Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"No, no, please... don't kill me! I'm a disciple of the Fire Refining Sect!!"

Wang Changzong was like a frightened chick, easily grabbed by the back of his neck by Lu Zaian as if he were a chick, his face turned pale and his whole body trembled.

"Heh, we're going to kill you Fire Refining Sect disciples. You piece of trash, three and a half years have passed and you're still only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Your talent is even worse than mine."

Knowing he had no hope of achieving foundational cultivation, Wang Changzong had long since indulged in pleasure, and was now bullying the mortals on the outskirts of Black Rock Market.

Lu Zaian snorted disdainfully and lifted Wang Changzong aside like a chick.

However, he did not intend to kill the other party immediately, but wanted to extract some information from him.

But before that, there is one more person to deal with.

Lu Zaian looked coldly at the young male cultivator who was trying to run away.

This person is being chased but is trying to pull me along, using me as a shield; he's no good either.

Since Lu Zaian had revealed his true colors to him, he had naturally planned that he would not let him live.

"go to hell."

Lu Zaian downplayed the issue, unwilling to waste any more breath on the other party.

"Do not!!"

The young male cultivator was terrified. In fact, after witnessing Lu Zaian's eighth level of Body Refinement cultivation, his first reaction was not surprise, but fear.

Sure enough, his little scheme was exposed, and Lu Zaian was not going to let him off the hook.

The young male cultivator turned around, intending to flee.

However, how could he, who was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining and was seriously injured, escape from Lu Zaian's eighth level of Body Refining?

Swish! !

Lu Zaian's figure flashed by, and with a casual flick of his hand, he ripped open the young male cultivator's skull.

Red and white things were scattered all over the floor...

Wang Changzong, who was left standing to the side, could no longer help but tremble all over when he saw this, and his eyes looked at Lu Zaian as if he were a devil.

With my heart ripped out and my skull lifted, what kind of evil spirit have I provoked?

"Don't kill me! I really am a disciple of the Fire Refining Sect! The Fire Refining Sect will not let you get away with this!"

At this moment, even the sect disciples who considered themselves superior to other cultivators could only repeatedly utter this phrase in the face of death, begging for their lives.

"I'll ask you a few questions, and if I'm in a good mood, I'll let you off the hook," Lu Zaian said expressionlessly.

"Really?! Then swear it!"

Wang Changzong grasped at a straw, his eyes gleaming with the will to survive.

"You have no right to bargain."

Lu Zaian grabbed Wang Changzong by the collar and asked in a cold voice:

"First, was this ambush and killing of the rogue cultivator your own idea, or was it authorized by the Refining Fire Sect?"

Before the Core Formation Secret Realm in the Black Soil Mountains opened, Lu Zaian knew that this guy's ambush and killing of rogue cultivators was at the behest of the Refining Fire Sect.

The purpose was to extract the essence and blood of cultivators to feed the Bloodthirsty Demon Flower of the Burning Blood Sect, which would then be used to break the great formation at the entrance to the secret realm.

But now that the secret realm has been opened, Wang Changzong is still hunting rogue cultivators in Black Rock Market...

This gave Lu Zaian a vague idea in his mind.

Sure enough, the next moment, in order to save his life, Wang Changzong spilled out all the information like beans:

"It's all at the behest of the sect, and it's never stopped all these years."

I have no idea what's wrong with the sect leader and elders...

This morning at dawn, they even ordered us to bring back the essence blood in preparation for attacking the Spirit Medicine Valley.

That's the Spirit Medicine Valley! It's protected by a third-tier sect-protecting formation and has countless Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there. How could we possibly possibly take it down?"

Lu Zaian's expression shifted, and he stared at him with deep, ocean-like eyes, asking, "Are you sure you're being told to attack the Spirit Medicine Valley?"

Wang Changzong felt uneasy under Lu Zaian's gaze and made no attempt to hide anything, immediately replying:

"Of course it's confirmed. All disciples in Black Rock Market have received the order."

I originally planned to return to the sect after finishing this job...

It must be the instigation of those crazy Burning Blood Sect members who came from who-knows-where.

More than a decade ago, they were the ones who bewitched the sect leader and elders, shamelessly seizing half of our spiritual veins and cultivation resources...

Now they want us to go and die...

Upon hearing this, Lu Zaian narrowed his eyes slightly, already certain that the Purple Gold Divine Pill had indeed fallen into the hands of the Spirit Medicine Valley.

The Fire Refining Sect and the Blood Burning Sect would naturally not be willing to accept this, nor could they sit idly by and allow the Spirit Medicine Valley to use this divine pill to break through to the Core Formation stage.

That's why the Fire Refining Sect was so eager to launch a large-scale attack on the Spirit Medicine Valley.

The annihilation war between Foundation Establishment factions is no joke.

The essence and blood of these hunted rogue cultivators were likely used to cultivate the Bloodthirsty Demon Flower in order to break the third-order protective formation of the Spirit Medicine Valley.

Previously, the Fire Refining Sect only hunted rogue cultivators secretly.

