.

After a brief thought, Shen Mo replied, ”I probably won’t enter the ancient battlefield again. However, I won’t be returning to Wangxian Mountain for now. I plan to stay in Caiyi Country for a few more years.”

Lady Scarlet’s biological father, the Sect Master of the LiMountain Elixir Sect, had given her clues to a total of five fortuitous locations. These included the Demon-Suppressing Tower, underwater ruins, and clusters of ancient cultivators’ tombs. She had explored them all over the years, with varying degrees of success. Generally, these ventures were more profitable than constantly refining and selling Elixirs.

However, after exploring these places, merely searching for new fortuitous locations consumed a great deal of time and effort, with no guarantee of success.

Overall, her gains were not as substantial as Shen Mo’s regular income.

Her exploration of the Jade Flower Sect ruins also yielded quite a few spiritual items.

Although she didn’t make a fortune cracking the core area, at least she didn’t lose her life and possessions.

This also served as a reminder for Shen Mo...

Even now, his combat power was not inferior to the peak of the Golden Core Realm, yet there were still many existences in the cultivation world that posed a lethal threat to him. He had to maintain a cautious approach.

If, at that time, he hadn’t coveted the Treasure Hall and cultivation method manuals of the Jade Flower Sect, and had instead trusted the hexagram from the Divination Treasure Mirror and his own premonitions, he wouldn’t have nearly become part of the longevity flesh Evil Spirit!

Therefore, for the next few years, Shen Mo did not plan to enter the ancient battlefield again to seek opportunities.

Diligent cultivation and Alchemy, elevating his Realm to the late-stage Golden Core Realm as quickly as possible, was the true path.

With the help of Samadhi True Fire and Enlightenment Tea, this timeframe had already been shortened to fifteen years. Several years had passed since then. Moreover, the Mixed Yuan Qi Technique, which he had extrapolated once, had advanced to the ”Transcendence” level, further accelerating his cultivation speed.

Shen Mo estimated that in less than ten more years, he could officially step into the late-stage Golden Core Realm!

While the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons had not yet vanished and Caiyi Country still hosted many Golden Core Realm experts, he planned to refine more High-Grade Spirit Pills, talismans, and magic treasures for sale. His goal was to earn as many top-tier resources as possible for his future cultivation.

In addition, Shen Mo had to keep an eye on the Ancient Vine Sect.

After all, he held a fifty percent share of the Enlightenment Tea produced by this sect over the next hundred years. If some shortsighted evil cultivator or demon head were to rob them during this period, his losses would be substantial!

”Alright!” Lady Scarlet replied via divine sense. ”I also don’t plan to risk entering the ancient battlefield again. After some time, I will return to Wangxian Mountain…”

”Senior Brother Qingyun, when your term as an alien minister is over and you return to Wangxian Mountain, how about I introduce you to my father?”

”Although my father hasn’t yet built the Divine Bridge, he has been exploring this Realm for many years. He can also occasionally seek guidance from the Heavenly Monarch patriarch of our Elixir Sect. If you were to gain his favor, it will undoubtedly benefit your future cultivation.”

Shen Mo was slightly taken aback and tentatively asked, ”Your esteemed father is…?”

Lady Scarlet merely smiled without speaking.

It was clear she had subtly sensed that Shen Mo had once used a Soul Curse on her and perused her soul memories; otherwise, she wouldn’t have spoken so bluntly.

However, since she didn’t press the matter, Shen Mo was happy to feign ignorance.

After all, some matters are insignificant if left untouched, but become overwhelmingly heavy once brought into the open.

「The Sixty Year Cycle of the world drifts by in an instant.」

Lady Scarlet left the rented temporary mansion and returned to Wangxian Mountain to continue her cultivation.

The Ancient Vine Sect, after experiencing the crisis of sect extermination, gradually recovered.

Especially in recent years, having acquired vast cultivation resources, gained a Blessed Land transformed by Heavenly Monarch level Purgatory Forest Magic, and with the lingering deterrence of Shen Mo’s power, Law Master Qin Wenzhen was able to freely expand the sect’s influence.

In recent years, the Ancient Vine Sect recruited disciples of all Realms on a large scale. From the Body Tempering Realm up to the Golden Core Realm, as long as they had a clean background and were not evil cultivators or Demons, they were almost invariably accepted.

Although this approach harbored potential dangers, the strength of the Ancient Vine Sect grew at an astonishing rate.

They also expended many top-level spiritual items to invite an Array Path master from the Profound Invisible Sect to reconstruct their Mountain Protection Array, embedding dozens of Formations and Prohibitions both inside and out.

Even if Evil Demons, like before, used Evil Magic to manipulate disciples into destroying the outermost layer of the great array, the sect could still rely on the internal Formations to eliminate enemies!

Conversely, the Clear Heart Sect suffered a setback from their failed exploration of the Jade Flower Sect relic. Not only had they consumed significant manpower and resources, but they had also lost several Golden Core Realm Elders. Consequently, the sect’s strength inevitably declined.

Fu Jianghuo and the Peng Siblings always looked heavily preoccupied whenever they came to visit Shen Mo!

Besides these three, other Golden Core Realm cultivators from immortal sects with whom Shen Mo had contact also visited him at the Hidden Phoenix Mountain Range from time to time. Many of them were cultivators from the Heaven Patrolling Temple.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo’s cultivation level steadily progressed towards the late-stage Golden Core Realm day by day!