Life-Devouring Pill

"The Burial Grounds of Earth Immortals should have been explored long ago. This terrain has abundant dragon qi on Dragon Mountain, and there ought to be plenty of spiritual creatures and rare medicines, but now there's nothing left."

Yan Kuan said this while pointing at some key spots on the Dragon-Shaped Cliff Mountain that emitted spiritual light. He then pointed at the Divine Tree Branch beside it. "It should be the people from the Daoist Ancestral Court. They couldn't remove the death qi and didn't dare use it for alchemy, so they left this Divine Tree Branch untouched."

"Impossible!"

Old Crane couldn't accept Yan Kuan's reasoning. He circulated his divine power and carefully moved the Jade Coffin aside, but when he looked inside, he was immediately disappointed. It was completely empty, with only the faint remnants of a human outline left as traces of enlightenment.

"How could this be?"

Monkey was deeply disappointed, muttering to himself, unable to accept the fact. Yan Kuan said nothing more, silently sealing the coffin lid shut before putting away the branch of the Undying Divine Medicine.

Old Crane gazed into the distance at this point, still unwilling to give up. "According to the Jade Scroll Map, there are ninety-nine Dragon Mountains in total, and this is only the first. Isn't that a bit strange? Could the Earth Immortal have directly buried his tomb inside the first Dragon Mountain?"

Monkey shared the same opinion. "Let's keep going and take a look."

"Both Valley Lords, you saw it yourselves. The gatekeepers of Dragon Tiger Mountain here are genuine Dao-Slaying Kings. Do you really think there are any treasures left that we could take?"

Monkey and Old Crane were still reluctant, but Yan Kuan was unwilling to continue taking risks. He knew that there would be no gains to be found in the Dragon Mountains ahead, or rather, any easily obtainable treasures had already been taken by the seniors of the Daoist Ancestral Court. As for what remained, they lacked the ability to claim it.

Old Crane whispered to Yan Kuan, "Brother Li, we've come all this way with great difficulty. If we leave empty-handed, it's really... How about we go a bit further? If we encounter danger, we'll turn back. We'll both follow your lead."

"Fine, then you two listen to me from now on."

Yan Kuan figured that if they didn't go on to see for themselves, they wouldn't be satisfied, so he went along with their wishes. The three continued forward and soon entered the depths of the second winding, intertwined Dragon Mountain.

Ahead was a large fissure, where dozens of ancient Hanging Coffins were placed. Though far fewer in number than the first site, it was still astonishing. Another common point was that deep within the dragon cave, there was also a Jade Coffin.

"What, another Jade Coffin? And it's already covered in dust, dim and lusterless. Just how many Earth Immortals are there?"

Old Crane and Monkey were both stunned, staring blankly at the dragon cave ahead. The Hanging Coffins were neatly arranged around the Jade Coffin, far fewer than at the first Dragon Mountain. On top of the Jade Coffin lay another crystalline, glistening branch of the Undying Divine Tree, exuding a fragrant aura.

Yan Kuan pointed to certain spots on this Dragon Mountain. "Look at the nodes where spiritual light overflows on this mountain. They should have had precious medicines or spiritual objects nurtured by dragon qi, but now there's nothing. They've likely been visited too."

"If you still won't give up, we can keep going forward. But this Jade Coffin cannot be opened. The further in we go, the more terrifying the strong beings buried in the Hanging Coffins become. There might even be Dao-Slaying Kings."

Yan Kuan continued walking deeper as he spoke, while reminding Old Crane and Monkey, "A Dao-Slaying King's physical body is indestructible, and their corpse remains intact after death. If such beings are disturbed, they are highly likely to undergo a mutation. With our strength, we absolutely cannot handle them."

They passed five more mountains in succession. Each Dragon Mountain appeared to have been thoroughly scavenged, leaving only the Jade Coffins with branches of the Undying Divine Medicine seemingly untouched.

But as Yan Kuan had said, the further in they went, the more terrifying the strong beings buried in the Hanging Coffins became. For the later ones, they only dared to watch from afar, not daring to approach at all.

"Look, the Dragon Mountains further back have all collapsed."

Monkey, impatient, leaped into the clouds. His golden eyes shot divine light into the distance as he gazed at the towering Dragon Mountains, his expression freezing.

The first nine Dragon Mountains were magnificent, especially the ninth, which stood a full head taller than the others. Auspicious qi surged forth, and the mountain body was carved with the characters "Earth Immortal."

But starting from the tenth Dragon Mountain, all the mountain ranges were broken and incomplete. This sight was baffling. Had the last ninety of the ninety-nine Dragon Mountains collapsed?

Yan Kuan didn't explain much. He continued to the eighth Dragon Mountain, where he found a white jade stele with some inscriptions left by the Earth Immortal. The gist was that he had buried his disciples here to accompany him.

Monkey exclaimed in admiration, "Truly worthy of an Earth Immortal. All his disciples are dead, yet he still lives. Among those eight Jade Coffins, there must be a few ancient sages."

Yan Kuan said nothing more but led them forward to the last undamaged Dragon Mountain. Here, Purple Qi steamed and nearly engulfed the mountain. In front of it stood an ancient stele with inscriptions.

This stele recorded some past events of the one who established this place. This senior had once cultivated in Shu and was revered as the Chief of Earth Immortals. The last line on the stele read, "Buried here together with the Ginseng Fruit Undying Divine Tree!"

"The Ginseng Fruit Tree? Could Zhen Yuanzi really exist?"

Monkey said in surprise. In his early years, he had mingled in the mortal world and was deeply immersed in Journey to the West, even going so far as to give himself the unconventional name Sun Wukong.

"This dragon cave is absolutely not something we can approach. Let's go."

At this moment, Yan Kuan sensed something unusual deep within the dragon cave and quickly warned the two great demons, who had found nothing. Old Crane and Monkey also keenly detected the danger and immediately reacted.

Old Crane, with over six hundred years of cultivation, transformed back into his original form, carrying Yan Kuan and Monkey as they swiftly retreated along the same path. Not long after they left, roars echoed from deep within the auspicious dragon cave, as if something sinister had been awakened.

"Brother Li, even though this is the corpse of a Dao-Slaying King, he was a senior of the Dragon Tiger Mountain Daoist Ancestral Court. Taking him out will cause trouble."

After the three escaped the terrain of the ninety-nine Dragon Mountains and were about to leave, Yan Kuan collected the corpse of the Dao-Slaying King before departing. Old Crane and Monkey both objected, but since Yan Kuan had already stored it away, they could only offer a reminder.

"Don't worry, you two. I only intend to take this senior out for a proper burial."

Yan Kuan casually explained, then sank his mind into the Sea of Bitterness to carefully confirm that the branch of the Undying Divine Tree wasn't causing any trouble.

On this trip to the Burial Grounds of Earth Immortals, he had known from the start that there wasn't much good stuff left. The reason he still came was for this single branch of the Undying Divine Tree.

Though this treasure had been tainted by death qi into a malevolent medicine, its inherent longevity properties had not dissipated. It contained both life force and death qi, making it an exceptional ingredient for refining the Life-Devouring Pill. If all went smoothly, once that pill was concocted, he would be able to leap directly into the top echelon of this Ancestral Star.