I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals 298

## Chapter 294: River Source Oasis

Three figures emerged from the sand fog, blocking Lu Chang An’s path.

They were:

A burly, dark-skinned man towering eight feet tall, clad in heavy armor.

A slender youth with a long braid, wearing a sable cloak.

And a beautiful woman of a foreign race, with a human upper body and a dragon’s tail.

*Plop!*

A refined middle-aged man in a blue gown swayed and tumbled towards the desert floor.

“Quick and decisive!”

A-Da Wan, with dark circles under his eyes, muttered a spell and gave the order.

The dark-skinned man roared, growing to a height of five feet. His entire body was covered in black hair, and his hair stood on end like steel needles.

A shadowy figure flitted through the wind and sand, closing in on Lu Chang An within a few breaths.

Before the figure got close, a black-veined iron fist, the size of a millstone, loomed in Lu Chang An’s vision, radiating a terrifying pressure.

A thunderclap!

A scorching crater, six or seven feet in radius, formed in Lu Chang An’s location, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand.

“Is that all?”

A-Da Wan felt a tinge of disappointment. A weak opponent meant less profit.

But it was understandable. A mere *Jia Dan* (False Core) *wai xiu* (external cultivator), poisoned by a third-order toxin, wouldn’t stand a chance against a *Zhu Ji* (Foundation Establishment) level *ti xiu* (body cultivator).

As a true *ti xiu*, the dark-skinned man was not only physically powerful, but also possessed a *Lian Ti* (Body Refinement) ability that could threaten *fa xiu* (spirit cultivators) from a distance.

Each *ti xiu* ability varied depending on their *gong fa* (cultivation technique).

In Feng Yuan Guo (Feng Yuan Country), there was once a formidable *ti xiu* close to the fourth order, who unleashed his ability with a roar, shattering the heart of a *Jie Dan* (Core Formation) cultivator miles away.

“True *ti xiu* are different.”

A flash of blurred vision amidst the sand and wind, the blue-robed figure appeared, eerily, behind the dark-skinned man.

A violent gust of wind whistled past Lu Chang An’s ear, and a large hand covered in golden runes slammed into the dark-skinned man’s back.

“That speed? Third-order *Lian Ti*!”

The dark-skinned man’s scalp prickled, he was too late to dodge. He could only use his *Li Po* (Force Spirit) to resist, taking the full force of the blow on his back.

“Crack!”

The heavy armor split, followed by a series of bone-crunching sounds.

The dark-skinned man’s forehead bulged with veins, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and flew backward, sinking into the sand.

“A third-order *Lian Ti* *wai xiu*?”

A-Da Wan was slightly surprised, but not panicked.

Meanwhile,

The woman’s eerie voice echoed.

A illusion of uncertain reality flickered, appearing beside Lu Chang An.

“Heh heh…”

The woman’s eyes, with a dragon’s face, shone with a hazy light, giving Lu Chang An’s surroundings a warped feel, slightly hindering his movements.

*Slap!*

Lu Chang An raised his arm, colliding with the illusion-like sweep of the dragon’s tail, feeling an unreal sense of smoothness.

The woman grunted, thrown backwards by the immense force, but without any visible injury.

“This is…a third-order puppet?”

It was only then that Lu Chang An realized the woman wasn’t a living creature, but a lifelike puppet.

Its intelligence, spirit, appearance, and skin were all so lifelike that they could fool anyone.

The young man with the braid was actually a third-order *Kui Shi* (Puppet Master), his skills in puppet refinement, in certain areas, surpassed Lu Chang An’s.

The woman’s puppet was slightly stronger than a third-order initial stage great demon!

Combined with the third-order poison, this formidable force could easily overwhelm ordinary *Jie Dan* cultivators in the desert.

Unfortunately, they had encountered Lu Chang An.

Chang Qing Gong (Evergreen Technique) neutralized the poison, *Jin Luo Ba Ti* (Golden Luo Invincible Body) resisted the negative effects, and a near third-order mid-stage *Lian Ti* body perfectly countered this combination.

Lu Chang An suddenly understood why he had received a favorable divination from Xiao Ji.

