The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 63

After the entire great demon cave was lit up, A’Ling realized with a start just how enormous it was.
They stood near the cave entrance, where a sloping downhill path led inside. The entire cave resembled a teapot; while the entrance was narrow, it was incredibly spacious within. It was a demon cave with an unobstructed view, spanning nearly a hundred square zhang. The ceiling soared over ten zhang high, appearing pitch-black and remarkably smooth.
Gu Jingyang thought the cave didn’t seem naturally formed; it was a bit too regular.
There was also something else that puzzled her.
Given the size of the cave, the great beast living inside ought to be quite large, yet its sole entrance was so narrow. Any beast passing through it surely couldn’t be wider than three people standing abreast.
Gu Jingyang shared her observations with A’Ling and Lan Fushang, and both agreed with her analysis.
A’Ling had been looking up at a certain spot the entire time, her gaze fixed even as Gu Jingyang spoke.
“Gu Jingyang, lean your head over,” A’Ling whispered, close to Gu Jingyang’s ear. “Come here and look at what’s above.”
Gu Jingyang raised an eyebrow. Following A’Ling’s gentle tug, she tilted her head to A’Ling’s position and looked up. Once she clearly saw what was on the ceiling, her eyes lit up.
A’Ling continued to whisper into her ear, “Is that Moonlit Ice Crystal?”
Gu Jingyang turned to her, nodded, and softly replied, “Yes. A’Ling, have you seen it before?”
She hadn’t expected A’Ling to recognize Moonlit Ice Crystal; it was an uncommon item that Gu Jingyang herself had only seen mentioned once in her mother’s notes. The notes described Moonlit Ice Crystal as shaped like an icicle, with a green fluorescent substance clinging to it. It was truly a precious item, capable of helping not only low-level cultivators break through but also boosting the spiritual energy of demonic beasts.
A’Ling glanced around again, confirming no demonic beasts were present. Without a moment’s delay, she cast a remote retrieval spell and took down the ice crystal. She had retrieved one before and knew this ice crystal was easy to acquire. As the item landed in her palm, A’Ling showed it to Lan Fushang and explained what it was.
Lan Fushang had heard of such an item but had never seen one. She looked overjoyed. “This is wonderful, A’Ling! Now you can break through!”
Xing Yanchu had been watching A’Ling and her companions, and he saw A’Ling seemingly retrieve something from the ceiling. Although Lan Fushang had spoken in a hushed voice, the joy on her face clearly indicated that A’Ling had obtained something valuable. He immediately straightened his back and shouted towards the trio, “If you’ve found anything good, you can’t hog it! I helped too, so whatever it is, I deserve a share!”
With so many Mutated Beasts earlier, he had indeed contributed to the team. He was even bitten by a Mutated Beast while walking at the rear.
He was about to continue his rant when he saw A’Ling give him a cold glare. The warning in her eyes and the purple glowing whip in her hand instantly made him shut his mouth, swallowing the words he was about to utter.
Seeing him obediently shut up, A’Ling finally withdrew her gaze and turned to Gu Jingyang.
“Take it,” A’Ling said, handing the item to Gu Jingyang. “It can help you recover faster.” Although it couldn’t help Gu Jingyang break through, it would certainly aid in healing her injuries and replenishing the internal energy she had just expended.
Gu Jingyang refused. “A’Ling, this item is valuable precisely because it can help low-level cultivators break through. Giving it to me would be like giving me an ordinary healing medicinal pill. You should keep it for yourself; it can help you directly break through from Core Formation to Nascent Soul.”
Upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one’s lifespan increases to three hundred years, and their combat power makes them an expert in the human realm. Moreover, a Nascent Soul can seize a new body, meaning the shattering of their physical form isn’t necessarily the end of their life.
A’Ling naturally knew these benefits, but at the moment, she was more concerned about Gu Jingyang’s safety. She had promised Gu Hongjue that she would protect his precious daughter well.
Hearing Gu Jingyang say it wouldn’t be very useful, A’Ling furrowed her brows. Then never mind, she thought. This item was truly rare and shouldn’t be wasted.
She handed the item to Lan Fushang. “Since that’s the case, Fushang, then you take it. It can help you break through to Nascent Soul.”
Lan Fushang looked at the serious-faced A’Ling in surprise. “You want to give it to me?” She was thoroughly confused. She could understand A’Ling giving it to Gu Jingyang; their bond was such that it would be perfectly normal. But she had only known A’Ling for such a short time, and A’Ling was actually going to give her such a valuable item…
Lan Fushang was speechless for a moment, unsure what words to use to describe her current feelings. There was gratitude, astonishment, bewilderment, and even a touch of helpless amusement.
