Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 963 – Dragon Vein

The white-haired, youthful-faced cultivator with a pale, porcelain complexion was none other than the Ascension Realm Patriarch of the Xuan-Demonic Sect, the infamous Xuan Sanren, also known as the Xuan-Demonic Ancestor.

Ever since the loss of one of his Xuan-Demonic Fetuses during the Ten Thousand Demons Assembly years ago, Xuan Sanren had suffered great damage to his vitality and had gone into closed-door seclusion.

But now, as karmic tides stirred and ominous omens loomed, Xuan Sanren felt a ripple in his heart and couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"Where… is this karma coming from?"

In his life, he had cultivated the demonic path of the Xuan-Demonic Fetus—slaughtering countless people and making countless enemies. He couldn't immediately recall which particular grudge was enough to make him feel this unease.

"I never leave survivors. All karmic threads… should have been severed the moment they began. Could there really be a fish that slipped through the net?"

Xuan Sanren felt unsettled.

He believed: to kill, one must uproot everything. Even the unborn child in the womb must not be spared.

Only then could one be truly without worry.

This was the principle Xuan Sanren lived by.

That's why—even though his cultivation wasn't the strongest among demonic cultivators—his reputation was fearsome, earning him the title "Xuan-Demonic Ancestor," a name that struck terror into the hearts of others.

"What time, what place… is this karma from?"

He tried to trace its source, but his mind was blank—completely at a loss.

Though he thought about letting it go, he ultimately couldn't rest easy. After a moment of hesitation, he steeled his heart and took out a red box sealed with many layers.

From within, he retrieved a compass.

This compass was forged from white bone.

At its center was a locked chain, stained with black blood, etched with ancient formation runes, and embedded with a demonic eye—a malevolent, twitching thing.

This was the demonic treasure of karmic insight:

The Underworld Destiny Lock (冥道天機鎖).

He hadn't used this treasure in a long time.

Xuan Sanren bit his fingertip, smeared blood across his forehead, leaving a mark that wriggled on its own. His divine sense became sharper.

He formed a hand seal and activated the Underworld Destiny Lock, attempting to divine the karmic threads of the past.

But in the very next moment—

The compass trembled violently, and the demonic eye burst wide open, bloodshot veins spreading across it, its gaze quivering in terror.

Xuan Sanren froze on the spot. His pupils contracted.

"The Destiny Lock… refuses to divine?"

"It's… afraid?"

"A demonic treasure, afraid? Afraid of what? Of whom?"

In that instant, a memory stirred within him.

Back during the siege outside Lishan City, when he attempted to divine the karma surrounding that person, the Destiny Lock had trembled like this before.

That same unease… began to expand in his heart again.

In a daze, Xuan Sanren recalled sensing a faint omen of disaster during his past divination in Lishan.

That ominous feeling was now resurfacing—bit by bit.

It was like he had once casually thrown a net of fish into a river…

But among them was a tiny, vicious baby crocodile.

And yet, when he looked again, the vast rivers shimmered endlessly, obscuring all clarity. He couldn't see anything.

His frown deepened.

"That man is already dead. The Return-to-Void Sky Burial is over. Those involved either died or disappeared. The storm has long passed. There shouldn't be anyone left to worry about…"

"So who is this 'baby crocodile' that slipped through the net?"

"Could they threaten my Xuan-Demonic Sect?"

Xuan Sanren hoped he was overthinking it.

But deep in his heart, something wouldn't let go.

It was as if, somewhere in the void, a little monster was rising—growing—bit by bit…

"Ten years have passed… Is the shift brought by the Return-to-Void Sky Burial finally beginning to emerge?"

"Danger and calamity are starting to spread."

"Threads of fate crisscross, karma entangles… In this grand killing game of seeking the Dao and becoming immortal—who left behind this piece on the board?"

He sat in silence for a long time, still uneasy.

Eventually, his gaze grew obscure, and from his bone ring, he carefully took out a tattered ancient book.

