System Granted Me Immortality; I Outlived Everyone

Chapter 16: Hundred Defeats Immortal Venerable, Crisis at the Border

Listening to Chen Changsheng’s explanation, Yuanshan suddenly spoke up. “Big Brother Changsheng, since that Senior left behind his legacy here…”

“…why aren’t there any trials guarding it? Wasn’t he worried some random passerby would just snatch up his life’s work?”

“Who said there’s no trial? The entire Boundless Secret Realm is the trial.”

“It’s called ‘Boundless’ for a reason—this place is virtually infinite.”

“It opens once every fifty years, and it’s been sitting here since the very dawn of the Daqian Dynasty.”

“Over a millennium has passed, yet the treasures within remain unexhausted.”

“Faced with an inexhaustible mountain of gold, who would waste their time looking at a pretty but utterly useless sea of flowers?”

“We pursue Cultivation to seek the Dao. Some seek the Martial Dao, others seek the Dao of Longevity.”

“Regardless of the path, the most crucial element is not losing yourself to external temptations.”

“But look at the fools who entered this realm today. Every single one is blinded by greed. Who among them even remembers why they started cultivating in the first place?”

“Why would someone who has forgotten their own heart ever stop to admire a bed of flowers?”

Yuanshan nodded slowly, only half-understanding the weight of those words.

“Big Brother Changsheng, what was this Senior’s name?”

“No idea. It isn’t written here. Let’s pry it open; maybe there are clues inside.”

“Alright!”

The prospect of cracking open an ancient tomb instantly chased away Yuanshan’s timidity.

Rumble—

With a teeth-setting scrape of stone on stone, the two of them managed to push the heavy lid open just a crack.

As the gap widened, a blinding pillar of light erupted from the darkness within, swallowing them whole before Yuanshan could even peek inside.

……

The violent vertigo eventually faded, dumping Chen Changsheng and Yuanshan into a vast, blank white expanse.

Standing dead center in this void was a man with blurred features, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

“To seize this Fated Chance proves you have not yet been corrupted by the material world.”

“My martial apex lay in the fist. This stance contains my life’s comprehension. I expect my successors to treasure it.”

Without waiting for a response, the phantom began to move, smoothly flowing through a martial routine.

The physical movements were utterly simplistic, yet every strike and shift in posture resonated with an indescribable, earth-shattering rhythm.

The brief demonstration concluded quickly, and the phantom spoke once more.

“This technique discards form. It relies entirely on intent.”

“In my twilight years, I faced nine adversaries. I threw nine punches. Nine men fell.”

The blank white void warped instantly, dropping the phantom onto the jagged peak of a towering mountain.

Surrounding him were nine shadowy silhouettes radiating terrifying, suffocating pressure.

The solitary figure on the peak slowly drew back his fist. The strike was agonizingly sluggish.

Yet the sheer force of it pulverized the surrounding mountains and instantly vaporized the rivers below.

Chen Changsheng and Yuanshan were struck mute, staring slack-jawed at the apocalyptic clash.

The phantom threw nine consecutive punches, each one steeped in a completely different, devastating martial intent.

The sheer profundity of that realm was lightyears beyond anything Chen Changsheng and his Junior Brother could currently comprehend.

As the final echo of combat faded, the illusion shattered, returning them to the blank white expanse.

“To my successors: you may lose a bout, but you must never lose your momentum.”

“When you throw a punch, it must be with the absolute intent to shatter your opponent’s very soul.”

The stark white space began to fracture like brittle glass, and the phantom’s outline started to blur into mist.

The crumbling domain snapped Chen Changsheng out of his stupor.

He immediately cupped his hands in a formal salute. “May I ask for Senior’s esteemed title?”

The fading, mechanical phantom seemed to regain a fleeting spark of true consciousness at the question.

“The world called me the Hundred Defeats Immortal Venerable.”

“Thank you, Immortal Venerable, for bestowing this Fated Chance. What is the name of this fist technique?”

“In my hands, it is my technique. In your hands, it is yours.”

“Therefore, the technique is nameless.”

With that final word, the Hundred Defeats Immortal Venerable scattered into dust, depositing Chen Changsheng and Yuanshan back into the fragrant sea of flowers.

Taking in the familiar scenery, Chen Changsheng felt as though he had just woken from a deeply surreal dream.

“Big Brother Changsheng, I formed my Golden Core!”

Chen Changsheng turned sharply to see Yuanshan practically vibrating with excitement, openly flaring his newfound cultivation base.

Witnessing the boy skip cleanly from mid-stage Foundation Establishment straight into the Golden Core realm, Chen Changsheng hurriedly inspected his own spiritual sea.

His previous bottleneck at the ninth layer of Qi Refining was completely gone. He had silently skyrocketed to Foundation Establishment Perfection.

He was barely a paper’s width away from forming his own Golden Core.

“Big Brother Changsheng, what just happened? How did I condense my core in less than an hour?”

Chen Changsheng gave a faint smile. “It wasn’t an hour. We spent at least two months in there.”

“Two months?! Really?”

“Absolutely. Think about it. When we excavated this coffin, we trampled half the flowerbed.”

“But look around. The blossoms have entirely regrown.”

“The Boundless Secret Realm is overflowing with Spiritual Qi, sure, but it would still take a solid month or two of natural growth to hide the damage.”

Yuanshan swept his gaze across the pristine turf, realizing his senior brother was entirely correct.

“The illusion of a short timeframe stems from the Immortal Venerable’s overwhelming cultivation realm. It completely warped our perception of time.”

“Furthermore, while the Immortal Venerable was demonstrating his technique, our bodies were unconsciously mirroring his movements, cycling our Qi in tandem.”

“With an entity of that caliber forcefully guiding our martial intent, it would be a miracle if our realms didn’t skyrocket.”

“So that’s how it works!”

“Wait, if we lost two months in there, doesn’t that mean we’re getting kicked out of the secret realm soon?”

“Any day now. The Boundless Secret Realm’s operational window is exactly five months.”

“We wasted two and a half months playing vintner, and soaking in the Immortal Venerable’s martial intent burned through another two.”

“We need to pack up immediately. The spatial ejection could hit us any second.”

With that said, Chen Changsheng jogged over to the makeshift wooden shed he’d erected. Ten jars of his painstakingly brewed Hundred Flower Wine were still sitting inside.

……

Fwosh!

The massive stone altar vibrated violently as the black void unceremoniously vomited countless figures back into reality.

Some of the returnees looked ecstatic. Others looked miserable, and many carried eyes completely bloodshot with murderous hostility.

However, the atmosphere rapidly shifted as everyone realized something was horribly wrong.

The towering sect elders who had seen them off were completely missing. Only a sparse handful of disciples remained to receive the survivors.

“Sixth Senior Brother, why are you the only one here? Where’s Master? Where’s Eldest Senior Brother?”

Sixth Senior Brother offered Chen Changsheng a strained, brittle smile.

“The border is in critical danger. Master and Eldest Senior Brother deployed to the frontlines two months ago.”

“It looks like both of you managed a substantial harvest, though. At least that sets my mind at ease.”

“For the foreseeable future, the two of you are entirely in charge of the Shangqing Temple. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

Without waiting for a response, Sixth Senior Brother immediately took off via Sword Riding, streaking towards the horizon.

Chen Changsheng stared at the streak of light fading into the distance, his brows knit tightly together.

Sixth Senior Brother was notoriously level-headed. For him to act with such frantic urgency… what the hell had happened at the border?

A weary sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head.

Aside from agonizing over the safety of his Master and Senior Brothers, he was now plagued by worry for a naive little monk and a certain stubborn girl.

……