Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 633 Mid-stage Core Formation! Goodbye, Song Tianren!

In the days that followed, Chen Fan stayed in the garden, feeding the cicadas with Spirit Devouring Liquid and watering the ant colony with Golden Armor Tempering Liquid.

Nourished by the abundant medicinal power, the cicada's aura steadily increased, and the golden patterns on its body expanded from three to seven. The red light in its compound eyes became increasingly bright and sharp.

During this time, it shed its shell once more, and the new shell was a dark golden-glass color, as hard as metal and stone to the touch.

Finally, on the twenty-seventh day in the bowl, the cicada began to spin its cocoon again. The cocoon wall was covered with a mixture of gold and red, exuding a chilling and ferocious aura.

This time, the cocoon formation only lasted for half a day.

As the cocoon broke open, a stream of dark golden light shot into the sky, circling several times in the Beast Taming Garden before landing back in Chen Fan's palm.

The cicada was smaller than before, only the size of a soybean, but its aura had steadily reached the mid-stage of Core Formation.

Its two pairs of golden wings on its back were fully formed, and the blood lines on the edges of the wings had turned into a circle of fine blood-red runes. When it flapped its wings, it caused the surrounding spiritual energy to become disordered, which was a sign that the unique devouring instinct of the Spirit Devouring Gu was beginning to awaken.

The number of ants in the bowl swelled to more than 200,000 in thirty days.

After absorbing the Golden Armor Tempering Liquid, the flying ants' carapaces have completely transformed into a pale gold color. Although their size has not increased, the thickness and toughness of their carapaces are more than twice as strong as before.

Their mouthparts became even sharper. Chen Fan once tried it with a leg bone of a Nascent Soul level demon beast, and the flying ants devoured it completely in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, leaving not even the marrow.

Satisfied, Chen Fan resealed the insect cage and reinforced it with three more layers of enchantments before turning and leaving the Beast Taming Garden.

Counting the days, the three-day deadline has arrived; it's time to set off.

The Imperial City of Zhao, the Teleportation Hall of the Military Array Department.

The hall was brightly lit, and Han Cen and Ouyang Ye were already waiting in front of the teleportation array.

Both of them changed into the robes commonly worn by cultivators when traveling.

Han Cen wore a blue robe with the emblem of the alchemical cauldron of the Hall of Offerings embroidered on the cuffs; Ouyang Ye wore a gray array robe with dozens of array flags and array plates of different grades hanging at his waist, which jingled as he walked.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Han Cen cupped his hands and smiled, "Elder Chen has arrived. I was just telling Elder Ouyang that with Elder Chen by my side on this trip to the northern grasslands, I feel much more at ease."

Ouyang Ye unusually spoke a few more words: "It seems that Elder Chen's aura has improved even more in the few days since I last saw him. I have been immersed in formations for hundreds of years, and this is the first time I have seen someone whose cultivation and formation skills have progressed at the same pace."

Chen Fan cupped his hands in greeting but said nothing more.

The teleportation array flashed, space tore and then healed, and the three of them disappeared from the imperial city teleportation array and appeared on the military teleportation platform at the East Sea Town Customs.

Zhenhaiguan still stands like a giant black sword between the sea and the sky.

The soldiers patrolling the city walls stood in neat rows, and the spiritual light on the towers flickered uncertainly in the morning light.

The sea breeze, carrying the unique salty and demonic aura of the boundless sea, rushed towards us, and in the distance, several patrol boats could be vaguely seen shuttling back and forth on the fog-shrouded sea.

Below the teleportation platform, two groups of people had been waiting for a long time.

The squad on the left consists of the personal guards of the Fifth Prince Zhao Ying. They are all dressed in black iron armor and are all at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Zhao Ying himself is the leader of the squad.

