Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 733 - 727 The Three Declines Gather, Running out of Clones_1
My enemy is dead?!
Du Yuanqing cradled his mother’s body and sobbed uncontrollably. He didn’t know how long he cried, his eyelids swelling to the size of peaches.
The dead have passed on; his mother could not be brought back to life.
The weather gradually turned cold. The blood-stained clothes solidified into scabs, feeling extremely uncomfortable against his skin.
Du Yuanqing seemed to have matured considerably; from now on, he could only rely on himself. He picked up the Black Stone that had fallen to the ground and whispered hoarsely, "Thank you."
Something occurred to Du Yuanqing. He went to the fallen man in black and began searching his body.
Elixirs and magical remedies... there must be an elixir in the world that can bring the dead back to life!
Before long, he found only an unfamiliar animal skin bag tied around the man’s waist, and nothing else. No matter how he tried, he could not open the bag, and he did not find the life-reviving elixir.
It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have consumed the elixir; otherwise, Mother wouldn’t have died!
Du Yuanqing thought of the elixir he had swallowed and was filled with regret. He opened his mouth, vainly hoping to spit out the consumed pill.
Only by spitting out this elixir could he save his dead mother.
But an arrow, once shot, cannot be recalled; how could he possibly regurgitate an elixir that had already been consumed?
Father is an Immortal; he can surely revive my mother!
As long as I take Mother to find Father, she can still live!
In the Immortal Realm, mortals possessed far superior physiques; children as young as six or seven had strength far exceeding that of ordinary adults. The weight of an adult burdened him so much he couldn’t straighten his back. His clothing was soaked with sweat, which mingled stickily with the solidified blood scabs.
Du Yuanqing, carrying the blood-stained bundle on his back, staggered towards the distant small city.
Jia Ren was just an ordinary Black Stone—mute, non-interfering, seemingly just a bystander. Moreover, he was powerless to help the young man. It wasn’t just the powers that monitored the world, which would notice any unusual display. There was also...
An invisible force descended upon him, as if from nowhere. His stony physique began showing fine cracks, turning soft and feeble.
The endless sea of blood, imperceptible to ordinary people, had not diminished in the slightest for a thousand years; the blood tide surged like ocean waves. Now, however, the vast sea of blood seemed to be receding, the tide ebbing at a visible rate.
This was Body Decline!
One of the Tribulations of Heaven and Man!
More than three thousand years after Jia Ren’s ascension to the Immortal Realm, the long-overdue Tribulation of Heaven and Man had finally descended.
Is the first tribulation Body Decline?
His strength drained at an alarming rate, and he was gradually losing his extraordinary physique. If he couldn’t endure Body Decline, the withering of his flesh and the decay of his body would inevitably follow.
The weakening of his body was just the beginning. Jia Ren felt his immortal power also mysteriously ebbing away, rapidly diminishing, about to leave him and return to the cosmos.
The Immortal Decline of the Tribulation of Heaven and Man!
Immortal power is the foundation of a True Immortal, the cornerstone of the Immortal Path, and the source of an Immortal’s strength. Without the support of immortal power, he would lose the realm where one could abstain from nourishment and not die. He would surely age and perish here.
Is he facing both Body Decline and Immortal Decline at the same time?!
Will the third decline, the Decline of the Apertures, also appear concurrently?
As it turned out, Jia Ren’s ominous premonitions were usually accurate.
The Dantian Cave Heaven trembled ceaselessly. Every Fairy Aperture flickered, no longer stable, giving the sensation that they might collapse at any moment. The stars formed by the thirty-six True Immortal Orifices seemed on the verge of collapse, heralding destruction.
The Decline of the Apertures, part of the Tribulation of Heaven and Man!
At this moment, all three aspects of the Tribulation of Heaven and Man converged, manifesting upon Jia Ren simultaneously.
Fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.
A powerhouse suspected to be at the Taiyi Jade Immortal, or even Daluo Golden Immortal level, was still searching for him. The area he was in was under their surveillance. The Thousand Transformations Rule had to maintain the disguised state of his myriad transformations aspect while simultaneously dealing with the Tribulation of Heaven and Man.
