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

Thousands of miles away, inside the royal capital's ancestral hall.

The high priest stood before the statue of the immortal, holding a blood-red jade pendant in his hand, which contained news from Pingyuan County.

He waited for a long time, but no news came from Pingyuan County. He could roughly guess what was going on there.

"Jiangning County... The false immortals are causing chaos in the world and should be punished."

A majestic voice seemed to echo in the old man's ears.

The high priest immediately bowed and paid homage to the statue of the immortals:

"Rest assured, my lord, I have mobilized the guardians of the ancestral halls in thirty-six counties, and they will all gather in Jiangning County in three days."

"At that time, we will surely surround and kill them beneath the city walls, thus upholding the orthodox lineage of the immortals!"

Ye Xuan opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them. "Orthodox?"

Perception and consciousness flew out from the royal ancestral hall, rising continuously along the direction of the immortal statue, until they reached the boundary between the two realms.

Between the realms of longevity and short life, there is only an extremely narrow gap, through which his perception is just enough to pass, as is the lifespan of the short-lived species transmitted by the immortal statue.

He had never tried to perceive and spy on the Realm of Immortality outside of Shuitian Village.

As perception gradually penetrates deeper, the mental imagery gradually becomes clearer—

Soaring straight up to the ninth heaven, amidst swirling celestial clouds, a magnificent palace of jade and jewels lies hidden.

Ye Xuan was cautious and dared not move from his original position, but silently watched the immortal palace.

After all, when he tried to peek into the Willow Immortal's secret technique last time, his consciousness was captured by that inexplicable little green bottle. Although he was able to avoid being exposed to these newcomers immediately, it would be troublesome if he were discovered.

Standing still, I carefully observed the swirling mist. Unlike the spiritual energy of the short-lived realm, it was purer and more transparent.

It does resemble the spiritual energy on the sea of ​​clouds near Liuxian Dongting...

However, Ye Xuan did not believe that this immortal palace had any connection with the Willow Immortal. The reason was simple: in the diffused spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there was also a faint magical power covering it.

This magical power alone is different from the sea of ​​clouds near Liuxian Dongting.

As he was still pondering this place, the mist in front of him gradually dissipated, revealing a huge bronze cauldron.

Ye Xuan slowly moved from his original position to the side of the bronze cauldron and immersed his senses into it.

Inside the bronze cauldron, about one-third of the contents were filled with scarlet blood, and dense bubbles were constantly rising from the pool of blood, as if it were being boiled.

"The essence and blood of a short-lived species?"

Ye Xuan manipulated the origin of his consciousness and plunged it into the pool of blood. Sure enough, it was the essence blood that had been extracted from the newborn and had gathered here.

However, he couldn't find the drop he had used for the experiment, which surprised Ye Xuan.

"Oh dear, this blood is being used up really fast. I have to come back for an injection every two days."

"Stop complaining, hurry up and finish your work so you can go back and cultivate..."

Suddenly, the sound of two people talking could be heard. At the same time, a hole in the center of the bronze cauldron was opened, and the essence blood that was originally at the bottom of the cauldron was drawn to the only opening by a suction force.

Ye Xuan simply followed the suction force and was drawn out of the cauldron along with the essence blood.

His vision suddenly opened up, and he saw two young men with similar appearances, dressed in the same style of Taoist robes. One of them was carrying a wooden bucket and was about to catch the blood essence that was floating out.

The wooden bucket in his hand seemed to be no ordinary object; there was a faint flow of power on the wooden planks that made the bucket. However, it was not a magic artifact either. Ye Xuan then placed the origin of his consciousness on the upper layer of the essence blood inside the bucket.

Seeing that the bucket was almost full of blood, the two young men twisted the cap off the bronze cauldron and disappeared into a cloud of mist.

Even while inside the barrel, Ye Xuan's consciousness suddenly felt somewhat blurred, much like the magic array he encountered when he explored the capital.

When consciousness returned, the world outside the bucket had changed; it was no longer the celestial palace shrouded in immortal energy.

Halfway up a towering mountain that reaches into the clouds, countless holes have been carved into the rock face, so numerous that not a single ray of light can be seen inside.

The two young men carrying wooden buckets flew into one of the cave entrances, and the outside world instantly became dark.

Inside the long cave entrance, only a few candles flickered dimly. "Why do all these immortals like to live in caves?"

Ye Xuan followed the two young men all the way, and fortunately the journey was smooth, and they did not encounter any obstacles until they reached the end of the cave.

At the end of this cave, a small stone chamber appears, filled with various items scattered about.

There were altars that looked like they were used for sacrificial rites, and furnaces that looked like they were used for refining medicine...

What caught Ye Xuan's attention the most was the mountain of small boxes piled up in the corner. These boxes were all made of wood, the same material as the wooden buckets in their hands, but much more exquisite.

The gift boxes, each the size of a palm, were tied with a shimmering silk scarf, but the insides of those boxes were empty.

He placed his consciousness in a corner of the stone chamber and quietly observed the two young men pouring a bucket of short-lived blood essence into the central alchemy furnace.

"Heavenly Fire!"

One of them was chanting and making a hand seal. A bright orange flame flew from his fingertip and landed at the bottom of the alchemy furnace.

The blazing fire can burn incessantly even without firewood at the bottom of the stove.

The essence blood that had just been poured into the furnace boiled violently with the intense fire.

The stench of blood immediately filled the entire stone chamber, and the two youths couldn't help but pinch their noses, their eyes filled with disgust.

After waiting for three-quarters of an hour, the flames at the bottom of the furnace gradually died down, and the essence blood that had been poured into the furnace without any additions was now being refined into tiny, vermilion pills the size of a fingernail.

One person stepped forward and looked into the alchemy furnace. What was originally a pool of blood essence had now turned into dozens of pills.

The young man, participating in this for the first time, showed a hint of novelty on his face. "Zero additives? No wonder it's so pure!"

"Of course, although this is mortal blood, it has been refined in a pill furnace."

Otherwise, why do you think the outer disciples would go to such lengths to get just one of these pills each month?

The young man, who clearly seemed to have some experience, pocketed all the pills in the furnace, and the two began to divide the work.

One person went to the corner and picked up the gift boxes, while the other person threw the pills one by one, which landed precisely in the boxes.

The assembly of about forty pills was quickly completed.

The two were holding the gift boxes in their arms, and one of them whispered:

"How about the two of us..."

The other person immediately shouted, "Take it if you want to die!"

"Don't underestimate this small amount; it will take at least a full year to collect all this mortal blood."

After being reprimanded, the newcomer became much more obedient, but he still secretly slipped a vermilion pill into his pocket when no one was looking.

"..."

Ye Xuan withdrew his senses and consciousness and saw Chen Qinghe sitting by the river cultivating. It was already late at night.

They left Pingyuan County this afternoon, and should arrive in Jiangning County by noon tomorrow.

The scene he had just witnessed within the Realm of Immortality made Ye Xuan sigh with emotion as he looked at the young man before him.

Short-lived species have their essence and blood drained at birth, reducing their lifespan by nearly half. However, in the realm of longevity, they are treated as ordinary objects and used indiscriminately.