Above and below the heavens, Wei Yuan's voice still echoed.
High above in Immortal Heaven, the expressions of the gathered immortals were none too pleasant. Fully half among them were shaved bald; their expressions remained composed, but the smiles on their faces carried a hint of strain and stiffness.
Wei Yuan's words had truly grated on the ears. Many immortals felt as if the remark had been aimed squarely at them. Yet an immortal's divine thought was swift as lightning; turning to look at the cluster of bald heads, they immediately relaxed. Even if Wei Yuan intended to strike, he would have to make Baohua Pure Land his first target.
The great battle had drawn to a close. Only Wei Yuan remained in the void; heavily wounded, Tuoba Dafeng had fled into the distance and vanished from sight. Against an opponent whose mindscape world had condensed into a single point, if he was truly determined to flee, Wei Yuan could not keep him here. Even if Wei Yuan pulled him into the Flourishing of the Many Realms, Tuoba Dafeng could focus his entire strength into that one point, making it virtually indestructible and capable of shattering straight through the world barrier to break free.
Right now, the surrounding void was in complete disarray. Extreme cold and heat intertwined, while all manner of indescribable winds blew across the expanse. Such winds blowing forth from shattered void were more terrifying than a heavenly tribulation; they could shave away merit and fortune, clouding a cultivator's divine sense until clarity was lost.
Now Wei Yuan understood how the Shattered Lands of the Western Regions had come to be back then. Though currently in the void, through the jagged tears Wei Yuan could already sense something gazing over, scrutinizing him through the howling winds of the fractured void.
A monster from beyond the heavens?
At this moment, several immortals up in Immortal Heaven stepped in to stabilize the heavens and earth, so the otherworldly monster seemed unable to see very clearly. Its gaze swept back and forth across Wei Yuan a few times before losing interest and drifting toward another direction.
Wei Yuan was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he stood in deep thought. Such a scene of heaven and earth fracturing was rarely seen; it exposed a corner of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, making it ideal for comprehending the Dao.
By now, Wei Yuan had grown interested in these otherworldly monsters. The so-called otherworldly monsters, according to Daoist texts, were beings from outside the domain. Indescribable and bizarre in thousands of ways, no two were alike. And those monsters that took an interest in this realm each possessed the power to destroy an entire world.
For instance, the three terrifying otherworldly fiends pinned to the Desolate Realm were among them. Or the walking entities in the Nether Cold Realm, easily spanning thousands or tens of thousands of li in size—they, too, were otherworldly entities.
Yet looking at the damaged void before him, Wei Yuan fell into contemplation. Above this world and below Immortal Heaven lay this unimaginably vast emptiness known as the void; that was easy enough to grasp. But where did the otherworldly monsters exist?
Only when the void fractured could they look in through the wounds. But what lay beyond those wounds? Above, below, left, and right of those tears was plainly nothing but void. In fact, some predecessors' Daoist writings had already explained this phenomenon, and people in the otherworldly realms had speculated and discussed it as well: those otherworldly monsters actually inhabited another dimension. Viewed from the perspective of this realm, the two overlapped, but viewed from another angle, the two worlds had no intersection whatsoever. Only when cultivators of this realm shattered heaven and earth with earth-shaking might—and did so in just the right manner—could a bridge connecting the two worlds be forged.
Thus the Daoist scriptures said: "It is here, yet not here; different worlds sharing the same space."
In the scriptures of ancient cultivators, it was summarized in just a few sentences, while later figures like Immortal Monarch Tinghai wrote several books on the matter, the titles of which Wei Yuan still remembered. In life, Ronglong had also wanted to write about the origin of the Heavenly Pillars and their spatial relationship with the Desolate Realm. Ronglong had once sought to deduce the source of the Heavenly Pillars in reverse, intending to venture deep into the world from which they originated, wipe everything out, and eliminate future perils once and for all.
This was no idle fantasy, but a grand aspiration. Wei Yuan knew that Ronglong had already begun the calculations and attained initial results. However, feeling the material was too difficult for Wei Yuan to understand, Ronglong had intended to include it in a later volume, *Deep into the Desolate Realm*. But before he could put brush to paper, he had fallen. Recalling the past, Wei Yuan could only heave a sigh. He stopped looking at the shattered realm, turning around to return to Qingming. In any case, no matter how much longer he looked, he still wouldn't be able to discern anything.
The treatises researched by his predecessors were right there, yet Wei Yuan could not even understand those, let alone hope to divine anything directly from the phenomena of heaven and earth. Still, having just shocked heaven and earth with that massive battle, standing with his hands clasped behind his back to ponder the profound mysteries of the cosmos was precisely the fitting posture to strike. But if he lingered too long and let the immortals in heaven and those thieving baldies realize he hadn't figured out a single thing, that would ruin the effect.
And so Wei Yuan took his leave with easy grace, timing his departure to perfection.
By this time, the immortals all saw that black dot fly into the Pure Land. Had the radiance unleashed by Wei Yuan's spear blast not illuminated a million li of void, immortals of insufficient rank might not even have noticed that speck of black. In truth, it was not black, but merely absorbed all light.
The immortals were not surprised that Tuoba Dafeng had fled into the Pure Land; what surprised them was that he had been the one to flee.
With the battle concluded, the void gradually stabilized and the tears ceased expanding, so the immortals dispersed one by one. In time, this region of void would slowly restore itself. However, if any ill-fated cultivator weighed down by impending calamity were to wander into this area by mistake, they would lose a layer of skin even if they escaped with their life.
