Lan Xiaobu had made little progress in his cultivation for a long time, but now, sitting atop a pile of Divine Essence Pills and surrounded by top-grade divine spirit veins, his cultivation environment was unmatched in extravagance. As he circulated the Eternal Life Technique, a tide of pill qi instantly formed around him. Wave after wave surged, greedily absorbed by Lan Xiaobu. Within half an incense stick’s time, the pill qi tide enveloped him completely.
In less than a month, Lan Xiaobu broke through to the second layer of the Unity God Realm.
He paid no attention to his soaring cultivation, wholly immersed in the exhilarating rush of practice.
…
Changqin Immortal Realm.
Among the vast, boundless planes of the immortal realms, Changqin Immortal Realm didn’t even rank worthy of mention. Yet this insignificant realm had miraculously survived the world-ending calamity of ages past.
During that catastrophic event years ago, renowned immortal realms had crumbled and dissolved one after another. Changqin Immortal Realm, obscure and unremarkable, somehow endured amid the collapse of countless others, becoming a refuge for many cultivators fleeing devastated domains.
Those who escaped the annihilation of their realms during the calamity were no weaklings. Their arrival drastically boosted Changqin Immortal Realm’s overall strength.
Yet this influx of powerhouses also plunged the once-peaceful realm into chaos. Killings and plundering became rampant, persisting unchecked since the calamity’s end. With limited cultivation resources and an ever-growing number of strong cultivators, stability was impossible.
At this moment, in a remote, tranquil corner of Changqin Immortal Realm, arcs of tribulation lightning descended upon a woman crossing her ordeal.
As the final bolt struck, she couldn’t hold back her tears. How many years had it been? Su Cen had finally stepped into the Immortal King Realm.
For many cultivators, Immortal King marked the true beginning of cultivation. Su Cen knew this too—only at this stage could she begin to comprehend her own Great Dao.
Glancing back at her cave dwelling not far off, gratitude filled her heart. Without that cave, without a man named Qiao Aolun, even with the recent clarity of heavenly laws making cultivation easier, she couldn’t have reached Immortal King so quickly.
She had to leave this place. Now at Immortal King, she could seek out more information.
Su Cen cast a Clear Water Technique on herself, changed her clothes, and was about to summon a low-grade flying immortal artifact when two figures streaked past her divine sense.
Sensing their cultivation might exceed hers, Su Cen grew more determined to leave. Years of hard survival had taught her how to stay alive longer.
But before she could activate her ship, the two figures doubled back, flanking her on both sides.
“What do you two fellow Daoists mean by this?” Su Cen asked calmly, though she knew escape would be tough. One was clearly a late-stage Immortal King; the other’s cultivation she couldn’t even gauge.
Even just the late-stage Immortal King outmatched her.
“What a fine temperament this lovely fairy has, cultivating alone here to Immortal King. Got anything good to share with us?” The late-stage Immortal King chuckled, his tone laced with mockery and menace.
Though Changqin Immortal Realm’s fortune was rising and its laws improving, the immortal qi in this spot was pitiful—barely worth mentioning.
To reach Immortal King in such a qi-starved place? She must have some big secret.
“I was just passing through on a trial. Please step aside, or I’ll have to send a message to my sect,” Su Cen said, anxiety mounting but options few.
“Haha…” The late-stage Immortal King burst into laughter.
His mirth cut off abruptly, as if someone had struck his mouth. “Think I’m blind? Less than three li from here, there’s a cave with wards opened not long ago. Isn’t that where you cultivated? Your sect? Go ahead and call them. I was just going to take your treasures, but now, heh, I’ll take your secrets and make you my cauldron too. What can you do about it?”
With his final words, the late-stage Immortal King lunged at Su Cen.
She gripped her longsword, but before she could wield it, a terrifying force of heavenly might crushed down, binding all her immortal essence.
Her face paled, despair flickering in her eyes.
She’d barely reached Immortal King, gaining some footing in this realm, yet within three li of her cave, she’d encountered a late-stage Immortal King and an Immortal Venerable. The one pinning her with a domain was undoubtedly the latter. An Immortal King and an Immortal Venerable ganging up on her—shameless.
The late-stage Immortal King stretched out an immortal essence handprint toward her neck. At that moment, Su Cen couldn’t even struggle.
