Undying Life

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: The Nine-Colored Dragon Silkworm

With Zhong Shan by her side, Ying Lan was naturally immune to the Hongluan mist. After firing her arrow, she quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Zhong Shan, wielding a large blade, swiftly emerged from his hiding place. Miao Xianren was at his most vulnerable now. He had sustained heavy injuries from the gold corpse's mighty palm strike and was further afflicted by the corpse poison. His right arm was crippled, his left arm severed by Zhong Shan's surprise attack, his right leg pierced by the Eight Oxen Crossbow, and his flying sword entangled by the red silk.

Despite this, Zhong Shan dared not be careless. Activating the second level of the Tianmo Body Tempering Technique, which tripled his strength, he charged towards Miao Xianren, his body surrounded by a dense killing aura.

Miao Xianren's eyes bulged with intense regret. He cursed himself for ever trusting Zhong Shan. At this moment, he couldn't even fathom how Zhong Shan had appeared so suddenly. All he felt was overwhelming hatred as he saw Zhong Shan closing in. Gritting his teeth, Miao Xianren's eyes flared, and from his acupoints, more than a dozen sword auras burst forth, shooting towards Zhong Shan.

As the sword auras erupted from his acupoints, the corpse poison within Miao Xianren's body seemed to rampage even more, darkening his face.

Zhong Shan's strength had increased threefold, and he faced the incoming sword auras with calm confidence. These sword auras were significantly weaker than those from their first encounter. With a fierce expression, Zhong Shan swung his large blade wildly, unleashing a barrage of ten massive blade auras to meet the incoming sword auras. Simultaneously, he charged forward with relentless determination.

For Zhong Shan, Miao Xianren's death was the only way to end this conflict. He must die!

"Boom! Boom...!"

In a series of explosive clashes, Miao Xianren's sword auras were annihilated by Zhong Shan's blade strikes. Now, the large blade was mere inches from Miao Xianren. Terror filled Miao Xianren's eyes—he, a cultivator of his level, felt fear facing someone still in the early stages of cultivation. Bloodshot eyes bulging, Miao Xianren supported himself on his nearly destroyed right leg and kicked at Zhong Shan with his left leg. He couldn't release more sword auras; doing so would mean succumbing to the corpse poison even if Zhong Shan didn't kill him. In the distance, his flying sword suddenly flared with a bright light, breaking free of the red silk and shooting towards Zhong Shan.

It was now a race against time.

Zhong Shan exerted all his strength, eyes bulging with effort.

"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

With a mighty roar, Zhong Shan swung his blade in a vertical slash from Miao Xianren's left waist up to his right shoulder.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

With a single slash, Miao Xianren, still in disbelief, was cleaved in two. His pink flying sword, losing its momentum, veered off course and stabbed into the ground instead of Zhong Shan.

"Pant... pant..." Zhong Shan took several deep breaths. It had been too close, too terrifying. He had almost met his end at Miao Xianren's sword.

Here is the translation of the provided text into a lively and culturally fitting English version for a xianxia novel:

This Miao Xianren, a cultivator at the Golden Core stage? His vitality was too tenacious, too formidable.

Today's events, although all orchestrated by Zhong Shan, also involved countless strokes of luck.

Sheathing his blade, Zhong Shan glanced at the surrounding red mist. With a flick of his hand, a large amount of the Red Luan Mist was drawn back, condensing into his palm and absorbed by the Red Luan Flame between his brows.

Taking a deep look at Miao Xianren, Zhong Shan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. At this moment, Ying Lan and Tian Ling'er, who had packed away the Eight Bulls Crossbow, ran back from a distance, gazing at Zhong Shan with admiration.

Golden Core stage—this was a Golden Core stage cultivator, and he had been cut down by Zhong Shan in a single strike?

"Zhong Shan, you are truly amazing," Tian Ling'er couldn't help but exclaim in awe. Golden Core stage, and mid-stage at that. Just moments ago, he was fine, but after a set of moves by Zhong Shan, he lay dead before them. If she told her father, he would never believe it.

"Of course, my great uncle is the best," Ying Lan said excitedly.

"Hmm," Zhong Shan nodded, beginning to search Miao Xianren's body.

A storage bracelet and a flying sword. The storage bracelet was quickly opened by Zhong Shan. Half of the spatial expansion stone was placed into his own storage bracelet to expand its space, while the other half was kept for Yin Xu.

"This sword is a third-tier magical treasure," Tian Ling'er explained immediately.

Third-tier? So, with Miao Xianren's death, this sword would forever remain at the third tier? Nevertheless, Zhong Shan kept it.

"Let's go," Zhong Shan said, grabbing Miao Xianren's two-part body and leading the way.

"Zhong Shan, where are you taking this corpse?" Tian Ling'er asked immediately.

Zhong Shan didn't answer. Instead, he led the two women back to the Immortal's Watch, gazing at the deep pool. He tossed Miao Xianren's body into it. A swarm of fish rushed over, voraciously devouring the body until it was reduced to bones in no time, erasing all evidence.

