Chapter 349: The Secret of Longevity

However, before the veiled woman could finish speaking, the Great Ming Demon Sparrow in Shen Daoxing's hand had already slashed out.

Venerable Taboo, Kunlun Duanyue!

"ZZZZZT!"

Black arcs of electricity flashed! The surrounding corridors twisted and warped, stretching out one moment and being crushed flat the next.

A massive beam of sword light, vast enough to span heaven and earth and sever mountains, shot forth.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM..."

A chain of explosions erupted.

The corridor wall before Shen Daoxing was split in two. Wherever the massive beam of light passed, the wall was simply erased from existence, vanishing completely.

No!

It wasn't just the wall in front of Shen Daoxing; the entire labyrinth had been cleaved in two.

Suddenly, the view before them opened up. Looking out from the massive fissure, they could see countless crisscrossing sections of the corridors.

And just like that, Shen Daoxing spotted the stone door deep within the labyrinth.

At that moment.

"CREAK! GRIND!"

A series of grinding sounds echoed as the entire labyrinth began to shift. A faint white glow appeared on the walls, and the previously shattered sections started to mend themselves.

Venerable Invincible, Huangliang's Moment!

But as Shen Daoxing took a single step forward, everything around him abruptly froze.

Everything came to a halt—the shifting labyrinth, the self-repairing walls, and all the people nearby. It was as if time itself had frozen.

Shen Daoxing then calmly walked over to the group. He reached out, grabbed Chu Guifeng by the shoulder, and with a casual toss, sent him flying deep into the labyrinth to land right before the distant stone door.

Next came Ma Wan and Luo An, followed by Tao Ying, Luo Xi, Elder Mu, Xin, and everyone else.

One by one, figures flew through the labyrinth and landed, and in moments, the entire group was standing before the massive stone door.

Then, Shen Daoxing slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Everything around them abruptly resumed its motion as if nothing had happened.

Shen Daoxing never beat around the bush when he could solve a problem with absolute power.

"Young Master Yang, it's no use. This Mysterious Domain Labyrinth is constantly shifting, and all its walls can repair themselves. Breaking them is pointless."

Tao Ying's warning had only just left her lips.

But the moment she finished, she froze. The scene before her had changed completely, and a massive stone door now stood in front of her.

"???"

Tao Ying.

"???"

Chu Guifeng.

"???"

Ma Wan.

"???"

Luo An, Luo Xi.

"???"

Everyone.

"Let's go."

Shen Daoxing, however, was unfazed. He had already walked up to the massive stone door. It stood over a hundred feet tall, its two heavy leaves sealed shut, and carved upon its surface was a giant with three heads and six arms.

Shen Daoxing reached out and placed his hand on the stone door.

"RUMBLE..."

The massive sound of the stone door moving rang out.

Shen Daoxing pushed the stone door open without much effort.

A portal of light, faintly emitting a white glow, was revealed.

Only then did Tao Ying and the others come to their senses, hurrying to follow Shen Daoxing.

They stepped into the portal of light.

Shen Daoxing felt a moment of disorientation. His surroundings became a vast expanse of white, as if he were floating weightlessly in an empty sky. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in a massive cavern.

Shen Daoxing looked around. The cavern was rough and uneven, with no signs of having been artificially carved. The only illumination came from dim sconces mounted on the rock walls.

"Where are we?"

Shen Daoxing turned to look at Tao Ying.

Tao Ying surveyed her surroundings, then pulled an ancient-looking book from her robes and consulted it before speaking slowly. "This should be somewhere beneath Celestial Demon City."

Hearing this, Chu Guifeng looked stunned. "You mean we're going deeper in? Won't that be more dangerous? I thought we were trying to get out!"

Tao Ying explained, "But this is the very path our Tao Family ancestors once walked. Since they managed to get out, we will surely be able to as well if we follow in their footsteps."

'The path the Tao Family ancestors once walked! Does that mean the first Patriarch of the Tao Family obtained the power of longevity from this very place?'

Chu Guifeng's curiosity was piqued. "What exactly is in here? What is this power of longevity? Is it really just a curse?"

Hearing this, Tao Ying paused. She strode to the side of the cavern, reached up, and snatched a bat that was resting on the ceiling.

A red light began to glow from her puppet-like hand.

"SKREEE!"

The bat shrieked as it visibly withered and shriveled. In moments, it was reduced to a desiccated husk.

At the same time, a wound on Tao Ying's arm visibly knit itself back together, healing completely in an instant.

"This is the power my Tao Family obtained here."

Tao Ying then continued slowly, "But there is a price. The more we use this power, the faster the mutation of our bodies accelerates."

'The power to directly plunder life itself!'

Seeing this, everyone gasped in horror. No wonder the other major powers were so wary of the Tao Family. Even after their first Patriarch had died, his descendants were forced to live under constant surveillance, to be killed without question at the slightest sign of abnormality.

Tao Ying paused before continuing, "This power comes from the Celestial Demon! The Celestial Demon's inheritance is hidden here in Celestial Demon City, which is why the Celestial Demon Sect was once able to dominate the entire East Continent. The true inheritance isn't some curse that turns people into Demonic Puppets!"

'No wonder I saw the corpses of so many Earth Profound Realm experts in Celestial Demon City before. They were all old masters who had been in seclusion for ages.'

'Their lifespans were coming to an end. If they couldn't achieve another breakthrough, they would just have to wither away. That's why they came here, seeking the power of the Celestial Demon to extend their lives.'

Upon hearing "Celestial Demon inheritance," Luo An's eyes lit up. He stepped forward and said excitedly, "So the Celestial Demon's inheritance is right here?"

Tao Ying paused, then nodded.

Luo An was overjoyed and couldn't contain his impatience. "Then what are we waiting for! Let's go! Maybe I'll be the one to obtain the Celestial Demon inheritance this time. With it, I could do whatever I want in the East Continent! I might even be able to found a new great sect and rule over the entire continent!"

Seeing his reaction, Tao Ying turned to Luo An. "The Celestial Demon is an Evil God from beyond the heavens, bloodthirsty by nature. If you obtain its inheritance, aren't you afraid you'll become the public enemy of every righteous person in the East Continent?"

Luo An looked confused. "The Celestial Demon is one thing, but what does its nature have to do with me? I'll just be taking its power. Why would all the righteous people in the East Continent become my enemy?"

Shen Daoxing nodded.

'He's right. Power itself is neither good nor evil; it all depends on the one who wields it.'

'However, if the rest of the world disagrees and harbors malice toward you, then no matter how innocent you may be, you will still be seen as the Evil Demon.'