Life span plundered, I became a detective and achieved immortality

"boom!"

The jade table in front of the Xuanzhen Immortal King shattered with a crash, fragments of sandalwood mixed with jade shards flying everywhere. The elixir of immortal wine, "Liuxia Zui," spilled like a silver spring, and the moment the nectar hit the ground, it emitted wisps of rosy light, its fragrance filling the air, yet no one dared to smell it—that intoxicating aroma was now tainted with a violent killing intent. Spiritual fruits rolled all over the ground, each fist-sized chaotic immortal fruit crashing into the palace pillars, its peel cracking open, flowing out amber-colored juice, crystal clear like immortal marrow, but the moment it touched the ground, it was shattered into dust by an invisible pressure.

The celestial maidens dancing in the hall gasped and huddled together, paralyzed with fear by the sudden, menacing aura. Pearl hairpins scattered from their temples, clattering softly onto the golden bricks; their silver-threaded gauze skirts, soaked with cold sweat, clung to their skin, outlining their trembling curves, yet no one dared to admire their disheveled beauty. The ethereal celestial music abruptly ceased, leaving only the sharp, mournful sound of snapping strings, further amplifying the terrifyingly deathly silence within the hall, where even breathing seemed to trigger the taut killing intent.

Xuanzhen Immortal King's eyes were wide open, bloodshot, staring intently at a certain point in the void, as if he had seen something that made him furious. His teeth were clenched so tightly that they almost broke, and a trace of golden immortal blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto his brocade robe like a suddenly blooming red plum blossom, a shocking sight.

His robes fluttered without wind, and the oppressive aura of a third-tier Eternal Immortal King swept across the entire central Immortal Palace like a raging storm. The star gems embedded in the ceiling trembled violently, and the projected star patterns twisted and deformed, emitting a mournful buzzing sound, as if they might collapse at any moment. The dancers with lower cultivation levels could not withstand it and fainted with their eyes rolled back. Even the quasi-Immortal King guards waiting outside the palace were forced to kneel on one knee by this oppressive aura. Their knees slammed into the golden bricks with dull thuds, their faces ashen, and blood continuously spilled from the corners of their mouths, clearly indicating that their internal organs had been injured by the oppressive aura.

Just as the celestial maidens were about to be crushed by the invisible pressure, a faint azure light emanated from Su Mo's fingertips, enveloping them like a veil. The azure light, seemingly weak, carried a gentle yet unshakeable Daoist aura, steadily blocking the pressure of the Xuanzhen Immortal King. This allowed the celestial maidens to catch their breath, and they all raised their heads, looking at Su Mo with gratitude, their eyes filled with the relief of surviving a calamity. Even the few dancers who had fainted slowly opened their eyes under the nourishment of the azure light, coughing weakly, but their lives were no longer in danger.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanzhen, has something happened?"

Su Mo put down his wine glass, the rim still stained with a bit of the shimmering light of Liuxia Zui, reflecting delicate, colorful glimmers. His tone was calm and even, his gaze fixed on the tense back of Xuanzhen Immortal King, vaguely guessing the reason behind it all.

"I have lost my composure and made you laugh, fellow Daoist." Upon hearing this, Immortal King Xuanzhen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging anger, and turned to Su Mo to apologize, though his clenched fists were still trembling slightly. "It is Han Jue and Huo Ji who... have encountered danger."

Just now, he realized that the protective trump card he left for the two of them had been fully activated.

"I see. No wonder Fellow Daoist Xuanzhen was so enraged," Su Mo understood. The Cold Absolute Immortal King and the Fiery Extreme Immortal King were the only two second-tier Eternal Immortal Kings under Xuanzhen Immortal King's command, having followed him for over fifty million cosmic epochs. They were not only his right-hand men but also the backbone of their Xuanzhen Immortal Kingdom. If anything were to happen to either of them, it would severely weaken the Xuanzhen Immortal Kingdom's foundation and shake its very core.

Then, Su Mo spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Xuanzhen, do you need my help?"

Over the past 95 million years, although he and the Immortal King Xuanzhen were not close friends, they had a relatively harmonious relationship. Now that the other party was in trouble, he did not mind lending a hand.

"In that case, I'll trouble you to come with me!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanzhen Immortal King's eyes instantly lit up with joy, as if he had grasped a lifeline. He knew Han Jue and Huo Ji's strength all too well. The "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Formation" that the two of them had set up together could basically hold its own against any third-tier Eternal Immortal King, and at worst, it would be enough to keep him alive.

Now, they have been forced to use their last trump card to save their lives. The person who made the move is very likely a third-tier Eternal Immortal King, or even a third-tier early-stage Eternal Immortal King.

He was only at the late stage of the third tier, an Eternal Immortal King. He might not be a match for him alone.

Su Mo's help was undoubtedly a timely gift, giving him more confidence.

"Fellow Daoist Su Mo, Han Jue and the others can't hold out for much longer. Let's set off now!"

Before he could finish speaking, the Xuanzhen Immortal King's mind stirred, and he directly contacted the spirit of the Yuanji Immortal Boat.

The next second...

"Om..."

The entire Yuanji Immortal Ship shuddered violently, and the Dao runes on both sides of the hull erupted with dazzling golden light. The ten-thousand-foot-long ship nimbly turned in the void, heading straight for the middle layer of the Wuxiang Forbidden Land. Its speed suddenly soared to its limit, transforming into a stream of light that pierced through the heavens and earth, tearing through the Wuxiang Strange Mist and leaving a long afterimage. Even the spacetime rifts along the way were stirred up even more violently by the airflow generated by this speed, emitting a piercing shriek.

"I hope everything is in time."

