Chapter 527: Jianmu

"Jianmu?"

Lu Yang's eyes widened suddenly as he stared at the wooden amulet, his face filled with disbelief. "Isn't that the Age Immortal's true form?"

Most people don't recognize true immortal objects, often labeling many rare items with the name "Immortal." For instance, they might call the 'Lesser Medicine King' an 'immortal herb,' a peerless sword an 'immortal sword,' or incomprehensible Daoist techniques 'immortal arts.' However, in reality, neither the Lesser Medicine King nor a peerless sword comes close to reaching the 'immortal' level. Jianmu is different; it is undeniably an immortal object, beyond dispute.

"I knew this looked familiar! This must be a part of the Age Immortal, just a small piece. Otherwise, I would have recognized it instantly!" When it came to familiarity with the Age Immortal, no one in the world surpassed the Undying Immortal. Lu Yang's expression was strange as he asked again, "Then how did this small piece of Jianmu come to be? Did the Age Immortal scratch it off like dead skin from his foot?" An immortal's body is indestructible; who could cut a piece of wood from the Age Immortal? The Undying Immortal glanced at Lu Yang dismissively. "How could that be? Immortals have perfect, flawless bodies. Why would they have something like dead skin, like mortals do?"

"Then this small piece of Jianmu...""I might have blown it off."Lu Yang: "..."

"It's also possible it was attacked by the Provident Immortal and the others. After all, even before he became an immortal, the Age Immortal boasted that he would certainly achieve immortality while none of them would, which enraged them all. After he ascended, the Provident Immortal and the others often tried to undermine him." She paused. "But this piece of wood is too small; I can't tell who hit him." Lu Yang interjected, "If I recall correctly, didn't the Age Immortal only say that to you, Immortal, at the time? And you were the one who relayed it to the Provident Immortal and the others." The Undying Immortal waved her hand grandly, lecturing Lu Yang, "The outcome is mostly the same. Don't nitpick so much; you should learn from me in this regard."

"Also, ask that little girl if she has more Jianmu." The fact that she could give Lu Yang a small piece of Jianmu implied that Shangguan Yu possessed more of it.

"Sister Shangguan, what is this object? I've never seen anything like it," Lu Yang asked politely. "You haven't seen it, have you? This is just a small piece. The larger part is beneath the Wood Vein, a charred section of a giant tree. The vibrant life force of the Wood Vein is thanks to that massive tree. Our sect's founder was truly astonished when he discovered that enormous tree beneath the Wood Vein." She continued, "The colossal tree's vigorous life force can sustain the Wood Vein for a hundred thousand years without fading, which shows its immense power." "The founder also realized that the life force contained within the giant tree was unbelievably powerful, far exceeding anything comprehensible to the cultivation world. No spiritual tree recorded in ancient texts fit this description." "Therefore, the founder made a bold guess: this object was none other than a part of the Wood Immortal's body!" The current cultivation world doesn't know the name 'Age Immortal,' only that he transformed from a tree, so they habitually refer to him as the 'Wood Immortal.'

"The Wood Immortal?!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, even Bai Ming, who had never heard of this matter and didn't know that the Wood Vein's life force came from a giant tree."Sister Shangguan.""Sister Shangguan."As soon as they heard that what Lu Yang held was a part of the legendary Wood Immortal, everyone started calling her "Sister Shangguan," even Bai Ming.

"Calling me that now is too late," Shangguan Yu said, turning her head away to prevent them from seeing her smile. Then she turned back and said seriously, "You need to call me that a few more times." The chorus of "Sister Shangguan" brought a wide smile to Shangguan Yu's face.

"Come, come, come, one for each of you. It can keep you safe. Little Bai Ming, you get one too." Shangguan Yu took out five small wooden tokens and distributed them to everyone. "Keep us safe?" Lu Yang remembered that when Meng Jingzhou suffered a karmic backlash, the Undying Immortal had said the Age Immortal had the ability to ward off evil and could protect Meng Jingzhou from karmic repercussions.

If the Age Immortal's body truly worked and could ensure safety, why would Qiu Jin'an still need to borrow the power of national destiny from the Governor of Barren State? He entered his mental space, and just as he was about to ask the Undying Immortal, he saw her make a decisive move, extending her divine sense. The Undying Immortal had initially worried about whether doing this would offend the Five Elements Sect, but after Shangguan Yu's comment, she had the same thought as Lu Yang and no longer cared about potential offense. She immediately unleashed her divine sense, scanning the Wood Vein, and indeed found the giant tree Shangguan Yu had mentioned.

The colossal tree was immense, running through the entire Wood Vein. While Lu Yang and the others could seemingly visit the five veins freely and reach them easily, they were actually walking near the confluence of the five veins, which significantly shortened the distance. In reality, the Five Elements Sect's area is only slightly smaller than the Dao Inquiry Sect's, covering a vast eighty thousand li. Since the five veins form the main body of the Five Elements Sect, one can imagine how vast the Wood Vein is, and what length a giant tree would need to be to run through it. However, compared to the sky-reaching Jianmu that the Undying Immortal remembered, this giant tree was still much shorter, even appearing dwarfed.

The Undying Immortal conjured the image of the giant tree she had seen in the mental space. The tree was charred all over, bearing marks of fire and lightning burns, with several layers of its old bark peeled off. Moreover, there was one attack that had pierced directly through its core. "What's going on?" Lu Yang was startled. Even as a layman, he could tell the extent of the attack this giant tree had endured; it was nothing short of horrific.

The Undying Immortal was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, her previous cheerful demeanor gone. "The Age Immortal was attacked. The assailant used the most common attack methods to conceal their identity." She explained, "Initially, I thought that when I self-destructed, the Age Immortal had used methods like 'Dead Wood Comes to Life' and 'Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell' to leave a clone and escape with his true form. But that's incorrect. The Provident Immortal said not to leave clones in the world; for the world, it could be a blessing, but also a root of disaster. So, the Age Immortal's clone shouldn't be here." She concluded, "Only now, seeing this section of Jianmu, do I confirm that this is the Age Immortal's true body, and a significant portion of it has already turned to nothingness!" The Undying Immortal could not recall a battle of this magnitude occurring while she was still alive. This was a battle on the level of an Immortal's demise.

"After my death, the Age Immortal engaged in a great battle, and his opponent was extremely powerful." The Age Immortal controlled the Dao of Time, capable of observing the past, predicting the future, and restoring his body to an uninjured state. The fact that he was still beaten to such a state shows how powerful and terrifying his opponent must have been. Lu Yang's heart trembled upon hearing this. "The Age Immortal... passed away?"

The Undying Immortal slowly shook her head. "It's impossible to be certain. An immortal's life force is stronger than you can imagine; even without their true form, they can survive. But in the Age Immortal's case, even if he is still alive, having lost his true form, he wouldn't be in good shape." She elaborated, "The Age Immortal is different from me. With the Dao of Undying, I can arbitrarily create a true body to house my immortal soul. But the Age Immortal cannot. An immortal's physical body is crucial to an immortal; it's very difficult to find anything in the world that can replace or reshape an immortal body."

If the Age Immortal's true form was battered to this extent, with his life or death unknown, how could he possibly offer blessings or protection?

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.