Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

"Peach Blossom Wonderland..."

Upon hearing this, the Master of the Demon Gate couldn't help but show a touch of surprise on his face. Although he had never cared about the life and death of those two disciples, he also hadn't expected that one of them would actually stay in that problematic secret realm.

Having inherited the "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome," even if the cultivation technique wasn't fully learned, one should sense something amiss in that Peach Blossom Wonderland.

That the Peach Blossom Wonderland remained unclaimed, allowing loose cultivators and down-and-out disciples from failing Immortal Sects to occupy it was one thing, but local dominant cultivation factions also specifically sent out disciples to be responsible for the security of the peach forest...

This seemed to be quite fishy no matter how one looked at it, resembling ancient unique sacrificial methods that existed in legends.

He too had once gone there specially because of the fame of the Peach Immortal when he was young. However, the moment he set foot inside, he immediately turned around and left without any hesitation.

At this moment, the Master of the Demon Gate suddenly heard that youth, whose demonic talent was unimaginably powerful, ask, "Junior's first skirmish with Long Zhang Yuan was interrupted by his senior's sneak attack, forcing me to retreat. The person who chased after me back then, that should have been Senior, right?"

The person Tan Shuchang had seen then was very different from the former Master of the Demon Gate standing before him now.

However, Tan Shuchang was certain that the two were the same person.

"Haha, you must be wondering why, after feigning death, I chose to mingle with the Son of the Heavenly Mandate from the Mount of Sword Cultivation, right?" Upon hearing this, the Master of the Demon Gate responded with a question instead of an answer.

"If Senior is willing to enlighten me, it would be most appreciated," replied Tan Shuchang, who had originally intended to question gradually. Since the former Master of the Demon Gate was so forthcoming, it meant there was less likelihood of conflict between them.

"Although you've cultivated the 'Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome' to the perfection of four volumes, once you face cultivators of other Heavenly Power Treasured Tomes, you'll find this demonic cultivation technique is not remarkable besides granting you a longer life span," the Master of the Demon Gate said with a light sigh, then started recounting his bitter past.

Indeed, bitter.

Over 200 years ago, he had perfected the "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome" to the four volumes. At that time, he was full of vigor, looking down upon all martial heroes.

Then, he encountered the master of Su Huan'an's master, his Grandmaster.

At that time, Su Huan'an's Grandmaster was already a renowned figure. The Master of the Demon Gate believed that even if he wasn't a match for his opponent, he should at least be capable of a draw.

As with all dreams, reality was harsher. The Master of the Demon Gate was nearly beaten to death and the enormous gap between reality and his dreams forced him into seclusion for sixty years.

It wasn't until Su Huan'an's Grandmaster passed away that the Master of the Demon Gate stepped back into the cultivation world.

Then, he encountered Su Huan'an's master.

At that time, the Master of the Demon Gate thought: if he couldn't beat the old one, surely he could defeat the younger one?

Thus, the Master of the Demon Gate nearly died once again.

However, after that encounter, the Master of the Demon Gate finally understood why he couldn't defeat his opponent. It wasn't because he was too weak, but because the cultivation technique he had practiced his whole life, the "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome," was perfectly suppressed by the opponent's Heavenly Power Treasured Tome, the "Absolute Immortal Sword Scripture!"

Such an absurd truth even made the Master of the Demon Gate depressed for a while.

And once he finally emerged from that state of melancholy, he realized he had become depressed too early... because it wasn't just the "Absolute Immortal Sword Scripture" that suppressed his "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome!"

After trying them all, he incredulously discovered that all of the righteous path cultivation techniques could suppress his "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome!"

From that moment on, the once vigorous and persevering Master of the Demon Gate disappeared, leaving behind a demotivated individual who didn't want to do anything.

This situation continued until Su Huan'an's master passed away, and the Master of the Demon Gate began to pick himself up again.

Based on lifespan, he should have passed away already, but he remained in a youthful state, his vitality undiminished and hardly any signs of aging on his face.

For nearly two hundred years, his body and energy levels were at their peak.

Hence, the Master of the Demon Gate began looking for ancient relics.

He wanted to find the reason he could live so long and sought to discover the legendary demonic cultivation techniques from those ancient relics.

He succeeded with the former; he understood it was due to the "Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome." With the four volumes perfected, one could enjoy a lifespan of ten cycles of sixty years and live a carefree long life.

But he failed at the latter, not even finding a trace.

He only found some derivatives of those cultivation techniques.

For example, the derivative techniques of the "Blood Transmutation Divine Saber Scripture" — the "Human Saber Chapter," where one became the saber, and could decapitate the enemy in an instant. However, the side effect was that it turned the user as thin as a cicada's wing, and even ghosts might be scared and scream "ghost" upon seeing them.

These derivatives of legendary demonic techniques usually pursued the ultimate killing power and were extremely mysterious or had instantaneous bursts of extreme strength, sometimes prompting even the unrivaled sword cultivators to retreat proactively.

But such cultivation techniques came with great drawbacks, and the "Human Saber Chapter," which merely turned one into a paper-thin figure, was actually a relatively mild consequence.

Because at least that still had a human form.

And now, after listening to the personal experience of the Master of the Demon Gate, Tan Shuchang felt somewhat astonished and he couldn't help repeating, "What kind of righteous path cultivation technique could restrain my 'Cross Calamity Immortal Scripture'?"