In the eastern Devilbirds’ Immortal Skills Hall, the black-robed grand elder had a voice that sounded like metal scraping against rock. His voice seemed to overlap with itself, probably because as the old version of himself spoke, so did the middle-aged version behind him, as well as the young man and boy versions. It was a very gruish sight.
Clearly, though the grand elder didn’t carry the legacy of the immortal skill Six Thieves Deceive Life, whatever immortal skill he did possess was spectacular.
When his words finished echoing out into the arena, he swung his magic staff out into the air. Though it didn’t seem to strike anything, the sound of a tolling bell rang out. It was like a crack of thunder, and at the same time, seemed like the cry of countless living beings. It created a mountain-toppling, sea-draining momentum that distorted the air and blurred everything in the area.
In fact, it caused an enormous vortex to spring up. The vortex rotated, becoming like a black hole that led to parts unknown.
The emissaries from the Imperial Sovereign mountains looked on intently. As for Xu Qing, his expression was the same as ever, but he was clearly intrigued. The other nine emissaries all seemed thoughtful in various ways, and were clearly seeing the grand elder in a new light.
“Emissaries from the Imperial Sovereign mountains,” the old man said, “in compliance with the ancient agreement, please produce your command medallions and permit the Immortal Skills Hall to activate the Immortal-Refining Pill Cauldron!”
The emissaries from the Imperial Sovereign mountains exchanged glances. Then the representative from the fifth Imperial Sovereign mountain waved his hand, sending a command medallion flying out to hover over his head, where it cast out dazzling light. The other emissaries followed suit.
The agreement between the Immortal Skills Hall and the Imperial Sovereign mountains was designed in such a way that the former was kept in check by the latter. And every time a new grand immortal adept was named, that person was required to gain the approval of all the mountains.
There were even more restrictions in place when it came to using the Immortal-Refining Pill Cauldron. It could only be activated by means of command medallions. After all, it was an extremely rare treasure that was one-of-a-kind in the Devilbird holy land. In the past, it represented the epitome of orthodox governance among the eastern Devilbirds. And even nowadays, when the east was in decline, it served as a deterrent to ensure the western Devilbirds’ Immortal Skills Hall could never successfully make any moves.
Although there were technically limitations placed on the Immortal Skills Hall in the east, the reality was that the Imperial Sovereign mountains had never interfered in the hall’s internal affairs.After the other Imperial Sovereign mountain emissaries took out their command medallions, Xu Qing considered the situation briefly before doing the same.
Ten command medallions appeared, casting out a dazzling sea of light that poured into the vortex below. As a result, the vortex began to shine with many colors and rumble loudly. Then, astonishing, something emerged from the vortex.
It started with a skull! There was no flesh on it. It was pure bone, and it pulsed with astonishing malevolence. Next came a lid that was some 300 meters wide. After that came the enormous body of a cauldron.
Ultimately, what came out of the vortex was a massive pill cauldron that was several hundred meters in size! Unexpectedly, it was pure white, as it was crafted from bone. It was covered with innumerable magical symbols, and it pulsed with a sensation of malice and ancient time.
When it was out in the open, it seemed to bring with it a wind from antiquity, along with a begrudging, maddened roar. Everyone looked at it in shock.
There were only a few people present who had seen the Immortal-Refining Pill Cauldron in years past. Everyone else had only heard the stories about it, and were only seeing it in person for the first time.
Xu Qing was looking very closely at it. And there was one part that he was most interested in. The skull. There was something about it that seemed... familiar! All of a sudden, a very preposterous thought occurred to Xu Qing. However, before he could explore it, one of the other Imperial Sovereign mountain emissaries spoke.
“Grand Elder, is this one of the six bone cauldrons crafted by Grand Emperor Immortal Skill, the original creator of the immortal skills?”
The grand elder nodded, his eyes shining. “Grand Emperor Immortal Skill was human, and chose to be forgotten by history, which is why no one knows his actual name. Not even we practitioners of immortal skills know much about him.
“However, we immortal adepts have not forgotten his accomplishments. This pill cauldron was crafted during the early years of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s conquest of Revered Ancient. At that time, Grand Emperor Immortal Skill slaughtered six megavillains and used their skulls to create six cauldrons!
“The skull you see here is the refined skull of one of those megavillains. As for the bones that make this cauldron, it’s impossible to say which species they came from. The megavillain does look human, but at the same time, doesn’t seem human.
“Based on the traditions of the Immortal Skills Hall, the megavillain had a towering cultivation base comparable to that of a Grand Emperor. What was more, this person was well-known for being incredibly crazy, and possessed a level of greed that made peoples’ hair stand up in anger.
“By taking advantage of the wartime situation in Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s time, this megavillain was able to infiltrate countless species and steal treasures from them. In his final heist, he attempted to steal Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s imperial crown, but failed. The enraged Dark Serenity sent Grand Emperor Immortal Skill after him.
“Eventually, Grand Emperor Immortal Skill set up an incredible spell formation designed to trap and kill the megavillain. Because his greed was imbued into the cauldron, it’s possible to instill that greed into an immortal skill by use of the cauldron.”
All of the emissaries from the Imperial Sovereign mountains reacted with varying levels of surprise to the grand elder’s story. Although all of them had heard of or seen the cauldron before, this was their first time hearing about its background.
And then there was Xu Qing.... He already had a very strange feeling, and his previous speculation was now getting increasingly intense. And then his gaze shifted from the skull on the cauldron over to Yue Dong suspended in midair.
