The Ninth Realm, the Immortal Mystic Technique

Meng Shanming had no way of knowing that the thumping bangs he heard were actually the sounds of his own head being blasted apart again and again. After the Battle of the Heavenly Abyss, not a single trace of Immortal Emperor Meng Shanming was ever seen again. Some said he was dead; others said he had gone into seclusion after his defeat; still others said he was lurking in the shadows, scheming to stage a comeback. Yet as time went on, he was gradually forgotten by the world. The Earth Immortal Realm welcomed an era belonging to the New Dao. In this era, myriad heroes rose in prominence, with far too many experts and far too many exceptional talents, long eclipsing the flawed era of Immortal Emperor Meng Shanming. In this new era, the cave abysses of old were abandoned. Qi refiners and immortals began cultivating cave abysses of their own. Some were even making a charge toward the legendary Supreme Realm. Many viewed the Second Battle of the Heavenly Abyss as the New Dao's total destruction of the Old Dao. From then on, if anyone still cultivated the outdated system of techniques, they would be mocked as stubborn pedants clinging to the past. For a time afterward, the Earth Immortal Realm became far quieter. "Dao Ancestor Xu, have you seen my master?" Ning Qing found Xu Ying and asked, "The day before your battle with the Immortal Emperor, my master, Creation Supreme, said he was going to do something grand that would make me proud of him. Now he has disappeared. Have you seen him?" Xu Ying shook his head. "I have not seen him." Deeply troubled, Ning Qing said, "I saw the Immortal Emperor using his Creation cave abyss, and I worry something terrible has happened to him. Besides, when the Immortal Emperor clashed with you, he bore Dao injuries left by the Dao of Creation. It makes my heart race with dread." Xu Ying comforted him, "Creation Supreme has always been cautious. He considers defeat before victory. Back during the Holy Venerable's great purge, he escaped by faking his death ahead of time. This time, he is bound to be safe and sound as well." Ning Qing remained uneasy. He continued searching for Creation Supreme, but found nothing for a long time. Later, he went to seek an audience with Divine Mother. She smiled and said, "Young master, this old woman cannot divine the affairs of a Supreme." Young Master Ning Qing produced a generous gift. Divine Mother beamed. "However, this old woman can help you divine the whereabouts of someone who knows." Before long, Ning Qing tracked down Dao Lord Yuanying. Dao Lord Yuanying had crippled her own cultivation and gone into hiding to train diligently, never expecting that he could actually find her. Young Master Ning Qing stated his purpose. Seeing that he had not come to kill her, Dao Lord Yuanying let out a breath of relief and said, "Back then on Cuiluo Island, Senior Brother Creation lured Mingzun Meng Shanming away. A fierce battle must have broken out between them. Afterward, Mingzun Meng Shanming returned alone, carrying the Creation cave abyss." Young Master Ning Qing felt a chill in his heart. He murmured, "The grand deed he wanted to do was assassinating Mingzun? Why was he so foolish..." Dao Lord Yuanying pondered and said, "I believe he simply could not bear to watch Mingzun defect to Long Dai, the envoy of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and could not turn the tide, so he resolved to assassinate Mingzun. Senior Brother Creation probably knew he would not survive; even if he succeeded in assassinating Mingzun, he could never escape Elder Long Dai's grasp. He must have already resolved to die back then." She thought for a moment, then added, "Only, Mingzun's strength at the time far surpassed his. So from start to finish, his real objective was likely only to inflict heavy wounds on Mingzun—so that in the decisive battle the following day, Mingzun would die at Dao Ancestor Xu's hands." Tears streamed down Young Master Ning Qing's face as he murmured, "Is this the grand deed he wanted to accomplish? Even if he did this, no one would ever know!" Seeing his grief, Dao Lord Yuanying consoled him, "Senior Brother Creation may not necessarily be dead. He has always been a very cautious man. Even the Holy Venerable couldn't finish him off back then." Young Master Ning Qing felt hollow inside. He sensed that Creation Supreme had likely died in some quiet, forgotten corner of Cuiluo Island. Creation Supreme had wished to perform an earth-shattering deed, something that would make his disciple proud of him, yet the deed had not shaken the world at all. He had died in obscurity, like a stray dog breathing its last in a dark alley, unnoticed by