I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals 316

## Chapter 312: Nascent Soul Techniques

The fragrant grassland oasis.

Xuan Yin Pavilion, the chief guest elder’s subworld.

In the alchemy room, a middle-aged man in a green robe, with a refined air, manipulated the fire control incantations. The cyan-gold true fire of his Golden Core, in the shape of a lotus, bloomed beneath the alchemy furnace.

“Qinglong Association ‘Pink Butterfly’, it is an honor to serve the master.”

A delicate female voice echoed from behind.

A female cultivator with a peach-blossom complexion, wearing a pink skirt, possessing a serpent’s seductive face, sat with her lotus-like legs curled up, massaging Lu Chang An’s back and shoulders.

“Hmm, with the addition of the skin-feel temperature-controlled material, and multiple adjustments, the feel of the current model is finally nearly indistinguishable from a real female cultivator.”

Lu Chang An nodded in satisfaction, his expression one of comfortable enjoyment.

All thanks to Fang Zhen’s sponsorship.

Lu Chang An’s third 3rd-rank mid-grade puppet was successfully refined a year ago. Through technical adjustments, it had matured.

The female puppet, ‘Pink Butterfly’, was special, excelling in illusion and enchantment.

If the peak-level Jie Dan soul from his second life was integrated, her strengths could be fully realized. Below the Jie Dan stage, it would be difficult to resist her.

Thanks to the integration of the Thousand Machine Sect’s advanced imitation puppet technology, ‘Pink Butterfly’s’ realism surpassed that of his Dou Li Assassin puppet.

Lu Chang An used her as his second puppet clone.

After advancing to the mid-Golden Core stage, Lu Chang An’s time for accessing his second life had further reduced.

Now, it only took half a year.

Therefore, he could implant two soul imprints of his second life into two puppet clones.

Lu Chang An’s unique puppet clones had two significant advantages:

Firstly, they did not occupy his divine consciousness nor consume his energy.

Even for puppet masters with strong divine consciousness, the number of same-level puppets they could control at once was limited.

During a battle, whether controlling magic treasures or puppets, divine consciousness would be consumed, and there was a limit to the load it could bear.

Secondly, they could be controlled over long distances, akin to a flesh and blood clone, wielded as one’s own arm.

The key components of the puppet, its weapons and armor, were all magic treasure-grade.

Therefore, Lu Chang An’s puppet clones defied conventional logic, surpassing the strength of a same-level Jie Dan cultivator, not weaker by any means.

With Lu Chang An’s current wealth, he did not lack the spirit stones to build puppets. The main factor affecting his progress was the acquisition of scarce materials.

Materials for his fourth 3rd-rank mid-grade puppet were currently being gathered.

As for the 3rd-rank low-grade puppets, they were much easier to obtain. Lu Chang An was in the process of building a team of archer puppets.

Seven days later.

A torrent of heat surged in the alchemy room, accompanied by swirling radiance.

Hum!

The alchemy furnace opened, releasing a burst of light and three crystal-like pills, the size of green grapes, emitting a strange, life-filled fragrance.

“Two high-quality, one low-quality.”

Lu Chang An smiled, examining the three 3rd-rank Longevity Pills in his hand. Two of them had complete seven-line patterns.

This round of alchemy, while not exceptional, was still considered above average.

Freshly refined Longevity Pills had minimal medicinal energy loss.

For long-term preservation, they needed to be sealed.

Lu Chang An did not hesitate. He consumed the two high-quality 3rd-rank Longevity Pills, one after the other.

The first one extended his lifespan by fifty years.

The second one extended his lifespan by forty years.

3rd-rank Longevity Pills generally extended lifespan by about thirty years. Ordinary cultivators could not stack their effects.

Lu Chang An’s first pill, taken previously, had extended his lifespan by sixty years.

The two pills today were slightly less potent, totaling a lifespan extension of ninety years.

Even after deducting the twenty-year lifespan reduction from the “Life-Gambling Divination” skill, his lifespan had increased by seventy years.

“Total lifespan: 1185 years.”

