The pervasive Death Qi, though potent, does not signify the absence of life, merely its suppression and concealment. Yet, Xi Zi utilized this Altar of Heaven to gather all the free-flowing vital energy within the city of Xianyang.

Accumulated over ten thousand years, the living essence within reached astonishing levels. Zong Shou casually summoned a jade vial.

The pills inside were all of the 'Dharma Pill' grade, bordering on Immortal Pills, ranking as peak Profound Grade among the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow Four Grades of spirit treasures. They could stimulate human potential and enhance spiritual consciousness.

They aided cultivation or could be used in desperate or critical moments to temporarily trigger latent power. Most importantly, they could be used by both the living and the dead— However, these pills had clearly undergone a transformation.

Within them appeared spiritual patterns resembling those found in Innate Spirit Treasures and Innate Divine Artifacts, though far weaker. This change in structure also altered their efficacy.

Beyond merely stimulating potential, they could now—extend life! “What is this?

An Innate Spirit Elixir?” Zong Shou was speechless. The bottle in his hand held pills that could, at most, extend life by about ten years.

But the sheer quantity was overwhelming. There were about three hundred vials, totaling well over ten thousand pills, including many Immortal Pills nearing the level of top-tier Heaven Grade spirit treasures.

Those capable of life extension were not limited to these pills straddling the line between acquired and innate states. The accompanying immortal brews and various rare spirit medicines likely possessed this ability as well.

Yet, among these pill bottles, Zong Shou failed to discover a single one, like the 'Heaven Origin Life Creation Pill,' explicitly designed for life extension. Not only were life-extending pills absent, but true spirit elixirs specifically for the living were also nonexistent.

Most of the pills in this cauldron were ambiguous, usable by both the living and the dead. This situation was likely not intentional on Xi Zi’s part; most probably, such items could not be preserved here in the tomb— Zong Shou was nearly certain that any cultivators hoping to find life-extending elixirs within the First Qin Emperor’s tomb were destined for disappointment.

“Does this mean that spirit elixirs similar to the ‘Heaven Origin Life Creation Pill’ are mostly hidden in the auxiliary tombs?” Zong Shou gazed towards the direction of the Epang Palace, deep in thought. Perhaps the First Qin Emperor foresaw that peak life-extending elixirs like the ‘Heaven Origin Life Creation Pill’ could not be stored within this main tomb, which is why they were placed in the side tombs for safekeeping.

By normal standards, even after tens of thousands of years, these treasures would not fear theft. However, that Qin Emperor likely never anticipated that just two millennia after his death, the heavens and earth would shatter, the Cloud Continent would break apart, and even Mount Dongkunlun would be fractured.

Although the cauldron held many pills, the few present here were only mildly surprised. Ten or twenty years of lifespan held no significant meaning for them.

It was the dozen or so immortal artifacts within the cauldron that drew more attention. Yuan Wushang glanced at them briefly before exclaiming with envy, “Back then, Saint Venerable Xi Zi must have collected and treasured all the finest artifacts from the Qin Imperial Palace here!” Zong Shou shared the sentiment; these dozen immortal artifacts were of the absolute highest tier.

Having collected here for ten thousand years under the influence of vital energy, they too had generated some innate spiritual patterns. When wielding these immortal artifacts, besides their inherent divine abilities, they could continuously infuse the wielder with vitality, healing injuries at any moment.

Yet, though the few present felt tempted, none showed intent to claim them. The spirit treasures here were left by Xi Zi in those ancient days.

With Lin Xuanjing and Zong Shou from the Cang Sheng Dao present, it was hardly their place to decide their fate. They dared not harbor extravagant hopes, as any single immortal artifact here could serve as the foundational treasure of an entire sect.

Lin Xuanxuan, however, was generous: “Later, we might need everyone’s full efforts here! This battle is perilous, and my Cang Sheng Dao cannot accept help without compensation.

Everyone may take one item from this cauldron.” Yuan Wushang instantly rejoiced and did not refuse, directly taking an immortal sword ranked as a half-step Divine Artifact. While not the most precious of the dozen artifacts, it was exactly to his liking.

Shen Yuexuan hesitated for a moment before, surprisingly, selecting a few refining materials from the plethora of spirit treasures. Su Xiaoxiao gathered exactly one-tenth of the life-extending pills into her sleeve.

Lin Xuanxuan couldn't help but snort, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. Compared to artifacts, she valued these spirit elixirs more.

However, Su Xiaoxiao understood propriety; the amount she took did not cross her line. When Lin Xuanxuan turned to Su Chuxue, her eyes filled with tenderness.

“Little Xue’er, what do you want? Just take whatever you desire from here!” Naturally, she doted on her own disciple.

Three or five items were inconsequential. Chuxue tilted her head in thought, finally shaking her head: “Master, Xue’er has no use for them!

And I don't know which ones are better.” Then, she looked expectantly toward Zong Shou: “Let Senior Brother choose for me instead—” Lin Xuanxuan instantly felt a surge of frustration and immediately fixed Zong Shou with a gaze as sharp as a knife. Zong Shou sighed, but he forced himself to withstand Lin Xuanxuan’s icy stare and retrieved a few items.

They were the only streams of Geng Metal Qi present, which Zong Shou forcefully dispersed and infused into the Grand Supreme Immortal Slaying Diagram. In mere moments, the transformation began.

