Chapter 391

391. Chapter 387: Reminding Shen Yi (Extra Chapter 6 for "Wandering Lone Wolf's Bet Everything")

"Brother Mu Dan, I'll search for the Immortal Spirit spring first. Let's exchange communication tokens; once I find it, I'll send you a message." Ding Huan did not reveal his suspicions to Shen Yi, planning to tell him only after he left.

"Alright, then I'll await your good news." Shen Yi laughed heartily and departed without hesitation.

The Immortal Spirit springs of Xiandaode Sect far outnumbered those of Baihe Immortal Dao; Ding Huan deliberately delayed, yet still found two Immortal Spirit springs within ten days.

As for the great array to condense Immortal Crystals, Ding Huan had completely lost interest.

What use did he have for so many low-grade Immortal Crystals?

Shen Yi was a decent man—worth befriending.

Ten days later, Ding Huan grew tired of delaying and simply sent Shen Yi a message.

Shen Yi rushed to Ding Huan's location at once, staring at the Immortal Spirit spring radiating thick Immortal Spirit energy, barely believing his eyes:

"Brother Ding Huan, you found an Immortal Spirit spring in just ten days?"

Previously, Ding Huan had taken half a year to a full year to locate an Immortal Spirit spring.

In his Xiandaode Sect, he found one in merely ten days.

Ding Huan smiled: "Your Immortal Sect has more Immortal Spirit springs—I didn't just find one, I found two. Here's the location of the other." He pulled out a directional jade slip and handed it to Shen Yi.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Shen Yi was utterly speechless with gratitude.

What did he mean, Xiandaode Sect had more Immortal Spirit springs? Ha—he didn't believe a word of it.

What did this prove? It proved Ding Huan needed no half-year to a year to find an Immortal Spirit spring—just a few days.

If Ding Huan could find Immortal Spirit springs in a few days, why had he set a one-year deadline?

Naturally, to leave himself time to cultivate.

Ding Huan did not cultivate at Xiandaode Sect's Immortal Spirit springs—he treated him as a friend. But Shen Yi could not pretend ignorance; he must reserve one Immortal Spirit spring for Ding Huan's cultivation.

Moreover, Ding Huan's ability to locate Immortal Spirit springs so quickly indicated an extremely profound understanding of the Dao principles of heaven and earth.

In his eyes, Ding Huan's cultivation level couldn't be high.

With such low cultivation, yet such deep comprehension of heaven's laws—how could his future be ordinary?

"Brother Mu Dan, between friends, there's no need for thanks. I'd advise you not to be so delighted," Ding Huan said, clapping Shen Yi on the shoulder with words that stunned him.

Shen Yi took a long moment to realize: "Brother Ding Huan, you don't understand how precious Immortal Spirit springs are in the Fourth Immortal Realm."

"If I channel the Immortal Spirit energy from these two newly discovered springs into the Ascension Grounds, Xiandaode Sect will instantly rank among the top five hundred in the Fourth Immortal Realm."

Ding Huan sighed: "Old Shen, I treat you as a friend, so I'll speak plainly."

Shen Yi immediately grew solemn: "Brother Ding Huan, in my heart, you're a man of ability. You treating old Shen as a friend is an honor to me."

Though Shen Yi didn't know what "old Shen" meant, when Ding Huan said it, it felt warmer than the formal title "Mu Dan."

Ding Huan nodded: "Good, then I'll speak plainly."

Shen Yi pulled out a table and chairs, sat beside Ding Huan by the Immortal Spirit spring, and even poured him a cup of steaming Immortal Spirit tea.

As a Pill Immortal Sect, Xiandaode Sect's Xianda tea was renowned throughout the Fourth Immortal Realm.

Sitting beside a newly discovered Immortal Spirit spring, drinking Xianda tea—this was pure luxury. Of course, that was for Shen Yi.

Ding Huan asked: "Old Shen, when did you enter the Profound Immortal realm? And when did you reach Profound Immortal peak?"

Shen Yi recalled: "I entered the Profound Immortal realm seven hundred years ago, and reached its peak five hundred years ago."

In just two hundred years, he advanced from Profound Immortal early stage to peak—he was proud of it.

Ding Huan asked again: "Earlier you said you were aiming for Level Four Immortal Alchemist. How long have you been trying?"

Shen Yi remembered this far more clearly than his cultivation level, answering almost without thought:

"I became a Level Three Immortal Alchemist one thousand one hundred and thirty-two years ago, and have been striving for Level Four ever since."

Ding Huan said calmly: "So you spent five hundred years without leaving the Profound Immortal realm. And you've spent over eleven hundred years without becoming a Level Four Immortal Alchemist."

Shen Yi sighed: "Perhaps my alchemical potential is too low. These two goals should have gone hand in hand."

"If I could become a Level Four Immortal Alchemist, I could brew Great Yi Immortal Pills. With Great Yi Immortal Pills, I could ascend to the Great Yi Immortal realm."

"Now that I haven't become a Level Four Immortal Alchemist, obtaining a Great Yi Immortal Pill is extremely difficult."

Ding Huan chuckled: "Old Shen, I can tell you with certainty—even if you had a Great Yi Immortal Pill, you couldn't ascend to Great Yi Immortal here."