Seeing what Zhong Shan had done, Ling'er took a deep breath, recalling the two women who had been killed earlier. This evil man got what he deserved.

"Zhong Shan, how can there be such evil people in this world?" Tian Ling'er asked softly.

"Evil?" Zhong Shan looked at Tian Ling'er and smiled.

"Isn't he evil? He's the worst person in the world," Tian Ling'er argued.

"This isn't the worst," Zhong Shan shook his head and said.

Upon hearing Zhong Shan's words, Tian Ling'er once again opened her adorable little mouth in astonishment. Could there really be someone worse than Miao Xianren in this world?

"Let's not dwell on it. Let's see what treasures this Immortal's Watch holds that made him return here despite his serious injuries," Zhong Shan said.

"Mm," Tian Ling'er nodded, while Ying Lan showed an excited expression.

The three of them entered one of the rooms in the Immortal's Watch.

As they stepped into the room, far away, atop a mountain peak, stood two figures watching Zhong Shan and the others.

One appeared to be a middle-aged man, standing like a servant behind the other. Both were dressed in white, each carrying a long sword on their back. The one in front was a young man, looking around twenty years old, but with a maturity that belied his youthful appearance.

Seeing Zhong Shan enter the Immortal's Watch, the young man spoke softly, "Chu Jiu, did you say that man is at the fourth level of Innate?"

"Yes, Young Master, he is at the fourth level of Innate, just like you. However, he likely used some secret technique earlier, boosting his strength threefold. If you were to fight him, it would probably be a draw," the middle-aged man, Chu Jiu, replied respectfully.

"A rare stepping stone, but he just used a secret technique. His strength must be greatly reduced now. Defeating him wouldn't be honorable. We will have to wait for another opportunity," the young man said, furrowing his brow.

"Perhaps there won't be another chance. In such a vast world, who can compare to your talent? Even those who are hailed as the favored sons of heaven are not as gifted as you. This person may be formidable, but given time, you will surely leave him far behind," Chu Jiu said earnestly.

"They? They only imitate the predecessors. The strongest path of the sword is one you create yourself, not one that mimics others. I will travel the world and forge my own path of the sword. With my swordsmanship, I will defeat all the heroes under heaven," the young man said lightly. Though his tone was not heavy, it carried a power that seemed to roar against the heavens.

"You were born for the sword, Young Master. In the future, your sword will surely shake the land. Being assigned to your side is my fortune," Chu Jiu said sincerely.

"Since we can't fight him now, there's no point in watching any longer. Let's go to Eight Gates Mountain," the young man said after a moment of thought.

"Yes," Chu Jiu responded solemnly.

Immortal Pavilion consisted of eight chambers. Perhaps the most important items were stored in the bracelet of Immortal Miao. Most of the rooms contained silver tools, a testament to Immortal Miao's fascination with such items. Even though Zhong Shan had anticipated this, he was still taken aback by the extent of it. Could it be that such tools had evolved to such a sophisticated level in this world?

In one of the rooms, Zhong Shan found two large black robes, designed to cover the entire body, including the head. Without hesitation, he handed one to each of the two women. At the very least, these robes would conceal their extraordinary beauty from the eyes of others.

After thoroughly searching all eight rooms and finding nothing else of interest, Zhong Shan wasn't about to give up. He was an expert in such matters, after all. Finally, he discovered a hidden chamber.

As the secret chamber opened, a rush of spiritual energy surged out. Zhong Shan exchanged a glance with the two women, their eyes filled with surprise.

Ever cautious, Zhong Shan didn't rush in. Instead, he waited patiently outside for a while, then used a small stone to test for any potential dangers. Once he was certain it was safe, he cautiously made his way into the underground chamber.

Upon entering, Zhong Shan's eyes widened in astonishment. He felt an overwhelming sense of happiness wash over him.

Could it be that Immortal Miao had hidden such treasures here?

The walls were lined with spirit stones—both Yin and Yang spirit stones, numbering in the thousands. The dense spiritual energy in the chamber was emitted by these stones, meticulously arranged to provide the room with an abundant supply of spiritual energy.

In the western corner, there was a pile of empty spirit pearls, over fifty in total. Fifty empty spirit pearls? Incredible!

However, what caught Zhong Shan's attention the most were the two creatures at the center of the chamber.

Silkworms? No, they weren't silkworms, though they resembled them closely. They were two small, nine-colored creatures, about a foot long, spinning nine-colored silk threads. They looked like silkworms, but each had two tiny horns on its head.

The nine-colored silk threads they spun formed a spherical cocoon, around which the two creatures continuously worked, spinning layer upon layer.

"What are these?" Tian Ling'er asked, her eyes filled with wonder.

Though Zhong Shan had only been cultivating for a short time, he recognized these creatures. They were mentioned in the "Heavenly Court Founding Manual," a crucial element for establishing an empire, much like the Nine Dragons Heavenly Jade. These were a pair of "Nine-Colored Dragon Silkworms."

Nine-Colored Dragon Silkworms, which would transform into dragons upon exhausting their silk.