Chapter 20 - 15 Lament

Words : 2053 Updated : Sep 26th, 2025

Chapter 20 of "Exploring Immortality Cultivation" kicks off revealing: Ye Chang had been certain of his victory, having seen Li Ziye powerless to recover,... Find out what’s next!

Ye Chang had been certain of his victory, having seen Li Ziye powerless to recover, his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. When mana fluctuations suddenly appeared behind him, his reaction was unexpectedly slow by half a beat. "Mana fluctuations? What's going on? How could this kid break free from my bindings!" Caught off guard, Ye Chang couldn't help but look back. What caught his sight were three fierce beams of red light smashing right into his face! "Not good! This kid wants to kill himself!" Ye Chang had fought more than one duel with modern cultivators, and naturally recognized this Flame Explosion Talisman—it was commonly used among them. While the talisman posed no threat to him, it could easily kill Wang Qi, a Qi Cultivation Early Stage practitioner. If Wang Qi died, Li Ziye would have no more concerns! With a finger technique, Ye Chang's mana turned into a golden light, aiming to nullify the power of the Flame Explosion Talisman. At the same time, his mind raced, speculating in dark amusement, "He actually unlocked part of his mana without my noticing? An immortal artifact? No, he couldn't use one... Could he have learned that Forbidden Breaking Technique from Luofu Xuanqing Palace, which manipulates thirty-seven streams of mana at once? What a joke! That method, apart from countering my Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao's seals, is utterly useless and exceedingly complicated; was he so bored as to practice it!" The Flame Explosion Talisman was indeed largely neutralized by Ye Chang, yet the residual shock still caused Wang Qi's chest to shudder. Without hesitation, he activated the remaining talismans in his left hand. The double mist barrier separated Ye Chang's mana, instantly relieving Wang Qi's body, and his lost mana was fully restored! Additionally, the healing talisman transformed into a warm flow, coursing through his body along with the orange mist enhancing physical abilities, making Wang Qi feel as though he was brimming with vigor! Wang Qi didn't dare delay; the moment he landed, he ran away from Ye Chang. Driven by the power of the talismans, his speed far exceeded the limit of an early-stage Qi Cultivation practitioner, quickly distancing him by dozens of meters. "Damn it!" Ye Chang exclaimed in horror. If this kid escaped, he would not only lose the clue to the immortal artifact and the inheritance of the ancient method, but also his hostage to control Li Ziye. He instinctively raised his hand to cast a capturing spell, but then a hand swept under his armpit, landing on his left acupoint, forcing his arms a bit higher, causing his spell to miss Wang Qi entirely. "You're finished," Li Ziye said with a smile. His usually gentle face, now smeared with blood, looked rather ferocious. He beckoned with one hand, and the Heavenly Sword Box began to shake violently. Ye Chang realized that the seal he had set was breaking, and he was instantly filled with dread. Li Ziye, having deciphered the intricacies of the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao's cultivation, would not give Ye Chang another chance to capture Wang Qi, and with the Heavenly Sword unsealed, he was destined to lose! "Cursed, cursed, cursed..." Panic flooded Ye Chang's mind as thoughts of fleeing continuously flashed through. But he understood that with the Heavenly Sword's unsealing imminent, turning his back would simply present a huge vulnerability to Li Ziye. Moreover, even if he managed to escape by luck, the stronghold of the ancient method practitioners would be exposed. What awaited him then would be a fate worse than death! So, am I doomed now? Doomed? Doomed... Once the thought of despair emerged, it could no longer be restrained and took root in the mind of this Nascent Soul Cultivator, spreading rapidly! Li Ziye sensed the dramatic shift in his opponent's aura and internally cursed. He had pushed too hard, driving his opponent into a corner while the opponent still had significant strength left! This aura was clearly that of a desperation method, where one trades their life for a devastating attack aimed for mutual destruction! "Ooooo... hahaha... kid, you forced my hand!" Ye Chang bellowed, "Heavenly Demon Blood Release Technique!" Wang Qi, lying on the ground, struggled to stand but spat out a mouthful of blood due to his injuries. "Truly out of luck... ugh... I've never been this badly wounded in both my lives combined," Wang Qi sighed and simply turned over, channeling the residual mana within his body to heal. It was only then did he have a chance to observe his surroundings. At this moment, the moon was setting in the west, and the morning light was faint. With the dawn's light, Wang Qi barely made out that he was on a plain to the west of Dabai Village. "He fled fast," Wang Qi, his mind somewhat drifting, unexpectedly envied the divine skills of higher-level cultivators, "this time, it's truly embarrassing. Alright, old man Zhen Chan was right, I need to schedule some combat skill training... from tomorrow onwards—right, the old man!" He tapped his jade ring with his spiritual sense, "Old man, stop sleeping at your age, wake up already." After a while, Zhen Chan's voice finally reemerged in Wang Qi's mind, "So soon?" Wang Qi paused then asked, "What's so soon?" "You broke the seal that quickly?" Zhen Chan sounded incredulous, "That method couldn't be mastered without half a month of bitter practice. I thought, given your aptitude, you might grasp it in three to five days. It was also possible for that Li Ziye and that junior Nascent Soul to duel for three to five days..." Modeling abilities help in learning spells... why would someone who always meets high trees want to learn spells! Wang Qi internally ridiculed, then suddenly his expression changed, "Right, just