Chapter 840: The Path Ahead Lies In The Stars, Not On This Planet
Spirit Extermination Tribulation Wind was the second form of true Immortal Tribulation, and was far more powerful than the Tribulation Lightning from earlier. Once the wind blew, the fleshly body would scatter, and the soul would vanish.
In the instant that Pill Demon’s body began to fade away, Meng Hao unhesitatingly shot forward. There was no time to consider the danger he may be facing, nor was he thinking about how his actions might benefit him in the future. In this moment, the only thing he was thinking about… was how kindly his master Pill Demon had treated him.
That kindness had originated in the days of the Violet Fate Sect, and had grown with all the little things that happened after that. It was the relationship of a master and an apprentice.
Back when he didn’t know where his father and mother were, back before his father-son experience with Ke Yunhai, Pill Demon had been the only parental figure in his life that had cared about him.
Because of that, Meng Hao charged in without hesitation.
As soon as he entered the Spirit Extermination Tribulation Wind, his fleshly body began to vanish, his soul began to get blurry, and his spirit began to gradually disappear. However, he didn’t care about any of that.
Time seemed to stretch out, but Meng Hao was filled with determination, and as he closed in on Pill Demon, he used all the power he had to fight back against the agony that the deadly wind sent through him. Then he grabbed Pill Demon and rammed the Door of Immortality himself!
Head first!
BOOM!
The Door of Immortality had been on the verge of fading away, but now it trembled. That tiny bit that had remained unopened, was now thoroughly gone! The door was completely open! Rumbling filled the air, and majestic Immortal light poured out. Meng Hao had used every scrap of strength he could muster to push Pill Demon into the Door of Immortality!
Blood sprayed from Meng Hao’s mouth, and his entire body became incredibly withered, almost completely fading away. Now, he was shooting down toward the ground at rapid speed.
Everything happened so quickly that the people down below didn’t even have time to react. Meng Hao slammed into the ground and flopped over a few times. His body was virtually in pieces, his flesh decayed, his aura incredibly weak. However, his eyes shone brightly, completely devoid of any regret as he looked up into the sky.
Up above, Pill Demon could be seen within the Door of Immortality. His eyes were somewhat blank at first, but as soon as he entered the door, his entire body surged with boundless Immortal qi. It rapdily swirled around him, reforming his body anew. At the same time, the tribulation mist up above no longer sent down tribulation, but rather, swirled toward the Door of Immortality.
At the same time, boundless Immortal light rose into the sky. Immortal qi surged, and Dao music floated about. Pill Demon was surrounded by swirling lights as the aura of a true Immortal came into being around him.
“In my previous life, I was Violet East, and in this life, Pill Demon. For a lifetime, I focused everything on cultivating the Dao of alchemy…. Now, I am a true Immortal, and have formed true Immortal pill qi…. This qi contains my life force, and I won’t restrain it inside of me. Instead, I will give it to my apprentice….” Pill Demon looked down at Meng Hao down below, and his expression was one of kindness and gratitude. He extended his right hand, and suddenly, a beam of green qi flew out toward Meng Hao.
As it flew through the air, flowers bloomed, sleeping animals awakened, and rainbows filled the sky. All the lands filled with a majestic medicinal aroma. This was the life force pill qi formed as Pill Demon became a true Immortal, and it exceeded even an Immortal pill!
Meng Hao couldn’t refuse this pill qi even if he wanted to. In the instant it fused into his body, all of his injuries began to heal up. Furthermore, his Eternal stratum, which had never fully recovered, was now completely restored.
With his Eternal stratum fully returned, Meng Hao’s body filled with roaring sounds. His injuries healed completely, and he rose to his feet. He looked at his master up in the sky and then clasped hands and bowed deeply.
As Pill Demon stood within the Door of Immortality, more and more Immortal qi began to gather. Everyone present felt some of that qi washing over them, like a baptism, and their cultivation bases experienced advancement. There were even some who made cultivation base breakthroughs because of it.
The aura of a true Immortal around Pill Demon became more and more intense. After the space of about ten breaths, rumbling filled the air, and Pill Demon began to radiate a mighty pressure similar to that of Meng Hao.
True Immortal!
As his energy surged, true Immortal will became even more apparent, although it was different than Meng Hao’s. Boundless light radiated off of Pill Demon. His soul became the soul of a true Immortal, and his Dao became the Dao of a true Immortal.
His body… became the body of a true Immortal!
In this instant, he was thoroughly, in all aspects, a true Immortal!
The Door of Immortality also rumbled. Apparently, there was an entire world inside of it, a world that others could not see. Even Meng Hao could barely make out any details. Only Pill Demon could see it clearly, and when he looked at that world inside the Door of Immortality, his body trembled.
Next, a beam of Immortal light emerged from inside the door, within which was a scroll. When the scroll unfurled, one could see that countless names were written upon it.
Some of the names were dim, as if the people to whom those names belonged were now dead. But others shone with light as bright as the sun. It was impossible to see exactly how many there were. These were… all of the true Immortals who had existed in the boundless history of the great Nine Mountains and Seas.
There seemed to be many, but in actuality, when compared to the vast population of cultivators in the Nine Mountains and Seas, true Immortals… were as difficult to find as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.
After all, the Nine Mountains and Seas would only produce nine true Immortals every ten thousand years, one for each of the Mountains and Seas.
