Chapter 1874 - 2066: Rebirth

Watching Nanrong Wanqing leave with Zhu Hong, Ling Gengqiu was tempted to intervene, but after a moment of hesitation, he gave up on the idea. Even if he took action, it wouldn’t change anything. The base’s door was made of pure steel, at least over twenty centimeters thick, and Zhu Hong managed to destroy it barehanded, showing just how terrifying his strength was. If Ling Gengqiu guessed correctly, Zhu Hong’s strength was probably nearing the third stage of evolution.

He couldn’t understand why Zhu Hong had grown so quickly after just merging with the Soul Stone.

"What should we do now?" Qiu Yong glanced at Ling Gengqiu and asked.

"Contact Ling Chen and ask him how things are going on his side."

Yuan Yun shook his head and said, "I tried calling him earlier, but couldn’t get in touch. Maybe his phone doesn’t have a signal."

Ling Gengqiu furrowed his brow and said, "If we can’t reach him by phone, then send someone to find him."

"But... we only know a rough location. Aside from Ling Chen, no one knows He Zhishen’s exact whereabouts."

"Let me go." Hu Fei volunteered, "I’ll handle it. I have plenty of people at my disposal; I’m sure we can find him."

...

No one knew how much time had passed when Ling Chen suddenly jolted awake as if struck by electricity. He looked up at the ceiling, then turned his gaze around as his mind gradually cleared.

Here... wasn’t this the small cabin where he and He Zhishen conducted experiments? He’s actually not dead—talk about luck within luck. Eh! What’s this? Ling Chen sat up from the wooden bed and found his clothes covered in dirt, filthy beyond belief.

Where’s He Zhishen? He glanced around and found no one else inside the cabin. Where did he run off to? As he was pondering, footsteps suddenly sounded outside. Ling Chen turned his head to see the door being pushed open from the outside. He opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw who pushed the door open, he froze, unable to regain his composure for quite a while.

"Kid, you finally woke up."

Hearing the voice, Ling Chen finally reacted and asked in astonishment: "Old senior, you... why are you here?" He couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t He Zhishen who entered but the old Taoist instead.

"Luckily I came, otherwise you’d still be lying in a dirt pit right now."

"Dirt pit?" Thinking of the dirt all over him, Ling Chen asked in confusion, "Old senior, what exactly happened here? Where’s He Zhishen?"

"The person you mentioned went down the mountain. I don’t know what you were doing, but when I arrived, you’d already been buried by him, and you had no life signs—already a dead man."

"Was I dead?" Ling Chen was shocked, quickly feeling his hands, feet, and face. He had body temperature—everything seemed normal. Seeing his actions, the old Taoist shook his head and said, "If I hadn’t come quickly, you probably would have really died."

"Old senior, what’s going on?" Ling Chen felt muddled; he had no memory of everything that had happened before.

Right then, the old Taoist recounted the previous events. After listening, Ling Chen couldn’t help but widen his eyes, silently chanting Amitabha Buddha. It turned out that an experiment He Zhishen conducted on him failed, causing his vitality to rapidly drain. Seeing that he showed no signs of life, He Zhishen dug a pit and buried him directly. Fortunately, the old Taoist appeared in time and rescued him from the ground.

No wait!

"Old senior, could it be that I was in a pseudo-death state before?" Ling Chen asked. Logically speaking, given He Zhishen’s skill, he should be able to determine if Ling Chen was dead or alive.

"You were indeed dead."

"Then... how did I come back to life?"

"Because of this." The old Taoist handed him a fist-sized stone. Ling Chen took it and scrutinized it for a few moments but didn’t find anything special about it.

"Old senior, what’s the purpose of this stone?"

The old Taoist chuckled and said, "Do you remember the meteorite I mentioned to you last time?"

"Meteorite?" Ling Chen’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the plain stone in his hand with wide eyes. Could this be the meteorite the old Taoist mentioned? Long ago, the ancestor of the guardian clan had precisely because of this kind of meteorite transcended human limits, completing physical evolution, thus gaining immortality.

From what the old Taoist implied, it seemed Ling Chen had also been revived through this meteorite. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but cast his gaze toward the old Taoist. The old Taoist nodded and said, "At the time, I was grasping at straws, not sure if it would work."

"Old senior, where did you get this meteorite?"

"I searched for it. The meteorite that fell back then wasn’t the only one; ever since its existence was known, I spent decades looking around that location and finally found a piece buried deep in the ground. I’ve always carried this meteorite with me, using a special box to isolate it to prevent any contact with my body. Today, if it weren’t to save you, I wouldn’t have brought it out."

"Old senior, I’ll never forget your immense kindness." Ling Chen expressed his gratitude. He knew very well the value of this meteorite couldn’t be measured in money; if given to a research organization, the secrets within could propel societal medicine forward by decades. To save him, the old Taoist generously produced the meteorite—a magnanimity not everyone possessed.

"Alright! No need to thank me. We were bound by fate." After a pause, the old Taoist shifted his tone and asked, "What were you doing in this godforsaken place with that person?"

"Well, it’s like this..." Ling Chen didn’t conceal anything and told the old Taoist about the agreement he reached with He Zhishen.

"Experiment?" The old Taoist pondered for a moment and said, "What did he give you to consume?"

Ling Chen glanced at the various bottles and jars in the cabin and chose a few based on his memory, handing them to the old Taoist.

"If I remember correctly, he made me take these potions."

The old Taoist opened the lids and sniffed each one. When he detected a strong stench, his brow furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "What a mess."

"Old senior, do you know what this is?"

"This is a kind of occult practice," the old Taoist said. "These potions are all concocted using cadaver remains. Including the pill you ingested, it was refined from the blood essence of a Heavenly List expert. This stuff can enhance a person’s abilities and extend their lifespan. He Zhishen’s idea was correct, but his method was wrong. This kind of sinister occultism could easily lead to body decay and instant death if mishandled."

Oh, so that’s what it was!

Ling Chen suddenly understood that Su Cheng’en likely used this method to prolong his own life.