Xuanzhen Immortal King looked towards the middle level of the Formless Forbidden Land, his hands slowly clenching into fists. Over the past 95 million years, they had ventured deep into the inner perimeter of the Formless Forbidden Land. To return to the middle level of the Formless Forbidden Land would take at least several hundred thousand years, and appearing beside Han Jue and the others would take even longer.

With just the trump card he left for the two of them to save their lives, it's uncertain whether they could withstand the onslaught of a third-tier Eternal Immortal King for so many years.

......

Eight hundred thousand years passed slowly amidst the Xuanzhen Immortal King's tension and trepidation.

For the past eight hundred thousand years, he had barely closed his eyes, his gaze always fixed on the churning, eerie mist ahead. The immortal power at his fingertips condensed and dissipated, dissipated and condensed again, his aura growing increasingly restless with anxiety. The whooshing sound of the Yuanji Immortal Ship tearing through the void became the only background noise in his ears.

Finally, the Yuanji Immortal Ship pierced through the last layer of thick, eerie fog and arrived at the middle level of the Wuxiang Forbidden Land.

......

Another 300,000 years have passed.

In the middle layer of the Forbidden Land of No Form, within a spacetime turbulence, a massive ice and fire yin-yang array covered a void spanning millions of light-years. The array's patterns flowed like living things, one half of which was solidified with eternally unmelting black ice, emanating a terrifying chill capable of freezing even the souls of immortal kings; the other half burned with raging flames, flickering with light that could incinerate immortal bodies. The forces of ice and fire intertwined and collided, forming a blurry light barrier that struggled to resist external attacks.

Within the grand formation, the Frost Immortal King and the Fire Immortal King sat cross-legged at its core. The former's face was as cold as ice, his hair adorned with frost flowers about an inch long, even his eyelashes were covered in ice crystals, and his lips were frozen purple. The latter's lips were cracked, his mouth scabbed with blood, and his skin was covered with burn marks, revealing charred flesh beneath. The eternal immortal power of the two surged into the core of the formation like a burst dam, causing their once upright bodies to hunch slightly, their chests to heave violently, their faces deathly pale, their breaths as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, almost on the verge of exhaustion, their immortal souls throbbing with pain.

Above them stood another figure, whose face and temperament were seven or eight parts similar to the Xuanzhen Immortal King. However, his figure was so illusory that it was almost transparent, as if it were formed from a thin layer of mist. The fluctuations of immortal power around him were intermittent, and each flash was accompanied by the collapse of the Dao patterns, as if it would completely dissipate in the next second.

It was the trump card left to them by the Immortal King Xuanzhen—an avatar condensed with eight-tenths of his power. At this moment, this avatar was forming hand seals, continuously injecting the remaining power into the great formation. With each change of the hand seals, his figure faded a little, clearly having reached his limit, only barely slowing down the collapse of the formation.

Outside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Formation, a middle-aged man clad in flame-infused immortal armor was frantically attacking the formation. He had crimson hair and eyebrows, his hair flowing like burning flames, and his eyes blazed with two balls of crimson fire, his pupils seemingly churning with magma. He was surrounded by countless golden divine flames, each flame containing the terrifying power to incinerate even the bodies of immortal kings; wherever he passed, even the turbulent currents of time were burned to nothingness. Behind him, the phantom of a Flame Immortal Kingdom slowly rotated, its buildings stretching endlessly, all forged from flames. Countless beings could be vaguely seen praying and worshipping within the flames, their devotion akin to a pilgrimage.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With each punch, the middle-aged man unleashed a phantom of the Flame Immortal Kingdom, crushing down as if a real immortal kingdom were crashing against the barrier of light. The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Array trembled violently, the ice layer continuously cracked, the flame layer gradually dimmed, and countless cracks appeared on the array patterns, groaning under the unbearable weight.

"Crack..."

With another heavy blow, cracks spread across the entire array's light barrier, emitting a piercing cracking sound. The Frost Immortal King and the Fire Extreme Immortal King simultaneously spat out a mouthful of golden immortal blood. The blood droplets condensed into ice in mid-air, only to be instantly burned to ashes by their own flames. The two swayed precariously, and if not for the support of the array's core, they would have already collapsed to the ground. As for the avatar of the Profound True Immortal King, this attack further diminished its illusory form, almost merging it with the void. Even maintaining its shape seemed difficult, and the contours of its face became blurred.

Strangely, when the Frost Immortal King and the Fire Immortal King looked at the constantly cracking array patterns, they showed no fear or despair whatsoever. Instead, a hint of joy at surviving a calamity appeared on their pale faces, and their eyes even flashed with a mocking light.

"Old man Chiyu, you've schemed and plotted, but you're still one step behind!" Han Jue Immortal King wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His voice was weak but full of confidence, as if victory was assured.

Before he could finish speaking, a furious roar, like a thunderclap from the heavens, exploded from the void behind the Crimson Prison Immortal King, causing ripples to spread through the surrounding spacetime turbulence: "Old man Crimson Prison, how dare you ambush and kill my disciples! Today, I will make you pay the price!"

Then, a nine-story ship shrouded in dark golden immortal light broke through layers of mist, piercing through the void like an ancient divine vessel, and came to a steady stop millions of light-years away from the Crimson Prison Immortal King.

A powerful aura of a late-stage third-tier Eternal Immortal King erupted from the ship like a tsunami, carrying the pent-up anger of millions of years, and crushed down on the Crimson Prison Immortal King. Wherever it passed, even the golden divine fire swirling around him was slightly dimmed, and the illusory image of the Flame Immortal Kingdom behind him trembled violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.

"Old Ghost Xuanzhen, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

......