"Why?" Shen Yi asked instinctively.

Ding Huan asked: "I haven't investigated, but think—how many Great Yi Immortals are there in the Fourth Immortal Realm?"

Shen Yi said: "There are at least thousands of Great Yi Immortals. I've heard there are even those stronger than Great Yi Immortals..."

Here, Shen Yi fell silent. There truly didn't seem to be anything stronger than Great Yi Immortal.

He'd only heard that the top sect of the Fourth Immortal Realm, Luotian Immortal Dao, had one Great Luo Immortal—but it was only hearsay.

Even as sect leader, he, at his level, could never meet the leader of Luotian Immortal Dao.

"Have any ascended to Great Yi Immortal within the Fourth Immortal Realm?" Ding Huan asked.

Shen Yi frowned slightly, trying to recall who had ascended within the Fourth Immortal Realm.

Before Shen Yi could answer, Ding Huan asked again: "Are there any Level Four Immortal Alchemists in the Fourth Immortal Realm? How many became Level Four Immortal Alchemists here?"

Shen Yi finally remembered: "Lei Wu, the leader of Lei Jian Immortal Sect, ascended to Great Yi Immortal within his sect. As for Immortal Alchemists, there are none in the Fourth Immortal Realm—I hope to become the first Level Four Immortal Alchemist."

Ding Huan asked calmly: "Who has actually witnessed Lei Wu's ascension to Great Yi Immortal?"

"I don't know," Shen Yi answered honestly.

He finally understood Ding Huan's meaning: "Brother Ding Huan, you mean one cannot ascend to Great Yi Immortal in the Fourth Immortal Realm? Nor become a Level Four Immortal Alchemist?"

Ding Huan declared firmly: "Yes. If my guess is right, it's tied to the Dao principles of the Fourth Immortal Realm."

"But this Dao principle controls so precisely—even Immortal Spirit energy exists only within sects—that it's highly suspicious."

"You must have wondered: why do you need Immortal Crystals brought from the Fifth Immortal Realm to cultivate Level Four Immortal herbs? Why can't Immortal Spirit energy from the Fourth Immortal Realm grow Level Four Immortal herbs?"

Shen Yi fell silent.

He cultivates not the Great Cosmic Art, so his response to the laws of heaven and earth is slower, not as sensitive as Ding Huan.

In fact, Ding Huan had only suspected before; after seeing Wu Hongtian's notebook, he became even more certain his suspicion was correct — in the Fourth Immortal Realm, it is truly impossible to ascend to a higher level.

"Perhaps… you're right." After a long silence, Reminding Shen Yi spoke, his voice weary.

He suddenly felt lost; as a sect lord of an immortal sect, his Dao goal was naturally to pursue higher realms, and also higher-level alchemy.

Ding Huan's words cruelly shattered his pursuits into fragments, leaving him directionless for a moment.

Ding Huan said calmly: "I've found two Immortal Spirit spring sources for your sect. Don't go show off by upgrading your Dao Hall. Follow my advice — stay low-key here and develop quietly. Let future matters wait until the future."

Reminding Shen Yi sighed. Before speaking with Ding Huan, he had been full of determination. Now, he was entirely deflated.

Ding Huan clapped Reminding Shen Yi on the shoulder: "Old Shen, the Dao exists everywhere. Maybe the Fourth Immortal Realm is currently restricted by the laws of heaven and earth, but who can say what the future holds?"

"That mindset of yours isn't the mindset of one pursuing the Dao."

"Right, who can be certain there won't be opportunities here in the future?" Reminding Shen Yi drew a breath, regaining composure from his earlier despair.

Ding Huan smiled: "That's better. Let me ask you — what's the relationship between the Fifth Immortal Realm and the Fourth Immortal Realm?"

Reminding Shen Yi said: "I only know the Fourth Immortal Realm must follow the rules set by the Fifth Immortal Realm — even its laws are crafted by the Fifth."

Ding Huan asked: "Then how do people from the Fourth Immortal Realm enter the Fifth?"

Reminding Shen Yi said: "Generally, only immortal sects ranked in the top ten of the Ascending Dao Hall's sect list, or individual top-ten geniuses on other rankings, have the chance to enter the Fifth Immortal Realm."

"How far is the Fifth Immortal Realm from the Fourth? Do you have to leave the Fourth Immortal Realm and travel for a long time?" Ding Huan asked again.

Reminding Shen Yi shook his head: "No, the Fifth Immortal Realm and the Fourth Immortal Realm are actually within the same realm."

"The Fifth Immortal Realm is also on this same planet?" This time, it was Ding Huan who was stunned.

He had assumed the laws of heaven and earth in the Fifth Immortal Realm were vastly stronger than those in the Fourth, so it must be far away.

He had never imagined they were the same place.

Reminding Shen Yi said: "Yes. Do you have any idea how vast the Fourth Immortal Realm is? In all these years you've been here, you haven't even traveled one ten-millionth of it."

"Without using a teleportation array, even with a low-grade flying immortal artifact, it would take at least a hundred years to fly from the Fourth Immortal Realm to the Fifth."