“A’Ling, have you forgotten?” Lan Fushang voiced the doubt in her heart. “You’re also at the Core Formation stage. Why don’t you keep it to break through yourself?”
A’Ling felt a bit awkward. She had previously sought this item because she wanted her ugly dog to grow larger and become her mount. As for her own cultivation, she believed she could break through with her own efforts.
Lan Fushang’s eyes filled with admiration upon hearing A’Ling say she wanted to break through by herself. The A’Ling she knew truly possessed a pure heart; meeting A’Ling was indeed the greatest fortune since she entered Mystic Crane Mountain.
She was about to tell A’Ling to keep it for herself when she suddenly heard a sharp shriek.
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and saw Xing Yanchu, his face as if he’d seen a ghost, screaming and staring at them.
“Ah ah ah ah ah ah!”
Xing Yanchu’s eyes were wide as saucers, and he pointed at the trio, his hand trembling and his entire body shaking.
“There are, there are eyes!”
A’Ling raised an eyebrow. What was he talking about? Had this person lost his mind? Was it strange that the three of them had eyes?
Before she could voice her rebuke, she suddenly felt her scalp tingle, and the skin on her neck prickled with goosebumps. She felt as if she had sensed a strange gaze.
Gu Jingyang’s actions were quicker than her thoughts; pulling A’Ling, she rolled forward. Her movement was too swift, and A’Ling didn’t have time to pull Lan Fushang, who was on her other side. She hurriedly turned to look. She saw that above Lan Fushang’s head, an eye as large as her own head slowly opened. Its perfectly round eyeball reflected their two terrified faces, hers and Gu Jingyang’s.
That wall had actually grown an eye.
“Fushang, run!”
A’Ling shouted, her voice hoarse, and quickly stepped forward to pull the still-stunned Lan Fushang. The three of them swiftly retreated to the other side of the demon cave, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the eye.
Xing Yanchu also scrambled to his feet and stumbled towards them, still screaming as he ran.
“Ah ah ah ah what is that thing!” His voice was so high-pitched with fear it sounded like it had split.
Gu Jingyang took a small step forward, shielding A’Ling. A’Ling stepped aside and stood beside Gu Jingyang. Gu Jingyang was not in good condition, and A’Ling couldn’t rely on her alone anymore.
Lan Fushang looked at the two in front of her, blaming herself for the first time for not cultivating harder usually. She should have properly learned both spells and swordsmanship.
The three harbored different thoughts as they gazed at the round eye ahead.
After that eye fully opened, the cave wall on that side began to shake violently, as if the wall itself had come alive. Fragments of rock and dirt from the wall tumbled down, raising a cloud of grayish-yellow dust. A ‘cracking’ sound echoed eerily throughout the demon cave for a long time, as if the rock wall were growing a body and its bones were being straightened.
Not long after, a demonic beast, taller than Gu Jingyang, A’Ling, and Lan Fushang stacked together, fully appeared before them.
How could this be? How could there be a mutated Sword Dragon in this demon cave!
Gu Jingyang stared in surprise at the bone plates on the Mutated Beast’s back. Those could no longer be called bone plates; each protruding plate had actually mutated into chunks of rock. Even the Sword Dragon itself was covered in protruding, hard stones across its entire hide.
“It’s a mutated Sword Dragon, everyone be careful,” Gu Jingyang loudly reminded them.
A’Ling was astonished. Was this an ancient, extinct ferocious beast? How could it appear in this great demon cave? Was it the master of this great demon cave?
“Gu Jingyang,” A’Ling asked, puzzled, “the entrance is so small, how could it possibly get out, being this large?”
Gu Jingyang’s expression was grave, and her eyes were cold. “It might never have gone out.” No wonder it could tolerate the presence of so many Mutated Beasts outside—it was because it had never left. “It might have been raised in this cave since it was young.” Gu Jingyang’s heart clenched, and enduring the apprehension, she voiced her conjecture.
A’Ling and Lan Fushang were startled. Who would raise a mutated demonic beast? What would they even raise it for?
But now was not the time to dwell on these questions. The mutated Sword Dragon, now fully awake, saw the people who had appeared in its cave, and its displeasure was akin to a rat invading its dwelling. It clearly didn’t think much of these tiny humans. With a swing of its long, thousand-pound tail, it swept towards A’Ling and the others.
Everyone hurriedly dodged in all directions.