Xuan Sanren's pale, bone-colored hand gently brushed the worn surface of the text and murmured:

"From now on… the fate of the Xuan-Demonic Sect may depend on this."

It was a damaged scroll. The pages were yellowed, old, with marks of water and fire damage. On the torn title page were six bold, ancient characters:

"Dao-Heart Demon Seeding Grand Method"

At Lone Mountain, within the divine temple—

Young Master Xuan also felt a faint trace of unease. But his skill in divine sense was far inferior to Xuan Sanren's, so he merely felt puzzled for a moment before brushing it aside.

After all—he still had to face the formidable Shentu Ao.

He had to seize the Great Wilderness inheritance from Shentu Ao…

And more importantly—he needed the corpse of the Fourth Prince to forge another foundation for his Xuan-Demonic Fetus.

While the dragon vein of the Great Wilderness was indeed powerful, it had a flaw—

It was a royal inheritance. Its cultivation methods, Dao arts, formations, forging arts, bone sigils, sacrificial rites, and other secret techniques could only be controlled by those of royal blood.

Without royal blood, even obtaining the inheritance was a tasteless thing—like chicken ribs: hard to eat, easy to waste.

Shentu Ao and the Second Elder didn't speak of this, but Young Master Xuan was well aware.

To claim the inheritance, one must first possess the bloodline.

Without it, everything was meaningless.

Yet nearly the entire royal family of the Great Wilderness had been wiped out. Very few corpses remained intact.

The only living one was the man standing before him: Shentu Ao.

But he was too powerful, too determined, and far too ambitious—impossible to control.

Even in cooperation, Young Master Xuan knew he'd be hard-pressed to gain anything.

So, the best option—was to take the corpse of the Fourth Prince, who though dead, still had an intact royal body, and refine it into his Xuan-Demonic Fetus.

Xuan-Demonic Fetus Transformation—a supreme demonic art.

One body, two fetuses. Truth and illusion intertwined.

Once the fetus was successfully forged, he would become a "prince" of the Great Wilderness, able to act under that name.

If all went according to plan… then one day, the entire Great Wilderness would be his to claim.

Young Master Xuan's heart burned—his ambition blazed like karmic fire.

He said none of this aloud.

But Shentu Ao, seasoned in scheming and deeply shrewd, had mostly guessed his intentions the moment he mentioned the "Xuan-Demonic Fetus."

"As expected… not of my kin, and his heart is surely different."

Shentu Ao's expression was icy. "The cultivators of the Nine Provinces… truly deserve death."

Young Master Xuan didn't mind. Instead, he turned his gaze to Shentu Ao and asked:

"Prince Ao, don't you want your brother to live again?"

"Live again?" Shentu Ao sneered. "You call possession of a corpse 'living'?"

"No matter how it's done, at least he'll be able to talk to you again… accompany you…"

Young Master Xuan's eyes darkened, his voice tinged with false sympathy:

"It's better than letting him lie cold and still in that coffin."

Shentu Ao's gaze turned razor sharp:

"It's just skin and meat with no soul."

"Who says there's no soul?" Young Master Xuan smiled warmly.

"The flesh is your brother's. The soul is mine. I can recognize you as my elder brother… be your royal younger brother."

That line finally enraged Shentu Ao.

His pupils widened.

"A treacherous, scheming rat like you dares call yourself my brother?!"

Young Master Xuan's smile turned cold.

"Hmph. You just don't know what's good for you."

He then turned to Elder Xiongpi:

"Kill Shentu Ao, and you'll ascend from serpent to dragon.

If you can't kill him—we'll both die here."

Elder Xiongpi's eyes turned stormy.

Clearly, he disliked Young Master Xuan's arrogant tone.

But he couldn't deny… those words did strike a chord.

"Who would want to be a bear… when they could be a dragon?"

Now that the dragon swam in shallow waters, wounded and weakened, this was the perfect moment—an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—for Xiongpi Elder to swallow the dragon and become one himself.

