"From the Annals of Natural History, Volume Eight!" There is Mount Yuanqiu, upon which grows the Tree of Immortality; to eat its fruit grants longevity, and the Crimson Spring waters grant eternal youth upon drinking.
At the exact center of the second layer of the Land of Immortality stands a towering giant tree.
This kind of Tree of Immortality takes a thousand years to sprout, ten thousand years to fully mature, and only bears fruit once every thousand years, making it exceedingly rare.
Lu Yuan spotted the tree from a great distance; it was truly immense, perhaps several hundred zhang high, emitting a faint crimson glow that made it visible from afar.
Using his Divination Spell, Lu Yuan observed that the entire tree was scarlet, its bark cracked and uneven.
From a distance, the crown resembled an inverted carriage canopy, within which shapes seemed to shift—some like crimson dogs, others like crimson figures—an indistinct multitude.
The Tree of Immortality.
This was the Tree of Immortality, the one said to have been planted by the Queen Mother of the West in Kunlun.
Lu Yuan gazed upon it with his Divination Spell.
The Elixir of Immortality was nearly ready to ripen, and he longed to see its form, but the dense crimson foliage blocked his view no matter how he looked.
Very well, it seemed he would have to get closer.
Even though he could see the Tree of Immortality now, a considerable distance still separated them.
He would need to reach it first before contemplating anything else.
Lu Yuan realized he was growing impatient.
Indeed, this was a critical element for achieving the Great Dao Realm; how could he not be anxious? Lu Yuan flew straight on his sword, drawing nearer to the Tree of Immortality.
However, he soon discovered he could not approach it.
At a distance of a thousand zhang, a black grindstone stood—one of the world’s miraculous stones—approximately a hundred zhang tall, perfectly black and circular.
Each grindstone section was as large as two rooms and rotated ceaselessly, roaring like a storm.
These grindstones were among the hardest of stones, and the updraft generated by their movement was so fierce that even flying high overhead would likely be swept away; entry seemed impossible.
This couldn't be right; there must be a way in.
If it were nothing but grindstones, passage would be unattainable.
Lu Yuan quickly spotted an opening—a structure resembling a gate.
But a group of people was already positioned there.
It was a contingent from the Kunlun Immortal Sect.
Leading them was Yan Guang Jian Xian, Nie Chenfeng, who had challenged him several times before.
Standing right beside them was someone from the Tianji Immortal Sect.
Lu Yuan bowed and inquired about the situation.
The Tianji Immortal Sect member explained: "There are four gates leading to the Tree of Immortality, and all four are currently blocked.
They are held by the Wudang Immortal Sect, this group from the Kunlun Immortal Sect, a contingent from the Qingcheng Immortal Sect, and a group from the Sword Sect of Mount Hua." "These people have sealed the four gates." The Tianji Immortal Sect member shrugged: "As for the reason? Too simple.
The Elixir of Immortality is finite, perhaps even singular.
Fewer competitors naturally makes things easier." Lu Yuan understood instantly; that was the crux of the matter.
The four main forces that entered the Land of Immortality were originally the four superior immortal sects, though the Sword Sect of Mount Hua was somewhat distinct in its dominance.
It was entirely normal for fierce competition to erupt over the Elixir of Immortality, the key to ascending to the Great Dao Realm.
Actually, the casualties in the second layer of the Land of Immortality were not excessively high.
This does not mean the second layer was easy; the dynamic was simply different.
The first layer tested teamwork; the individual strength of the demonic beasts was not overwhelming, but their sheer numbers and swarms were immense.
The second layer saw beasts with significantly greater individual power, often appearing at the Tenth Level of Longevity, though in limited numbers, usually encountered alone.
This layer tested individual prowess.
Simply put, once one's power reached the Tenth Level of Longevity, reaching the central area of the second layer was not difficult.
Some lucky cultivators at the Ninth Level of Longevity also had a chance to reach the core area.
To put it precisely, the difficulty of the first layer lay in the process, weeding out many along the way, whereas the difficulty of the second layer was concentrated in the struggle for the Elixir; paradoxically, the traversal itself was less arduous than the first.
The Kunlun Immortal Sect members were undoubtedly fortunate.
Of the seven who reached the Fallen Cliff at the end of the first layer, as many as six were here, blocking the entrance to the Tree of Immortality's perimeter.
While luck played a part, exceptional strength was equally important.
Nie Chenfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, as did the other five Kunlun cultivators.
Although Kunlun ranked third, they constantly sought to challenge the top positions among the five superior immortal sects, thus they had been accumulating strength, boasting numerous formidable figures in the Longevity Realm.
Nie Chenfeng stood waiting, hands behind his back, anticipating the moment the Elixir of Immortality would ripen so they could seize it.
The Elixir of Immortality! The Elixir of Immortality! It was rumored to increase the success rate of breaking through to the Great Dao Realm by twenty percent.
Twenty percent! An extra twenty percent chance—how incredibly tempting that was.
Nie Chenfeng instinctively licked his lips.
Lost in thought, he suddenly noticed a figure standing before him—it was Junzi Jian Xian, Fang Ru.
He too had managed to reach the Tree of Immortality's periphery, only to find the gates blocked.
Among the four great gates, the Wudang Immortal Sect possessed the most balanced strength and their Wudang Sword Formation, making their path the hardest to breach.
The Sword Sect also had several strong individuals, including Shi Chongtian, who surpassed Fang Ru, so that path was not chosen.
