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Dog Face Di Ting stopped speaking at this point, his expression becoming weary.

Its body was already covered in wounds, and before fighting with Qiao Mu, it was already hurt. Now, blood continued to flow, making it seem like even speaking had become a struggle.

"Alright, three questions, three matters come to an end here. Talking more is pointless," Di Ting said quietly.

"Wait," Qiao Mu spoke again.

"The location of the Immortal Gate’s ancestor and the position of the heavenly court should be the same thing, but you want to trick us by treating them as two different questions."

"You think the third matter I want to ask is beyond your ability, so you are trying to mislead us. Otherwise, why impose a limit of three questions and three matters?"

"Nonsense." Di Ting, who had seemed weary earlier, suddenly became energetic, her eyes wide open like copper bells.

"There is no secret in this world that I cannot hear; it’s only a matter of whether I want to listen or not."

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit nearby nodded quietly.

He could tell this was a simple provocation, but it was indeed effective for Di Ting, who was not fully aware of her surroundings.

In the legend, Di Ting is not the type of ancient beast with great power and amazing abilities.

However, when it comes to understanding the world and judging right from wrong, no creature can match Di Ting.

The Di Ting before us still has the features of a half-human, half-demon, not the pure-blooded original from the myths.

Even though it may not be perfect… from the earlier questions and answers, it is clear that this mixed-blood Di Ting is far from ordinary.

"Then I will ask you, if you cannot answer, you can pretend you did not hear," Qiao Mu said with a smirk.

Qiao Mu thought for a moment and continued:

"What is the Long Life Lock? What is its true nature?"

Di Ting trembled slightly, and you could see its fur standing on end.

"I actually know about this," it said after a long pause.

"In ancient times, the Kuafu tribe was a powerful group of mythical beings…"

"Until one day, the Kuafu tribe members, in their pursuit of immortality, brought destruction to the Kuafu tribe…"

Qiao Mu frowned as he listened.

He had just intentionally provoked this Di Ting, saying that if it really couldn’t answer, it could pretend not to have heard.

As a result, it actually did pretend not to hear.

"That’s not what I asked. What is the Long Life Lock? Do you know?" Qiao Mu repeated.

This time, Di Ting reluctantly mumbled a response:

"Just wait for me to use my powers…"

But its expression remained calm; it lay on the ground, ears close to the ground, pretending to listen carefully.

But it didn’t move anymore, and slowly blood flowed out from underneath, its tongue hanging out and drooping to one side.

"You’re not pretending not to hear, but just playing dead?" Qiao Mu looked at Sky Piercing Water Spirit and then turned to leave.

Qiao Mu didn’t have much hope; he was just trying to ask casually.

At first, this Di Ting pretended to be deaf and then simply chose to play dead… Qiao Mu saw its attitude and didn’t want to force it.

After the two left, the pretending Di Ting finally got up from the ground.

It seemed like it didn’t want to pay attention to Qiao Mu anymore and just stared blankly at the broken wooden beams on the shore.

"Listening to the tides rise and fall in the world…" it murmured.

"But under this fallen nest, who can stay safe?"

Dog Face Di Ting looked toward the seemingly endless ocean, sitting at the edge of the cliff like a stone statue.

……………..

In the distant fog ahead, the huge outline of the Kuafu mountains slowly appeared.

Running toward the mountains is like a horse that dies trying; not to mention, this is not a normal world, but is within the Return Ruins.

By the time Qiao Mu approached the Kuafu mountains in the distant fog, it was already the third day since he entered the Return Ruins.

There is neither sunrise nor sunset in the Return Ruins; the sky is always a dull gray, with no changes.

Qiao Mu knows the day and night change through the Long Life Lock in his heart, which revives time for him.

"These peaks are the remains of the ancient Kuafu tribe."

Qiao Mu stood at the base of a giant mountain and reached out to touch it.

He had once obtained the lively bones and blood of Giant Kuafu, and in his recent Long Life Dream, he could perfectly recreate the bones and blood in his dream.

"The world in my dream is becoming more and more real; what I imagined in my dream is no different from things in reality."

Qiao Mu rested his chin on his hand, thinking about whether he should study the remains of the Kuafu tribe giants.

The Sun Chasing Cultivation Method of the Kuafu tribe is closely related to their unique physique, and outsiders cannot practice it.

It’s like how a tiger uses its tail to attack; those without a tail cannot learn it.

While it cannot be learned, one can still draw inspiration from it.

Ancient martial arts had a form of boxing that imitated beasts as teachers.