Crack! The sound of snapping bones rang out. The late-stage Immortal King stared in horror as his outstretched hand began to shatter—fingers, wrist, arm, shoulder…
And it didn’t stop. The fracturing spread from his shoulder to his chest, spine, neck, skull…
“Senior, spare me…” he cried in terror as his skull started to crack.
“Spare you? Why didn’t you spare my disciple just now?” A weathered voice sounded as a man in plain cloth stepped down from the void.
The Immortal Venerable binding Su Cen paled. Ignoring his companion, he turned to flee.
But in the next instant, an immortal essence handprint slammed toward him.
The aura of death bore down. Panic shattered his soul. How could he have known this woman truly had a sect—and a master this powerful?
Regret came too late. The handprint engulfed his space, crashing down. The Immortal Venerable turned to dust even before the Immortal King.
Only then did the cloth-clad man set foot on the ground, his step crushing the already shattered skull of the late-stage Immortal King. A formidable cultivator, he couldn’t even free his primordial spirit before perishing completely.
Su Cen quickly sheathed her sword and bowed. “Su Cen thanks Senior for saving my life.”
The man sized her up before saying, “Did you think I was lying earlier?”
“Huh?” Su Cen looked at him, puzzled, unsure of his meaning.
He nodded. “You are indeed my disciple. My name is Qiao Aolun…”
At the name Qiao Aolun, Su Cen bowed again. “Many thanks, Senior, for the techniques and resources you left behind. Without them, I’d never have reached Immortal King.”
Her prior cultivation method had been abysmal until she found the Indestructible Great Dao technique.
Qiao Aolun nodded. “Your aptitude is decent. If not for that Immortal Venerable, you could’ve escaped easily.”
Su Cen stayed silent. She knew that without the Immortal Venerable, she could’ve gotten away. Though outmatched by the late-stage Immortal King, years of surviving crises meant he couldn’t overwhelm her completely.
Qiao Aolun continued, “You cultivate my sacred technique, the Indestructible Great Dao. By rights, even as a fresh Immortal King, you should’ve beaten that late-stage Immortal King. But fear gripped you, and you focused on fleeing, losing the initiative and letting an Immortal Venerable bind you. Otherwise, a mere Immortal Venerable is nothing before the Indestructible Great Dao.”
Su Cen froze, still silent, though she inwardly questioned: an Immortal King and an Immortal Venerable against her—should she have fought head-on instead of preparing to escape?
But the thought clarified instantly. Qiao Aolun wasn’t saying she shouldn’t escape—just that she shouldn’t have let fear dominate from the start. She should’ve fought全力, then sought a chance to flee. Escaping and fleeing in fear were different things.
Sensing her understanding, Qiao Aolun nodded approvingly. “I left my inheritance here and recently sensed someone cultivating the Indestructible Great Dao crossing the Immortal King tribulation, so I rushed over. You’re impressive. But the Indestructible Great Dao’s fiercest trial is the Immortal Emperor tribulation. Without my guidance, you’d likely fall to it nine times out of ten. Since you’ve got potential, I’d like to take you as my disciple. Are you willing?”
Su Cen beamed, bowing quickly. “This disciple is willing.”
Only a fool would refuse. Her technique only reached Immortal Emperor with no follow-up. Now, with a master, she wouldn’t worry about what came next.
“Great,” Qiao Aolun said, delighted. “I’ve lingered in the immortal realms too long. This cosmic shift might be my chance to step beyond. The inheritance you found—I left it tens of thousands of years ago, I think. I don’t quite recall…”
“Master, why have you stayed in the immortal realms so long?” Su Cen asked, puzzled, eyeing Qiao Aolun.
Her master seemed immensely strong—slapping an Immortal Venerable to death and crushing a late-stage Immortal King with a step. Why remain here?
Qiao Aolun gave an awkward smile. “Because my technique only went up to Immortal Emperor too. I never found a way past it, so I stayed.”
In truth, there’d been paths beyond Immortal Emperor. After leaving the immortal realms, he’d switched to other techniques, only to realize they were rubbish compared to the Indestructible Great Dao. So he’d gone to great lengths to return to Changqin Immortal Realm, seeking the follow-up to his original path.
