Immortal

"Elders." Qiao An, Zhan Ke, and the others stepped forward, cupping their hands in greeting with beaming smiles. "Ah, it's you," Susan, Hela, and Yang Han replied with smiles as they looked at them. Strictly speaking, they all belonged to the same generation; they had simply been assigned different roles later on. Some had chosen to head to Beihai Star to carve out a future, while others had remained behind to guard the sect. The eleven Golden Core cultivators, including Qiao An, were the elders who had stayed behind to guard the sect. In truth, back then, the Wuji Astral Palace and the other sects had possessed far more Golden Cores than they did now. However, the desperate final counterattack during the Moon Demon Empire's collapse had claimed many lives, while others had passed away due to reaching the end of their lifespans or suffering from unstable Golden Cores. That was why only thirty-four Radiant Sun Golden Cores were left guarding the entire Cangwu Great World. "Looks like your Golden Cores are still holding up fairly well," Susan observed, looking them over. "Thanks to the suppression of the formations, things won't get too out of hand in the short term," Qiao An said, looking at Susan with some excitement. "Did the elders come from Beihai Star?" "That's right." Susan nodded without hiding anything. "I know what you want to ask. The situation on Beihai Star is far more complex than you imagine, and that realm is far more wondrous than you think. After a century of fighting side by side on the Beihai Star battlefield, along with a century of development on Beihai Star, our Cangwu lineage has finally secured a foothold there..." "Then... have the elders obtained the complete inheritance?" Qiao An asked, full of anticipation. "A complete inheritance? Naturally we have, but..." Susan glanced at him. "I don't recommend that you switch completely to the cultivation system over on Beihai Star." "Why?" Qiao An was slightly taken aback. "Strength." Susan's eyes held a trace of wistful emotion. "On Beihai Star... strength matters more than a complete cultivation system." "Because of the Moon Demon Empire? No, the Heavenly Demon Empire?" Qiao An quickly connected the dots. "The Moon Demon Empire and the Heavenly Demon Empire are only part of it," Yang Han stepped forward and said. "The North Sea battlefield doesn't just refer to the regions where we clash with civilizations like the Moon Demon and Heavenly Demon Empires. It encompasses the entirety of Beihai Star. Far too many factions are trying to push their way into Beihai Star!" At this point, he couldn't help but sigh. "You have no idea what it means for our Cangwu lineage to have established a foothold on Beihai Star! That alone means we have outcompeted more than ninety-nine percent of the civilizations across the cosmos." He paused, glancing at Qiao An. "And I don't mean civilizations like tributary worlds, but formidable civilizations on par with our Cangwu Great World." "Why... why is that?" Qiao An asked, thoroughly bewildered. "Why?" Hela smiled. In a placid tone, he revealed a secret that made everyone's heart skip a beat: "Beihai Star conceals the secret to becoming an immortal." "Be... becoming an immortal?!" Qiao An's eyes went wide. "Indeed, becoming an immortal," Hela nodded. "An immortal in the truest sense of what you imagine." An immortal! In the world today, countless living beings called themselves immortal cultivators. Their goal... Was to become immortals. Since ancient times, legends of immortals had echoed throughout the boundless starry sky! They were great lifeforms: indestructible, eternal, never decaying, and imperishable. The sun and moon may wane, yet I do not wane; the starry sky may rot, yet I do not rot. Legends even claimed... Immortals were beings who had truly attained eternal life, existing forever without perishing. Everlasting and imperishable! What immense grandeur was that?! Even rivaling the sun, moon, and stars was something unimaginable to ordinary mortals. How long was the lifespan of the celestial bodies?! It was measured in hundreds of millions of years. Billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions of years! The entire documented history of civilization in the Cangwu Great World spanned just over thirty thousand years. Compared to tens of billions of years, thirty thousand years wasn't just a minor fraction—it was practically nothing. They could not even fathom what a lifeform living for tens of billions of years truly represented. And now... According to Hela... Beihai Star hid the secret to becoming an immortal?! "H-How... How is that possible?!" Qiao An felt as though his entire worldview was being upended. "Does... does such a magnificent existence truly exist in this world?" "Of course it's real. Otherwise, how could Beihai Star draw nearly every civilization in this starry sky to plunge into it, one after another, all vying for a foothold?" Susan gave a firm reply. She glanced at Qiao An. "A hundred sails racing forward, ten thousand sects contending for supremacy! Martial Emperors, Immortal Kings, Demon Sovereigns, Buddha Ancestors, Monster Saints, Heavenly Gods, Human Sovereigns... countless peak beings treading the immortal path together! That is the truest depiction of Beihai Star!" "On Beihai Star, in pursuit of that ultimate dream, countless cultivators perish every day, and powerful clans are wiped out day after day. Even sects and sacred traditions that have stood for a hundred thousand, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years cannot guarantee their enduring prosperity." Yang Han said somberly, "So... unless you are content to remain in the Cangwu Great World, never seeking longevity, never seeking to become an immortal, you had better ensure you possess sufficient strength first. Only when you have enough strength to ensure your survival on Beihai Star can you look toward longevity and the immortal path." Hearing the two elders' words, Qiao An's agitated, shaken heart rapidly cooled down. An immortal! What a transcendent existence! It went without saying how excruciatingly difficult reaching such heights would be! What kind of brutal competition would one have to endure to truly reach that stage! So, Beihai Star contained the secret to becoming an immortal... A grand promise was all well and good, but one had to be qualified to partake in it. "Very well. I will leave an inheritance in the Cangwu Realm, but not the complete inheritance from Beihai