anyone. No one knew the Dao injury on Mingzun Meng Shanming's body had been left by him. No one knew why the Creation cave abyss had ended up in Meng Shanming's possession. Still less would anyone know that Creation Supreme had paid with his life just to leave behind that single wound. Young Master Ning Qing traveled to Cuiluo Island. He wished to find traces of Creation Supreme, but found nothing of note—only the shattered pieces of the Returning Dao Jade Platter. He gathered the fragments of the jade platter, kowtowed several times toward Cuiluo Island, and departed in tears. "Master, whether your name is celebrated across the world or not, I will always be proud to be your disciple!" He arrived at the Home-Gazing Platform to see Great Dao Lord Xuhuang. In the Xuandu Seven Treasures Palace stood eight Dao trees, boundless and majestic, beneath which sat the figures of the Void Sovereigns. The Void Sovereign who had departed for the Heavenly Immortal Realm to intercept the enemy was named Eastern Brightness Void Sovereign, one of Great Dao Lord Xuhuang's eight heaven-and-earth primordial spirits. Young Master Ning Qing bowed before the Great Dao Lord and placed the Returning Dao Jade Platter before him. The several heaven-and-earth primordial spirits gazed at the shattered jade platter, each falling into silence. After a long silence, Western Splendor Void Sovereign said, "All those years ago, when Yin Yuan rebelled against the Yujing Palace of Mount Xuandu and slaughtered his fellow disciples, he ceased to be a disciple of Yujing Palace. But since he is dead now, all past grievances shall be let go. Ning Qing, as his disciple, you may enter my Dao gate. The Great Dao Lord has cultivated eight Great Daos and borne eight Dao fruits; Creation is merely one among them. There are seven others you may learn." Northern Dark Void Sovereign said, "It is merely a pity that all eight Great Daos belong to the Old Dao. You are an up-and-coming talent of the New Dao, with boundless prospects ahead." Young Master Ning Qing bowed low. Western Splendor Void Sovereign remained quiet for a moment, then asked, "Was his death worth it?" Young Master Ning Qing replied, "He died in obscurity. But this disciple is proud of him." Western Splendor Void Sovereign and the other Void Sovereigns nodded one after another, speaking in unison: "The Great Dao is nameless." The Heavenly Sea Ferry was peaceful and serene. A portion of the Earth Immortal Realm's Heavenly Craftsmen remained at the ferry, constructing more Three Realms Golden Ships with plans to transport migrants to the Mortal Realm to carve out a new homeland. It was said that migrating a portion of the population to the Mortal Realm was the result of deliberations between Dao Ancestor Xu, the Holy Venerable, Dao Venerable Lü, and others. If about thirty percent of the people were relocated to the Mortal Realm, then even if the Heavenly Immortal Realm invaded, cutting off the River of Spiritual Light would allow them to preserve a spark of civilization. On this day, the River of Spiritual Light suddenly churned. A pot-bellied, fat old man struggled as he swam over from the other end of the river, leaving the Heavenly Craftsmen guarding the ferry dumbfounded. The fat old man was covered in wounds, wrapped in spiritual light. He dragged himself onto the dock, hauled himself up, and flopped flat on his back, panting heavily. He seemed utterly exhausted, gasping for breath for a long time before his breathing finally evened out. Suddenly, the fat old man cheered and shouted, "I'm back! I made it back alive! Mingzun, Creation, even without surrendering to you, I could still swim my way out of the River of Spiritual Light alive!" "Are you... Saint Luo?" One of the Heavenly Craftsmen had seen this fat old man before and remarked, "Mingzun has been dead for over half a year. His corpse is probably rotting by now." The fat old man was indeed Saint Luo. The spiritual light wrapping around him came from the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit fragments he had obtained; it was thanks to these fragments that he had survived in the River of Spiritual Light. Stunned, Saint Luo hurriedly asked, "Mingzun is dead? Who killed him? Who is the current Immortal Emperor? And what about the Holy Venerable? Wait, what about the Ancestral God?" How could the Heavenly Craftsman answer so many questions? He shouted, "I just swing a hammer! Don't make things difficult for me, Saint Luo!" Saint Luo climbed to his feet and slowed his speech. "What about Creation Supreme and Yaoluo Supreme?" "I don't know about Creation Supreme. But Yaoluo Supreme might have gone mad." Saint Luo questioned other Heavenly Craftsmen and only then learned