Becoming an immortal against the will of heaven

Chen Tian glanced at the now normal-sized purple-gold alms bowl and smiled slightly before grasping it and shaking it up and down.

At that moment, a strange scene unfolded.

As Chen Tian shook the purple-gold alms bowl, extremely miserable wails echoed from within.

It was the agonizing scream of the Southern Immortal Daoist.

At the same time, the purple-gold alms bowl began to flash with streaks of purple light, its size fluctuating erratically.

Clearly, the Southern Immortal Daoist was unwilling to be trapped and was making a final struggle inside.

However, to the Southern Immortal Daoist's despair, no matter what methods he employed, he couldn't break free from the purple-gold alms bowl.

Moreover, as he struggled, flames erupted from all sides of the purple-gold alms bowl, along with bursts of frigid air, as if tormenting him, or perhaps refining him.

This purple-gold alms bowl was a supreme treasure of the demonic path.

It didn't possess any offensive or defensive capabilities; its sole purpose was 'soul refinement!'

Soul refinement, as the name suggests, involved extracting a cultivator's soul without harming their physical body. In the hands of a demonic cultivator, this purple-gold alms bowl was equivalent to an alchemist's furnace in the hands of an immortal cultivator.

However, they weren't refining pills, but human souls.

Chen Tian knew that the Southern Immortal Daoist was an old monster at the late stage of the凝海 (Ning Hai) Realm. If he had pushed him too far earlier, and he had chosen to self-detonate, Chen Tian would have inevitably suffered greatly.

The Southern Immortal Daoist was right; from the start, Chen Tian hadn't considered running away. His mind was solely focused on one thing: how to kill him while minimizing the damage.

After much deliberation, Chen Tian decided to use this purple-gold alms bowl to separate the Southern Immortal Daoist's soul and slowly refine it to death.

This way, Chen Tian could kill him skillfully without fearing that the Southern Immortal Daoist would use self-detonation as a last resort to harm him.

However, while this plan was ingenious, it had a drawback: if the Southern Immortal Daoist chose to self-detonate before being taken into the purple-gold alms bowl, Chen Tian would still have to bear the brunt of the damage.

Nevertheless, after careful consideration, Chen Tian ultimately decided to implement the plan because Chen Tian had reason to believe that the Southern Immortal Daoist wouldn't self-detonate prematurely.

Although he hadn't spent much time with the Southern Immortal Daoist, through their few interactions, Chen Tian could discern that the man was extremely conceited and arrogant.

In his eyes, Chen Tian was just a凝海 (Ning Hai) Realm cultivator in the early stage with a few tricks up his sleeve, while his cultivation base was three realms higher than Chen Tian's. Therefore, from the beginning, he hadn't taken Chen Tian seriously.

It was this very conceit that caused him to underestimate Chen Tian, ultimately leading to his current predicament.

At this moment, the purple-gold alms bowl was still fluctuating in size, becoming increasingly violent, suggesting that the Southern Immortal Daoist trapped within had lost his composure and descended into madness.

"Forget it, let me give you some relief!"

Seeing this, Chen Tian immediately sat down cross-legged, formed hand seals, and cast a series of incantations onto the purple-gold alms bowl.

As the incantations landed, the vibrations on the purple-gold alms bowl intensified, and the screams emanating from within became even more agonizing.

At this time, the Southern Immortal Daoist seemed to realize the situation he was about to face, so his struggles became more rapid, attempting a final desperate fight.

But how could Chen Tian let him have his way?

Chen Tian closed his eyes, his hand seals blurring as he continuously formed them, each one landing on the alms bowl. After some time, the screams within gradually weakened until they disappeared completely.

At the same time, the purple-gold alms bowl ceased to react, hovering quietly in front of Chen Tian.

However, facing all of this, Chen Tian still didn't relax at all. Instead, he cast another series of incantations, continuing the refinement.

Half a day passed, and only when there were no more strange sounds coming from the alms bowl did Chen Tian stop his movements, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned the purple-gold alms bowl back.

After inspecting it, Chen Tian reached out his right hand, wanting to open it and see how the Southern Immortal Daoist had been refined.

However, just as Chen Tian touched the alms bowl, as if realizing something, he suddenly retracted his right hand.

Chen Tian thought that the Southern Immortal Daoist was, after all, a cultivator at the late stage of the凝海 (Ning Hai) Realm, and he might still have some hidden tricks. If he opened the alms bowl at this moment and found that he wasn't dead yet, he would definitely launch a final counterattack.

If that happened, wouldn't all of Chen Tian's previous efforts have been in vain?

Although Chen Tian was completely confident that the Southern Immortal Daoist had already died and dissipated under his refinement, to be on the safe side, he decided it was best to continue refining him for a while longer.

So, Chen Tian put the purple-gold alms bowl into his body and continued to refine it.

At the same time, Chen Tian took out a pile of Mysterious Grade spiritual pills and other high-grade spiritual pills, swallowing them all without distinction, then closed his eyes to rest, wanting to replenish all the spiritual power he had lost.

Three more days passed. Chen Tian calculated the time in his mind and felt that it should be about right. With a thought, he took out the purple-gold alms bowl, which he had put into his body, again.

At this time, there was nothing unusual about the purple-gold alms bowl. It hovered quietly in front of Chen Tian.

After carefully examining it, Chen Tian took a deep breath, then formed hand seals and cast the final incantation into it.

Accompanied by bursts of strange purple light and a clear 'ding' sound, the purple-gold alms bowl, which had been sealed by Chen Tian, slowly opened.

Just as a small crack appeared, a jade belt suddenly shot out from within.

Chen Tian was surprised for a moment when he saw this, then he was overjoyed because he recognized it. This jade belt was the Southern Immortal Daoist's storage treasure.

As a cultivator at the late stage of the凝海 (Ning Hai) Realm, the Southern Immortal Daoist must have collected countless treasures, and now, they were all Chen Tian's.

Thinking of this, Chen Tian couldn't wait to reach out and grab the jade belt.

But at this moment, three daggers flashing with dark black light followed closely behind the jade belt, shooting towards Chen Tian at an extremely fast speed!