Qiao Mu wondered if he could understand the secrets of the Kuafu tribe’s body well enough to use the Shape Changing Skill to mimic it and then perform the Kuafu tribe’s Sun Chasing Cultivation Method…

At this thought, Qiao Mu suddenly felt a stir in his heart and saw a figure in the distance, by a small hill.

There are almost no living beings in the Return Ruins; the Sky Piercing Water Spirit is an outsider like Qiao Mu. The only creature Qiao Mu encountered in the Return Ruins was the Luck Beast Di Ting from Fangcun Mountain.

Then Qiao Mu focused his eyes and saw that the figure was an old monk sitting cross-legged.

The old monk had an otherworldly air and a bit of a celestial quality, but at this moment, his eyes were tightly closed, and there was a wound in the center of his forehead, with blood flowing down both sides of his face.

He sat there motionless, his body slightly rising and falling, leaving one to wonder if he was alive or dead.

"Water spirit, please stay back."

Qiao Mu spoke to stop the Sky Piercing Water Spirit, who was also drawn to the figure.

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit was first taken aback, then saw Qiao Mu walking over alone and quickly understood:

"Just now, he was attacked by the frenzied Di Ting, and now he senses this might be a trap, so he plans to approach alone…"

"If a member of the Qiao family is an enemy, it is indeed frightening, but if they are an ally, they are quite reliable."

Qiao Mu stepped forward alone, carefully examining the old monk’s body.

Among the six masters of the Immortal Gate, there are several whom Qiao Mu has already seen.

Among those he has not seen, there are still the Supreme Elders of the Tongtian Sect and the Liangyi Sect.

Judging by the style of the robe this old man is wearing, he might be a master of the Liangyi Sect…

"A victim in the struggle for the chance to become immortal?"

The Nine Immortal Gates have never been friendly neighbors, but rather rivals and strong enemies fighting against each other.

With the chance to become immortal in front of them, all the great masters are competitors, and it is quite common for someone to fall at the hands of others.

"This person should be a cultivator at the Tao Achieving Stage, similar to the Great Dao Sect Patriarch Lingyuan."

As Qiao Mu’s mind stirred, he was about to closely examine the wound.

In an instant.

The old man’s body suddenly shone with a burst of lightning, exploding in a brightness as fierce as the sun.

In just an instant, it swallowed Qiao Mu’s figure.

In the distance, a faint laughter could be heard as a handsome young Taoist stepped out from the depths of the wilderness, smiling.

"A member of the Qiao family has indeed appeared… but you don’t seem surprised."

The young ancestor of the Long Life Gate is the one among all the ancestors of the Immortal Gate who is most interested in the Qiao family member.

Even Patriarch Qingmu and Patriarch Lingxu can endure the grudge of their sect’s destruction.

Only the young ancestor of the Long Life Gate, while still in the human realm of Jiu Province, did not hesitate to use his powers to kill a flesh clone of Qiao Mu.

"I have always been indifferent," Qiao Mu said as he stepped out of the burning light, his skin peeling away, and the fierce blood evaporating instantly in the extreme heat, leaving only mottled stains.

"But if I don’t step into this trap, how can I draw out the hidden hunter?"

Qiao Mu calmly said:

"The Lingxu of the Great Dao Sect, the Qingmu of Qingxuan Road, plus you… it seems they have all reached the Mahayana Stage, surpassing Ancestor Lingyuan from long ago."

"In these Return Ruins, there are at least three Mahayana cultivators, just waiting to catch you all."

Although Qiao Mu did not know the difference between Mahayana Stage and Tao Achieving Stage, after experiencing them all, he had an understanding.

"What a tough person." The young ancestor nodded slightly:

"But experiencing the taste of my Yangji Extinction Lightning is not enjoyable, is it?"

"Even if you step into a trap, how long can you hold on after that?"

The intense lightning was hard to bear; at this moment, Qiao Mu’s head was still buzzing, and his limbs had been struck through by a powerful current, with his skin charred and bones already twisted.

At the moment he stepped into the trap, Qiao Mu was already heavily injured.

Even though his body was filled with energy like the sea and he mastered the perfect Shape Changing Skill, Qiao Mu could still heal from a deadly injury that a normal martial artist could inflict.

But this healing still needed time.

Mastering the Shape Changing Skill does not mean one can ignore all injuries.

In front of the young ancestor of the Long Life Gate, this tiny difference in time could cost his opponent their life.

In the blink of an eye.

The young ancestor had already flashed forward to attack.

But to Qiao Mu’s surprise, he did not use the techniques of a Mahayana cultivator.

Instead, he used martial arts, something he was familiar with…

"Ripple Stacking Wave Strength·Triple Wave!"

