In the game, a set of heaven-defying techniques can completely change a person's fate.

Having spent so much time in ""Immortal Dao,"" Henry Bolton also understood that there are three things most important for cultivation: magical treasures, elixirs, and techniques. Magical treasures and elixirs are merely external aids; techniques are the foundation. With good techniques, the power of magical treasures can be multiplied, and the effects of elixirs can be fully utilized. Once you possess a heaven-defying technique, you can be invincible among players of the same level, and might even challenge those above your rank.

“Do you really have a heaven-defying technique? Can you show it to me?” Henry Bolton wasn’t stupid—he wouldn’t easily trust this old Taoist. In this era, people play games, and games play people; NPCs can trick you without consequence.

“Heh heh, you’re quite cautious, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll satisfy your request.” The old Taoist looked at Henry Bolton approvingly, stretched out his hand, and a purple-gold jade slip appeared out of thin air.

The old Taoist didn’t hand the jade tube to Henry Bolton, but instead shared its attributes for Henry Bolton to see.

On the semi-transparent virtual panel, Henry Bolton saw the attributes of this jade slip:

""Refining Heaven and Transforming Earth"": Heaven-defying technique, can be cultivated starting from the Qi Refining stage.

Although the introduction was simple, Henry Bolton couldn’t help but get excited. He hadn’t expected this to really be a heaven-defying technique. What’s more, the requirements for this technique were very low—anyone at the Qi Refining stage could practice it.

“I only need one thing from you in exchange for this technique.” The NPC old Taoist’s crafty eyes swept over Henry Bolton a few times.

Henry Bolton calmed down. Was this old Taoist eyeing something on him? But there were so many things in his storage bracelet, he had no idea which one the old man wanted.

After thinking for a while, Henry Bolton decided to make the deal. As long as he could get this heaven-defying technique, it would be worth dying once here.

“All right, I agree to the trade.” Taking a deep breath, Henry Bolton accepted the deal.

System: Mysterious NPC requests to trade with you. Do you accept?

“Accept.” Henry Bolton chose the option without hesitation.

The old Taoist chuckled and handed the jade tube to Henry Bolton. With the system as witness, he wasn’t afraid that Henry Bolton would take the item and go back on his word.

Henry Bolton took the jade slip, his heart pounding with excitement, and couldn’t help but use his spiritual sense to check the technique inside.

The jade slip turned into a beam of white light and instantly merged into Henry Bolton’s mind. In this game, jade slips are single-use consumables; ordinary players can’t copy them.

System: ""Refining Heaven and Transforming Earth"" is a heaven-defying technique and must be cultivated from the Qi Refining stage. Since you are a Core Formation stage cultivator, to practice this technique, you must first abolish your cultivation.

A few black lines appeared on Henry Bolton’s face. Why did he feel like he’d been tricked? It was like getting a martial arts manual, only to find the requirement: “To practice this skill, you must first castrate yourself.”

From the Qi Drawing stage to the Core Formation stage, Henry Bolton had spent over two hundred in-game years—equivalent to two years in the real world. Now he had to start all over again. Anyone in the game would go crazy at this.

Heaven-defying techniques are powerful, but they don’t necessarily speed up cultivation. They only guarantee an advantage over cultivators of the same level, allowing you to go further. In fact, very powerful techniques often take longer to cultivate than ordinary ones; higher-level techniques are definitely harder to master than lower-level ones.

After a moment of silence, Henry Bolton gradually calmed down. Since things had come to this, he wasn’t going to complain.

“What do you want from me?” Henry Bolton looked expressionlessly at the NPC old Taoist.

The old Taoist seemed to sense Henry Bolton’s mood and consoled him: “Young man, don’t lose heart. This heaven-defying technique definitely won’t disappoint you. All right, since it’s a trade, I need to get what I want.”

“What do you want from me?” Henry Bolton didn’t believe he had anything valuable.

A strange smile appeared on the old Taoist’s face. “What I want is—your life.”

“My life?” Henry Bolton gave a self-mocking smile. He hadn’t expected the old Taoist to want his life.

Isn’t it just dying once? Henry Bolton didn’t really care. At most, he’d drop some items and revive after a while. After all, it was just a game—he could take it in stride.

“Are you ready?” The NPC old Taoist smiled at him.

“Go ahead.” Henry Bolton replied calmly. He wasn’t the first player to die at the hands of an NPC.

The old Taoist nodded, stretched out his withered arm, and a wave of void energy drifted toward Henry Bolton.

The moment the void wave touched Henry Bolton, he felt a sense of danger—not the crisis of dying in a game, but a primal instinct of a living being facing death.

His vision went black, and Henry Bolton’s body collapsed to the ground. He was dead.

System: The server is under attack by an unknown virus. All players, please log off immediately.

System: The server is under attack by an unknown virus. All players, please log off immediately.

……