A longer lifespan brought a sense of security to Lu Chang An’s heart.

There were too many places he needed to “gamble” with his lifespan.

Xuan Tian Hu Teng, divination, Chi Yang Hua Xue Dun…

Theoretically, Lu Chang An, by having his fourth life descend and reaching the late Golden Core stage, could barely activate the fourth level of “Chi Yang Hua Xue Dun.”

This corresponded to the Nascent Soul initial stage, the highest level attained by the former Li Huo Shang Ren.

However, that level of escape technique consumed ten or more years of lifespan per use, even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle to handle that.

Speaking of “life-gambling,” Nascent Soul Zhen Jun could not compete with Lu Chang An.

Because, many seasoned Nascent Soul Zhen Jun had cultivated for hundreds of years, and their remaining lifespan was nowhere near Lu Chang An’s.

…

Lu Chang An kept the low-quality 3rd-rank Longevity Pill, sealed and stored, not intending to take it.

Low-quality Longevity Pills had poor effects, increased drug resistance, and occupied a spot for consumption.

Lu Chang An estimated that if given to an ordinary cultivator, it would extend their lifespan by about twenty years.

This pill could be auctioned off, traded for rare resources, or used as a favor in the future.

Lu Chang An left the alchemy room and saw Yun Ling and Xuan Shui Gui playing by the pond.

As the chief guest elder, Lu Chang An’s subworld at Xuan Yin Pavilion was spacious, complete with mountains and water.

Yun Ling sat on the turtle’s back, holding up her skirt. Her smooth feet were stepping on Xuan Shui Gui’s head.

Poof! Poof!

Xuan Shui Gui blew transparent bubbles, hitting Yun Ling, making her entire body moist and her skin delicate, pink, and translucent. Her skirt clung to her body, outlining her graceful and beautiful curves.

Lu Chang An was unfazed by this scene.

Yun Ling called it a “bubble bath,” claiming that it nurtured the skin, had beautifying and rejuvenating effects.

According to Lu Chang An’s observations, not only was Yun Ling’s skin more supple, smooth as porcelain, but her physique and bone marrow were also slowly improving.

This improvement, though slow, would be considerable over a long period.

This ability surpassed that of ordinary Xuan Shui Gui.

Back then, the Xuan Shui Gui Lu Chang An hatched with the Chang Qing Secret Technique, had a slightly different appearance from its peers.

The patterns on its shell resembled those of leaves.

This Xuan Shui Gui was better at wood-type magic techniques, and its vitality was stronger.

Otherwise, it was no different from its kin.

For now, it was only considered an individual difference, not a true mutation.

“Master Xu.”

Yun Ling rose and saluted, her hair dripping wet, like a goddess emerging from a bath.

Her star-bright eyes flickered, tinged with shyness, but she didn’t deliberately avoid Lu Chang An.

This stemmed from her delicate mind. She had noticed that Master Xu had expressed a hint of appreciation for this state of hers.

As the maid and the subworld’s female steward, Yun Ling knew of the intimate relationship between Immortal Nie Yue and Lu Chang An.

Immortal Nie Yue’s extraordinary beauty left her speechless, even envy was hard to feel, so she diligently fulfilled her duties as a maid.

Splash!

Lu Chang An walked across the water, arriving at the spacious turtle’s back. He sat cross-legged and examined Yun Ling’s cultivation and rune skills.

Under Lu Chang An’s guidance, Yun Ling’s progress, both in cultivation and rune skills, surpassed her previous speed.

In the outside world, she would be considered a genius rune master, with a cultivation speed comparable to someone with a high-grade spiritual root.

This was not just due to the guidance of a master and a better environment.

Lu Chang An discovered that the nourishment from the Xuan Shui Gui and the Karmic Connection of Reincarnation had an extra bonus.

Through Yun Ling, Lu Chang An had researched the secret of reincarnation, but he only had a few discoveries.

She was more easily able to comprehend scenes and experiences from her past lives.

As for unraveling the mystery of her birth, there was no progress yet.

