Three hundred years …
Although Mo Tiange had long guessed that Ren Yufeng had taken Look-Preserving Pills or a cultivation technique that had the effect of preserving his youth, she still didn't expect him to actually be three hundred years old already.
What kind of age was 300 years old to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could only live to 300 years old. Middle-stage and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could live up to 400 years if they took good care of themselves.
However, four hundred years was only the upper limit. Most of them would die before reaching that age.
If what Ren Yufeng said was true, he indeed wasn't young anymore. It could be said that he already had one foot in the grave.
For cultivators, the younger they were, the better it was.
For example, in the Foundation Establishment Realm, the elite disciples of sects would generally be able to advance in their thirties, and the weaker ones would be able to advance in their fifties. If they still couldn't advance in their fifties, then they would be no different from ordinary disciples.
As for ordinary disciples, they usually reached the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of 100. If they passed the age of 100, their chances of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would be greatly reduced.
It was the same for Core Formation. Before the age of two hundred was the best period for Core Formation. After two hundred years old, the difficulty of Core Formation would increase greatly.
If Ren Yufeng was already three hundred years old and his original aptitude was very ordinary, it was no wonder other people thought he couldn't form his Gold Core.
It wasn't that there weren't cultivators who could reach Core Formation before 300 years old, but the probability was much lower than that of young cultivators under 200 years old. If they didn't come across a fortuitous encounter, it would be very difficult for them to break through.
Once cultivators passed this period, they would be considered old. Reaching old age was the sorrow of cultivators.
Ren Yufeng stared at the void in front of him then said slowly, "Do you think I'm very arrogant because I'm proud?
If I am not arrogant and proud, who will respect me?
Even this woman, whose cultivation is far below mine, can look down on me! "
His face revealed a vicious expression as he glared at Xia Houyuan, who was about to lose her breath.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Xiahou Yuan already couldn't move. Qiu Zhiming was already dumbfounded. As for Ren Yufeng, his expression was fierce, but he was also staring at the sky in loneliness.
Mo Tiange quietly watched them from inside the Virtual Sky World.
The path of cultivation was cruel. Everything was determined by one's cultivation level. No matter how much of a genius you were at the beginning, if you couldn't break through, you would be laughed at by others.
However, she didn't feel the slightest bit of affection for Ren Yufeng.
How could he be the only cultivator who had entered old age?
Those Aura Refining cultivators who were trapped in the Aura Refining realm their entire lives, unable to advance even the slightest bit, and in the end, exhausted their lifespans in a little more than a hundred years, were thousands of times more pitiful than him, but so what?
So many people in the Cultivation World had come through this way.
In fact, Ren Yufeng's cultivation level was already in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm, and he was also accepted by a Core Formation cultivator as his disciple. Aside from these elite disciples who had backers, which ordinary disciple would look down on him?
Just like Jiang Shanghang, he didn't dare to be disrespectful in the slightest in front of this Senior Martial Brother Ren. There were so many people traveling with them, so Xiahou Yuan definitely wasn't the only elite disciple.
So what if you gossip behind my back?
If a cultivator didn't even have this bit of breadth of mind, how could he form his Gold Core?
Ren Yufeng most likely hadn't made any progress for many years, so his mental state had long entered a demonic barrier. Even if he reached the peak stage of the Foundation Building realm, he still wouldn't succeed in forming his Gold Core.
"Senior Brother Ren …" Qiu Zhiming finally caught his breath and said, "Are you really not willing to let me go?"
Ren Yufeng's cold gaze swept over him. "What else do you want to say?"
Qiu Zhiming, who had lost all hope, lowered his head, looking dispirited. But after a while, he seemed to feel a glimmer of hope again, so he stood up and said hurriedly, "Junior Martial Brother Tang and Junior Martial Brother Jiang already escaped. They'll definitely report this to the school. At that time, a Nascent Soul grandmaster will definitely come out to clean up the school. Senior Martial Brother Ren, even if you kill me, you won't be able to block the news!"
