Chapter 2131: Seven Sessions of a Side Story Cultivating the Mortal World Through Generations (Finale)

Open your eyes wide.

Han Li stood suspended in mid-air, scanning the entire Crystal Mountain Range with a wry smile on his face. Despite his formidable cultivation, now at the late-stage Tribulation Transcendence Grand Perfection, and having fully unleashed the "Orderly Light Rain" ultimate sword formation based on the Profound Heaven Spirit Slaying Sword, he felt a certain weariness. The Crystal Mountain Range was utterly devastated and scarred. Han Li then looked towards the overwhelming Demon Realm army several tens of miles ahead, feeling quite helpless. His mouth twitched uncontrollably once more, especially when his gaze fixed on the demon figure standing over a hundred zhang in front of the army.

This demon was the very entity that, during Han Li's critical moment of advancing to the Mahayana realm in the Demon Realm's Spirit Cleansing Pool, had caused the green mist sealed within his second demon infant to uncontrollably erupt. This had led the demon infant to break free from his control, become an independent demon, and escape, disappearing into the Demon Realm. Unexpectedly, this demon's cultivation was now on par with his own, and it had even conspired with two other Demon Realm Ancestors to plot against the Spirit Realm. What truly infuriated Han Li was that this demon's cultivation techniques were fundamentally similar to his own, differing only in the use of spirit energy versus demonic energy. Consequently, Han Li had been constrained after only a few rounds of fighting. The "Orderly Light Rain" he had just deployed was almost a domain-level power, but just as the sword formation's glittering cold light was about to pierce through the Demon Realm army, the demon used a similar "Mixed Blood Rain" to obstruct and disrupt it, ultimately rendering it ineffective and achieving little.

Ancestor Baohua and Fairy Luoming now stood guard not far behind Han Li, forming a pincer formation. They exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes, and felt a considerable headache over the outcome. This Spirit-Demon War was rife with strangeness. It was ironic that she and Luoming, originally a Demon Realm Ancestor and Saint Ancestor respectively, had, by a twist of fate, come to the Spirit Realm and were now willing to follow Han Li, an emerging talent of the Spirit Realm, to jointly resist the entire Demon Realm. Truly, life was unpredictable. Of course, power was respected everywhere, just as Tianqi and Heyan were willing to let the demon lead the attack on the Spirit Realm. However, Han Li and the demon were born as twin companions, serving as leaders for the Spirit and Demon armies respectively, which was why the stalemate persisted. Ancestor Baohua glanced at Han Li at this moment, seemingly remembering something else, and a blush flashed across her face, followed by a hint of annoyance.

"It's time for the decisive battle. Prolonging this will be quite disadvantageous for the other resisting armies." Hearing Han Li's telepathic message, Ancestor Baohua quickly reined in her thoughts and nodded solemnly. At the same time, she looked at the Spirit Caldron slowly rotating above Han Li's head with renewed anticipation. Meanwhile, Fairy Luoming also conjured an ancient-looking curved bow in her hand – the Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure, Moon Splendor Illusion Bow. The demon looked at the constantly increasing, flickering spiritual light around Han Li with some surprise. Gritting its teeth, it unfurled its Eight-Armed Demonic Form, clearly indicating its previous battles had consumed considerable energy, and that now was the time to determine victory or defeat. The demon began to utter several difficult-to-pronounce characters. With the completion of each short phrase, two arms of its manifestation would merge back into its body, until it finally reverted to its normal two-armed demonic form. At this point, its entire body exuded overwhelming demonic power, subtly disturbing the surrounding space.

Witnessing this, Han Li stared at the demon, which bore some resemblance to himself, a fierce look on his face. He continuously gestured with both hands towards the countless brilliant lights swirling around him, rotating with the Spirit Caldron above his head. A bizarre scene unfolded: countless golden seal script runes flew out from the Spirit Caldron, embedding themselves into the brilliant lights, causing them to flicker erratically, as if spirits of dragons, phoenixes, tigers, and tortoises were about to break free. In the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, the Spirit Caldron paused in mid-air, then absorbed all the brilliant lights around Han Li into itself. At this moment, Han Li, expressionless, pointed a finger at his own glabella, and his Evil Dispelling Spirit Eye opened and closed, gazing upon the sky above the Demon Realm army. Simultaneously, the Spirit Caldron flashed into existence above the Demon Realm army, resuming its slow rotation. It continuously showered down rays of brilliant light, transforming them into countless spiritual beasts that trampled the Demon Realm army, utterly unopposed.

