Chapter 2301: Spirit Realm

Martial Arts and Cultivation

“Venerable Qingfeng, these two are Fellow Daoists Jiumie and Wuyan…”

The City Lord of Guangsha City personally invited Qin Sang.

Qin Sang’s gaze swept over the two, pausing briefly on Wuyan. He cupped his hands and said, “This humble Daoist Qingfeng greets both fellow daoists.”

On the way here, the City Lord of Guangsha City had already informed him of the situation. However, the City Lord was not privy to the full details and instructed him to speak with Jiumie and Wuyan directly.

“Greetings, Venerable One!”

Jiumie and Wuyan both returned the gesture, cupping their hands. Even Wuyan retracted his cold gaze. The cultivation world ultimately respects strength. Qin Sang displayed his late-stage Void Refinement aura, and since Wuyan and Jiumie were only at the mid-stage Void Refinement, they naturally dared not act arrogantly in front of him.

Jiumie and Wuyan personally confirmed Qin Sang’s cultivation level and exchanged a subtle glance. While securing a powerful helper was good, it also meant they would have to pay a higher price. Furthermore, their target was located in the Witch Tribe territory, and human cultivators venturing there entailed risks, which would inevitably lead to a higher asking price. Fortunately, the City Lord of Guangsha City had provided them with information, so they knew what Qin Sang wanted and had already made their calculations.

“In Lizhou, eminent monks are as common as carps in a river, but Daoist Venerables are rare. We are aware of your purpose in traveling such a distance. We eagerly seek the opportunity to befriend a powerful individual like yourself. Although our Dongyang clan’s resources are modest, we can manage to meet your requirements,” Jiumie said with a smile, getting straight to the point. “As for our conditions, I presume Brother Xia has already mentioned them to you.”

Qin Sang replied noncommittally, “City Lord Xia only touched upon it briefly. I would appreciate it if both fellow daoists could explain the full story. As I am here alone and would be venturing deep into foreign lands with you, I must exercise caution.”

“Your concerns are entirely reasonable, Venerable One!”

Jiumie nodded, cupping his hands. “Forgive my presumption, but may I ask what type of Daoist arts you specialize in?”

“This humble Daoist enjoys sword arts and has some knowledge of thunder magic,” Qin Sang replied.

“Sword Dao! Thunder magic!”

A glint of surprise flashed in the eyes of both Jiumie and Wuyan. They eagerly pressed on, “Does this mean your escape techniques are also exceptional?”

“Not at all, I’ve merely scratched the surface,” Qin Sang replied humbly.

Jiumie chuckled dryly. “If you’ve merely scratched the surface, Venerable One, then what does that make the rest of us?” He turned to Wuyan, and seeing the look in Wuyan’s eyes, he knew he was interested.

After a brief private spiritual transmission, Jiumie continued, “The reason for this is that Fellow Daoist Wuyan suffered a setback at the hands of an adversary and wishes to teach them a lesson. However, this adversary’s forces are vast and numerous. Brother Wuyan needs someone to help divert their attention, preferably by engaging them for a period. The method is to attack a secret realm that they highly value, creating a feint.”

“Are you asking this humble Daoist to be bait?” Qin Sang frowned. A common person hearing this would likely turn and leave. Being bait is the most dangerous role, especially when neither side fully understands the other. These two certainly had nerve.

Jiumie explained, “We won’t let you go into battle alone, Venerable One. We plan to invite several more human cultivators. Otherwise, we would be easily defeated when facing them, making all our efforts futile. Furthermore, I will accompany you, Venerable One, so you can rest assured.”

“Fellow Daoist Jiumie has the support of the Dongyang clan. Can your clan not provide a few experts?” Qin Sang pressed. This was the most illogical part: either the Dongyang clan was incredibly weak, or the mission was extremely dangerous.

Jiumie had anticipated Qin Sang’s question and replied, “Because after the matter is concluded, there must be no clues pointing to Fellow Daoist Wuyan or me. The clan cannot be implicated, and not even City Lord Xia can be involved! Once you act, you can leave without a trace. When you return to Kanzhou, no one will be able to trace it back to you.”