A wild surge of demonic aura erupted from Elder Xiongpi's body, as twin Four Symbols Array Runes intertwined. The brute strength of a bear merged with the sinister power of a serpent, converging into one monstrous form.

In an instant, his massive figure loomed even taller than Shentu Ao.

Then—

A gust of wind howled out as Elder Xiongpi lunged like a grotesque beast straight at Shentu Ao!

His right arm suddenly swelled, transforming into a bear's paw, which swung with a stinking wind toward Shentu Ao's head.

Shentu Ao's own right arm flashed with dragon scales, clashing head-on with the bear's strike. The violent shockwave knocked both men a step back—neither gaining the upper hand.

This parity thrilled Elder Xiongpi.

His left arm, flesh torn and mangled, flickered with demonic runes and turned into a giant python's head, which lunged with fangs bared toward Shentu Ao.

Shentu Ao frowned, spun around, and caught the serpent's head with a grip like forged iron. But just as he prepared to twist and snap it—

A blood-red blade light slashed across his back.

This slash carried far more power than the earlier ones—it actually broke his blood-hardened skin.

Shentu Ao wasn't too concerned at first. But within moments, he sensed something off—this blood-red blade contained a deadly poison.

It wasn't ordinary—it was a vicious blood poison, of high grade, and it was now corroding his flesh from within.

Realizing the danger, Shentu Ao had no choice but to turn his attention away from Xiongpi and defend against Young Master Xuan's blood-red sword light.

Yet the poison proved incredibly insidious—flowing into his meridians, seeping into muscle and blood like maggots burrowing into bone. It dulled his movements noticeably.

"Kill him!" Young Master Xuan shouted.

Elder Xiongpi didn't hesitate. He rushed back in with brute force, striking head-on with his bear strength, and shifting into serpent form whenever he saw an opening, gnawing and biting at Shentu Ao.

Combined with Young Master Xuan's sword and blood poison, the two executed a deadly pincer assault.

After dozens of brutal exchanges, Shentu Ao's situation became increasingly precarious.

"Don't tell me… Shentu Ao is really going to die here?" Mo Hua muttered quietly.

Just then—his expression shifted. His eyes flickered toward the temple entrance.

Young Master Xuan and Elder Xiongpi also seemed to sense something, halting their attack and slowly turning toward the doorway.

Unnoticed by anyone… another group had arrived.

It was Shen Shouxing, Elder Xun Ziyou, and their party.

They all looked grim, their foreheads clouded, expressions somber. Clearly, they had passed through the golden plaza of rampaging ghosts, and suffered no small ordeal along the way.

Some had even had their divine sense gnawed by those spirits.

Even Elder Xun Ziyou and the other two elders showed signs of damage to their spiritual senses—and had been tainted by evil influences.

And worse: they didn't even seem to know it.

Mo Hua grew uneasy—but he also sensed something wasn't right.

"Elder Xun... how did they get here?"

"And why have they been able to keep catching up with us?"

He wasn't the only one puzzled. Even Young Master Xuan and his companions exchanged confused glances. But no one spoke or made any rash moves.

The air grew tense.

The situation grew more delicate with each passing second.

As Elder Xun Ziyou entered, his first glance swept across Shentu Ao's group. Then, when his gaze landed on Mo Hua—safe and unharmed in the corner—he finally exhaled in relief.

After all, he was the bodyguard. Mo Hua's safety was top priority.

Shen Shouxing, similarly, looked briefly at Shentu Ao before searching for his son.

It didn't take long—he spotted Shen Qingsheng, but the sight made his face darken.

Shen Qingsheng had been discarded like trash, lying there unconscious.

Fury burned in Shen Shouxing's chest—he was just about to rush forward and rescue his son—

But Young Master Xuan was faster.

He lifted Shen Qingsheng and pressed his sword across the young man's neck.

"Don't come any closer," he said coldly.

Shen Shouxing was forced to stop, voice like frost:

"Let him go, and I'll spare your life."

Young Master Xuan laughed.

