Zhu Tian: Why Are There More and More Immortals?

Originally, Daoist Lord Hanhai had been instructing Daoist Xiantian in cultivation, guiding him toward a smooth breakthrough from early Foundation Establishment to middle Foundation Establishment, when a spatial gateway opened directly across from him. And sitting directly across from Daoist Lord Hanhai was, of course, Daoist Xiantian. Thus, the moment the gateway opened, it teleported Daoist Xiantian straight through. Sensing Yun Zhi on the other side, Daoist Lord Hanhai saw no danger and let the teleportation proceed uninterrupted. When Daoist Xiantian laid eyes on the bound Guan Shanhai, he nearly leaped out of his skin in fright. First they had captured Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor from his era, then they had done in the second Imperial Preceptor, and now was it finally the first Imperial Preceptor's turn? Back in the Great Yu era, executing all ten familial branches would not have been enough to atone for such a crime! Immediately after, Daoist Lord Hanhai stepped one foot out of the spatial gateway, but upon hearing what the child grandmaster was shouting while clutching Daoist Xiantian's thigh, he hastily moved to pull that foot back. How could the child grandmaster let him have his way? With a tiger's pounce, he threw his arms around the retreating leg, dragging Daoist Lord Hanhai bodily through the spatial gateway. "Patriarch Hanhai, you're finally here! Prison Peak cannot do without you—!" Seeing Guan Shanhai, Daoist Lord Hanhai's eyelids twitched violently. Good heavens, half-immortals were not enough for the two disciples to toy with, so now they had moved straight to capturing an immortal?! Evidently, when Meng Junzi borrowed Daoist Lord Hanhai's rudimentary Dao fruit, he had never mentioned what he intended to do with it. Prying the child grandmaster's hands away with considerable effort, Daoist Lord Hanhai spoke in an amiable, genial tone. "Little Tang, I believe you are still the best fit for Prison Peak. While the challenge has grown, it also reflects the entire sect's trust and trial for you. "The moment you entered the sect, I took note of you. I saw your Dao heart was steadfast and knew you were destined for greatness. And indeed, just as I predicted, it took you a mere two thousand years to reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage and become a renowned powerhouse in the world. "Your patriarch believes that as long as you weather the trials of Prison Peak, you will surely reach greater heights and become a half-immortal powerhouse just like me!" The child grandmaster rolled his eyes, not buying Daoist Lord Hanhai's nonsense for a second. He had taken the post at Prison Peak solely for a quiet, easy retirement. Who could have known that serving as warden of Prison Peak was even more exhausting than being sect master? "Patriarch, you've been stuck at the half-immortal stage without making any headway, haven't you? Why don't you spend more time interacting with Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor? Surely that will deepen your cultivation insights—perhaps you'll even become an immortal." The two exchanged a smile, both seeing resolute refusal in each other's eyes. Guan Shanhai was equally stunned by Prison Peak. He had only known Daoist Lord Wanfa had been captured by the Dao Seeking Sect, but had never imagined Wu Youdao, missing for ages, was imprisoned here as well. There was also his former rival Nightmare Supreme, alongside Great Yu's final half-immortal, Void Supreme. Several of his earlier perplexities were now answered, leaving only the question of where the long-vanished second Imperial Preceptor had gone. "Patriarch, Grandmaster, please take your time catching up. I will take him inside for interrogation first." Yun Zhi dragged Guan Shanhai toward the deepest chamber of Prison Peak. Daoist Xiantian, meanwhile, pestered Lu Yang, desperate to hear the full story of how Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor had been captured. "Actually... Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor getting caught had nothing to do with me at all..." ... "What?! A Great Yu half-immortal appeared in Yuzhou, and Ancestor Jiang Ping'an came out of seclusion personally to resolve it?!" "Three of the Heavenly Court's Four Sovereigns appeared in the Imperial City, and they're all the Qilin Immortal's wives?!" "A battle between two immortals broke out in the Imperial City! Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor Guan Shanhai and the Meng Family's ancestor Meng Junzi fought a bloody, heaven-shattering duel!" "Meng Junzi became an immortal long ago?!" "So the Meng Family is actually an immortal clan!" "Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor was no match for Meng Junzi and self-detonated above the Imperial City, fate unknown?!" "Emperor Xia came back from the dead and lived out a second life!" Blockbuster news swept across the entire cultivation world, each report staggering enough to shake it to its foundations, to say nothing of the sheer barrage of them. When people heard the news, their minds went blank in disbelief, feeling as though they had been cast into an ancient golden age of relentless immortal warfare. The cultivators of Great Xia had thought this was an era devoid of immortals; the two immortals who fought over the East Sea clearly belonged to another time. Who could have guessed Great Xia possessed immortals of its own—and two of them at that! So what if the Demon Empire had ancient half-immortals? Great Xia had genuine immortals! "Speaking of which, so the Qilin Immortal actually has three wives! I thought there were only two." Someone looked on with fervent envy at the Qilin Immortal's romantic fortune; Ao Ling and the other two ladies were each peerless beauties. Others took it completely in stride, acting as though it were only natural: "See, that's where you don't understand. That is an immortal—a supreme existence! What does having two or three wives matter? Perhaps the Qilin Immortal is just like Ying Tian, fond of beautiful women and taking multiple wives." "If you ask me, the Qilin Immortal probably had flings with all sorts of ancient beauties behind the scenes." "Great Yu truly is inferior to our Great Xia. Their Imperial Preceptor couldn't even defeat someone Ancestor Jiang once beat." "I only wonder whether Great Yu's Imperial Preceptor is dead or alive. Daring to attack the Imperial City—self-detonation was letting him off easy!" "By the way, how did His Majesty live out a second life?" "Supposedly he seized some Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Root from the Heavenly Court or something." "Such a wondrous treasure exists?" ... In the Demon Domain, Zhu Tian wore a long face upon receiving the news from the Imperial City. "Wait a minute, didn't everyone agree that half-immortals were invincible in this world? Why are immortals popping up one after another?" At that thought, Zhu Tian put a bit more strength into his hands, planing the wood surface with greater vigor. Whenever he was bored out of his mind, he would engage in artistic creation. He blew gently, scattering the wood shavings to reveal what he held: a palm-sized circular platform with a small slot cut into it. Zhu Tian then picked up a wooden figurine beside him, carved in the likeness of him dancing gracefully. He slotted the figurine onto the circular platform. Gentle music drifted from the base, and the figurine began to spin on its own. ... Clan Head Jin, having heard that their Little Ancestor had left seclusion and stirred up a massive commotion in the Imperial City, requested leave from Daoist Buyu and returned to the Qiongqi clan. "What? Our Qiongqi clan doesn't have to pay our debts anymore?!" Hearing the news, Clan Head Jin was ecstatic, feeling like a pauper who had turned into a wealthy heir overnight. Little Ancestor was truly extraordinary! A single trip to the Imperial City had resolved the Qiongqi clan's most intractable crisis. Praised to the skies by Clan Head Jin and the Qiongqi Tribulation Transcendence elders, Jin Caiwei beamed with pride, the grin never leaving her face. Standing on a high platform, she waved her arms and proclaimed with supreme swagger: "Debts and the like are mere trifles! Our Qiongqi clan's goal has changed! We're not fighting for eleventh or twelfth place anymore! We are now members of the Heavenly Court, destined to be the strongest faction in the struggle of this grand era! We are number one!" Fired up by Little Ancestor's speech, Clan Head Jin felt his blood boil and hastily offered a plan. "Little Ancestor, I just learned a way to make money from Big Brother Buyu. Our Qiongqi clan can seize this momentum and rise!" "Oh? What method?" "Cornering the market! We hoard an extremely vital commodity until the market price shoots through the roof, and then we sell it off. That way, we're guaranteed to rake in a fortune!" Jin Caiwei considered it and thought it sounded like a splendid idea. Why had she never thought of it before? It seemed Little Jin had truly learned something useful from Daoist Buyu. "So what are we going to hoard?" "Candles."