the general course of the Battle of the Heavenly Abyss that had reshaped the landscape of the Earth Immortal Realm. After a long silence, he suddenly burst into hearty, booming laughter. "In that case, aside from Xu Ying, who else is left but me? Of the Six Supremes and Twelve Marvels, some are dead, some are wounded, and others have severed their cultivation to start over! It's even possible Xu Ying suffered grievous injuries in his final battle against the Immortal Emperor that have yet to heal!" Full of ambition, he declared, "If I ascend to the imperial throne, who would dare object?" Before the words had completely left his mouth, a clanging bell chime echoed from afar, drawing near. Saint Luo hurried to look in that direction, only to see a colossal dragon of spiritual light racing across the sky with a massive bell of spiritual light dangling beneath its neck. With a whoosh, it landed right before him. "Fatty, are you Saint Luo?" the great dragon asked with malicious intent. Saint Luo stood dumbstruck, stammering, "Y-you are... Far Ancestor! You've come back to life?" The great dragon balled its claw into a fist, flattening him to the ground with a single punch. Stepping on him, it ripped out the spiritual light treasure Saint Luo had worked so hard to refine and melted it into its own body. A young man slid down from the great dragon's forehead and immediately began kicking and punching Saint Luo, who lay pinned on the ground. The massive bell dangling from the dragon's neck also flew down, slamming onto Saint Luo's forehead with loud clangs. Having refined the primordial spirit fragment, the great dragon transformed into a dragon-headed man with ferocious musculature covered in bulging knots of flesh. Shoving aside the youth and the bell, he yelled, "Leave him to me!" Saint Luo was beaten unconscious. The two people and one bell surrounded him, beating him for quite a while longer before walking away satisfied. The burly man transformed back into a giant dragon of spiritual light. The youth and the bell returned—one landing atop its head, the other hanging beneath its neck—and the great dragon soared into the air, whistling away! "Now that my primordial spirit is complete, I can go toe-to-toe with the Ancestral God and punch the Holy Venerable! Once the Ancestral God is dead, you will follow me to storm the Heavenly Immortal Realm!" The Earth Immortal Realm gradually settled into quiet, but this calm was merely superficial. Many figures who had cultivated to the Dao scenery realm were holding their breath and redoubling their bitter cultivation, striving to attain the Supreme Realm before Daoist Xiaotian. Moreover, with the throne of the Immortal Emperor vacant, quite a few covetous eyes were fixed on the seat, yearning to sit upon it. If one possessed the Supreme Realm, taking the imperial throne would seem far less daunting. In the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, Yuan Weiyang let out a shout, mobilizing her six cave abysses. All at once, the Dao power of the six cave abysses merged into one, and her sleeves fluttered. Xu Ying's expression shifted slightly. He raised a hand to meet the strike head-on, the impact churning his vitality and forcing him back several steps. He praised, "The Immortal Mystic Technique is formidable indeed!" Yuan Weiyang stopped and shook her head. "This Flying Sleeves of Luo Clouds divine power recorded on the Emerald Rock is still lacking a bit of polish." Having spent these past days studying the Immortal Realm technique recorded on the Emerald Rock, she had achieved some success. When she sparred with Xu Ying, that Immortal Realm divine power had proven extraordinarily potent—mobilizing the power of all Great Daos simultaneously and twisting them into a single strand upon striking, allowing Dao power to spike to its peak in an instant. During his decisive battle with the Immortal Emperor, Xu Ying had mobilized his seven cave abysses, using his martial path as a foundation to channel the Dao power surging from the other six cave abysses and unleashing it through martial arts, which gave his attacks extreme hardness and ferocity. Yet back then, he had not come into contact with the techniques of the Immortal Realm. In circulating Dao power, there were bound to be awkward, unrefined aspects. Consequently, when facing the divine power inherent in the Immortal Realm technique wielded by Yuan Weiyang, he found himself at a slight disadvantage. The Immortal Realm technique recorded on the Emerald Rock governed the mobilization of differing Dao powers, offering him great inspiration. The two quieted down once more, continuing to decipher the technique on the Emerald Rock. Ever since the Immortal Emperor