Undying Life

Chapter 501: Benefitting All Living Beings

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The day for selecting the torch-passing candidates had arrived. However, the twenty-one groups did not gather together.

The night before, each of the twenty-one groups received a strange jade token. The jade token was crimson and emitted a faint glow. It contained a peculiar energy that prevented it from being stored in a storage bracelet.

Subsequently, everyone heard the rules for the torch-passing ceremony through a mysterious, ethereal voice—it was the voice of the Tianzhu of Youming Heaven.

After Jian Ao and Zhong Shan revealed their identities and stepped out of the hall, they were instantly transported away by a powerful force. Neither of them resisted because the ethereal voice had informed them that this was the doing of the Tianzhu of Youming Heaven.

The two found themselves transported to a location within the Yin-Yang Two Realms Mountain.

The torch-passing ceremony consisted of two stages. The first stage was simple: each group needed to obtain three jade tokens to ascend through the thick layer of black clouds that had mysteriously appeared above the mountain. Flying through the clouds without three tokens meant forfeiting the competition.

Standing in a forest, Zhong Shan frowned deeply.

"Youming Heaven is different from other sacred lands. Here, it's survival of the fittest. Even if they are from Youming Heaven, you need not hesitate—kill if you must!" Jian Ao said coldly.

"Kill if necessary," he continued, emphasizing that the upcoming trials were life-and-death battles. There was no need to consider the identities of the opponents; only by killing could one obtain the jade tokens.

Zhong Shan: "..."

Kill if necessary? The companions brought by the young demon seeds were mostly at the Imperial Extreme Realm. While the young demon seeds themselves were formidable, the demon lords, being Emperor Extreme Realm experts, would have equally powerful helpers.

To kill or be killed?

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Zhong Shan's forehead. Was it going to be them killing him, or him killing them?

Despite the unexpectedness, Zhong Shan felt no fear. Emperor Extreme Realm? Bring it on. He had never challenged an Emperor Extreme Realm expert before.

Jian Ao was in charge of the jade token, and Zhong Shan had no objections. After all, his main purpose here was to help Jian Ao pass the trials.

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The Yin-Yang Two Realms Mountain was half the size of Earth, a terrifyingly vast area. Other than the restriction on flying above the clouds, there were no other limitations. Therefore, finding others wasn't just about using one's eyes; a sweep of one's spiritual sense could cover a vast area.

The Tianzhu of Youming Heaven had dispersed the twenty-one groups across different locations, but meeting each other wouldn't be too difficult or time-consuming.

"Let's go!" Jian Ao said, indicating his intention to seek out opponents.

"No, instead of searching for others, we should find a place and wait for them to come to us," Zhong Shan suggested, shaking his head.

"Oh?" Jian Ao was slightly surprised but then nodded after considering Zhong Shan's suggestion.

Finding a strategic location to lie in wait, Jian Ao dismissed the idea, but Zhong Shan was different. If they were going to wait, they would do it properly, choosing a place that offered them the best advantage. After all, there was a fifty percent chance they would encounter a powerful Emperor Extreme Realm threat.

It didn't take long for Zhong Shan to select a spot—an open area with a large swamp nearby. Now, it was time to wait patiently.

Zhong Shan set up a fire and began roasting a wild rabbit he had caught in the forest. The slight glow of the fire and the rising smoke made their presence obvious.

Zhong Shan intentionally exposed their position. The Yin-Yang Two Realms Mountain was vast, and even with spiritual senses, finding opponents was no easy task.

As the smoke rose, it caught the attention of another group just as the rabbit finished roasting.

"Yo, Old Nine, having a leisurely time?" A sudden voice came from a distant mountain peak.

Jian Ao quickly stood up, looking coldly toward the peak.

Two figures appeared at the peak, one in gold robes and the other in red.

The gold-robed man, clearly another young demon seed, spoke.

"Old Three?" Jian Ao replied with a faint smile.

With a swift movement, the two figures descended the mountain and landed nearby.

Old Three? Old Nine?

Over the past two days, Zhong Shan had learned from Jian Ao about the peculiar birth order of the young demon seeds of Youming Heaven. They were born around the same time through secret methods and were ranked according to their inherent potential. The one with the best potential was Old One, and so on.

Jian Ao's potential was extraordinary, the most remarkable Zhong Shan had ever seen, yet among these young demon seeds, he was only ranked ninth.