Upon hearing what he said, Mo Tiange, who was inside the Virtual Sky World, heaved a sigh of relief. At least Jiang Shanghang and Tang Fang escaped.
"Who said I wanted to block the news?"
Ren Yufeng cast him a contemptuous glance. "In a moment, I'll close the entrance to the underground palace. Once I've completely absorbed the divine dragon's breath, what can a Nascent Soul grandmaster do?"
"…" Qiu Zhiming was silent. He never expected Ren Yufeng to be so confident in his own strength.
Ren Yufeng stretched out his hand, playing with a mass of black aura in his hand. He looked Qiu Zhiming up and down as if he was considering where to attack.
Upon seeing Ren Yufeng's behavior, Qiu Zhiming's complexion became paler and paler, and he started to tremble violently.
Nevertheless, Ren Yufeng didn't throw that mass of black aura out. He paused for a long time before he suddenly heaved a sigh. "Junior Martial Brother Qiu, I really don't want to kill you so soon. If I kill you, nobody will talk to me anymore."
What Ren Yufeng said made Qiu Zhiming's eyes brighten. "Senior Martial Brother Ren, let me go! Let me go!
I promise I'll listen to you; at the very least, I can keep you company. "
Ren Yufeng's expression didn't change. He didn't have any intention of letting him go, but he also didn't kill him right away. In the end, he withdrew the mass of black aura in his hand. "Forget it, I'll keep you alive for a while.
However, you shouldn't be happy too early. I'm only letting you go for now; whenever I want to take your life, you'll still have to die! "
Although it was only for now, Qiu Zhiming heaved a huge sigh of relief. He said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Ren, for not killing me. Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Ren …"
Ren Yufeng waved his hand and said coldly, "Take care of this woman's corpse. I'm going to close the entrance to the underground palace." In the end, he said with a warning, "If you're not obedient, I'll take your life right away!"
Qiu Zhiming naturally promised him again and again. Ren Yufeng then turned around and left.
When Ren Yufeng left his line of sight, the smile on Qiu Zhiming's face disappeared. He sat down with a lifeless expression.
He just sat there expressionlessly for a while, as if he still hadn't adapted to the change in his identity.
As he thought about it, he suddenly laid his head on his lap and burst into tears.
A tall and strong man curled up into a ball and wailed loudly like this — it was hard to say whether this scene was funny or pitiful.
Qiu Zhiming was very innocent. In fact, he didn't do anything wrong. It could even be said that he was caught by Ren Yufeng because he ran away with Yu Xiaoran.
Now, only Jiang Shanghang and Tang Fang escaped, while the ones who were caught were Qiu Zhiming and Xiahou Yuan. Yu Xiaoran was most likely already dead, and he himself also couldn't escape this calamity.
How much better was being alive for the time being than being dead?
This was an unknown underground palace. The scenery of the Land of Hiding Dragon changed every year. Things from one year couldn't be kept for the next year, so who knew where they would be next year?
Not to mention next year, who knew when Ren Yufeng would suddenly be in a bad mood and want to kill him?
Even if Ren Yufeng didn't kill him, this was underwater. Foundation Building cultivators couldn't create a waterproof barrier on their own. Even if he was a cultivator and could survive underwater, there was still a time limit.
One Bubble Fruit could only last for one day, so he only had a few dozen of them with him at most. Soon after he used them, he would still die …
The more Qiu Zhiming thought about it, the more sorrowful he felt, so he simply cried to his heart's content.
Mo Tiange quietly watched this man who had already collapsed. She didn't do anything.
She could take advantage of this moment to bring Qiu Zhiming into the Virtual Sky World, but Qiu Zhiming was missing and there was only one passage in this underground palace. What would she do if Ren Yufeng became suspicious?
She had no idea what kind of ability Ren Yufeng had after obtaining the divine dragon's breath.
Besides, this person was so weak. Even if she saved him, his willpower had already collapsed, so he didn't have any future.
Qiu Zhiming didn't know that during this period of time, he had just brushed past the path of survival.
