The Last Immortal

Chapter Seventy-Six

Qing Yi’s sudden, urgent, and panicked shout left everyone outside the Hall of Eternal Life on Great Marsh Mountain stunned.

Gu Jin grabbed Qing Yi’s shoulder. “What did you say? What happened to Ayin?”

“Little Martial Aunt has fainted, and she’s barely breathing!” Qing Yi’s eyes reddened, and her voice trembled.

Gu Jin’s pupils contracted sharply, the hand gripping Qing Yi’s shoulder turning white-knuckled. He glanced toward the Hall of Eternal Life, unsure of what to do.

Qing Yi winced in pain but dared not make a sound.

Yan Shuang pulled Qing Yi away from her martial uncle’s grasp and said gravely, “A Jin, the Heavenly Thunder won’t descend for at least another hour. I’ll go with you to the Forbidden Valley!”

Anxiety clouded judgment. Xian Shan and Xian Zhu in the Hall of Eternal Life, and Ayin in the back mountain—all were the most important people to Gu Jin. At this moment, Yan Shuang remained far calmer than he did.

Gu Jin glanced at the Thunder Tribulation gathering above Great Marsh Mountain and nodded to Yan Shuang.

“Qing Yun, Qing Yi, guard the Hall of Eternal Life well. I’ll be back soon!”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, Gu Jin and Yan Shuang could only see Gu Jin’s retreating figure in the distance.

Worry flickered in Qing Yi’s eyes. With both masters in seclusion, Gu Jin was now the pillar of Great Marsh Mountain. Little Martial Aunt Ayin must not be allowed to come to harm.

In the Forbidden Valley, Ayin leaned weakly against the phoenix tree, her figure frail and feeble. Her eyes were tightly shut, her hands limp on the ground, as if all life had left her.

The sight was too shocking. Gu Jin froze beside the scattered phoenix leaves, his entire body stiff, unable to step forward.

Yan Shuang rushed to Ayin’s side, checked her breathing, and shouted at Gu Jin, “A Jin, Ayin is still alive!”

The shout snapped Gu Jin out of his daze. He rushed to Ayin’s side and held her tightly in his arms. Drawing the Primordial Spirit Sword, he sliced his palm, and blood welled up.

“A Jin, what are you doing?!” Yan Shuang cried out in alarm.

Gu Jin had no time to explain. He brought his hand to Ayin’s lips, but she was unconscious and too weak to drink his blood.

His eyes darkened. Amid Yan Shuang’s stunned gasp, Gu Jin took a mouthful of his own blood and transferred it into Ayin’s mouth.

“You, you, you, you…” Yan Shuang stared wide-eyed, stammering.

Gu Jin fed Ayin his blood mouthful by mouthful until she showed a faint sign of life.

“A Jin, what exactly is going on? Didn’t you retrieve the Divine Dew of the Jade Pool from the Heavenly Palace? Hasn’t Ayin’s health been improving? Why did she suddenly become like this?” Yan Shuang looked at Ayin’s condition with deep pity. “This is clearly a sign of impending death!”

The words “impending death” left Gu Jin in heavy silence. He wiped the blood from Ayin’s lips and spoke slowly after a long pause. “Yan Shuang, Ayin’s life essence has run out.”

Yan Shuang staggered, disbelief flooding her eyes. “How is that possible? Water Condensation Beasts can live for at least several hundred years. How could her life essence suddenly run out? What have you been hiding from us?”

Gu Jin told Yan Shuang everything that had happened to Ayin after she was tainted by Demonic Qi, leaving Yan Shuang utterly stunned.

“So Ayin never drank the Divine Dew of the Jade Pool at all. She’s been surviving on your blood all along. You went to Hundred Birds Island to get the Avian Inner Core for Ayin. Why didn’t you tell the truth? Ayin thought… Never mind, now is not the time for this.” Yan Shuang understood why Gu Jin had kept all this hidden. If Ayin knew she had been sustained by Gu Jin’s blood, she would likely prefer death over living in such a wretched state."Ayin is kind-hearted and stubborn by nature. Don't let her know any of this."

Neither Gu Jin's blood nor Hua Shu's Feathered Phoenix Crown were things Ayin would willingly accept.

Yan Shuang nodded, "Don't worry, I won't tell her. How is the Divine Transformation Pill coming along now?"

Gu Jin's expression darkened, "If it weren't for Yu Feng and Hua Shu barging into the mountain, the Divine Transformation Pill would have been ready by tonight at the latest."

