"No, I mean my name is Bu Yaolian—'Bu' as in cloth, and 'Yaolian' as in having a sense of shame." Thoroughly beaten into submission, the Immortal Celestial answered every question without hesitation, his attitude exceedingly cooperative.
The Immortal Fairy furrowed her brows. "Why such a strange name?"
*What right do you have to call someone else's name strange?* Lu Yang thought to himself.
The Immortal Celestial sighed. "I didn't want to be called this either. To explain that, it's a long story."
"Take your time." The Immortal Fairy conjured a small folding stool, sat on it, and propped her chin in her hand, eager to hear what he had to say.
Yun Zhi and Lu Yang also listened quietly from the side.
The Immortal Celestial truthfully recounted, "I don't know where my consciousness came from, nor do I know how I was born. A very long time ago, my first wisp of consciousness came into being. It was exceedingly faint, only vaguely able to perceive my own state—like looking at flowers through a dense fog, unclear and blurry.
"I felt power from unknown sources continuously converging into me, making me grow stronger bit by bit, yet my consciousness remained hazy and dim, incapable of perceiving the outside world.
"I could also sense numerous memories pouring into my mind, but back then, I lacked the capacity to think. I merely received them blindly, unable to organize or process such a massive influx of memories.
"My consciousness gradually grew stronger, and faint, indistinct voices began echoing beside my awareness, calling out 'Immortal Celestial.'
"The words 'Immortal Celestial' existed within those memories, but I still couldn't process them and didn't know what an 'Immortal Celestial' was.
"I don't know how much time passed—perhaps hundreds of years, perhaps thousands—until my consciousness suddenly cleared up, like a drowning man being pulled from the water, regaining perception of the external world.
"And the very first sentence I heard once my consciousness cleared was: 'O Great Immortal Celestial Bu Yaolian, please save your devout believers, save this world!'
"'Bu Yaolian' became my name. I never had a name to begin with; it was only when the Cult Master addressed me as 'Bu Yaolian' that I gained one.
"Once I received a name, I could finally process the vast store of memories from before and understand the meaning behind them.
"In those memories, I saw someone stumbling upon a secret realm by chance. Upon entering, he learned of an ancient celestial who had protected the human race, known as the Immortal Celestial. The Immortal Celestial possessed the Immortal Dao fruit, capable of reviving from the dead. After leaving the secret realm, that man founded the Immortal Cult in an attempt to revive the Immortal Celestial.
"The Immortal Cult grew powerful. More and more believers joined the cult, pleasing the Immortal Celestial through slaughter and calling upon the celestial's true name to resurrect the celestial.
"At that point, I understood that I was the Immortal Celestial being revived by the Immortal Cult. As long as someone truly believed in me, prayed to me, and worshiped me, I would obtain their memories.
"When the Cult Master prayed to me, I manifested through the statue to fulfill his expectations.
"I possessed the Cult Master's memories; everything he knew, I knew. Seeing that he was grievously injured and required a century of recuperation, and considering he was my most devout and powerful follower, I took action to heal him.
"After acquiring a name, I could feel a cluster of golden light within my grasp. Piecing this together with the memories, I deduced that this was the Immortal Dao fruit.
"I utilized a portion of the Immortal Dao fruit's power to heal the Cult Master.
"Yet I didn't know if I truly was the Immortal Celestial. My earliest memory originated from the first believer, dating back over ten thousand years ago. I did not possess a single shred of memory regarding ancient times.
"For example, when the Cult Master asked me who on earth had refined the myriad stars in the sky, I couldn't answer. But neither could I admit I didn't know, so I told him the matter involved too high a level for him to comprehend.
"Unsure how the cultists would react if they learned of my true condition, I could only pretend to have awakened from the distant ancient past.
"Furthermore, remaining permanently in a soul state was untenable in the long run, so I told the Cult Master that I needed to seize a body, return to my peak, and save the world.
"The Cult Master believed my words and gathered all the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators to hold a tournament, allowing me to select a suitable candidate for body seizure."
"And then you chose me?" Lu Yang asked.
The Immortal Celestial nodded helplessly. *Exactly! Out of everyone I could have picked, my eyes had to fail me and pick you, only to end up getting beaten half to death!*
*Had it been anyone else, my body seizure would have succeeded already!*
The Immortal Celestial's confession clarified several puzzles, such as why he didn't know ancient techniques, why he wanted to seize a body, and why his name was Bu Yaolian.
Yet there were still questions that even he himself couldn't answer.
For instance, who was he really? Where had he come from? And how had that Immortal Dao fruit come into being?
Lu Yang turned an expectant gaze toward his Eldest Senior Sister and the Immortal Fairy. At a time like this, knowledgeable senior figures needed to step forward.
The Immortal Fairy knitted her delicate brows, deep in thought about heaven knew what, not looking particularly reliable.
From start to finish, Eldest Senior Sister had quietly listened to the Immortal Celestial's account, discerning whether these experiences were genuine or fabricated.
She concluded that the general account was likely authentic.
Noticing Lu Yang's gaze, she knew her little junior brother had plenty of questions and was hoping for answers from her. She spoke up: "Supreme Elder Venerable Daoyan of the Heavenly Strategy Sect once proposed a hypothesis: that there was never any Immortal Celestial or Immortal Dao fruit in this world, and that the Immortal Cult was creating an immortal."
Lu Yang nodded to himself. *The senior elder really is reliable.*
Hearing Yun Zhi's words, the Immortal Fairy abruptly snapped her head up. *Where did this Venerable Daoyan spring from to dare question the existence of this fairy's Dao fruit?!*
*Does he have any idea how much effort this fairy expended to form my Dao fruit?! The four of them, like Immortal Ying Tian, were bursting with envy!*
Lu Yang suggested that the Immortal Fairy hear Eldest Senior Sister out first before settling scores with Venerable Daoyan later.
Yun Zhi continued, "Where souls come from and where they go is a conundrum that the cultivation world has been unable to resolve to this day. Venerable Daoyan believes that human thoughts and intentions are a form of power. As long as there is a sufficient quantity and strength of human thought, it is possible for a soul to come into existence.
"Of course, this is merely a hypothesis, and it cannot explain how the very first soul was born. However, your situation aligns with the conditions of this hypothesis.
"From its founding to the present, the Immortal Cult has existed for fourteen thousand years. Across those fourteen thousand years, at least millions of cultists have prayed to a nonexistent Immortal Celestial. Across such vast spans of time, an immense deluge of will and thought was entirely capable of giving rise to a soul—namely you, the Immortal Celestial.
"However, your emergence likely required an additional condition: slaughter.
"Have you ever considered where the power you wielded just now came from—that demonic qi laden with resentment?
"Humans are the paragons of all creation, the darlings of heaven and earth, born with innate 'spirituality.' The method of demonic cultivators is to strip away this human 'spirituality' through slaughter and turn it into their own power.
"To please you, your believers slaughtered, creating boundless karmic slaughter. The power gained from that slaughter became your power—the power of the Tribulation Transcendence stage."
Chapter 197