Finale

The Mortal Realm. Tens of millions of years had flowed by, transforming the newly created mortal realm through unending sea-changes of evolution. Cultivation flourished in unprecedented splendor. In particular, the land of the Nine Provinces, delineated in the name of the Nine Cauldrons, was the supreme sacred ground in the hearts of all practitioners. Nearly every denizen of the Nine Provinces possessed techniques for long life, enjoying spans of a thousand years. Those who attained the immortal dao could effortlessly outlive ten thousand springs and autumns. At that moment, Yaoguang walked through a city under the jurisdiction of Qing Province, one of the Nine Provinces. The city was named Baiyun. Among the six tiers of cities across the Nine Provinces, it was ranked only in the fifth—practically at the bottom. Yet even so, tens of millions of souls inhabited this city, and those who had achieved the immortal dao numbered in the tens of thousands. Though almost all were merely Void Immortals or True Immortals, with even Heavenly Immortals being exceedingly rare, tens of thousands of immortals carving out their own grotto-dwellings had nevertheless built Baiyun City into a spectacle of breathtaking magnificence. Constructed along the mountain ranges, the city spanned eighteen thousand li from north to south and thirteen thousand li from east to west. Everywhere one looked, pavilions and palaces were interspersed among verdant peaks and emerald waters. From time to time, formations drew spiritual essence into drifting ribbons of celestial mist. Man-made mountain peaks, erected specifically to anchor great formations, thrust straight into the clouds like divine blades of peerless craft. Through the swirling mist, cranes and spiritual birds could be seen wheeling on outspread wings. Immortals soared on flying swords or riding rays of light, or rode atop cranes and inside celestial carriages, shuttling back and forth among the mountains. It showcased the epic grandeur of an immortal cultivation civilization in all its brilliance. "Refining Essence to Qi, Refining Qi to Spirit, Refining Spirit to Void, Refining Void to Dao. Upon completing the Dao, a heavenly tribulation descends to tally merit and sin. Those who succeed become True Immortals. From True Immortal, one progresses through Heavenly Immortal and Mystic Immortal, ultimately ascending to the Great Dao Golden Immortal to enjoy a lifespan of one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years. Those who fail become Void Immortals, also known as Loose Immortals. Yet the heavens operate on fifty, forty-nine manifest, and one escapes—even for those who fall to Void Immortal, a thread of life remains. A tribulation strikes every thousand years; if one endures ninefold lightning tribulations without waning, they may ascend directly to heaven and prove the Dao as a Golden Immortal." Walking along the city streets, Yaoguang recalled the cultivation path he had charted. Everywhere he looked were people of accomplished practice. The lowest among them possessed cultivations of Refining Qi to Spirit. Refining Spirit to Void was merely considered modest success. After all, the land of the Nine Provinces was under the direct administration of the cultivation sacred land, the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Even if Baiyun City was only a fifth-tier city nominally guarded at best by a Heavenly Immortal, the pedestrians bustling through its avenues would each be renowned local masters if placed in the outside world. Especially in the secondary planes outside the primary plane, across an entire world, perhaps only one in a thousand could embark on cultivation to achieve Refining Essence to Qi. One who reached Refining Qi to Spirit could serve as a sect elder. And someone at Refining Void to Dao—merely the middle stratum in a fifth-tier city like Baiyun—would be revered as a pillar of heaven, an ancestor of the immortal dao. "Tens of millions of years really are an eternity to ordinary mortals. Even for the people of the Nine Provinces, who mostly achieve some cultivation and live a thousand years, it is no exception. In the Yaoguang Realm where I first began, even the most ancient civilization lasted no more than ten thousand years..." Lost in thought, Yaoguang looked around the city. Just then, a commotion seemed to arise ahead. Immediately after, numerous cultivators began surging in one direction. Certain dignitaries of high cultivation who held the privilege to fly within the city darted across the sky on flying swords, making straight for the source of the clamor. Yaoguang did not release his divine mind to investigate. Instead, he simply followed the flow of people, easing into the lively bustle. From the chatter of the crowd along the way, he quickly grasped what had occurred. "The Nine Provinces Prodigy Roll has updated!" "Doesn't the Prodigy Roll update only once every ten years? The last update was six years ago, wasn't it? Only six years, and a new roll has been issued?" "They say if an exceptionally dazzling prodigy suddenly bursts onto the scene, or