Yun Xia woke up and sat on the bed. She looked around the room but she didn’t find her father anywhere. Her father was sleeping just beside her last night so where did he go? Could she have just dreamed everything last night?
Sorrow filled her heart as she got down from the bed. She wore her indoor slippers and was just about to step out of the room when Ling came inside wearing a luxurious, high quality plain white hanfu, looking at her with a gentle face.
“Papa!”
Yun Xia immediately lunged towards her father and hugged him. It turns out it wasn’t just a dream. Her father had finally come home!
“Good morning, Xiaxia,” Yun Ling greeted as she stroke the little girl’s messy hair.
“Good morning, Papa!” the little girl greeted back cheerfully.
Yun Ling smiled at her as he said, “You should go take a bath first. I’ll call Yue Dongmei so she can prepare your clothes and help you take a bath.”
“Hm!” Yun Xia nodded, being obedient to her father.
“We’ll take a breakfast after you’re done bathing and then we’ll go out after that,” Yun Ling said, making the little girl happier than she already was.
…
“Fanming, tell me what happened,” an intimidating old man said as he comfortably sat on his chair. He was looking at his grandson coldly while his chin rested on his fist.
His grandson was none other than Gu Fanming, an elder from the Riverspan Sect who didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his sect’s disciples just to get away from the powerful foe that was chasing after them back then.
Gu Fanming knelt down as he looked at the ground. The trace of playfulness that was usually on his face disappeared while he was in the presence of the old man in front of him. He then recounted what happened in the Thousand Mountain Valley to him.
The old man listened carefully and nodded his head. When Gu Fanming reached the part about the branch with the strange ability, the old man finally began to show emotion. His eyes widened considerably as he stood up from his seat.
“A powerful ability like that… I can only assume it must be from an immortal,” the old man said in shock.
“An immortal?!” Gu Fanming was also shocked upon hearing what his grandfather said. Although he knew that the thing that chased after them was immensely powerful, never did it cross his mind that it was an immortal. After all, there was no immortal in this world. That was common knowledge that any child from a cultivator family knew.
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The highest realm one could achieve in this world was the Sacred King Realm. No matter how exceptional an individual was, they couldn’t break this rule in the world. That was why there was no immortal in the World of Terra. If a cultivator wanted to achieve a higher realm, they had to leave this world and ascend to a higher one which was the Ethereal Realm.
That was the world where immortals and gods could freely roam without any restriction. The final destination of all the cultivators in the vast universe.
Normally, Sacred Kings could choose whether to ascend to the Ethereal Realm or not. If they wouldn’t ascend, then they could not cultivate to a higher realm. His grandfather was such an existence. He was a Sacred King for five hundred years already yet never had he once made any progress with his cultivation. Even so, he had no plans to ascend. That was because once an individual ascends to a higher realm, they could no longer go back to the world they came from. It would take numerous resources which were enough to create several first-rate sects in the World of Terra for an individual above the Sacred King Realm to return.
It was something no sane individual would do and most people couldn’t do. For those with that kind of resources, they would rather use those resources for themselves to get stronger instead of going back to where they came from. Even if they had enough resources, there was still no guarantee that they could return to their world safe and sound because the world would try to reject them. It wouldn’t allow any existence above the Sacred King Realm to enter the world.
That was why ascending was a very important matter. Sacred Kings would usually choose to remain in the World of Terra and only ascend once their lifespans were about to run out.
Sacred Kings could live up to 1500 to 2000 years. His grandfather was 800 years old this year so he still had a lot of time left. It was also the reason why his grandfather was valued in his sect. Sacred Kings whose lifespans were about to end weren’t as valued as much as those who were a lot younger. That was because they would have to ascend soon, and once they ascend, they would lose another protector of their sect since they could no longer come back.
“For there to be an immortal in the Thousand Mountain Valley… this world is done for. The strongest beings here are merely Sacred Kings. They are no match for an immortal,” Gu Fanming said shakily as he looked at his grandfather.
The old man had a grave expression on his face. He let out a sigh.
“If only our founder, the Stone God hadn’t disappeared, this immortal wouldn’t be able to do as it pleases here.”
Gu Fanming had heard about this from his grandfather since he was a child. There were actually gods in the World of Terra long ago. Some of these gods created various sects here such as the Stone God Sect, Thunder God Sect, Spirit God Sect, and other sects with god in their name. With the presence of these gods, it was the golden age for cultivators in the World of Terra.
However, one day, all of these gods had suddenly disappeared at the same time. The Stone God, the Thunder God, the Spirit God, all of them had vanished without a trace. The only things that remained, reminding everyone of their existence were the sects and the various supreme arts they had left behind. It wasn’t known when they had disappeared but records say it was at least 10 000 to 40 000 years ago.
If those gods were still present to this day, no immortal could wreak havoc in the World of Terra.
“The loss of a Fate Dominion Realm expert is by no means a small one. However, with this information, it is worth it. I’ll go tell the sect master about this. Also, you should cultivate diligently instead of messing around like you usually do. One day, you might offend someone you cannot afford to offend. I will no longer be able to clean up your mess when that happens so you should be careful,” the old man said before leaving his grandson alone in the room.