645: Chapter 635 Senichi (10)

Above the Sacrificial Mountain, the Life Patterns of all the Chishan Tribe members were being drained, flickering unsteadily.

That Prodigy from the Yaochi Immortal Sect, who called himself "The Superior One," was still struggling frantically, but his immortal power was being continuously swallowed by that wisp of cyan-gold Life Origin, only to be transformed into even purer energy and surge into Elder Ji's body.

Elder Ji had set down his black wooden staff at some unknown moment.

The cyan-gold Life Pattern on his forehead, identical to Chi Li's, was emitting a cold and profound light.

Ah Lie knelt on the ground, completely dumbfounded.

Sang He was also stunned, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

"You..."

The Yaochi Immortal Sect Prodigy pointed at Elder Ji, his face full of shock and disbelief.

"Who exactly are you!"

Elder Ji ignored him, simply closing his eyes as if sensing something.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes; those turbid pupils had become bottomless.

He finally spoke, his voice no longer old and hoarse, but cold and indifferent.

"I am that Superior One you have worshipped for generations."

"Qingxu."

As these two words fell, the entire Sacrificial Mountain fell into a deathly silence.

Ah Lie looked up abruptly, staring at that familiar yet strange figure, his mind blank.

"Impossible."

He muttered to himself.

"How could Elder Ji be The Superior One?"

"He clearly..."

It wasn't just him; all the Chishan Tribe members who were still conscious were completely bewildered.

They looked at the old man who usually walked slowly through the village, leaning on his staff; the aura radiating from him at this moment was even more terrifying than that of the Immortal Sect Prodigy from just a moment ago.

The Superior One Qingxu did not look at them again, but lowered his head to gaze at the Yaochi Prodigy, who was tightly bound by the Life Origin.

"Do you understand now?"

The Yaochi Prodigy's immortal power had been mostly swallowed, and his eyes finally revealed utter despair.

"You... you have been plotting against me from the very beginning!"

The Superior One Qingxu curled his lips in a sneer.

"You are just stupid."

"A mere junior in the True Immortal realm, daring to covet the Dao field left behind by a Heavenly Immortal."

"Is this how the Yaochi Immortal Sect teaches its Disciples?"

He raised his hand and squeezed gently.

That wisp of cyan-gold Life Origin tightened abruptly.

The Yaochi Prodigy let out a shrill scream, his entire being forcibly drained dry, turning into a withered corpse, and then even that corpse shattered into powder.

A generation of Immortal Sect Prodigy had thus fallen.

Meanwhile, the aura on The Superior One Qingxu climbed steadily at this moment.

Immortal radiance emanated from his body, intertwining with the dense Death Qi to form a chilling, eerie pressure.

He had returned.

After countless years, he had stepped back into the Immortal realm using this Cauldron.

Although it was only at the Peak of the True Immortal realm.

"Why..."

Below the Sacrificial Mountain, Sang He asked with a trembling voice.

"Elder Ji, why did you do this?"

The Superior One Qingxu turned around, looking down at the people below the steps as if gazing at a group of ants.

"Elder Ji?"

He chuckled.

"That old thing's consciousness was ground away by me bit by bit tens of thousands of years ago."

"What you have seen all these years is merely me wearing his skin."

Ah Lie was struck by lightning, his entire body freezing.

"You... you are not Elder Ji?"

"Of course I am not."

The Superior One Qingxu slowly revealed the truth.

"Back then, when I fought a powerful enemy, my Physical Body was destroyed, and my Divine Soul was nearly scattered; I could only borrow the Origin of Death to leave behind a sliver of my remaining will."

"It was your foolish Elder Ji who first approached my core remains, giving me a place to reside."

"I eroded his Divine Soul bit by bit, overwrote his memories, and occupied his Life Pattern."

"When you occasionally saw him hesitate or struggle with contradictions, it was merely his last pathetic shred of self fighting against me."

The Chishan Tribe members felt a chill run through their entire bodies as they listened.

Only then did they recall that over the years, Elder Ji had indeed acted very strangely.

So it turned out that the real Elder Ji had long since died slowly without them knowing.

"Why did you do this?"

Ah Lie roared with red eyes.

"Because in this broken world, the Immortal Path is severed, and the Law is incomplete; I could not possibly return to the Immortal realm on my own."

The Superior One Qingxu's voice carried a hint of resentment suppressed for eons.

"I could only wait."

"Wait for a good enough pawn, a Cauldron that could allow me to return to the Immortal realm."

"I deliberately spread clues about the remains to lure people from the Yaochi Immortal Sect."