if the rankings undergo a massive upheaval, the Heavenly Secret Palace prints a special edition! A brand-new roll! I wonder what happened this time! Did a peerless prodigy appear? Or did the rankings shift drastically?" Listening to their conversations, Yaoguang made his way toward a towering pagoda. The building was steeped in classical aesthetics, adorned with carved balustrades and jade-inlaid eaves. At the pinnacle of the tower, dazzling light swirled. Before long, it cast a projection resembling a holographic advertisement screen from a sci-fi world. A roster was displayed upon the screen. At the top was inscribed: Nine Provinces Prodigy Roll. Beneath it were listed one hundred and eight names. The first name that caught Yaoguang's eye was the one at the very top. Luo Xianyu. Years cultivated: one thousand and thirty years! Cultivation realm... Great Dao Golden Immortal! The moment that name and rank were displayed, the gathered crowd erupted like an overturned pot. "Great Dao Golden Immortal! Luo Xianyu actually achieved the Great Dao Golden Immortal realm?!" "No wonder the Heavenly Secret Palace printed a special edition of the Prodigy Roll for her! A Great Dao Golden Immortal at one thousand and thirty years old... this is simply defying the heavens!" "The Nine Provinces Prodigy Roll only records prodigies who have cultivated for under ten thousand years, and most of them are only at the Mystic Immortal realm! In certain eras, even Heavenly Immortals can make the list! Now Luo Xianyu has left them all in the dust beyond the nine heavens—they can't even see her shadow!" Exclamations of astonishment echoed continuously from the crowd, accompanied by envy and longing that practically spilled over. Looking at the name on the roll, Yaoguang felt a brief flicker of surprise. Wasn't it just a Great Dao Golden Immortal? Yet he immediately realized that although Great Dao Golden Immortal was merely the baseline requirement for formal disciples in the Nine Cauldrons Sect, achieving it in one thousand and thirty years... was indeed rare. Reaching Great Dao Golden Immortal within a millennium meant an enormous probability of attaining immortality in the future, achieving true imperishability and eternal life. An existence of that caliber held considerable weight even within the Nine Cauldrons Sect. In the Nine Provinces, they were figures capable of establishing a hegemonic force. As for venturing into the secondary planes outside... Such a figure was equivalent to a living legend. Descending upon any world, they would warrant the entire ruling sect coming out to welcome them. The Heavenly Secret Palace had established all manner of rolls—beyond the Nine Provinces Prodigy Roll, there was also the Nine Provinces Golden Immortal Roll. Yet they lacked the courage to establish a Nine Provinces Immortality Roll. Many Immortal Golden Immortals disliked parading themselves ostentatiously. If the Heavenly Secret Palace exposed them, those figures might show up at their doorstep, and the Heavenly Secret Palace might not be able to bear the consequences. "Although our world has no quota restrictions, achieving Great Dao Golden Immortal is still exceedingly difficult. In terms of standing, a Great Dao Golden Immortal is in no way inferior to a Dao Integration Dao Lord of the Ancient Immortal Realm era." Yaoguang glanced over the roll. "Reaching Great Dao Golden Immortal in one thousand and thirty years... that's the equivalent of becoming a Dao Integration Dao Lord in one thousand and thirty years during the Ancient Immortal Realm era..." That timeframe inevitably reminded Yaoguang of the Penglai Immortal Venerable. Indeed! Immortal Venerable! Above the Great Dao Golden Immortal lay the Immortal Golden Immortal, and the foremost among Immortal Golden Immortals were known as Immortal Venerables. After tens of millions of years of cultivation, even with a shift in her path, she had already reached that stage. Seeing Luo Xianyu naturally brought to mind that equally astonishing Immortal Venerable. After a moment, Yaoguang chuckled and shook his head. With that, his divine mind expanded, blanketing the entire Nine Provinces Realm with unimaginable speed. The landscapes, mountains, rivers, and myriad living souls within the Nine Provinces Realm were all reflected in his mind. Here were familiar yet more perfected environments, grotto-heavens and blessed lands crafted with meticulous care, and people who were familiar, or who had drifted from familiarity into estrangement. He could see Su Yaoxue, who had become an Immortal Golden Immortal—one hailed as an "Almighty" tier Immortal Golden Immortal—tending to the affairs of the Nine Cauldrons Sacred Ground. He could also see Li Hanqiu and Wan Liugui, who had long relinquished their responsibilities in the Nine Cauldrons Sacred Ground to retire behind the scenes. One had mischievously taken up the post of scripture pavilion caretaker. The other wandered the mortal world, periodically tossing a token to some promising youth he discovered, telling them to report to the Nine Cauldrons Sacred Ground. Within