He had clearly relayed the command first; the Lizardmen clansmen below had moved the Tianmu clan and Audrey’s party of four to a new location as well.
It was another, more secluded, massive stone hall. This place was not open to the outside world by the Lizardmen; rather, it was where the powerful members of the Lizardman clan cultivated. This was evident from the simple and rugged nature of the stone hall.
The hall was embedded within a shattered meteor, containing cultivation chambers, storage rooms, and areas for washing and bathing, but it lacked any exquisitely carved patterns or decorative jade crystals that might enhance aesthetics—this was the consistent style of the Lizardmen clan, who disliked extravagance.
“This is where I cultivate,” Duller stated lightly.
Every powerful Lizardman had an exclusive location on Lizard Star. This stone hall, situated inside the meteor, had been modified by Duller so that the meteor itself could fly directly out from beneath Lizard Star, serving as a battleship.
Not long after, the other Lizardmen clansmen escorted Evelyn and Audrey over, arranging them here as well.
“The Old Ancestor wishes to preserve your lives, so we certainly won’t allow the Soul Clan to disturb you. Once those two seniors from the Xuantian Clan finish their discussion with the Old Ancestor, they will also be arranged here. You may rest assured,” Duller informed them. He then instructed his subordinates, “As long as they don’t leave this place, they are free to move around. All cultivation chambers are open to them. Do not bother them unless necessary.”
With that, Duller departed hurriedly from the hall, while the guards outside bowed respectfully.
“We’ve been moved twice now. It seems the Lizardmen are extremely wary of both the Earth Ghost Clan and the Soul Clan; otherwise, they wouldn't go to such lengths to conceal us,” Audrey said, clad in plain white robes. With a cool expression, she approached Shi Yan and asked, “What is the situation?”
“The Lizardman Old Ancestor should guarantee our lives. If nothing unexpected happens, he’s likely deliberating on whether or not to strike down Singh,” Shi Yan grinned, turning to Evelyn and the other two. “Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Just focus on cultivating here. This matter… we will resolve it.”
He chose not to mention the matter of the Xuantian Clan pair, Tu Shiqi and his wife, to the three.
Evelyn suspected they were concealing something, but they were wise enough not to press the issue. After agreeing, they each sought out a cultivation chamber.
Shi Yan and Audrey chose a vast training ground paved with hard square crystals beneath the floor, strong enough to withstand hammering and energy bursts. The ceiling of the training ground was a high, circular arch, allowing ample room for unrestricted movement.
He explained to Audrey about meeting the Lizardman Old Ancestor, which left Audrey astonished. Then, he sat down in a spot. “It should be safe here for now. The Lizardmen won’t act against us. While we still have some time, we must cultivate intensely!”
“Good!” Audrey imitated him, crossing her long, beautiful legs and sitting opposite him, separated by the empty space of the training room, facing him. She slowly closed her eyes.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three gray, hazy souls drifted out from the wine urn in her hand. These souls lacked consciousness or reason; they were pure soul energy, wavering like clouds. With a gesture of her raised hand, they vanished near the corners of her eyes.
Her motionless body trembled three times. Gray-brown soul threads, like wisps of hair, shot out wildly from within her body, making her appear exceedingly strange.
Shi Yan did not rush into action. He concentrated on watching Audrey, observing how the three Primordial God souls, exchanged for the Wind and Thunder Stone, were absorbed into her Sea of Consciousness. They were then disassembled by marvelous profound principles, cutting the three soul masses into thousands of fine threads that swam within her meridians. It seemed they were being imprinted with her life signature, while simultaneously using the souls to enhance the power within her divine body, making her meridians and bones progressively tougher.
Shi Yan watched for a while, then suddenly nodded secretly with a smile.
He had recounted Tu Shiqi’s words to the Lizardman Old Ancestor without concealment, which deeply moved Audrey’s heart, prompting her to immediately put the knowledge into practice.
Audrey’s previous cultivation likely involved her soul operating directly within the sacrificial altar, never needing to traverse her physical body’s meridians. Her current method was surely a shift in strategy: treating the tempering of her flesh, blood, bones, and sinews as the crucial element, aiming to establish her direction early for comprehending dark energy and preparing for a future breakthrough to the Domain Ancestor realm.
Being inherently astute and wise, once she grasped this secret, she naturally knew how to utilize it.
The original members of the Nether Emperor Clan focused heavily on cultivating the soul, treating the main soul as the key to profound principles, and did not pay particular attention to tempering the flesh and blood.
Her actions today completely departed from the traditional practices of the Nether Emperor Clan. Merely based on Shi Yan’s partial account, she dared to abandon her clan’s cultivation direction and begin a completely new set of steps. This demonstrated both her decisiveness and tenacity, and simultaneously, her profound trust in Shi Yan, believing he would not deceive her and that every word he spoke was invaluable.
Shi Yan felt gratified. He believed that given Audrey’s talent and intelligence, once she fixated on a direction, she was bound to achieve astonishing success in the future.
A flash of electric light pierced his mind, severing all chaotic thoughts like a sharp sword. He instantly calmed down, his heart free of distraction. The orange-red jade vial gifted by the Lizardman Old Ancestor suddenly floated before his eyes. A star-like glint flashed in his eyes, and the vial shattered, revealing a peculiar elixir.
