Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Soon, Xiao Bai had cut a plate full of fruits and served it to them.
There were a few kinds of fruits. The colors were well-matched, making it look good.
Gu Changqing took a piece of orange and put it in his mouth. Instantly, the juices burst, complementing the sweetness of the fruit. It flirted with his taste buds, especially the sourness of the orange. Eating it was a delight.
They all shut their eyes at the same time, feeling the Law exuding from the orange. They were stunned.
All the fruits contained specks of the Law. Who would believe them even if they told the others?
Impossible to imagine! Unbelievable!
One had to know that even in the Immortal Land, one would have to risk their lives just to find something like this from the ancient porter unless one had been enlightened.
They were stunned, but they also felt sad.
Why were the fruits cut into pieces? How great would it be if they were complete pieces so they could take some home!
The expert served them tea and fruits. How filling!
If they were served these fine foods and were unable to stomach it all due to being full, it would drive them crazy!
How could their stomachs be so disappointing!
Feeling that their bonds were strengthening, Li Nianfan asked curiously, “Mr. Payne, what does the Immortal Land look like? Is there a Heavenly Temple?”
Payne smiled bitterly and shook his head. “No.”
Li Nianfan paused. “Then who rules the Immortal Land?”
Payne explained, “Mr. Li, the Immortal Land isn’t so different from the Immortal Realm. There are Sects, and the most powerful are the Five Sacred Lands. There’s no leader.”
Li Nianfan could not help shaking his head. “How embarrassing. Like I said, ‘Journey to the West’ is a made-up story. Yet, I couldn’t help comparing the story to the actual thing. How embarrassing!”
“Actually, there is a Heavenly Temple.”
The Fire Phoenix appeared next to them and took a seat. She put a piece of fruit into her mouth and frowned. “I have a vague piece of memory in my head. It seems that a Heavenly Temple did exist in ancient times.”
Payne and the other two exchanged a look. They were shocked.
As expected, the Heavenly Temple existed! The expert kept claiming that the story was not real. Perhaps only the idiots would believe him.
He was…missing the Heavenly Temple from ancient times?
“The ancient times?” Li Nianfan frowned. So, it seemed they had archaeology in the Immortal Land.
He licked his lips and asked in anticipation, “Then, do you know if there are Spiritual Fruits that could turn an ordinary man into an Immortal?”
Any ordinary man would dream about becoming an Immortal! However, even if this fruit did exist, he would not be destined to obtain it. However, Li Nianfan was still curious and he merely wanted to know.
The three of them exchanged looks.
After a moment of thought, Gu Yuan asked, “Do you mean the Flat Peach from ‘Journey to the West’? I haven’t heard of this in the Immortal Land.”
The Fire Phoenix spoke again, “Back in the ancient Immortal Land, it was indeed possible to turn an ordinary man into an Immortal. However, it seems impossible now.”
One needed Spiritual Roots to achieve something like that. Spiritual Root was extremely precious! Now, they were all extinct.
She secretly glanced around at the backyard. The expert’s backyard was filled with Spiritual Roots. However, they were merely man-made Spiritual Roots. Under the expert’s green thumb, they seemed to be changing.
Spiritual Roots were able to evolve? If she did not see it with her own eyes, the Fire Phoenix would not have believed it!
This expert seemed to have capabilities way beyond Heaven!
“In ancient times again?” Li Nianfan was disappointed. “The Immortal Land’s going backward?”
Payne smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Mr. Li, compared to the ancient times, the Immortal Land has deteriorated a lot. It seems impossible for us to return to the glory days of the ancient times.”
“The sun comes up and will go down, the moon will crescent once it’s full. Too much water will drown the miller. When things reach its peak, it will start going backward.” Li Nianfan sighed. “This saying is indeed applicable everywhere. It truly is the rule of all lives.”
It seemed that it was about time to let go of his dream of becoming an Immortal. Sigh.
His audience’s head buzzed. They felt goosebumps all over as if they had just been awakened from a deep sleep with loud bells.