A’Ling told Lan Fushang to find a more concealed place to hide, while she and Gu Jingyang activated their spells and attacked the mutated Sword Dragon. Streaks of golden light flashed within the demon cave as booming roars, each louder than the last, echoed through it. The moment the mutated Sword Dragon swept through, dirt and shattered rocks from the cave ceiling flew like hidden weapons in all directions. Xing Yanchu and Lan Fushang had a hard time just dodging these flying rocks.
After failing to dispatch the ‘rats’ that had entered its dwelling in a few attempts, the mutated Sword Dragon was clearly getting angry. It suddenly charged towards Gu Jingyang and A’Ling. Its tail also stood high, as flexible as a sword in a sword cultivator’s hand, striking wherever it pleased.
Gu Jingyang and A’Ling were forced to retreat step by step, and were soon cornered.
“This isn’t working!” A’Ling roared, gasping for breath as she spoke.
Gu Jingyang also knew that if this continued, once their internal energy was depleted, they would be at its mercy. She glanced at the cave entrance, knowing that if they went out that way, they wouldn’t be able to handle the demonic beasts outside either. She withdrew her gaze and looked at the enormous demonic beast before her. Demonic beasts of such enormous size usually struggled with mobility, and they could typically evade them with their agile movements. But this mutated Sword Dragon, though its body was inflexible, possessed a truly formidable tail.
“I’ll attract its attention, A’Ling, try to attack its eyes!” Gu Jingyang reminded A’Ling aloud. Generally, a demonic beast’s weaknesses were mostly in its eyes or beneath its neck.
A’Ling nodded. She and Gu Jingyang split up, and as Gu Jingyang made her move, a talisman wrapped in golden light flew towards the mutated Sword Dragon’s eyes. The talisman transformed into a sword as it approached the mutated Sword Dragon’s eyes, forcefully stabbing towards them. With a ‘clang’, the sword formed by the spell was like nailing into an iron plate. With a loud thud, it fell straight down, reverting to a talisman halfway and floating to the ground.
“Gu Jingyang, it’s no good!” A’Ling shouted to Gu Jingyang in horror. “Its eyes have a transparent protective barrier!”
Gu Jingyang was greatly alarmed. This demonic beast was mutating specifically to achieve an indestructible body. What could be done!
“Watch out, Fushang, be careful!”
Just as A’Ling’s attention was focused on the mutated Sword Dragon’s eyes, she didn’t notice its tail had already reached where Lan Fushang and the others were hiding.
“Ah!” Lan Fushang tried to run, but it was too late. She had only taken one step when the thousand-pound tail swept her, sending her body flying high into the air.
A’Ling’s eyes turned bloodshot with fury. She lunged forward and caught Lan Fushang.
At this moment, the mutated Sword Dragon, as if it had been waiting for this very moment, raised its flexible tail high. Like a raised guillotine, it swung down towards A’Ling!
“No!” All the blood in Gu Jingyang’s body rushed to her Divine Court point at this moment. In extreme panic, she instantly swapped out the treasured sword in her hand. Without a moment’s hesitation, she gathered all the internal energy in her body onto the Blazing Azure Edge Sword. A jade-green flame, spitting fiery tongues, forcefully held up the massive tail that was falling like a guillotine! In a flash, streaks of explosive sword qi swept across the entire rock wall, and the demon cave began to tremble violently!
The green light shattered, and the Blazing Azure Edge Sword in Gu Jingyang’s hand hummed, like the final lament of a female eagle falling after its wings had been cruelly broken. The Blazing Azure Edge Sword shattered with a crash into a pile of iron shards.
From that moment on, A’Ling’s heart had been squeezed tight and lodged in her throat. Staring at this lightning-fast, unforeseen scene unfolding at the critical moment, her eyes were bloodshot, and her throat was hoarse, completely unable to utter a single word.
After the green light completely dissipated, the guillotine-like tail above A’Ling and Lan Fushang had not fallen. That seemingly indestructible massive tail shattered with a crash in mid-air, like a collapsing iron tower, fragmented into countless pieces, none of which could be put back together.
A mist of blood enveloped the entire spacious demon cave, falling into A’Ling’s already bloodshot eyes. She ignored the discomfort and frantically searched for Gu Jingyang’s figure amidst the blood mist.
“Gu Jingyang!”
She shouted with all her might, her bloodshot eyes peering into the depths of the blood mist, desperate to find that familiar figure, desperate to hear her say, ‘I’m fine.’
“Gu Jingyang!”
“Gu Jingyang, where are you?”
“Gu Jingyang, answer me quickly! Are you alright?”
Amidst the mutated Sword Dragon’s violent roars, A’Ling couldn’t hear Gu Jingyang’s voice. She rose in a panic. As the blood mist and dust dissipated, she finally saw Gu Jingyang lying motionless in a corner.