The scar on his face, inflicted by the demonic cultivator, was particularly striking in the morning light. Seeing Chen Fan and the other two descend from the teleportation platform, a genuine smile appeared on his face as he strode forward to greet them: "Elder Chen, Elder Han, Elder Ouyang. I have received my elder brother's message. For this journey north to the grasslands, I have specially selected ten elite personal guards to accompany and protect you. These are all veteran soldiers under my command, with excellent teamwork. Although they cannot fight in the arena for you, they are more than capable of handling ordinary troubles on the grasslands."

Chen Fan cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is too kind."

The group on the right consists of the Fourth Prince Zhao Yu's men.

Duan Wuliang stood at the front of the group. Today he was wearing a brand new dark blue robe, with a short sword with a faint glow hanging at his waist. His aura was even more sharp than it had been half a month ago, clearly indicating that he had been working hard during this period.

Behind him were seven or eight Nascent Soul stage cultivators, two of whom had particularly profound auras. Both were at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, wearing the black robes commonly used by the Demon Cultivators of the Boundless Sea, with indifferent faces and surging demonic energy around them.

Behind everyone else, a figure as black as ink stood with his hands behind his back.

Song Tianren.

He was still dressed in a black robe, his pale and handsome face expressionless, except for his jet-black pupils which contracted sharply the moment Chen Fan appeared.

Its demonic power spread out in all directions as if it were a tangible force, and the bluestone ground beneath its feet was pressed into several fine cracks.

"Chen Fan," Song Tianren spoke, his voice hoarse and low, "I've been searching for you in the Boundless Sea for a month, and you've hidden yourself quite well. What, you're not hiding anymore today?"

Chen Fan stopped and glanced at Song Tianren. He said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Song is joking. I served as the deputy island lord on Demon Abyss Island for more than half a month, right under your nose the whole time. How can you blame me for hiding if you didn't recognize me? Speaking of which, I have to thank Fellow Daoist Song for holding off Li Jiuyuan for me in the battle of Black Reef Island. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to twist his head off so easily."

Upon hearing this, Song Tianren's demonic aura surged dramatically, his black robes fluttering without wind, and a terrifying pressure at the Nascent Soul level swept towards Chen Fan like a tsunami.

He took a step forward, and the bluestone ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. The shockwave sent fragments flying into the air with a piercing shriek: "You're asking for death!"

Duan Wuliang and the demonic cultivators under the Fourth Prince's command retreated hastily, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

Han Cen and Ouyang Ye's expressions changed simultaneously. One made a hand seal to prepare to set up a defensive formation, while the other reached into his sleeve and took out a protective pill.

Zhao Ying frowned, about to step forward to stop her.

Chen Fan remained completely still.

He stood there, letting the demonic power of the Nascent Soul level wash over him, his expression remaining calm and still, without even lifting his eyelids.

After cultivating both immortality and demonic arts, although his cultivation level remained at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, the strength of his divine sense, enhanced by the Fixed Word Technique, was comparable to the mid-stage of the Divine Transformation stage. Song Tianren's demonic power was nothing more than a slightly stronger gust of wind to him.

"Fellow Daoist Song's cultivation is indeed profound, but this is Zhenhai Pass, not your cave in the Boundless Sea. By making a move here, Fellow Daoist Song, are you trying to show all the border troops of Zhao how arrogant and disrespectful the laws of the court can be to the guest advisor invited by the Fourth Prince?"

Chen Fan's voice was calm and even, yet every word struck a nerve with Song Tianren.

Song Tianren's face was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.

He stared intently at Chen Fan, his fingers turning slightly white from clenching his fists.

The humiliation of being made a fool of by this eunuch in the Boundless Sea for more than half a month was like a bone-deep affliction clinging to his heart. Now that his enemy was right in front of him, he had no choice but to endure it!

Secondly, Chen Fan is right. This is Zhenhai Pass, the garrison of the Zhao State's border troops.

If he were to publicly make a move against the gold medal, it would be a blatant provocation against the Zhao court, a price he could not afford.