Cultivation: Being Immortal

Outside Wilderness, Demon God Temple

In one year, a huge altar appeared on a plain, made of top-quality materials. The demon race didn’t have this technology, but they had plenty of human captives who had worked hard on this altar, with many of them dying.

Demon Emperor Feng Jiu sat in the center of the altar, surrounded by forty-eight pillars, forming a circle, as Demon Queen Lin Fanghua descended from the sky.

"Feng Jiu."

"You’ve come."

"Just came out of seclusion, at the peak of the seventh stage."

The Demon Queen spoke, saying that in one year, she had consumed many Tao Achieving elixirs and the flesh of Demon Emperors, advancing her own cultivation to the peak of the seventh stage, but still unable to reach the eighth stage.

"Enough"

"But I can’t help you."

"Can you tell me who she is, so I can remember her? If you lose, I will avenge you. If I can’t avenge you, both Phoenix Clan and Golden-winged Peng Bird Clan will remember her and seek vengeance for us."

The Demon Queen Lin Fanghua said that her grandfather, the Golden-winged Peng Bird, died at her hands, and indirectly caused the death of the Phoenix Demon Emperor. This enmity is irreconcilable.

"Have you heard of the Nine Realms Divine Silkworm?"

"Nine Realms Divine Silkworm? Never heard of it."

I hadn’t heard of it before either. It was my great-grandfather who told me. He said, long, long ago, at the beginning of the world’s creation, there were incredibly powerful beings like dragons and mythical beasts, and the Nine Realms Divine Silkworm was one of them.

However, the Nine Realms Divine Silkworm was initially very weak, and advancing was extremely difficult. It had to overcome a trial at each stage, failing meant death, but if it passed, its strength would soar."

"So, that person from Yun State, is Jiujie Divine Silkworm?"

"Yes, it’s him. Many big events in the cultivation world are said to have been controlled by him. Grandfather told me that the former Demon Emperor might have been killed by Jiujie Divine Silkworm."

"But why, isn’t it also a demon clan member?"

"It never sees itself as part of the demon clan. It thinks of itself as a god or immortal. Grandfather guesses that back then it wasn’t at the eighth level, but only going through the eighth calamity."

"Is this time the ninth time?"

"There’s no proof, but most likely it’s the ninth time. After the ninth calamity, it can become an immortal."

Feng Jiu said, Jiujie Divine Silkworm, after enduring nine calamities, will reach perfection and become an immortal.

"Feng Jiu, you mentioned before that becoming an immortal through world destruction might be part of Jiujie Divine Silkworm’s tribulation. Could it be that we are all being used?"

"Grandfather said so, but there is a turning point in this matter."

"Xia Qingshan"

"Yes"

"Who is he really?"

He is not human, nor a monster. He is a strand of consciousness, a consciousness transformed by the will of heaven. The fifty ways of the Dao, the forty-nine manifestations of heaven’s evolution, he is the one that has evaded it. This one, is full of uncertainties.

Grandpa Zu guessed that even Jiujie Divine Silkworm didn’t know what the ninth calamity was. She dared not bring about true destruction, so she summoned this one, filling the calamity with uncertainties.

"I find it hard to understand, it’s too complicated."

"I actually don’t understand either, it was all told to me by Grandpa Zu."

Feng Jiu said. He is still too young, his experiences are too limited. Although he knows many secrets, he doesn’t understand why things are done this way.

"So, what should we do this time?"

"Go with the flow. No one knows what will happen with things that haven’t happened yet. Fanghua, she’s coming soon, you go ahead."

"Brother Feng Jiu…"

"Let’s go, don’t make me worry. Let me finish this final battle."

Feng Jiu said, Lin Fanghua nodded, and soon left.

Not long after Lin Fanghua left, Lin Die appeared from afar. She walked step by step, seemingly very slow, but each step could cover tens of miles. In no time, she was standing under the altar.

"You finally came."

"Yes, I’m here."

Lin Die nodded, then took out a few jade bottles and threw them out. The jade bottles flew onto the pillars around and shattered. The collected essence inside appeared, but was absorbed by the pillars.

"Forty-eight Tao Achieving and Demon Emperors, all here."

Demon Emperor Feng Jiu looked at the pillars around him, where the most powerful creatures in the world had gathered, including his grandfather.

"Now missing the forty-ninth one."

"I am ready, you can strike now."

Demon Emperor Feng Jiu nodded, then stood up and gazed coldly at Lin Die.

"No, you are not my match."

"Haha, since we have never fought, how do you know?"

"I didn’t mean that. What I meant was, the person with the Tao Achieving body must be you, but I am here to find another opponent, Xia Qingshan."

Lin Die said, she would not fight for the chance of Tao Achieving, as long as someone can fulfill the will of Heaven. She came here for two reasons.

The first reason is to deliver these Dao rhymes. Only with a complete set of forty-eight can the Demon Emperor mend the will of Heaven. The second reason is to find Xia Qingshan.

"Xia Qingshan has been gone for a long time."

"No, he is still here."

"Then I don’t know."

Feng Jiu said he really doesn’t know where Xia Qingshan is, as he has only seen Xia Qingshan a few times.

Lin Die believed what Feng Jiu said was true; he truly didn’t know where Xia Qingshan was because even Lin Die himself didn’t know.

