Chapter 202: The Strange Immortal Realm

Crimson-red light burst forth, bathing the area below the mountain in an eerie hue; those unaware thought a demon lord had descended into the world……

But in the eyes of you who know the truth, this red light is none other than the genuine 'Jieyin Immortal Light'!

Over the past century or more, the number of True Immortals pouring in from all corners of the Primordial Wilderness has grown ever larger, totalling at least several hundred thousand.

Jingxin Daoren had asked the lord of his cave heaven: the Middle Heaven Gate opens once every century or more, each time bringing at least several hundred thousand True Immortals, sometimes even over a million, and this is just the data from his own cave heaven; if one adds the data from all the cave heavens and blessed lands surrounding Mount Buzhou, there are batches numbering in the tens of millions, even up to a hundred million!

Faced with such staggering numbers, you suddenly feel that the Age of Dharma Decline has not arrived at all—these True Immortals sprout like successive crops of leeks…… how could this be the Age of Dharma Decline?

The depletion of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy actually has far less impact on the birth of True Immortals than imagined; True Immortals remain countless, and the True Immortals who have flooded into the Immortal Realm throughout the ages may already number in the countless trillions……

However, you don't think many of these True Immortals could survive; if you follow your earlier dark guess, big fish eat small fish…… perhaps the Thirty-Three Heavens are truly a hell!

But you can't help but think of the Central State model, and a glimmer of hope rises again: if a viable symbiotic system can be forged in the mortal realm, then in an Immortal Realm where everyone enjoys immortality, a similar peace and tranquility is not impossible……

After all, reality is often too despairing; people always need a place to pin their hopes for a better future, and in this regard you are no different from other immortals…… In the dark heavens and earth, everyone looks to the Immortal Realm, for it is the last hope.

……

Faced with the crimson Middle Heaven Gate, everyone was delighted!

"The Middle Heaven Gate is open; why not enter and take a look at the Immortal Realm?"

A Daoist gathered courage, laughed loudly, and flew toward the Middle Heaven Gate as the first one!

"I am Fengji Zhenren; this time I will risk my life for you fellow Daoists! Regardless of life or death, I only hope you remember my name!"

Among the many surrounding cave heavens, tens of millions of eyes watched this Fengji Daoren laugh as he shot up into the sky.

This truly can be called achieving fame in a single move!

Someone rolled their eyes, immediately sprang onto their cloud, and loudly proclaimed their own name!

"My name is Su Sanshi; I am willing to be the vanguard for all fellow Daoists!"

"I am Shengwen Zhenren; I am willing to take the lead for all fellow Daoists!"

"I……"

Amidst their loud shouts racing to be first, the area beneath Mount Buzhou seemed to turn into a 'great stage of stars', as one True Immortal after another gained fame before the crowd, instantly attracting tens of millions of attention!

After they did that, the crowd belatedly realized and rushed forward to make a name for themselves; one name after another echoed beneath Mount Buzhou, some watching for amusement, others utterly speechless……

Jingxin Daoren belonged to the amusement-seekers; watching those people clamor eagerly for fame, he laughed heartily: 'These outsiders are truly interesting—whether the Immortal Realm is good or bad is still unclear, what's the rush? What if inside it's a case of big fish eating small fish?'

You felt speechless, yet you also understood their mindset; after all, having come this far, they are surely going to enter the Immortal Realm, whether good or bad makes no difference—those who can arrive here have already made the mental preparations…… Since they must go in anyway, of course it's best to first make a name and gain ten thousand followers!

If the inside is a good place, then entering it means everyone can survive; your fame would explode straight to the heavens, with tens of millions of True Immortals having heard your name—what glorious honor!

But if the inside is a bad place, entering equals death…… then all the more reason to make a name, since you're going to die anyway—if you don't have one last fling, you'll never get the chance!

"Fellow Daoist, shall we go in too?"

Jingxin Daoren watched the amusement for a while, seeing that the aforementioned Fengji Zhenren had already entered the Mount Buzhou region without hindrance, his eyes lit up as he finally became convinced that Pangu's residual might had weakened to the point where True Immortals could pass, and so he made the suggestion to you.

But you were not in a hurry……

Ding! Faced with the temptation of the Middle Heaven Gate and the Immortal Realm, you choose: (?)

A: Enter, charge ahead boldly! B: Don't enter, being lewd is good for life!

"Yo, setting down a save point here?"

Seeing this, Zhao Si naturally understood the kid's thoughts; as the only one among the main characters who had truly grasped the game as an advanced player, it was only natural to leave a save point before pushing forward.

Thus Zhao Si did not hesitate:

"Choose A!"

You chose option A, entered, and charged ahead boldly!

Having set the save point, you immediately brought the eager Jingxin Daoren aboard your cloud, flying together with the countless True Immortals pouring thickly into the Middle Heaven Gate!

Upon entering the area within Mount Buzhou, that earlier Pangu residual might once again clung to you.

In an instant, Jingxin Daoren's magical power stalled, but ultimately there was no major reaction; his True Immortal cultivation held firm!