“Ah! A-Da Gongzi, save…”

The dark-skinned man, sinking into the sand, was suddenly swallowed by a huge sand vortex, his voice cut short!

Lu Chang An smiled faintly. What good was *ti xiu* ability? Under absolute crushing power, there was no resistance.

*Ti xiu* cultivation was arduous, relying on talent and resources. While their strength and defense were formidable, they had no clear advantage against *fa xiu* of the same order in open environments.

“Earth-element great demon…”

A-Da Wan’s face turned pale, his pupils constricted, revealing his fear.

If Lu Chang An were merely a third-order *Lian Ti* or a *Jie Dan* initial stage cultivator, he still had a chance with his numerical advantage.

But the opponent had a terrifying Earth-element great demon hidden, who had already wiped out his powerful *ti xiu* subordinate. This was beyond his capabilities.

“Xu Zhen Ren, please show mercy! A-Da Xi, Deputy City Lord of the Scorpion Wasteland, is my father…”

Seeing the situation turn desperate, A-Da Wan used his connections and controlled his puppet to defend, preparing to retreat.

To show his strength and make Lu Chang An back down, he summoned two more near third-order beast-shaped puppets, guarding him on either side.

With this lineup, even a powerful *Jie Dan* cultivator, if they wanted to kill him, would have to fight for some time. The battle would be loud enough to attract surrounding tribal cultivators.

However, the next scene left A-Da Wan terrified.

*Swish swish swish!*

Lu Chang An gently raised his hand, and five puppet archers, clad in leather armor, appeared in front of him.

The spiritual pressure emitted by their bows and arrows all reached the level of *Jia Dan* or above.

Two *Jie Dan* level puppets, and three *Jia Dan* level puppets.

“This, how is this possible! He’s both a third-order *Lian Ti* and a third-order *Kui Shi*…”

A-Da Wan’s voice trembled, he felt like his world was turned upside down. His eyes, deep-set in his sunken sockets, almost fell out.

A third-order *Lian Ti* cultivator, leading a group of high-level puppets, this was the kind of force you would use to attack a fairy city or a sect.

“Shoot!”

With a wave of his hand, Lu Chang An’s five *Zhen Ren* (True Immortal) level archers launched two consecutive volleys.

*Whistling*

Numerous artifact-level arrows turned into brilliant streaks of light, tearing through the sand fog-filled void.

“Spare my life,前辈 (Senior)!”

“Quickly, quickly block them—!”

A-Da Wan roared in despair, directing his puppets to block, also deploying artifacts and defensive talismans.

*Bang bang swish!*

Just the first volley of brilliant arrows shattered his near third-order puppets, artifacts, and talismans.

The only third-order puppet, the woman with a dragon’s face, was entangled by a spiral of sand and stone tendrils extending from the desert, unable to escape.

*Whistling*

The second volley of arrows locked onto their target. A-Da Wan’s eyes were bloodshot, his rage was evident, but it was too late.

He was a third-order *Kui Shi*, but only a *Jia Dan* stage *fa xiu*.

A dignified third-order *Lian Ti* cultivator, not only bullying the weak but also using a gang attack, there was no one more shameless than this in the vast wasteland.

“Fu…Fu Ta!?”

His gaze fixed on the blue-robed man, his face suddenly blurred, transforming into a familiar one.

Fu Ta!!

Before his death, A-Da Wan was stunned, filled with shock, and let out a final question and roar.

Why did he ambush Lu Chang An?

It was because Fu Ta had spread rumors about Xu Zhen Ren in the city, suggesting that he had brought a large amount of pills and herbs from the outside.

Of course, the real reason was that A-Da Wan was crafting special puppets and needed spiritual stones urgently. He intended to rob the fat sheep, the *wai xiu*.

This was the tradition of the tribes in Feng Yuan Guo.

*Whistling*

A-Da Wan’s body was pierced, but his final scream of shock was not blocked by Lu Chang An, and echoed far away.

After A-Da Wan died, the woman’s puppet struggled, but its resistance was significantly reduced, although its survival instinct remained.

Lu Chang An was surprised. Could it be that A-Da Wan had injected an independent personality into this female puppet?