He cried for a while, but as if he sensed something, he hastily stood up and cleaned up Xiahou Yuan's corpse. Xiahou Yuan had been entangled by that mass of black aura for a long time, and the waterproof barrier had long been destroyed, so she was submerged in the water, practically drowning to death bit by bit.
After burning Xiahou Yuan's corpse with his Dantian Real Fire, Ren Yufeng came in. He seemed very satisfied with Qiu Zhiming's obedience, so he didn't say anything. He directly walked towards the stone platform next to the square and sat down cross-legged.
This stone platform was where the dragon's foot was placed. Ren Yufeng sat on the dragon's palm bone.
He seemed to be regulating his breath. Mo Tiange saw the black aura surging on his body, and gradually, the divine dragon's breath on the dragon's bones also slowly flowed towards him.
Qiu Zhiming watched this scene in a daze. He was already intimidated by Ren Yufeng's means and didn't dare to make any movements.
But Mo Tiange was different. She carefully observed every detail of Ren Yufeng's cultivation.
The divine dragon's breath didn't produce devil aura; perhaps she could find the answer from the details of Ren Yufeng's cultivation.
After watching for a long time, Mo Tiange's eyes suddenly lit up.
She discovered something: Ren Yufeng looked like he was absorbing the divine dragon's breath, but the divine dragon's breath only flowed towards him slowly, and the divine dragon's breath on the dragon's bones didn't decrease in the slightest!
What did this mean?
At the very least, it meant that the breath on Ren Yufeng's body wasn't the divine dragon's breath!
But if it wasn't the divine dragon's breath, what could it be?
Mo Tiange couldn't figure it out. After thinking for a long time, she could only be sure that the so-called divine dragon secret technique Ren Yufeng used to make him the son of the divine dragon was either fake or completely wrong!
If the method he used to absorb the divine dragon's breath was wrong, then what was going on now?
Mo Tiange didn't have the slightest clue about these questions, so she could only helplessly give up.
Instead of thinking about these questions, she might as well think about what she should do next.
She was naturally safe inside the Virtual Sky World, but that was all. She couldn't stay inside for the rest of her life.
Of course, she could use all kinds of spiritual panaceas to slowly cultivate inside the Virtual Sky World, but without any progress in her mental state, the danger of realm-breakthroughs would be too great. Who knew how long it would take for her to grow strong enough to fight against Ren Yufeng?
What if Ren Yufeng's evil technique also made realm-breakthroughs very quickly?
Mo Tiange sat inside the small hut inside the Virtual Sky World and pondered for a long time. All of a sudden, she had a flash of inspiration.
Right! How could she forget that Ren Yufeng made a Heart Demon Oath to her that he'd let her leave safely?
Nevertheless, this thought only flashed in her mind for a second before Mo Tiange became discouraged again.
For cultivators of the Righteous Path, a Heart Demon Oath was a very important oath because Inner Demons were the biggest obstacle to realm-breakthroughs for cultivators, but Devil Path cultivators didn't have this restriction.
If Ren Yufeng had already turned into a devil cultivator, then a Heart Demon Oath wouldn't have any effect on him because devil cultivators didn't need to experience Inner Demons to make realm-breakthroughs.
Things were back to square one. How could she leave?
In the end, Mo Tiange sighed and muttered to herself, "Forget it. If I can't leave, I'll just treat it as if I'm in Closed Door Meditation here. Maybe it won't take several decades before Ren Yufeng makes a mistake in his own cultivation. At that time …"
Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside, followed by Qiu Zhiming's panicked voice. "Senior Martial Brother Ren, what's wrong?"
Mo Tiange looked up and saw that Ren Yufeng had finished his cultivation. He was now sitting on the high platform with a gloomy expression. Qiu Zhiming was sitting not far from him with blood on the corner of his mouth. It seemed … he was thrown out by Ren Yufeng.
Ren Yufeng cast a contemptuous glance at Qiu Zhiming. "What? Do you want me to make a mistake in my cultivation?"
Sensing the killing intent in his words, Qiu Zhiming hastily shook his head. "Of course not, I'm just worried …"
"Worried about me?" Ren Yufeng sneered. "It'd be strange if you were worried about me!
