When He Heng regained consciousness, he found himself in a dilapidated space, covered in dust, clearly abandoned for a long time. It was already night, and he could see the bright moonlight outside. It happened to be the fifteenth day of the lunar month, when the moonlight was at its best. Was this the end of his life?
The darkness here was slightly dispelled by a few dim candles, making it even more gloomy and blurry, adding an element of fear. He Heng had been immobilized by having his acupoints sealed and was thrown into a corner. He slightly opened his eyes and saw the black-clad woman, presumably from the Red Fire Demon Sect, sitting cross-legged in the center, meditating. Beside her was an ancient and enormous medicinal cauldron, large enough to fit several people.
He Heng observed that the black-clad woman looked somewhat disheveled, with several bandaged areas, and her face was extremely pale, indicating she was seriously injured.
"Right, Wang San's older brother isn't like that lazy Wang San. He's very dedicated to cultivation and quite talented. Although he's only in his early twenties, he's just a step away from the Three Peng Realm. For this woman to kill him in such a short time, she must have paid a huge price. And after tangling with the people from Linjiang Tower, her injuries must be even more severe. How should I say this..." He Heng felt a glimmer of hope and slowly gathered his internal energy, trying to break free from the sealed acupoints.
"Kid, don't waste your energy. Your acupoints are sealed with a secret technique unique to our Holy Sect. With your level of power, it's impossible to break free," a cold voice rang out just as He Heng was urgently circulating his energy to attack the acupoints. He Heng's heart sank, but he still stubbornly tried to circulate his internal energy. Indeed, all the acupoints in his body were as hard as rock, impossible to budge.
Seemingly aware of He Heng's actions, the black-clad woman let out a disdainful cold laugh.
"Big sister, what exactly do you want? I have no grudge against you, why did you kidnap me? I'm a member of the He family from Beigu, my father is He Baiyuan, with peak Dao Embryo cultivation. Our family's steward in Shuangjiang City has Yin Spirit cultivation. When he discovers I'm missing, he'll definitely come to rescue me," He Heng persisted, trying to negotiate by mentioning his background, hoping she might release him out of respect for the He family.
"Hmph, do you think my Red Fire Holy Sect would fear your He family? Ridiculous!" The woman showed no fear at all, coldly laughing as she looked at He Heng. "Kid, don't get your hopes up. No one will come to rescue you. This place is concealed by a special array from our Holy Sect. Not just a mere Yin Spirit cultivator, even Wang Panlong couldn't find it. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare stay here."
"So this place must not be far from Shuangjiang City," He Heng deduced from the demoness's words, but outwardly he feigned fear and continued to beg for mercy.
"Fairy, we have no past grudges or recent enmity. Why do you need to kill me? Why not let me go? I promise to repay you generously in the future. Think about it, killing me brings you no benefit, but instead makes an enemy of my He family. It's not worth it at all."
The woman ignored He Heng, but he continued, "Although my He family can't compare to the Red Fire Holy Sect, we're still one of the 72 noble families of the Nine Provinces. We have several old monsters who have condensed their Law Bodies, and we possess the clan's divine weapon, the Xuanpi Pearl. Many of our disciples cultivate in the Su Nü Dao, Huanyuan Dao, and Taiyi Sect. Your sect may be strong, but with your Three Peng Realm cultivation, you probably don't count for much there, and they might not protect you much. Why don't we become friends? Let me go, I promise..."
"Hmph, kid, you dare to befriend an evil demon like me? Aren't you afraid of being cut into a thousand pieces by those hypocritical Mystic Path cultivators when you return!" The demoness finally couldn't stand He Heng's endless chatter. A wave of killing intent directly pressed down on He Heng, frightening him into silence.
The demoness was very satisfied with He Heng's reaction and continued, "Kid, don't bother with those little schemes. I kidnapped you precisely because I know about your He family. As for your family's revenge? After I refine you into a great medicine to recover my injuries, and find that True Person's hidden treasure, I'll be able to awaken both Yin and Yang Spirits at once, entering the inner sect of the Holy Sect. By then, with the protection of our Holy Sect's elders, who could do anything to me!"
"True Person's hidden treasure, so that's why Wang Da died," He Heng drew in a cold breath. Having lived two lifetimes, totaling nearly a hundred years, he was quite astute. This demoness was now somewhat carried away and had revealed information to him in one go. But what he learned was truly shocking.
Based on the situation, Wang Da must have obtained something related to a True Person's hidden treasure, which this demoness from the Red Fire Demon Sect found out about, leading to his murder for the treasure.
The term "True Person" here was not like in He Heng's previous life, where any Daoist could be respectfully called a True Person. In this Great Celestial World, in the Nine Provinces, only the supreme masters of major Mystic Path sects, like the True Warrior Sect, Guanghan Dao, or Cangtianzong, at the peak level just below Pure Yang, qualified to be called True Persons. Even the ancestor who founded the He family, at his peak, was only at the True Person level of cultivation, despite the family's tens of thousands of years of heritage and status as one of the 72 noble families of the Nine Provinces.
A treasure left behind by such an existence was enough to cause a bloody storm. Even Dao Embryo Realm figures involved in this matter could easily perish if not careful, and even those who had condensed their Law Bodies would be tempted.
