Cultivating Immortality :I Obtained The Villain's Ascension Code Chapter 13: Not Li Feng, Not Dead

Carefully, he coaxed the Yin essence out. At first, it resisted, clinging stubbornly to its hiding place. But with persistence, he managed to draw a thin stream of it upward, rging it with the swirling vortex in his chest.

To his surprise, the two energies complented each other perfectly. The destructive force of the Nine Serpents balanced beautifully against the calming chill of the Yin essence. Together, they created a harmonious cycle, strengthening both the heartbone and the surrounding tissues.

"Perfect," he breathed slowly, and a rare smile appeared on his face. "Absolutely perfect."

Once the heartbone was fully infused with the combined energies, Xiao Ning moved on to the next step: spreading the transformation across his entire skeleton. Starting with the ribs, he carefully directed the energy outward, one bone at a ti. Each transformation brought new challenges, requiring precise control and unwavering focus.

By the end of the day, he had successfully converted half of his ribcage into hardened, energy-conducting structures. Though exhausted, Xiao Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishnt.

For the first ti since awakening in Li Fang’s body, he felt like he was truly making progress.

"Day one down," he chuckled, lying back on the cave floor. "Who knows what tomorrow will bring? But for now... not bad, Xiao Ning. Not bad at all."

Xiao Ning, feeling a renewed sense of purpose, decided to check his status panel once again.

Na: Li Fang

Cultivation Realm: Mortal

Body Cultivation: Fourth-Stage

Life Span:25/320 years

Spirit Root: Dark and Earth Dual Spirit Root (disabled)

Cultivation Technique: Annihilation Bone Scripture

"Still stuck in this mortal realm... but maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all." His lips curled into a faint smirk. "After all, I’ve got bigger fish to fry."

He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to co.

"Enough stalling," he said aloud, though no one else was around to hear him. "Let’s see if we can strike a deal—or at least find so common ground."

With a flicker of resolve, Xiao Ning activated the Paradox ridians to their lowest setting, allowing just enough quantum foam to seep into his consciousness without overwhelming him. The sensation felt like standing on the edge of an abyss while trying to balance on a razor’s edge—terrifying yet exhilarating.

"Alright, Codex," he whispered to himself, half-jokingly. "Don’t keep waiting. Show yourself."

He reached out ntally, searching for the dormant presence of the codex within his mind.

At first, there was only silence—a void so absolute it seed to stretch endlessly. It was as if the universe itself had been muted, leaving behind nothing but an empty expanse.

But then, faint light began to erge, like echoes from another dinsion. They coalesced into jagged patterns of text, bleeding from gold to void-black as they rearranged themselves into coherent sentences.

[Eternal Paradox Codex - Reinitialization Protocol]

Host Designation: Xiao Ning (Li Feng Shell)

Soul Integrity: 40% (Stabilized)

A wave of relief washed over Xiao Ning as he noticed the significant changes. His Voidshell state had vanished, and his Soul Integrity had climbed from its critical levels to a stabilized 40%.

But the most astonishing transformation was yet to co.

[Lifespan Update Detected]

[Remainder: 473/767 years]

[Increase Granted: 200 years]

His Lifespan had increased dramatically, adding a century to his remaining days.

Xiao Ning’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he absorbed the implications of these updates.

"Not bad," he murmured approvingly. "Not bad at all. Looks like you’re finally starting to pull your weight, codex."

The codex seed to pause, recalibrating its paraters as it detected the changes in Xiao Ning’s body. A series of alerts flashed across the screen:

[ALERT: DETECTED HOST TRANSFORMATION VIA NON-CODEX THODS]

[UPDATE: VOIDSHELL STATUS VANISHED—HOST NOW EXISTS IN STATE OF CULTIVATION]

"Ah, so you noticed that too, huh?" Xiao Ning chuckled softly, addressing the codex as if it were an old friend.

"Guess I don’t need you holding my hand anymore. Though..." He tilted his head thoughtfully, "I suppose I shouldn’t get cocky. You still have your uses."

[ACTIVE PARADOXES:]

- Paradox ridians

- System Masking: Core Formation Realm (Early)

- True Power: Nascent Soul Realm (Early)

- Quantum Collapse Available: 0/1 (Recharge: 20 days)

[EXISTENTIAL MASS: 1.7 → 2.1]

(Divine Embodint Realm entities now 68% likely to detect anomalies.)

Xiao Ning frowned, tapping his chin as he processed the information.

"So, my cultivation has stabilized sowhat, but my existential mass keeps creeping up. Great."

He sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Just when I thought things were looking up."

"But wait," a mischievous glint suddenly appeared in his eyes. "This is the outer world. No Divine Embodint Realm entities exist here. So who cares if they might ’detect anomalies’? Not exactly sothing I need to lose sleep over."

For a mont, there was silence. Then, almost imperceptibly, the codex pulsed—a single that could have been interpreted as acknowledgnt. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

Xiao Ning grinned. "Yeah, that’s what I thought....Now, it’s ti to get out of this damned cave."

The cave he found himself in was situated deep within the bowels of the Ironspine Mountains, For reasons he couldn’t quite grasp, Mie Lin had chosen this desolate location to bring Li Fang’s lifeless body.

Although a flicker of suspicion sparked within him, Xiao Ning didn’t dwell on it. The location was remote, the cave saturated with death qi and stagnant Yin energy—conditions ideal for secluded cultivation. It made sense... on the surface.

What he didn’t know was that i Lin hadn’t chosen this cave for his benefit. She hadn’t expected him to return at all.

In truth, she had planned to use Li Fang’s lifeless body for sothing far darker.

She intended to refine him into a Spirit Corpse—a vessel caught between life and death, animated by spiritual resentnt and bound to her will.

Not a mindless puppet, but a sophisticated war-construct: flesh hardened by corpse-forging techniques, bones inscribed with ghost-binding runes, and a core seeded with a Soul-Stabilizing Pill to preserve traces of mory and combat instinct.

His body would have retained its cultivation potential, augnted by Yin rituals and corpse fire, yet stripped of freedom.

The result? A perfect fourth rank slave.

Had her ritual succeeded, Li Fang’s body would have risen again, not as Xiao Ning—but as a corpse spirit slave.

But fate—ever unpredictable—had other plans.

Unleashing the full force of his cultivation base, he exited the cave.

His destination was not far – the heavily guarded stronghold of the Shadowclaw Sect.

In re monts, he stood before the gates of the Shadowclaw Sect—an imposing wall of black iron and rune-etched stone that lood like the maw of so ancient beast.

Two guards flanked the entrance, their postures relaxed, bored—until they saw him.

They froze.

One dropped his halberd with a tallic clatter. The other instinctively reached for his weapon—then stopped mid-motion, eyes going wide, breath catching in his throat.

"That face... it can’t be..."

The unmistakable silhouette, the long black coat edged in silver thread, the cold glint in his eyes.

"Li Feng..." one of them whispered. Then louder, half in disbelief, half in fear, "Sect Master Li Feng!"

The second dropped to his knees imdiately, forehead pressed to the cold stone. The first followed a heartbeat later, trembling.

"It’s truly you!" the disciple cried out in disbelief "You’ve returned... !"