"He thought he was a hunter coming to seize an Opportunity, but he didn't know that from the moment he stepped into this realm, he was already my prey."

After he finished speaking, he cast his gaze toward Chi Li.

That look was greedy and burning.

"The Origin of Death has returned to its place; now, only the Origin of Life is missing."

He raised his hand and pointed from afar at Chi Li.

"And you, Chi Li, are the key to opening the treasury of the Origin of Life."

Chi Li leaned against a stone pillar, his face pale, yet he still stood straight.

He did not speak, only looking coldly at The Superior One Qingxu.

"Rise!"

The Superior One Qingxu gave a low shout.

The cyan-gold Life Pattern within Chi Li was once again forcibly triggered.

At the same time, the entire Sacrificial Mountain, the nine Phoenix heads, along with the Seal core deep underground, all began to resonate violently.

A wisp of cyan-gold radiance, purer and more majestic than before, slowly rose from the center where the Nine Mountains converged.

As soon as that radiance appeared, the vegetation of the entire world seemed to be injected with vitality, growing wildly.

The Origin of Life.

The complete Origin of Life had finally appeared.

"Hahaha..."

The Superior One Qingxu laughed up at the sky, his laughter full of joy.

"Finally, I have finally waited for this day!"

"With Life and Death united, I will return to being a Heavenly Immortal and control the Innate creature, the Nine-Headed Phoenix!"

He spread his arms, and the two Origin forces—one black and one cyan—were forcibly drawn into his body like two giant Dragons.

On one side, deathly stillness, with all things withering.

On the other, vibrant life, giving rise to all manifestations.

Two diametrically opposed forces collided within his body and attempted to fuse.

The world changed color, and the wind and clouds swirled in reverse.

The Chishan Tribe members on the Sacrificial Mountain felt unprecedented despair at this moment.

A Superior One Qingxu in the Immortal realm was already impossible to resist.

What a terrifying existence would a Superior One Qingxu who had fused the Origins of Life and Death be?

Qin Yun stood in the distance, his expression grave.

The azure pagoda within him was vibrating slightly, as if warning him, or perhaps stirring into action.

He knew it was time for him to act.

But just as he prepared to move, a sudden change occurred in the scene.

The joy on the face of The Superior One Qingxu, who was in the midst of fusing the Origins of Life and Death, suddenly vanished.

He lowered his head and looked at his chest.

The black and cyan lights there, far from fusing perfectly, began to clash violently, like two incompatible Vicious Beasts fighting intensely within his body.

"Pfft—"

The Superior One Qingxu spewed a mouthful of immortal blood, his aura instantly becoming chaotic.

The triumph and joy on his face vanished, replaced by shock, bewilderment, and intense disbelief.

"How is this possible?"

"Why is there rejection?"

"My method is not wrong, and there is no problem with the Origin of Death, so why... why can't they be united?"

He frantically drove his immortal power, trying to forcibly suppress the conflict between the two Origins.

But the more he suppressed it, the more violent the backlash became.

Cracks began to appear on the surface of his immortal body; one side was scorched and withered, while the other sprouted eerie, fleshy vines.

"Something is wrong!"

The Superior One Qingxu finally realized where the problem lay.

He looked up abruptly, staring fixedly at the Origin of Life suspended in mid-air, scanning it repeatedly with his Divine Thought.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

His expression turned from bewilderment to gloom, and finally, it was full of rage.

"Half..."

His voice trembled, as if he were speaking to himself, or questioning the heavens.

"This Origin of Life is actually only half!"

It was not incomplete, nor was it damaged.

It was only half from the very root.

Just like a book with the second half torn out.

Such an Origin of Life could not truly unite with the complete Origin of Death.

The path to ascending to heaven that The Superior One Qingxu had planned for eons was forcibly stuck at the very last step.

"Why?"

"Why is there only half!"

He looked like a madman, grabbing the Life Pattern chain in the void before him, his Divine Thought flowing along the chain, surging frantically into the depths of the Nine Mountains, into the core of the Nine-Headed Phoenix Seal.

He wanted to find the answer.

A moment later, as if he had seen something, he was struck by lightning and froze in place.

A look of loss of composure appeared on his face.

"So that's it... so that's it!"

He turned his head abruptly, his gaze locking tightly onto Qin Yun, who had been unusually calm from beginning to end below the Sacrificial Mountain.

No, he was not looking at Qin Yun.

He was looking at the faint, flickering cyan-gold Life Pattern on Qin Yun's wrist.

"The other half..."

The Superior One Qingxu stared fixedly at that Life Pattern, as if wanting to snatch it from Qin Yun.

His voice became sharp with rage.

"The other half of the Origin of Life is on you!"