He used his *Kong Kui Jue* (Puppet Control Spell), aided by the *Di Yan Shu* (Earth Rock Rat), to bind and seal the strange puppet, storing it in his storage bag.

Within a few breaths, he quickly cleaned up the battlefield, gathered his spoils, and retrieved his puppet arrows.

“Go!”

Lu Chang An changed his clothes, assuming the appearance of Fu Ta, and flew away from the Scorpion Wasteland’s territory.

A-Da Wan was no ordinary figure, he was a direct descendant of the Scorpion Tribe and a crucial person. His death would likely alert the upper echelons of the Wasteland City.

“Ah! Fu Ta, the Deputy City Guard?”

Leaving the surrounding area, Lu Chang An encountered tribal cultivators who respectfully addressed him with a mix of fear and awe.

Lu Chang An did not have Fu Ta’s blood, but he had gathered a wisp of his aura during their initial encounter.

This kind of superficial disguise was not convincing, but with the sand and wind of the desert covering it, it didn’t reveal any flaws.

Lu Chang An knew Fu Ta might not be able to bear this blame.

However, the negative news about himself and A-Da Wan’s actions were all related to this man.

Lu Chang An deliberately stirred the water, confusing the situation, and gave Fu Ta a final jab before leaving.

…

“Hm? Who’s calling me?”

Dozens of miles away from the incident, Fu Ta stealthily flew out from the Scorpion Wasteland, looking around in confusion, doubting his ears.

The voice seemed like a hallucination, he hadn’t actually heard anything.

As the Deputy City Guard, he had witnessed A-Da Wan’s secret actions.

Fu Ta’s intention was to use A-Da Wan to test Lu Chang An’s strength. If the latter was weak, he would use him as a knife.

Fu Ta had followed out of curiosity, with the hopes of seeing a good show and getting some benefits.

He didn’t know about A-Da Wan’s true puppet mastery, and he felt that Xu Zhen Ren was no ordinary person, so there was a chance they would fight to the death.

If he could lend a hand to A-Da Wan at a critical moment, he would gain the favor of the tribal nobleman and his future would be secured.

“Strange, the battle suddenly disappeared from here…”

Fu Ta searched around for a long time, but found nothing, his expression was filled with doubt and suspicion.

On his way back to the Wasteland City.

A sound of tearing through the air came from the front, a familiar and powerful aura made Fu Ta’s heart skip a beat.

He wanted to avoid it, but was detected by the other party’s sharp senses.

“Fu Ta, what are you sneaking around for?”

A loud voice filled with anger echoed from the clouds.

“Ah! Fu Ta greets the Deputy City Lord.”

Fu Ta shivered, bewildered, and bowed respectfully.

Deputy City Lord A-Da Xi, a mid-stage third-order *ti xiu*, was A-Da Wan’s own father.

That evening.

News spread through the Scorpion Wasteland that A-Da Wan had died and Fu Ta, the Deputy City Guard, was imprisoned.

There were many rumors circulating among the common people.

One version was widely accepted:

It was said that Fu Ta secretly instigated A-Da Wan to ambush the *wai xiu* *Jie Dan* Zhen Ren, intending to reap the benefits after they fought to the death.

…

Half a day later.

Lu Chang An flew out of the Scorpion Wasteland’s territory. The wilderness was clearly visible along the way, with fewer oases, and spiritual veins were almost nonexistent.

The civilization of Feng Yuan Guo originated from the Snow Mountain Sacred Land, with the various Wasteland Cities as important branches, spreading outward.

Areas far from the Wasteland Cities were deserted, poor in spiritual veins, and prone to natural disasters.

At this time, Lu Chang An was unaware that his casual act, a simple and brutal frame-up, had brought a terrible fate upon Fu Ta, the Deputy City Guard.

After leaving the Wasteland City’s territory, he made a rough divination, only getting a vague result.

The upper echelons of the Scorpion Wasteland had not tracked him down or issued a wanted poster.

In Lu Chang An’s opinion, Fu Ta’s strength was not enough to bear the full blame. Being able to confuse the situation and take some of the heat was enough to achieve his objective.

On second thought, Lu Chang An realized the Scorpion Wasteland had no valid excuse to publicly issue a wanted poster for him.

