Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

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"His hero, my enemy. My hero, his enemy. Since the Immortal mentioned a particular time, it must have been during such a relentless period of strife that a cultivation technique capable of massive slaughter could become a glorious Immortal Path," Tan Shuchang nodded slightly.

"However, once that era passed, these extreme methods of cultivation became nothing but chaff," the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone chuckled again.

"That’s as it should be; special times call for special measures. But once those times are over, such life-taking cultivation methods should not persist," Tan Shuchang expressed his understanding.

Practices like those of the Heartless Old Man, who used living people as nourishment for cultivation without abolishing them, could only mean that the powerful figures of the Immortal Path were influenced by past affections.

"What if I say that the ’Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome’ you’re cultivating is a cultivation technique that could be considered a pure part of the Immortal Path, regardless of whether it was that special era or the present?" The ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone continued, this time with a startling assertion.

At least, Tan Shuchang was momentarily astonished and unsure.

However, he soon came to his senses and corrected, "This is the ’Cross Calamity Immortal Scripture,’ not the ’Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome.’"

"Hasn’t it always been called the ’Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome’? When did it get renamed?" the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone couldn’t help asking.

"Not long ago, the person who passed this technique to me said I could call it whatever I liked," Tan Shuchang answered truthfully.

"So you decided to call it the ’Cross Calamity Immortal Scripture’?"

"Hasn’t the Immortal already seen it?" Tan Shuchang retorted.

"I can now be certain there will be a place for you in the seats of the astonishing demons of future generations. Because a true demon needs to have a complete set of concepts transcending the world, and I can already see the beginnings of such a concept in you," said the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone; though the statement seemed serious, the tone was unusually lighthearted.

"Can the Immortal kindly explain what exactly these seats of the astonishing demons signify?" Tan Shuchang couldn’t help being curious.

"If you manage to attain longevity in the current environment of the Jiawu Realm, then you will encounter some things related to the astonishing demons," the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping stone gave an evasive answer.

Upon hearing this, Tan Shuchang did not press further, but simply said, "The Immortal has purposefully spoken to me at length and made an effort to meet with me. May I know what the Immortal wishes to gain from me? If it doesn’t affect me negatively, I am willing to pay the fee."

"You actually understand and agree with this?" The ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone was unavoidably surprised.

"I was born with an ordinary fate; I always have a part in misfortunes but never in fortunes. Therefore, I never believe that pies fall from the sky, nor do I believe that ancient cultivating Immortals would share their hearts with me without expecting anything in return," Tan Shuchang said indifferently.

"How about lending me sixty years of your lifespan?" the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone said with a smile.

"Immortal, we are not close, and besides, how could lifespan be lent?" Tan Shuchang raised an eyebrow, hesitating even at the thought of using a few years of lifespan from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone; how could he casually agree to sixty years?

"I’m not asking to borrow it for nothing. If you lend me your lifespan, I can allow you to use other people’s dreams to understand what you need. One’s knowledge is ultimately limited, but stone from other hills may serve to polish the jade," the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone said.

Tan Shuchang was somewhat tempted, but sixty years was still too much, especially since the lifespan requested seemed to be calculated against his total lifespan as if the dream Immortal knew exactly how long he had left.

After all, this Dream Immortal seemed to know too much about the predecessor of the ’Cross Calamity Immortal Scripture,’ even more than he did and perhaps even more than the lord of the demonic path.

"There must be some limitations to this understanding, right? At my current level of cultivation, the dreams of ordinary people are irrelevant no matter how much I study them; only the dreams of those who have reached the clouds are of any use. And yet, those of such stature are unlikely to dream due to the resting requirements of the current cultivation environment," Tan Shuchang said.

He listed these potential drawbacks of using someone else’s dreams based on his own understanding and in a short amount of time.

And upon saying this, the Dream Immortal did indeed change their terms.

"Then how many years of lifespan are you willing to lend? It can’t be too little; at least ten years," said the ethereal voice from the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone.

"Then let it be as the Immortal says, ten years," Tan Shuchang said, understanding that this was probably the lowest the other party would go.

He then asked, "How does the Immortal wish to borrow it?"

