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

Ye Xuan sat by the spring, watching Chen Qinghe, half of his body submerged in the water, practicing the "Health Preservation Exercise".

By using his perception to observe the flow of energy in the meridians of a young man's body during his practice, he can make timely corrections and save him from many detours.

The spring they are currently at is located at the end of the entire treacherous plank road. If they cross two more mountain peaks tomorrow, they will be able to get closer to the capital.

Before this, Ye Xuan could have used the spiritual spring in front of him to stabilize his cultivation at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

So he began searching through his memories for the "Longevity Manual" he had glimpsed that day...

The so-called immortality is merely a clear pursuit of cultivators on their path of cultivation. But in the short-lived world, which is limited by the laws of heaven, is immortality truly possible?

The cultivation of short-lived species can only reach the Foundation Establishment stage at most. At this stage, the lifespan of mortals can be increased to two or three hundred years, but it is still far from immortality.

Only by breaking through to the Golden Core stage and beyond can one extend their lifespan by thousands of years.

At that time, for mortals, having thousands of years would seem to be enough to be considered immortal.

Ultimately, how can short-lived species break through the limitations of this world? The cultivation path given in the "Longevity Manual" is quite vague.

"Those who reach perfection can begin to cultivate their character. Once their character is firm, they will be guided by heavenly lightning."

After all the irrelevant methods in the "Longevity Formula," the ending is just this simple sentence.

Cultivating one's mind and character? Based on this alone, Ye Xuan could conclude that this method was most likely fake.

If one follows the path of "The Immortal Willow of Longevity" and only pursues accumulation, as long as one's cultivation is sufficiently robust, or in other words, there is enough nourishment, the willow tree will naturally grow, and the human body will naturally be able to break through...

From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, although this was Ye Xuan's first time cultivating immortality, he did not believe that cultivating his mental abilities would be of any use.

Moreover, while the short-lived race did not understand the meaning of "guided by heavenly lightning," Ye Xuan, who could glimpse the realm of immortals, understood it perfectly.

For the short-lived realm, the long-lived realm is the so-called Heavenly Dao. If one really needs to undergo tribulation by heavenly lightning, then it is the magical power descended by the immortals in heaven.

If one follows the cultivation path of the "Longevity Manual," this is the only way to achieve ascension in this short life—

The translation is: It all depends on the will of the immortals...

However, in the royal capital's ancestral hall, countless high priests throughout history have fallen victim to this illusory and ethereal Dharma, ultimately ending up with nothing but death and emptiness.

"It's pitiful that these people still offer their essence, blood, and lifespan to those so-called immortals."

Ye Xuan composed himself and extended his perception to the capital city, a hundred miles away.

After the "Longevity Manual" in the ancestral hall was made public, members of the royal family, whether or not they had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, began to focus on cultivating their own spiritual power and tempering their character.

"My king, how are you feeling?"

A trusted attendant served Li Chong his daily medicine to consolidate his cultivation. Glancing at his master's radiant face, he knew that a craze for practicing the "Longevity Formula" had swept through the capital in the past two days.

Was it just that he was blind? He didn't think Li Chong had changed much at this moment.

Li Chong took the medicine, drank it all in one gulp, and his complexion immediately became more radiant.

"I didn't really understand it, but this is, after all, a genuine magical technique passed down through generations in the ancestral hall, so it's normal for it to be a bit mysterious."

Li Chong did not think it was his fault. At such a young age, he had already reached the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, which was considered exceptionally talented in the entire short-lived world.

Recalling that none of the high priests of the ancestral halls throughout the ages had been able to comprehend this immortal technique, it was normal that he hadn't seen any results after practicing it for less than two days...

"How is that pseudo-immortal now?"

Li Chong put down the medicine bowl in his hand and looked at the dark sky outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, our spies reported back half an hour ago that the two men have entered the treacherous mountain pass, and their current location is unknown."

The trusted attendant quickly bowed and returned, while Li Chong frowned slightly.

"High mountains and treacherous paths...why did they choose that route?"

He muttered to himself, "Logically speaking, the official road is the fastest way from Jiangning County to the capital."

"Perhaps they're scared?"

The attendant guessed, but Li Chong completely denied it, saying:

"Fear? Would someone who single-handedly killed thirty-six Foundation Establishment cultivators be afraid for a moment?"

Moreover, the two of them were not heading back to Shuitian Village, but were still heading straight for the capital.

Li Chong stood up and walked to the window. The lights of thousands of homes in the city were gradually coming on. Beneath this peace and tranquility lay the inescapable net that the capital had laid out over the past two days. Looking towards the ancestral hall in the distance, he was most concerned about it.

"No, he's not afraid; he's probably searching for something..."

A glint of light flashed in the king's eyes, and just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the palace.

A general dressed in black armor strode in, knelt on one knee, and said:

"My king, the high priest of the shrine requests an audience."

Li Chong turned around. "Let him in."

Before long, the high priest slowly walked into the hall. Compared to two days ago, his aged face seemed to show more fatigue.

"What brings the High Priest here so late at night?"

The high priest did not answer immediately, but instead took out a bronze mirror from his sleeve.

The mirror was ancient and simple, with intricate cloud patterns carved along its edges; it was a ritual implement used by the ancestral hall to transmit messages.

"My king, please look."

He placed the bronze mirror on the table, lightly touched it with his fingertip, and ripples immediately appeared on the mirror's surface, revealing an image—

Behind a waterfall in the midst of towering mountains and treacherous paths lies a sacred spring, and it is Ye Xuan and Chen Qinghe who are taking a break on the banks of the spring.

In the scene, Ye Xuan sits cross-legged with his eyes closed, his body faintly surrounded by a mixture of blue and white energy. The spring in front of him is always shimmering with light, and wisps of spiritual energy rise up and then turn into specks of firefly light in the night sky.

"This is……"

"As expected, my king guessed correctly; he is indeed looking for something."

This spiritual spring, named the "Spirit Cleansing Pool," was the cultivation site of Li Xuanfeng, the high priest of the previous dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Li Chong's pupils contracted slightly. He vaguely remembered the name the high priest had mentioned.

"Is he the forty-seventh high priest mentioned in the ancestral hall records, the one who disappeared after stepping down?"

"Exactly."

The high priest nodded, but his expression was very solemn. He pointed to the image in the mirror, where Ye Xuan was cultivating, and the image was gradually magnified.

"Has Your Majesty noticed the aura flowing around him?"

Li Chong stared intently and saw that Ye Xuan's Taoist robe was moving without wind, with blue and white energies swirling around it like swimming dragons.

Even more strangely, when those rising spiritual energy glows approached him, they were absorbed into his body like rivers flowing into the sea, which was quite different from the complete breathing process required by ordinary cultivators.

"He can directly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? And at such a speed!"

Li Chong gasped. As the high priest put away the bronze mirror, the image disappeared, and the hall fell into a deathly silence.

"Ordinary cultivators need to absorb spiritual energy into their bodies, circulate it through the meridians, and gradually refine it into their own spiritual power."

But he was able to skip this complicated process, absorbing it directly without needing to refine it.

Li Chong tapped his fingers on the armrest, the rhythm quickening as he asked the question the high priest was about to ask.

"The cultivation technique he practices is extraordinary..."

"My King, this ancestral hall has a thousand-year history and has seen countless cultivation techniques and secret manuals, but such a direct absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is unheard of!"

Ye Xuan noticed the content of their conversation. How could he not have known that there were spies following them all the way, but he simply ignored them?

To the high priest's words, he only wanted to say—

Compared to the "Longevity Manual," this is more like a true immortal technique, and besides, haven't you all seen it now?