Chapter 90: Old Prisoners Enter the World, Heaven Is Not Immortal

The return of the Old Prisoners from the Upper Realm sent tremors through the Human Realm far greater than any victory.

For they brought back the truth.

Heaven is not a fairyland.

It is not a land of eternal bliss after Ascension.

There lies the Heavenly Patrol Prison, a Sea of Gold that extracts Human Qi, and the Immortal Court Dao Lineage that burns Lower Realm cultivators as fuel.

Those "Ascension," "Longevity," and "Upper Realm Blessings" that countless people once longed for were, for the first time, stripped bare by those who had experienced them firsthand.

The Capital Council Hall convened a special inquiry for the Old Prisoners.

The Old Man of the Broken Sword sat in the hall, holding a cup of hot tea, drinking it not for a long time.

Gu Chongming asked, "How many years have you spent in the Upper Realm, Senior?"

"Two hundred and seventeen years."

"Why were you imprisoned?"

"After I Ascended, I refused to return to the Human Realm for the Sky Patrol Hall to collect Sword Veins."

Silence fell over the hall.

An old scholar in a Confucian robe said:

"Three hundred years ago, I cursed, 'Heaven's Gate shepherding the people is not the Way of Heaven,' and was dragged up and locked in a prison."

A half-demon giant grinned:

"Mine was simpler; I beat up a bastard who called himself an Immortal Envoy."

Someone in the hall couldn't help but laugh.

After the laughter, silence returned.

The immortal gods in the clouds, it turns out, also deceive people like this.

Qin Su brought the Medical Camp to treat the Old Prisoners' wounds.

Many of the injuries were ones she had never seen before.

Chains piercing the Soul, Runes rotting the bones, Qi Refining draining the marrow.

The female doctors of the Medical Camp watched with red-rimmed eyes.

The Old Prisoners comforted them instead:

"Being able to return to the Human Realm is already a gain."

Xie Wuya led the Sword Pavilion Disciples to pay respects to the Old Man of the Broken Sword.

That old man was originally a founding ancestor of the Sword Pavilion who had been missing for two hundred years.

The Sword Pavilion's ancient texts recorded that he had Ascended and become an Immortal.

The truth was that he was imprisoned for two hundred years after Ascending.

Xie Wuya personally revised the Sword Pavilion's Ancestral Record.

"Do not write Ascension."

"Write Entering Heaven and being imprisoned, Unyielding."

These four words weighed heavier than Ascension.

Wenxin Hall also welcomed the Old Prisoners.

They spoke of the Upper Realm.

They spoke of the price of Longevity.

They spoke of how Ascension Quotas deceived Human Realm cultivators.

They spoke of those who went up to shepherd the people for Heaven's Gate, only to end up as higher-ranking slaves.

The knife of Black Xuan that used Ascension to lure hearts was completely broken.

Someone asked Jiang Che:

"Sword Master, is the Upper Realm all like this?"

Jiang Che remembered the half-step Cloud Mirror had yielded.

He remembered Black Xuan watching the spectacle.

He remembered that the Sky Patrol Hall and other Dao Lineages were not of one mind.

He said:

"Not entirely."

"But at least the Sky Patrol Hall does not deserve to be called Immortal."

The Council Hall immediately released the Record of Upper Realm Truths.

The History Camp organized the Old Prisoners' testimonies.

After this book spread, many old cultivators from various sects who had remained in seclusion fell silent.

They had sought Ascension their whole lives.

Now they discovered that Ascension might just be exchanging one cage for another.

Some saw their Dao Hearts collapse.

Others truly woke up.

"If Heaven is not Immortal."

"Then cultivate in the Human Realm."

This phrase gradually spread.

The atmosphere of cultivation in the Human Realm changed greatly because of it.

In the past, cultivators sought to leave the Human Realm.

Nowadays, more and more people choose Worldly Cultivation to guard the Human Realm.

After half a month of recuperating at Kunlun, Jiang Che returned to the Capital City.

This time, the Council Hall did not hold a victory banquet for him.

Because he himself forbade it.

He only attended one Old Prisoners memorial meeting.

Lin Xiaoman read aloud the inscription on the Nameless Stele for Old Chai and the others to the crowd.

When he read "We did not kneel," the entire hall fell silent.

After the meeting, Jiang Che went alone before the cracked Dragon Throne.

Xie Tingxue followed behind him.

Jiang Che looked at the split chair and suddenly said:

"I used to think shattering the Dragon Throne was hard enough."

Xie Tingxue said: "And now?"

"Now I realize there's a Dragon Throne in Heaven too."

Xie Tingxue was silent.

Jiang Che said softly:

"The Sky Patrol Hall is just a bigger Dragon Throne."

"The one sitting on it sees all realms as sacrifices."

Xie Tingxue asked: "You want to fight your way up?"

Jiang Che smiled.

"I do."

"But not now."

He looked toward the Council Hall representatives arguing outside the hall.

"The Human Realm still needs to grow."

"And I still need to heal."

Xie Tingxue said: "Rare of you to know how to recuperate."

Jiang Che, helpless: "I value my life now."

Xie Tingxue looked at him.

Jiang Che said:

"Because I promised you."

"Wait for me to come back."

The tips of Xie Tingxue's ears flushed slightly, and she turned and walked away.

Jiang Che smiled and followed.

Outside the hall, the sunlight was just right.

And in the Upper Realm's Sky Patrol Hall.

The Heavenly Patrol envoy half-knelt before the shattered great hall, his crown reduced to half.

A colossal golden Shadow whose face could not be seen looked down upon him.

"The Heavenly Patrol Prison is broken."

"The Kunlun True Gate is destroyed."

"The Lower Realm's Human Realm has already turned to rebellion."

"Heavenly Patrol, you have disappointed the Immortal Dynasty."

The Heavenly Patrol envoy trembled all over.

"Please grant me one more chance, Immortal Dynasty."

The golden Shadow said coldly:

"No need."

"The Immortal Dynasty will personally judge the Human Realm."