World’s No. 1 Swordsman

Wang Sheng sighed inwardly. The history of the Dao was more or less as he had speculated.

When his master paused, an elder immediately raised a similar point.

"Daoist Master Bu Yan, would this interpretation be correct? Putting aside the debate on the origin of the universe, the immortals originally came from a super civilization. They pursued cultivation, a path that granted them immense personal power.

"Then, a rebellion broke out within this civilization. The immortals of the Heavenly Court, who once ruled the Immortal Realm, were defeated. Left with no other choice, they fled to a strange and secluded region of space, which happens to be where Earth is located.

"Earth is a unique existence within this region. It can generate primal qi, and it once served as a place of exile in ancient times. A group related by blood to Immortal Emperor Haotian—namely, the Asians—had been banished here. This allowed the immortals to rest, recover, and build up their forces.

"However, one year here is equivalent to a hundred years in the rest of the universe. The immortals' civilization influenced our ancestors, making them practice Daoism. Over the course of a few thousand years, the immortals raised a new army to continue their war. Did I get that right?"

Qing Yanzi nodded slightly. "That interpretation is valid, but I must add that the immortals did not see Earth merely as a place to recruit soldiers."

Another elder asked, "Then how should we explain the origin of the female corpse on the moon?"

Qing Yanzi replied, "Allow me to finish the last third of the story."

"Let Daoist Master Bu Yan finish what he has to say first. Why are you all in such a hurry? We can organize a proper discussion later and ask questions then!"

"Ahem. I'll summarize the rest." Qing Yanzi took a deep breath. "According to my forefather, once they discovered Earth, they immediately used a great formation to conceal it. Instead of descending right away, they remained entangled in battles against their pursuers within this star domain.

"Due to the unique time flow of this star domain, the pursuers eventually withdrew around two thousand years later. Only then did the immortals cautiously descend to Earth, which marked the beginning of the pre-Qin era. The immortals of the Heavenly Court made many arrangements and passed down their respective Daoist heritages, treating this place as their final refuge..."

On Earth, the immortals of the Heavenly Court passed down their Daoist heritages, continued to honor the Three Pure Ones, and reopened a small version of the three realms. They also taught the people of the Hua Republic to worship the Three Pure Ones daily, stirring resonance with the Great Dao.

Meanwhile, the Venerable Celestial of Morality manifested as Laozi on Earth, left behind theDao De Jing,and then vanished once more. Daoist sects were thus established on Earth, and all the Daoist heritages that the immortals had left behind were absorbed into the sects, which the Great Dao protected.

For the once-glorious immortals of the Heavenly Court, it was naturally hard to accept defeat. After all, they had ruled the Three Realms for countless ages and still had numerous scattered forces across the cosmos. Moreover, after the Heavenly Court was breached, the alien forces that had joined hands to defeat it fell into infighting over the resources of the Immortal Realm. Chaos had engulfed the Three Realms.

As the ages passed, the chaos gradually settled. The immortals of the Heavenly Court had already missed their opportunity to retaliate when the Three Realms broke once more into warlord-led fragments. The slow passage of time on Earth was simply too much of a setback.

Hence, one thousand three hundred years ago, the immortals of the Heavenly Court united their remaining forces and decided to break out of the Realm of Exiled Immortals. They would attempt to reclaim their lost territory, gather their old allies, and restore the glory of the Heavenly Court.

Before departing, they made extensive preparations to protect the Daoist heritages and bloodlines that they would be leaving behind on Earth. In truth, they had already resigned themselves to the worst, simply hoping their Daoist teachings would survive in some form.

The immortals set up three primal qi seals over Earth's natural qi: the Heavenly Qi Seal, the Earth Qi Seal, and the Human Qi Seal, representing Heaven, Earth, and Man. These seals were designed to lift themselves after ten thousand years. Until then, Earth would appear to be a barren, ancient land of exile where cultivation was impossible.

That was only their first layer of preparation.

At the boundary of the solar system's asteroid belt, they placed a Star-Concealing Formation that cloaked Earth within this star domain. Without the unique methods created by the immortals, it could not be located or discovered. After escaping from the Realm of Exiled Immortals, the immortals of the Heavenly Court also set up another layer of concealment outside it, erasing all the traces of their visit.

Though only a few thousand years had passed inside the Realm of Exiled Immortals, over hundreds of thousands of years had gone by outside. The Three Realms became unrecognizable. Fortunately, both the Immortal Realm and the endless star domains had reverted to their state millions of years ago—an age of turmoil.

In the first few wars, the immortals of the Heavenly Court achieved great victories and quickly seized control of several star domains. They also reestablished contact with remnants of the Heavenly Court scattered across the cosmos.

Their forces seemed poised to rise again. However, then came terrible news: the alien races that had once attacked the Heavenly Court had united again and were launching a full-scale campaign to annihilate the returning immortals.

In the first brutal battle, the immortals of the Heavenly Court suffered heavy casualties. The Thirteenth Princess of the Heavenly Court was also gravely wounded, bringing her to the brink of death. The immortals quietly sent her back to the Realm of Exiled Immortals, hoping she could return to the "Small Immortal Realm" to recover.

That was what Lu Dongbin had recounted, at least. In truth, the princess was too severely injured. She had reached the outer edge of the Small Immortal Realm but lacked the strength to enter, causing her to die on the far side of the moon.

Lu Dongbin sent the box back to Earth just before the final battle that the immortals of the Heavenly Court faced. Through it, he wanted to warn his successors and future cultivators on Earth that once they ascended and left the Realm of Exiled Immortals, they should never reveal Earth's location or casually investigate what happened to the Heavenly Court. Otherwise, they could bring calamity upon themselves.