This divine ability was "Myriad Beasts Stampede," a domain power from the "Myriad Beasts Sacred Spirit Art," which Han Li unleashed through the Spirit Caldron. In mere moments, the Demon Realm army was engulfed in dust, mountains crumbled, and cries of agony and curses rose one after another. Witnessing the terrifying "Myriad Beasts Domain" released by Han Li, Tianqi and Heyan cried out in alarm, abandoning their fellow demons. While resisting the domain's impact, they too unleashed their own domain powers. The two Ancestors seemed to understand that the key to the Demon-Spirit War lay with their respective armies. They simultaneously pointed their fingers frantically towards the Spirit Realm army's position. Instantly, the world, in addition to the endless roars of beasts, also became infused with a bloody and scorching aura.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the six Tribulation Transcendence Saints from both the Spirit and Demon sides successively activated their domain powers. The demon, using its "Demonic Form Divine Art" after three transformations, unleashed its "Infernal Thunder" domain. Each step it took caused the ground to truly shake, leaving the Spirit Realm army dizzy. With the added power of Tianqi's "Sea of Blood Descent" domain and Heyan's "Ethereal Flame Blaze" domain, the entire Spirit Realm army was mercilessly devoured, with many cultivators below the Void Refinement stage perishing without even a scream. Fortunately, Ancestor Baohua's domain power was "Silent Blessing," a powerful wood-elemental domain possessing a rare life aura. Within its coverage, cultivators, spiritual beasts, and even the surrounding environment rapidly recovered their vitality. Fairy Luoming, meanwhile, suspended the Moon Splendor Illusion Bow high in the sky, unleashing her "Moonfall" domain, which was the most dazzling and magnificent. Beams of striking meteors rained down among the demons, their flickering and arcing electrical currents continuously harvesting and purifying the Demon Realm army. At this point, the relatively sporadic clashes of artifacts and spells appeared pale and powerless, as the original confrontation between the Spirit and Demon armies finally escalated to a stalemate between the Saints' domain powers.

If the battle continued like this, the longer it lasted, the more advantageous it would be for the Spirit Realm. After all, the life aura within Ancestor Baohua's domain bought the Spirit Realm army a chance to breathe, especially as the combined attacks of higher-level cultivators still posed some disruption and threat. However, at that moment, Ancestor Tianqi of the Demon race, seemingly unwilling to wait until his domain power was exhausted, frantically spat out several mouthfuls of vital blood to sustain his domain. He then performed an action that was both familiar and horrifying to everyone: he began manifesting the signs of transcending tribulation to become an immortal!

With so many Tribulation Transcendence Saints unleashing their domain powers here, triggering an Immortal Calamity now would be tantamount to seeking death. Yet, before everyone could react, a truly astonishing scene unfolded: the sky for thousands of miles began to churn with dark clouds, forming tribulation clouds. What else could it be but a prelude to tribulation? Moreover, its scale and speed far surpassed legendary Immortal Calamities; the first calamity instantly formed nine-colored tribulation clouds. The six Saints, disregarding everything else, who had just been fighting to the death, now simultaneously turned their respective domain powers to confront this bizarre Immortal Calamity, instantly appearing to share life and death.

Even the other Spirit and Demon armies nearby, including Mahayana cultivators, were at a loss upon feeling the pressure of the tribulation clouds! At this moment, Ancestor Tianqi, though bewildered, dared not show the slightest negligence. He muttered to himself, "I merely wanted to make the Spirit Realm side hesitant, to prevent our side from suffering too great a loss. I never expected that before I even finished the stance, let alone anything else, Heaven would actually gather tribulation clouds." The other five Saints, though filled with shock and anger, likewise dared not be careless and fully resisted this inexplicable Immortal Calamity.

However, this Immortal Calamity was sinister. As soon as it covered the entire Spirit-Demon army, indiscriminate heavenly lightning rained down furiously, instantly wiping out roughly seventy to eighty percent of all cultivators. Witnessing this, Han Li and the others felt a chill to their bones – those were billions of lives! This Immortal Calamity seemed unwilling to give anyone a moment's respite, its power continuously surging, combining with lightning, heavenly fire, and gale winds to firmly suppress the six great domains. The Saints, working together, barely managed to sustain them. Half an hour later, the entire Crystal Mountain Range held no other survivors besides the six pale-faced individuals, including Han Li. At this point, the Immortal Calamity seemed to gain sentience. Seeing that it couldn't instantly destroy all domains, it retracted, appearing visibly impatient. It began to coalesce into a beam, faintly shimmering with sword light, and this sword light was pointing directly at Han Li's location.