He was left with a choice between the gate guarded by Qingcheng and the one held by Kunlun, and he chose this one.
Upon seeing Fang Ru, Nie Chenfeng burst into laughter: "Fang Ru, Lord of the Northern Peak of Mount Hua! Excellent.
You actually made it this far.
Today, I shall thoroughly defeat you and utterly disgrace the reputation of your Northern Peak." He was overwhelmingly smug; he harbored a deep-seated loathing for the Northern Peak of Mount Hua, wishing for its demise.
And now, Fang Ru, the Peak Lord of the Northern Peak, was standing right here.
To severely defeat and humiliate him would be bliss.
Nie Chenfeng laughed maniacally, "Come then, today I shall face you one-on-one." With that, he hurled a string of Flame Pearls toward Fang Ru.
Fang Ru smoothly countered, using his vast Spiritual Sword and the Gentleman's Sword Technique.
However, the Flame Pearls in Nie Chenfeng’s hand were no ordinary items; they were imbued with sword qi and burned relentlessly, aimed directly at Fang Ru’s sword-wielding hand.
What manner of fire artifact was this? Fang Ru was forced back, loosening his grip to control his sword remotely, but the flame followed the trajectory of the spiritual energy, burning towards him in the void.
While Fang Ru was evading this spreading fire, Nie Chenfeng flashed forward, appearing right before him.
With a swift motion, a short spiritual sword instantly elongated—it was another artifact, the Telescopic Spirit Sword—and pierced Fang Ru's shoulder: "I told you, Fang Ru, this time I will utterly humiliate you." "Being from the Northern Peak of Mount Hua is your greatest misfortune." "Being its Peak Lord is an misfortune compounded." "The Northern Peak, what a laughable lineage." "Fang Ru, today I will thoroughly disgrace you, making the world understand that the Northern Peak is nothing but a joke." "I want you to lose, lose in a manner so utterly pathetic and shameful.
Hahaha, for you, the Peak Lord, to lose face will be a greater disgrace than any other Sword Immortal.
I will beat the Northern Peak into utter oblivion!" At this moment, Nie Chenfeng felt an unparalleled ecstasy in humiliating a man from the Northern Peak; what a gratifying thing this was.
Nie Chenfeng was thoroughly enjoying the pursuit, longing to see Fang Ru flee in utter disarray.
Unfortunately, Fang Ru was the type of man who remained utterly calm and collected even when facing death—the title 'Gentleman's Sword Immortal' was not merely an empty phrase.
This infuriated Nie Chenfeng further, driving him to inflict deeper humiliation.
Nie Chenfeng was famous for his five artifacts and held the title 'Five Treasures Daoist.' The first, naturally, was the Telescopic Spirit Sword, whose blade could extend or retract, making it far more versatile and elusive than simple sword qi.
His telescopic sword lashed out swiftly toward Fang Ru; Fang Ru, now wounded, faced an almost insurmountable challenge to escape this blow.
In that instant, a spiritual sword materialized as if descending from the heavens, cleaving down upon Nie Chenfeng’s Telescopic Spirit Sword.
The telescopic sword, though incredibly nimble, possessed a single critical weak point along its entire length; a strike there would render it incapable of extension or retraction, and it would take time to recover.
This sword was tied to Nie Chenfeng’s very essence, and the precise nature of the strike caused him intense discomfort.
Nie Chenfeng reacted quickly.
Besides the 'Yan Guang Sword Immortal' title, he was also known as the 'Five Treasures Sword Immortal,' signifying his five formidable artifacts.
His second artifact was the Southern Bright Li Fire Sword; a beam of sword light, flickering with fire, erupted from his sleeve, lunging at his opponent.
The opponent did not retreat or dodge.
He countered with a single, powerful stroke—the 'Fire Emperor's Heavenly Might Strike'—which not only met the light but sent the Southern Bright Li Fire energy recoiling back toward Nie Chenfeng.
This terrified Nie Chenfeng, who immediately summoned his third artifact: the Ninety Heavens and Eighty-One Earths Demon-Shattering Prisms.
These eighty-one prisms, forged primarily from the ancient ice of the North Pole, carried no trace of icy energy.
Once deployed, unless all were shattered simultaneously, they were nearly unbreakable—one of Nie Chenfeng’s most famous artifacts.
He deployed them with considerable pride, only for his opponent's sword light to shift, and with a clang, eighty-one successive strikes precisely targeted the eighty-one rapidly deployed Demon-Shattering Prisms.
Nie Chenfeng’s fourth artifact, the White Bone Flute, had only just emerged when it was severed by a single sword strike from his opponent.
This finally terrified Nie Chenfeng so much that he cast aside all hesitation and unleashed his fifth artifact: the Flame Light Twin Wheels—intended for escape.
He was now trembling with fear.
Who was this person whose first move shattered four of his prized artifacts? Could such a supreme being truly exist in the Longevity Realm? As his Flame Light Twin Wheels began to propel him away, a fluid, black luminescence materialized.
Though he dodged quickly, the sword light had already pierced his right shoulder—a direct hit.
How utterly astonishing! This was simply unbelievable! Why was it unbelievable? Nie Chenfeng, the 'Five Treasures Daoist,' held some reputation, and his Flame Light Twin Wheels were considered the fastest means of travel in the entire Longevity Realm.
Yet, in the span of mere moments, they had all been neutralized, and he had been struck.
Who was this assailant? How terrifyingly powerful! And how swiftly had he broken through everything! All within that single breath!