What is an immortal?

Yuan Ming was immersed in the chaotic sounds, yet felt an indescribable sense of detachment.

He longed to wander outside this complex vortex of fate, unwilling to be deeply entangled in it.

As soon as this thought arose, the moonlight power that enveloped him began to retreat like a tide, slowly contracting, ultimately concentrating and gathering towards his brow.

Yuan Ming's mind tightened, and he instantly felt a secret and mysterious power tightly wrapping him.

He immediately focused his spirit, wholeheartedly sensing the power gathering towards him. For a moment, his state of mind seemed to enter a void, where all external disturbances disappeared.

Above White Emperor City, this peculiar change attracted everyone's attention.

"It seems the master is advancing to the Life Witch Realm." In the backyard of the City Lord Mansion, Hua Zhi looked up at the high sky and said with certainty.

"I also felt that powerful Divine Soul power," Lei Yu eagerly echoed.

Meanwhile, in the hall where city affairs were being handled at the City Lord Mansion, Wang Fulong was deliberating with several of the city's cultivators. At this moment, they all stopped their activities in unison, and they came to the center of the yard.

Everyone looked up at the silver moon phenomenon high in the sky, each face filled with delight.

"The City Lord has broken through, and in just twenty-some years, he has reached the Life Witch Realm. Now let's see which other city lords or sects that have been eyeing White Emperor City dare to cause trouble," a middle-aged cultivator in a white scholar's robe exclaimed joyfully.

The others all nodded in agreement.

Wang Fulong and He Xiuwen exchanged a glance, a mix of emotions stirring within them, yet both chose to remain silent.

As the years went by, their hatred and fear of Yuan Ming diminished, and they began to recognize him from deep within, becoming obedient, even a bit reverent.

Especially Wang Fulong, freed from the constraints of the Sunset Sect and without the Sky Eagle Chamber of Commerce's restraint, Yuan Ming gave him great freedom and support, allowing him to fully commit to managing White Emperor City.

In his heart, he was truly grateful to Yuan Ming.

Without these heavy burdens, although he was busy with White Emperor City's affairs and his cultivation time greatly reduced, his cultivation instead improved.

He Xiuwen, on the other hand, received the promised resources for nurturing from Yuan Ming and was quite diligent in managing the affairs of White Emperor City.

In the northern part of White Emperor City, in a quiet residence, a burly blonde man was staring intently at the sky above the city. He was gripping a communication magic plate, communicating with someone: "City Lord, White Emperor City Lord has broken through to the Life Witch Realm..."

The communication magic plate remained silent for a long time before slowly responding: "Forget it, take our people and retreat."

The blonde man heard this, answered in a deep voice, "Understood."

A trace of reluctance flickered in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by resignation and relief.

...

Just a few miles from here, in a quaint inn, a deep secret room.

A woman in a blue robe stood quietly beside a communication array, a heavy look on her brow as she softly reported the latest happenings of White Emperor City to the spectral figure within the array.

The light in the array flickered, reflecting a dignified and profound face, the City Lord of Yin Mountain.

As he listened to the report from his subordinate, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes, leading him into a long silence.

The woman in the blue robe saw this, feeling apprehensive, and cautiously asked, "City Lord, we have been lurking here for a long time. I'm afraid our identities have already been exposed. Now that the White Emperor City Lord has broken through and his strength has increased, should we temporarily withdraw to avoid his sharpness?"

The Yin Mountain City Lord remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "No need to withdraw. I will set off immediately, personally going to White Emperor City to offer my congratulations."

At the same time, outside White Emperor City's Transmission Hall, a throng of people filled the area, with two long queues stretching into the distance.

These cultivators were all applying for transmission to leave White Emperor City, their faces filled with anxiety and unease.

At the hall's entrance, several cultivators dressed in black robes embroidered with golden patterns were standing, they were disciples of the Golden Extreme Sect, responsible for guarding the place.

The leader was an elderly man, though advanced in years, his spirit was vigorous, and his tiger-like eyes were bright.

He occasionally glanced towards the Transmission Hall and then looked up at the sky, where the phenomenon continued to draw attention.

A plump woman approached the elder, asking worriedly, "Elder Hong, are we really going to stay here? The one named He from the City Lord Mansion has been secretly investigating us, I'm afraid our background has been completely exposed. If they harbor murderous intentions, we may not be able to withstand it."

"Why should we leave? If they truly understood our details, would they easily make a move? I fear they're currently troubled about how to deal with the forces behind us," Elder Hong laughed coldly, countering.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt relieved, smiles appearing on their faces.

"Alright, let's go back. Report the situation here accurately to Young Master Que Yue, and let him decide the next step," Elder Hong withdrew his gaze, saying lightly.

After finishing his words, he turned and left with the crowd.

...