In a breath, the immense true strength flowed around him three times and roared out with the punch of the young master.

Qiao Mu slightly widened his eyes.

Then, the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted a little.

According to tradition, this young master of the Long Life Gate is the creator of the Long Life Fist, and is the origin of the Qiao Family and Xue Family of Heyang City.

He has spent many years in the small world, and his martial arts skills are indeed very high.

If placed in the human world of Jiu Province, even without considering the incredible powers of a Mahayana cultivator, his martial arts, refined over years in the small world, would truly be top-notch.

After all, the Founding Emperor Yan of the human world only lived for about three hundred years, while his age and time spent practicing martial arts are hardly worth mentioning in front of this young master.

But if we talk about the years spent practicing martial arts… the level of skills…

In this world, who could even compare with him?

Even the founder of this martial art!

"Hua strength · The stars change places!"

Qiao Mu spun around, and as his hands moved, the roaring True strength surged and danced like rivers flowing into the sea at his fingertips.

"Return it as it is, Ripple Stacking Wave Strength · Fourfold Wave!"

True strength radiated from Qiao Mu’s body, and two forces alternated between light and dark, bursting forth.

The wild torrent of True strength from nearly twenty thousand years washed over like a great wave, making the young founder’s robe flutter without wind, forming a faint aura that surrounded him, swaying violently like a lonely boat in a storm.

"No worries, it’s just a test, and I never expected to face Qiao Yao, the strongest martial artist, relying solely on the skills of a mere mortal."

In the fierce torrent of True strength like a storm, the young founder reached out his hand.

Blood light shot forth, quickly transforming into a giant hand resembling a mountain, pressing down with great force.

In an instant, everything before him seemed to be covered by a red light, and even the raging flow of True strength was forcefully torn apart.

When the red light faded away.

The two stood in place, while the ruins between them crumbled little by little.

"No one has been able to withstand my Stacking Wave Strength head-on for many years," Qiao Mu said with a sharp gaze.

The Ripple Stacking Wave Strength, combined with his immense True strength that far exceeded ordinary martial artists, had taken down countless strong enemies along the way.

This move, a secret technique of the Long Life Fist, requires controlling an overwhelming amount of True strength that exceeds one’s limits, making it quite challenging.

This technique focuses on breaking through cleverness with sheer power, relying on a vast amount of True strength to build up and then overwhelming the enemy like a flood.

After personally engaging in battle… he gained some insight into Mahayana cultivators.

The young ancestor furrowed his brow slightly, feeling somewhat displeased.

Although he knew that relying only on his skills learned in the small world, it was unlikely he could defeat Qiao Yao, who could even kill a Tao Achieving Stage cultivator.

However, when he was defeated by Qiao Mu using his own created Long Life Fist, he felt unhappy inside.

It is important to know that he was not an ordinary cultivator, but the creator of Long Life Fist and the Xue family techniques.

For thousands of years, even though he stayed in the small world, his influence on the martial arts of the human world was very real.

This martial art in the human world, after reaching the 3rd rank, turns to Spiritual Refining Martial Art, which focuses on the intuition of spiritual refining.

Upon reaching the 3rd rank, his ability in spiritual refining could allow him to influence and manipulate objects outside, making flying knives curve, perceiving dangers with closed eyes, and using Eye Attacking Technique to harm others from a distance.

While Spiritual Refining Martial Art is indeed amazing, it shares a remarkable similarity with the arts of immortals and feels somewhat out of place with the martial arts of ordinary people below the 3rd rank.

If we dig deeper, not only the Qiao Family of Heyang City and the Xue family, but even the appearance of Spiritual Refining Martial Art in the human world has Long Life Gate quietly influencing it from behind.

So, to truly say…

The young master of Long Life Fist is not only the origin of Long Life Fist but also can be considered the source of human Spiritual Refining Martial Arts.

However, at this moment, the young master feels great fear in his heart.

In fact, when he created Long Life Fist, he left a small loophole that allows him to find out the true age of a Long Life Fist martial artist.

As long as a practitioner of Long Life Fist practices the Long Life Fist Sutra to the level of "unstoppable vitality," it becomes very difficult to determine their actual age.

Take Founding Emperor Yan and members of the Qiao family, for example; they appear like young people in their twenties, making it hard for outsiders to judge their true age.

Although the former leader of Long Life Gate had also tested Qiao Shuangtu’s age, now…..

"This punch must have over eighteen thousand years of power?" The young master frowned and shouted.

"Are you more than six thousand years older than Qiao Shuangtu, who is also known as unbeatable in the world?"