Faced with this anomaly, everyone felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. Judging by the appearance of the Immortal Calamity's sword light, even true immortals would be unable to fully withstand it. Yet, Han Li, facing this sword light, remained somewhat indifferent, showing no intention of resisting whatsoever. Ancestor Baohua and Fairy Luoming seemed to be restrained, unable to move an inch, their faces filled with anxiety and despair. As for the other two Demon Realm Ancestors, they were a mix of doubt and excitement, with a touch of regret. The demon, who was Han Li's second demon infant, clenched its fists, its face filled with a complex expression, lost in thought.

Just as the Immortal Calamity sword light was only a few miles away from Han Li, Han Li's body trembled, and he moved. Simultaneously, the demon also moved, and both flickered continuously towards each other. A closer look would reveal that as they flickered, both were continuously chanting incantations and performing identical gestures. In an instant, the two stood opposite each other at the center of the six great domains, each holding one of the other's hands while pointing the other hand at the other's glabella. At this very moment, the Immortal Calamity sword light, which had locked onto Han Li, arrived in quick succession, transforming into a ball of white light that completely engulfed both of them.

Within the light and shadow, thunderclaps echoed, accompanied by intermittent soft and heavy growls. Two figures could vaguely be discerned, struggling continuously, yet seemingly merging into one another. After an unknown period, only one low growl seemed to remain within the light and shadow. At first, it was still deep, but then it became slightly clearer, and finally, it was replaced by the tender voice of a child. As the other four individuals exchanged bewildered glances, they saw the Immortal Calamity sword light and the six great domains momentarily pause. They seemed to have found an outlet, rushing headlong into the light and shadow and completely dissipating without a trace. The heavens and earth seemed to regain clarity, and where Han Li and the demon had stood opposite each other, a dark-skinned child now stood. Who else could it be but Er Lengzi from Seven Mile Gully, the small mountain village? At this moment, the child looked up at the sky and uttered words that astonished everyone.

"Since I, Han, have already become an Immortal, why does Heavenly Sovereign not show mercy?"

"What a combined tribulation transcendence, what a ten-year-old immortal! Since fate has inadvertently helped you achieve immortality in this manner, I shall also take this opportunity to restore your memories of past and present lives, so you may understand why you were cast into another reincarnation. The Immortal Realm only needs one ruler." As countless seven-colored runes spontaneously appeared around the dark-skinned child, an ethereal voice, neither sad nor joyful, filled the entire space. It seemed to murmur to itself, "How many reincarnations has it been? Are you still the Dao of Extremes Heavenly Sovereign of yesteryear, or are you the Han Li of today? Perhaps the rightness or wrongness of your Dao of Extremes must be debated through endless reincarnations."

Along with this ethereal voice, the runes around Han Li completely merged into his mind. The dazed look on his face receded, and he continued the conversation, "Senior Brother, the Cycle of Extreme Dao is eternal. I never intended to contend with you, but alas, it is Heaven's will."

"Heaven's will? With your current cultivation, you are unworthy to speak of Heaven's will. I can effortlessly annihilate you and cast you back into reincarnation." As if to validate these ethereal words, a sword light materialized in the air, directly slashing towards the child that Han Li had become. Wherever the sword light passed, it turned into nothingness, and it indeed severed one of the child's arms.

"Oh, it's the life force of a wood immortal spirit. But it's merely a trivial trick." At this point, the child's severed arm had regenerated, slightly surprising the ethereal voice, but the sword light intensified. A bizarre scene unfolded: Han Li, in the form of a child, was constantly dismembered yet continually reborn. The four surrounding Saints couldn't help but turn pale.

"Senior Brother, why bother with such a futile act? Even if cross-realm power destroys the entire Spirit Realm, it cannot harm me." The child ignored the sword light. Instead, a small green bottle floated up from his body, spinning as it flew to the top of Baohua's head, continuously showering down green mist. In no time, Ancestor Baohua began to shift unstably between her true form, the Sacred Treasure Flower, and her human form in palace attire. She finally settled into the form of a fairy clad in green mist, exuding a dense wood-elemental immortal aura.

