“True to his reputation, Divine King Jiang Taixu — even at the edge of death, his body still carries the bearing of a titan of his generation. It is a pity time cannot be reversed. Your era has finally drawn to a close.”

“These Great Emperor formation patterns, even though they are complex and profound, are ultimately only a fragmented corner of what you have managed to reconstruct. Your heart is willing but your strength is spent. At most, they can hold us for one day.”

The thirteen Saint-level figures were all coldly unmoved. Some had eyes empty as abyssal depths; others had eyes deep as a star-filled sky. Cold and merciless, they stared at the Divine King lying within the Dragon Transformation Pool.

“What do we do?” The powerful members of the Jiang Family all showed expressions of anxiety. They were the Divine King’s direct bloodline — naturally, they could not bear to see the old Divine King killed.

“One day is enough. I can revive the Divine King!” Ye Fan strode forward to the edge of the Dragon Transformation Pool, and a flash of light appeared in his hand — a small white jade cauldron had materialized.

In an instant, a fragrance so intoxicating it could make a person lose themselves rolled out. Nearly everyone present could not help but breathe deeply, the pores of their entire bodies opening wide — it was a form of pleasure that left one entranced.

“Divine medicine?!” The Jiang Family members were astonished.

“How can this be?! The qilin seed is sealed within the Heavenly Demon Palace — how can there be another divine medicine plant?!” All thirteen Saint-level figures were stunned.

“This is terrible — if Jiang Taixu is truly revived, he will use the Eternal Universe Divine Furnace to seal off Divine City, and none of us will be able to flee. He will hunt us down one by one!”

“Quickly — strike with everything we have! Shatter the Great Emperor formation patterns — we cannot give them this chance!”

The thirteen Saint-level figures could no longer remain calm. Their hearts surged with wave after wave of turmoil. Every one of them unleashed their full power.

“Divine medicine… splendid. This old one’s prospects for survival have brightened — cough, cough…” a sudden voice rang out — a voice between words, unceasing bouts of coughing, as if its owner might breathe their last at any moment.

Within the underground palace, an old man had appeared without anyone noticing — trembling, hunched, with perhaps a few dozen strands of hair on his head, those sparse and scattered like wild grass, his face a mass of deep wrinkles, like the bark of an ancient tree.

“Jiang Taixu — it has been four thousand years since we parted. I have missed you greatly… cough, cough…” He shuffled forward, hunched over, his body trembling. “This divine medicine — I will be taking it. Even if you swallowed it, it would do you no good.”

The thirteen supreme great figures all stiffened. Every one of them involuntarily fell back a step. This old man had appeared without warning, and the words he spoke were enough to send a chill through any heart.

Who was he? What was his background? A parting of four thousand years — such a statement was deeply alarming!

Was it possible that this old man was over four thousand years old — a figure from the same era as Jiang Taixu?

No matter how one interpreted the words, that was absolutely what they meant. And if so — this was truly a monstrous old demon of heaven-defying proportions, still alive after four thousand years, from the same era as the Divine King!

Under ordinary circumstances, a Saint-level figure could live to somewhere over two thousand years of age. If this person had existed for over four thousand years without dying — it was something that defied all reason, something that sent a shudder through every person who heard it.

What kind of old man was this? Without question, he belonged to the generation of the elder Saints of the previous age. How had he survived to this day?

“Who are you?!” the Jiang Family members demanded sharply. They all felt their heads beginning to ache — an old demon of this sort appearing in the world was something they had no idea how to deal with, especially with the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace currently unavailable.

“This old one was once an acquaintance of Jiang Taixu. I deeply hope he will regain consciousness — I wish to exchange a few words with him about the old days. But regrettably, there is only the one divine medicine plant. So he can simply go on sleeping forever.”

The old man hobbled forward, moving with great difficulty — yet no one dared to underestimate him. Even the thirteen Saint-level figures involuntarily made way for him, stepping aside to clear a path.

At this point, people began to notice that every so often, a wisp of black mist would seep from his body — and with it came a heavy smell of death, the reek of a decaying corpse.

