I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals
chapter-139

Dozens of li away from the fierce battle between the several Immortals and the Heaven-Grade Giant Ape, atop an unremarkable hill:

A giant wolf with silvery fur like frost, with robust and long limbs, stood watching the distant, tumultuous battlefield with crafty and amused eyes.

"A heavenly bloodline, late third-rank Azure-eyed Stone Ape, with a pure and rich inner core. If its inner core is refined into an elixir, it can slightly improve the quality of the True-Dan for cultivators practicing earth-based techniques, aiding in their breakthrough to the late Core Formation stage."

The giant wolf with frost-like silver fur murmured to itself. It saw through the true purpose of "Huanglong Immortal" at a glance. The beast tide had caused the migration of demonic beasts, giving Huanglong Immortal an excellent opportunity.

Had Lan Chang'an been present, he would have recognized that this wolf was the mysterious Heavenly Moon Wolf that appeared in the Black Fog Mountain Range decades ago.

Now, the Heavenly Moon Wolf had grown significantly in size, with its cultivation reaching the early third rank.

"Did you warn the Stone Ape?"

A hollow, low voice, seemingly coming from its abdomen, sent chills down one's spine.

The Heavenly Moon Wolf's fur stood on end, its body stiff with fear.

It slowly turned its head with difficulty, looking at the figure that had appeared behind it.

It was a man with a green face, horns growing from his head, and arms covered in dark green scales, that stood there with a smooth serpent tail extending from his lower body.

The oppressive aura of a high-ranking ancient bloodline made the wolf with the earth-grade bloodline tremble. This man with a serpent tail was at least from the upper echelons of the heaven-grade, its standing even higher than the Azure-eyed Stone Ape.

"Lord Greenface, it was this little demon who warned the Stone Ape."

The Heavenly Moon Wolf, recalling some rumors about this person, spoke respectfully.

"This little demon was afraid that the Azure-eyed Stone Ape would fall into the ambush of the human cultivators, so it kindly sent a warning."

"Kindly?"

The green-faced man looked at the wolf with a half-smile, sizing it up.

The wolf felt uneasy under its gaze, as if all its secrets were laid bare before him.

"I've made Lord Greenface laugh. The inner core of that Azure-eyed Stone Ape is also of significant benefit to this little demon." This time, the Heavenly Moon Wolf spoke truthfully.

The humans had the numbers and had set up formation traps. It had kindly warned the Azure-eyed Stone Ape to balance the power between the two sides.

The green-faced man said, "This ape once received my guidance. Today, it can be considered a minor tribulation for it."

Upon hearing this, cold sweat broke out on the Heavenly Moon Wolf's back.

...

The battle in the distance had reached a fever pitch.

The composite formation arranged by the human cultivators unleashed monstrous waves, flashing with blue arcs of lightning, submerging the ground ahead, forcing the Azure-eyed Stone Ape into the sky.

The Azure-eyed Stone Ape was an earth-based great demon, naturally advantaged in ground combat.

On both sides of the composite formation, green halos surged, extending dense vines, each dozens of zhang long, relentlessly entangling the Azure-eyed Stone Ape.

Boom! Boom!

The giant ape either swung its staff or punched, shattering many vines.

But those vines were tough and resilient, supported by the formation, and grew endlessly.

The Huanglong Mountain Seal and other magical treasures pressed down from above, constantly reducing the giant ape's maneuvering space.

Thousands of stone apes, stepping on the waves, crazily attacked the humans' combined formation, and among them was a third-rank leader.

"Everyone, unite and take down this ape! The reward will be doubled afterward!" Huanglong Immortal roared with grandeur, his black and yellow robe fluttering.

"Lord Greenface, the situation doesn't look good for the Stone Ape. The human cultivators came prepared, outnumbering us, and their combined formation can attack and defend, with a countering attribute..." The Heavenly Moon Wolf cautiously suggested.

As it spoke, the Azure-eyed Stone Ape was bound by many vines, and the Huanglong Seal and other magical treasures suppressed it beneath the flashing electric arcs of the giant waves.

The green-faced man remained unmoved: "I don't like to casually meddle in worldly disputes."