First, there was no evidence to prove Lu Chang An was the killer, especially since he had already established himself as the prime suspect.

Second, even if they found out the truth, that A-Da Wan had tried to rob Lu Chang An, and was killed in retaliation, it would be his own fault, morally wrong.

If it were leaked, it would only damage the Scorpion Tribe’s reputation.

The various tribes of Feng Yuan Guo practiced the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, with robbery being their traditional craft.

They usually wouldn’t cause trouble for each other over such private vendettas.

Even so, Lu Chang An used divination techniques to subtly obscure the matter, increasing the difficulty of divination.

This obfuscation technique had a clear effect on diviners who were less skilled than him.

In Feng Yuan Guo, apart from the Heaven Masters of the Snow Mountain Sacred Land, divination was relatively backward in most tribes.

Lu Chang An estimated that the strongest diviner in the Scorpion Tribe might not even have reached the third order.

Along the way, he had destroyed the suspicious items in A-Da Wan’s storage bag.

That night, Lu Chang An settled in a sand cave, reviewing his spoils.

“No wonder he went out to rob.”

A-Da Wan was much poorer than Lu Chang An expected. He only had a few thousand spiritual stones in his storage bag.

Most of his wealth was invested in research and puppet crafting.

Especially that woman’s puppet, with a dragon’s face.

Lu Chang An found some interesting information in A-Da Wan’s jade slips and personal experimental records.

A-Da Wan had obtained a lost puppet technique called *Hua Ling Yi Kui Lu* (Transformation Spirit Extraordinary Puppet Record).

This puppet technique allowed for the injection of independent spiritual intelligence into puppets, but the method was sinister, requiring the refinement of living souls.

It also documented the types of puppets that imitated the form and abilities of ancient true spirits, but the crafting methods were only theoretical speculations.

Even if only the form was imitated, this kind of “extraordinary spirit puppet,” with its extraordinary abilities, was exceptionally powerful.

Extraordinary spirit puppets were expensive to make, costing two to three times as much as ordinary puppets of the same level.

The woman with the dragon’s face was only an incomplete product, with some malfunctions that prevented it from fighting for extended periods.

Based on Lu Chang An’s *Nascent Soul* (Nascent Soul) perspective, crafting this kind of puppet that imitated ancient divine beast true spirits was nothing more than a grand scam.

No one in the Sky Heng Continent had ever seen a complete true spirit, at most, they had seen ancient texts and observed certain species that possessed their thin bloodlines.

*Hua Ling Yi Kui Lu* documented six theoretical speculations about crafting puppets that imitated true spirits, including a woman with a dragon’s face, a five-colored peacock, a Xuan Wu turtle, and so on.

The core materials required were crucial parts from rare birds and beasts with true spirit bloodlines.

A-Da Wan was a genius, he believed in the theoretical speculation and devoted years to researching it, obtaining many replacement materials that met the requirements. This allowed him to lower the standards and create inferior versions of the puppets.

To increase the success rate, he refined the soul consciousness of his half-sister and injected it into the puppet.

A-Da Wan had loved his half-sister, who had a poor spirit root. Before she reached the end of her lifespan, he got her permission and combined her with his life’s work.

“Genius and madman are separated by a thin line.”

Lu Chang An had to admit that A-Da Wan’s puppet skills surpassed his own in terms of innovation and depth of research.

A-Da Wan’s puppet technique and insights were Lu Chang An’s greatest gains this time.

The unreliable *Hua Ling Yi Kui Lu* was obtained by A-Da Wan many years ago after killing a traitor of the Thousand Mechanism Sect.

“Thousand Mechanism Sect, the sacred ground and ancestor of puppetry in the Great Green Territory…”

As a third-order *Kui Shi*, Lu Chang An was drawn to it.

It was said that the Thousand Mechanism Sect could create fourth-order puppets at the *Nascent Soul* level.

Throughout the Great Green, all other puppet lineages only had puppets below the fourth order.

The Thousand Mechanism Sect was the only large force that possessed the complete fourth-order puppet lineage and was able to successfully create them.

Of all his skills in this life, Lu Chang An was most talented in puppetry, he also had an advantage in spiritual consciousness.

*Hua Ling Yi Kui Lu*, although a scam, had given Lu Chang An inspiration.

