Chapter 1122 The Mystery of the Crimson Dragon's Fall

Eldrin's eyes narrowed slightly, yet he still remained silent.

Seeing this, Daoist Tianfeng couldn't help but shake his head and remarked, "This Qian Xuande lacks sufficient ambition and acts with excessive caution. Even though he has now attained immortality, I'm afraid he is unlikely to achieve any great accomplishments."

"His words, you should take no more than half to heart."

"Oh?"

Eldrin's eyes narrowed slightly, yet his expression remained utterly impassive.

Seeing this, Elder Tianfeng could only smile wryly and say, "Do you know why Qian Xuande, despite having survived a great tribulation, remains only at the seventh level of Immortal Ascension?"

"This..."

Eldrin (Person Name) froze momentarily, a pensive expression flickering across his face.

Generally speaking, the vast majority of human immortals could cultivate to the Seventh Heaven of Immortal Ascension through a million years of arduous training.

If 1 successfully survives a great tribulation, blessed by the opportunities bestowed by the tribulation itself, advancing to the 8th and 9th levels of Ascendant Immortal would be effortless.

Have you not seen the Immortal of 6 Stars, who has lived for merely several 100 1000 years, yet attained the Eighth Level of Ascension Realm? This clearly shows that for humanity, cultivation within the Ascension Realm holds no excessively insurmountable barriers.

Although Qian Xuande had successfully weathered a great tribulation and gained its profound opportunities, he had only reached the seventh level of Immortal Ascension, which truly fell short of Eldrin’s expectations.

Seeing Eldrin’s puzzled expression, Daoist Tianfeng finally explained, “This Qian Xuande attained the Dao 1,300,000 years ago, and has been in secluded cultivation on Greenrock Island for 1,290,000 of those years.”

"This man paid no heed to worldly affairs, devoting his entire being to secluded cultivation. He never competed for fortuitous encounters—even if a celestial origin were unearthed at the mountain's foot, he likely wouldn't have claimed it."

For 1.3 million years, the cultivation resources he had obtained were less than what an ordinary immortal would acquire in 100,000 years. His lifelong cultivation base had been forged almost entirely through his own arduous training.

At this point, Daoist Tianfeng shook his head and remarked, "He is far too cautious, yet on the path of immortality, there is no room for retreat."

"When the great tribulation descends, how can he possibly hold his ground?"

Upon hearing this, Eldrin (Person Name) adopted a solemn expression.

Though he had never witnessed a Great Tribulation himself, he had heard tales of its horrors. During Qian Xuande’s first tribulation, had it not been for a favor owed to his ancestors and the protection of an Earth Immortal (Cultivator Type), he might never have survived it.

However, even so, Eldrin mused thoughtfully, "But Fellow Daoist Qian’s words are not entirely without reason. Tempering my edge and avoiding powerful foes might indeed be useful for me at this moment."

Elder Tianfeng shook his head at these words. Without refuting, he merely inquired, "Are you aware why the Crimson Dragon Ancestor fell 1 100 1000 years ago?"

"Crimson Dragon Ancestor?"

Eldrin (Person Name) froze for a fleeting moment, a trace of astonishment flickering across his expression.

1 100 1000 years ago, the Crimson Dragon Ancestor had failed to breach the Earth Immortal realm and perished—this was a fact acknowledged throughout the Flowing Rivers and 100 Seas. What did Elder Tianfeng mean by his words? Could there be some hidden truth behind it?

Seeing this, Daoist Tianfeng did not wait for Eldrin (Person Name) to respond. With an expression of utmost gravity, he spoke:

"Elder Crimson Dragon possessed the aptitude of a Celestial Immortal. Having cultivated for less than 1,000,000 years, he had already reached the Half-Step Earth Immortal realm. His power even rivaled that of a 5 Tribulation Immortal."

"With his foundation, if he successfully endures 1 more great tribulation, his chances of breaking through to Earth Immortal realm would reach over 90-9 percent."

"Little did they know why he would take such a desperate risk, breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm after a dozen or so millennia?"

As Elder Wind Taoist spoke in his measured tone, Eldrin's expression grew increasingly grave.

He pondered for a long while, until a possibility finally dawned on him. His pupils abruptly contracted as he murmured, "Could it be... to evade the Earth Immortal Tribulation of Elder Xiyang?"

"Exactly!"

Elder Tianfeng nodded slowly before recounting, "Both possess the cultivation base of 5 Tribulations Earth Immortals. Moreover, the Crimson Dragon Sea borders the Sunset Glow Sea."