Is this not borrowing trouble when one already has enough?
Whether it was the problem with his disguise or the trouble from the Tribulation of Heaven and Man, any mishap with either could lead to his complete demise.
The Heart Derivation Technique flared, allowing him to multitask. Jia Ren maintained his stony state, controlling the Thousand Transformations Rule within his Celestial Treasure Immortal Power to counteract the Immortal Decline. Immortal Qi is the cornerstone of the Immortal Path and thus of utmost importance. Being unable to stabilize his immortal power, allowing it to dissipate massively, was tantamount to suicide. Once his Immortal Qi was depleted and he lost the power of an Immortal, how could he maintain the disguised state of his myriad transformations aspect? This was the first problem Jia Ren had to solve.
The Power of Laws battled against the force of Immortal Decline. This was a potent remedy against the Tribulation of Heaven and Man, and it slowed the pace of Immortal Decline. However, he was powerless against Body Decline and the Decline of the Apertures.
When True Immortals faced the Tribulation of Heaven and Man, they usually dealt with one decline at a time. They would resolve Body Decline, then face Immortal Decline thousands of years later, and so on. The Great Dao of Heavenly Tribulations always left a sliver of hope. Jia Ren didn’t know if anyone in the Immortal Realm had ever faced all three declines of the Tribulation of Heaven and Man simultaneously; their convergence was a clear attempt to utterly destroy him. It was like a divine punishment had descended, determined not to let him survive!
The Profound Heaven Suppressing Immortal Demon Pagoda sensed its master’s danger and appeared above the Dantian Cave Heaven. Threads of black jade-like radiance descended, stabilizing the Dantian Cave Heaven and alleviating the pressure from the Fairy Apertures’ impending collapse. The Power of Laws from the pagoda clashed with the force of the Decline of the Apertures. The Fairy Apertures, on the verge of destruction, gradually stabilized, no longer under the imminent threat of collapse.
His Life-bound Xuantian Immortal Treasure had relieved the pressure from the Decline of the Apertures.
Only Body Decline remained unmitigated. Jia Ren possessed only the Thousand Transformations Rule and the Suppressing Mystery Law from the Profound Heaven Suppressing Immortal Demon Pagoda. These two Laws respectively countered Immortal Decline and the Decline of the Apertures. He had no other means to additionally counter Body Decline.
His physique had broken through its limits in the Lower Realm. Bolstered by a vast stockpile of Yang Anode Blood Essence Pills and profound foundations, his physique was such that not even Immortals on the Profound Immortal path could compare. If he could endure Body Decline with his strong physique, a prosperous path would lie ahead, and becoming a Golden Immortal would be within reach.
「Meanwhile, as Jia Ren contended with the Tribulation of Heaven and Man.」
Du Yuanqing arrived at the city gates. The five-kilometer journey had left him nearly exhausted. His clothes were stained with blackish-red blood scabs, and he carried a ’package’ reeking of blood, leading to his immediate capture by the city Guards. He was just a child of seven or eight; how could he stand against Guards who were like wolves and tigers?
"So young and already a murderer! And you dare carry the corpse to Zhao Yuan City? What audacity!"
"Take him to the prison!"
"Get rid of the body!"
"Don’t throw my mother away! My father is an Immortal; he can still save my mother!"
The word ’Immortal’ made everyone treat the matter much more seriously. Better to err on the side of belief than disbelief. They searched Du Yuanqing and found a Storage Bag on him, causing their expressions to change instantly.
"A Storage Bag with the Yu Family Mark?"
"Notify the City Lord immediately."
This was because the City Lord was a member of the Yu Family.
Upon receiving the news, City Lord Du Yuanjin rushed to the city patrol office. There, he saw Du Yuanqing, who bore a striking resemblance to himself, and instantly felt an undeniable blood connection.
This is my own son!
"Is this Shang Niang?" he choked out, looking at the bundle. "You died so tragically! Who did this to you?!" Du Yuanjin couldn’t help but fly into a rage. His gaze swept over the Guards, but he found no answers.