He glanced at the spirited and powerful Huanglong Immortal and said indifferently, "A little fellow with a lifespan of a few dozen years. Even if he advances to the late Core Formation stage, so what? Without reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, it's all in vain, it has little to no effect on the situation in Great Qing."

The Heavenly Moon Wolf's eyes flashed with a strange light, confirming that even if it made its own moves the green-faced man would not interfere.

With that, the green-faced man turned around and left.

The Heavenly Moon Wolf noticed that the green-faced man did not head into the depths of the Black Fog Mountain Range. His face and body completely transformed into a human form, walking toward the direction of Huanglong Immortal City.

Boom!

Just as the green-faced man turned, a sound like the earth splitting came from the battlefield.

Amidst the giant waves, the suppressed and bound Azure-eyed Stone Ape was brewing terrifying energy, and its body suddenly exploded, splitting into dozens of pieces.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang!

Each piece of the shattered stone body glowed with a strange red and yellow light, carrying a terrifying impact.

"Ah!"

An Immortal in the early Core Formation stage was hit by a piece of the stone body and shattered like porcelain on the spot.

The Huang Dragon Beast and two other Immortals were caught off guard and also suffered severe injuries.

Especially the Huang Dragon Beast, with a huge bloody hole in its abdomen.

Amidst the huge rumbling sound, the green-faced man did not look back, and slowly flew toward human civilization.

"It's been a long time since I've been to the human world."

"From what I've heard, the Yan Kingdom has given birth to a mid-Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, which might affect the surrounding regions."

The green-faced man muttered to himself, his figure soon swallowed by the mist.

"Stone body reformation?"

The Heavenly Moon Wolf exclaimed softly, noticing that the Azure-eyed Stone Ape, which had exploded into dozens of pieces, quickly reassembled in mid-air, though its aura had dropped by two or three levels.

"Retreat!"

Huanglong Immortal's face looked a bit aged, joining forces with several Immortals to fight and retreat, and covering the retreat route of the other cultivators.

The Azure-eyed Stone Ape kept its distance, glaring unwillingly at Huanglong Immortal and the Huang Dragon Beast.

Huanglong Immortal who cultivated a top-tier earth technique, with a solid and pure True-Dan, including the demon core of the Huang Dragon Beast, bore no small attraction to it.

As night fell, nearly half of the full moon emerged from behind the clouds.

The Heavenly Moon Wolf felt its body brimming with power, its demonic power increased by more than fifty percent.

It couldn't help but lick its lips, coldly watching in the dark.

...

More than half a month later.

Lan Chang'an completed his daily cultivation and nurturing.

Splash!

The Profound Water Turtle followed him out of the cave and rolled over into the pool.

Now three meters wide, it could comfortably carry people on its back. Its actual cultivation was faintly touching the peak of the late first rank. Its physical growth speed was far behind its cultivation.

Lan Chang'an sat in the pavilion.

A woman in her thirties, wearing a ruqun, was skillfully brewing tea.

"Senior Brother Lan, once the beast tide ends, I plan to visit the secular world." Guan Qiaozhi said softly.

Lan Chang'an looked at his concubine, whose smile lines had appeared.

At seventy-four years old, even with a steady supply of beauty-preserving pills, maintaining such an appearance was already not easy.

Years ago, when he saw that Guan Qiaozhi had no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, he asked if she had any wishes for this life.

Guan Qiaozhi replied that she wanted to visit her birth parents and her master's homeland. If there were any orphans, she wished to help and do good deeds.

"The beast tide is almost over. Before you leave, let me know if you have any difficulties or needs." Lan Chang'an agreed.

Before Guan Qiaozhi left, he wanted to prepare a parting gift for her. He wasn't sure if she would return after leaving.

"Senior Brother Lan, where were you born? I will go there to take a look as well." Guan Qiaozhi smiled, with a hint of expectation.

Lan Chang'an shook his head, "I'm an orphan and don't know where my birth parents are."

As his cultivation level rose, he might be able to find blood relatives using bloodline sensing techniques. However, Lan Chang'an had no interest in that.

"If it's not too far, you can visit the Hengshui Prefecture's Angry River Gang for me..." Lan Chang'an thought for a moment and mentioned it.

Back then, after being separated from his adoptive father and brother, Lan Chang'an had asked Lin Yi to let Marquis Guang'an look after the Angry River Gang. Thus, the Angry River Gang, despite ups and downs over the decades, had survived.