Yan Shuang breathed a sigh of relief and urged, "Then hurry and go refine the pill. I'll stay here and watch over Ayin. Let's be quick—we must save Ayin before the Heavenly Thunder descends."

Gu Jin nodded, rose, and headed toward a nearby cave.

Inside the cave, the three Divine Artifacts within the Alchemy Cauldron were merging, and the Divine Transformation Pill was already taking shape. Gu Jin had already used half of his Immortal Power, yet he still couldn't speed up the fusion of the Divine Transformation Pill. He had only one hour left.

A flicker of anxiety flashed in Gu Jin's eyes. With a movement of his hand, the Primordial Spirit Sword unsheathed, slicing open another wound on his palm. Only then could one see that his palm was crisscrossed with countless sword wounds, already mangled and bloody.

Yet he seemed to feel no pain, recklessly offering his blood into the Alchemy Cauldron.

Finally, the Primordial Spirit Pill's Divine Power surged violently, and a beam of white light shot straight into the sky—a sign that the Divine Pill was about to descend into the world.

For over sixty thousand years in the Post-Ancient Realm, this was the first time a Divine Pill surpassing the limits of the Three Realms had been refined in the Lower Three Realms.

The auspicious omen of the Divine Pill ascending from Great Marsh Mountain into the heavens astonished the immortals like Yu Feng and Jing Lei, who had not yet gone far. They stared in disbelief at the interlaced illusions of the Nine Star Lanterns, the roaring Nine Heavens Demonic Thunder, and the beam of white Divine Light piercing the sky above Great Marsh Mountain.

Had this peaceful Immortal Mountain, tranquil for over sixty thousand years, become a bit too lively today?

"Yu Feng, even Donghua Divine Lord has ascended. How can Great Marsh Mountain still manage to produce a Divine Pill?" Jing Lei couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. "Should we go back and take a look? The descent of a Divine Pill is a spectacle rarely seen in ten thousand years!"

Yu Feng, however, disagreed. "Jing Lei, the descent of a Divine Pill is no easy feat. Whoever refined it must have faced immense hardship. Let's not add to the commotion. Lanfeng Supreme Lord's funeral arrangements and capturing the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon are more important. Let's go, back to the Heavenly Palace."

Yu Feng led the group of Immortal Lords, who were eager to witness the spectacle, back to the Heavenly Palace.

In the Forbidden Valley at the back of Great Marsh Mountain, Yan Shuang watched the Divine Light appearing out of thin air and breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the cave, the Alchemy Cauldron glowed with brilliant golden light, and the Primordial Spirit Pill floated within it. Gu Jin's face showed a look of relief.

But then, a cracking sound was heard. Clear, visible cracks appeared on the Primordial Spirit Pill. Gu Jin's expression changed abruptly, and he reached out to grab the pill. However, the Primordial Spirit Pill suddenly erupted with an even more dazzling Divine Light. A deafening explosion followed, and the Alchemy Cauldron shattered into pieces under the light. The entire cave exploded, and Gu Jin, struck by the Divine Light, was violently thrown out of the cave, landing heavily in front of Yan Shuang.

Faced with this sudden catastrophe, Yan Shuang was about to ask Gu Jin what had happened when he, pale-faced, struggled to his feet from the ground and staggered back toward the cave. She hurriedly followed but stopped at the cave entrance.

Inside the cave, Gu Jin knelt on the ground, staring helplessly at the scattered fragments of the Alchemy Cauldron and the shattered Primordial Spirit Pill.

"How is this possible?" he murmured, trembling as he gathered the fragments of the Divine Pill from the ground into his hands. "How could the Primordial Spirit Pill shatter?"

Yan Shuang, unable to bear the sight, softly called out, "A Jin?""No, I can't give up. I have to try!"

Gu Jin's eyes were bloodshot as he abruptly rose and rushed toward Ayin outside the cave.

Seeing Gu Jin about to feed Ayin the fragments of the Primordial Spirit Pill, Yan Shuang hurriedly stopped him. "A Jin! The Primordial Spirit Pill wasn't successfully refined. Even if Ayin takes it, it won't help. These three things simply can't refine a Divine Transformation Pill. Who taught you the method to refine a Divine Pill?"

A glimmer of clarity returned to Gu Jin's eyes.

"Bi Bo?" Gu Jin suddenly halted, then shook his head. "Bi Bo told me these three spiritual items could refine a Primordial Spirit Pill."