Supreme's death, they had remained in the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, paying no heed to outside affairs as they devoted themselves to studying the ninth realm, the Immortal Realm. Beside them, many young talents and older powerhouses had also gathered here to comprehend the ninth-realm technique carved into that Emerald Rock. This technique hailed from the other shore—it was the Immortal Mystic Technique of the other shore obtained by Great Dao Lord Xuhuang and others. Merely deciphering the technique was a monumental undertaking that could not be achieved overnight. Spending these days together, Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang's feelings for each other grew warmer by the day. The two were constantly inseparable, lacking only the final step. Suddenly, a voice echoed from afar: "Holy Venerable Yuan Yu comes to pay respects to Dao Ancestor Xu!" Xu Ying smiled and went out with Yuan Weiyang to receive them. Lou Mingyu and Holy Venerable Yuan Yu arrived side by side. Lou Mingyu's cultivation had grown increasingly deep and vigorous, far richer than during the Battle of the Heavenly Abyss, yet he still had not managed to break through and achieve the Supreme Realm. In contrast, beside him, Holy Venerable Yuan Yu's cultivation had caught up from behind, drawing closer and closer to the Supreme Realm. Noticing the subtle difference in their cultivation realms, Xu Ying smiled. "Holy Venerable, Mingyu, what brings you to my place when you have free time?" "Your place?" The Holy Venerable sneered, "This is clearly the Ancestral God's Dao venue. When did it become yours?" Xu Ying explained, "I am half a disciple of the Ancestral God, so it is only right that I inherit his estate. That makes me the host here." Nearby, Senior Brother Tian and the Earth God opened their mouths to speak, but found themselves speechless. Xu Ying gestured for them to follow. The Holy Venerable walked with him to the Emerald Rock, carefully examining the Immortal Mystic Technique etched upon it. With gleaming eyes, he asked, "Xu Ying, you've been deciphering the Immortal Mystic Technique here for so long. Tell me: is a localized Immortal Mystic Technique stronger, or is a Zangified Immortal Mystic Technique stronger?" Without hesitation, Xu Ying replied, "Zangified is stronger." The Holy Venerable bent forward, inspecting the Emerald Rock inscriptions, and said casually, "Since Zangified is stronger, why bother localizing it? You are proficient in the Great Dao of the Emerald Rock and comprehend most of the Li framework. You are one of the few who can achieve complete Zangification. You would cultivate the Immortal Mystic Technique faster than anyone else!" Xu Ying smiled. "Once localized, it is easier to spread across our homeland. What's more, localization is only the stage of learning. Once learned, if we innovate and continuously advance, isn't it possible to surpass Zangification?" The Holy Venerable straightened up and smiled. "If we directly Zangify, we can never beat the outlanders of the other shore at their own game. But once localized, evolved, and made our own, we will have a chance to best them." Xu Ying nodded gently. The Holy Venerable chuckled. "Dao Ancestor Xu, delving into the Immortal Mystic Technique all these days, has your cultivation fallen behind?" Xu Ying answered with utmost sincerity, "I wouldn't dare slacken in the slightest; I cultivate every single day. What about you?" The Holy Venerable said, "In this retraining, I have reached the peak of the Dao scenery realm, nearing great perfection. Under the heavens, throughout past and present, only three people have ever cultivated to the level I possessed before. One is Great Dao Lord Xuhuang. Great Dao Lord Xuhuang cultivated eight Great Daos into Dao fruits, an extraordinary feat that makes him the undisputed foremost figure of the Old Dao!" Xu Ying asked, "Besides Xuhuang and yourself, who is the other?" The Holy Venerable replied, "The Immortal Executioner Sword Master. However, he is merely a legend. Once I attain the Supreme Realm through the New Dao, I will certainly surpass Xuhuang, and I will surpass him as well!" Xu Ying smiled. "Really? I don't believe it." The Holy Venerable laughed. "Care to test it?" Xu Ying was eager to try. "If you want to test it, let's test it. I'm just afraid your old bones won't be able to take it, Dao Brother." The Holy Venerable fell silent for a moment, then said, "I want to test your power after complete Zangification." Xu Ying was startled and looked at him. The Holy Venerable smiled. "After the Ancestral God, it will be my turn. I want to know just how strong complete Zangification truly is! Dao Ancestor Xu, grant me this."