After its tail was injured, the mutated Sword Dragon was in such pain it was almost insane. As the obscuring mist in front of it cleared, it also saw the person who had injured it, lying in the corner. It roared as it strode towards Gu Jingyang, as if to stomp her to death on the ground.
A’Ling roared “Gu Jingyang,” then propelled herself forward on her iron sword, rushing over like lightning. Following close behind the mutated Sword Dragon, she suddenly swung her whip.
“Little Wandering, save her!”
With A’Ling’s command, Little Wandering, flashing with purple-gold light, extended its whip body. Like an arrow piercing the wind, it shot straight in front of Gu Jingyang, swiftly bound her waist, and with a powerful toss, threw her to its master, A’Ling.
A’Ling rose on her sword, steadily caught Gu Jingyang in mid-air, flew back to their original position, and handed her over to Lan Fushang.
“Fushang, see if Gu Jingyang is alright!”
Lan Fushang didn’t wait for A’Ling to speak before gathering all her spiritual energy in her palm. A spectral blue healing light ignited in her palm as she continuously poured true qi into Gu Jingyang while using her spiritual energy to perform healing arts on her.
A’Ling gazed at Gu Jingyang’s pale face, stained with blood. Her once rosy lips were completely drained of color, and her brows were furrowed tightly. If one listened carefully, they could hear the muffled groans of pain escaping her lips. She must have completely exhausted her spiritual energy using the Blazing Azure Edge Sword for that attack just now. Using the Blazing Azure Edge Sword twice in such a short time, her internal organs must be severely injured. A’Ling could tell from the beads of sweat instantly appearing on Lan Fushang’s forehead that Gu Jingyang’s injuries this time were definitely severe.
With a ‘boom’, A’Ling turned to look. The mutated Sword Dragon, which had just charged forward, had crashed straight into the wall. But it seemed oblivious to pain. Seeing that it hadn’t stomped Gu Jingyang to death, it turned around with bloodshot eyes and charged towards them again.
A’Ling looked back at the dying Gu Jingyang, who had lost her usual vitality, realizing she had just fallen before her. A’Ling almost instinctively took a sharp breath, and her entire body began to tremble violently with it. From her shoulders to her palms, within a few breaths, the tremor grew increasingly intense. The veins on the hand holding the Moonlit Ice Crystal bulged. A’Ling squeezed with all her might, and with a ‘crack’, the ice crystal shattered, four fingers, along with the fragments, forcefully embedding into her palm. The Moonpetal Essence within the ice crystal immediately seeped into the crimson blood in her palm.
Crimson lines appeared in A’Ling’s eyes as she charged towards the mutated Sword Dragon, running faster with each step. Forcing a breakthrough in such a short time, A’Ling felt as if all the flesh and blood in her body were being torn apart and reshaped. Yet, none of this pain was as sharp as the pain she felt the moment she saw Gu Jingyang lose her vitality.
“Die!”
A’Ling roared violently, gathering all her spiritual energy onto Little Wandering in her palm. A fierce wind suddenly rose, and several streaks of purple-gold light, like a dense sword net, carrying immense force, slashed towards the enraged mutated Sword Dragon. In an instant, it was as if heaven and earth had overturned. Countless shattered rocks from the ceiling collapsed, and rocks on the ground were shaken up. With an earth-shattering roar, the behemoth crashed down, violently smashing a massive pit into one side of the cave wall!
Lan Fushang watched all this, her pupils trembling. A’Ling had succeeded… She had actually defeated this Mutated Beast that seemed utterly impossible to overcome! The tears she had been holding back finally streamed down at this moment.
“Cough, cough.”
A faint cough came from beneath her. Lan Fushang looked down in alarm, realizing her tears had accidentally landed on Gu Jingyang’s dry lips.
“You’re awake?” Lan Fushang frantically wiped away the tears from her lips, saying in surprise.
Gu Jingyang had woken up when A’Ling roared. She had personally witnessed her rage, seen her face the mutated Sword Dragon alone, and seen her fight with all her might, holding nothing back! And she had seen, she had won! She smiled and withdrew her gaze, muttering to Lan Fushang, “A’Ling… so amazing…” and then fell into a coma again.
Lan Fushang, with tears in her eyes, nodded repeatedly in response. “Yes, A’Ling is amazing, and you must hold on too.” She took out the heart-protecting medicinal pills she had refined from her Universe pouch and painstakingly pried open Gu Jingyang’s mouth to feed her two. When she turned to look at A’Ling again, she found that A’Ling also seemed unable to stand, kneeling on one knee.