“This is…”

Everyone was deeply shocked — utterly bewildered, their faces filled with disbelief. By rights, this should be the body of a dead man. His very flesh carried the stench of a decomposed corpse.

Indeed — every time a wisp of black mist seeped out, that odor would drift through the air. It was nauseating, the putrid stench almost impossible to bear.

“Your body is already dead. How are you still alive?” One of the thirteen Saint-level figures voiced the question.

Each of them dominated a region. Even if the person before them had lived four thousand years, they were not frightened — they still dared to ask.

“Setting aside the divine king physique, how many people in this world can live past four thousand years? The elder Saints of past generations, when their lifespan was nearly exhausted in their twilight years, all walked into the Great Wastelands — but has anyone ever seen them come back out alive?” The old man trembled and swayed as he spoke.

He walked to the Great Emperor’s formation patterns and examined them carefully, then continued: “Four thousand years without decay is the stuff of legend. The elder Saints of every age have all returned to dust and earth — at least, not a single one of them has ever come back out again, as far as I have seen. For this old one to return to the mortal world, to walk again in the world of red dust — that too could be called a miracle.”

“You…” Everyone stared at him in stunned amazement.

“There is no need to look at this old one like that. I am not so heaven-defyingly powerful. The flesh is indeed dead — only the divine sense remains alive.” He openly admitted that he was a living dead man.

“How did you manage to do it?” The thirteen Saint-level figures pressed their question — they were desperate to know, for some among them were running out of lifespan.

“Long ago, Jiang Taixu dominated all under heaven and hunted down this old one and two other friends until we had nowhere left to turn — until we had no road left in the sky or in the earth. We fled into the Undying Mountain. Regrettably, surviving a great disaster does not always bring good fortune afterward. We did not find the undying divine medicine, but instead accidentally consumed a stalk of Yin Nether Grass…”

“What?!” Everyone was startled.

Yin Nether Grass was something that existed only in legend — said to grow in the Yellow Springs, in the realm of the dead, belonging to no part of the living world. It had no right to exist above ground at all.

“It must be said — the Undying Mountain is a truly uncanny place. We did not encounter that ancient enlightenment tea tree…”

Long ago, three powerful figures, having been hunted down by Jiang Taixu into the Undying Mountain, had survived their ordeal and stumbled upon a pool connected to the Yellow Springs — and from it had picked a peculiar grass.

Believing it to be a divine medicine, all three had divided it among themselves and eaten it. But the moment they swallowed it, their physical bodies emitted a rotten stench. The three of them had become something half-human, half-ghost — their physical bodies utterly destroyed, their cultivation forever unable to advance another inch.

Yet they did not die from this. Yin Nether Grass was something extraordinarily rare in the world — a supreme and bizarre object. It contained a poison that caused living things to decay, yet it also contained within it some of the essence of undying matter. These two diametrically opposed medicinal forces coexisted in a single plant.

Their divine senses had been nourished and sustained, while their physical bodies had become nearly like decomposing corpses — a strange transformation of sorts. Of course, their bodies were not truly and completely dead — there was always a single thread of living vitality clinging to them. Otherwise, they would long since have become nothing but bare bones and skulls.

“Yin Nether Grass… to think it possessed such bizarre medicinal power,” the thirteen Saint-level figures mused — each one thinking their own thoughts.

“So, none of you need worry. This old one poses no threat to overlords such as yourselves who each dominate a region. I am merely a living dead man — spending my years in emptiness, my physical body worth less than any of yours.” He spoke while coughing intermittently.

But the thirteen supreme great figures were not about to believe that. The person’s divine sense must be incomparably powerful — he was a genuine and true old demon of monstrous proportions.

Still, they did let out a collective breath of relief. In this world, there were ultimately few who could truly live past four thousand years. This sort of extreme case was not worth envying.

No Saint would wish to become something half-human and half-ghost. That kind of existence would be a fate worse than death — and not worth any extension of one’s lifespan.

Before the Dragon Transformation Pool, the Jiang Family members were deeply tense. Even the powerful Jiang Yun had furrowed his brow. This old demon would be extraordinarily difficult to deal with!

Though this old man had spoken humbly, no one believed a word of it. A person who had lived for over four thousand years — how could they not be terrifying?

