Chapter 1260: Pendant

Emperor Zhao Hao's biggest problem was his dwindling lifespan. If he had access to such a life-extending elixir, wouldn't he be invincible?

Yun Jianyue explained, "To ascend to an Earth Immortal, one must possess a unique Dao and their own set of laws. The laws governing an Earth Immortal's body are fundamentally different from the universal laws of this world. These life-extending elixirs, being nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, inevitably carry the world's laws, making them incompatible with Earth Immortals and thus ineffective."

Yan Xuehen stated, "The current Emperor is invincible, and he's not particularly old among his peers. It's just a pity that he has already entered the Heavenly Demise of Five Decays; death is an inevitable outcome for him."

"What exactly does the Heavenly Demise of Five Decays mean?" Zu An asked, hearing the term for not the first time.

"An Earth Immortal, after all, carries the word 'Earth,' signifying they are not true immortals," Yan Xuehen explained. "Unless they break through to become true immortals, they will always be rejected by the will of heaven and earth. When this rejection reaches its peak, it triggers the Heavenly Demise of Five Decays, causing the Earth Immortal to gradually decline into death, eventually turning to dust and completely merging with this world."

"Zhao Hao's Heavenly Demise of Five Decays seems to have arrived earlier than usual. However, no one currently knows the exact factors that cause it; it's only speculated that it might be related to the indelible Dao injury he sustained during his great battle with the Demon Emperor."

Zu An's heart stirred. "Then isn't the current Demon Emperor also nearing his end?"

"He's also close to the end of his life, which is why he summoned all the demon clans to the Royal Court for a grand meeting; he's likely preparing to arrange his affairs," Yun Jianyue said. "The Demon Emperor is, by all accounts, an older generation master who has lived much longer. Zhao Hao, on the other hand, had only recently become an Earth Immortal. In that battle years ago, everyone initially thought the Demon Emperor's cultivation would be slightly superior to Zhao Hao's, but to their surprise, he ultimately lost by half a move, thus solidifying Zhao Hao's reputation as invincible."

Zu An's expression was strange. "Wouldn't Zhao Hao be at a great disadvantage then?"

He was indeed invincible, but he had only recently attained the Earth Immortal realm and hadn't enjoyed its benefits for long before facing the Heavenly Demise of Five Decays.

"It's not about being at a disadvantage or not. At their level of cultivation, their considerations are entirely different from those of ordinary people," Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

Hearing the escalating sounds of fighting in the distance, Zu An asked, "Do these elixirs have any effect on your injuries? I can go help you seize them."

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen simultaneously shook their heads. "The higher one's cultivation, the less likely they are to get injured, but once injured, recovery becomes extremely difficult. While these elixirs are miraculous, they aren't of much use to us."

"Unless they are very special treasures, we can only rely on time for a slow recovery."

Yu Yanluo asked what treasures could help them recover from their injuries quickly. Both women simply smiled without answering. Such items were too precious, their rarity comparable even to divine artifacts, so there was no need to mention them and cause additional trouble.

"By the way, where's that fat Daoist?" Yan Xuehen suddenly remembered something and looked around, but Wu Liang was nowhere to be seen.

Zu An's heart also skipped a beat. He had been so preoccupied with their injuries that he had forgotten about the annoying fat man. Fortunately, he had left a wisp of spiritual sense on him. Looking into the distance, he said, "He went deeper inside and hasn't stopped anywhere along the way, as if those elixirs hold no attraction for him."

Yun Jianyue said in a deep voice, "Let's follow him quickly. I'm curious about what he's up to."

Since the elixirs weren't of much use to them, Zu An abandoned the idea of seizing them. The group headed directly inward, passing by the area where the elixirs were located, only to find the group of people who had just been chatting and laughing now engaged in a fierce fight.

Brothers Xiong Da and Xiong Er had a close relationship and an advantage in numbers. The others weren't foolish and quickly formed alliances, though relationships varied. For instance, Duan Tiande would never ally with Qiao Heng, so he joined the Xiong Da and Xiong Er faction.

Although there were differences in their cultivation levels, there was no qualitative gap between them, and the elixirs changed hands several times.

Suddenly, an elixir was knocked away, landing directly in front of Zu An and his group.

Zu An instinctively caught it, feeling a cold, eerie energy emanate from it. His heart stirred; this must be the Soul-Severing Nether Grass.