But he believed Xia Qingshan must still be around; Xia Qingshan has only died six times. Once was killed by disciples from the Shenmu Sect, twice by Zhou Huaiying, once died for the blessing of the human race, once died for the blessing of the demon race, and one time was awakened by her. In total, six times; Xia Qingshan still has one more chance.

"Ancestor, no matter what you want to do, I want to battle with you."

Feng Jiu added that no matter what Lin Die wants to do, this final battle cannot be avoided.

"Are you sure you want to fight with me?"

"For the demon tribe."

"Hehe, another foolish person."

"Please, senior."

"Okay, wait for me to settle things."

Lin Die said, then she came in front of Lin Jiang and Lin Ying, casting a spell to seal their cultivation, immobilizing them.

"Just wait patiently, I’ll be right back."

Lin Die said, and with that, she rose into the air, vanishing along with Feng Jiu, unable to fight here or else the altar would be destroyed.

The battle between Feng Jiu and Lin Die was extremely intense, spanning unknown distances, both of them feeling the terrifying pressure. The demon tribe within thousands of miles was restless, with the Demon Queen swiftly evacuating them.

In the sky, Feng Jiu revealed her true form, a towering fiery phoenix hundreds of meters high, fiercely unleashing Phoenix Fire continuously.

Lin Die had hundreds of threads appearing on her body that could grow like swords and try to pierce Feng Jiu, but the threads were quickly burned by Phoenix Fire.

"Xia Qingshan making you the Demon Emperor seems like a way to control me."

Lin Die smirked coldly, considering most creatures are no match for her, except for the Phoenix which posed a challenge to her.

"Senior Divine Silkworm, reveal your true form."

"Ha, you think you can defeat me?"

Lin Die remained unaffected, her threads seemed endless, each burnt thread replaced by another, continuously attacking.

Feng Jiu, annoyed by the threads, tried to get close but Lin Die’s agility prevented any opportunity.

After several rounds, Feng Jiu used his last resort, shooting golden lights towards Lin Die, who swiftly created and burned a web in front of her.

"The peacock clan’s elemental light is impressive."

Lin Die finally reached out to block the two golden lights, but her palm seemed to be getting burned through.

Feng Jiu stayed silent and continued to use his magical powers. He had received the most complete inheritance from the demon race, the strongest powers among the demons. He had learned most of it, but that wasn’t the only thing.

Feng Jiu became braver as the battle went on. Lin Die could no longer keep up with the attacks and finally started to fight back seriously.

"Divine Silkworm turns into a butterfly, Phantom Butterfly"

Golden light emitted from Lin Die, giving birth to a colorful butterfly. The butterfly flew around, spreading a large area of gold everywhere.

Feng Jiu was in a daze, apparently trapped in an illusion. Lin Die took the chance to attack, countless threads entwined Feng Jiu, trying to trap and kill him.

"Boom"

Just then, the confused Feng Jiu suddenly woke up, casting a Phoenix Fire towards Lin Die.

"Just a mere illusion, how can it trap me?"

Feng Jiu shouted loudly, during the Demon Emperor’s selection, he went through many illusion tests. He was not afraid of the Mirage Beast, which is the most skilled in illusions among the monster race, let alone just a Phantom Butterfly.

"Divine Silkworm transforms into a butterfly, Sword Butterfly."

Lin Die resisted the Phoenix Fire, then transformed into a colorful butterfly again. The butterfly danced, forming a sword made of condensed energy, the sword’s aura rising in anger, as if the world was changing for it.

"Slice!"

The sword’s energy fell, rushing towards Feng Jiu. Feng Jiu roared, and his sharp claws burst out with energy, colliding with the sword’s energy.

"Boom!"

The clash between the sword’s energy and the sharp claws created a muffled explosion sound, spreading shockwaves of the battle, causing tall mountains to collapse.

Before the shockwaves dissipated, Feng Jiu had already rushed forward, a huge bird’s beak aiming to peck at Lin Die. This move may seem weak, but in fact, it’s the Phoenix’s strongest attack. If hit, it could be fatal.

Inside Lin Die’s body was the true form of Jiujie Divine Silkworm, which was vulnerable to the Phoenix’s power. Lin Die dared not confront it directly, instantly turning into starlight and dissipating, then gathering its form in the distance.

"Phoenix Fire"

Feng Jiu yelled loudly, creating a fire dragon that spread its wings and caused a raging hurricane. The fire grew stronger with the wind, making the dragon even bigger, covering Lin Die directly.

As the fire subsided, Feng Jiu saw a cocoon in front of her. She felt joy in her heart and a feather fell from her body, transforming into a sharp sword that pierced through the cocoon.

"Plop"

The pierced cocoon sprayed out a poisonous substance, instantly disintegrating the feather.

"Elder, Jiujie Divine Silkworm has gone through nine tribulations, possessing nine transformations and nine divine powers. It’s time for the third one to be unleashed."

Feng Jiu laughed and remarked that Lin Die had only used two divine powers, Sword Butterfly and Phantom Butterfly, so far.

"As you wish."

From the void, Lin Die’s voice came, and then Feng Jiu saw countless threads dancing in the sky. Each thread was infinitely long and intertwined with each other. Feng Jiu suddenly realized something and her face changed drastically, quickly flying away.