Painting of the Nine Immortals

Translator: _Tat_ Editor: Rundi

The night was as dark as ink and the moon was hanging high in the sky.

Inside an eerie cave hidden inside a dense forest…

Ling Xian's face was pale white and his eyes were tightly closed. Pea-sized sweat accompanied by dots of red dripped down his chin - truly horrifying.

Ever since he left the Shang Qing Sect, he had been on the run. After escaping for more than 3,000 miles, he could no longer suppress the injuries he sustained and he was forced to stop inside this forest.

What could he do? Though he appears courageous and brave like an undefeatable god of war who could easily defeat all enemies, the reality was that he was deeply wounded inside the ruins. The only reason why he still looked decently ok was that he burned his spirituality and he was basically draining away his life.

Then, he used all his strength to pave out a path and fight bloody battles. Naturally, he made everything worse. Now, he finally could no longer endure.

After all, there were hundreds of completion leveled cultivators and two original leveled cultivators of the beginning stages. To be able to pave out a path by himself and leave so casually was something that was extremely difficult already.

If he wasn't injured at all, then he wouldn't be a person. He would be an undefeatable god!

Sadly, he was miles away from becoming a God. Therefore, why wouldn't he be heavily injured?

Currently, Ling Xian was leaning against the wall of the cave and was slowly inhaling the spirituality of Heaven and Earth. The harmony of their energies was tending his wounds and adjusting his health.

Because he burned up his ancient majestic blood and had killed an original leveled cultivator in a heaven-defying manner, the ancient majestic blood in his body had temporarily fallen asleep. His blood could not heal his wounds right now.

In other words, Ling Xian could only use the spiritual Dan and spiritual energy to tend his wounds. Luckily, he had brewed various Dans while still at the Ao Xian House. This time, he was putting them to good use.

Just like that, time passed by little by little. After about half an hour, his face finally reddened a little and his breathing was no longer as weak as before.

"Phew…"

Breathing out a mouthful of murky air, Ling Xian opened his eyes wide. Though they were somewhat dim, they were full of excitement.

It didn't matter how violent that battle was and it didn't matter how deeply wounded he was. At the very least, he had won.

Yes, though he had to escape in the end, he had truly won. He also won twice. Even the two fifth leveled cultivators from the Shang Qing Sect could not argue against that.

First of all, he had acquired the Soaring Key and completed his original goal. That counted as one win.

Second of all, he paved out a path himself and even though he was surrounded by so many powerhouses, he managed to escape. That counted as his second win.

Don't forget. He was up against the Shang Qing Sect, one of the major forces of Yuezhou!

In the entire Yuezhou, who could start a rampage while on the land of the Shang Qing Sect? And who could so easily suppress all the people and call the Shang Qing Sect "so-so"?

Only him!

In the entire history of the Shang Qing Sect, he was the only person who's been able to do it. He was the only one who could be called heaven-defying!

Therefore, isn't he winning? One could make the claim that he had completely won this battle and he had won it beautifully!

It was the great figure, the Shang Qing Sect, who ended up humiliated. It had lost so utterly and was now without any face!

First, they burned the bridge after crossing it. Then, they refused to keep their promises. And finally, they tried to repay Ling Xian's niceness with hatred. But in the end, Ling Xian had snatched away the few important treasures from the ruins and left at ease. How humiliating was this?

Why wouldn't the Shang Qing Sect be without face now?

After thinking about how Ji Qian Bai and them would look knowing he left, Ling Xian wanted to laugh - laugh loudly. He could already imagine just how colorful the others' expressions were right now.

"No matter what, I have won this battle. Though I have made an enemy of a force as beast as the Shang Qing Sect, I have acquired the Soaring Key. It is worth it."

Ling Xian's eyes were burning up. He took out the Soaring Key that had already been through many bloody storms from his storage pouch.

The moment this object appeared, it emitted a bright circle of light. If he didn't set up an array to hide the light, everything within a hundred miles would be brightly white right now.

"It is because of you. If you didn't get out of the white jade box so impatiently, nothing would've happened." Ling Xian scolded the black key.

Though his words were scolding ones, he didn't seem to be blaming the key at all. Instead, he was full of excitement.

It was because it was the Soaring Key!

These simple words were enough to drive everyone in the world crazy!

Nobody in the world knows where this object comes from. They only know that after Heaven and Earth transformed and that after it became a fact that nobody could fly anymore, the key and its legend appeared in the Taoism community.

Legend has it that this object can open the door to the immortal world. No matter what level of cultivation the cultivator was at - even if the person was an ordinary mortal - as long as the door to the immortals was open, then they could live forever.

There were many temptations in the Taoism community - undefeatable forces, controls over others, and beauties of all kind. But the biggest temptation to all was immortality.

This was why since the history of time, there were so many people who chase after this idea like a moth to a flame. It was also why the Soaring Key became such a critical object after it became a fact that nobody can turn into immortals anymore.