And you were even less affected—since True Immortals could withstand it, a Mystic Immortal naturally had no reason not to; under the sway of intense curiosity, you gradually approached the Middle Heaven Gate.

The closer you got to the Middle Heaven Gate, the thicker the crimson-red light became; the glowing gate resembled a gaping bloody maw……

When you drew near, you could no longer see any gate at all—before your eyes lay only endless crimson!

Under this crimson illumination, a feeling of vexation and ferocity welled up in your chest for no reason, making you want to vent wildly and destroy……

But your cultivation of magical power still helped you resist the sway of this strange force, and the Primordial Wilderness power flowing from your shoulders supplied innate spiritual energy, keeping you rational; that feeling of ferocity did not escalate much, at most merely putting you in a slightly bad mood.

But Jingxin Daoren beside you was completely lacking your composure; bathed in that intense strange crimson light, he immediately began to pant heavily, his eyes flashing the same red light—his formerly handsome, jade-like visage twisted and ferocious, resembling a blue‑fanged evil ghost about to pick its victim……

He glared at you with malice!

You raised an eyebrow, lifted your hand, and sent a pulse of magical power into his primordial spirit.

You weren't sure whether your magical power had any effect, but just now you had broken free of the fiendish control using magical suppression, so you figured it was worth a try……

Fortunately, a spark of your magical power truly awakened his remaining reason; his ferocious face broke into a strained smile: 'Dao… fellow Daoist… this Immortal Realm really has a problem…… we can't go in…… hurry and flee……'

Flee?

You shook your head: 'You can't escape—haven't you noticed? We've actually already entered the Immortal Realm……'

……

Jingxin Daoren stared blankly, looking behind him; he clearly remembered not having entered the gate yet, and expected to see a bird's‑eye view of the Primordial Wilderness.

But what met his eyes was not a bird's‑eye view, but a vast expanse of crimson!

He gazed blankly in all directions, even up and down, but all he saw was an endless sea of crimson.

As it turned out, you had unconsciously entered the Middle Heaven Gate during that earlier moment of confusion……

"So this is what is called the Immortal Realm?"

You sighed disappointedly: 'It seems we all guessed wrong—this Immortal Realm is neither a place of bliss and peace, nor a realm where big fish eat small fish…… there's nothing here.'

All your fantasies about the Immortal Realm shattered in an instant.

As it turned out, here there is only endless crimson light—no Jade Pool, no Hall of Ascending Heavens…… all mythological relics have long vanished……

Just as you were feeling moved, someone suddenly shouted and charged over, obviously intending to attack you!

But your expression didn't change; you raised your hand and caught him. A Mysterious Immortal versus a True Immortal—if you can't overwhelm them, that's too far-fetched.

Taking a closer look, you saw he was an acquaintance: he was the very first one who had shouted his name to all the immortals earlier—"Fengji Zhenren"!

But at this moment he had completely lost his earlier might and nonchalance; his face was twisted like Jingxin's, he kept panting heavily, and in his reddened eyes there was not a trace of reason.

You hesitated a moment, then repeatedly tried the same trick, injecting a bit of mana into his primordial spirit, hoping to wake him.

But unfortunately, likely because he was the first to be afflicted, this True Immortal didn't regain his reason; he merely calmed down a bit.

Your attempt failed; you sighed, let him go, and allowed him to continue raving in the Immortal Realm……

"What on earth is going on here?"

Full of doubt, you couldn't figure out why the former capital of the Heavenly Court had become like this.

No above, no below, no heaven, no earth—in all directions there was no scenery or boundary…… Is this really the Thirty-Three Heavens of old?

……

You walked with Jingxin for a long, long time, trying to find some trace, but unfortunately you found nothing; you could only see those reason-less True Immortals tearing at each other, not using any spell or treasure—it seemed that in their demented state they had forgotten everything.

In this heaven-and-earth filled with bloody-red light, you found nothing of value, neither object nor information……

You couldn't help but wonder: before, True Immortals kept pouring into the Immortal Realm—in theory there should be countless of them; with so many entering, surely they'd have left some trace?

In that doubt you quickly understood the reason: a demented True Immortal with difficulty killed another demented True Immortal; the dead True Immortal inexplicably turned into bloody-red vapor, which then dissipated in this heaven-and-earth, leaving behind clothes, treasures, body…… nothing at all……

Seeing this, you suddenly realized: it seems the former True Immortals all died this way!

And you, this batch of True Immortals, will follow in their footsteps……

As time passed, Jingxin would periodically lose his reason again, so you had to keep infusing him with mana to maintain his reason.

Later you got annoyed and simply placed the seven-colored little bird on his shoulder; the endless innate spiritual energy directly steadied his reason, and so he returned to normal.

He stared blankly at the seven-colored little bird for a long while, then dazedly looked toward you.

"Fellow Daoist, so this is the secret of your spiritual energy source……"

"That's right."

By now you're not hiding anything from him anyway; after all, you're bound to die here this time. To you it's just reloading an earlier save point, but to Jingxin this truly is his death's door.

Facing someone at death's door, you rarely opened your heart and sat with him.

After a long sigh, you slowly began to tell him everything.

"Actually, I bear an important mission……"

……

(End of chapter)