“Is it possible to temporarily inject the soul shadows of my second and fourth lives into a high-order puppet?”

“Using a powerful puppet as a physical carrier, if my fourth life’s *Nascent Soul* level consciousness successfully possesses it, I wonder what kind of power it can unleash…”

…

Two months later.

Lu Chang An passed through the territories of two more Wasteland City tribes and crossed a vast expanse of desert, finally reaching the Outer Sect Alliance in the southeastern part of Feng Yuan Guo.

He didn’t enter any other Wasteland Cities during this time, selling items and buying supplies in some oases and wetlands.

His dwindling spiritual stones recovered, reaching 150,000 to 160,000.

Upon entering the Outer Sect Alliance’s territory, the oases and habitable areas became more frequent.

While flying, he occasionally encountered camels, sand beast carriages, small and medium-sized spirit ships, and some wandering merchants and cultivators.

Lu Chang An felt the atmosphere of free trade.

In every oasis and market he visited, the trade was no longer greeted with cold and exclusionary gazes, there were many enthusiastic cultivators welcoming him.

The Outer Sect Alliance had no true natives, cultivators from surrounding areas settled and thrived here.

A few tribal cultivators from the eight Wasteland Cities migrated to the Outer Sect Alliance’s territory for various reasons.

Sects, families, merchant guilds, and loose cultivators were scattered across the various oases, spiritual veins, and fairy cities.

After several more days of flight.

A large oasis, covering an area of several hundred miles, came into view.

Looking down from above, one could see towering mountains and a large river running through the oasis’ forests.

From afar, Lu Chang An could sense the dense aura of a medium-sized third-order spiritual vein.

“River Source Oasis! Abundant water resources, extensive forests and vegetation, wood-type aura is relatively active…”

This was one of the oases Lu Chang An had planned for his secluded cultivation.

The relevant information came from his fourth life, Li Huo Shang Ren (Fire God), it was a suitable place for refuge and quiet cultivation.

River Source Oasis had no powerful sects and no single dominant force.

The important resources of the oasis were jointly controlled by several cultivation families and powerful loose cultivators.

Thousands of miles away from the River Source Oasis was also a high-level fairy city, controlled by the Xuan Ji Lou (Mysterious Machine Tower), making it convenient for trading and purchasing.

Xuan Ji Lou was a giant in the Outer Sect Alliance.

It was said to be a force established by defectors from the Thousand Mechanism Sect in Feng Yuan Guo, specializing in the puppet business.

Lu Chang An came to Feng Yuan Guo to seek refuge and secludedly cultivate until he reached the mid-stage *Jie Dan*.

Fairy cities, with their crowded populations and busy crowds, were not suitable.

The River Source Oasis, with its relatively active wood-type aura, was his primary target.

…

Half an hour later.

Lu Chang An arrived at a bustling market on the eastern side of the River Source Oasis.

After inquiring, he learned that the highest level of spiritual vein training grounds available for rent in the oasis were only second-order upper grade.

Lu Chang An was not in a hurry, he had exceptional skills and was confident he would find a third-order spiritual vein belonging to a force willing to let him join.

Without realizing it, he walked to a stall street, learning about local resources and prices along the way, gathering information.

At this moment, Lu Chang An felt a faint sense of connection.

Similar to when Li Er Qing died and entered the cycle of reincarnation, but this connection was much weaker.

His eyes flickered, landing on a stall not far away.

The stall owner was a brother and sister, selling a mix of talismans, artifacts, books, and antiques.

The brother was dressed in sturdy clothes, about twenty years old, with strong features, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, giving off a sense of honesty and kindness.

The sister wore a blue pleated skirt, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with fair skin and rosy lips, wearing a bell bracelet on her slender white wrist.

*Ding!*

The bells on her wrist jingled softly.

The girl’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes smiled, and she looked at the blue-robed, refined middle-aged man who was approaching.

“Senior, what do you need? I can introduce it to you.”

Whenever the bells on her bracelet jingled, it always brought her good luck and earned her more spiritual stones.

This chapter was mostly written on my phone, my eyes are really tired, it’s not as comfortable as a big screen.

(End of Chapter)

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