Lan Xiaobu originally wanted to say that Zhen Changyuan’s Great Path lacked ruthlessness, but then he considered her personality. She wasn’t someone who enjoyed killing, so he held his tongue. Everyone has their own choices, and he couldn’t impose his views on Zhen Changyuan. Perhaps in terms of self-preservation, her temperament was a fatal flaw. But on the Path of Eternal Life, Zhen Changyuan’s character was undoubtedly superior to his.
“Senior Sister Zhen, I’ll soon be heading to the Land of Eternal Life. If you’re willing to return, once I find the Seven Realms Stone, I can call you to join me,” Lan Xiaobu said. In his heart, he genuinely admired Zhen Changyuan’s personality and was willing to take her along to the Land of Eternal Life.
Zhen Changyuan, upon hearing that Lan Xiaobu could obtain the Seven Realms Stone, didn’t react with the excitement of others. Instead, she remained silent for a while before saying, “Very well, call me to join you when the time comes.”
Lan Xiaobu was puzzled. By all logic, inviting Zhen Changyuan along was an act of help on his part, yet her words suggested otherwise. He asked, “Senior Sister Zhen, is there something wrong with the Land of Eternal Life? Can ordinary people not enter it casually?”
Zhen Changyuan sighed, “In the Land of Eternal Life, the true eternal saints are the Creation Saints. Although Creation Path Saints and Realm Evolution Saints are also eternal saints, they’re nothing compared to Creation Saints. So, those who go to the Land of Eternal Life are essentially all seeking the Creation Great Path.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded inwardly. Though he hadn’t been to the Land of Eternal Life, he understood this principle. How many eternal saints could there really be? That’s why he’d never paid much attention to the Creation Path or Realm Evolution realms of eternity. For him, there was only one goal worth pursuing: the Creation Saint Realm.
Zhen Changyuan continued, “But the number of Creation Saints in the Land of Eternal Life is limited. It can never reach ten, meaning the maximum is nine. In reality, the number of Creation Saints in the eternal realm will never even hit nine.”
“Why not?” Lan Xiaobu asked, confused.
Zhen Changyuan explained, “Because the Land of Eternal Life doesn’t allow anyone the chance to step into the Creation Realm. Any cultivator with the potential to reach the Creation Realm is immediately eliminated. The moment anyone steps into the Land of Eternal Life, Creation Realm powerhouses will sense them. If they detect you have the qualifications to enter the Creation Realm, only two paths await you: the path of death or the path of enslavement. Of course, there are a rare few lucky ones who sever their own cultivation foundation, choosing to remain forever in the Creation Path Realm to escape with their lives.”
Only then did Lan Xiaobu understand. Zhen Changyuan’s willingness to join him in the Land of Eternal Life wasn’t because he could obtain the Seven Realms Stone—it was to lend him a hand.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu fall silent, Zhen Changyuan continued, “Though the Land of Eternal Life can’t be covered with surveillance arrays everywhere, it has top-tier divination experts. The moment a cultivator capable of proving the Creation Realm enters, they can calculate it. That Huang Buzi I mentioned earlier is one of them. He found me because he used the Great Path of Destiny to deduce my location.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister Zhen, for telling me all this. Here’s my communication bead. If you ever need my help in the future, feel free to call me anytime,” Lan Xiaobu said, handing her a communication bead.
Though Zhen Changyuan disliked fighting, she wasn’t without insight. The moment she took Lan Xiaobu’s communication bead, she said, “You’ve actually proven your path with your own space? That’s incredibly rare.”
Cultivators who proved their path with space were indeed few and far between. Most cultivators extended their path from the techniques they practised.
For example, she cultivated the Great Path of Destiny and proved her path with destiny. The Great Cosmos Saint, who practised the Great Planetary Technique, proved his path with planets. But no one started by cultivating space. Only after reaching a certain level would they touch upon spatial rules, then create or cultivate their own spatial divine abilities and master spatial laws. Purely space-based path provers like Lan Xiaobu were genuinely uncommon.
After saying this, Zhen Changyuan suddenly realised something and stared at Lan Xiaobu in shock, “Your Great Path is your own?”
She recalled how Lan Xiaobu had previously proven his path with destiny. Unless it was his own Great Path, it’d be impossible to prove the Space Great Path and then the Destiny Great Path afterward. Perhaps he’d even proven other paths she wasn’t aware of.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, “Yes, I’ve perfected my own Great Path and cultivate my personal Great Path.”