“Given your extreme caution, it seems the opposing force’s backing is formidable,” Qin Sang narrowed his eyes.

Jiumie candidly admitted, “They do indeed have a powerful clan backing them. However, it’s not that we fear them, but rather that we don’t wish to ignite a war between two major clans over such a minor issue, especially at this time.”

Qin Sang’s heart stirred. “When you say ‘at this time,’ do you mean…”

The City Lord of Guangsha City transmitted a message to him, explaining, “Soon, it will be time for the Witch Tribe’s centennial Grand Heavenly Sacrifice, the Witch Sacrifice I mentioned last time. All Witch Tribe clans will send representatives and participate in the rituals within their respective tribes. It is a grand event for the entire Witch Tribe.”

Is the Grand Heavenly Sacrifice for deities? Have the Witch Tribe’s deities returned? After that dream, Qin Sang knew the origins of the Witch Tribe and the Aberrant Tribe. Deities had disappeared in ancient times, which led to later turmoil.

“This humble Daoist is from the East Sea and has met some fellow daoists from the Aberrant Tribe. I have never heard of the Aberrant Tribe holding sacrifices…”

Before Qin Sang could finish, Jiumie’s brows furrowed, and he angrily stated, “Because they betrayed the gods!”

City Lord Xia looked bewildered by Jiumie’s sudden anger and seemed about to speak but held back, clearly unaware of the full story. Qin Sang observed their expressions, thinking to himself that the contents of his dream seemed to be true: the Aberrant Tribe were once also ‘Witches’. However, he had spent many years in the Mist Sea and had never seen the Aberrant Tribe hold a Witch Sacrifice, whereas the Witch Tribe still seemed to retain ancient sacrificial customs and faith in deities. Curiously, although the Witch Tribe had human blood flowing in their veins, according to City Lord Xia, they harbored deep hatred for humans. In contrast, the Aberrant Tribe was quite close to the human Daoist sects.

Continuing this topic would likely infuriate the two of them, so Qin Sang asked a few more details about the mission. Finally, half-jokingly, he asked, “Our forceful attack on the secret realm won’t attract any Integration-stage grand cultivators, will it?”

“What are you thinking, Venerable One!”

Jiumie let out a wry laugh. “Although I won’t personally fight during the attack on the secret realm, I did say I would accompany you, Venerable One. Do you think I would willingly walk to my death?”

“Once you break through to the Integration stage, you can enter Fengju Yumen and the River of Evil to cultivate. Except during the Grand Heavenly Sacrifice, you won’t be able to see them even if you wish.” It was Wuyan’s first interjection since they met, and his tone carried a subtle sneer. Had he not been wary of Qin Sang’s strength, he would likely have openly mocked his pipe dreams.

“The Witch Tribe also has a River of Evil?” Qin Sang asked in surprise, “This humble Daoist once had the fortune to see a River of Evil in the East Sea; it was truly magnificent. I wonder if it’s the same one.”

“There should only be one.”

A realm, enabling entry into other Great Thousand Worlds.

“Where is the Immortal World?” Qin Sang asked this question, feeling lost.

He once thought that the Great Thousand World was a cage trapping cultivators of this realm, and only by breaking free could one enter the higher Immortal World. If Mahayana cultivators had no worries about lifespan, attracted no heavenly tribulations, and could leave this world at will, what would be the purpose of cultivating? Where exactly is the Immortal World? What he sought, what countless cultivators sought, did it truly… exist?

Venerable Ning, however, shook her head slightly, as if she also did not know the answer. She told Qin Sang that throughout history, no one knew the answer, except for those who were suspected of ‘achieving immortality’.

“‘Suspected of achieving immortality’?” Qin Sang repeated these four words, his brows gradually furrowing.

“Throughout history, there is only one clearly documented case of achieving immortality: the Witch Tribe revered him as the Witch God, who attained immortality shortly after the gods disappeared, hailed as the first immortal in this world. But that is merely the Witch Tribe’s record.” Venerable Ning gazed up at the sky, her eyes distant.

The Witch God! Qin Sang had heard of the Witch God in the Storm Realm.