Of course, there were also the Immortality Illumination Vines, which meant that the number was larger than that. Even so, the number of true Immortals that appeared in the Nine Mountains and Seas in any ten thousand year period would not exceed one hundred.
And as of now, a new name appeared on that scroll…. Pill Demon!
This meant that as of now, Pill Demon was a true Immortal in all respects!
Furthermore, in the following one thousand years, there would be Chosen in the Nine Mountains and Seas who used Immortality Illumination Vines to also become true Immortals. Their names would also appear on the scroll, although no one would be there to see that happen. Only after another ten thousand years had passed, and someone else acquired Immortal destiny and achieved true Immortal Ascension, would anyone be able to see them.
The Door of Immortality faded soundlessly, transforming into a beam of light that shot up into the sky and out into space. As for all the crowds in the starry sky, the ones trying to get into Planet South Heaven, they sighed and stopped in place. None of them said anything as they slowly turned and left, filled with regret.
Of course, it would be difficult for them not to harbor resentment toward Fang Xiufeng, and the person down below who had succeeded in becoming a true Immortal.
It was at this moment that an enormous teleportation portal suddenly appeared in the starry sky. Boundless light spread out to cover everything, and an old man materialized, mounted on a white deer.
The old man’s features were ordinary, and he wore a smile. The white deer he rode had a vicious set of antlers, and its eyes shone with a savage glow. It was only a white deer, and yet, it emanated a completely shocking aura. When the old man made his appearance, everything trembled, and the starry sky went dim. Among the departing crowds were people who recognized the old man, and instantly gasped.
“Daoist Kunlun from the Kunlun Society!” 1
“The Kunlun Society is one of the most mysterious of the Three Churches and Six Sects, and Daoist Kunlun is their Sect Leader!!”
“I can’t believe that he actually showed up here…. That white deer must be the fiendish deer that wreaked havoc in the Ninth Mountain fifty thousand years ago!”
Fang Xiufeng’s eyes glittered, and his pupils constricted a bit.
“Greetings, Daoist Kunlun.” Despite how powerful he himself was, Meng Hao’s father clasped hands and bowed deeply to Daoist Kunlun.
“Xiufeng,” replied the old man with a smile, “I’m here to get my apprentice back. He inherited my teachings via a dream of mine, and his name is Violet East. Now that he has achieved true Immortality, the time has come for him to return.” Everyone in the area looked on in shock. Many people’s eyes widened, and the hatred they had been feeling toward the person who had just become a true Immortal, vanished completely.
The Kunlun Society was one of the Three Churches and Six Sects, and were shrouded in mystery. They kept their secrets to themselves. Furthermore, had they lent their assistance to Lord Ji when he altered the Heavens, the Kunlun Society would have become a Holy Land, and there would now be more than five Holy Lands.
Fang Xiufeng’s eyes widened, but he said nothing. Daoist Kunlun did not pressure him, but instead smiled.
A moment later, the image of Fang Xiufeng that had materialized outside of Planet South Heaven stepped aside, then gestured for Daoist Kunlun to enter. Daoist Kunlun smiled and nodded.
“I will not forget this kindness,” he said. Everyone watched as the white deer approached Planet South Heaven and then appeared in the Violet Fate Sect in the Southern Domain.
When Meng Hao caught sight of the old man riding the white deer, his jaw dropped.
Up in midair, Pill Demon saw the old man, and an absent-minded expression could be seen on his face, as if he had suddenly recalled something. He approached the old man, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.
“Do you remember now?” said the old man, smiling.
“I remember. Greetings, master!”
“In the childhood of your previous life, I appeared in your dreams to offer guidance in your cultivation, pointing the way to the Dao of alchemy. In that life, before your Nirvanic Rebirth, I left, and you asked when we would meet again.
“At that time, I said that when you reached true Immortal Ascension, that you would become my Legacy Apprentice.
“Today, I’m here to accept you.” The old man smiled.
Pill Demon took a deep breath, then bowed once again.
“Master, my own apprentice, he….”
“He has his own path. Come, it’s time to leave. Who knows, you may meet him again soon in the future. However, there are a few people within the sect you founded that have the necessary latent talent, and we can bring them along too.” After a glance and nod at Meng Hao, Daoist Kunlun’s eyes swept over the rest of the Violet Fate Sect. He raised his hand, and seven or eight people, including Chu Yuyan, slowly flew up into the air with stunned looks on their faces.
“Let’s depart. You shall walk the path of Kunlun, and speak of the Dao of Kunlun. From now on, your cultivation will leave with the desire to prostrate yourself before Kunlun.”
Daoist Kunlun chuckled, then waved his sleeve, sweeping up Pill Demon, Chu Yuyan and the others as he turned to leave.
Pill Demon looked back at Meng Hao with an encouraging look in his eyes.
Chu Yuyan also looked back, but she looked as confused as ever. Complex emotions could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Meng Hao, but then, her eyes grew calm. She nodded at Meng Hao, and then turned away.
Meng Hao looked on in shock as Pill Demon, Chu Yuyan and the others were taken away by Daoist Kunlun. Gradually, they disappeared off into the starry sky.
Then his father appeared next to him.
“Planet South Heaven is too small,” he said softly. “You and your master, and even that little girl, all have your own paths to tread… out in the stars, not on this planet.
“Don’t waste time missing them. The Ninth Mountain isn’t a very big place either. You’ll see them again one day.”
1. Kunlun is a pretty famous part of Chinese mythology. Check out the wikipedia article here