Chapter 90

Yan Jianxian took the spirit pill, cultivated for a while, and his complexion improved greatly; among Qian Chen’s three companions, he was finally the first to regain some vitality, no longer fearing ordinary Lunhuizhe disturbances. The three bonfires lit earlier in the hall had long since gone out, and after this brutal battle, they had become comrades-in-arms, bound by shared peril.

Naturally, there was no need to remain as distant as before.

Thus the three sat before a pile of dying embers. Qian Chen leaned against a corridor pillar, still radiating deep coldness. Yan Jianxian bowed his fists and said, “Thanks to your earlier gift of this external elixir, Yan Xiang was able to shatter that white bone demon… Now that the demon is gone, it belongs back to you.”

With that, he offered the seventh-rank emerald external elixir.

Zhiqiu suddenly realized: “So Qian Daoist, you pretended to be controlled by that demon just to deliver the external elixir to Yan Xiake!”

Qian Chen nodded slightly but declined the elixir: “Brother Yan, I must suppress these twelve white bone evils—this Ice Soul external elixir is sufficient. Lower-quality external elixirs, whether one more or one less, make no difference. Moreover, due to the evils’ interference, I dare not act freely and still need your protection. This elixir will benefit you more—please take it.”

Yan Jianxian frowned: “How could I accept such a precious thing…”

Qian Chen cut him off: “We’ll worry about that after we survive this tribulation… Right now, you’re the only one among us who can fight. Even if the demon was wounded and fled, whether it’s a great demon like Lang Dajiang or others who came with us—if they turn hostile, only you can stop them. Every bit of strength counts now; why weaken ourselves?”

Without waiting for Yan’s refusal, Qian Chen introduced himself: “I am Qian Chen, a registered disciple of the Louguan Dao. Pleased to meet you both.”

Yan Jianxian formed a sword finger with his right hand, held it before his chest, and remained perfectly still—performing the Daoist customary bow: “I am Yan Shu, a disciple of Shaoqing. Pleased to meet you, Qian Shi-di of Louguan.”

Qian Chen smiled: “Brother Yan, you don’t have a Daoist title, do you? Something like ‘Chixia’?”

Yan Shu blinked in surprise: “Shi-di, you’re teasing me. How could I have a Daoist title without forming a Golden Core? As for courtesy names, they’re not customary out here. I’m no scion of a noble family…”

After the formalities, Zhiqiu opened his mouth wide, unsure how to introduce himself, and finally scratched his head: “I’m Zhiqiu, a disciple of Kunlun. You two probably already know. But where exactly do Shaoqing and Louguan cultivate? I’ve never heard of them.”

Qian Chen smiled: “We’re not from this world—we come from Zhongtu Shenzhou.”

Yan Shu nodded: “Chixian Shenzhou!”

Hearing the name, Zhiqiu was profoundly shaken: “Chixian Shenzhou… So you’re fellow cultivators from the Earth Immortal Realm? When my Kunlun Sect received the Heavenly Book from the Xuantian Great Emperor, we heard of three great Immortal Realms—the sacred domains where the Emperor Lords, Dao Ancestors, even the Dao Patriarch and Heavenly Emperor attained enlightenment. They are also the destinations where cultivators of this world ascend after achieving Primordial Spirit.”

“Our sect venerates the Xuantian Emperor, who resides in the Xuantian Palace within the Jade Emperor’s Heavenly Court.”

“It is said that the Supreme Dao Ancestor and many other great beings all originated from the Earth Immortal Realm. After attaining Primordial Spirit, they ascended to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, finally achieving the Great Dao and opening the myriad heavens. The myriad heavens opened by Dao Ancestors, Buddha Ancestors, and Heavenly Emperors encircle the Heavenly Immortal Realm, collectively known as the Thirty-Three Heavenly Immortal Realms. Within the Earth Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and the Thirty-Three Heavenly Immortal Realms, Primordial Spirit Immortals abound—Dao Lords and Dao Ancestors have emerged in great numbers. Truly, a sacred land of cultivation.”

As Zhiqiu spoke, his eyes filled with reverence. He looked earnestly at Qian Chen and Yan Shu: “Since you both come from the Earth Immortal Realm, your sect must surely possess the Dao of Immortality?”

Yan Shu and Qian Chen exchanged glances, then shook their heads with a bitter smile: “Shenzhou once shone brilliantly… But after several great calamities, our ancestral masters and great cultivators from the Four Seas all ascended to the Heavenly Realm. Now we’ve declined. Primordial Spirit True Persons are vanishingly rare. The Dao of Immortality… yes, it exists. But among all the Dao lineages today, producing even one Immortal is considered a blessing from our ancestors.”