The pill was the size of a dragon’s eye, shimmering like a star, emanating an astonishing medicinal fragrance. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the pill was actually a miniature star, with condensed mountains, lakes, palaces, trees, and even wind, rain, thunder, and lightning on its surface!
Shi Yan’s eyes shone with a startling brightness as he stared intently at the pill, discovering that within some of the palaces, there were even living beings!
The Immortal Elixir, at minimum, used a level-seven life star as its core, drew its essence from billions of living beings, and was refined by a Great Divine Power into a miraculous medicine, miniaturized by hundreds of millions of times, designed to help those at the peak of the Primordial God realm break through the mysteries of the Immortal Realm.
He had initially doubted the pill’s authenticity and intended to examine it thoroughly, but now, seeing it, he had not a shred of doubt left. A pill as peculiar as a miniature star—what else could it be but the Immortal Elixir?
He opened his mouth and inhaled. The Immortal Elixir, condensed from a star, slid directly into his mouth, down his digestive tract, and headed straight for the core vital tree in his Dantian.
The Immortal Elixir settled above the Divine Power Ancient Tree, emitting a "thump-thump" sound like a heartbeat. Streams of pure power were released from the pill, instantly connecting with every one of his meridians. In that instant, his meridians churned like surging energy rivers, filling his body with terrifyingly immense energy fluctuations.
Simultaneously, he clearly perceived that the billions of living souls and thoughts within the pill transformed into another stream of clear soul power. This power rose from below and forcefully surged into his soul sacrificial altar!
This clear soul power entered his Sea of Consciousness and clashed with the dark energy already present. It exploded like fireworks, filling his profound principle layer, Heaven Fire layer, and the depths of his main soul with countless sparkling shards and stars. The spatially distinct profound principles of Space, Life, Death, and Stars within his profound principle layer seemed to be activated, suddenly and wonderfully twisting together into one cohesive force…
An ineffable, mysterious sensation flowed through his heart and across his altar. He felt as if he had returned to the source of the profound principles of the Barren Era, swimming in the ocean of Death, Space, Life, and Star principles. His main soul drifted vaguely, as if detached from his physical body, possessing an endless vitality, capable of lasting forever, immortal and indestructible.
Legend held that those who reached the Immortal Realm possessed endless lifespans and could exist indefinitely. For instance, the Sacred Beast Azure Dragon, upon reaching the Immortal Realm, remained vigorous even after living for a hundred thousand years, escaping the regular laws of aging.
This was impossible for Primordial Gods. Although Primordial Gods also had extremely long lifespans, their divine bodies and souls would slowly age and weaken after tens of thousands of years. If they failed to break through to the Immortal Realm, Primordial Gods would eventually wither and die like ancient trees as their life magnetic fields gradually depleted towards the end of their lives.
Only by breaking through to Immortality could one achieve true indestructibility, possessing endless lifespan by rewriting the rules of heaven and earth, keeping their life magnetic field perpetually strong, and their soul forever surging as it was initially.
Unless killed by a stronger entity, causing their life force to be exhausted and their soul imprint erased, Immortal Realm beings could theoretically survive forever.
This was Immortality.
Feeling the perfect integration of the profound principles in his principle layer, Shi Yan’s main soul drifted vaguely, experiencing a wonderful sensation akin to being immersed in a beautiful dream.
However, his other soul was perfectly clear. It realized that the Heaven Fire, which had bound him for a long time, was, triggered by the Immortal Elixir, showing signs of fusion as he advanced towards the Immortal Realm.
Except for the Chaos Sacred Fire, which remained independent, the rest of the Heaven Fires miraculously clung together, forming a magnificent, multi-hued ocean of flames. This ocean, which had previously been segmented like a torn piece of cloth, was now slowly reassembling, preparing to become whole again.
The Heaven Fire layer became a vast sea of fire. His secondary soul hovered above this fiery expanse, watching the remaining Heaven Fires gradually merge.
A single Immortal Elixir had triggered many wonderful phenomena within his divine body, causing many hidden marvels within him to ignite as he pushed towards the Immortal Realm.
The disturbances caused by his and Audrey’s cultivation were not small. Evelyn and the others from the Tianmu Clan soon noticed the peculiarity. They gathered outside the stone chamber where Shi Yan and Audrey were cultivating. The chamber was temporarily sealed, but the activity inside was distinct—these were the chaotic fluctuations occurring during breakthroughs.
“Audrey is advancing toward the second level of the Primordial God realm, and he… is about to break through to the Immortal Realm!” Evelyn, being experienced, understood immediately upon sensing the energy. He said solemnly, “Let’s stop for now and guard the stone door for them. The Lizardmen clansmen also cannot enter without permission during this time.”
“It seems he obtained an Immortal Elixir after meeting the Lizardman Old Ancestor,” Mahisha said with deep envy.
She had followed her two senior brothers here harboring the hope of obtaining an Immortal Elixir herself. Seeing Shi Yan already cultivating using one filled her with extreme longing.
“Alas, we are not so fortunate. But if he can truly break through to the Immortal Realm, given his mastery of dark energy, his true power will be terrifyingly immense!” Evelyn sighed.
……(To be continued)