Chapter 122: The Undying Kunlun Technique (Please Recommend and Bookmark!)

Kunlun did not seem to expect an answer from Yang Fan, continuing instead: "People in this world are born with the mark of their tribe. Furthermore, the lightning that erupted from you just now and the golden light in your eyes are clearly manifestations of the Dao. There is no Dao in this world—or rather, the Dao is shattered and incomplete. People here do not possess the power you wield."

Kunlun paused, watching Yang Fan’s evasive eyes before continuing: "Do not be nervous. You must believe that I harbor no malice toward you. You fell from the Endless Cliff and were swept into the subterranean river; it was I who saved you. It is all the better that you are an outsider—we have no conflict of interest. You are still weak, but I can help you grow stronger. Once you are powerful, you must help me break free!"

The more Yang Fan heard, the more astonished he became. Are the people of the Kunlun Secret Realm always this blunt? It was nothing like the dramas or novels he had known. Kun Sha was straightforward, and so was Kunlun. They did not hide anything, speaking their inner thoughts directly. What Yang Fan did not realize was that in the eyes of beings like Kun Sha and Kunlun, someone like him lacked the strength to resist. Rather than beating around the bush or using subtle manipulation, it was better to be direct. If you agree, everyone is happy; if you refuse, you die!

Yang Fan realized this now. He had no right to refuse. He had no choice but to comply.

Kunlun had no patience to wait for an answer. He continued: "This place should be called the Kunlun Secret Realm, a fragmented world left behind by the War Ancestor of the ancient era. My Kunlun tribe was the strongest force under the War Ancestor’s command, following him in his conquests, invincible in every battle. However, when the War Ancestor entered the starry sky to face a formidable enemy, he never returned. Before leaving, he sealed the Kunlun Secret Realm. Matters within the realm were decided by my Kunlun tribe and the Forbidden Lands. Since the Forbidden Lands rarely speak, my tribe held the highest authority and the greatest strength."

"But as time passed, the dominance of the Kunlun tribe steadily declined. Six hundred years ago, several top-tier clans united to overthrow us. I became the last chieftain of the Kunlun tribe, the chieftain who witnessed its annihilation. Because all chieftains of the Kunlun tribe practice the Kunlun Undying Technique passed down by the War Ancestor, they could not kill me, so they imprisoned me beneath the Endless Cliff, waiting for my lifespan to expire. After all these years, I had fallen into despair, but I never expected that the Endless Cliff, which no one had visited for six hundred years, would receive an outsider like you! The seal on the Kunlun Secret Realm has finally broken, connecting it to the outside world, and your arrival heralds my return to the heavens and earth!"

Yang Fan listened, dumbfounded, as Kunlun revealed these secrets of the realm. His head felt as heavy as a stone. What did he mean, that because he had arrived, Kunlun would return to the world? Had he never considered that Yang Fan might choose death over submission?

After finishing, Kunlun looked at Yang Fan on the riverbank with a faint smile. "Boy, you must help me, or you will also die beneath this Endless Cliff. Do not think about choosing death over submission; in this world, there are things far more terrifying than death. You are young; you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your days in fear and agony, would you?"

Yang Fan gulped, feeling at a loss. He was still too weak—weak to the point where he could not even resist or defy. It was true; there were things in this world more terrifying than death, and he was still afraid of dying. Unless it was a last resort, who would want to die?

Yang Fan steadied himself and asked, "What exactly do you want me to do, Senior?" At the very least, he needed to know what was expected of him. To refuse without knowing anything would be the act of a fool.

Kunlun nodded with a smile, thinking the boy wasn't bad. "I will teach you the Kunlun Undying Technique. When you have mastered it, return and help me break free!" Kunlun’s laughter grew increasingly arrogant, as if he had already escaped.

Looking at the man on the central platform who seemed possessed by madness, Yang Fan lowered his head in resignation. This was the sorrow of the weak. In truth, he still didn't understand the full scope of what was required, but the strong had already made the decision for him. He had no room to resist, no right to say no. As long as he wanted to survive, all he could do was obey.

Of course, he had to answer to his own conscience. As far as Yang Fan was concerned, Kunlun’s escape didn't necessarily pose a threat to him. He roughly understood the situation in the Kunlun Secret Realm: there were no eleventh-rank experts here; the highest level was the tenth-rank Martial Sovereign. Kunlun was no exception. To save his own life, letting a tenth-rank Martial Sovereign out didn't seem like the end of the world. At the very worst, he could ask his teacher to intervene. His teacher, Li Tian, was an expert capable of killing eleventh-rankers on the battlefield. Once he was out, he could always go back on his word; he had the power to back that up. With that thought, Yang Fan felt less conflicted.

After his bout of laughter, Kunlun asked, "Little one, tell me about the outside world. Focus on the situation in your world, how the seal was broken, and how you managed to enter."

Yang Fan began to recount, using the same method he had used with Li Xianyuan: nine parts truth and one part lie. He slightly exaggerated the strength of the outside world to prevent Kunlun from harboring malicious intentions, though he remained silent about being a disciple of an eleventh-rank expert. He feared that if Kunlun knew, he might worry about retribution and decide to silence him permanently. The connection between the two worlds was an inevitable trend; since the portal had opened, they would eventually interact. Much like the relationship between Earth and the Dark Realm, such interactions were either war or peace. As for which path would be chosen, no one could say.

...

Outside the Kunlun Secret Realm, amidst the mist, Dongfang Kui sat in the snow, using the dense spiritual energy emanating from the realm to heal his wounds. During the battle at the ruins, he had fought in two cities and sustained heavy injuries. For an eleventh-rank expert, healing required immense time and effort. This was why the Dark Realm had withdrawn—their own eleventh-rankers were also injured, and continuing would have led to mutual destruction.

Zhang Daoyi stood at the front of the mist, staring down the long spear that flickered in and out of sight within the fog. He looked back at Dongfang Kui, feeling utterly helpless. The old man had been here for three days, but he had done nothing but sit behind him, showing no intention of dealing with the spear or the situation. At first, the spear had shown some restraint, but seeing that Dongfang Kui ignored it, it had returned to its old ways, picking fights with Zhang Daoyi every single day. Zhang Daoyi was exhausted.

...

Inside the Kunlun Secret Realm, at the Kun Peng tribe’s estate, Kun Sha sat with a gloomy face. He had just returned from the Tianqing Plains, where he had gone to look for his two eighth-rank venerables. He had searched the entire plain but found nothing, and he had even ended up in a fight with that reckless Tianqing Eagle. Now, Kun Sha was in an incredibly foul mood. The messenger he had sent had gone missing, and crucially, it had happened while under the protection of his own men. This made things difficult for Kun Sha, who had originally intended to communicate peacefully. Given the boy’s natural talent, he clearly held a high status in the outside world, which was why Kun Sha had sent him out to report. He believed Yang Fan could reach the true powerhouses. Now that the boy was missing, it was highly likely something had happened on the Tianqing Plains. During his fight with the Tianqing Eagle, Kun Sha had clearly sensed the aura of his own eighth-rank venerables from the creature, as well as the faint, lingering aura of Yang Fan. He had wanted to capture the eagle to demand answers, but the creature was too fast; whenever it faced defeat, it would simply flee. Kun Sha lacked the ability to catch it.