"Are you my father?" Du Yuanqing asked. Seeing the man crying out in grief, he knew this was the person he had been searching for. He quickly knelt and pleaded, "Please save my mother! You’re an Immortal; you can definitely bring her back to life!"
This is my only hope.
Revival?! Du Yuanjin was merely a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. How could he possess the power to resurrect the dead? Only an Immortal could do that. He looked at his son kneeling and pleading, covered in blood, his distraught appearance heartbreaking. The tragedy befalling such a young child filled him with sorrow.
He sighed helplessly, his face etched with guilt. "I’ve wronged you. I can’t bring the dead back to life."
"However..." he continued, "I can avenge her!"
Du Yuanjin took a deep breath. Despite having a suspicion, he still sought confirmation, "Where did this Storage Bag come from?!"
Before Du Yuanqing could speak, two streaks of Escape Light flew into the courtyard. The leader was an elder emitting Nascent Soul Stage Spiritual Power Fluctuation. Beside him was a woman at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
"Greetings, Ancestor!" Du Yuanjin quickly bowed upon seeing the elder.
"It’s good that you still recognize me as your Ancestor!" the old man said. "Since you’ve joined the Yu Family, you should work for the Yu Family. This child has a Spiritual Root. Let Li Er take him as a godson."
City Lord Du Yuanjin opened his mouth but dared not voice any refusal. The Nascent Soul Ancestor was an influential figure with intricate connections to the Thousand Realms Sect of the Immortal Gate. He absolutely could not afford to offend him and could only submit within the Yu Family. Once the Ancestor spoke, he had no power to refuse.
Yu Li was quite dissatisfied, but since the Ancestor had spoken, she could only agree.
The Yu Family Ancestor did not linger and hastily departed.
Had it not been for Du Yuanjin’s exceptional talent—a Top Grade Spiritual Root and a naturally Dao-aligned body—the Yu Family would not have forcibly recruited him. Nor would they have arranged for him, despite his then-commoner background, to marry into their family. One bad move had ruined the entire game. After this incident, Du Yuanjin became disaffected and resentful towards the Yu Family; the talent they had painstakingly cultivated was now lost to them, at least in spirit. All they could do now... was to effectively cripple him, use him as a stud, and have him produce offspring with exceptional talents for the Yu Family.
The Yu Family Ancestor wanted to take Du Yuanqing as an adopted son of the Yu Family; this was naturally because the boy possessed a Spiritual Root and uncommon talent. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
City Lord Du Yuanjin took Du Yuanqing and left the patrol office, returning to the Yu Family’s residence in Zhao Yuan City, and then prepared to leave that place with the boy.
"You poisonous woman!" Du Yuanjin finally confronted Yu Li. "I had already cut off all ties with Shang Niang! Why did you have to harm her?!"
Yu Li sneered coldly and retorted, "Without the Yu Family, you’d still be a poor mortal boy! How would you have ever had the chance to embark on the path of Cultivation! That wretched woman didn’t know her place. I didn’t go after her; she came looking for death herself! Yu Liu is truly useless, to fail even with a Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivation level, and still let that vile spawn live!"
Whether out of jealousy or because she was accustomed to being spoiled, Yu Li showed no concern that Du Yuanjin might dare to truly oppose her. Her icy words pierced the hearts of Du Yuanjin and Du Yuanqing like steel knives.
Du Yuanjin sighed and did nothing.
Du Yuanqing was different. Though young, he was not foolish. Hearing her words, he finally understood who the true culprit behind his mother’s death was.
This woman is an Immortal; I can’t kill her...
Du Yuanqing remembered something and quickly pulled the Black Stone from his bosom. This object killed one Immortal; it can surely kill this one too!
"I want you dead!" he roared. He hurled the stone with all his might at Yu Li, who stood about ten feet away.
Yu Li, after all, was a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator. Her spiritual perception was sharp. Seeing the incoming object, she snorted coldly. A powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from her, intending to blow the approaching stone back like a fierce wind, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
But Spiritual Pressure had no effect on the Black Stone.
The Black Stone ’rode the wind and broke the waves,’ flying straight to Yu Li and striking her heavily on the forehead.
