N-A-A Chapter 1020: A Reward from the System!
Chapter 1020: A Reward from the System!
In his calculations, as long as he didn't die, as long as Tianxing remained unharmed, time was on his side. He had already endured thousands of years; what did a few more decades or centuries matter? As long as he survived, where he was imprisoned was unimportant. The method of absorbing and manipulating Tianxing's power was ultimately in his hands. He could feign cooperation during his imprisonment, even actively helping Gao Yao to use Tianxing to gain some benefits, thereby gaining trust and slowly lulling Gao Yao into a false sense of security.
He devised a long-term deception: first, sacrifice his immediate freedom, even using the promise of sharing the elixir of immortality as bait, to let Gao Yao fully experience the wonderful feeling of ruling the world, possessing power, and having the hope of "immortality." He believed that once Gao Yao became addicted to this supreme power and the illusory vision of immortality, he would inevitably become dependent on him, who truly held the core secret, or at least lower his guard.
Decades, centuries—a long life for an ordinary person—were but a fleeting moment for him. He could patiently wait, wait for Gao Yao to become complacent, wait for the opportune moment. Then, he would have a thousand ways to turn the tide and regain control. He might even use Gao Yao's power to better complete some of his unfinished plans.
In his view, this proposal would do Gao Yao no harm whatsoever. Gao Yao would gain a living, seemingly submissive "advisor" possessing ancient knowledge, and the opportunity to touch the secrets of immortality, without having to bear the risk of an immediate falling out and a life-or-death struggle. Wasn't this a win-win situation?
However, Gao Yao's reaction once again exceeded his expectations. This condition, which he considered a sure-fire win, was rejected by Gao Yao without hesitation! The rejection was swift and decisive, even tinged with a hint of mockery. Little did the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan know that Gao Yao had already mastered the method for making the true elixir of immortality through the system, and completely disregarded his rhetoric.
In Gao Yao's eyes, his performance was nothing more than a delaying tactic out of desperation, and he could see through it at a glance. Once he truly gave up resistance and fell into Gao Yao's hands, his fate would be to be mercilessly executed after being drained of all his value.
With cooperation completely blocked, only a military solution remained. Left with no other option, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan activated his backup plan—using his thorough knowledge of the underground palace's structure and the deadly traps scattered throughout to deal with Gao Yao. Even if he couldn't kill him, he would trap him within this magnificent tomb.
For a time, things seemed to be going in the direction he had predicted. His thirty-odd meticulously trained assassins, with their familiarity with the terrain and the aid of traps and gadgets, had actually managed to wipe out over a hundred of Gao Yao's elite personal guards. This gave him a glimmer of hope.
But he miscalculated once again. He underestimated Gao Yao's fighting prowess in dire straits, and even more so, he underestimated the terrifying power that the legendary Crimson Sky Sword could unleash in Gao Yao's hands. Gao Yao's combat strength seemed to have significantly increased since their previous encounter! He had actually withstood the chain of traps that should have at least severely injured him, if not killed, simply by relying on his superior personal strength and the power of the divine sword! Not only that, Gao Yao had also turned the tables and severely injured him in the chaos of battle!
This was the turning point that caused the entire plan to completely collapse. His severe injuries rendered him incapable of maneuvering or commanding. His last hope lay in trapping the enemy. With his last breath, he activated the final mechanism, completely sealing off the main entrances and exits of the underground palace, turning Gao Yao into a sitting duck.
He thought he had at least achieved this minimum objective. Dragging his dying body, he hid in what he thought was a safe backup passage, hoping to evade the search and wait for his injuries to heal before attempting to escape. But he never expected that this safe house he had chosen would ultimately become his final resting place. He overestimated his body's regenerative abilities, underestimated the speed at which his injuries would worsen in the harsh environment, and even more so, underestimated the determination and patience of the soldiers outside searching for Gao Yao.
Thus, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, who had been plotting for a thousand years and believed he could treat all living beings as pawns, ultimately died in this dirty, dark passage that would never be discovered by anyone, due to a series of increasingly serious "miscalculations," a seemingly insignificant serious injury, lack of food and water, and no one to rescue him.
With the death of Yi Xiaochuan, a mysterious and unpredictable figure seemingly transcending all the rules of this world, his last remaining traces in this world—that boundless, pure life essence and some indescribable power of rules—were completely absorbed, transformed, and devoured by the system within Gao Yao's body, like rivers flowing into the sea. This reward was far beyond anything seen before; its sheer quantity and quality nearly pushed the system to its limits.
Boom!
It wasn't a real sound, but a deafening roar originating from the depths of his soul, the very source of his bloodline, exploding within Gao Yao's sea of consciousness. The *Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique*, which he had painstakingly cultivated to an unprecedented thirteenth level, was instantly melted away by this overwhelming, unstoppable torrent. The fourteenth level, an indestructible barrier that had plagued countless generations of cultivators, vanished like thin ice under the sun. However, the infusion of energy did not cease; instead, it surged even more violently towards the fifteenth level—a realm existing only in theoretical deductions and ancient legends—with unstoppable force!
The fifteenth level! This is the state of oneness with Brahman, the realm of physical sainthood, mentioned in the deepest part of the scriptures by the founder of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, that extraordinary Buddhist master.
It should have been a natural and perfect outcome, a qualitative leap resulting from the accumulation of quantitative changes. But at this moment, in Gao Yao's case, this leap was forcibly propelled by terrifying external energy that did not belong to his own arduous cultivation! This was tantamount to instantly flooding a river channel that could only carry small boats with a raging torrent of water, enough to carry a massive warship!
"Ugh—!"
Gao Yao let out a roar that sounded inhuman, his eyes instantly becoming bloodshot and bulging outwards. He felt his body, from the smallest cellular structure to the macroscopic bones, muscles, and fascia, being torn apart, reshaped, and torn apart again from the inside by an unimaginable force! It wasn't just simple pain, but a sense of collapse where his very being was being violently rewritten.
Every muscle fiber was frantically breaking and rebuilding, becoming tougher and more explosive, while simultaneously conveying the extreme pain of being crushed; blood vessels expanded rapidly under the surging energy, the walls of the vessels becoming as clear and solid as glass, the blood flowed several times faster, emitting a roar like a river, so clear that you could almost "hear" the "swish" sound of the blood rushing against the vessel walls.