But now they make no attempt to hide it, and even involve their disciples in it.

Clearly, even without that Purple Gold Divine Pill, the Fire Refining Sect had long planned to attack the Spirit Medicine Valley.

Wang Changzong was merely a low-ranking disciple of the outer sect of the Fire Refining Sect and was unaware of the Purple Gold Divine Pill, so he naturally found the orders from the higher-ups perplexing...

At this moment, Wang Changzong told everything he knew, and desperately hoped that Lu Zaian would spare his life.

However, Lu Zaian remained indifferent and said calmly, "Your answer is correct. Secondly, I'm in a bad mood, so you can die now."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Zaian snapped Wang Changzong's neck, leaving him with an unseeing look in his eyes.

Those who kill will always be killed.

Wang Changzong can now be crossed out in Lu Zaian's grudge-holding notebook...

Lu Zaian began to carefully examine Wang Changzong's storage bag.

To his surprise, he discovered that there were more than thirty jade bottles filled with semen inside!

The auras of these essence bloods were all different, but most of them were at the early stage of Qi Refining, while some came from various low-level demonic beasts.

Moreover, the freshness or oldness of these essences and blood varies.

It is obvious that this was achieved through a long period of accumulation.

"It's truly astonishing that a disciple at the fourth level of Qi Refining could collect so much essence blood!"

Moreover, it has a strong scent of fresh blood, indicating that it was recently extracted.

"Black Rock Market...it might already be in complete chaos..." Lu Zaian muttered to himself.

Lu Zaian knew that Black Rock Market was originally a neutral trading place jointly established by several Foundation Establishment forces in the Black Soil Mountains.

Each faction operates its own shops and stores here.

However, a major sect war is about to break out between the Fire Refining Sect and the Spirit Medicine Valley.

The neutral status of Black Rock City will also be affected and broken.

The disciples of the Fire Refining Sect and the Spirit Medicine Valley might already be embroiled in a chaotic battle, making the scene extremely disorganized.

Lu Zaian stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"There must be more than one Refining Fire Sect disciple collecting essence blood inside and outside Black Rock Market. Better safe than sorry, I need to take a longer route..."

Originally, Lu Zaian only planned to bypass Black Rock Market, but now he has decided to take a longer route.

.........

Endless darkness enveloped the mountains, as if a huge and ferocious monster had opened its sharp fangs, ready to devour the entire earth into its bottomless belly.

Fire Refining Sect.

Inside the brightly lit Crimson Serpent Hall.

Two figures sat facing each other around the table.

One of them had a full head of red hair and red eyebrows, and his face looked to be about middle-aged.

A mysterious flame pattern shone between his brows, and his aura was arrogant and unruly, like the blazing sun in the sky.

The other person concealed his entire body within a blood-red robe, obscuring his features.

However, the aura emanating from him was chilling and sinister, like a thick pool of blood, making people's hair stand on end.

The two individuals possessed equally strong auras, and both were far more powerful than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The red-haired middle-aged man, his red brows furrowed and a hint of gloom on his face, spoke first:

"Blood Owl, are you really sure that the Bloodthirsty Demon Flower Formation can break through the third-order protective formation of the Spirit Medicine Valley?"

Unlike the array at the entrance to the secret realm, that Yimu Qingming Array had not been worn down by time.

Furthermore, a Foundation Establishment cultivator will personally operate it, potentially increasing its power several times over...

The blood-robed man, known as "Blood Owl," let out a sinister laugh and said confidently:

"Hehehe... Sect Master Chi, don't worry."

Our Bloodthirsty Demon Flower Formation of the Burning Blood Sect has even broken through a real Core Formation sect!

With a sufficient supply of essence blood, taking down a small Foundation Establishment faction is a piece of cake for us.

Blood Owl's voice was full of pride and smugness.

Upon hearing this, the red-haired middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a hint of apprehension—the Fire Refining Sect was also a Foundation Establishment power.

And this red-haired middle-aged man is none other than Chi Cang, the current sect leader of the Fire Refining Sect.

The person opposite Chi Cang was the sect leader of the Burning Blood Sect.

A guy who calls himself Blood Owl.

That was more than a decade ago, when Blood Owl led the members of the Blood Burning Sect to confront the Fire Refining Sect.

Blood Owl introduced himself as coming from the Great Domain Maple Flower Domain.

The reason I came to this Black Soil Mountain Range is to find a secret realm for Core Formation.

They hoped to gain the full cooperation of the Refining Fire Sect. If they successfully found the Core Formation Secret Realm, the Refining Fire Sect could also share the treasures within.

In addition, Blood Owl also presented a method for breaking through to the Core Formation stage, and used it to exchange for half of the spiritual vein land and cultivation resources from the Fire Refining Sect.

Faced with such tempting conditions, Chi Cang was extremely interested.

However, Chi Cang knew very well that the Burning Blood Sect was no benevolent group.

In fact, Chi Cang had secretly purchased some information through the Haitian Chamber of Commerce before.