"Do you really think… that's possible?"

Shen Shouxing narrowed his eyes.

"You can't possibly hold him forever. Don't forget—I'm peak Golden Core. You're only early Golden Core. One slip, and I'll kill you where you stand."

Young Master Xuan nodded.

"I'm well aware."

Then he pressed the sword even tighter to Shen Qingsheng's throat—clearly wary of a sudden strike.

He leaned in close to Shen Qingsheng's ear and whispered something.

The boy, previously unconscious, slowly opened his eyes.

But they were vacant—his face expressionless, like a lifeless puppet.

Shen Shouxing's pupils contracted.

"What… did you do to him?"

"Nothing much," Young Master Xuan replied with a gentle smile.

"I simply used a little Dao-Heart Demon Seeding, made him obey me, serve me as my slave."

"You fiend!" Shen Shouxing's face twisted with killing intent.

Sword energy flared as he raised his blade. But before he could strike, Young Master Xuan spoke again:

"Oh, and I also told your son…" he smiled, pressing his hand to the back of Shen Qingsheng's head,

"If I die—he should kill himself."

Shen Shouxing froze, blade pausing mid-air.

"You think I'll believe that?"

"Want to gamble?" said Young Master Xuan, cool as ever.

"With your son's life as the wager?"

Shen Shouxing's eyes trembled. He forcibly suppressed his killing intent.

Seeing he now held the upper hand, Young Master Xuan turned toward Elder Xun Ziyou.

"Elder Xun, why don't we… work together?"

Elder Xun frowned.

"Are you insane? I'm a respected elder of the Great Void Sect. You think I'd ally with a demonic traitor like you? Based on what?"

"Based on…" Young Master Xuan chuckled, "the fact that your Great Void Sect disciple—is in my hands."

Elder Xun's pupils shrank.

Even Mo Hua stiffened.

He knows… my identity?

"The Great Void Sect and the Shen Clan don't have deep ties," Young Master Xuan said.

"At first, I didn't understand why your sect came running when a Shen brat was captured…"

"But then, when you entered and glanced at the corner… I realized—"

He looked directly at Mo Hua in the corner.

"You came here to rescue someone. And the one you came to save—was this little formation genius."

"You hid it well. Didn't let it show. And this kid's clever—pretended not to know you the whole way."

"But no matter how well you play the part… you still slipped up."

Elder Xun's face was calm, but his heart sank.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied.

"That kid's talent is so poor. What could he possibly have to do with my Great Void Sect?"

Young Master Xuan smiled faintly.

"Truth be told, my grand-uncle once suffered a major defeat from the Dao-Heart Demon Seeding, so he searched far and wide to find the lost original version from the Illusion Demon Sect, and insisted I master it."

"And I… happen to be quite gifted in divine sense. I've trained that technique well—and I'm especially sensitive to the fluctuations of the human heart."

"So Elder Xun, your little secret… couldn't fool me."

Xun Ziyou frowned.

This demonic Young Master was cunning and deceitful—in fact, he reminded him a little too much of Mo Hua…

…which meant he was definitely hard to deal with.

Outwardly, Xun Ziyou refused to admit anything. But deep down, a flicker of worry emerged:

That crafty rascal Mo Hua… don't tell me he really got hit with Dao-Heart Demon Seeding?

If that were true—if Mo Hua had been truly bewitched, lost his mind, and become someone else's puppet—that would be very bad.

While Xun Ziyou was still feeling uneasy, Young Master Xuan turned and ordered:

"You. Come here."

Sure enough, Mo Hua's eyes looked dull, his expression wooden. Like a puppet, he walked obediently to stand before Young Master Xuan.

"Tell your sect elder to follow my orders," the young master commanded.

Mo Hua replied in a flat tone:

"Elder Xun… I've been controlled. Just do what Young Master Xuan says."

…For most people, that line wouldn't mean much.

But Xun Ziyou knew Mo Hua very well.

Hearing that sentence come out of Mo Hua's mouth—it somehow sounded… playfully sarcastic, like he was messing around.