You'll only survive if something happens to me! "
Qiu Zhiming couldn't refute him. He just lowered his head and said nothing.
Ren Yufeng "hmphed" coldly. "Don't be delusional. I won't die, and you don't need to expect those old guys to come and save you. This underground palace can't be opened without a special technique.
We were only able to come in because the divine dragon's breath inside was attracted by the divine dragon monument, so an entrance was opened.
Now, only the dragon's breath is left on the dragon bones, so those old guys can't come in even if they die! "
Once he finished talking, Ren Yufeng stood up and walked down the high platform. "What a pity! That Xuanqing School's Ye Xiaotian ran away!
That woman has a lot of treasures; it'd be great if we could get our hands on them … "
Qiu Zhiming looked up and said hesitantly, "That Junior Martial Sister Ye …" He suddenly stopped halfway, as if he didn't know whether he should say it or not.
"What?" Ren Yufeng glanced at him. "If you have something to say, just say it!"
Since Ren Yufeng spoke, Qiu Zhiming hastily said, "I didn't see that Junior Martial Sister Ye go out at all. Our Zhengfa Sect cultivators use the Water Escaping Technique in the water, so our speed is much faster than hers. There's no reason she could escape faster than me."
Ren Yufeng curled his lips. "You're too naive!
That Ye Xiaotian has a lot of treasures; who knows if she has one or two treasures that could help her escape? "
He then sighed and said, "That woman not only has a lot of treasures, but her cultivation level is also high. Judging from her age … I reckon she's not even eighty years old — I'm afraid she's even a bit younger."
Qiu Zhiming didn't understand and stared at Ren Yufeng in confusion.
Ren Yufeng frowned impatiently. "So stupid!
Do you remember how old Jiang Shuihan is?
I think he's only about fifty years old, right?
Ye Xiaotian's cultivation level is obviously higher than his, but he keeps calling her Junior Martial Sister Ye. Obviously, Ye Xiaotian's younger than him! "
Jiang Shuihan was Jiang Shanghang's current name.
Although this Ren Yufeng has an eccentric temper and a cruel personality, he's not stupid — he actually knows how to calculate her age.
Qiu Zhiming was taken aback by what Ren Yufeng said. "Less than fifty years old?
This … Junior Martial Sister Ye's already in the peak of the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm!
She must've come out to gain experience so she can advance to the late stage. If she succeeds, wouldn't that mean … "
Reaching the late stage of the Foundation Building realm at fifty years old was indeed a bit shocking. Even geniuses, as many people called them, couldn't achieve this.
Ren Yufeng snorted. "You're too naive!
Don't forget that she came from Xuanqing School. Xuanqing School's current strength isn't inferior to Tiandao Sect's. If it produces one or two Nascent Soul cultivators within a hundred years, it'll surpass Tiandao Sect and become the number one cultivation group in the Celestial Pole!
It's different from Tiandao Sect. Tiandao Sect has the most people, so it also has a lot of Nascent Soul cultivators.
Xuanqing School is famous for producing genius cultivators. The current late stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Lord Daoist Zhenyang, and Lord Daoist Miaoyi, who advanced two hundred years ago, both succeeded in forming their Nascent Souls at the age of two or three hundred.
In the Core Formation realm, there are also cultivators like Master Daoist Lingxi and Master Daoist Shoujing who advanced to the Nascent Soul realm around a hundred years old and are very likely to advance to the Nascent Soul realm before two hundred years old.
Do you think it's impossible? "
"But …" Qiu Zhiming was still confused. "Junior Martial Brother Jiang clearly said that when they met, Junior Martial Sister Ye was still an individual cultivator. Aren't cultivation geniuses nurtured by the school since they were young?"
"Do you think they didn't miss it?"
Ren Yufeng's face was full of disdain. "Among individual cultivators, the method of testing spiritual roots isn't complete. Maybe they simply didn't test this Junior Martial Sister Ye's real aptitude.