Deep within the City Lord Mansion, the secret chamber was silent, as if isolated from the disturbances of the outside world.

Yuan Ming sat upright inside, the Moonlight Power at the center of his brow gradually gathered, eventually forming a thumb-sized beam of light that quietly merged into his brow, then vanished without a trace.

With the disappearance of the beam, a faint silver moon mark slowly appeared at Yuan Ming's brow, emitting a soft silver light.

He slowly stood up, the silver moon mark flashed, and his figure became illusory, as though it blended into the surrounding void.

With a single step forward, Yuan Ming's figure transformed into a hazy stream of light, arriving silently at the back courtyard of the City Lord Mansion.

In the back courtyard at this moment, Hua Zhi was delicately holding a refined pastry, tasting its flavors while gazing at the sky, where the gradually dissipating anomaly seemed to have a distinct charm in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Lei Yu sat on a stone bench to the side, head resting on his hands, eyes vacant, seemingly pondering some insoluble problems.

Even though Yuan Ming stood beside them, neither Hua Zhi nor Lei Yu noticed his presence.

"The stealth effect of the Yin Moon Body is indeed unexpectedly good. These two Level 5 Demons couldn't detect even the slightest bit," Yuan Ming thought secretly.

After advancing to a Life Witch, Yuan Ming not only awakened the Yin Moon Body, which cloaks one in an invisible barrier during its activation, obscuring fate to a certain extent and preventing people from instinctively perceiving his existence.

Yuan Ming did not reveal himself to converse with them, but instead, continued walking forward, soon arriving at the administrative hall.

At this moment in the hall, the crowd that had just held a meeting had already gathered, discussing the matter of clearing out spies from various sects and the other eighteen cities left in White Emperor City.

He Xiuwen held a paper documenting the spies' information, displaying it to the crowd for examination one by one.

Upon seeing it, everyone was visibly shocked, including Wang Fulong, who furrowed his brow and said gravely, "How could there be so many?"

"The various sects do not understand our City Lord's strength, mistakenly believing that he was placed here to manage White Emperor City merely due to connections. Thus, they secretly harbor thoughts of supporting puppets and controlling White Emperor City. The City Lords of the other eighteen cities with Heavenly Crane Arrays used to follow Jin Mu's lead. But after Jin Mu's death, they developed rebellious thoughts, wanting to replace and become the head of these nineteen cities, taking over the entire Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range," He Xiuwen explained.

"If we want to clear them all, we may face significant resistance," a middle-aged round-faced cultivator said solemnly.

"What's there to fear? They just don't know the true strength of our City Lord. Once they witness it, they naturally wouldn't dare to harbor any more untoward thoughts," Zheng Heng sneered.

"We still need to conduct thorough investigations, uncovering fully the forces behind these Dark Children, preparing to handle them accordingly," Wang Fulong said cautiously.

Amidst their fervent discussions, they were unaware that Yuan Ming was quietly standing nearby.

His figure remained illusory and ethereal, undetectable by anyone.

His mind moved, and in his Sea of Consciousness, a light gathered, a pale golden eyeball slowly appeared, eventually manifesting at his brow.

This pale golden eyeball, like the Yin Moon Body beneath his form, appeared in an illusory and ethereal state, undetectable by others.

This was precisely the Investigation Divine Power Yuan Ming awakened upon advancing to a Life Witch—the Reincarnation Eye.

The Reincarnation Eye at Yuan Ming's brow spun swiftly, a golden light beam emitted from it, quietly enveloping Wang Fulong.

In the next moment, it was as if a doorway to the depths of time opened in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness, scenes flowed like a revolving lantern.

These scenes seemed to condense a century of Wang Fulong's past into a single moment, replaying in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

In the scenes, from an inexperienced youth to a steady middle age, all the events Wang Fulong experienced unfolded as if time were reversing, vividly in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

The closer the scenes were to the present, the more coherent and clear they appeared, as if Yuan Ming personally experienced all of Wang Fulong's encounters, making each person and event feel so real.

The further the scenes moved into the past, the more fragmented and isolated they became, but each image represented a significant moment in Wang Fulong's life.

Yuan Ming withdrew his gaze from his Sea of Consciousness and directed it at an ancient-looking purple copper incense burner on the table.

The incense burner appeared ordinary, only calming the mind during incense burning with no special features.

When Yuan Ming's Reincarnation Eye cast a golden light upon it, fragmented scenes gradually emerged in his Sea of Consciousness.

Yuan Ming carefully reviewed these scenes and discovered they depicted the history of this purple copper incense burner since its refinement.

From its first owner, through every ownership transfer, to every person it had ever contacted, all were displayed in these scenes.

As Yuan Ming intended to delve further into these visions, he suddenly felt something, moved his form, and returned to the secret chamber.

As soon as he stood still, the mysterious Power of Dao descended again, enveloping him like warm sunshine.