Qing Yanzi sighed softly with his hands behind his back. Some of the elderly scholars were jotting things down, while a few were deep in thought.

Ma Zibin raised his hand, stood up, and asked in a hushed tone, "The Mortal Realm in the Small Three Realms refers to Earth's civilization. The Small Immortal Realm, according to Lu the Progenitor's will, should be located within the moon. Does that mean the Small Nether Realm is under Mount Pingdu, inside the Earth's crust?"

Qing Yanzi nodded. "We can't be sure of what happened in the final battle. It's possible that my forefathers broke through the encirclement."

The old man in a wheelchair sighed. "Why didn't the Thirteenth Princess of the Heavenly Court tell us any of this?"

Ma Zibin chuckled. "Maybe she realized our technology had completely developed in the wrong direction."

Over a dozen old scientists glared at him in unison. Ma Zibin immediately lowered his head and focused on writing, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

One of the elders muttered, "Science isn't necessarily inferior to cultivation. The scientific system is still evolving."

The group of elderly researchers began peppering Qing Yanzi with detailed questions. Qing Yanzi answered all that he could confirm and made reasonable guesses where he could not.

Whether one viewed the immortals as a super civilization or Earth as a secluded utopia, it was no longer up to Qing Yanzi how to proceed or what choices should be made. However, the sooner this was reported to the state, the sooner the Hua Republic could understand the challenges and difficulties ahead.

Meanwhile, Wang Sheng had already begun thinking about the details that the old scientists had overlooked.

If every immortal emperor was capable of unifying the Three Realms, then it was unlikely that only one Immortal Emperor had ever existed. There had to have been others who were just as strong.

If any being could simply attain the Dao and ascend, does that mean the rise of an immortal emperor would make their entire race the most superior in the universe?Wang Sheng wondered.

Having once held boundless admiration for the word "immortal," he couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy by the thought. Immortals were supposed to pursue longevity, freedom, and peace. If someone became the strongest among immortals and used their power to conquer the Three Realms and usurp control over all of heaven and earth, didn't that go against the very essence of what it meant to be an immortal?

Wang Sheng realized that he didn't particularly like Haotian or thought there was anything great about him. Even worse, the emperor did not even nurture a proper successor. Instead, he tried to assimilate with the Great Dao itself, only to end up dying abruptly. This led to the rapid collapse of the Heavenly Court and the tragic downfall of the immortals under his rule. It all felt rather irresponsible.

His train of thought was in line with what a few of the elders later discussed.

"If the Heavenly Court truly used to rule the realms, and the fall of the Immortal Emperor led to so many powers retaliating so viciously, then perhaps the Heavenly Court wasn't as noble as we imagined."

"Indeed. The Heavenly Court operated much like any feudal dynasty. Like the Qin Dynasty's second emperor, they lost the people's support and crumbled."

"The Daoist sects were never inherently tied to the Heavenly Court. They revered the Great Dao and the Three Pure Ones. Since the Great Dao encompasses all things, the Daoist sects were not bound to the Heavenly Court."

Qing Yanzi wanted to argue against these statements, but after a few moments of silence, he couldn't find anything to say.

Soon, the three changed into fresh clothes and left the research institute. Wang Sheng and his master wore plain Daoist robes, drawing little attention. Mu Wanxuan, dressed in flowing white as pure as snow, naturally drew every gaze wherever they went.

If that female corpse really had been a princess of the Heavenly Court, and she had called Mu Wanxuan "sister," then what could Mu Wanxuan have been in the past?

The female corpse clearly used "sister" as a term of affection and familiarity. If Mu Wanxuan had truly been Haotian's daughter in her past life, the immortal corpse should have called her "Third Sister" or "Seventh Sister" or something similar. On the other hand, "sister" was a common way for female immortals to address one another.

Still, a princess of the Heavenly Court using that term to address Mu Wanxuan could mean she had an extraordinary status before.

They sat in a car as it slowly climbed the mountain road, emerging from the spacious tunnel just as stars filled the sky. Noticing that Wang Sheng was gazing absentmindedly at the starry sky, Qing Yanzi chuckled.

"What's wrong? Did everything you learned today shake your Dao Heart? Don't worry about those matters and just focus on your cultivation. Becoming an immortal isn't that easy. That's why I originally planned to wait until you reached the Rebirth Realm—just one step away from Transcendence—before telling you all this."

Wang Sheng remained quiet.

Mu Wanxuan laughed softly. She caught Wang Sheng's gaze and then playfully made her middle and index fingers on both hands walk together like little people. She seemed to be saying that one day, they would ascend together and explore the stars.

Wang Sheng smiled and nodded, but deep down, he felt a twinge of worry.

Mu Wanxuan had been an immortal in her past life. In this life, she likely wouldn't face much trouble returning to that state. Meanwhile, Wang Sheng was just a speck of dust in the mortal world. Though he had confidence in his path to immortality, he couldn't say with absolute certainty that he would succeed.

What if she becomes immortal and leaves me behind?

As the thought crossed his mind, a sword cry rang out from within him, and Wang Sheng suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

The Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent would not allow any hesitation in his heart. After all, Ziwei governed all the stars.

Wang Sheng's Dao Heart instantly became clear and unwavering, making him chuckle softly. He now carried the Daoist heritage of both Emperor Ziwei and Lu the Progenitor. With his master and senior sister leading the way for him, if he still couldn't achieve immortality, then he might as well throw himself into his senior sister's arms and die.

Wait a second... Why do I suddenly feel like I don't want to become an immortal anymore?