Payne said sincerely, “Those eleven simple words precisely stated the Law of the world. Mr. Li’s indeed an admirable genius.”
Being cultured was indeed a well-cherished skill everywhere.
“Thank you, it’s nothing. You guys sealed the Kraken and saved the people—that’s admirable.” Li Nianfan smiled and continued, “Things will go backward from the peak, things will improve from the bottom. I believe that as long as you don’t give up, glory will return one day.”
Payne nodded, “Hopefully so.”
Meanwhile, he saw something from the corner of his eyes that made him jump.
He saw that Xiao Bai was sweeping the ground, clearing up the wood shavings left from Li Nianfan’s carving.
Due to his refined skills, the shavings on the ground were quite complete. They were long wooden strips that looked rather regular.
Of course, that was nothing. The key was that…these were Spiritual Roots!
Payne could not believe his eyes. Even his organs were trembling. He wished he could glue his eyes on them.
Although they were merely wooden shavings, they were pieces of Spiritual Roots—the most precious material in the world! It was way more precious than Immortal Items!
Yet, they were being swept away like rubbish.
He could not help asking, “Mr. Li…what are you planning to do with all those shavings?”
Li Nianfan said simply, “It’s rubbish, so of course, I’m throwing them away.”
Payne took a deep breath. His heart was about to jump out of his chest as he said, trembling, “Mr. Li, we’re about to leave anyway. Why don’t we help you bring the trash out?”
After saying that, it seemed as if he had used up all the energy in his body. His four limbs had gone soft.
“That…” Li Nianfan halted. “Would it be too much of a trouble?”
Payne waved it off. “Not at all, not at all! It’s nothing!”
“Alright, then. Thank you.” Li Nianfan nodded.
Payne almost cried out with excitement. He held the shavings with his trembling hands. “Mr. Li, sorry for disturbing you today. Goodbye for now.”
“Alright, goodbye.”
…
Upon walking out of the four-part architecture, Payne looked at the shavings in his hands as if he was dreaming.
He took another look to make sure that it was indeed Spiritual Roots!
These had gone extinct in the Immortal Land!
According to the legend, Spiritual Roots contained the Law. They had the energy that other treasures did not have. He wondered what energy did this Spiritual Root have.
Payne sighed and said with the utmost respect, “What kind of existence is this! Even Spiritual Roots are just rubbish to him! I’ve lived twenty-six thousand years and even the greatest dream I’ve had isn’t as outrageous as this.”
Gu Yuan said suddenly, “Sect Master, I don’t mean to attack you but I didn’t think we would get the Spiritual Root so easily.”
Payne was stunned for a moment. He then sighed and said, “Of course, I know. Every word the expert said was full of clues. If I’m not able to catch them, I would’ve been living all these years for nothing.”
Gu Yuan gulped as he said nervously, “Sect Master, the expert seemed to be nostalgic about the ancient times. Does he want to…bring back glory to the Immortal Land?”
“Very likely. He asked how the Immortal Land was doing and when he learned that the Heavenly Temple no longer existed, he was obviously disappointed,” Payne nodded. He continued, “The bridge between here and the Immortal Land has been reconnected. It shows that the expert’s plan has started. Also, you’re not able to see it clearly but the pressure I feel is way heavier than you think.”
Gu Yuan and Gu Changqing were stunned. “What do you mean?”
“The Spiritual Item that can turn an ordinary man into an Immortal!” Payne sighed. “Since the expert mentioned it, it’s obvious that he wants it! Experts like him will never clearly state what they want. They would only hint at it. It seemed as if he was asking about the Immortal Land, but there were other meanings implied. What’s the point of cultivation if we can’t even catch what the expert implied?”
Higher-ranking people always liked to play dumb.
For example, back in the day if an Emperor went out for a walk and saw a woman he fancied, it would sound distasteful if he said, “Wow, this chick is not bad at all. Bring her home for me!”
The Emperor would have become a rogue.