Yan Shuang was taken aback. "Bi Bo? You mean the Water Condensation Divine Beast that served beside the Little Divine Lord of Clear Pond Palace a hundred years ago? How could it be in the Lower Three Realms? How did you find him?"

"Bi Bo couldn't possibly deceive me. It must be that my refining method was flawed."

But Yan Shuang disagreed. "A Jin, have you considered this? Although the Divine Dew of the Jade Pool, Kunlun Snow Lotus, and Ten-Thousand-Year Demonic Beast Inner Core are difficult to obtain, they aren't rare. So why has no one ever successfully refined a Primordial Spirit Pill? If such a heaven-defying artifact that allows direct Divine Transformation could truly be refined with these three items, do you think in over sixty thousand years, not a single person across the entire Three Realms would have succeeded?"

Gu Jin's hand holding the Primordial Spirit Pill fragments slowly clenched. He recalled Bi Bo's evasive gaze and the fleeting hint of guilt in Purple Moon Hall.

Yan Shuang was right. Bi Bo had deceived him. The Divine Dew of the Jade Pool, Kunlun Snow Lotus, and Ten-Thousand-Year Demonic Beast Inner Core could not refine a Primordial Spirit Pill—or rather, they could not refine a true Primordial Spirit Pill.

He had grown up with Bi Bo. If he hadn't been so distraught over Ayin's life and death, his mind in turmoil, he would have noticed Bi Bo's strangeness back in Purple Moon Hall.

"Bi Bo deceived me. There must still be something missing to refine a true Primordial Spirit Pill," Gu Jin murmured.

Since the Primordial Spirit Pill had taken form, it at least meant Bi Bo had told half the truth. These three spiritual items must be among the refining materials for the Primordial Spirit Pill. But what exactly was missing? What could make Bi Bo willing to deceive him rather than speak the truth?

Seeing Gu Jin both distressed and self-reproaching, Yan Shuang suddenly spoke. "A Jin, is that Water Condensation Divine Beast still in the Lower Three Realms?"

Gu Jin nodded. "Bi Bo has always been in Purple Moon Mountain."

"Then take Ayin to Purple Moon Mountain. Leave now." Yan Shuang half-knelt beside Ayin, checking her forehead. "Perhaps that Divine Lord Bibo still has a way to save her."

The journey to Purple Moon Mountain would take at least two days, but A Jiu's Thunder Tribulation was imminent, and the Nine Star Lantern's final two days were crucial. Gu Jin was currently the backbone of Great Marsh Mountain. If he left, what would happen if something occurred at Great Marsh Mountain? But if he didn't go, he could only watch Ayin gradually burn out day by day, turning to ashes.

"A Jiu's Thunder Tribulation, and the senior brothers..."

"I'll bring Taoist Qing Yun and the others to help A Jiu withstand the Thunder Tribulation and protect the Nine Star Lantern and the two elders," Yan Shuang said solemnly. "Even if Heavenly Thunder accidentally strikes the Hall of Eternal Life, the worst outcome would be failing to light the Nine Star Lantern—it wouldn't endanger the safety of the two elders. But if you don't go to Purple Moon Mountain, Ayin won't last three days. Believe me, if the two elders were here, they would also choose to save Ayin."Ayin lay in his arms, frail and breathless, as if her life might flicker out at any moment. Gu Jin glanced at her and finally, unable to bear watching her die before his eyes, gave a firm nod.

"Yan Shuang, I'm taking Ayin to find Bi Bo now. A Jiu and the others are in your hands."

"Don't worry, we'll wait for your return."

With those words, Gu Jin flew out of the Forbidden Valley, holding Ayin close. To save time, he didn’t pause along the way, passing through the Thunder Array and the Mountain Protection Array, heading straight for Purple Moon Mountain in the Demon Realm.

Qing Yun and the others watched Gu Jin’s figure vanish into the horizon, just as Yan Shuang flew back. They hurriedly approached to ask what had happened.

Yan Shuang explained Ayin’s critical condition, and only then did Qing Yun and Qing Yi learn the truth. They didn’t blame Gu Jin for going to Purple Moon Mountain, only praying that he could find the divine medicine and save their lively, adorable little martial aunt.

At that moment, a deafening roar echoed as a flash of thunder streaked across the sky. The vast Thunder Tribulation had fully gathered above Great Marsh Mountain, and the first bolt of Heavenly Thunder finally struck!