After all, lending must be met with returning. When Tan Shuchang asked this, he wanted to make sure whether the Immortal intended to default on the debt or return the ten years of lifespan.

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"There is a kind of elixir called the Life-Extending Pill, which I can teach you how to refine. After you have successfully refined it, you can infuse it with your life essence. The amount of life essence that different Life-Extending Pills can carry varies; some can contain a few years’ worth, some dozens of years, and there are even those with a hundred years’ worth.

This is the highest grade of Life-Extending Pill, after all, a hundred years is a lifetime for most people."

As soon as this topic came up, the light and airy voice from within the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone explained in utmost detail, especially the refinement of the Life-Extending Pills, detailing each level from the lowest to the highest one by one.

It included the troubles one would encounter during the refinement process, and how to solve each of these troubles.

After listening, Tan Shuchang nodded and said, "Thank you, Immortal, for imparting the technique. However, I have not yet dabbled in alchemy, and I am unfamiliar with most of the spiritual objects required, especially this key ingredient, the demonic realm’s evil blood. Where might I find it?"

"That is the easiest part, just shed a few drops of your blood, no need for too much," said the light and airy voice inside the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone immediately.

"My blood has such an effect?" Tan Shuchang was somewhat surprised.

"Ordinary people do not possess such properties, only someone like you with a fearsome life essence would suffice. If I hadn’t discovered this, I wouldn’t have revealed myself and borrowed your lifespan," the voice in the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone admitted its intentions.

Tan Shuchang nodded, it seemed that the Dream Immortal indeed could sense the undying nature of his blood.

"In that case, I shall seek the help of a friend of mine in the alchemy circle to help with the refinement," he said as he put away the Dream Immortal Sleeping Stone.

Then, he took out a small jade bottle.

Inside the bottle was a Spirit Lifeforce Pill, carrying some residual life essence of its former owner. Tan Shuchang cast a simple spell, using the life essence to lock onto the approximate location of the other person.

"Near Jingzhou? That’s convenient. I was just contemplating when to visit the imperial palace and see Emperor Yi..." Tan Shuchang summoned the Silent Spirit Flying Sword with a wave of his hand.

As he set foot upon it, the flying sword instantly transformed into a long rainbow of Sword Qi.

In a blink of an eye, he traveled ten miles, and dozens of miles passed in mere moments.

The sword light stirred up by the Sword Qi was extremely eye-catching; even Mountain-Sea Beasts would hurriedly keep their distance. Such lightning-fast sword Qi rainbows were one of the things best left undisturbed in the Jiawu Realm.

A few hours later, the city walls of Jingzhou had already appeared within Tan Shuchang’s field of vision.

This place beneath the heavens, surrounded by seven cities before and after it.

If one included the outer and inner palaces of the imperial city, there were a total of nine cities.

Each city was guarded by cultivators. The benefits of the Upper Profound Seal, along with other perks like reduced expenses when using the "Water Spirit," attracted many Loose Cultivators to serve Emperor Yi.

However, Tan Shuchang did not storm into Jingzhou; he suppressed his sword light and headed towards the location sensed by the life essence.

The disappearance of Tan Shuchang’s sword light also allowed the cultivators on guard, who had been on high alert, to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Which Sword Cultivator was that, charging straight at Jingzhou without fear of the Emperor’s blame?"

"Blame? With that momentum, it’s either the Disciple Sword Mountain or the Heavenly Sword Mansion, who would dare to blame them?"

"I think it was the Disciple Sword Mountain."

"You also think the Sword Cultivators of Disciple Sword Mountain are arrogant and overbearing by nature?"

"No, mainly because in recent years, aside from Sword Son being quite active, the other disciples of Heavenly Sword Mansion have rarely made any waves in the cultivation world."

Listening to their own colleagues discussing Disciple Sword Mountain and Heavenly Sword Mansion in this way, the official guarding the outermost city in Jingzhou hurriedly interjected, "Alright, alright, let’s drop the subject. As long as that person doesn’t come to Jingzhou now, we just have to hold on for a while longer before we can change guard."

Upon hearing these words, the stationed cultivators nodded in agreement and stopped talking; after all, the disciples of Disciple Sword Mountain were the most self-centered, and if any of them heard these words, they would most likely be troubled by them.