“Have no humans ever become immortals?” Qin Sang asked incredulously. The human race was so prosperous, having produced countless brilliant cultivators. If these ancient sages could not become immortals, what confidence did he have that he could attain immortality?

“There are indeed no clear records for the human race. Legend says that achieving immortality requires passing an immortal tribulation. Presumably, no one would want to be disturbed during their tribulation, right?” Venerable Ning continued, “But regardless of how difficult the immortal path is, it is indeed strange that after such a long time, not a single one has been recorded. People have various theories, speculating that those suddenly disappeared peerless grand cultivators, heroic leaders of their era, and patriarchs of various sects might have all ascended to immortality. For example, Patriarch Taishang…”

“Didn’t the Dao Monarch ascend? Could it be because of the Dao Court…” Qin Sang thought to himself, a figure who could successively establish the Taishang Dao Lineage and the Dao Court, the common ancestor of the Dan鼎 and Talisman sects. If he didn’t become an immortal, who could?

Venerable Ning shook her head. “Patriarch Taishang’s whereabouts are unknown, but it should be unrelated to the downfall of the Dao Court. Otherwise, the Patriarch could have mobilized the Taishang lineage with a single command. After Patriarch Taishang’s disappearance, later generations deduced from various clues that the Dao Monarch and the Patriarch were likely the same person. In fact, many people still do not accept this conclusion for various reasons.”

“What about the Jade Emperor?” Qin Sang pressed. The Dao Monarch merely founded two Daoist lineages, but the Jade Emperor led the entire human race to repel foreign tribes and dominate the Great Thousand World. Shouldn’t such a figure be qualified to become an immortal?

“During the Great Zhou Era, the Demon Realm invaded, causing the world’s membrane to crack. The Jade Emperor repelled the Demon Realm army and transformed his own body into a world barrier to mend the membrane… This is the origin of the world barrier.” Venerable Ning paused, “Of course, there are also legends that the Jade Emperor never truly died; he merely completed his merits after forming the world barrier and ascended to immortality.”

Each Great Thousand World exists independently in the vast cosmos. Their Great Thousand World is no exception; beyond its membrane lies the desolate primordial universe. For countless years, perhaps numerous powerful cultivators have left this world, but none have ever returned to bring news of other Great Thousand Worlds. The only Great Thousand World near them was the Demon Realm!

The reason cultivators of this realm deduced that countless other Great Thousand Worlds existed in the primordial universe was through the stars in the sky. At that moment, Qin Sang looked up. Night had fallen, and the galaxy sparkled brilliantly.

The stars were not truly above them; instead, they were powers emanating from the depths of the primordial universe, projected onto the world’s membrane, manifesting as stars. Thus, whether one was in the Great Thousand World or an internal Minor Thousand World, they would see the same stars. These starlights possessed mysterious power. Ancient sages speculated that they were ‘spiritual glows’ emitted by different Great Thousand Worlds. And each star was a Great Thousand World floating in the primordial universe!

The Demon Realm had not always been here; originally, only their Great Thousand World existed nearby. According to records from the Great Zhou Era, during the Jade Emperor’s time, the Demon Realm suddenly flew from the depths of the primordial universe and collided with their Great Thousand World. The impact caused damage to the world’s membrane, nearly triggering a world-ending catastrophe. The Demon Realm became their neighbor but then raised a great army, seeking to occupy their Great Thousand World, thus initiating the First Demon Tribulation.

Because, compared to the Demon Realm, their Great Thousand World was too ‘young’. People of that era divided Great Thousand Worlds into four stages: Formation, Dwelling, Decay, and Emptiness. They speculated that their world was currently between ‘Formation’ and ‘Dwelling’, while the Demon Realm had long since entered decay. The Demon Realm would eventually face destruction, so it was not surprising that its cultivators, upon seeing a new Great Thousand World, attempted to seize and occupy it.

Venerable Ning did not describe too many scenes of the Demon Realm, but enough for Qin Sang to imagine what a world with dwindling cultivation resources, constant natural disasters, and rampant devils would be like. Compared to the Demon Realm, their Great Thousand World was like the rising sun, brimming with spiritual energy. Therefore, the Demon Realm cultivators, in surprise, called it ‘Spirit’.

The Spirit World!