Chapter 654: The Longevity Tree

Lord of the Boundless Mountain.

Fang Xing greeted the Lord of the Boundless Mountain—he was, after all, the big boss of the former alliance he’d mingled with.

“Hehe… Lord Black Dragon, to see you reach this point fills me with genuine delight.”

The Lord of the Boundless Mountain appeared as an old man in white robes; though his face was lined with wrinkles, his eyes shone like stars, radiating wisdom: “Let me introduce you—this is Great Devil of the Original Demon Sect, this is Three-Leaf Daoist of the Three-Leaf Sect, and this is Turtle Ancestor of the Gui Ling Sect…”

Fang Xing bowed to each in turn.

The Great Devil was a middle-aged man in black robes, his body faintly wreathed in demonic qi.

The Three-Leaf Daoist dressed as a Daoist priest, his back bearing a long sword resembling a green leaf.

The Turtle Ancestor, another demonic emperor, had a true form seemingly that of ‘Baxia’; upon seeing Fang Xing, he immediately offered a somewhat amiable smile.

"And this one—Xuan Wa of the Wa Huang Palace!"

The Lord of the Boundless Mountain mentioned her name and said no more.

“So this is Lady Xuan Wa?”

Fang Xing smiled broadly.

“Lord Black Dragon, the previous misunderstandings were the fault of my palace’s disciples…”

Lady Xuan Wa, clad in a earth-yellow robe, stepped forward gritting her teeth, forcing a smile: “Upon my return, I shall punish them severely!”

Though the conflict had begun with Fang Xing killing their people, they could only endure now.

“Not enough.”

Fang Xing shook his head.

“Then, according to your wishes, what should be done?”

Lady Xuan Wa’s expression grew wary, even a touch desolate.

These Chaos Realm greats were the ancestral elders of every major faction in the Qing Yuan Great Realm.

Yet here, before this man, they felt utterly powerless.

‘Could it be… Lord Black Dragon has already reached full Chaos completion?’

‘No—he’s only just broken into Chaos. It’s simply that the Panwu Dao is too powerful… the secret arts and techniques passed down by the Eternal Ones are too profound…’

…

As Lady Xuan Wa fretted, Fang Xing’s voice reached her ear: “I intend to establish a sect atop the former Qing Emperor’s domain—let’s call it ‘Lingbao Palace.’ You, the Wa Huang Palace, are a major house—provide me with initial support. When my Lingbao Palace cultivates twelve Heavenly Immortals or Heavenly Demons, then we’ll end this arrangement. How?”

“What?”

Lady Xuan Wa was stunned: “You want resources to cultivate twelve Heavenly Immortals or Heavenly Demons?”

Even the former Qing Emperor’s Palace had only eight Heavenly Demons!

Of course, with full investment, they could produce more—but sect treasuries were foundational reserves; no sect could squander them all at once.

“If Lady Xuan Wa refuses, I’ll simply come to your door and take them myself.”

Fang Xing sighed.

At these words, Lady Xuan Wa’s expression changed instantly; she glanced at the Lord of the Boundless Mountain and the others.

The Great Devil sighed: “Lady Xuan Wa, I believe Lord Black Dragon’s demand is not excessive… Lord Black Dragon, my Original Demon Sect also had misunderstandings with you. I offer an Emperor Artifact as compensation—let us resolve our grievances, shall we?”

“Good!”

Fang Xing chuckled—he had a seven-orifice clever heart and knew Lady Xuan Wa was trying to rally other Chaos-level masters against him.

But he stood alone, backed by an Eternal One—no one dared oppose him.

Especially now that he planned to establish a sect—effectively handing over his soft underbelly, transforming from a barefoot man unafraid of shoe-wearers into someone who had put on shoes.

These Chaos-level masters were only too eager to go along with him—why would they provoke him?

Even the Great Devil of the Original Demon Sect was quick to kick him while he was down, offering favors and resolving karmic ties.

‘It’s as absurd as traveling back to ancient times, thinking you’ll divide the land, and assuming all landlords will immediately unite against you!’

‘True, landlords are of the same class—but they’re not a hive-mind insect species. How could they suddenly become utterly united? Even the most charismatic mediator couldn’t achieve it… After all, any landlord might have fought, killed, framed, or betrayed neighbors just two years ago over water rights—deep, bitter enmities…’

‘The same logic applies here… Though I’m a fierce dragon crossing the river, I’ve destroyed Qing Emperor’s Palace to show strength, and targeted only the Wa Huang Palace… The other Chaos-level masters will merely watch from the sidelines.’

‘The best choice is never chosen—only worse and worse options remain…’

Fang Xing sighed.

In a world where power resides solely within oneself, selfishness is amplified a thousandfold.

He felt that even if he couldn’t defeat these Chaos-level masters together, destroying their sects wouldn’t be difficult.

It was simply a matter of Qin’s strategy—allying with distant foes, attacking nearby ones, slowly slicing the sausage…

‘My Lingbao Palace is just a whim, a chance to see if I can cultivate disciples worthy of filling my Dao…’

The Eternal Ones were far from Fang Xing, so he wasn’t in a hurry to sever karmic ties.

Besides, it was a contingency plan.

“If I forge my own Dao, it will surpass the Panwu Dao…”

“Finding sufficient talent to fill it won’t be easy.”

As Fang Xing murmured inwardly, he looked toward Lady Xuan Wa.

All pressure now rested on her.