Zhen Changyuan’s expression grew grave, “Junior Brother Xiaobu, if it’s your own Great Path, I strongly suggest you avoid the Land of Eternal Life. The moment your personal Great Path enters that place, Creation Realm powerhouses will sense it immediately. You’ll be plunged into endless pursuit until you’re killed.”
Earlier, when Zhen Changyuan had warned Lan Xiaobu about the dangers of the Land of Eternal Life, she’d thought his strength was decent enough to escape pursuit from ordinary Creation Path Realm cultivators. But if he cultivated his own Great Path, that changed everything. A personal Great Path, barring premature collapse or unpredictable setbacks, was virtually guaranteed to reach the Creation Realm.
Such a person stepping into the Land of Eternal Life would inevitably be hunted down.
Lan Xiaobu was somewhat speechless. He might not fear Creation Path Realm cultivators, and he could even escape Realm Evolution cultivators, but against Creation Realm eternal powerhouses? What chance did he have? It was utterly shameless—a Creation Realm figure chasing down a cultivator who hadn’t even entered the eternal realm?
“Is there no room for compromise?” Lan Xiaobu asked, his throat dry. He didn’t know where his Great Path would lead from here.
If he didn’t go to the Land of Eternal Life and their plane remained safe, that’d be fine. But those bastards in the Land of Eternal Life kept triggering apocalyptic calamities. Staying here without going there meant waiting to die. Only by entering the Land of Eternal Life and eliminating those calamity-causing fiends could he find peace.
Then he thought—if he planned to take down all those Creation powerhouses, their desire to kill him didn’t seem so unreasonable.
Sigh, Lan Xiaobu lamented. Though your Grandpa Bu wants to wipe out you shameless lot, I haven’t even started yet, have I?
Zhen Changyuan sighed, “Many years ago, I met a young cultivator like you—brilliant and extraordinary. He too cultivated his own Great Path. When numerous Creation powerhouses besieged the Great Cosmos Saint, the Great Cosmos Saint forcibly tore apart his foundational plane, triggering an apocalyptic calamity. This young man, with his personal Great Path, forged a world that saved countless lives.
But later, he realised something was off. Though they didn’t live in someone else’s world, their plane was still under others’ control. Even his own cosmic world, as long as it existed within this plane, would be affected by the next calamity’s ripples.”
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t help but think of the Rootless Divine Realm’s past. After its apocalyptic calamity, a cultivator surnamed Mo used his own world to save the plane’s remaining lives. Could Zhen Changyuan be talking about him?
Zhen Changyuan continued, “That young man was clever. As the cosmos collapsed and dissolved, he sensed something amiss—it didn’t seem like the work of the Heavenly Dao. He uncovered the truth and, with great divine powers, his personal Great Path, and several Primordial Chaos principles, stopped the calamity from progressing. This also led to the Great Cosmos Saint’s premature fall. Yet the Creation powerhouses showed him no mercy for helping them eliminate the Great Cosmos Saint. To them, he was a rising star capable of reaching the Creation Realm.”
“Was he hunted down?” Lan Xiaobu couldn’t help asking.
Zhen Changyuan nodded, “By intervening in that apocalyptic calamity, he discovered the Land of Eternal Life. He left his cosmos and stepped into it, alas…”
Zhen Changyuan sighed again, “He shouldn’t have gone. Staying away, he might have survived here. But once he entered, he faced pursuit from countless powerhouses—seven Creation Realm experts, dozens of Realm Evolution experts, and over a thousand Creation Path experts, all hunting him alone.”
Lan Xiaobu sucked in a breath. With so many powerhouses after him, surviving would be a miracle.
“Was he killed?” Lan Xiaobu sighed inwardly. If he faced such a force, where would his escape lie?
Zhen Changyuan shook her head, “I don’t know. But even a Creation Saint facing such overwhelming pursuit would likely fall. This young man wasn’t just terrifyingly strong—his cunning was unmatched. He escaped time and again. When I left the Land of Eternal Life, he didn’t seem to have been killed yet. I fled after being targeted by Huang Buzi.”
“You escaped the Land of Eternal Life—couldn’t he have too?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Zhen Changyuan replied, “Impossible. I escaped because of an Eternal Life Talisman. There are forty-nine in total, most held by eternal saints. I obtained one because I cultivate the Great Path of Destiny—it was fated for me. That young man couldn’t have acquired an Eternal Life Talisman, so he had no chance to leave.”
Lan Xiaobu finally understood. Meng Qi’s disciples must have escaped the Land of Eternal Life using Eternal Life Talismans too.
