Chapter 995: Chapter 995

Nanli had already walked over to the stone coffin and looked down. Inside, there was no complete body, only a pile of shattered humn bones, emitting a faint, eerie black light. Poisoned?! Even after a thousand years, the poison had not dissipated; instead, it had turned inot an extremely fierce toxic barrier. Although the bones were mostly intact, many were broken and shattered, clearly having suffered severe injuries during life.

Siheng was still in shock. His father had always been a highly esteemed Venerable Master in the Immortal World. Although he had not reached the strength to become an immortal, he had achieved the late stage of Deity Forming before his ascension. It could be said that at that time in the Immortal World, few could match him. Yet now, Siheng learned that his father’s ascension was very likely due to being poisoned and severely injured. Even the spiritual energy of the Immortal Mountain could not preserve his body, and the clothes he wore at burial had been corroded. Now, only the poisonous bones remained...

Siheng had a hard time accepting this. His mind felt as if it were filled with paste. "Father... Father did not ascend naturally, but was the victim of a poisonous attack... Why? Who could have been so ruthless?"

The poison was indeed strange. It was Nanli who steadied herself and examined the bones, asking, "Did your father have any major enemies?"

Nanli remembered his previously cold and distant demeanor and knew he was telling the truth. He probably didn’t deal with affairs or speculate about people’s intentions much before entering the mortal world. She wanted to touch the poisonous bones to examine them closely. Siheng panicked: "You mustn’t!" He quickly grabbed Nanli’s hand to prevent her from taking the risk. "This poison, after a thousand years, has not dissipated but has become even more potent. You must not get too close, lest you harm yourself."

Nanli was protected by his divine spell and was actually safe. However, Siheng always put her first, and she indeed had to be careful not to cause any accidents that would worry him. She used a Talisman person to help her inspect the bones. Siheng couldn’t discern anything unusual; the bones were broken in a rather strange way, and the poison had even seeped into the bone marrow. He said, "My father was at the late stage of Deity Forming in his lifetime. Even if he wasn’t well-versed in medical and toxicology, he shouldn’t have been so easily tricked, right?"

Nanli replied, "It’s hard to say. Previously, Yan Buxiu was once tricked by Qingwu. Cultivators are more formidable than ordinary people, but there are also cultivators who can develop corresponding poisons that can catch other cultivators off guard. Even in the Divine Realm, or among the immortals of the past, there were poisons that were hard to detect. Some were instantly fatal, even erasing one’s divine soul. As for ordinary poisons, as long as there were no malicious Daoist priests involved, they usually only took lives and did not harm the soul."

Siheng immediately understood that he shouldn’t have such high expectations for his father. It seemed that every realm had its own difficulties. Even at the divine level, one couldn’t let their guard down. The saying "Where there are people, there is a jianghu.( a community of martial artists and cultivators)" applied to every stage of life.

"I’m not very proficient in toxicology," Siheng said, asking, "Do you have any idea about this poison?" Although his cultivation was high, A’Li had regained some of her memories from her previous life and had much broader knowledge than him.

Nanli raised a hand, motioning for Siheng to be silent while she searched through her memories. Her brow furrowed deeply as she watched the Talisman person meticulously examine the bones. The atmosphere grew tense with silence. After a while, a flicker of realization appeared in her eyes, quickly followed by a flash of shock. “This is...” she murmured, her voice trailing off as the weight of her discovery settled over her.

"What? What exactly is it, a cultivation technique or a poison?" Siheng was puzzled.

Nanli said, "There was once a figure in the Immortal World, I think his name was... yes, Junjie. He was quite an interesting person. Both his parents were immortals, and naturally, he was born with a divine fetus. In less than a thousand years, he became the youngest Celestial Emperor."

Siheng’s lips twitched slightly, "The name alone shows that his parents had high expectations for him."

Nanli nodded, "Indeed. You must understand that it is extremely difficult for immortals to become gods. One might not see even one in a hundred thousand years. With Junjie’s cultivation at such a young age, everyone thought he would soon become a god and enter the Divine Realm."

"What happened later?" Siheng asked.

Nanli continued, "But later, another immortal became a god. The most important thing is that this immortal was only at the Divine Immortal Realm, a newly ascended cultivator."

Siheng was even more puzzled, "Divine Immortal Realm? Not Celestial Emperor Realm, how could he become a god?"

"Actually, becoming a god comes down to two paths," Nanli explained. "One is through one’s own cultivation, with extraordinary strength and the recognition of the Heavenly Dao. The other is through the will of the people, receiving the incense offerings of ordinary mortals, which can also lead to immortality or godhood. However, for the second type, their power is influenced by the incense. Once they lose the offerings and are forgotten by mortals, their power will either return to its original state or gradually fade and perish."

Siheng was even more astonished upon hearing this.

"I had heard of this path to godhood before, but I always thought it was a myth. I didn’t expect it to be real," Siheng said.

Nanli nodded in agreement.

Her expression turned serious as she recounted, "You must know that this immortal had just ascended not long ago when he encountered demonic trouble. His spiritual power was ordinary, but for the sake of the people in a city, he willingly sacrificed his divine spirit to slay the demon. The people, filled with gratitude, prayed to the heavens and knelt for three days and nights. Only then did the Heavenly Dao open the gates to the Divine Realm, allowing him to ascend as a god."

Speaking of this former colleague, she couldn’t help but feel admiration in her heart.

Siheng frowned, "You’ve been talking for so long, but you still haven’t gotten to the point."

Nanli couldn’t help but smile:

"The point is, Junjie Celestial Emperor, seeing others ascend to godhood while his own cultivation had reached its peak and the gates to the Divine Realm remained closed to him, became furious. He claimed the Heavenly Dao was unfair and thus cultivated a set of Five Poisonous Pili Fist, intending to storm the Divine Realm."

"But while he was at the peak in the Immortal World, he was no match in the Divine Realm. A martial god delivered a single punch that sent him back to the Immortal World. Unable to bear the humiliation, he wreaked havoc there, and even Celestial Emperor Yining and others could not subdue him. It was only with the support from our Divine Realm that he was finally captured. He was sentenced to eighty-one heavenly punishments to completely annihilate his divine spirit and immortal soul, bringing the matter to a close."

"But your father... died from the Five Poisonous Pili Fist."

This was the crucial point.

Siheng was stunned, his pupils constricting, "What?"

He couldn’t believe it.

Nanli pursed her lips and nodded slightly, "It’s true. I’ve seen similar corpses in the past. This technique is extremely malicious. The five poisons attack the heart, spread through the meridians and Dantian, penetrate deep into the bone marrow, and never dissipate. It was specifically cultivated by Junjie to torment other immortals."

It had been so long ago that she had to think carefully to recall all the details.