"Indeed. Longevity Realm experts can alter the flow of time. The higher the magic power, the greater the degree of time alteration! Taiyuan Immortal Venerable is rumored to be an expert of the tenth realm of the Longevity Realm, capable of arbitrarily manipulating time by a margin of three hundred and sixty! It is truly terrifying! Back then, even the Yellow Spring Great Emperor probably…"
"Yan" grew increasingly terrified, surprisingly feeling somewhat afraid.
"Hahahahaha, hahahahaha. Heaven helps me! Heaven truly helps me!" Fang Han, however, burst into loud laughter, "To think that time can be altered here! Cultivating here for three hundred and sixty years, while only one year passes outside. I was just worrying about not having time to cultivate. Within ten years, it is impossible for me to defeat Hua Tiandu, but given three thousand six hundred years, I definitely can!"
Cultivating here for three thousand six hundred years, only ten years outside.
"This place is not suitable for cultivation. The Green Emperor Wood Sovereign Art you cultivate requires absorbing massive amounts of wood spiritual qi, which is absent here. Moreover, the origin qi here is thin, and there are absolutely no spiritual pills. After those experts entered, they couldn't get out. They likely starved to death even before their lifespan reached its end."
"Yan" poured a ladle of cold water down from above.
Fang Han immediately looked all around, taking aggressive breaths, and discovered that within this magnificent palace, there was no origin qi at all. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth… there was no origin qi at all. It indeed was impossible to cultivate divine abilities, much less having any nourishing medicinal materials or spiritual pills. Apart from the weathered skeletal remains, there were only the abandoned palace halls.
Looking toward the path back, Fang Han surprisingly discovered that the "Taiyuan Radiant Light" was all gone.
Outside the palace, it was a patch of chaos, with terrifyingly circulating auras.
"Here, coming in is very hard, but going out is even harder! Even if Longevity Realm experts entered, going out would probably not be easy either. There is nothing here, how do you cultivate? Inside your King Cauldron, although there are some pills, sustaining for three to five years is already pretty good." "Yan" seemed to know what Fang Han meant.
"Let me check, let me check…"
Fang Han muttered, looking all around again. Toward that chaos outside the palace, he harbored an inexplicable panic; he absolutely dared not force his way out.
Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind. He hurriedly sensed the deeply hidden "World Tree" within his glabella. Sure enough, this sapling, which originally extracted immortal qi from the Immortal Realm at every single moment, after entering the palace, seemed to have entered a completely sealed space-time domain. The extraction of the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi had become exceedingly slow, intermittent, just like a dying patient.
However, a surge of wild ecstasy welled up in his heart.
This extraction of the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi had not completely severed. Although intermittent, it was better than none!
The World Tree was actually this miraculous! It truly lived up to being the divine tree at the center of heaven and earth during the immemorial era, communicating with the Immortal Realm. Even in this place, it could communicate with the Immortal Realm!
As long as there was nourishment from the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi, cultivation would not be a problem! Furthermore, there was no original wood spiritual qi, but there was the World Tree! This kind of wood spiritual qi was entirely enough to elevate his Wood Sovereign Gang Qi by several realms!
"Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Fang Han laughed wildly again.
"What's wrong?" Yan asked strangely.
"The World Tree can still extract the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi. Furthermore, to cultivate the Green Emperor Wood Sovereign Art, having the wood spiritual qi of the World Tree, what other spiritual qi do I need?" Fang Han said excitedly.
"What? In this kind of place, the World Tree can still extract the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi?" Yan also found it inconceivable.
"It has slowed down significantly. But it is enough for my cultivation, at least I won't starve to death." Fang Han nodded. Divine Ability Realm experts also needed to consume pills to survive, and Longevity Realm experts also needed to swallow the spiritual qi from the void Immortal Realm. In this kind of place, where there was nothing, the only path was starvation, followed by decay.
Inside the Five Hells King Cauldron, there were three thousand Origin Infant Pills, over two thousand Life-sustaining Golden Pills, and several thousand Biluo Great Pills. But they were at most enough to consume for three to five years. Furthermore, there was also the demoness inside the King Cauldron. He couldn't possibly watch her starve to death.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, Fang Han spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The magic power inside his body receded like a tide. It turned out the medicinal efficacy of the Mad Demon Lifespan-Reducing Pill had passed. He felt a wave of weakness in his body. Seemingly, in the unseen world, immensely powerful vitality faded away. Within his sharp spirit, he felt his own lifespan had been massively reduced.
"Fortunately, you consumed the Nine Orifices Golden Pill, which inherently possessed the function of increasing lifespan. If you were a regular Gang Qi Realm cultivator, you would have already aged by now."
Yan also knew that Fang Han's action just now had reduced a hundred years of lifespan.
"The Nine Orifices Golden Pill can increase lifespan by seven hundred years. That is to say, after consuming the Golden Pill, even if you don't cultivate, you can still live to be seven hundred years old. However, you cultivated the Yama Golden Body and comprehended the true meaning of Ksitigarbha, which can also let you live another three hundred years. Added together, you can live up to a thousand years, comparable to an expert with a Golden Pill. However, now you can only live to be nine hundred."
Yan calculated for Fang Han.
"Nine hundred years, I have nine hundred years of lifespan. That is not bad either. At the very least I can cultivate here for nine hundred years. But outside, I'll be dead in just a little over two years." Fang Han chuckled.
Nine hundred years passing here was only slightly over two years outside.
That is to say, for the people outside, in less than two years, Fang Han would die of old age. Of course, that excluded if he cultivated to break through realms.
"Then let's begin cultivation! During these days, you have experienced many battles, and your realm has elevated rapidly. But the true essence of Daoist cultivation requires entering into meditation in silence for a long time to comprehend profound mysteries," Yan said.