"Long Life Fist has only been around for a little over a thousand years…. What kind of beings are you members of the Qiao family? I am the master, and you are the master?"

"Correct! I am the true master of the Long Life Fist. I simply borrowed your hand to write the Long Life Fist Sutra!" Qiao Mu strode forward; his body had yet to heal from the heavy injury, but he moved swiftly.

"Aren’t you going to call out to the master?!"

"Oh, really?" The young master’s gaze turned cold.

Behind him, thousands of flashes of lightning spread like a peacock opening its feathers, filling half the sky in an instant, and then falling like a sudden rain.

He practiced martial arts to explore the path of longevity in a time of great calamity… so he had not stepped out into the world for many years. His martial skills were high, but his experience in real combat was lacking.

He had plenty of experience in fighting techniques but lacked practical fighting experience.

His strongest and most fundamental ability was still from the path of immortality rather than martial arts…

And when this Mahayana cultivator stopped testing and unleashed his full strength against Qiao Mu, who had been injured from the start by stepping into a trap,

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…

A loud rumbling sound filled the air, and in an instant, it swallowed Qiao Mu whole.

When the lightning faded, Qiao Mu was blackened all over, his bones completely shattered in the lightning’s embrace, collapsing to the ground with only a last breath remaining.

Meanwhile, the young master stepped forward.

He lifted Qiao Mu’s chin with one hand, a powerful force appearing at his fingertips.

Gasping for breath, Qiao Mu opened his eyes wide.

"Tao Tie Swallowing Heaven Skill?"

"Yes," the young master nodded.

"All the martial arts that appear in the world will become my nourishment for moving forward."

"Whether it is the Qiao family’s skills from Peach Blossom Villa or the Taotie Martial Art from the Wuji Association… if I, from Long Life Gate, want to collect them, it will naturally be easy."

"And this Taotie Swallowing Heaven Skill is indeed remarkable," said the young master.

"A thousand years ago, the Absorbing Energy Method was born in the martial world of Jiu Province. Since then, dozens of martial arts that absorb strength and take away others’ foundations have been created."

"The Taotie Swallowing Heaven Skill did not appear out of nowhere; it has advanced further than the similar dark arts that have come before in this era," the young master smiled and said.

"Its greatest and only flaw is… the mind."

"The martial artists of the world explore on their own, not knowing how to let go of attachment and desire, and cultivate a heart that cannot be shaken by time, like iron."

"But I, the old ancestor, have trained for a long time, and my heart is as strong as iron, so using the Taotie Swallowing Heaven Skill a few times is naturally no problem."

He lifted Qiao Mu’s chin and whispered:

"All the efforts and accumulation of the martial artists in the world are merely for others, helping me advance further."

However, at that moment, Qiao Mu, almost turned into a dried corpse, was laughing loudly.

"No wonder you are at this critical moment and still think about setting a trap to kill me… It turns out you know you are weak and cannot match the other Immortal Gate masters, so you have turned your plans toward me."

The young master did not reply, only waiting with a blank expression for Qiao Mu to finish laughing before he spoke softly.

"The level of cultivation is not an obstacle; arrogance is."

"The Spirit Void Taoist of the Great Dao Sect has reached the peak of the Mahayana Stage and is just one step away from becoming a True Immortal. If he continues to practice steadily, the others will naturally not be able to catch up."

"Taoist Qingmu of Qingxuan Road is also remarkable; he is the first to refine the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire and can be regarded as the source of incense in the world."

"Cultivators above the Tao Achieving Stage live in seclusion in the small world and do not need to involve themselves in worldly matters, allowing them to maintain their cultivation without decline… But he is different."

"The spiritual energy in the small world is not abundant; it only allows us to survive but cannot sustain the consumption of the dharma body. So whether at the Tao Achieving Stage or Mahayana Stage, none of us six have a dharma body…"

"Only Taoist Qingmu is different; his shrine in the temple of Qingxuan Road has his divine position! The incense spirit he has built up until now may be comparable to a Mahayana cultivator."

"Besides that, Taoist Tianshu of the Soul Predicting Path has also entered the Mahayana Stage. He is the best at divination in the world. Even if his level is slightly lower, he can still avoid danger and seek benefits; perhaps he will be the one who laughs last."

"A Mahayana cultivator, even in a cultivation world rich in spiritual energy, is a mighty figure in the Immortal path, capable of dominating a realm for tens of thousands of years."

"I am merely fortunate to have entered the Mahayana Stage, and I cannot match them in skills and cultivation. Compared to them, I am nothing but a withered bone in a grave, so I must be extra cautious."