“Hurry and save the Divine King!” Ye Fan too was shaken. Meeting such an old demon today was truly a bad omen.

The white jade cauldron was opened. An intoxicating fragrance filled the entire underground palace — the medicinal scent permeated every corner, seeped into every person’s bones. Everyone felt as if they were about to drift upward and ascend into the immortal realm, a sensation of feather-light weightlessness overcoming them.

“Such a fragrance — it is truly a divine medicine. Perhaps it may be able to help this old one reverse the decay eating at his physical body and restore some vitality.” The old demon spoke while coughing.

“Is this the Dragon Pearl of a true dragon divine medicine plant?!” The Jiang Family members were struck with amazement. Several of the most senior elder figures had encountered descriptions of true dragon divine medicine plants in ancient texts — and all of them were filled with shock.

“Excellent, excellent, excellent!” Jiang Yun called out three times in praise. “The various parts of an ancient true dragon divine medicine have vastly different effects. Its Dragon Pearl fruit represents new life.”

“This is the will of heaven! The Dragon Pearl fruit contains boundless vitality — it can bring about a dragon’s rebirth, a death and renewal, a total metamorphosis. Combined with the Dragon Transformation Pool in this very place — they complement each other perfectly!” The other Jiang Family elders were also filled with astonished joy.

The fruit of this ancient divine medicine — its symbolic meaning and its function — seemed as if it had been prepared precisely for Jiang Taixu. Everyone was filled with hope.

Within the underground palace, the thirteen Saint-level figures were likewise stunned. Never in their wildest expectations had they imagined that a genuine ancient divine medicine would appear — and that it would be this specific Dragon Pearl fruit!

“Regrettably — to dissolve and absorb this Dragon Pearl requires at minimum a full day, and this old one will not allow you that time.” The old demon laughed coldly — a sound chill and ghastly, utterly terrifying.

“Protect the Divine King while the medicine is administered!” Jiang Yun bellowed.

More than ten elders stepped forward. They placed the Dragon Pearl divine medicine into Jiang Taixu’s mouth. Then, all together, they sat down cross-legged and released one beam of innate divine light after another into the old Divine King’s body.

These people had thrown caution to the wind entirely. They were willing to burn through their own lifespan to save this patriarch. If the Divine King was revived, every problem before them could be swept away!

“You have placed the Dragon Pearl divine medicine into Jiang Taixu’s body to dissolve. When I enter, I will eat him alive!” The old demon’s killing intent was now fully exposed — his words were as cold as a crypt.

“Does the Senior have any way to enter?” someone among the thirteen Saint-level figures asked.

The old demon called out toward the entrance of the underground palace: “You two living dead ought to have arrived by now. The three of us together can breach this fragmented corner of the Great Emperor’s formation patterns in two hours.”

“Heh heh heh…” Cold laughter, chill and sinister, carried through from outside.

At the entrance to the underground palace, two more gaunt and withered figures appeared. The aura of death radiating from them was even heavier — every few breaths, a wisp of black mist would seep from their bodies.

“It seems the three of us are in the same state — eroded by the power of Yin Nether until we are barely recognizable. At most, ten more years is all we have left.”

Three old demons now stood together — each one more ghastly and eerie than the last. The putrid stench of decomposition permeated every inch of the underground palace, making one’s hair stand on end.

“Break open the formation patterns, divide Jiang Taixu among us and consume him — then we can go on living!” The three old demons’ words were chilling — it seemed as though all human nature had been extinguished in them. They were treating the old Divine King as a humanoid form of undying divine medicine.

“The thirteen of you — stand aside. Leave the opening of these formation patterns to us!” The three half-human, half-ghost existences moved as if they had walked straight out of hell — their bodies overflowing with an intense aura of death.

The thirteen Saint-level figures wore cold, indifferent expressions. Without a word, they stepped aside. They did not fear the three old demons, but neither did they feel any anger at the old demons’ words.

Two hours — and the incomplete Great Emperor’s formation patterns would be breached. At that point, who could withstand three old demons who had lived for over four thousand years? They were terrifying figures from the same era as the Divine King himself!