Yun Ling occasionally experienced scenes from her past life in her dreams, though they were not entirely clear.

Lu Chang An couldn’t help but associate this with the third method of opening the Jiu Yin Bei.

Transforming an alien cultivation life into a fleeting dream of one’s own.

Life is like a dream, dreams are like life, who can truly tell?

…

Whoosh!

A transmission talisman flew into the subworld.

Lu Chang An received the talisman and scanned it with his divine consciousness.

“Alright, Big Turtle, you go cultivate as well.”

Lu Chang An finished instructing Yun Ling and sent the Xuan Shui Gui to the underground vault to care for the Xuan Tian Hu Teng.

He flew out of the subworld and met the Pavilion Master, Immortal Nie Yue, in the Xuan Yin Pavilion’s main hall.

“Master Xu, the materials to reinforce the grand array are ready.”

Immortal Nie Yue’s skirt sleeves fluttered, she produced a pile of materials and placed them on the table.

Lu Chang An checked the materials and nodded.

“I will refine the array artifacts. The specific deployment will be carried out by you.”

“Master Xu, rest assured, Nie Yue will keep this matter highly confidential. Even Ruotong and Shijie don’t know about it.”

Immortal Nie Yue’s silk ribbons fluttered, she was dignified and proper. Her bright eyes sparkled with joy, playfully acting like a young girl in admiration.

Two years ago, Lu Chang An had proposed to her that they reinforce the 3rd-rank grand array around the oasis.

The original array master had been bribed and vanished, revealing the array’s flaws and weak points to Fang Zhen and others.

It would be difficult to find a trustworthy array master in a short period of time.

Who would have thought that Master Xu was actually a 3rd-rank array master.

Immortal Nie Yue was deeply impressed. Master Xu was truly an extraordinary individual, knowledgeable and talented. What she had seen was just the tip of the iceberg.

This further solidified her desire to keep Lu Chang An. She used her tea skills and beautiful music to win his favor.

Two months later.

The grand array that protected Xuan Yin Pavilion was fully reinforced.

This kind of grand array, designed to protect an entire sect, was larger in scale and more powerful than ordinary arrays.

Lu Chang An inherited the 3rd-rank mid-grade array skills from his fourth life, his understanding and vision in array techniques far surpassed that of his former teacher.

Reinforcing Xuan Yin Pavilion’s array was also a way to enhance his own safety, adding another escape route in the future.

Immortal Nie Yue was unaware of this, thinking that Lu Chang An had merged into the sect and was kindly helping Xuan Yin Pavilion.

She was grateful and relieved. She cared for Master Xu even more.

After the array reinforcement, Immortal Nie Yue visited Lu Chang An for several nights, gently attending to him.

She cast aside her pride and dignity as the head of the sect, the first female Jie Dan cultivator in the Outer Sect Alliance. She even abandoned postures she considered shameful in the past, allowing him to do as he pleased.

Pure physical pleasure was rather dull for Lu Chang An.

He had higher aspirations.

He proposed to engage in a deeper level of spiritual communion with Immortal Nie Yue, to which she readily agreed.

Unfortunately, there was no longer the same kind of promotion in terms of mental state and comprehension of Dao as there was with “Divine Dream Millennium.”

After reinforcing Xuan Yin Pavilion’s array, Lu Chang An had been quietly repairing the near 4th-rank illusion array he had obtained previously.

The original version of the array was a 4th-rank array.

To restore it completely, he lacked several 4th-rank materials, which were incredibly difficult to obtain.

Fortunately, the main framework of the array was still intact. He only needed supplementary materials, and the quantity was not large.

…

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Chang An’s age reached 247, ten years had passed since his advancement to the mid-Golden Core stage.

On this day, Lu Chang An was refining and nurturing his lifebound magic treasure in his secret room.

Three nail-headed arrows floated around his Golden Core, being tempered with Chang Qing True Fire and nourished by the Golden Core’s energy.

Now, after years of tempering, the three nail-headed arrows had been upgraded to high-grade magic treasures.

Hidden within Lu Chang An’s body, their aura was extremely subtle, like silent, sealed swords.

