Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

In the restricted cave of Qianji Sect's forbidden peak, Liu Xing closed his eyes and meditated, quietly recalling what he had gained from his study tour.

At this moment, an immense map slowly unfolded in his mind. This was the most complete map of this world he had created, compiled from geographical journals from the ten major sects and cross-referenced with each other. It covered most of the continental landmass and nearly half of the ocean. The sheer size of this world astounded Liu Xing. The ocean was over three times larger than the landmass, vaster still. The Qianji Sect occupied less than one percent of the planet, and there were countless other sects and powers, large and small. There were many uncharted areas, many unexplored regions, and many hidden treasures and mysteries waiting to be discovered. Liu Xing yearned for this and couldn't wait to explore it.

The map not only marked the mountains, rivers, and various forces, but also the known mineral veins, medicinal herbs, monsters, etc. Liu Xing memorized them one by one. This information was very helpful for him to collect cultivation resources in the future.

The jade slip in his hand contained a densely packed list of materials, elixirs, and demonic beasts, along with descriptions of various elixirs and magical instruments. Some were previously acquired or witnessed by various sects, while others were imagined by the masters of alchemy or instrument refining. The variety was bizarre and all-encompassing. With his incredible memory, Liu Xing forcibly memorized this information, and now, holding it in his hands, he felt as if he had found a treasure.

This information was a profound eye-opener for him. It revealed that there were indeed some celestial spirit fires in this world, accessible only to those with great luck. These fires were many times more powerful than the elixir and infant fires of cultivators. They could be used not only for refining elixirs and weapons, but also for cultivation and combat. He had come across an account in a journal of the Blood Flame Sect of a duel between two Nascent Soul ancestors. One suddenly unleashed a stream of cyan celestial spirit fire, instantly enveloping the other and incinerating them alive. Even the Nascent Soul couldn't escape. Liu Xing marveled at this and was filled with envy, longing to someday obtain a celestial spirit fire himself.

It also revealed that there were indeed miraculous elixirs that could overnight boost one's spiritual realm, extend one's lifespan by hundreds of years, regenerate flesh from bones, bring the dead back to life, and improve one's spiritual roots. Upon hearing this information, Liu Xing was overjoyed. His greatest flaw was his poor spiritual roots, which slowed his progress and forced him to rely on medicinal herbs for advancement. He constantly wished he could improve his spiritual roots. While the book didn't describe methods or elixirs for improving spiritual roots, it gave him a glimmer of hope, fueling his anticipation for the future.

Numerous travelogues depicted the terrifying, unparalleled combat prowess of mighty individuals! There were Nascent Soul ancestors slain by early Jindan cultivators, Nascent Soul cultivators slain by sieges of Level 3 and 4 demonic beasts, Nascent Soul cultivators trapped and perished in unknown restrictions, unprecedented ancient beasts devoured cities and destroyed sects, and corpse-like monsters plagued the mortal world... These incredible cases dispelled Liu Xing's blind confidence in his own combat prowess. The more he learned, the more he felt awe for the world. This instilled in him a constant sense of caution throughout his subsequent journeys, saving him from near certain death on numerous expeditions.

This time, he extensively explored the secret techniques of both the righteous and evil paths. Although he couldn't practice them all, it broadened his horizons and gave him a clearer understanding of the principles of most techniques. Cultivators were divided into righteous and evil, but techniques were universal. Some techniques were extremely fast to practice but weak in mana and secret techniques, making them suitable for quickly breaking through bottlenecks but not suitable for combat. Some techniques were extremely slow to practice but had a solid foundation, with superior mana and awareness, giving them a clear advantage in combat. Some cultivated by drawing on the power of heaven and earth, some advanced by absorbing blood and nourishing, some entered the Dao through objects, and some achieved enlightenment through skills. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism each led the way, allowing a hundred schools of thought to flourish.

The fundamental techniques of various sects hold numerous practical secrets, offering Liu Xing immense value. For example, the clairvoyance and clairaudience techniques he encountered in the Demonic True Yang Sect could be combined with his own forbidden techniques to develop a surveillance and eavesdropping system. Another example, the Blood Explosion technique he encountered in the Blood Evil Sect could improve his previous Blood Hidden Escape technique. Once mastered, he would no longer need the Blood Burning Pill to perform escape techniques, though the side effects would still be present, much less severe. Another example, the Bright King Technique, a technique he encountered in the Buddhist sect, involved cultivating the body through the use of a relic from a high-ranking monk. This technique provided Liu Xing with a glimpse into the path of his own Dharmakaya advancement, and he vowed to obtain a relic at all costs, allowing him to achieve the next level of his Dharmakaya.

Through preliminary research into these techniques, Liu Xing once again realized that the techniques he was practicing in the Wind and Thunder Manual were unmatched by any other techniques in the world. The spiritual energy transformed by the jade flute was unique. He diligently searched the sea of ​​books for answers, but still found nothing. No records of this were found. This result, while somewhat disappointing, also made him view these two treasures with even greater respect, emphasizing the importance of using them with caution. He understood the principle of "possessing a treasure is a crime."

After in-depth research into the magic arts, he, while not a magic cultivator, was considered an expert. Combining the strengths of various schools, he refined the "Magic Modification of Infant Transformation" to better enhance the cultivation of his clones. He also learned a more complete corpse-refining technique from the Corpse Refining Sect, which allowed his clones to continue refining their bodies, potentially even achieving the body of a Corpse King.

Finally, he gazed intently at the complete map in his hand, which pointed to a mysterious space deep within the ocean. This map was drawn by Liu Xing, based on travelogues shared by the four major sects: the Corpse Refining Sect, the Demonic Sect, the Soul Spring Sect, and the Six Extremes Sect. These records were intertwined and pieced together to create a crude map. The relevant records were rather vague, and were it not for Liu Xing's meticulous mind, extensive knowledge, and the opportunity to browse through the collections of the four sects, such a map would have been impossible to create. The relevant documents were ancient, indicating that the place indicated by this map was extremely ancient and mysterious. After piecing together this information, Liu Xing roughly understood that this was a place where immortals and demons from the upper realms had descended. It was filled with powerful restrictions and spatial rifts, making it extremely dangerous, but it was also highly likely to contain top-level techniques, magical instruments, and elixirs, all of which held great appeal to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing stared at the map again and again, carefully considering his plans. He needed to at least break through to the late Jindan stage, so that he would have some self-protection capabilities. Only then could he explore this mysterious treasure trove. Finally, he carefully put the map away in his storage bracelet and paid no more attention to it.