Tianyi finally remembered where he had seen that female immortal monarch. She was Shu Qingya, a sword monarch that walked close to his sperm donor, Meng Tingfeng. Not only that, he suspected that the relationship between Meng Tingfeng and Shu Qingya wasn’t a simple friendship, but something closer.
Logically speaking, Tianyi couldn’t blame his sperm donor for seeking companionship in another woman. After all, his mother barely even remembered that he existed, and Tianyi had no plans of them getting back together. Well, that wasn’t quite accurate, since the two were never a pair.
Emotionally, Tianyi couldn’t accept it. ‘Scumbag. You still want me to recognize you as my father when you’re in a relationship with someone else? Dream on!’
Shu Qingya must have noticed him and struck up a conversation to delay time for Meng Tingfeng to arrive. Tianyi didn’t want to bother with Meng Tingfeng, so he turned around to leave.
Meng Tingfeng saw this and sped up. “Wait, Tianyi! Listen to what I have to say!”
Naturally, Tianyi wouldn’t obey just because of a few words, but someone had to grab his sleeve. He turned around and glared at Shu Qingya.
Upon receiving the glare, Shu Qingya felt all the blood in her body freeze. Even the air around her seemed to have transformed into chains, shackling her in place. She did not doubt that if Tianyi wanted to, he could kill her simply by waving his hand.
Thankfully for Shu Qingya, Meng Tingfeng quickly arrived and stood protectively in front of her. With Tianyi’s gaze blocked, Shu Qingya felt like she could breathe again and quickly released Tianyi’s sleeve. However, that meant that Meng Tingfeng faced Tianyi’s ire.
“Son—” Meng Tingfeng’s breath hitched when the intensity of Tianyi’s glare increased. Although Tianyi’s previous gaze made him feel threatened, it wasn’t to the same extent as Shu Qingya experienced. He still felt confident in escaping with his life, but now…
Meng Tingfeng quickly changed his address. “Tianyi.”
Tianyi’s glare only sharpened. “I thought I told you not to call me by my given name.”
A bitter smile appeared on Meng Tingfeng’s face. He wanted to complain. What’s wrong with a father calling his son by his name? ‘It’s all Sovereign Xi’s fault. I don’t know what lies she fed him, but I must make him see the truth.’
“Nine Heavens Emperor,” Meng Tingfeng said. “I think there’s a misunderstanding between us, can we talk?”
He glanced at the people gathering and looking at them. “Alone.”
Tianyi looked at him, as if questioning whether or not he should comply. Then a smile appeared on his face. One which Meng Tingfeng slowly reflected.
“No.”
Meng Tingfeng’s smile froze. He blinked, as if he didn’t process what Tianyi had just said. “I’m sorry, what—”
Before he could finish, Tianyi’s figure vanished in front of him. There was no spatial fluctuation, at least, none that he could sense. It was as if Tianyi had simply disappeared, nothing more than an illusion.
“I heard that when he entered the Seamless Immortal Realm, his Dao Manifestation showed many laws. But from the information gathered, it’s suspected that his primary law is the Law of Space,” Shu Qingya said, seeing Meng Tingfeng unresponsive for so long.
The smile disappeared from Meng Tingfeng’s face, and his expression darkened. “I know. Thank you.”
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Tianyi appeared at the top of Jade Peak with a sneer. ‘Who do you think you are? Just because you want to talk alone, I should comply?’
He shook his head and did his best to forget about that man. It was not worth getting angry about. After destroying the Numinous Sword Sect, he can forget about that man forever. If Meng Tingfeng didn’t die, he’ll just chuck him onto a desolate planet in the Nine Heavens Universe.
Tianyi visited his mother and only left a few hours later. He still had many insights he hadn’t digested yet. And since Daoyi was still busy with comprehending the Law of Life-and-Death, Tianyi had nothing better to do. He also kept up to date with the movements of the Demon Clan through his clone, Donghai Longzi. There was no need to visit Xia Meng because he left a conduit with the latter.
Like this, the years flowed, and soon, four decades passed in a blink of the eye. The diplomatic envoy remained in the Immortal Court as part of the cultural exchange program. Many sages underwent their Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. Most failed, but the names of those that succeeded resounded across Trinity Continent.
After their moment of fame, the newly ascended true immortals soon faded from most cultivator’s minds. With the advent of the Xiyinet, information was much more accessible and harder to forget. Although the cultivators that successfully became immortals were amazing, they were overshadowed by the seniors who advanced to the Seamless Immortal Realm, such as Yan Nie.
And soon a new immortal would join them. It was not a true immortal but a merit immortal.
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Golden rays illuminated a quarter of the Primordial Realm, akin to a rising sun. All those basking under the light felt a gentle warmth spread through their body. Then, a figure appeared in their minds. He was of average height and build, nearing the end of his prime, but he had exquisite features and gentle eyes. Everyone who saw him would feel a spring breeze blowing against him and have an extremely favorable impression.
Simultaneously, clouds appeared above an archipelago on the periphery of the Primordial Realm. The residents of the series of islands all kneeled and prayed.
“Heaven is blessing Xi Immortal Dynasty.”
“I pray that my child will pass the disciple acceptance ceremony.”
“It’s our luck to be under the Xi Immortal Dynasty!”
“Please, great immortals, allow my child to be born with outstanding cultivation talent so that he can cultivate.”
“Glory to the Xi Immortal Dynasty!”