Old Three kept his eyes on Jian Ao, while the red-robed man accompanying him gave Zhong Shan a sinister smile, clearly more interested in him. This was the man whom Sekong had referred to as his uncle, confident he could handle Zhong Shan.

"Old Nine, how's that self-created sword technique of yours? Want some pointers from your brother?" Old Three mocked.

Jian Ao smiled faintly, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"Of course, the tuition fee is that jade token," Old Three said bluntly.

"Who lives and who dies remains to be seen. If you want my jade token, where's yours?" Jian Ao responded.

Both Old Three and Jian Ao took out their jade tokens. They knew a fierce battle was imminent, with no need for reservations.

Everyone in Youming Heaven understood the rule: fight to win or perish.

With a hum, Old Three flipped out a golden long knife. It exuded a fierce aura, radiating golden killing intent in all directions.

Jian Ao reached for the sword on his back. The sword had always been sheathed, its true form unseen until now. When Jian Ao drew the black sword, everyone's eyes widened.

Sword? Scabbard? This wasn't just a scabbard; it was part of the sword itself—a massive, unsharpened greatsword, more like a gigantic club.

"Haha, Old Nine, you're not going to use that heavy lump against my Blazing Sun Blade, are you?" Old Three laughed with a teasing smile.

"An edge-less heavy sword, great skill is unrefined!" Jian Ao declared.

As soon as Jian Ao finished speaking, he swung his heavy sword towards Old Three.

Despite the sword's apparent heaviness, Jian Ao's strike seemed slow. Old Three smirked in mockery at the seemingly sluggish attack, raising his blazing sun blade to meet it.

But as Old Three's blade met the heavy sword, he realized his mistake. The sword wasn't slow; it carried an immense force, drawing in the surroundings and turning everything into sword intent directed at Old Three.

Jian Ao seemed to merge with the heavy sword, and not just the sword but the entire mountain behind him as well. The sword strike carried the momentum of the world, crashing down on Old Three.

"Boom!"

The clash of sword and blade produced a thunderous explosion, forcing Old Three to quickly evade the impact.

"Well, well, well, Old Nine, I underestimated you," Old Three sneered as he leaped into the air.

Jian Ao waved his hand, and suddenly, it seemed as if countless sword energies appeared. From the ground, sword-like spikes erupted, shooting towards the sky.

In an instant, the area around Jian Ao and Old Three was filled with swords, millions of them, pouring down on Old Three like a storm of arrows.

Old Three's pupils contracted in anger. Behind him, a gigantic phantom blade appeared in the sky, descending with overwhelming force. The golden blade shadow was domineering, splitting the air and sending turbulent air currents in all directions.

Old Three merged with the celestial blade energy, striking down at Jian Ao.

Two Imperial Extreme Realm experts, engaging in a true battle of titans.

Meanwhile, Zhong Shan faced the red-robed man in their own standoff.

The match-up was clear: Jian Ao against Old Three, and Zhong Shan against the red-robed man. A fair one-on-one duel.

Zhong Shan waved his hand, causing the nearby swamp to roil and the ground beneath him to transform into a swampy mire.

With a roar, the swamp churned, sending waves of mud towering into the sky. The massive tidal wave of mud formed behind Zhong Shan, surging towards the red-robed man.

Zhong Shan's main body practiced the "Heavenly Thunder Transformation," while his shadow body practiced a pure yin technique from the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, "Benefitting All Living Beings."

Heavenly Thunder Transformation connected with the heavens, summoning endless thunderclouds for Zhong Shan to unleash.

Benefitting All Living Beings connected with the earth, creating vast swamps for Zhong Shan to wield. Naturally, the effect was even more pronounced in a swampy area.

The violent swamp waves surged like a tsunami towards the red-robed man, engulfing the ground and forest behind him, transforming everything into a mire. The swamp tsunami surrounded the red-robed man, engulfing the heavens and the earth.

While Jian Ao and Old Three clashed with sword and blade, the force emanating from Zhong Shan's duel was equally fierce, the sky and ground covered in raging mud waves.

Perhaps Zhong Shan and his companions were extraordinarily lucky, as another group noticed their battle.

Finding anyone in the vast Yin-Yang Two Realms Mountain was a difficult task, even with intense fighting. However, luck favored Zhong Shan, and a third group spotted them.

The new arrivals weren't led by a demon lord but another young demon seed. This young demon seed's assistant was someone familiar to Zhong Shan—Shen Qitian.