Scroll of Ages

The next day.

Morning sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows.

Luo Chen sat before the campfire, poking at the dying flames with a branch.

Rustling sounds came from behind him.

"Stay sharp."

Wang Yue came down from the mountaintop with his blade in hand. He looked at his ten subordinates and nodded.

"Move out!"

Without a word, the group mounted their fine horses and rode toward their respective encirclement points.

Luo Chen cast one last glance at the distant mountaintop before leaving without looking back.

He hoped Shangguan Changyue's preparations were thorough enough.

If something went wrong, hundreds of martial artists—and more than half of Qingyuan City's Demon Suppressing Guards—would be caught between life and death.

An hour later.

Eleven black-clad figures darted through the forest and arrived atop a mountain peak.

Luo Chen looked down into the gorge below. The jungle was so dense that the ground could not be seen at a glance.

"Keep watch. Wait for the Colonel's orders."

Wang Yue spoke softly, sitting cross-legged on the mountaintop as he watched below.

"The Colonel said the exact time for this operation has not been decided yet. For now, we only need to guard this vital passage."

"Yes!"

The surrounding Demon Suppressing Guards answered quietly, then scattered in all directions, concealing themselves as they watched the gorge from every corner.

The gorge was steep, surrounded by towering mountains and rocky cliffs.

It was like a passage leading into unknown depths.

Luo Chen crossed two mountains and stood atop a peak opposite them. The view here was excellent, and everything around him lay in full view.

He leaped onto the crown of an ancient tree so vast that ten people would be needed to encircle it.

With the dense foliage concealing him, it was an excellent spot for hiding and keeping watch.

He sat cross-legged upon a thick branch.

Luo Chen rested his head in his hands, unable to shake the feeling that things would not go so smoothly.

Leaning against the ancient tree's trunk, his thoughts churned as he sorted through them bit by bit.

Seven days passed in succession.

There was still no move from above to slay the Demonic Beast. Who knew what they were preparing?

Luo Chen had killed a wild boar in the mountains and was now roasting it over a fire.

As they watched the roasted pig turn golden and crisp, the surrounding Demon Suppressing Guards could not help swallowing.

"These seven days, my mouth's been so bland I could taste birds."

Wang Yue tore at a glossy, grease-covered pig leg, unable to stop himself from grumbling.

"After all, that Demonic Beast is in the Divine Intent Realm. No matter how cautious we are, it isn't excessive."

Luo Chen smiled, but his heart grew heavier still.

The longer this dragged on, the more it meant Shangguan Changyue lacked absolute confidence.

He could not wait any longer either.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they dispersed and returned to their respective positions.

Night fell.

Luo Chen no longer wished to wait. Sitting cross-legged atop the ancient tree, concealed by the darkness and branches, he began his breakthrough.

"Invest thirty years of lifespan to deduce the Great Sun Divine Spring Secret Codex."

[Successfully invested thirty years of lifespan to evolve the cultivation method!]

[Year One: In the First Realm, you forged a deep foundation, and your potential greatly increased! You studied the Great Sun Divine Spring Secret Codex day and night, but the difficulty of this superior Mysterious Aperture secret codex made your progress slow.]

[Year Three: You calmed your mind, neither hasty nor impatient. You finally grasped a trace of the Great Sun Divine Spring Secret Codex, entering its threshold.]

[Year Ten: With the Great Sun Divine Spring Secret Codex and following the Mysterious Aperture diagram, you opened twelve Mysterious Apertures, condensing blood into gang. Your strength soared.]

[Year Twenty: The Great Sun Divine Spring Secret Codex reached Minor Mastery. You opened thirty-six Mysterious Apertures within your body, forming a divine spring. Your blood and qi surged endlessly, and your vitality became inexhaustible!]

[Year Thirty: You opened forty-eight Mysterious Apertures. Blood Gang formed a forest, and with a single thought, a gang formation arose!]

[Lifespan: 17/100.]

Upon the tree trunk.

Luo Chen's entire body turned crimson, and his aura began to rise, only for him to suppress it in an instant.

The restless blood and qi within his body immediately shattered through its shackles.