Xun Ziyou's expression became slightly strange. But oddly, he wasn't surprised.

With Mo Hua's level of cunning… honestly, who's controlling who is still very much up in the air.

As long as he's okay…

He forced himself to show a conflicted, pained, and anxious expression, as if overwhelmed with regret that Mo Hua had been controlled.

Finally, he sighed heavily and said, with resignation:

"As long as you don't hurt him… I'll do as you say."

Young Master Xuan's handsome face curved into a dark, pleased smirk.

The Shen family heir.

The Great Void Sect disciple.

These two crucial hostages were now completely in his hands—their lives and deaths under his control.

With that, he could use the emperor's name to command the lords.

Everyone present in this temple now had no choice but to obey his commands.

All the momentum of the current situation… was shifting toward him.

No wonder his grand-uncle had told him—at all costs—to cultivate the Dao-Heart Demon Seeding.

Manipulating hearts… controlling the board… it really did feel good.

And this was just him at the early Golden Core stage.

Someday, when he reached Ascension, when he mastered the full Illusion Demon original scripture and perfected Dao-Heart Demon Seeding, then with just a single thought, he could make others submit—decide life or death with a whim.

Even that unnamed Daoist—the one responsible for his grand-uncle losing a Xuanmo Fetus—might not be his match.

At the very least, he could stand toe to toe with that man.

The Dao-Heart Demon Seeding, combined with a Xuanmo Fetus carrying Great Wilderness royal blood, capable of cultivating the royal inheritance…

His path of cultivation would be boundless.

Young Master Xuan's eyes burned with ambition. A cold, cruel grin tugged at his lips.

Then, without hesitation, he pointed to Shentu Ao and shouted:

"All of you—join forces. Kill him!"

Shen Shouxing, Xun Ziyou, Elder Xiongpi, and the other cultivators exchanged glances.

Then—without delay—they all drew swords, unsheathed blades, summoned artifacts, and launched attacks toward Shentu Ao.

The tide of battle turned instantly.

Under Young Master Xuan's intimidation and manipulation, the crowd formed an alliance—united in a siege.

Shentu Ao now stood before a nearly inescapable deathtrap.

No matter how deep his cultivation, no matter how strong his Evil Dragon Runes, there was no way he could hold his ground—injured and drained—against one peak Golden Core cultivator, two late-stage Golden Cores, and five or six more Golden Core opponents.

This battle became one of utter tragedy for Shentu Ao.

He was of royal blood from the Great Wilderness, with the pride of a prince. Even against all odds, he didn't back down for a moment.

He fought with every ounce of his strength, pushing his evil powers to the absolute limit.

His body's dragon tattoos even began bleeding.

Within the great hall, a howling evil dragon roared with overwhelming might.

But as time passed, its cries began to carry a sense of sorrow—of finality.

And as the Four Symbols Evil Dragon Runes were pushed beyond their limit, the backlash began.

That evil dragon power was like a poison, seeping into his bones and flesh.

His dragon tattoos became distorted, his flesh started to rot, his meridians twisted out of order.

Even his mind began to cloud—his eyes dyed red with madness.

He was cornered—trapped at the end of the road.

And then…

Perhaps it was the tragic roar of a dying dragon that stirred the bloodlines of the royal clan…

From the Dragon Coffin, a blinding pure light suddenly burst forth!

A wisp of azure dragon qi escaped from the body of the Fourth Prince, flowing straight into Shentu Ao.

This strand of azure qi was pure and righteous, ancient and awe-inspiring, untainted by any evil.

As it surged into Shentu Ao's body, it began to cleanse the wicked energy entangled in his dragon tattoos—bit by bit.

Everyone's expressions changed.

Even Mo Hua felt a jolt of surprise in his heart.

And Elder Xiongpi's eyes filled with greed.

This was the most pure form of Azure Dragon Qi—the true and genuine…

Power of the Great Wilderness Dragon Vein!

(End of this Chapter)