now a blast from behind knocked me down. Now I'm about a hundred yards from where Li Ziye and the others were fighting, and at the time, I still had two protective talismans on me. With such power, the battle must have concluded, right? Can you use your spiritual sense to check?" Zhen Chan pondered for a moment, "It was just the aftermath that swept over... with such power, I'm afraid both used life-consuming techniques to fight to the death. Let me check." After speaking, the jade ring warmed slightly as Zhen Chan's Mahayana Realm spiritual sense swiftly surged in all directions. "It appears to be a mutual destruction..." "What?" Wang Qi exclaimed in shock, struggling to stand. "Hey, what are you doing? Sit down and heal!" Wang Qi grunted and didn't respond. "Your current injuries, if your internal organs are shocked again, you really could die!" Wang Qi inquired, "What's the situation over there right now?" "Listen when people are speaking..." Wang Qi intensified his tone, "What's the situation over there?" Reluctantly, Zhen Chan responded, "That Nascent Soul ancient method practitioner is gone without a trace, seems like they used the Heavenly Demon Blood Release Technique or a similar life-consuming method for mutual destruction. Li Ziye... his life force is extinguished, even at my peak, I couldn't save him." Wang Qi continued moving, "If I can't even hear his last words, then my debt is huge." Zhen Chan angrily said, "If you feel that you owe him, even a little is worth a life!" "At least now, I have the chance to fulfill his last wish." With every step Wang Qi took, he felt as if his shattered organs were colliding within him. Fortunately, the explosion hadn't occurred too far from him, so he didn't have to walk long. The air here was saturated with a blood scent that the night breeze could not disperse. The soil, having been ravaged by the self-destruction power of an Ancient Method Nascent Soul Cultivator, had turned into a fine, sandy material. At the center of the explosion, there was just a large crater. Under the faint morning light, a figure could barely be seen lying at the bottom of the pit. Wang Qi slid down the edge of the crater. Thankfully, the cultivator's self-destruction caused a stirring of Spirit Element instead of a high-temperature, high-pressure explosion, which made the soil in the crater much looser than the surrounding ground. Wang Qi, enduring the pain, used his hands and feet to crawl next to Li Ziye and shook him gently, "Hey, Senior Brother Li, hey..." Despite having his vitality extinguished, Li Ziye, a Golden Core Cultivator, was still conscious, "Ah... you actually came back..." Wang Qi nodded, then, fearing the other couldn't see it, added, "Yes." "You... calling me Senior Brother... seems you're determined to... to go to the Immortal Alliance?" "Let's not talk." Wang Qi held Li Ziye's hand. "Is there a way to open your Storage Bag or something similar? There should be some elixirs inside..." Li Ziye's hand moved slightly, and Wang Qi quickly let go. Li Ziye's right hand laboriously moved to his waist, and he gently wiped it over a small pouch, "Open it... look for some elixirs. The seniors in your ring should be able to distinguish the basic properties." "Is there anything that could save your life?" Li Ziye wanted to shake his head, but instead just tilted it, "The vitality is extinguished... there's nothing for revival." Wang Qi exhaled, "Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?" A wish... let me think..." Li Ziye pondered for a moment, then let out a low and unpleasant chuckle, "Cough cough... can you help me?" "Hmm." "Cough cough... I did want to pursue a girl, but what's the point if you help me?" "The Chief Disciple of Mysterious Palace? I can carry a message." "But I'm about to die." Li Ziye's tone was surprisingly light, "Even if you did, it would only bring pity, nothing else... It'd only trouble her..." Unrequited love ruins a lifetime... Wang Qi sighed silently, then asked, "Anything else?" Li Ziye said, "Thinking about it, I really don't have much... cough cough... thoughts that would make me restless if unfulfilled in this life. There are still things I wanted to do, but those... I wanted to do them myself. You doing them for me... has no meaning for me." "Any regrets?" "Quite a few... this world, one can never quite see enough of it... and that supreme Great Dao... the unexplored Dao..." "Any regrets for coming to save me?" "Actually, quite a few." Li Ziye's voice grew softer, "I really don't want to die. I truthfully don't want to die. Actually... had I known... I would die, I might not have saved you. But then, who made me terrible at arithmetic..." "Don't joke, Wanfa Sect upholds arithmetic as its core, how could your math be weak." "I just can't calculate clearly... can't figure out whether I could really win... nor can I figure out which feels worse, seeing you captured or dying here..." Both fell silent for a moment. Li Ziye then said, "Actually, you really don't need to burden yourself with my matters... If this creates mental barriers for you... then wasn't my rescue pointless... haha." Wang Qi tried to keep his voice even, "Actually, living just to seek excitement, and to enjoy life, cultivation is the same." "That's good..." "If you feel you owe too much to others, then you can't really enjoy life." Li Ziye finally chuckled, "If you really want to do something for me... If someone ever solves Xi's Twenty-Three Calculations... just burn a copy for me. Oh, the Sect Leader Senior Uncle might soon solve the 'Bright Pearl's Question' and achieve Perfection in Carefree... when the time comes..." "I'll remember. Burn a copy for you, right?" Another moment of silence. "How much longer until dawn?" Wang Qi glanced at the sky, "Soon." "I've been unconscious for quite a while... really want to enjoy the sun a bit before I die." "You'll make it. The sunrise is soon." Wang Qi said, staring at the overcast sky.

Chapter 20 - 15 Lament

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