the Nine Cauldrons Sacred Ground, Li Qingshan and the others carried out their duties diligently, tirelessly contributing to the sacred ground's growth. Expanding his perception further, leaping beyond the Nine Provinces Realm, he sensed various lineages that had originally belonged to Beihai Star still thriving. Although these lineages lacked the unique blessings of the Nine Provinces Sacred Ground—which stood as the world's foremost sacred ground—because they had nurtured Immortal Golden Immortals of their own, they could ensure their sects remained enduringly prosperous. Such as the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Sanqing Sacred Hall, and more. Further away, in the Spirit Realm, the presence of the "Lord of Heavenly Dao" pressing down from above kept the rulers confined to throwing their weight around within their own domain. Even if they harbored ambitions or schemes, the fairness and impartiality of the Lord of Yuanxi prevented them from putting them into action. As for the Ancient Immortal Realm... It had gradually completed its overlap with the Mortal Realm; no absolute barrier separated them anymore. The Fate Dao Ancestor remained secluded, and the Three Thousand Grand Daos had been taken over by the Three Thousand Grand Daos of the Chaos Universe. The Immortal Realm and the Mortal Realm were now scarcely distinct. At most, it amounted to a new sacred ground. Everything was in proper, orderly harmony. "The operational order of the entire universe is running smoothly... How wonderful," Yaoguang murmured with heartfelt satisfaction. The Ancient Immortal Realm, the Hunyuan Realm, and the Chaos Realm fused with both had finally become what he desired. He was the witness to it all, and the participant who had brought it to be. ... With that, Yaoguang took a step through the void, departing Baiyun City, departing even the Nine Provinces Realm, to appear within the chaotic void. He gazed at the slowly revolving Chaos Universe, his eyes filled with fulfillment. With the "Lord of Heavenly Dao" present, the operation of this universe no longer required his concern. Even if unexpected events occurred in the future... that would be this universe's destiny. Or rather... its fate. "What is fate?" Yaoguang easily arrived at the precise answer: "Fate is me." He smiled and focused his mind upon "Higher-Dimensional Cognition." At some point over the tens of millions of years, he had suddenly understood what "Higher-Dimensional Cognition" truly was. Or rather, "Higher-Dimensional Cognition" had told him the meaning of its existence. Observation. Or perhaps... another me. It did not even need to be "me." The myriad masses, all living beings—any would do. The moment fate was "observed," fate was endowed with meaning. Just as everything possessed two sides, so too did fate. As for what that meaning truly was, that was not the point. "My life... our lives are a journey of cultivation. Time, space, karma—all are facets of this cultivation of life. Every joy, anger, sorrow, and delight encountered along the way is part of cultivation." Yaoguang grasped the concept of "Higher-Dimensional Cognition." "Therefore, there is no need for sorrow, no need for worry. Relax your spirit and savor every single minute and second of life." In the grand, magnificent cultivation that was life, what mattered had never been the outcome, but the process. "Life is like a play; play through life. In such a life, every obstacle overcome brings fulfillment, achievement, and joy... Cheating to clear a game in an instant brings its own joy as well. The former chooses to break past limits and surpass oneself; the latter relishes effortless delight and ease." To each their own. Of course, at the very beginning, Yaoguang had chosen the latter. Yet he believed there would always be those favored by fate who chose the former, playing out extraordinary and splendid lives. Such lives were the most breathtaking sights in the world. "Where there is existence, there is non-existence. Another non-existent form of fate is observation, and 'Higher-Dimensional Cognition' is precisely such a key." Yaoguang's figure gradually began to blur into illusion. "The magnificent landscapes of the Cangwu Realm, Beihai Star, and even the Ancient Immortal Realm and Hunyuan Realm—I have already observed and experienced them through 'my' lifetime. But this is not the end. Ahead, even more dazzling landscapes await my contemplation and appreciation. And so... it is time to depart." Everything pertaining to him faded into intangibility. Guided by the key of "Higher-Dimensional Cognition," following that invitation, he was about to vanish from all concepts of "existence." Including "fate" and every other concept. He took one final look at the Chaos Universe. He believed endless ages would wash away all traces left upon the world. Including his own. Where the Chaos Universe would drift once devoid of its master's intervention, he did not know. In the future, when this universe once more wove a new and wondrous splendor, he would return to take a look. But for now... "I'm off." ... (The End.)