If There Were Wine

Wu Tianzun swallowed a leaf of the immortal medicine. Moments passed, yet there was still no reaction at all. "Is this immortal medicine even useful?" Tendrils were still whipping about from Xu Ying's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Full of disappointment, he muttered, "This purple weed couldn't just be graveyard grass, could it?" The purple immortal plant flew into a rage, leaping out from his Realm of Xiyi to throw itself at him in a fight to the death. Xu Ying was hardly going to give it that chance. Grabbing it by the stem, he chopped his palm down against its forehead—assuming the fork where its branches split counted as a head. Though it was a plant, the purple immortal herb was remarkably tough. Its roots flailed wildly, lashing him with sharp cracks and flaying Xu Ying's skin until flesh showed! Driven to viciousness, Xu Ying unleashed the Eight Methods of the God of War, thinking, *Can I really not beat a patch of graveyard grass? Today, either you die or I perish!* Suddenly, an indescribable wave surged within Wu Tianzun's body—like a spring breeze blowing across a cold, bleak winter, or sweet rain descending over land parched by a long drought, moistening all creation and even nourishing Dao methods. A wondrous force revitalized his aged physical body. From deep inside him echoed an abstruse Dao sound, akin to an ancient incantation or a calling. His dispersed Martial Dao Primordial Spirit began to reconvene beneath the summons of that wondrous Dao resonance. Xu Ying and the purple immortal plant, locked in their desperate brawl, instantly noticed the miraculous transformation within Wu Tianzun. Both halted at once. Xu Ying dispersed the Sky Attraction Method he had prepared, while the purple immortal plant quietly withdrew the seven taproots poised to pierce into his flesh. Man and herb watched Wu Tianzun's changes with bated breath. Xu Ying wanted to revive Wu Tianzun fully, not just bring back someone with the mind of a three-year-old child; the purple immortal plant wanted to see whether it was truly an immortal medicine or merely graveyard grass. Gradually, the physiological functions of Wu Tianzun's flesh were restored. Vigor flooded into his elderly frame, and his divine sense returned to its peak. Even more astonishing were the other transformations. As the immortal medicine's potency burst forth alongside that wondrous Dao sound, his memories—dispersed by death—flowed back like trickling streams coalescing into a river. Wu Tianzun gradually remembered his past, and even recollections he had long forgotten began to resurface. His dispersed souls gathered like grains of sand, and his scattered Primordial Spirit, once like a collapsed sand tower, was fully restored. Xu Ying watched this scene in astonishment, sensing the profound power emanating from the immortal medicine. This power transcended the mortal world; it was no worldly force. It harbored the principles of life itself, profound and incomprehensible, impossible to fathom. *If one could comprehend this power, they could master life and death, transcend reincarnation, and achieve true indestructibility!* His heart thumped wildly. He tried to memorize that wondrous Dao sound, but the resonance imprinted in his mind quickly faded, as though wiped clean by an invisible hand. The sound of this supreme Dao was terribly hard to remember and impossible to understand. Xu Ying tried for a while without managing to retain any part of the Dao sound. Suddenly struck by an idea, he glanced sideways at the purple immortal plant still coiled around his neck, thinking, *Isn't this graveyard grass itself the immortal medicine? So long as I study it, I can gain this transcendent power...* Sensing his gaze, the purple immortal plant felt a chill of dread. Seeing Xu Ying look away to anxiously watch the white-haired elder, it slipped back into Xu Ying's Realm of Xiyi in a flash. It had been used as a crucial anchor to suppress the Emperor with Double Pupils, so it naturally possessed extraordinary methods and could freely traverse the Realms of Xiyi of others. It had used this very talent to drive its roots through the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose of the Emperor with Double Pupils and penetrate deep into his Realm of Xiyi. Inside Xu Ying's Realm of Xiyi, the purple immortal plant rummaged high and low, searching all around, but failed to find its other leaves. Sneaking back out, it thought, *They must be on the brat!* It glanced this way and that, feigning nonchalance while quietly wiggling its slender rootlets, rustling silently through Xu Ying's clothes to see if he had stashed its leaves in his pockets. The battle on the Five-Colored Mountain had been fierce. Xu Ying's fight against Li Xiaoke and the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court had shredded his upper garment until only half remained—the front half destroyed, leaving only the back half hanging in tatters. His trousers, naturally, were in no better shape. The purple immortal plant groped inside his trouser pocket for a moment before realizing something was wrong—it seemed to have grabbed the wrong thing. "You hooligan of a graveyard weed!" Both embarrassed and furious, Xu Ying seized it by the neck and gave it a thorough beating. Knowing it was in the wrong, the purple immortal plant nonetheless refused to take the beating lying down. It immediately fought back, gouging eyes, picking nostrils, punching kidneys, and striking the groin—every move as dirty as could be. After a long while, Wu Tianzun had fully returned to his peak state from before his death. His Primordial Spirit was formidable, his physical body robust—even surpassing his former prime! He looked down in disbelief at his own hands