Yue Hongzhu examined her hands. The withering had stopped, and her vitality slowly returned. She sealed her acupoints. "He only steals vitality. Seal the body, and his art is useless."
Her senior brother Xiao Zheng caught up, heart still aged by Su Yan's Reverse Longevity. "We should find the spirit root first."
On the mountainside, a white-robed immortal sat beneath a yellow-leafed tree, a flower at his nose, surrounded by corpses. Many had died reaching for him.
"The root is the immortal himself," Xiao Zheng said. "Since the demon lord ended ascensions, how could a true immortal exist here?"
The illusion shattered. A green vine lashed out, broke Xiao Zheng's arm, and fled. Yue Hongzhu caught it, but the vine wrapped around her, strangling. Xiao Zheng sealed it with three-handed seals.
Before he could celebrate, a young man laughed and snatched the vine away.
Zhu Zhongquan—or rather, the old immortal wearing his flesh—gazed at the root with six secrets blazing. "I have been reborn."
He turned to Su Yan, who stood in his path.
They clashed. Zhu Zhongquan sneered. "You have two Bubbling Spring secrets. So what?"
Then his heart stopped. His eyes fogged. His brain swelled.
Pipa notes cut the air. Zhu Hongyi's string lashed the old immortal's soul to pieces. The body fell.
From within the corpse, Zhu Zhongquan's true soul crawled back into his skull—only to find Su Yan's lingering art finish the job. The head burst.
Su Yan exhaled. "Reverse Longevity. Perfected."