Above Immortal Heaven, in a quiet, secluded landscape of mountains and waters, several refined cottages enclosed a quaint, rustic courtyard. Immortal Zhao Li manifested in the courtyard, sat by a stone table, brewed a fresh pot of tea, and set down two teacups.
Just as the tea was brewed, a Daoist appeared. A smile rose on Immortal Zhao Li's face, and he looked up. "Ah, Yanshi. A fresh cup of tea is ready, just in time. Come have a taste—"
Cradling the ancestral immortal sword in his arms, Immortal Monarch Yanshi took a seat unhurriedly. He lifted the cup and looked at the tea leaf inside, which resembled a blood-red apricot. His eyes immediately lit up. Tossing it back in a single gulp, he praised, "Splendid tea!"
Having praised the tea, Immortal Monarch Yanshi asked, "Why did Tuoba Dafeng flee into the Pure Land? Does he not fear never returning?"
Immortal Zhao Li smiled faintly. "His cultivation was superior to ours back in our day. His sea of consciousness and dharma body are both condensed into a single point; even to our eyes, it is difficult to see what lies within it. In such a state, he is a seamless whole with no flaw to exploit. Those grand monks cannot convert him; they have no choice but to treat his wounds in earnest."
"I am enlightened. In the future, I must ask Daoist Brother to look out for Wei Yuan." Yanshi bowed with hands clasped. Just as he turned to leave, he heard Immortal Zhao Li let out a plaintive sigh. Yanshi had no choice but to halt and ask, "Why do you sigh, fellow Daoist?"
Immortal Zhao Li put on a sorrowful face. "I am getting on in years, yet my descendants do not flourish. I have no face to meet the ancestors!"
Yanshi cursed inwardly: *Aren't you the old ancestor of the State of Zhao yourself?* Yet he understood what Immortal Zhao Li meant. There would be much to rely on this powerful immortal for in the future. Thus, Yanshi smiled and said, "Rest assured, fellow Daoist. I shall see to it that the younger generation handles this properly."
Immortal Zhao Li let out a hearty laugh and said brightly, "Splendid! I shall await the good news!"
The moment Yanshi left, Immortal Zhao Li flicked his sleeve, and tea immediately reappeared in the empty cup. The courtyard gate pushed open, and Cui Zhengxing walked in, settling himself at the table. Immortal Zhao Li gestured with his hand. Cui Zhengxing raised the cup, drained it in one gulp, and praised the tea. Then, with a serious expression, he asked, "Tuoba Dafeng entered the Pure Land—what karma will come of this? For the Pure Land to take in such a figure, which dharma idol do they intend to prepare for him?"
"None. No golden body dharma idol."
Cui Zhengxing raised his brows. "Could it be a newly established fruit of attainment? But how could someone like Tuoba Dafeng possibly deign to accept that?"
Immortal Zhao Li said, "Tuoba Dafeng has no flaws. The monks cannot convert him."
Cui Zhengxing's eyes lit up. "Now that makes sense! Then I can rest easy. Otherwise, if the Pure Land grows too powerful, things would become truly troublesome. After all, one can still reason with the Demon Palace, whereas the Pure Land listens only to its own reasoning."
Cui Zhengxing then rose and said, "Thank you for clearing my doubts. In the days ahead, our two states should keep in closer contact."
Immortal Zhao Li replied with a smile, "Indeed! The Tang dynasty is in decline, and I fear the flames of war will sooner or later spread to Song. Brother Cui, you must prepare early."
"Thank you for the reminder."
After Cui Zhengxing left, Immortal Zhao Li flicked his sleeve again, and the teacup was refilled. However, the apricot leaf had faded from half-red to faintly red. The courtyard gate opened, and Xu Youyi stepped inside. As soon as she took a seat at the table, she asked, "Why did that fellow go into the Pure Land?"
Immortal Zhao Li gave the exact same explanation.
Xu Youyi thanked him and added, "Fellow Daoist, that batch of longevity pills you requested is being concocted with all haste. They should be ready in another ten years."
Immortal Zhao Li was naturally delighted and personally saw Xu Youyi out of the courtyard.
Flying away from this hidden realm in Immortal Heaven, Xu Youyi felt rather pleased with herself, murmuring, "He truly still cares about me, just as warm as ever... Though the tea was honestly a bit weak. Is that a new strain he cultivated? It really doesn't measure up to the old one."
Within the Pure Land, Tuoba Dafeng sat in a chair, holding a cup of tea.
Around him stood at least seven or eight grand monks, each with rings of precious light shining behind their heads. Whether Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, they had clearly caught wind of the news and come hurrying out of the Pure Land one after another.
These eminent monks who had attained fruition carried themselves with natural composure, discussing only the path to immortal ascension with Tuoba Dafeng while never uttering a word about conversion. Tuoba Dafeng's heart was calm as a placid lake, without grief or joy, bearing only a faint sneer. Turning a deaf ear to the monks' discourse, he simply held his teacup and blew the leaves across the surface just like an ordinary peddler or laborer, without even bothering to use the lid to skim the froth.
He was just about to drink when a drop of fresh blood suddenly fell into the cup, instantly dyeing half the tea crimson!
Tuoba Dafeng froze for a moment before realizing that the blood had dripped from his own nose.
In an instant, every gaze around him changed.
Chapter 1236