and examined his body, his white hair fluttering as tears welled in his eyes. Only after experiencing death did one truly understand the preciousness of life. He had died once. With his body withered and his heart power failing, even boundless martial might had availed him nothing. In the end, he had perished, letting his Primordial Spirit disintegrate and his souls scatter, leaving behind only his spirit burning like a torch. This resurrection granted him even deeper comprehension, bringing a great awakening of rebuilding after destruction. Without his realizing it, his Martial Dao state of mind had ascended another level. "Fellow Daoist Xu." He stepped forward to break up the brawl between Xu Ying and the purple immortal plant. Xu Ying and the purple immortal plant had been brawling furiously, both looking rather disheveled. Seeing him intervene, they took the opportunity to step back and call a truce. Xu Ying asked with concern, "Wu Tianzun, do you feel any discomfort?" Wu Tianzun shook his head, exclaiming in wonder, "I never knew such miraculous immortal medicine existed in this world, able to bring the dead back to life and defy heaven to alter fate. It is truly marvelous. I feel as though I have become an undying immortal with boundless lifespan." Xu Ying was astonished. "You feel you've become an immortal?" Wu Tianzun nodded and smiled. "It is a curious sensation. Ever since I opened the second mystic pass, I could accurately perceive my remaining lifespan, down to the exact day. But after taking the immortal medicine, I feel as though my longevity is infinite, with no end in sight." Xu Ying marveled inwardly, wondering, *Could the immortal medicine truly be so miraculous, not only reviving the dead, but even granting immortality?* He suddenly recalled what the Emperor with Double Pupils had said before departing: the graveyard weed was indeed immortal medicine, yet it could not grant true immortality. *"You will discover the flaw of the immortal medicine,"* he had told Xu Ying. Xu Ying frowned slightly, feeling a touch uneasy. Yet seeing Wu Tianzun fully alive, kicking, and back in peak condition, he could not help but feel happy for the elder. "The path once trodden by that Martial Sage—I have finally seen it through," Wu Tianzun said with a smile. "Now, we can return to the Other Shore of the Martial Dao and meet Zhai Wuxian and the others!" His spirit surged with excitement. "Our journey was not in vain. Not only did we forge this path, but we also discovered this immortal mountain. The era in which our world lacked heaven-and-earth yuan qi and could not cultivate should now be gone forever, shouldn't it?" Even as the foremost figure of the Martial Dao, he harbored his own obsessions. He wished to spread the Martial Dao to the outside world, resolve the problem of the Taichu World's inability to cultivate, and end the invasions of the Taichu World by the primordial battlefield and the Netherworld. Now, answers to these problems were finally within reach! Xu Ying looked around. With the collapse of the six seals suppressing the Emperor with Double Pupils, the five-colored yuan qi had also dispersed. It no longer flowed back toward the crater, but poured down from the summit, sweeping toward the primordial battlefield. The five-colored yuan qi possessed the miraculous effect of reviving the dead and growing flesh on bare bones, teeming with boundless vitality. Wherever it passed, the primordial battlefield was stripped of its former gloom and lifeless dread, quickly turning into a landscape of verdant hills and clear waters, the world washed pure and bright. Yet the primordial battlefield remained just as perilous—if not more so. The gods and demons who had fallen in battle here during the primordial era had lingering resentful thoughts or residual flesh rooted in this soil, previously bound to sow chaos only within the primordial battlefield without the ability to leave. Now, nourished by the five-colored yuan qi, skeletal frames rose one after another, driven by demonic wills. They were bound to become a scourge! Wu Tianzun's fighting spirit soared at the sight. Striding down the mountain, he laughed. "I shall sweep away these demonic clouds and restore clarity to our Taichu World!" Xu Ying followed him, gazing farther into the distance. The five-colored yuan qi flowed toward the Taichu World. As it gradually thinned, the vitality held within diminished considerably compared to before. Yet such was heaven-and-earth yuan qi: if too dense, it became fiendish and hard to control; if too faint, cultivation became impossible. *The five-colored yuan qi is flowing toward the Taichu World, not the Netherworld,* Xu Ying reflected. *The lack of yuan qi in the Taichu World truly was connected to the suppression of the Emperor with Double Pupils. Now that he has escaped, the five-colored yuan qi is returning to the Taichu World. But...* He fell into deep thought. Why had the Immortal Realm suppressed the Emperor with Double Pupils in the first place? Had the Immortal Realm sacrificed the heaven-and-earth yuan qi of an entire world to seal him away because he committed some grave crime, or for some other reason? Was his escape a blessing or a curse for the mortal realm? *And what about the Netherworld?* Looking down from the heights toward the Netherworld, Xu Ying pondered, *Just how vast is the Netherworld? Why can it connect to other worlds? And what is the truth behind its invasions?