Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Looking up at the sky, it was already noon, and the sun on Mount Gaoquan was scorching.

Ye Xuan moved to a shady spot, sat down to meditate again, and recalled the immortal technique he had just glimpsed.

The Immortal Willow

"This technique was created by the Immortal Willow of Immortality, who should be the purple-robed fairy from earlier."

Carefully studying the complex and profound scriptures within the immortal techniques, Ye Xuan found it difficult to gain any immediate insight. Instead, he began to ponder—

Is there really such a thing as immortality?

Although I am knowledgeable about martial arts, whether in reality or the martial arts world, practicing martial arts can at most improve one's health or delay one's lifespan, but it is still far from achieving immortality.

Throughout history, emperors of every dynasty have sought the elixir of immortality, including Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Tang, and many others.

But in the end, no one succeeded; it was all just a pipe dream.

Immortality...

"Many great figures, in the end, are nothing but a handful of yellow earth."

Ye Xuan shook his head, trying to clear his scattered thoughts.

If we're really talking about immortality, then aside from future civilizations advancing and breaking through barriers, it seems only cultivators can seek the path to immortality.

He once called himself "Heavenly Immortal Venerable" in the world of history. Now that he has obtained a true immortal technique for longevity, even if he cannot understand it for the time being, he certainly cannot give up on it.

Regarding "The Immortal Willow of Immortality," Ye Xuan knew that it was divided into twelve divine palaces: Immortality, Bathing, Crowning...

Currently, all he has memorized are these first three sub-categories and a few annotations within them.

The opening of the fairy tale states that the willow tree symbolizes life and flourishing development.

As for Hua Liu, he must undergo a second life, reenact the twelve divine palaces, and experience all the stages of life before he can inquire about immortality...

"The rest will only be known by returning to Dongting Lake."

Just as Ye Xuan was struggling to comprehend the immortal techniques, in the Dongting Lake atop the highest peak in the Realm of Immortality...

Changsheng Liuxian was scanning the scriptures on the surrounding rock walls when she discovered extremely faint traces of spiritual energy remaining on them.

He slowly raised a finger, gathering all the remnants at his fingertip, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

"Those who trespass into my Dongting Lake are at most at the Qi Refining stage..."

The more she learned, the more unbelievable it became to think that someone with only Qi Refining cultivation could actually break into her Dongting Lake.

Liu Xian recalled the origin point that appeared in the sea of ​​clouds when she cast the spell, and she believed that it was some kind of mental cultivation technique.

But what exactly is it?

Thinking back to her cultivation and pursuit of immortality in this world, she had spent countless years, yet she had never heard of any cultivation method that could grant such supernatural powers to a mere Qi Refining cultivator.

Even though I could discover the origin of that consciousness, I was completely helpless against it at the time.

Passing through the narrow passage of the stone chamber, Liu Xian stood in mid-air in the valley, her spiritual power instantly spreading outwards.

A purple aura, imbued with the breath of life, accompanied by countless willow branches that evolved from her body, spread throughout the valley.

Before long, the willow fairy transformed into a towering willow tree, its roots penetrating the hot spring in the valley, its branches bursting through the valley, and its lush willow twigs instantly covering the entire mountaintop!

"Whoever dares to pry into my immortal techniques shall have their soul destroyed! Moreover..."

She suppressed her anger, regained her composure, and gazed at the churning sea of ​​clouds below, waiting for the spy to reappear.

"..."

In contrast, Ye Xuan in the real world had already returned to the martial arts school, but his mind was still pondering that immortal technique.

Compared to the martial arts he had encountered before, "The Immortal Willow" was several dimensions more profound.

"This is a true immortal technique, so it's normal that it's difficult."

Ye Xuan refused to waste his energy and used his perception to fly out of the martial arts school. In the surrounding countryside, he found a willow tree that had been growing for hundreds of years.

He immediately focused intently on the willow tree, taking in all its information—

The tree is 331 years old, 20 meters tall, and has a diameter at breast height of about 1.2 meters...

If you look closer, you'll see the operating principles at the cellular level. Ye Xuan manipulates the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surrounding the willow tree and infuses it into the trunk.

The next moment, several withered branches on the tree canopy began to sprout new life, gradually turning from yellowish-brown to emerald green.

He immediately used his senses to observe the inside of the tree trunk.

In the mental image, the rings of the willow tree appeared one after another. Each time a ring of a similar shape passed by, Ye Xuan seemed to be able to glimpse a part of the willow tree's growth process.

From a tiny willow sapling to a towering ancient tree, how many times must it perish and how many storms must it endure?

When willow seedlings first sprout, their vitality is at its most vigorous. After being nourished by spring rain, their vitality continues to grow upwards. Then they experience natural disasters and man-made calamities...

When a willow tree has witnessed hundreds of years of life, it is like a person who has experienced countless repetitions of a life.

Ye Xuan snapped out of his daze, and in just a few seconds, he saw through a willow tree those utterly boring years.

He vaguely felt that these insights would be helpful for cultivating the "Immortal Willow of Immortality," but unfortunately, he was in the martial arts school and could not immediately put his thoughts into action.

And most importantly, there are far too many incomplete parts in this "Immortal Willow of Immortality" manual...

"It is necessary to make another trip to the Realm of Immortality."

He focused his senses again, flew into the transit station in the heavens, and quickly found the thread connecting to the Realm of Immortality.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. This time, Ye Xuan was very familiar with the process. After experiencing the fixed chaos, his perception and consciousness directly reached the Realm of Immortality.

As soon as his senses solidified in the Realm of Immortality, he gazed at the calm sea of ​​clouds before him, then looked up at the mountain peak.

"What is that?"

Now, in Ye Xuan's view, the entire mountaintop was shrouded in a gentle yet oppressive aura, and the air was filled with a faint purple light.

The original summit had been replaced by a colossal willow tree that reached to the heavens, with countless branches cascading down like a waterfall, each one shimmering with a shimmering purple light, swaying gently as if it were sentient.

A sense of unease rose in Ye Xuan's heart, but it was too late. Almost the instant he was about to leave this place of trouble, the towering willow tree detected the existence of the origin of his consciousness.

Countless willow branches, wreathed in terrifying purple flames, rushed toward Ye Xuan in an instant!

At the same time, a clear, cold voice resounded throughout the world:

"You've finally arrived."

Suddenly, a woman's face appeared faintly on the trunk of the willow tree; it was none other than the Immortal Willow.

Her gaze was icy, piercing through the sea of ​​clouds to lock onto Ye Xuan's origin of consciousness, and she said with great interest:

"With only Qi Refining cultivation, yet able to sneak into my Dongting without anyone noticing, the Realm of Longevity is indeed vast, and there are secret techniques I am unaware of."

Ye Xuan felt a chill run down his spine and tried to use his senses to explore his surroundings, only to find that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, along with the entire sea of ​​clouds, was covered by the pressure of the willow tree, preventing him from moving freely.

He now only has two choices left—

First, immediately withdraw your senses, let your consciousness escape back to the real world, and run away!

But this would make it difficult to return to the Realm of Immortality in the future, let alone the sequel to "The Immortal Willow of Immortality"...