Before she could go and help A’Ling up, another ‘rumbling’ loud noise echoed.
A’Ling, with bloodshot eyes, supported herself on her knees and turned to look. The wall behind Lan Fushang and the others had actually started to move. At the same time, on the wall where her purple-gold spiritual artifact had just collided, a door had actually appeared. The two thick door panels rapidly moved apart, and the door opened.
A’Ling was puzzled and confused. Why had this door suddenly appeared and opened?
“Oh no, Fushang, quickly, help Gu Jingyang up!”
A’Ling turned her head again to look at the wall near Lan Fushang and found that behind her, the exact same scene she had witnessed a short while ago had appeared. On the wall behind her, above her head, an eye slowly opened.
There was actually another one!
A’Ling finally understood why this cave had been built so large. Mustering her last breath, she rushed to Lan Fushang. Together with Lan Fushang, she helped Gu Jingyang up and ran towards the suddenly appeared door.
A’Ling was already at the end of her rope, Gu Jingyang was in a coma, and Lan Fushang alone could not possibly defeat another full-health mutated Sword Dragon. As for Xing Yanchu, he had long since disappeared into some corner and hadn’t been seen since.
A’Ling led them through the door, found a switch on one side, and immediately closed it.
“Where is this?”
Lan Fushang draped Gu Jingyang’s arm over her shoulder, transferring her entire weight onto herself so A’Ling could free her hands to examine their surroundings. Seeing this, A’Ling handed Gu Jingyang over to Lan Fushang and ignited a talisman to light up this suddenly appearing secret room.
As the lighting talisman lit up, A’Ling realized they were standing in water. They had been too tense just now to notice. This was not a large secret room; one could see to the end at a glance. So A’Ling immediately saw a throne in the water at the far end, and on the throne was a skeleton, completely devoid of flesh.
Lan Fushang also saw it. Observing the appearance of the skeleton, she said, “It’s been dead for a long time.”
A’Ling nodded. She looked around again, confirming there was nothing else in this secret room besides the skeleton. The deepest part of the water only reached A’Ling’s calves. She checked the water as well; there was nothing. Looking at the water dripping intermittently from the rocks above, she guessed that there originally might not have been any water here; it was a pool of water accumulated over years from drops seeping through the rock walls above.
A’Ling heard a movement behind her and turned to look. Lan Fushang had taken a bed out of her Universe pouch and placed Gu Jingyang onto it. A’Ling let out a laugh. She hadn’t expected the items Lan Fushang carried, even this bed, would be used at such a critical moment. When Gu Jingyang woke up, she definitely had to tell her about this.
“How is Gu Jingyang doing?” A’Ling asked worriedly.
But before Lan Fushang could speak, a loud crash came from the door. The door they had just closed began to shake violently. Not good, the mutated Sword Dragon outside was crashing into the door.
A’Ling stared intently at the door. When she saw a crack appear on it, she knew it was bad. If it kept crashing like this, the door would be smashed open. A’Ling looked at the unconscious Gu Jingyang on the bed. She couldn’t let the mutated Sword Dragon outside come in; she had to go out and block the door.
“Fushang, take good care of Gu Jingyang.”
Lan Fushang knew what A’Ling was about to do the moment she heard her. She grabbed A’Ling but didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell A’Ling not to go, but she also knew that A’Ling was their only hope now. She took out a brocade box from her Universe pouch. Inside, there was only one medicinal pill.
“A’Ling,” she said, “this is something I developed; it’s a medicinal pill that can temporarily boost cultivation. But I haven’t tested its specific effects, I don’t know—”
The phrase ‘whether there are side effects’ wasn’t finished before A’Ling picked it up and swallowed it.
“Thank you,” A’Ling said. “Once I’m out, close the door. Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”
A’Ling picked up Little Wandering with one hand and turned the switch with the other. The moment the stone door opened, she lashed out with her whip. The moment the mutated Sword Dragon retreated, A’Ling darted out of the secret room. Lan Fushang did as A’Ling said and quickly closed the door the moment she was out.
Hearing the stone door close behind her, A’Ling used the blood from her palm as a guide to cast a spell, setting up a barrier outside the stone door. This time, she used her newly achieved Nascent Soul stage spirit. Unless she died, no one would be able to enter this barrier.
But the moment the stone door barrier was set, A’Ling suddenly felt a tremor in the spiritual energy core within her body.
This sensation was…
A’Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief. The barrier she had set up outside the Cave Abode had actually been broken.
Who?
Who dared to break her barrier from inside the Cave Abode?!