Immortal Realms?

Immortals descending to the mortal realm, shattering a unified continent with their strikes and splintering it into what was now the Six Domains... And today, every domain was further divided into several continents. Take the present Great Xia Domain: four continents had combined to form the Great Xia Domain of today. From this alone, one could see just how tragic and grueling that battle ten thousand years ago must have been! Now, the descent of merely a single Mystic Immortal—the lowest rank among them—had brought about such terrible consequences. What if immortals of even higher realms descended? What if they came in greater numbers? Would they possess the power to obliterate the entire Human Spirit Realm? Ji Yuchuan's words weighed heavily on the hearts of both Li Guanqi and Ye Feng. Ji Yuchuan's voice continued in their ears. "That is why the Lord of the Realm chose to forge the Immortal Boundary Wall, suppressing the threshold between the two realms!" Reaching this point, Ji Yuchuan could not help letting out a cold scoff. "A pack of fools assume the Seventh Domain stops them from ascending to the Immortal Realm out of selfishness! "Little do they realize that the ten thousand years of peace enjoyed by the Human Spirit Realm was bought by countless ancestors of the Seventh Domain shedding their blood in battle to this very day!" Shock filled Ye Feng's eyes. Only now did he finally understand why the Seventh Domain barred people from the Immortal Realm from coming down! Although descending to the lower realm exacted an immense toll from them as well, the benefits to be gained down here were incomparable to anything they could obtain in the Immortal Realm. At that moment, Li Guanqi recalled the crazed look in that immortal's eyes. By absorbing the fortune and spiritual essence of the Qingyun Continent, he might break through the shackles of a Mystic Immortal and reach the True Immortal realm! Just then, hearing Li Guanqi speak his thoughts, Ji Yuchuan frowned slightly. "I have heard a bit about the cultivation realms of the Immortal Realm. Each realm consists of nine tiers. "Above Mystic Immortal are Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Golden Immortal, Immortal Monarch... "Beyond that, I know nothing." Li Guanqi was somewhat surprised. "There's a Heavenly Immortal between Mystic Immortal and True Immortal?" Ji Yuchuan smiled. "That's right. There is indeed a Heavenly Immortal." Li Guanqi frowned, a sharp gleam suddenly flashing in his eyes. "Then..." Ji Yuchuan hastily rose, stepped back a few paces, and held up a hand in refusal. "Don't you go asking me what realms of immortals the Lord of the Realm has slain. I've never even set foot in the seventh domain layer. "Forget the seventh layer—I don't even know about the sixth layer, where Sovereign Chen is." Li Guanqi shrugged and stood up with a helpless sigh. "Fine, forget it then." He had originally intended to ask what tier of immortal his grandfather had killed, but now it seemed Ji Yuchuan was in the dark as well. Suddenly, another question struck Li Guanqi. He looked at Ji Yuchuan and asked in a low voice, "Brother Ji, let me ask something..." Ji Yuchuan looked sheepish. "As long as it's not the question from before." "It's not that. "It's... since one can ascend to the Immortal Realm at the Mahayana realm, do those Mahayana cultivators break through straight into the Mystic Immortal realm once they ascend? "Or... do cultivators in both the Tribulation Transcendence and Ascension realms also break through into Mystic Immortals once they go up?" Ji Yuchuan pondered for a while before slowly speaking. "From what I know... the Mystic Immortal realm does not encompass the three realms of Mahayana, Tribulation Transcendence, and Ascension! "The Mystic Immortal realm is an advancement that can only be reached above Ascension! "Even if a Mahayana realm cultivator ascends to the Immortal Realm, their strength remains very meager up there. They still have to cultivate through the Tribulation Transcendence realm and Ascension realm, and only then can they break through the limits of the mortal flesh, receive the baptism of the Immortal Realm, and become a Mystic Immortal!" A look of sudden comprehension dawned in the eyes of both Li Guanqi and Ye Feng. "So that's