At that moment, two figures flew over, instinctively moving to seize it. One of the men urgently cried out, "That's ours!"

The woman beside him, having clearly seen Zu An and his group, quickly stopped him. Then, she smiled at Zu An and said, "Treasures belong to the capable. Since this elixir has chosen its master, it must be the will of heaven. Please, young master, accept it as a gift."

The woman was, of course, Princess Sorena, and beside her was the Silver Shark Prince, who constantly attended to her. They had naturally been working together in the recent chaotic scramble to secure the elixir.

She knew very well that with Zu An's demonstrated combat power and the enigmatic women accompanying him, it would be extremely difficult for her and the Silver Shark Prince to reclaim the Soul-Severing Nether Grass. Moreover, he had saved her life, so it was better to offer a favor.

She glanced back with a hint of regret in her eyes; there was clearly no chance to seize the other elixirs now.

Seeing his dream girl appear so yielding and weak in front of another man, the Silver Shark Prince felt annoyed. However, considering that even the Western Lion had been defeated just now, he ultimately didn't dare to cause trouble.

Zu An examined the Soul-Severing Nether Grass in his hand. "Is this medicine very important to the Princess?"

Princess Sorena pursed her lips. "It is indeed very important to me. An elder in my family suffered a setback in their soul cultivation years ago and needs this item for healing. If you are willing to part with it, young master, I will certainly offer compensation that satisfies you."

"Satisfying me might be a bit difficult," Zu An said with a smile.

"Please name your price, young master. The Sorena family holds some influence among the demon races," Princess Sorena's eyes lit up. From his words, it seemed there was room for negotiation.

"Any condition at all?" Zu An instinctively glanced at her, saying playfully.

Princess Sorena's heart skipped a beat, and her expression became somewhat bashful. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.

The Silver Shark Prince was furious. Was this fellow treating him as if he didn't exist?

A surge of fury from the Silver Shark Prince: +499, +499, +499...

Sensing the dangerous gazes from Yu Yanluo and the other women, Zu An chuckled, tossed the Soul-Severing Nether Grass into her hand, and said, "I was just joking. It's yours."

After saying that, he continued to pursue the fat Daoist Wu Liang.

Princess Sorena hadn't expected him to so easily give her such a valuable item. For a moment, she stood there stunned, holding the elixir, somewhat lost in thought as she watched his receding figure.

Yun Jianyue couldn't help but grumble, "That guy is tricking young girls again. I even suspect Honglei was fooled by him in the same way back then."

Yan Xuehen nodded in deep agreement, thinking that Chu Yan had probably fallen for him in a similar manner.

For some reason, she felt a wave of irritation. "Didn't you say your disciple's charm techniques were fully perfected? She should have been able to wrap him around her finger, so how could she be so easily tricked?"

Yun Jianyue remained silent for a long time, then finally let out a long sigh. "How was I to know there are male fox spirits in this world?"

Unbeknownst to them, the group arrived at a large hall. The ground was a vast expanse of white, as if covered by a layer of greenish-gray earth.

When they stepped onto it, their feet sank several inches.

"Is this snow?" Yu Yanluo was somewhat surprised. If it were dirt, the color would be far too strange.

"No!" Yan Xuehen, who cultivated the Divine Snowfall Sword and was very familiar with snow, immediately denied it. "This place is permeated with death qi. Everyone, be careful."

"These are the remains of decayed bones." Yun Jianyue, having emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, was most knowledgeable about such things and quickly identified the white mud covering the ground.

Meanwhile, the demonic experts who had been fighting over the elixirs had settled their disputes. Remembering the treasures further ahead, they began to follow one after another.

Upon hearing this, everyone was horrified. Skeletons were inherently very hard and could persist for thousands of years. Yet here, they had all decayed into mud, signifying an incredibly vast span of time.

At this point, everyone spotted Wu Liang. He was squatting dozens of feet away, and in front of him lay a complete skeleton.

Not only was the skeleton uncorrupted, it was perfectly preserved, luminous like jade, and faintly exuded a subtle aura of power.

It was clear what a powerful being it had been in life.

Wu Liang carefully removed a necklace-like object from its chest. The cord of the necklace was clearly of extraordinary quality, but after countless ages, it turned to dust with a light touch.

Wu Liang paid no attention to the cord. Instead, he caught a light golden pendant in his hand, his expression filled with immense excitement.