However, Zong Shou estimated it would take at least half a year for them to fully convert into Grand Supreme Immortal Slaying Saber Qi. “Three Earth Grade streams of Innate Geng Metal Qi can only supplement seventy percent of the saber qi—” Zong Shou felt a slight disappointment, then summoned the dozen drops of milky-white marrow fluid suspended in mid-air and dripped them into the Nine Orifice Vitality Stone.

This was Jade Origin Marrow, likely not left by Xi Zi, but the purest essence of vital force condensed within the cauldron over ten millennia. It could be used for alchemy or nurturing artifacts.

Especially for the Nine Orifice Vitality Stone, upon the addition of the jade marrow, the stone became even more crystalline and radiant with vital energy. The spiritual essence, slightly damaged earlier due to Shen Yuexuan, was not only fully restored but surpassed its former state.

The jade stone emitted a clear radiance that, in those fleeting moments, spread out across a thousand Zhang. Lin Xuanxuan watched from the opposite side, her eyes sparkling slightly: “Are you preparing this for your Master?” Zong Shou chuckled evasively.

To exchange for this item from him, an equivalent treasure would certainly be required. Now it was Lin Xuanxuan’s turn to feel helpless.

The cauldron held countless spirit treasures, but only a few could compare to the Nine Orifice Vitality Stone, and those happened to be items Zong Shou had no use for. She said exasperatedly, “It’s a wonder your Master loves you so much!

Do you know that my Second Sister and your Master, Long Ying, are currently plotting together, preparing for you to reach the Ultimate Realm and achieve longevity within a thousand years?” Zong Shou froze, looking at her with confusion, not grasping the meaning behind Lin Xuanxuan’s words. Both Lin Shuangshuang and Long Ying had warned him before.

His cultivation progress in recent years had been too swift, potentially leading to an unstable foundation. They preferred his cultivation to be slower rather than risk a flawed Dao foundation.

But why the sudden urgency from those two? Achieving longevity within a millennium seemed too fast.

Zong Shou himself had reached the peak of the Immortal Realm in just twenty years, but he estimated it would take him at least two thousand years, perhaps even ten thousand, to step into the Ultimate Realm. It required not just accumulation, but also waiting—waiting for the opportune moment!

“The Great Evolution counts forty-nine; one escapes. This domain world was originally meant to house only forty-nine Ultimate Realm Saint Venerables!” Lin Xuanxuan said slowly, “However, Heaven does not cut off all paths.

No rule of the cosmos is utterly immutable; there are always loopholes to be found. About one hundred and twenty thousand years ago, someone devised the Method of Dao Seizing!

This method could involve seizing and devouring multiple Innate Divine Artifacts, integrating naturally born divine objects as one’s own Dao foundation. Or perhaps, outright murdering a Saint Venerable to forcibly take their foundation and merge with the laws of heaven and earth—” Zong Shou listened quietly, his eyes still clouded with bewilderment.

What Lin Xuanxuan spoke of was already known to him. This domain could only tolerate forty-nine Ultimate Realm Saint Venerables existing concurrently.

For others to truly step into that realm, they had to wait for an Ultimate Realm Saint Venerable’s primordial soul to shatter, creating a vacancy. Naturally, although Ultimate Realm Saint Venerables possessed immortal souls, if all forty-nine positions were occupied, they could not complete resurrection; only when another fell into slumber could they reappear in the world.

And the known Ultimate Realm figures in this domain numbered around fifty-something. The total combined should be about a hundred.

At least half of them achieved their state via the Dao Seizing method. This method of achieving the Dao had no discernible difference in strength compared to true Ultimate Realms.

The only drawback was the complete loss of the possibility of walking the true path to harmonize with the Dao. Lin Xuanxuan continued, “Actually, when Second Senior Sister was resurrected and achieved the Ultimate Realm, she wondered why there was still a vacancy in this domain?

But at the time, she simply attributed it to the battle involving Brother Xi Zi being too brutal; within and outside the domain, during the thousand years before and after, at least thirteen Ultimate Venerables had their primordial souls shattered, so they paid it no mind. But when Junior Nephew Wei Xu also achieved longevity, Senior Brother Xiu Guan and Brother Long Ying both sensed that the situation was amiss.

Do you know that your Senior Brother Wei Xu had already prepared three Innate Divine Objects of compatible properties, planning to seize the foundation at the last moment and use them to achieve the Dao?” Generally, achieving the Dao by borrowing external power results in a discernible gap compared to a true Ultimate Realm expert. However, if the number of Innate Divine Objects or Divine Artifacts was two or more, and they were compatible with one’s own foundation, there was no issue.

“Don’t tell me Senior Brother Wei Xu ultimately didn’t use them?” Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, beginning to grasp Lin Xuanxuan’s implication. Could it be that there are vacant positions for Ultimate Venerables in this world?

How could that be? Ten thousand years have passed now; even if the battle where Xi Zi fell caused numerous Saint Venerables to perish, those forty-nine positions should be filled by now.

The only possibility, then, was that the heavens and earth had undergone a change— “Senior Brother Xiu Guan left precisely to investigate the cause of this change. However, both Long Ying and the two Senior Sisters believe this shift in the cosmos is merely incidental and will not last long.

Therefore, if you and I are to achieve longevity, the best time is within this thousand years!” (To be continued)