how it is... No wonder that immortal was so terrifyingly powerful!" Ji Yuchuan chuckled. "Still, you don't need to worry too much. Immortals whose strength is too formidable cannot descend to the mortal realm. "The laws of the Immortal Realm alone are enough to obliterate them!" Li Guanqi nodded. He turned back and took a long, deep look toward Linyan City. With a casual wave of his hand, he embedded a peak spiritual sword deep inside the mountain beneath their feet! Then the group of three departed. *** Inside a cloth shop in Linyan City, a young girl pulled a bolt of cloth from the rubble of a collapsed building and suddenly looked up toward the sky. Yun Chuxue's beautiful eyes flickered, but she saw nothing. A gentle female voice called from within the shop. "Chuxue, when you're done, come eat something." The girl snapped back to reality and called back, "Coming, Mother!" *** Upon returning to the Great Xia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi was immediately whisked away by Lu Kangnian. On the way, Li Guanqi could not help laughing at the sight of Gu Li, who had been beaten black and blue. Gu Li looked at Li Guanqi with eyes full of desperate pleading. "Big Brother... save me..." "I can't save you. You'd better figure out how to dispel that talisman power." "Big Brother! That... that can't be dispelled... I haven't figured out how to undo it yet!" Li Guanqi chuckled, then followed Lu Kangnian into the long-absent study. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Lu Kangnian could not help murmuring once inside the room, "It truly feels... like another lifetime." The room remained spotless; evidently, Wu Bing had regularly arranged for people to clean it. Looking at Lu Kangnian's back, Li Guanqi was deeply moved as well. In less than five years, Lu Kangnian had made continuous breakthroughs from the Void Refining Realm and was now a Mahayana realm cultivator. Looked at in this light, Lu Kangnian truly counted as someone blessed with immense fortune. Immortal incense offerings were not something just anyone could obtain, nor was everyone lucky enough to have Li Guanqi around to refine it into the purest energy for them. Yet Li Guanqi could not deny that Lu Kangnian's cultivation foundation was exceptionally solid; this breakthrough could also be considered the fruition of years of quiet, deep accumulation. "Senior Brother Wu has truly worked hard these past few years." Lu Kangnian sat in his chair and gestured with one hand. "Sit down. Why stand on ceremony?" At that, Li Guanqi sat down and naturally brewed tea for Lu Kangnian. Leaning back in his chair and reflecting on the enormous changes in the Great Xia Sword Sect, Lu Kangnian could not help sighing. "He truly had it hard... and so did all of you." Lu Kangnian's eyes held the weathered look of passing years, and when he gazed at Li Guanqi, his eyes were full of aching tenderness. Lowering his head, he accepted the teacup and murmured softly, "I don't know what it is, but these past few years, it has always felt as though an invisible hand were pushing us forward." With that, Lu Kangnian looked up at Li Guanqi and whispered with mixed emotions, "Me... and all of you as well..." For the Great Xia Sword Sect to grow into the paramount sect of the Great Xia Domain felt entirely like a dream to him. In less than thirty years, the sect had expanded from a modest sect tucked away in a remote corner into the colossus it was today. And all of this was owed to Li Guanqi! Seeing how sentimental he was getting, Li Guanqi could not help teasing him. "Hold on, hold on. We're both getting on in years—spare me the emotional speeches, will you? An old man like me can't take it." The two looked at each other and burst into hearty laughter. "Sometimes I really just want to pass the sect master's seat to you and be done with it." "Don't you dare! I'm definitely not taking it. If you want to hand it over, passing it to Senior Brother Wu would be perfect." "Mm..." "Sect Master... you haven't grown wild and restless after roaming the outside world, have you?" "Shoo, shoo! What nonsense are you spouting?" Lu Kangnian waved his hand with a solemn expression, then suddenly frowned. "By the way, why haven't I seen Tu Shan?" Hearing that, Li Guanqi instantly spat out a mouthful of tea!