"No rush." Fang Han sat down, rested for a moment, circulating gang qi to flow through his entire body. Only then did he say: "What sort of profound mysteries this great hall holds, we still must explore. Moreover, there are so many skeletal remains here, all decayed, but there will surely be things that haven't decayed. I must explore and see what good items there are."
"That is true! Among those who entered here, there were quite a few formidable figures." "Yan" said: "But there shouldn't be any from the Longevity Realm. Longevity Realm experts would have entered the depths of the great hall."
In the depths of this expansive and magnificent palace, there were many more sealed large doors. Talismans circulated endlessly upon them, showcasing various mysteries. However, they were clearly not to be touched.
Throughout the entire great hall, Fang Han stepped onto various white bones, making cracking sounds, searching for various valuable items. There were all sorts of dead people here, from various sects and factions, immortal dao and demonic path, of all shapes and sizes, which could be seen from some decayed clothes.
The clothes worn on some of the white bones were all spiritual artifacts, refined from various heavenly materials and earthly treasures. But as profound years and long days passed, the grand arrays inside them had scattered, and the materials decayed.
In passing, from a pile of white bones, Fang Han picked up a rust-mottled long sword, which entirely looked like a piece of scrap iron. "Yan" took a look and shook its head: "What a pity. This is a supreme-grade flying sword refined from thousand-year-old cold iron. It belongs to treasure artifacts, but the time passed has been too long, and it has decayed too. Alas! Under the flow of time like this, everything will ultimately decay, including immortals. Between heaven and earth, no one is eternal. No one is immortal. Perhaps, only by finding the legendary 'Gate of Eternal Life' can one exist eternally between heaven and earth…"
Listening to Yan's desolate words, Fang Han's heart squeezed violently. Even a sword forged from thousand-year-old cold iron had decayed. With only nine hundred years of lifespan remaining, it truly was too short.
Across boundless years, just how far can one walk?
Between heaven and earth, no one is eternal.
Heaven, earth, sun, and moon, all shall decay.
Let alone humans?
"Isn't the Divine Race un-dying?" Fang Han suddenly asked.
"The Divine Race simply has a lifespan that is too long. Upon birth, their lifespan is comparable to extremely high-level cultivators in the Longevity Realm. They can even rival immortals, but that is not to say they will live eternally. One day, when the world is destroyed, they too will be unable to escape doom. Living as long as heaven and earth, but heaven and earth also have lifespans. Someday, it will collapse."
"After two years outside, will I die? Will I learn from these people, trapped to death here?" Fang Han shook his head, suddenly feeling heavily disenchanted. With a despondent heart, no matter what treasures were placed in front of him, he had no interest.
Even if he cultivated here, reaching the fifth realm of divine abilities, the Heaven-Man Realm. It would only increase his lifespan by another eight hundred years, making it one thousand seven hundred years. After dying of old age, only five years would have passed outside.
With no other origin qi here, he was actually unable to cultivate other divine abilities. Without fire, the Red Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi could not be cultivated; without metal, the White Emperor Metal Sovereign Slash could not be cultivated; without water, the Black Emperor Water Sovereign Fist could not be cultivated. Cultivating purely a single divine ability, it was impossible to enter the Origin Return Realm.
To cultivate to the Origin Return Realm, at the very least having all five elements complete was the most basic.
Fang Han searched for quite a while, yet actually found no pills or the like. Because the people trapped here had all starved and thirsted to death after consuming all their pills.
"Hmm? What is that?"
As Fang Han was rummaging around, he suddenly kicked a skull. The bone substance of this skull was different from others; it was surprisingly white as jade, moreover un-weathered and un-decayed, remaining exceptionally hard. Especially within the skull, radiant light flickered, not knowing what exactly was hidden inside.
Furthermore, next to this skull lay a magic treasure. It was a tiny command banner, embroidered with a bright red bird. Powerful flame essence permeated from the bird; it was actually a treasure artifact.
"Vermillion Bird Banner!" The demoness also came out accompanying Fang Han. Seeing this tiny command banner, she could not help but cry out in shock, "This should be the famous magic treasure of the Exquisite Blessed Land's Fire Cloud Fairy, one of the Ten Beauties of the Immortal Dao, the Vermillion Bird Banner! Back then, when she barged into the underground, no one knows how many earthly demons and Asuras she killed. She had long successfully cultivated the seventh realm of divine abilities, the Golden Pill, possessing an illustrious reputation. Rumor has it she went adventuring in Guixu ten years ago and disappeared. I didn't expect she died in the Taiyuan Immortal Palace."
"Barged in here ten years ago? That means, three thousand six hundred years have passed here? No wonder she died of old age. To think it was also a female cultivator; truly a white-boned beauty. Pity, what a pity."
Fang Han sighed. He knew that after three thousand six hundred years passed, even Golden Pill experts would die of old age.
Picking up the Vermillion Bird Banner, he discovered that this treasure artifact had surprisingly not decayed to the point of losing its function. Although three thousand six hundred years was a long period, for a treasure artifact, it was not yet enough to make it lose its function.
A Golden Pill expert of illustrious reputation ten years ago, one of the Ten Beauties of the Immortal Dao, had actually become a pile of white bones.
"Fang Han, her divine ability seed Golden Pill hasn't decayed yet! Her Golden Pill is still here, hahahahahaha! Her Golden Pill is still here." Yan carefully looked at the radiant light within this skull. Suddenly, waving a claw, the skull instantly shattered. A Golden Pill sparkling with radiant light, containing powerful magic power, slowly floated up from within.
This was not an ordinary pill, but a seed condensed from the various divine abilities of an expert, a natal Great Golden Pill! A human's physical body easily decays, but a Golden Pill does not decay so easily.
Golden pill, golden pill, gold precisely represents incorruptibility.