“Thirty-five years of nourishment…”

Only Lu Chang An, as the master of the magic treasure, could sense the terrible power contained within the silent, introverted nail-headed arrows.

The main material of the nail-headed arrows came from 4th-rank Soul-Nurturing Wood, a material of the Nascent Soul level.

As soon as Lu Chang An obtained the Soul-Nurturing Wood, he nurtured it with Chang Qing energy, cultivating its spirit and establishing communication.

After refining it into a magic treasure, this habit persisted.

The nail-headed arrows, nourished and charged for decades, their first strike, upon “sheathing,” would be far more powerful than usual.

Lu Chang An had calculated that with his divine consciousness and energy at the “Golden Core cultivator” level, the first strike of the nail-headed arrow would reach the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage.

As a lifebound magic treasure, a small magic treasure, the nail-headed arrows consumed much less energy than heavy magic treasures like “Flame Mountain.”

The nail-headed arrows contained soul attacks. The power they exerted largely depended on the strength of the divine consciousness.

“If my fourth life descends, with Nascent Soul-level divine consciousness wielding it, I can almost unleash the full power of the charged nail-headed arrows. Equivalent to a Nascent Soul-level magic treasure attack!”

The results of Lu Chang An’s calculations surprised even himself.

A Nascent Soul-level magic treasure attack was more powerful than a 4th-rank spirit talisman.

Furthermore, the nail-headed arrows were extremely treacherous. They contained soul attacks, often striking from ambush, making them impossible to guard against.

Forget about Jie Dan cultivators.

Even a Nascent Soul Zhen Jun who was caught off guard might suffer a great loss, falling into a trap.

“In this life, I finally have a true Nascent Soul-level trump card!”

Every time Lu Chang An refined them, he felt a surge of pride, his sense of security greatly enhanced.

Simply relying on the fourth life’s descent, only the soul would reach the Nascent Soul stage.

At most, one could activate divine consciousness techniques, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. It would be effective against those of lower levels, but not much use against those of the same level.

However, combining the fourth life’s descent, the Golden Core cultivator’s energy, and the nail-headed arrows nourished for decades, all three factors combined created a means to threaten Nascent Soul Zhen Jun.

It’s just that fulfilling all three conditions was incredibly demanding.

Even after reaching the mid-Golden Core stage, it would take ten years for the fourth life to descend.

As for the nail-headed arrows, they needed decades of nourishment and accumulation.

In fact, when Lu Chang An fought the Peacock Saintess, he only activated one nail-headed arrow.

The weakest one, nourished for thirty-five years.

The other two had been nourished for over fifty years.

This accumulated power compensated to some extent for the enormous gap in energy.

Lu Chang An discovered that after thirty years of nourishing, the power increase of the high-grade nail-headed arrows became very slow.

…

After nurturing his magic talismans and nail-headed arrows, Lu Chang An looked towards the sky above Xuan Yin Pavilion’s mountain gate.

Spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged, forming a swirling cloud mass.

At this moment, a female Zhu Ji cultivator in Xuan Yin Pavilion was attempting to break through to the Jie Dan stage. It had lasted for several days.

Two days later.

The cloud mass of spiritual energy, spanning three miles, dissipated smoothly.

The mountain gate of Xuan Yin Pavilion was filled with celebrations, a new True Dan female cultivator had been born.

The female cultivator’s surname was Qiu. Her beauty and temperament rivaled that of Bai Xianzi in the past, but her personality was more solitary and aloof.

From now on, Xuan Yin Pavilion had a new, noble Autumn Immortal.

Lu Chang An simply paid a little attention, not taking it to heart.

That night, Immortal Nie Yue came to thank Lu Chang An.

“Xu Lang, Qiu Shimei was able to achieve True Dan before the age of one hundred and twenty. It was thanks to the Ning Jing Dan you traded, otherwise, she wouldn’t know how long she would have to wait.”

Immortal Nie Yue was in high spirits, her smile charming. She brought out a guqin and played a melody for Lu Chang An.