Lady Xuan Wa’s face flushed red, then pale; she gritted her teeth: “Fine… I, the Wa Huang Palace, accept defeat!” “Ha! Then we remain fellow Daoists henceforth.”

Fang Xing replied with a smile.

“Congratulations, Lord Black Dragon, on founding another holy ground in the Qing Yuan Great Realm.”

One by one, the Dao Lords offered their congratulations, faces beaming with sincere smiles.

What they truly thought inside, no one could know.

…

Several days later, a shocking rumor spread through the Qing Yuan Great Realm.

The ancient, mighty sect—Qing Emperor’s Palace—had been destroyed, replaced by Lingbao Palace!

Lord Black Dragon had slain the Qing Emperor, his fame echoing far and wide; he further declared Lingbao Palace open to all—anyone who refrained from wanton killing could join and study—drawing countless humans and demons eager to await the day the gates opened, hoping to be chosen by Lord Black Dragon and leap from carp to dragon.

After all, Lord Black Dragon was hailed as the greatest genius in ten million years, with an Eternal-level master—among the thickest thighs in the Qing Yuan Great Realm.

…

!

Lingbao Palace.

Mountain Gate.

Fang Xing casually took a palace-type Emperor Artifact from the Pan Gu Secret Realm and planted it atop the former Qing Emperor’s Mountain Gate, becoming Lingbao Palace’s headquarters.

“Black Emperor slays Qing Emperor…”

He considered the rumors circulating outside, unable to suppress a grin: “Hmm… a bit upside-down, perhaps… but acceptable.”

After all, according to the Five Virtues theory, black represents Water Virtue, green represents Wood Virtue—Water nourishes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water…

Thus, Wood Virtue subtly surpassed Water Virtue—yet the Qing Emperor was slain by the Black Emperor…

“But I don’t cultivate the Five Elements Dao… the generation and overcoming of the Five Elements don’t concern me.”

Fang Xing sat cross-legged, silently reflecting on the Qing Emperor’s combat power.

“The Chaos Realm truly differs from the Ancient Gods…”

“Though my strength can easily surpass such a Realm-13 Dao Master, killing him is difficult… In the end, I still had to rely on the soul-attack as my trump card.”

Mind-force is a transcendent inheritance; even without the bloodline’s aura of supremacy, Fang Xing had battled the Qing Emperor at length, weakening him with willpower attacks, and only then succeeded in the final strike.

“Both the Pan Gu Body and the Chaos Fist have too many flaws—they need refinement.”

“Establishing Lingbao Palace will let subordinate sects offer tribute, and help me gather heavenly treasures and rare minerals… The Qing Yuan Great Realm’s resources are exceedingly rich; many treasures would make even the Daxia Universe’s Fa Masters and Dao Masters envious, and many lie within special secret realms accessible only to Heavenly Immortals—or even Soul-Form cultivators…”

“Working for others is never as good as running your own company.”

Fang Xing pulled out the Qing Emperor’s corpse, took his storage artifact—the ruined Qing Emperor’s Palace.

After a brief inspection, a smile appeared on his face: “Good, good… there’s such a large reserve of Chaos Crystals. But the finest treasure is still this spiritual tree…”

He gazed at the spiritual plant that had formed after the Qing Emperor’s death.

The plant resembled a pine or cypress, towering impossibly high, one li wide—like the legendary Tongtian Jianmu.

“With such a lineage, yet only awakening the Dao of Life and Vitality—you’re a waste.”

Fang Xing caressed the tree, sensing its vitality.

Though the ancient tree’s life force had been entirely severed, rendering it mere material, every inch of it pulsed with vigor.

If forged into an Emperor Artifact, it would surely grant self-repairing properties.

What intrigued Fang Xing even more was its unique trait.

“Its core has a heaven-defying effect—it can extend the lifespan of Soul-Form cultivators!”

After a brief perception, Fang Xing couldn’t help but marvel.

The Qing Yuan Great Realm was cruel to cultivators below Realm 13—even Soul-Form Sovereigns had only ten thousand years of life.

Ten thousand years!

For mortals or those following spirit-root cultivation, this might bring tears of joy.

But for Soul-Form masters—even Sovereigns—it was far too short.

Yet this was the world’s fundamental law; items capable of breaking such limits were exceedingly rare.

“A tree core from a Realm-14 demonic emperor… even among Realm-14 rarities, it’s a treasure—how could it be used for Soul-Form cultivators?”

“Thus, Soul-Form cultivators in this world, lacking heaven-defying fortune, have no hope of extending their lifespan…”

Fang Xing muttered a complaint, yet never forgot that in this vast world, anything was possible.

Compared to gaining a heavenly opportunity to extend life as a Nascent Soul cultivator, his greater fortune had been crossing over with a golden hand when he was still an ordinary person.

“Hmm… I’ve never seen any record of this Green Emperor’s true body plant—it must be a unique, peerless specimen…”

“Pity—the seeds were all destroyed by me; otherwise, I truly would have tried planting one.”

According to Fang Xing’s estimation, this tree could extend the life of a Ten-Thousand-Year Grandmaster, primarily functioning in relation to lifespan.

Even… involving time!

“Tree of Lifespan? Divine Tree of Time?”

Fang Xing pondered: “I have no way to revive it, but perhaps my main body—Druidic Dao—might…”

After all, Druidic Dao is a transcendent lineage, and Fang Xing specializes in the plant domain, possessing all manner of unimaginable talents.

What matters in condensing 'Great Divinity' in the world of gods is not the gods' own divinity, but the realm of nature and the transcendent lineage!

(End of Chapter)