"Alright!" Guan Qiaozhi's eyes lit up, happily agreeing.

Whoosh!

A Foundation Establishment aura approached Little Turtle Peak, revealing a black-skinned old man.

Zheng Centipede, a frequent visitor to Little Turtle Peak, and Guan Qiaozhi opened the formation to welcome him in.

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Lan, you have such leisure and abundant wealth flowing in from behind, it makes others green with envy." Zheng Centipede took a seat in the pavilion.

The beast tide on the frontlines had almost been warped up, so Zheng Centipede only brought a small quantity of second-order mid-grade materials this time.

"Brother Lan, there's been news from Huanglong Immortal City that it has banned rumors from coming out of Huanglong Mountain."

"What rumor?" Lan Chang'an lifted his eyelids slightly.

"According to some unofficial information, Huanglong Immortal led a team and fought a fierce battle against a third-rank demon in the Black Fog Mountain Range, returning severely wounded..." Zheng Centipede unconsciously lowered his voice further.

"Huanglong Immortal was seriously injured?" Lan Chang'an's expression shifted.

Huanglong Immortal was the foremost lose cultivator of Liang Kingdom, and aside from the Nascent Soul True Monarch of Flame Departing Palace and a handful of other late-stage Core Formation cultivators with outstanding battle prowess, few could pose any threat to him.

"How accurate is this rumor?"

"Can't say for sure, Huanglong Mountain is guarding their borders too tightly." Zheng Centipede admitted.

"There's another version of the rumor saying that while Huanglong Immortal sustained injuries, his spirit beast companion, the Huang Dragon Beast, fell in the battle."

Lan Chang'an smiled slightly and directly asked, "Is the area around Huanglong Immortal City currently chaotic?"

"Very chaotic," Zheng Centipede replied without hesitation.

"The Inner City of Huanglong is somewhat better off, but there are at least dozens of daily incidents of murder and armed fights in the Outer City. Around the Immortal city, rogue cultivators have been wreaking havoc, their numbers vastly exceeding those of the beast swarms."

After listening to Zheng Centipede's report, Lan Chang'an had a general understanding.

This indicated that the Huanglong Immortal City's control over its territory was slipping. If its leaders were as steady as a sea anchor, the situation wouldn't have descended into such chaos even after the beast tide ended. From this perspective, most of the rumors seemed to be true, though certain details remained unclear.

"Huanglong Immortal City is so chaotic, it hasn't been easy for you to take the risk of buying materials and sending back information these past few months," Lan Chang'an praised him.

"Haha! It wasn't actually all that risky!" Zheng Centipede chuckled awkwardly, attempting to conceal his guilt.

"Perhaps its his vicious appearance that made the average rogue cultivator wary of provoking him," Lan Chang'an glanced at him and thought secretly: With your looks, you're basically one of the bandits.

His earlier conjecture had been that Zheng Centipede either played along with raiders or colluded with them to exchange information. This way, he could safely bring back goods and intel from the volatile outskirts of Huanglong Immortal City time and again.

Before leaving, Lan Chang'an gifted Zheng Centipede a jade slip containing a set of general second-rank talisman inheritance techniques, nothing particularly unique or exclusive.

Zheng Centipede was grateful and accepted the set of inheritance.

"If you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your feet wet. You have your family to take care of, so don't become too entangled with these matters," Lan Chang'an warned.

Zheng Centipede nodded profusely, sweat dripping down his face, before taking his leave.

Recently, Lan Chang'an had gained some renown within the surrounding area, especially for his feat of repelling the injured late Foundation Establishment cultivator, assisting a Fake-Dan Immortal, and slaying the ringleader.

...

Ten days later, a powerful aura of the late Foundation Establishment entered Wuqi Mountain.

Lan Chang'an sensed it immediately and stepped outside his cave mansion.

He saw a pristine girl dressed in yellow riding a snow-white second-rank spirit beast to slowly descend toward him.

"Lan Chang'an, I'll cut to the chase," Zhou Qingxuan's tone seemed hasty, "I have important business to attend to at Huanglong Mountain, so I came to Wuqi Mountain to inform you of something along the way. There's a rare opportunity, are you coming or not?"

(End of chapter)