Besides, the fact that she could enter Xuanqing School already shows that her aptitude isn't bad. Xuanqing School isn't our Zhengfa Sect. In the northernmost area, anyone with spiritual roots can join. In a large cultivation group like Xuanqing School, they even pick cultivators with three spiritual roots! "
Qiu Zhiming didn't say anything.
Although Ren Yufeng's temperament wasn't good, he couldn't compare to him in terms of intelligence.
Besides, whether Mo Tiange was a genius or not didn't have much to do with him. In any case, Mo Tiange wouldn't save him.
"This Ye Xiaotian is Lord Daoist Xuanyin's disciple. Even though Lord Daoist Xuanyin hadn't formed his Nascent Soul when she accepted him as her master, how could a late stage Core Formation cultivator casually accept a disciple?
Besides, she herself said she hadn't built her foundation when she entered Xuanqing School, but she advanced from the Aura Refining realm to the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm in just a dozen or so years. With this kind of cultivation speed, how could she not be a genius? "
Ren Yufeng paused for a moment then shook his head and said with a sigh, "What a pity. Such a young middle stage Foundation Building female cultivator … If I could use her as a Human Furnace, it would definitely be very good …" As if he was imagining some scenes, evil aura appeared in his eyes.
Inside the Virtual Sky World, Mo Tiange, who saw this scene, slammed her palm on the table!
Ever since she entered Xuanqing School, she had never seen anyone who wanted to use her as a Human Furnace!
Human Furnaces were heretical, and Xuanqing School was an orthodox Dao school. Dao schools advocated purity of heart and few desires, so the path of plucking wasn't suitable for them. At most, it was only Dual Cultivation.
Besides, as soon as she entered the school, she became Lord Daoist Jinghe's registered disciple, so no one really dared to use her as a Human Furnace, not even if they wanted to!
Outside, Qiu Zhiming looked at Ren Yufeng with trepidation, not daring to say anything.
After thinking for a while, Ren Yufeng regained his composure and shook his head regretfully. "I actually let her escape.
Hmph!
I really want to know what it's like to humiliate this kind of proud son of heaven!
But it's not like I don't have a chance. When I finish practicing the divine dragon secret technique and my cultivation level improves greatly, I'll go to Kunwu. Maybe I'll run into her!
Hahahaha … "
Inside the Virtual Sky World, Mo Tiange was furious upon seeing Ren Yufeng's arrogant behavior!
Zhengfa Sect was also a Dao school, so it also didn't advocate the path of plucking. This Ren Yufeng became this shameless just because he obtained the divine dragon secret technique — his heart must've been very dirty in the past!
Looking at Ren Yufeng's evil smile outside, Mo Tiange suddenly felt uncomfortable when she thought he might be fantasizing about her. She really wanted to slap that hateful face then chop him into pieces!
After taking several deep breaths, she finally calmed down and sat down again.
Thinking about this now was useless. If she wanted to kill Ren Yufeng, she had to think about it carefully.
In fact, compared to Ren Yufeng, it wasn't like she didn't have any advantages.
First of all, she could eat medicinal pills inside the Virtual Sky World, and the spiritual aura was very abundant — it was an excellent cultivating environment. She'd suppressed her cultivation level for several years, so it wouldn't be a problem for her to advance to the late stage of the Foundation Building realm now. It was just that there was some danger in advancing to the Core Formation realm, but it didn't mean there was no chance.
Secondly, the origin of Ren Yufeng's cultivation technique was strange — who knew what the consequences would be?
Cultivation techniques from the Devil Path made it easier for her to suffer from aura deviation, and Ren Yufeng had a demonic barrier since a long time ago. Maybe he'd make a mistake in his cultivation, and he'd just give up.
Lastly, Ren Yufeng didn't know she was inside the Virtual Sky World, so she could definitely look for an opportunity to sneak attack him!
Mo Tiange thought about all these things again and again.
In the end, Mo Tiange decided that before she came up with a better idea, she'd just cultivate here. She believed that if she just wanted to waste time, Ren Yufeng wouldn't be able to defeat her.
Because she, who had taken Longevity Pills, had at least eight hundred years left to live.