"This, this, this... the Companion Pure Bottle has actually succeeded in gestation? Good, good, good." The ethereal voice suddenly filled the space, seemingly both surprised and annoyed. Just as it prepared to take further action, another clear female voice rang out, "Since Extreme Dao Husband's companion wood spirit, Baohua, has returned to her place, it is time for me, his accompanying wife, to appear." As soon as this voice fell, a palace-dressed woman in pink appeared between Fairy Baohua and the child. Who else could it be but Nangong Wan? At this moment, a shimmering light around Nangong Wan flickered, enveloping Han Li and the child, giving the illusion that they were not in this plane of existence. The sword light around the child was also shielded in response.

"You've worked hard, my wife, to secretly accompany me through so many reincarnations. First, help me restore my cultivation." The dark-skinned child said this with a rare look of joy upon seeing the woman appear.

"Alright. In any case, Baohua and my husband will soon transcend realms and, as their strength recovers, enter the Ninth Heaven above. It's just that your Senior Brother, Formless Heavenly Sovereign, seems to have grown in power over these many years. Even after being weakened by the Ninth Heaven and the Immortal Realm, he can still manipulate an Immortal Calamity and manifest such powerful sword light." Nangong Wan smiled at the child but then spoke gravely, expressing her concern.

"Junior Sister, it seems your Reincarnation Art indeed has its unique aspects, capable of shielding my investigations into past reincarnations. However, since you wish to seek your own demise, I shall await you in the Ninth Heaven." The ethereal voice paid no mind to Nangong Wan's appearance, slowly changing its tone. "Netherworld Demonic Lord, I sent you into reincarnation back then to eliminate my Junior Brother of Extreme Dao, manifesting as Li Feiyu, the fishmonger, and now Fairy Luoming. I had hoped you could resolve this menace during your demonic transformation. Since this is Heaven's will, you may now return to your place." As this ethereal voice ceased, the sword lights that had been poised to strike Han Li transformed into black runes and burrowed into Fairy Luoming's body. Before anyone could react, the beautiful woman swiftly transformed into an extraterrestrial demon, whose demonic energy boiled as it transcended the realm. As for the ethereal voice, it never reappeared.

At this moment, in the unrecognizable Crystal Mountain Range, only Han Li, his wife, and the three Demon Realm Ancestors remained, all with complex expressions. Five soft sighs echoed simultaneously. Han Li, in his child form, gazed into the distance; it seemed as though the entire Spirit Realm was sighing. In just half a day, everything had changed beyond recognition. Before endless reincarnations, he had already attained sainthood through the Extreme Dao, almost dominating the Immortal Realm alongside Formless Heavenly Sovereign. However, in his pursuit of the Great Dao of Extremes, he had even stripped away his innate wood spirit root, causing him to be born with a congenital deficiency in his wood spirit root in every reincarnation. Fortunately, in this current reincarnation, he had finally nurtured the Companion Pure Bottle and had the Sacred Treasure Flower, a wood spirit treasure, guarding him. Furthermore, his immortal companion, Palace Master Nangong, had cultivated the Reincarnation Art, secretly guarding him through every reincarnation. This technique was also the link through which he absorbed merits from various reincarnations to reach the ultimate realm of the Extreme Dao. Han Li, now fully aware of his past and present lives, couldn't help but sigh with regret. He hadn't even had time to rejoice over his recent combined tribulation transcendence and becoming an immortal at ten years old. Now, he was about to transcend realms to face his Senior Brother, Formless Heavenly Sovereign, whose cultivation had been on par with his billions of years ago, and he had no confidence whatsoever.

At this moment, Han Li put away his thoughts, a determined look on his face. He formed a hand seal, and the Companion Pure Bottle rose into the air, instantly expanding to over ten zhang in size. Spinning rapidly with its mouth facing downwards, it released a vast green mist that enveloped Han Li, Nangong Wan, and Baohua. Nangong Wan, with a gentle flick of her jade finger, seemed to be harvesting something from the true form of the Sacred Treasure Flower. Each extracted ball of light contained the past life shadow of the same person. These were then, with the assistance of the Companion Pure Bottle, injected into the dark-skinned child's body. Each time the child received a ball of light, he seemed to grow a little, and simultaneously, the surrounding space appeared to continuously shift, as if depicting his wanderings between immortal and mortal states throughout his reincarnations. When the child's growth finally settled into that of a young man in a green robe, the space rumbled. All that remained at that spot were the lonely figures of the two Demon Realm Ancestors, staring at each other in silence.

One lifetime, a mortal cultivating to become an immortal; every subsequent lifetime, an immortal cultivating to be mortal. The end is merely a new beginning!