One Mysterious Aperture after another was forced open and lit by his blood and qi. When thirty-six Mysterious Apertures within his body had been illuminated—

The faint sound of a clear spring flowing seemed to echo.

His blood and qi raced like a great river, while his heart thundered like a war drum, rumbling without end.

The thirty-six Mysterious Apertures linked together, seemingly forming a Divine Spring Shadow within his body. Boundless vital essence gushed forth, filling his entire body.

The vital essence streamed downward, irrigating the remaining dim Mysterious Apertures.

Thirty-nine, forty, forty-five, forty-eight!

A blood-red ring of light burst from within his body, sweeping across the surrounding forest.

This was blood and qi power refined to the utmost extreme. It could also be called Blood Gang.

Centered on Luo Chen, every tree within a hundred meters that stood level with the ancient tree beneath him had its crown sheared away.

Opening his eyes, Luo Chen's gaze gleamed. He only felt as though his vitality was endless and he possessed boundless divine strength.

Though it was merely the unreal sensation of having his strength surge so suddenly—

It still enthralled him for a moment.

He gathered his thoughts.

Lowering his head, he looked at the hollow sphere at his waist.

Little Butterfly lay sprawled at the bottom of the sphere, her wings drooping, her body curled up as she trembled timidly.

She had been frightened by the disturbance just now.

After he carefully soothed her for a while—

Little Butterfly's broad wings began to flutter faintly again, and her emotions gradually settled.

Seeing this, Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.

"The critical moment is almost here. You'd better not let me down!"

He muttered to himself as he carefully hung the hollow sphere back at his waist.

"The Withered Glory Art needs to be improved as well."

Luo Chen recalled how Shangguan Changyue had seen through his concealed strength at a glance.

That meant the Divine Intent Realm was a dividing line.

Divine Intent involved the mind and soul. Enhanced perception allowing her to see his true strength was nothing strange.

"Deducing cultivation methods really is a bottomless pit!"

Luo Chen muttered, but he had no choice.

[Successfully invested lifespan to evolve the Withered Glory Art!]

[Year One: As the creator of the Withered Glory Art, you possessed a certain understanding of this cultivation method's flaws and the path forward. You began to experiment.]

[Year Three: You continued observing Withered Wood Meets Spring, attempting to enter a state of enlightenment once more. You failed!]

[Year Ten: A state of enlightenment could only be encountered by chance, not sought after. You tried to supplement your own foundation and began spending years in seclusion within the Library Tower of the Demon Suppression Bureau.]

[Year Twenty-Five: You read extensively, broadened your wisdom, and your comprehension improved...]

Luo Chen's spiritual platform suddenly cleared for an instant.

Twenty-five years had passed, yet he still had no clue. He hesitated.

More importantly, counting the seventeen years he had already lived, he had less than sixty years of lifespan remaining.

If he continued deducing it—

Would his appearance change? Would he grow old?

Luo Chen fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

There was no reason to give up halfway.

"If my appearance grows old, I'll head deep into the mountain range. There's a Demon Lair here, and Demonic Beasts are never lacking. Kill one Demonic Beast, and the lifespan will return."

The evolution continued!

[Year Forty: You passed through forty years of spring and autumn, observing countless scenes of Withered Wood Meets Spring, yet still gained no clue.]

[Year Fifty: You began changing your line of thought. Spring departed and autumn came, the years turned in cycles, and a new direction gradually formed in your heart.]

[Year Eighty: You grew old...]

[Year Eighty-One: You were about to die. You could clearly see the limit of your lifespan...]

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Luo Chen's forehead. In his heart, he immediately set a warning line for the panel, leaving himself half a year of lifespan so he would not die from deduction.

[Year Eighty-Two: The aura of old age appeared within your body. Your oil had run dry and your lamp had withered, yet your mind was exceptionally calm! You saw the road ahead.]

[Year Eighty-Three: You saw the limit of lifespan. You saw countless springs and autumns unfold. You saw the traces left by the years upon your body and within your soul.

In enlightenment, you comprehended a wisp of the Aura of Years!

You summarized and organized it, naming it the Scroll of Ages!]

[Cultivation Method: Scroll of Ages (Minor Mastery)]