Don’t tell me that Eldest Brother... wants this cauldron?
As Xu Qing pondered that concept, the grand elder finished with his introduction of the cauldron and then threw his hands into the air.
“Having assumed the title of grand immortal adept, and with the command medallions of ten Imperial Sovereign mountains, I hereby activate this bone cauldron to refine the traitor Yue Dong into... a six thieves immortal pill!
“Cauldron: ignite!”
The huge bone cauldron immediately started vibrating. The white lake surrounding the Immortal Skills Hall started seething, and the water transformed into white fire. The fire then poured into the Immortal Skills Hall, filling the arena, and ultimately entering the bone cauldron. It hissed and popped as it burned. The grand elder’s eyes shone brightly as he pointed out with his magic staff.
“Cauldron: activate!” he shouted.
The lid of the cauldron rumbled loudly as it tipped to one side. Boundless fire then shot out of the cauldron and surrounded Yue Dong. The chains binding her couldn’t sustain the heat and began to melt. As a result, Yue Dong fell down into the flaming interior of the cauldron!
Xu Qing hesitated, but suppressed his impulse to take action. Instead, he would trust his Eldest Brother.
The grand elder strode forward to the cauldron, his black robe billowing around him. As everyone looked on, he took a deep breath, lifted his left hand, and then made a grasping gesture in the direction of the middle-aged version of himself behind him. The middle-aged figure collapsed into a mass of gore that swept into the grand elder’s hand.
“Fetch the Star-Shredding Wind from the starry sky and use it to catalyze the body!”
The wind he had just mentioned appeared, filled with a terrifying power that caused the gazes of all onlookers to harden.
The grand elder flicked his left hand, and the Star-Shredding Wind entered the cauldron. The cauldron rumbled loudly. Because the cauldron was open, everyone could see clearly that Yue Dong was inside. And when the Star-Shredding Wind hit her, it started shredding her flesh off of her. Next, the grand elder made a grasping gesture toward the younger version of himself, whose flesh crumbled into a black liquid.
“Fetch the Un-Withering Water from the darkness of hell to melt the soul!”
The black water rushed into the cauldron. When it hit Yue Dong, her expression distorted as if she were experiencing unimaginable pain. In fact, it was the pain of the soul melting.
Xu Qing’s expression flickered, but after looking closely at what was happening, he suppressed any urge to take action.
The grand elder’s ceremony continued. He had obviously prepared very thoroughly for this day. By using flesh from various stages of his immortal skill, he was creating his ‘immortal-refining’ materials. Next, the boy behind him shattered. It turned into a piercing howl.
“Fetch the Howl of Defiance from ancient antiquity to call to the immortal!”
The howl entered the cauldron.
Yue Dong shivered as threads of the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures transformed from intangible to tangible.
The grand elder hefted his magic staff, and it crackled with lightning and thunder. In a flash, the staff shattered and turned into flesh and blood. That magic staff was actually formed from the flesh and blood of the grand elder’s immortal skill. Now that flesh and blood quivered as it shot into the cauldron.
“Fetch the Lightning of Eternity from primal-chaos to form the seal!”
Things weren’t over yet. There was one final step in the ceremony.
It was fire!
The ground quaked as eight scales flew out from the vortex in the cauldron. Each scale had glittering striations on it, and each one was a different color. When combined, they created an eight-colored glow. They included all of the seven ordinary colors, plus black! And those eight colors combined with the white fire from the lake made... a total of nine colors!
The nine-colored flame entered the cauldron and instantly began raging! It was Immortal-Seizing Flame, and stretching back to ancient times, it was the method the Immortal Skills Hall used to punish traitors. The grand elder’s ceremony consisted of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and fire! Now that they were complete, he raised his right hand.
“Cauldron: combine!”
He was preparing to close the cauldron and begin the refining process.
Xu Qing watched all of this play out. And though at first he was fairly certain everything was going according to his Eldest Brother’s plan, he was now starting to waver. Everything seemed to be so real.
I can’t let the grand elder do anything more!
With that, Xu Qing prepared to act. Except... that was when something extremely dramatic happened!
Inside the nearly-closed cauldron, the only thing left of Yue Dong was the head. The eyes on that head, which had been closed the entire time so far, suddenly opened! And they shone with an incredibly crazy look.
“I’ve been waiting for this exact moment, you old codger!”
Yue Dong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. It wasn’t ‘her’ blood. Instead, it came from the grand elder. ‘She’ had acquired it secretly during their fight earlier.
As of now, the cauldron contained the middle-aged version of the grand elder, the young version, the boy version, as well as the flesh and blood from his staff. Now, with this mouthful of blood.... The cauldron contained five things connected closely to the grand elder.
And that conformed perfectly to Erniu’s secret magic!
The Grand Five Ox Essence-Tracing Grand Merciless Dao!
That secret magic was able to lock onto the target and drag them into Erniu’s presence.
A vortex appeared inside the cauldron, and it immediately exerted a massive gravitational force. At the same time, the skull that was part of the cauldron started glowing with a mysterious light. It was as if there was some sort of resonance bolstering it.
Outside of the cauldron, the grand elder’s face fell as the secret magic locked onto him and… he vanished! When he reappeared… he was inside the cauldron! And then the cauldron’s lid slammed shut.
All of the onlookers were shocked, and the nine emissaries from the other Imperial Sovereign mountains shot to their feet.