It turned out that Lu Chang An had traded the stolen Ning Jing Dan he got from Fang Zhen to Xuan Yin Pavilion.

He used it to exchange for the 3rd-rank high-grade spirit bamboo he needed, along with some materials for the Longevity Pill.

Furthermore, with Xuan Yin Pavilion’s network, Lu Chang An acquired rare materials for puppets and arrays.

Now, Xuan Yin Pavilion had a Jie Dan cultivator in charge and a new True Dan elder, Autumn Immortal, making it the strongest in Lai Feng Yuan Country.

If you count Lu Chang An as a “hidden expert,” its strength might even surpass the former Xuan Yin Pavilion of Liang Country.

After Autumn Immortal solidified her cultivation, she came to visit Lu Chang An.

She wasn’t sure where that Ning Jing Dan came from, she was simply paying respects to the True Dan elder within the sect.

When Autumn Immortal came to visit, Immortal Nie Yue accompanied her personally, leaving no space for private conversations between the two.

Lu Chang An faintly sensed that Immortal Nie Yue was deliberately hindering Autumn Immortal’s interaction with him.

Autumn Immortal was the youngest True Dan female cultivator in Xuan Yin Pavilion, and Nie Yue, the Pavilion Master, had a protective feeling towards her.

Lu Chang An was speechless. He didn’t have any deep desire to get to know Autumn Immortal.

This was different from the situation with Jiang Xianzi.

Lu Chang An could only sigh, times were changing, even with such deep connections, there was not even basic trust.

Maybe it was because of his immense charm. Even with his previous life’s face and temperament, he couldn’t conceal his noble nature.

…

Half a year later.

Lu Chang An sat cross-legged, ancient coins, counting rods, turtle shells, chess pieces, and other divination items floated in front of him.

Invisible fate and destiny gathered around him, finally breaking through a barrier, connecting with the broader heavenly fate.

“High-grade divination, finally broken through.”

Lu Chang An’s lifespan, compared to three years ago, had been reduced by another five or six years.

From now on, Lu Chang An’s third cultivation technique in this life, reached the 3rd-rank high-grade level.

The previous two were refinement and rune crafting.

After reaching the mid-Golden Core stage, Lu Chang An would only need his second life to possess the peak rune-crafting skills of his previous life.

“Huh!”

After reaching 3rd-rank high-grade divination, Lu Chang An faintly sensed an invisible hand of fate, encompassing or protecting Lai Feng Yuan Country.

This invisible power of fate was weaker on the side of the Outer Sect Alliance, mainly concentrated in the territory of the indigenous tribes of Lai Feng Yuan Country.

Lu Chang An speculated that this invisible power of fate came from Lai Feng Yuan Country’s national master.

It was used to protect Lai Feng Yuan Country and the Heavenly Mechanism of the Snow Mountain Holy Land, preventing other powerful cultivation forces from plotting against them.

“4th-rank skill, Divination Grandmaster!”

Lu Chang An avoided contact with this power of fate.

He had no karmic cause or effect with the Grandmaster. As long as he didn’t actively divine secrets about the Grandmaster and the Snow Mountain Holy Land, he wouldn’t be sensed by the other party.

Ten days later, his divination skill stabilized.

Lu Chang An retrieved many divination items, based on the sufficient information he had gathered, he used his full power to divine the trajectory of the demonic invasion war.

The results of the divination were ominous.

Beast King Valley and the Righteous Path Alliance had reached a peace agreement.

Four months later.

Lu Chang An, through his puppet clone, obtained crucial intel from the Huang Sha Organization in a nearby immortal city.

“Beast King Valley and the Righteous Path Alliance have reached an agreement, a truce for thirty years, neither side will attack the other.”

Lu Chang An’s heart sank.

The outcome he didn’t want to see had happened.

The Huang Sha Organization’s intelligence was relatively reliable, but it had a certain degree of lag.

In other words, Beast King Valley and the Righteous Path Alliance had signed the peace agreement at least two or three months ago.

(End of Chapter)

Previous Chapter | TOC |