Instead, he would find out more about the people around her and their habits. If one could not understand the truth in this, it would be over.
The skill of bootlicking was secondary compared to being able to read the bigshot’s thinking.
Gu Changqing said, “If you say so. The expert mentioned the sealing of the Kraken. Was he implying the demons?”
“That’s for sure. If he wants to restore the Immortal Land to its glory like in the ancient times, the demons are the biggest obstacles,” Payne nodded. “However, since the expert intentionally brought it up, it’s likely that something happened. We’ll investigate further once we get back.”
Gu Yuan said with a serious face, “The demons are indeed running wild these days. The expert likes being an ordinary man, so he won’t settle it himself. We’re his best chess pieces.”
…
The Land of the Southern Barbarians was originally an empty land without many towns. The Sects here were also very limited.
Nowadays, it was like a ghost town. Those who could leave had already run away.
Most of the towns of ordinary men had fallen to the demons. Even the surrounding Sects had been taken over by them.
On a tall mountain, the leader had an ax in his hand. He gradually walked forward with an evil look. He looked arrogant and powerful.
Not far ahead of him were eight demons dressed in black robes.
The eight of them surrounded a gigantic sculpture in the middle. There was some strange talisman drawn on the ground. Blood was spinning from within it.
This tall mountain originally belonged to a Sect. However, the cultivators were all killed by now.
A man in black robes said in a hoarse voice, “We’re ready, we can start summoning our Lord Demon God now.”
The leader walked forward slowly. He placed his ax in front of the sculpture and then knelt on one knee. “Killing one man’s a crime, killing ten thousand men makes one a hero. This ax is tainted by the blood of a thousand men. I, Tu Jiu, am willing to be your slave, to work under the lead of the Lord Demon God!”
Bam!
Behind him, countless soldiers knelt on their knees at the same time. “We’re the slaves to the Lord Demon God. We welcome you!”
The eight men in black cast a spell. As they raised their hands, black smoke rushed out from their body toward the sculpture.
The black smoke boiled and surrounded the sculpture, shrinking and expanding.
It was as if the sculpture was breathing. Very eerie.
It did not take long before the stone sculpture turned black. Finally, it became as black as ink, sending chills through everyone’s body.
The black smoke was boiling and eventually formed a swirl, turning the world black.
Crack!
The sculpture suddenly cracked open. It was followed by wild black smoke rushing into it.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The crack was expanding rapidly. Finally, it spread across the entire sculpture. During the final moments, along with a loud ‘vroom’, the sculpture turned into power.
However, the black smoke did not dissipate. Instead, it gathered wildly on the same spot before it finally condensed into the shape of a human!
This was a strongly built man, dressed in black armor with two erected barbs. As he moved, his armor made a ringing sound, exuding a shocking temperament. Very aggressive.
He was laughing unstoppably and his eyes were filled with excitement. “Ha-ha-ha! The first to arrive in this ordinary realm is none other than I, Amon! Who’s able to stop me in this ordinary realm?”
He took a deep breath of the ordinary air and let out a look of indulgence.
Swiftly after, he glanced around. He reached out with his hand and his ax flew into his grip. The black smoke in the air rushed toward the ax.
“You’re Tu Jiu, right? As long as you can rule this ordinary realm for the Lord Demon King, you can become the Human Sovereign. You won’t be able to die or be destroyed!” Amon handed him the ax. “We can’t reason much with the ordinary men, so we can’t be too direct with them. This ax will absorb murderous energy, so you’ll never get tired on the battlefield!”
Tu Jiu was delighted. He said hastily, “Thank you for your kindness, my lord. With this ax, I’ll be undefeatable in this realm!”
“Very well!” Amon’s eyes flashed red. “As of the cultivators in the ordinary realm, leave them to us! Oh, right. There’s Yuecha, Gusin, and Backo. Once I discover where they’re sealed, we’ll let them all out! Soon, the demons will take over this realm! Those who oblige will succeed and those who’re against me will die!”