After his sigh, he asked Qian Chen: “I heard your Louguan Dao suffered a calamity—what happened?”

Qian Chen sighed deeply: “Louguan Dao is probably extinct. If no other ancestral masters were secretly cultivating outside the sect… then I am its last disciple. You’ve seen the killer…”

“That demon?” Yan Shu’s expression turned grim. After a long pause, he said: “So that’s why we couldn’t trace the culprit… Qian Shi-di, if you’re the last heir of Louguan Dao, why not seek justice from senior Daoists to preserve your sect’s lineage?”

Qian Chen looked up at the rising eastern sun, his eyes clouded with confusion and sorrow. His acting reached its peak—he smiled bitterly: “Brother Yan! Once you enter the Lunhui , you lose control of your fate. Someone like me, who vanishes unpredictably from Zhongtu and never knows if he’ll survive the next mission—how can I possibly inherit Louguan Dao’s lineage?”

“And how would I explain it to the senior masters? Should I say the Supreme Dao Ancestor’s true heir was abducted by some shadowy Lunhui Lord?”

Yan Shu felt a deep sense of kinship. He nodded: “Indeed. I dare not mention it to my master or senior brothers. Our Shaoqing Sword was the ancestral master’s personal weapon—and yet it was lost here… Clearly, the Lunhui Lord behind this is terrifying. I once mentioned the Lunhui Lord’s name to a senior brother. He wasn’t bound by any taboo, but after hearing it, he simply couldn’t remember anything about it.”

“I feared consequences, so I never tried again.”

Beside them, Zhiqiu seemed to have skipped over the topic of the Lunhui Lord, still stunned by encountering fellow cultivators from the Earth Immortal Realm. In the Dahuang Realm, the orthodox sects had received aid from the Xuantian Great Emperor to subdue the Blood Demon, learning that the Blood Demon had gained his power from the Nine You Blood Sea, and that the terrifying abysses of this world connected directly to Nine You .

He had also learned some common knowledge about the myriad realms, unlike Qian Chen’s previous mission in the martial world, which had been utterly isolated.

But to them, the Earth Immortal Realm was still a legendary, celestial realm. To suddenly meet two cultivators from it was nearly like encountering Primordial Spirit Immortals. Though they’d heard the Earth Immortal Realm had declined, Zhiqiu still felt regret—yet even in decline, it was a realm that still produced Primordial Spirit Immortals, nothing like the remote backwater of Dahuang, which hadn’t produced a single Immortal in ten thousand years.

The closest anyone in this realm had come to Immortality was the Blood Demon, who had caused chaos two thousand years ago.

Zhiqiu sighed: “After the Seven Heroes subdued the Blood Demon, they achieved corpse liberation and ascended. Did they go to the Earth Immortal Realm? Did they attain the Dao of Immortality?”

Qian Chen knew the tale of the Seven Sword Heroes who had slain the demon was the key clue of this mission. Since Zhiqiu knew the details, he asked directly: “Few ascend from the Earth Immortal Realm. If the Seven Heroes received the Xuantian Emperor’s divine decree, their corpse liberation ascension should have been guided to the Xuantian Palace in the Heavenly Realm—or to the Northern Pole Star in the Starry Heaven.”

Zhiqiu asked curiously: “If truly blessed by the Divine, ascending to the Xuantian Palace is natural—but why would they ascend to the Starry Heaven?”

Yan Shu said: “The Xuantian Emperor is also the True Wu the Destroyer of Demons, the Xuanwu Emperor—the sovereign of the North. In the Jade Emperor’s Heavenly Court, he is the Xuantian Emperor; in the Starry Heaven opened by the Purple Micro Emperor, he is the Xuanwu Emperor, ruling the Northern Xuanwu Star Region as the foremost of the Four Northern Saints. This Emperor is ancient beyond measure, worshipped in many heavenly courts—even when a certain Dao Ancestor manifested as Yuan Yang Emperor and opened the Yuan Yang Heavenly Court, this Emperor was still formally enfeoffed.”

“Isn’t the Purple Micro Emperor one of the Four Regents of the Jade Emperor’s Court?” Zhiqiu’s head spun from the overwhelming information.