Because this key represented a ray of hope!

"I have finally got my hands on you. Though it is only a rumor that you can open the door to immortality, you remain the sole hope for us to become immortals."

Ling Xian's face was heated as he softly stroked the black key. Other than fulfillment in his heart, he only had high expectations.

However, he knew that having anticipation alone was useless.

Because the Soaring Key was only a legend and it never passed the test of whether or not it can actually open the door to immortality. Plus, the prerequisite to being able to use this key was that he has to find the door to the immortal world.

As for where that place truly was, nobody knows. It was actually unknown if it actually exists or not.

If the Taoism community doesn't actually contain the immortal world, then the Soaring Key would be useless. However, this one in a billion chance was enough to make cultivators fight to their death.

Who wouldn't want the last chance of being immortal?

This was why Ling Xian would give up anything to get his hands on this item. And it was why he was so happy after the fact.

"This trip to Yuezhou was not a waste."

Ling Xian smiled in satisfaction. He felt very fulfilled with this trip. Don't forget, other than this Soaring Key, he snatched away the other three treasures as well.

Since Ji Qian Bai and they were no longer his superiors, why should he obey his principals? Therefore, he decided to just take away the three treasures despite his lack of need, just to disgust the shameless bunch.

"Though the process has been treacherous. It is very worth it."

The corner of Ling Xian's lips curled up. His eyes flickered with anticipation and he said, "Now, it's time for me to check out the three treasures."

Then, he mentally called out and the three treasures appeared in midair. They were all emitting bright light like three little Suns.

"These are all great treasures."

Ling Xian softly grinned. First, he checked out the ruler. This object was entirely red and was spitting red light that mimicked flames. Even the space around it was getting twisted.

"The Ruler of Phoenix's Flame. The creator of this object has really good techniques. Its make is extraordinary."

As a crafts' master, of course, Ling Xian saw how extraordinary this item was at first glance. He was also very satisfied with it. Sadly, the realm of this treasure was too high right now. He could not use it with his current level of cultivation.

Then, he shifted his gaze towards the black cauldron. His eyes instantly brightened.

Because this cauldron wasn't just a treasure - it was a cauldron that could be used to brew medicine. Whether it was its composition or the cauldron's level itself - they had surpassed his purple cauldron by a landslide. It was an extremely valuable cauldron.

"The Cauldron of Heaven and Earth. What a great name. It is perfect for me to brew Dans in."

Looking at the characters carved on the cauldron, Ling Xian revealed a faint smile - he was very satisfied. After all, as his alchemy skills increase, the purple cauldron will no longer be able to keep up with his growth.

Now there was an extremely high leveled cauldron that appeared, why wouldn't he be over the moon?

Then, he looked at the last treasure - the green flag.

"This is… a little eerie."

Ling Xian frowned. He used his Qi to search through this flag and found an indescribable force emitted from this object that was extremely creepy. When he saw the name on the flag, he was even more confused.

The Flag of Evocation.

That was the name of the object.

"Interesting. Could it be that this object can gather the souls? What a joke." Ling Xian shook his head with a faint smile. He didn't think much of this flag. However, he knew very well that the flag remained a valuable object even though its use is unknown.

Same with the Ruler of Phoenix's Flame and the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth.

In terms of value, these three treasures could not compare with the Soaring Key. However, they remained top-notch treasures and he was very satisfied.

However, it was not the time to be too happy. What he faced next was a trial of life and death.

Therefore, Ling Xian placed the three treasures back into his storage pouch and repressed his happy mood in order to ponder over his next steps.

Without a doubt, the Shang Qing Sect would not forgive him. For both the Soaring Key and to avenge themselves, they will for sure send many people after him.

This giant force's capabilities was not something he could handle, if they so choose to use all the help they could get.

After all, the only reason he was able to get out of there in one piece was because of the Demon and Hong Chen Jun Zhu. If he was fighting solo, he would've died a while ago.

Therefore, he decided to heal his wounds first before leaving Yuezhou in a hurry. He needed to hide in another continent.

"Let me quietly heal myself and then leave Yuezhou right away. I sure hope I can get away without any issues."

After making up his mind, Ling Xian closed his eyes again to allow his injuries to heal.

Just like that, time passed by little by little. After about half a month, his injuries finally cured and he was back to his peak condition where he could kill an original leveled cultivator.

"Alright, it is time for me to rush to the borders."

Ling Xian softly smiled and got up to leave YUezhou. However, just as he was about to leave, he felt three different people's existence closing in on him.

He was a little surprised at the speed of his pursuers. However, other than surprise, he felt no other emotions. So what they have already caught up to him?

Come all they want, he will kill them all!

"Interesting. I sure want to see who it truly is." Ling Xian coldly snickered and slowly walked out of the cave.

Then, he began to frown and he was a little confused.

Because the three people before him were not from the Shang Qing Sect.