The golden clouds continued to grow and grow until it shrouded the entire archipelago. Yet, it cast no shadow over the lands. An immortal song echoed in the ears of all under the golden cloud. The song was a triumph, a praise to the being who had accumulated enough merits that the Heavenly Dao would confer them immortality.
The center of the golden clouds streamed down, as if funneled, toward the Xi Immortal Palace in the center of Xanadu, the capital of the Xi Immortal Dynasty. The clouds entered the highest tower of the palace and streamed into the man sitting in a lotus position.
Upon contact, the golden clouds transformed into Karmic Merit, which the man absorbed. With each passing second, the golden aura on the man increased. Once half the clouds had been funneled down, the golden radiance on the man was visible even to those who have not opened their spiritual sense.
When the man absorbed eighty percent of the Karmic Merit, his robes automatically changed into a golden color, and his face became shrouded behind a veil of light. The intensity of the radiance increased so much so that no mortal would dare to gaze directly upon him, lest they lose their vision.
With less than ten percent of the golden clouds left, the man appeared to be molded from light itself. There was no face, no crease in his robes, it was as if he was just a glowing outline. Then, the light started to dull, not because the amount of Karmic Merit suddenly vanished, but because it condensed into a ring floating behind his back.
As the last wisps of golden clouds vanished, the man’s face could be barely discerned, and the ring of golden light solidified into a material form. The golden aura covering the man continued to recede. Conversely, the golden ring of merit grew, and intricate details appeared.
When the golden rays vanished, the man stood up. A faint golden outline covered his body, one that even mortals could discern, but what would catch anyone who gazed upon him was undoubtedly the exquisite golden ring of merit floating behind him. Inscribed onto it were the many people of the Xi Immortal Dynasty, Xanadu, and the Xi Immortal Palace.
“So much for the Merit Ascension Heavenly Tribulation,” a sour voice said out of nowhere. “This isn’t a heavenly tribulation at all. It’s just the Heavenly Dao bestowing you immortality.”
The man looked at the owner of the sour voice. A smile appeared on his face, but it was a bit unnatural because of how long he hadn’t smiled. “Cousin Tianyi.”
Tianyi paused. He stared suspiciously at Xi Ri. “Did you lose your memory or something? Why are you still calling me cousin?”
“Sorry, I just blurted that out because of how long I haven’t seen you. It’s been thousands of years,” Xi Ri said. “As for my change in character… I’m surprised myself. After I became a merit immortal, it was as if all my previous negative emotions vanished. I’m conflicted about this. I’m glad that I no longer have to deal with the trauma, but the sudden shift in personality feels wrong.”
Tianyi held his chin with his fingers. “You aren’t going to say you’ve become a brainless altruist, right?”
“Of course not,” Xi Ri said. “Although being a merit immortal comes with limitations, it doesn’t mean that I have to do good, and that I can’t kill.”
“What kind of limitations? The records mentioned them, but they were not clear.”
“For one, everything I have is based on Karmic Merit. Merit immortals do not have sub realms like the four sub realms of the Immortal Realm. But it doesn’t mean the energy I use can not become stronger. It’s just that I have to earn more Karmic Merit,” Xi Ri said.
“That’s the second limitation,” Xi Ri continued. “I can’t restore my qi by absorbing spiritual qi anymore. I have to earn more Karmic Merit and transform it into immortal qi of merit. If I’m not careful and use too much, my realm will regress. Since I’m only at the initial stage of the Merit Immortal Realm, I’ll become mortal again and die.”
The more Tianyi heard, the more he felt sorry for his cousin.
“Third, the punishment if I commit any sins is greater. I will lose vast amounts of merit if I kill mortals, even accidentally. This makes it difficult for me to battle anyone, even if I want to,” Xi Ri said. He listed a few more, but the biggest limitations were those three points.
“Sorry, maybe I should have found another method.”
“There’s no need. I think it’s pretty good like this,” Xi Ri said. “This may have been the best method. There’s no need to feel guilty. I’m alive, after all.”
Tianyi averted his eyes. He gazed out of the window. “What do you plan to do with the Xi Immortal Dynasty?”
“I originally planned to leave since there’s no more use for it, but I will have to continue it. I don’t think I would need to battle, but there’s no harm in growing stronger. I never want to experience a situation where I find myself unable to control my own life and death again.”
“You already controlled ninety percent of the archipelago. It’s a good steady stream of Karmic Merit, but how about expanding to other islands? You can set up more Xi Immortal Dynasties and become a vassal force. It might not be the strongest, but it will definitely be the biggest.”
Xi Ri stared suspiciously at Tianyi. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing, honest,” Tianyi said with an innocent look in his eyes.
“You’re not thinking about giving more systems, are you?”
“Geh!?” Tianyi coughed into his fist. “Do you think I can give those out at random? It’s a bit troublesome to make. I just wanted to see if I can find any suitable disciples?”
“Oh, so that’s why you gave Jun Qiangwu that system. I admit his background does fit that of a protagonist, but do you really think that you can strike the jackpot and find such a disciple in the periphery of the Primordial Realm? Most of the talents are born on the Trinity Continent. This is real life, not a novel.”
“Come on, there’s no harm, is there?” Tianyi asked.
“Fine,” Xi Ri said. “It’s not like it will harm me. But first, I want to return to the Xi Dynasty and see how it’s developing. By the way, where’s Daoyi?”
A warm yet excited smile appeared on Tianyi’s face. “She’s reached a critical point in her enlightenment. If she succeeds, she can enter the Seamless Immortal Realm.”