Yan Shu explained: “The Jade Emperor is a Heavenly Emperor supported by the Daoist sects, thus revered by all other Emperors—even the Purple Micro Emperor must call him lord. But the Daoists have supported more than one Heavenly Emperor. The Northern Purple Micro Emperor, the Earthly Sovereign, the Southern Long Life Emperor, the Eastern Green Hua Emperor, and the Western Gouchen Emperor—all possess cultivation and virtue equal to the Jade Emperor.”

“They only pledged allegiance to the Jade Emperor due to the primordial decree of the Yuanshi Dao Ancestor and the support of the Three Dao Ancestors.”

“Even so, the Gouchen Emperor still refuses to pay homage to the Jade Emperor—he rules from the south as a sovereign.”

“Now the Heavenly Realm is divided into nine parts. The Purple Micro Emperor and the Green Hua Emperor each rule their own heavenly realm as feudal lords. The Western Gouchen Emperor is even the Sovereign of Demons—his many Great Saints don’t even register under the Jade Emperor’s Court.”

After a few moments of idle talk, Qian Chen felt his horizons had broadened greatly. Yan Shu, as a disciple of the Shaoqing Sword Sect, was the first true Daoist heir Qian Chen had met since his reincarnation—his level far surpassed anyone Qian Chen had known in Zhongtu. The information from Yan Shu gave Qian Chen his first clear understanding of the current Zhongtu world.

Zhiqiu was even more dazzled—many of the heavenly realms and ancient secrets Yan Shu mentioned were entirely new to him.

Qian Chen also learned from him the fates of the Seven Heroes who had subdued the Blood Demon. Those seven sword heroes and mystics mostly achieved corpse liberation and ascended. The Kunlun sword immortal, for instance, severed his yin spirit and ascended as a rainbow six decades after subduing the Blood Demon.

“After the Red Dragon True Person ascended, only the Fire Chi Sword remained. His other personal treasure—the Demon Subduing Sword Casket—has vanished. From his final note, it seems he left it to a destined one,” Zhiqiu explained. “My mission down the mountain was not only to investigate the cause of the Tiansha Peak demon disturbance, but also to find this sword casket.”

“I suspect my master sensed something amiss.”

“The Demon Subduing Sword Casket was painstakingly forged by the True Person specifically to subdue the Blood Demon. Now, traces of the Blood Demon’s hand appear behind the Tiansha Peak disturbance. Is the Blood Demon’s chaos of two thousand years about to repeat? If so, we must recover this magic treasure.”

“The Demon Subduing Sword Casket!” Qian Chen finally heard the key point.

Before he could ask further, someone else arrived.

It was roughly the hour of Yin. The sun had risen high. Footsteps sounded outside the hall. Soon, the half-collapsed door was gently pushed open. A six-foot-tall, five-tailed golden rooster strode in with head held high, chest puffed out, stepping over the threshold. It glanced left and right—and Qian Chen saw a hint of solemn authority in its tiny eyes.

Then a girl in a pale ink-blue robe entered. First one leg stepped in, then her head peeked around the doorway. She tilted her head at Qian Chen and the others, then fully stepped into the hall.

In her hand she carried a bronze-colored sword shimmering like purple clouds. Qian Chen recognized it as a high-quality flying sword.

Qian Chen was still marveling—since entering the Lunhui , more people carried flying swords. He felt his wealth had shrunk, no longer as lavish as before. After his battle with Miao Kong, he gained nothing except twelve white bone relics—useless and self-antagonistic—and had destroyed several magic artifacts…

“The path to wealth is long and arduous!”

“Why come to this desolate place?” Qian Chen smiled. “This place just suffered a demon disturbance—full of wolf stench and blood. And we’re three men. If you’re alone, it’s inconvenient. There are two ruined monk’s quarters nearby—though dilapidated, they’re cleaner than here.”

The girl raised her sword and bowed: “Yes. I’m Ning Qingchen. I’m here to investigate the demon disturbance.”

Yan Shu nodded slightly: “I’m Yan. This is Zhiqiu, a Kunlun Daoist, and my Shi-di Qian…”

“Miss Ning?” Qian Chen rubbed his chin. The ruined Lanruo Temple now felt perfectly fitting. He nodded thoughtfully: “You can call me Xiao Qian… Yes. Xiao Qian.” His tone rose slightly, and he sat up a little straighter.

He had just disguised himself as a rogue demon, still unbound his hair, and was injured. Now, with his disheveled hair, pale face, deep cold aura, and white robes clinging to the pillar like a ghost, his overall appearance was too striking.

“This is completely passive cosplay… and a gender-swapped version… what the hell?”