* As he pondered these questions, the purple immortal plant suddenly tugged at the shredded cloth on his back. "Don't pull," Xu Ying said. "I don't have new clothes to change into. I was kidnapped here, and all my new clothes are inside a snake's belly... You're still pulling? Do you want to fight?" The purple plant tugged at the rags again. Puzzled, Xu Ying looked and saw it raise a root, pointing ahead at Wu Tianzun. Xu Ying looked over. Wu Tianzun had reached the foot of the mountain and was walking outward. The wind wall sealing the Five-Colored Mountain had stopped at some point—perhaps shattered by the Emperor with Double Pupils, or dissolved naturally once the six seals and restrictions were broken. They could leave from any direction without fearing being shredded by the wind wall. Yet Xu Ying's expression gradually grew grave as he watched Wu Tianzun's retreating back. Just moments ago, the old man had brimmed with fighting spirit, striding with the vitality of youth. Now, his back was hunched, and his steps faltered. Having stepped beyond the Five-Colored Mountain, his essence drifted behind him like sand swept up by a gale. His souls, his Martial Dao blood qi, and his Primordial Spirit were all rapidly disintegrating! Yet Wu Tianzun was entirely oblivious, still muttering to himself, "We can cultivate now... we can... The Martial Dao is too difficult; none can master it without immense perseverance. Once I return, I shall spread the art of Qi Refining instead. If the people can cultivate, they will grow strong, able to protect themselves and resist the Netherworld's invasions..." His white hair trembled, his aged eyes turning clouded. "Yet our Dao must not be lost; someone must still carry it on. When heaven-and-earth yuan qi is stolen away once more, brave souls will be needed to resist, to take it back..." "Wu Tianzun!" Xu Ying shouted, trying to make him notice his bizarre condition. Dazed and disoriented, Wu Tianzun turned back toward Xu Ying, murmuring, "One must possess the spirit to resist in desperate straits, the courage to fight the heavens..." *Thud!* His world spun, and turning back into a corpse, he collapsed to the ground. Xu Ying rushed forward and checked him. Wu Tianzun bore no breath whatsoever; his life had ended! "What is going on?" Xu Ying seized the purple immortal plant by its stalk, hoisting it up and demanding fiercely. The purple plant shoved his hand away with a root and traced three characters on the ground: "Undying Immortal"—*bu si xian*. Xu Ying was baffled. He studied the three characters intently. After a moment, realization struck him: "These aren't three characters, but four! 'Undying,' 'person,' and 'mountain'—the character for immortal is made of a person on a mountain! So that's how it is, that's how it is!" He scooped up Wu Tianzun's corpse and rushed back onto the Five-Colored Mountain. The moment he stepped onto the immortal mountain, wondrous Dao sounds echoed from within Wu Tianzun's body once more. His essence reconvened, his souls were reforged, and his Primordial Spirit returned. Wu Tianzun awakened yet again. "The immortal medicine can indeed grant immortality, but with a condition," Xu Ying explained to him. "Your perception wasn't wrong either; you truly have become an immortal, but an immortal bound by conditions. Only while inside the Immortal Realm are you an immortal, and only then are you undying." He sighed, tracing the characters for "Undying Immortal" on the ground. "The true meaning of the immortal medicine is an undying person upon a mountain. Wu Tianzun, this Five-Colored Mountain must be an immortal mountain from the Immortal Realm. Though it fell to the lower realm, it remains an immortal mountain. Standing on it is equivalent to being in the Immortal Realm; stepping off it is equivalent to leaving the Immortal Realm behind." Understanding dawned on Wu Tianzun. "In other words, if I leave the immortal mountain, I will die; if I return, I can continue to live like an immortal." Xu Ying nodded gently. Wu Tianzun exhaled a breath of stale air and chuckled. "To live another life is already a monumental blessing. Why look so somber? Zhai Wuxian and the others need a torch to guide their way. By remaining here, can I not point out their direction?" Displaying an easy grace, he smiled. "A person upon a mountain is an immortal. I have already become an immortal, living without death. You should be happy for me." Xu Ying managed a smile. "I ought to be happy!" Wu Tianzun laughed. "If there were wine, we should drink a full cup to celebrate!" Xu Ying smiled back. "Indeed. It's a pity my friend Yuan Qi isn't here; if he were, there would certainly be wine." Wu Tianzun's throat bobbed, his craving for wine clearly stirred. He chuckled, "You are a mortal of the mundane world and shouldn't linger on this mountain for long. I am free from worldly entanglements, but you still have much to do." Xu Ying rose and smiled. "True. I have plenty of trivial matters to attend to." Wu Tianzun said, "Go on down the mountain; I won't see you off. Take care on your way." Xu Ying offered to leave the purple immortal plant behind to keep him company, but Wu Tianzun shook his head in refusal. The purple plant was also rather terrified of the old man, knowing it could not defeat him, and was bent on recovering its leaves, so it was equally unwilling to stay. Xu Ying walked down the mountain and found the broken door. Just as he was about to store it in his Realm of Xiyi, Wu Tianzun's voice called down from above: "Fellow Daoist Xu—" Xu Ying looked up. Wu Tianzun, hair snow-white, stood high above. "Remember to come visit me! Don't leave me too lonely!" Xu Ying waved and turned to leave. Standing on the mountain, Wu Tianzun looked up at the sky—the sky of the Immortal Realm—his heart tinged with melancholy. "Wait a minute!" His eyes gradually brightened, and he slapped his hands together forcefully. "I can't leave the mountain, but the mountain can move! If I just carry the Five-Colored Mountain on my back, can't I stroll around and drop in on people whenever I like?"