From this, we learned that the Burning Blood Sect was a demonic sect in the Maple Flower Domain, specializing in the extermination of entire families, and was notorious and infamous.

Later, due to being besieged and suppressed by the righteous forces of Maple Flower Domain, the Burning Blood Sect gradually disappeared.

I never expected that these remnants would actually come to the northern airspace.

Moreover, he sought cooperation on the territory of his Fire Refining Sect.

Although Chi Cang had some concerns about the Burning Blood Sect potentially using tactics such as "killing two birds with one stone" or "usurping the nest."

But in the end, he could not resist the great temptation of cooperation and agreed to join the Burning Blood Sect.

After all, deep down, Chi Cang harbored a strong ambition; he longed to break through to the Core Formation stage! He longed to unify the entire Black Soil Mountain Range!

Thus, the two sides hit it off immediately, capturing rogue cultivators for blood sacrifice and cultivating the Bloodthirsty Demon Flower to break through the entrance to the secret realm.

Little did they know that the commotion they had caused earlier had attracted other forces in the Black Soil Mountains to share the spoils.

Especially the Spirit Medicine Valley, which actually brought out a treasure from the secret realm later on—that Purple-Gold Divine Pill!

Increasing the breakthrough probability by 50%... Chi Cang was going crazy just thinking about it; he desperately wanted it!

Anyone who dares to stand in my way will be crushed!

"Blood Owl, if you're confident, then let's decide to attack Spirit Medicine Valley tomorrow. I'm afraid things might change if we wait too long."

What Chi Cang fears most is that the Purple Gold Divine Pill has already been ruined by the Spirit Medicine Valley...

A glint of greed and determination flashed in his eyes, as if he could already see himself swallowing the Purple Gold Divine Pill and breaking through to the Core Formation stage, his strength greatly increased.

"Hehe, Sect Master Chi, there's no need to worry. The Valley Master of Spirit Medicine Valley and the other ordinary elders haven't reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection level, so they can't take the divine pills," Blood Owl chuckled, trying to comfort them.

"Of course I know, I'm just worried about their Supreme Elder—Zhuge Xuanming, what if that old fellow is still alive..."

Chi Cang's brows were still furrowed with worry. He knew that only those who had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment could serve as the Supreme Elder of a Foundation Establishment faction.

The body of the previous Supreme Elder of the Fire Refining Sect had already hardened.

This is a sect war where everything is at stake, and it also concerns whether I can break through to the Core Formation realm.

Chi Cang had to be cautious.

Unfortunately, over a decade and a half, he tried every method imaginable, but still couldn't find out whether that old fellow Zhuge Xuanming was alive or dead...

"Heh heh, even if that old thing is still alive, breaking through to the Core Formation stage won't be that easy."

Before taking the Purple Gold Divine Pill, one needs to adjust their physical and mental cultivation to its optimal level; two days is simply not enough time..."

Blood Owl disagreed.

Hearing this, Chi Cang felt a little relieved. He smiled, raised the exquisite wine glass on the table, and said:

"I have relied heavily on Sect Master Xue regarding the matters of the Secret Realm and the Spirit Medicine Valley. Rest assured, after the matter is accomplished, I will only ask for that Purple Gold Divine Pill according to the contract."

As for the second-tier spiritual vein of the Spirit Medicine Valley, and all cultivation resources within the valley, they all belong to the Burning Blood Sect!

'Hmph, after plotting for so long, you think you can take away my most precious thing with just a contract...'

Even in the Maple Flower Domain, the Purple Gold Divine Pill is an extremely precious elixir. How could a country bumpkin like you from a remote and impoverished area possibly enjoy it?

If you were to truly break through to the Core Formation stage, wouldn't resource allocation be a simple matter of a word?

Blood Owl sneered inwardly, dismissing Chi Cang's words with disdain, but his expression beneath the hood remained impassive.

He wants the second-tier spiritual vein and cultivation resources of the Spirit Medicine Valley!

He won't let go of the Purple Gold Divine Pill either!

Even the entire Black Soil Mountain Range will fall into his hands!

The path to the restoration of the Blood Burning Sect will begin with his Blood Owl lineage, opening a new and glorious chapter.

Just wait, Maple Domain, I will return to slaughter you sooner or later!

Those who participated in the siege of the Blood Burning Sect will all become food for the blood...

Blood Owl also raised his glass, clinked it against his own, and downed the crimson liquid inside in one gulp.

"Hehehe, I knew I wasn't wrong. Sect Leader Chi is a straightforward person. Then I wish us a resounding victory and a great triumph tomorrow!"

The laughter and ambition of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with their respective schemes and plots, echoed simultaneously in the empty hall...

Some cultivators knew the reason for the monstrous wave that would be unleashed in the Black Soil Mountains, but could only go with the flow.

Some cultivators were kept in the dark, pulled into the deep whirlpool by the turbulent current, and were swallowed up little by little.

However, everything that happened here had nothing to do with Lu Zaian.

He took away treasures no less valuable than the Purple Gold Divine Pill, or even more valuable, and left without a trace...