50 1000 years later, the great calamity shall commence, should both attempt to transcend the Earthly Immortal Tribulation simultaneously.

"Then the 2 would inevitably become each other's heavenly tribulation. Since Redscale Daoist lacked a Terrestrial Immortal Patriarch as his backing, he could only settle for the next best option—attempting an early breakthrough to the Terrestrial Immortal Realm."

"So that's how it is."

Hearing this, Eldrin felt a sudden clarity, finally understanding why Red Dragon Child had been so desperate to break through back then.

If Eldrin had not broken through ahead of time back then, he would have struggled to defeat the Elder of the Setting Sun, who was backed by the Crimson Sun Blessed Land.

After all, their opponent had the backing of an Earth Immortal Patriarch, so from the very beginning, this was never a fair contest between them.

Thus, he advanced prematurely to the Earth Immortal realm, seeking to evade the Setting Sun Ancestor of the Waning Sun Blessed Land in exchange for his own chance to attain the Earth Immortal stage.

"But in the end, he failed!"

Elder Tianfeng’s voice paused briefly, his gaze distant and profound as he said, “You must understand 1 truth—sometimes, it is not by holding back that your enemies will refrain from seeking you out.”

The Setting Sun Patriarch had envisioned the Crimson Dragon Patriarch as his ultimate rival on the path to enlightenment, devising schemes for a full 1 million years. In his heart, he already held 70 to 80 percent certainty of success.

“By taking that step back, the Crimson Dragon Elder lost a vital surge of his fighting spirit. Not only did his chances of breaking through diminish by 30 percent, but the heavenly tribulation confronting him grew no less severe.”

Eldrin nodded slightly upon hearing this, understanding the reason behind Patriarch Setting Sun's actions.

After all, a Half-Step Earth Immortal realm Crimson Dragon was a treasure trove from head to tail—its scales, bones, horns, and dragon pearl were all premium materials for forging supreme-grade immortal artifacts.

Not to mention this Crimson Dragon was attempting a breakthrough to Earth Immortal, currently at the weakest moment of its life. It could be slain at the smallest cost.

At this thought, Eldrin said with sudden enlightenment, "If we wait until the Great Tribulation arrives, even Earth Immortals wouldn't dare act recklessly."

"If the Crimson Dragon Ancestor makes another breakthrough, there might just be a glimmer of hope—he could potentially transcend the heavenly tribulation and attain the Dao."

"Precisely so."

Elder Tianfeng nodded, stroking his beard with a gentle smile. "Cultivation is like sailing against the current. For us immortals striving to contend for the great path of cultivation, we must forge ahead through thorns and thistles."

"Constant retreat, in my view, is but a path to certain death."

"Only by continuously strengthening oneself and possessing power formidable enough to command respect can 1 secure the assurance of longevity and enduring vision."

Eldrin nodded in agreement, yet his gaze held a meaningful gleam as he remarked, “Fellow Daoist, you’ve shared so much with me. I presume it isn’t merely to unburden yourself about events of the past?”

"Ha ha ha."

Elder Skywind let out a hearty laugh and said, "I knew all along there was no hiding it from you."

Exposed by Eldrin, Daoist Tianfeng made no attempt to conceal the truth either.

He laid down another layer of restriction before speaking, "Fellow Daoist, you obtained the refinement method for the Jade Marrow Golden Elixir from me. Do you still remember where I acquired that formula?"

"The formula for the Marrow-Refining Golden Elixir?"

Eldrin (Person Name) froze for a fleeting moment before blurting out, "Fellow Daoist, you once claimed this alchemical formula was serendipitously obtained during your early years of traversing the starry skies!"

"Could it be..."

"Exactly!"

Elder Skywind gave a confirming nod, his expression turning exceptionally grave as he said, "6 100 1000 years ago, when I broke through to the seventh level of Ascendant Immortal, I once journeyed into the depths of the starry expanse."

Deep within the endless starry expanse, he had discovered a shattered immortal-grade star, and the formula for the Jade Marrow Golden Elixir had been obtained from it.

At this point, Daoist Tianfeng's expression turned exceedingly grave as he said, "That Celestial-ranked star is incomparably perilous. It appears to be 1 of the primordial Zhou Heaven Stars—even with my cultivation level back then, I nearly lost my life."

"Now that I've broken through to the Ninth Heaven of Ascension and feel my immortal body has been refined to an indestructible state, I wish to walk this path once more."