Star. Before returning, we discussed this: in the entire Cangwu Realm, only the most gifted prodigies who have hope of achieving longevity are qualified to walk Beihai Star's orthodox path. Everyone else... will walk the Battle Immortal inheritance." Susan said, "This inheritance is somewhat similar to your rather extreme cultivation system, but its transitions are smoother. It can push the potential of our Cangwu Realm's cultivators to the absolute limit, cultivating combat powerhouses with Crimson Golden Cores, Radiant Sun Golden Cores, and even Incandescent White Golden Cores! They will fight on the front lines to help our Cangwu lineage secure our foothold on Beihai Star!" "Battle Immortals..." Qiao An vaguely grasped the true value of these "Battle Immortals." They... Were simply expendable fuel to allow a minuscule handful of geniuses to embark upon the path of longevity. "Don't think of it as cruel. If the Cangwu lineage wishes to survive on Beihai Star, secure a foothold, and nurture suitable candidates to pursue longevity and attain the Immortal Dao, this is necessary. We must sacrifice a portion of our people so that another portion has the hope of pursuing longevity and becoming immortals, who will in turn protect the rest. Only then can a civilization and a faction endure." As Susan spoke, she produced a jade talisman. "Recorded here is a secret art that every Battle Immortal must practice: the Nine Refinements of the Star Ring. It can restrain the state of your Golden Core. Let me see your combat power..." A monocle-like apparatus appeared in her hand. "A hundred and ten thousand? Not bad. As long as you master the fourth ring of the Nine Refinements of the Star Ring, you can suppress your combat power down to ten thousand. At that point, you'll be able to cultivate and move about freely just like an ordinary cultivator, without having to stay inside a formation all the time for fear of losing your life the moment your Golden Core becomes unstable." Qiao An looked at the glass eyepiece in Susan's hand; he guessed it was likely the device used by the Moon Demon Empire to detect individual combat power. Yet he asked no questions, silently accepting the jade talisman. He still seemed unable to fully process these revelations. "You don't need to feel too disheartened, either. Walking the Battle Immortal path isn't entirely devoid of hope. If you can cultivate an Incandescent White Golden Core and fully master the Nine Refinements of the Star Ring, you too will be groomed as a seed of longevity." Susan paused, then added, "This is sect policy." "Sect policy?" Qiao An looked up slightly. "A rule established by the supreme elders of our Wuji Astral Palace?" "Wuji Astral Palace?" Hearing Qiao An's words, Susan let out a self-deprecating laugh. "What makes you think that relying on our Wuji Astral Palace alone would be enough to gain a foothold on Beihai Star amidst the contention of ten thousand sects?" "All forces across Cangwu have joined hands, merging into a single lineage that has been incorporated into the Taiyi Immortal Sect. And the Taiyi Immortal Sect consists of Six Halls, Nine Lineages, and One Hundred and Eight True Inheritances, each of which can be considered an independent faction in its own right," Hela added from the side. Six Halls, Nine Lineages, and One Hundred and Eight True Inheritances. The combined might of all the powerhouses of the Cangwu Great World was merely enough to constitute one of those lineages?! "All right. Next, you need to make your choice. If you wish to go to Beihai Star, you must convert to the Battle Immortal path. Only after you display sufficient potential will you receive focused nurturing from our lineage. Of course, if you have no desire to go to Beihai Star, then stay in the Cangwu Great World and guard our home..." Susan continued, "In fact, that might not be a bad thing. In the future, if any prodigy among your descendants manages to form a core before turning thirty, they could well be sent to the Taiyi Immortal Sect, progressing from outer disciple to inner disciple, rising to true disciple, and eventually even competing for the position of vice sect master or sect master..." Her eyes gleamed with sharp light. "Furthermore... if you guard the Cangwu Great World well, once that true disciple from the Artifact Sect—who values old ties so deeply—rises to power, all of you will be rewarded. Even if you cannot reach the Void Piercing Realm, obtaining a Ten-Thousand-Year Longevity Pill to enjoy boundless longevity will be well within reach." "A Ten-Thousand-Year Longevity Pill?!" "A true disciple?!" Qiao An, Zhan Ke, and the others were shocked. Only now did they seem to remember the true purpose behind these elders returning ahead of schedule... "So the elders didn't return this time to bring us the Beihai Star inheritance, but to..." "That peerless prodigy from the Artifact Sect condensed an Azure Blue Golden Core and was accepted as a personal disciple by Supreme Elder Bai Yuhuang. His future is boundless... He might very well become the first true Void Piercing powerhouse in our lineage's history. Naturally, we must do everything we can to win his favor. However, when he was accepted by Supreme Elder Yuhuang, other factions flooded him with natural treasures and rare resources. Some of those gifts were so valuable they could easily buy out the entire Wuji Astral Palace. Unable to offer such lavish gifts, we had to find another way." Susan glanced into the distance. "I recall the Artifact Sect suffered devastating losses during the war against the Moon Demon Empire. That true disciple is a man of profound sentiment. It is said that after formalizing his apprenticeship, he intends to return home to pay homage to his ancestors. This attitude won unanimous praise from the sect's upper echelons. Therefore, several of our factions discussed it and decided that before True Disciple Jiang returns, we will help him rebuild the Artifact Sect, allowing him to gloriously pay respects to his ancestors and predecessors in the Cangwu Realm." "All right, let's not waste any more time. Are there still cultivators from the Artifact Sect left? If there are, we should meet up with them..." Hela interjected. At the same time, he admonished Qiao An and Zhan Ke, "Remember: from this day forth, the Cangwu Great World belongs to the Artifact Sect. It belongs to Heavenly Venerable Jiang, True Disciple Jiang. Perhaps... it should even be renamed the Heavenly Venerable Great World."