He Heng really couldn't imagine that this matter involved such an item. It was truly shocking. He pondered that knowing about this with his small status seemed like a recipe for disaster no matter how he looked at it.
However, thinking about these things now was useless. This demoness clearly had no intention of letting him go. The Red Fire Demon Palace was said to be the best sect in the demonic path for alchemy, and they were most skilled in refining pills using human blood and flesh. Was she planning to use him to refine pills?
At this point, He Heng also understood why he had been captured. This was a story that had to be told.
The reason was because of his identity as a member of the He family. The He family was quite famous among the noble families, but not for their strength. On the contrary, the He family cultivators were famously weak compared to others at the same level in the Nine Provinces, especially in later stages where the gap widened. For cultivators at He Heng's level, the difference wasn't noticeable yet, but generally by the Dao Embryo Realm, He family experts couldn't compare to those from any other ancient noble family at the same level. They were even weaker than many Dao Embryo Realm cultivators from lesser backgrounds, and this was even more pronounced at higher levels.
The root cause of this phenomenon stemmed from the He family's clan-protecting divine skill, the "Myriad Longevity Boundless Technique." This was the He family's supreme technique and the only True Person level technique in the clan, created by the first-generation ancestor of the He family. True to its name, it was said that when practiced to its peak, one could achieve boundless longevity, far surpassing others of the same level.
Generally speaking, cultivators' lifespans often increased with their cultivation level, and some divine pills and elixirs could also extend a cultivator's life. However, before attaining Pure Yang, cultivators had a great limit... they could not exceed ten thousand years!
So theoretically, the lifespan of a True Person Realm expert should be just over nine thousand years, but this was only in theory. In reality, most True Persons couldn't live to this age. Moreover, the path of cultivation was fiercely competitive, and those who could cultivate to the True Person level had all gone through countless hardships to reach the end. Who didn't have some hidden injuries? When young, with abundant vitality, it might not be noticeable, but in their later years, as their energy declined, it greatly affected their lifespan.
Therefore, generally speaking, most True Persons living to six or seven thousand years was already quite good. True Persons from demonic paths or sword cultivators had an average lifespan of around four thousand years. Those who could truly live beyond nine thousand years were extremely rare, usually from major sects with powerful divine medicines to support them.
However, the He family's ancestor, who started as a lone cultivator without any foundation, managed to live for nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years before perishing under the heavenly tribulation at the ten thousand-year limit. Otherwise, he might have continued living.
The reason he could live so long was due to this "Myriad Longevity Boundless Technique." It was said to be based on a mysterious partial scripture he obtained during a fortuitous encounter in his youth, which he later modified. With this, he achieved an ageless, long-living Dao Embryo and the Cyan Emperor Undying Law Body. Throughout his life, he faced countless enemies but survived due to his formidable vitality, finally attaining the True Person realm.
Logically, given the powerful vitality and longevity provided by the "Myriad Longevity Boundless Technique," it should qualify as a Pure Yang level divine technique. The reason it was still classified as a True Person level secret manual was due to a very frustrating characteristic: while providing powerful vitality, those who cultivated this technique saw a sharp decline in combat power, far weaker than others at the same level, at best able to bully those of lower realms.
He Heng had maliciously speculated before that the reason his family's first-generation ancestor managed to live until the ten thousand year limit, apart from his own sufficient lifespan, was also due to his low combat power. He didn't dare to go out and compete with others at the same level, thus avoiding many calamities and stubbornly living to the end.
It was precisely because of this frustrating characteristic of the He family's "Myriad Longevity Boundless Technique" that even though it was indeed outstanding in terms of longevity, not many coveted it. After all, those strong enough to seize this technique would certainly be top-tier experts with established reputations. Otherwise, although He family experts had lower combat power at the same level, they could still handle a few second or third-rate opponents. But those cultivators strong enough to not fear the He family would all have some enemies. How could such existences dare to weaken their own strength, giving others an opportunity?
So, for tens of thousands of years, the He family's inheritance hadn't faced any major problems.
Coming back to the point, it was precisely because of the powerful vitality characteristic of the He family's "Myriad Longevity Boundless Technique" that other techniques derived from it were also similar, with extremely vigorous vitality. Their blood and flesh were the best choice for refining pills, which was why He Heng had caught this demoness's eye.
And when refining pills using humans, it was generally most effective if they were alive, which was why He Heng was still alive.
"Well, no wonder she didn't kill me directly," He Heng tried hard to calm himself down. He couldn't panic; he had to find a glimmer of hope for survival.
"Kid, your eyes are darting around. Are you thinking about how to escape? Don't bother, you're about to become a pill soon," the demoness said coldly as she lit a fire under the medicinal cauldron, looking at He Heng. Suddenly, she struck the back of He Heng's head.
"Haha, now that you're unconscious, I don't have to worry about what schemes you're plotting," was the last thing He Heng heard before he fell into darkness. In his hazy state, he saw an ancient book with myriad Daos intertwined, shining with nine-colored light, seemingly connected to countless worlds. It seemed to have endless pages inside, and on its nine-colored cover were four ancient seal characters: Treasure Mirror of All Heavens!
Under a dim light, it opened, revealing a light red page radiating infinite light, with four characters written on it... Dragon Snake Romance!