552: Trying to become an immortal!

Just as Xiang Tiange was planning to test the situation, thump-thump... thump-thump...

The sound of a heartbeat grew louder and louder, as if it were striking against white bones.

As the heartbeat grew stronger, the ground began to tremble.

A moment later, the phantom of an old man appeared before everyone.

He was an old man who looked like an Immortal with an ethereal air and Dao Bone, wearing Daoist robes. His eyes seemed to have weathered the ages of Reincarnation; just one glance was enough to make one feel deeply lost within them.

The moment the old man appeared, he cast his gaze upon the group.

Everyone who met his gaze felt as if they saw the heavens and earth collapsing; the pressure was terrifying.

The old man spoke slowly, first uttering some obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations. Seeing their bewildered expressions, he spoke again, "Young friends, how did you arrive here?"

Hearing this, Cheng Zhuzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

"You old guy actually seem quite easy to talk to!"

"Never mind how we got here; tell us first, what kind of thing are you?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, the old man spoke again, "I am merely a Cultivator, having fought against heaven and earth. In the end, as you can see, I am nothing more than a pile of withered bones."

Bai Lingyun frowned slightly and said coldly, "A pile of withered bones? You are clearly intending to raise a corpse! But you have already passed away; even if you raise a white bone corpse, it will no longer be you! Why are you doing all this?"

The old man revealed an expression of compassion, "All things and all spirits have their destiny. Just as you said, even if this white bone raises a corpse-spirit, it will no longer be me, but it still has the right to live, so I helped it."

Cheng Zhuzhu said, somewhat surprised, "You old guy, you're actually not a bad person."

Bai Lingyun's brow was filled with disbelief.

She did not believe that anyone would act as a stepping stone for others without reason.

Especially when the person before them was an Emperor.

He had used so many methods and left behind countless contingency plans just to raise a corpse-spirit within his own Imperial corpse?

What a joke!

Just as Bai Lingyun was still confused, Lin Ye slowly stepped forward, a strange smile on his face.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are intending to achieve Immortal Ascension, right?"

"Huh?!"

The old man's eyes showed shock, but that shock only lasted for a fleeting moment before he returned to normal.

"Hehe... Young friend, you joke. Immortal Ascension? That is merely an obsession of us Cultivators. Throughout the ages, who has truly seen an Immortal? I am doing all this simply because I am unwilling to accept my fate, so I want the corpse-spirit raised by my corpse to live in this world once again in my stead."

"Flesh is weak, Divine Soul Ascends?"

Upon hearing Lin Ye recite these words, the old man's expression changed drastically, becoming almost frantic.

"Who are you?! How do you know this sentence?!!!"

The old man appeared directly in front of Lin Ye, roaring, his eyes seemingly bloodshot.

But because he was only a remnant soul, let alone causing harm, he couldn't even touch Lin Ye.

Hearing this, Lin Ye's expression became somewhat strange.

As expected, this was a scripture left behind by the Killing Life Tathagata.

To think that even an Emperor was fooled?

And he actually went and created this White Bone Forest just to nourish that heart? Attempting Ascension to become an Immortal?

"Should I call you naive, or easily duped? You actually believe this sentence?"

Hearing Lin Ye's words, the old man was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "If you don't believe it, how could you say this sentence? Therefore, it is true! It is absolutely true!!!"

Whether it was Bai Lingyun, Cheng Zhuzhu, or Xiang Tiange, all three turned their gazes toward Lin Ye, seemingly waiting for his explanation.

Lin Ye spoke slowly, "This is a scripture left by the Killing Life Tathagata. If I am not mistaken, you left behind this contingency plan because of what was written on it?"

"Killing Life Tathagata, Killing Life Tathagata... So that Senior was called the Killing Life Tathagata?"

The old man's face was filled with joy, and he spoke to Lin Ye again, "Since you know this Senior, you must be his successor?! Why do you deny his Imperial Scripture? Or is it that you want to snatch my Dao Fruit!!!"

Boom!!!

When he said the last sentence, the old man roared it out.

The entire clearing shook with his roar, and the heart began to beat even faster.

Hearing this, Lin Ye said indifferently, "That was merely to deceive you. There might be Immortals in this world, but they would absolutely not Ascend via so-called Divine Soul Ascension. After all, you don't even have a body left, so how can you talk about Ascension?"

"Moreover, what do you have now, besides this heart?"

"Shut up!!!"

The old man was like a lie that had been punctured. He had waited for endless ages just for the day he could Ascend in broad daylight.

For this, he had sacrificed everything, and yet in the end, Lin Ye was saying it was all fake. How could he accept this?!

Lin Ye slowly walked up to the giant white bones, watching the continuously beating heart, a flash of blood-red light flickering in his eyes.

"What are you doing?!"

The old man looked at Lin Ye vigilantly; clearly, he had sensed the greed on Lin Ye.

"What am I doing? You were thinking of Divine Soul Ascension, right? Since that's the case, you naturally won't need this body anymore."

Hum...

A pitch-black Spirit Sword appeared in Lin Ye's hand, a faint blood-red glow shimmering on its dark blade.

Pfft!!!

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out. In the shocked gaze of everyone, Lin Ye brandished the black Spirit Sword and plunged it directly into the giant heart.

Boom!!!!!!

As the Spirit Sword pierced in, a deafening roar echoed, and the heart began to shrivel at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Clearly, the blood and Dao Rhyme inside were being frantically devoured.

"No! No!!!"

The old man's eyes were splitting with rage. He never expected that Lin Ye would actually start devouring his heart.

He had spent endless ages just to Ascend to become an Immortal, and this heart was of the utmost importance.

He had lodged his remaining Divine Soul within this heart, along with the countless blood and bones he had collected over the ages.

Was it really going to be a stepping stone for others now?

In a fit of rage, the old man formed seals with his hands. The white bone body began to tremble, and even its empty eye sockets flickered with red light.

But before the white bone body could revive, black spiritual energy erupted from Lin Ye's body, sweeping through the entire cave.

In an instant, everything was covered in darkness. And that continuously beating heart gradually disappeared before everyone's eyes!