After visiting the Celebration Heaven Immortal Domain and confirming that Yang Jiuhuan had not been imprisoned but rescued by Ye Wuxian, Han Yi ceased his investigation. He had no desire to become overly involved in the feud between Yang Jiuhuan and the Xuan Ding Immortal Sect. Having uncovered the truth, he gracefully departed, returning to the Immortal Court to continue his cultivation.
Eighth Epoch, Great Luo Calendar Year 106,463.
Sui Zhu Immortal Court, Primal Art Dao Field, Immortal Pavilion.
Han Yi pushed open the doors of the Immortal Pavilion. Before him stretched an endless expanse of snow, blanketing the world in pristine white.
"How many years has it been since I've truly paused to appreciate such a snowy scene?"
He stepped out of the pavilion like an ordinary mortal, his body radiating no trace of immortal majesty or divine power. Footprints marked his slow, deliberate path through the snow as he circled the area before returning to the pavilion at a leisurely pace.
"Another Sexagenary Cycle has passed."
"Since becoming an Immortal, even a single cultivation retreat can easily span a Sexagenary Cycle. My perception of time has stretched thin."
"No wonder ancient records mention Immortals emerging from secluded cultivation after millennia, only to find their clans vanished. They then traced their descendants through bloodline connections."
Each year, the Sui Zhu Immortal Court orchestrated the changing of the seasons, ensuring the Immortal Court remained closely aligned with nature, its inherent order, and the natural Dao Principles.
Of course, with the Immortals' capabilities, it would be trivial to alter the environment of any region, maintaining perpetual spring with simple techniques. However, most Immortal Courts, Dao Fields, and Immortal Sects deliberately preserved, or even cultivated, the cycle of the four seasons.
Returning to the Immortal Pavilion, Han Yi sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, gazing at the faint crimson panel before him and sighing softly.
Name: Han Yi
Lifespan: 725/129,600
Immortal Technique: Great Unrestrained Cosmic Light Profound Scripture (Profound Immortal Chapter 69/100)
Life Seed: 1,389 units
Cultivation Realm: Profound Immortal
Skills:
- Sword Flight (Fifth-Rank Immortal Art 13/100)
- Thought Realm (Third-Tier Immortal Art 76/100)
- Fetal Transformation Disguise (Third-Tier Immortal Art 19/100)
- Four Origins Dao Technique (Black Tortoise)
- Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon (Supreme Truth Realm 16/100)
- Great Unrestrained Cosmic Light Sword Canon (Overturning Sea, Dawn-Breaking, Heavenburning, Twilight, Eternal Night, Light-Slaying)
- Sword Realm (Fourth-Rank Immortal Art 14/100)
Over the course of a Sexagenary Cycle, Han Yi had reached the age of 725. While still considered young among True Immortals, to him, this span felt like an eternity.
In terms of cultivation, he had fully perfected the first stage of Immortal Power in the Immortal Dao System, reaching the Veteran Profound Immortal Realm. As for the Ancient God System, though he had absorbed some Divine Power Crystals, advancement wasn't instantaneous. This extended period had only allowed him to solidify his foundation within the Supreme Truth Realm, achieving modest progress.
His primary combat technique remained the Fifth-Rank Sword Control Immortal Art. The Thought Realm and Fetal Transformation Disguise were still at the Third-Tier, while the Sword Realm had broken through to the Fourth-Rank. He had mastered six forms of the Sword Canon, with a glimmer of understanding of the seventh, but lacked the crucial spark of inspiration.
Aside from these, he had also spent some time on other Second-Tier and First-Tier Immortal Arts like Chaotic Stars, Primordial Cosmos, and Mang Soul Seal, but his limited time investment yielded only marginal progress.
With a gentle wave, twenty-two Immortal Swords materialized around him, each emitting a peerlessly sharp sword aura as vast as the ocean.
These swords included acquisitions from the past sixty years: twelve Third-Tier Immortal Swords, nine Fourth-Rank Immortal Swords, and one Fifth-Rank Immortal Sword.
The Fifth-Rank sword was unique. It wasn't purchased but gifted over a century ago by Immortal Monarch Yuanshu, delivered to Han Yi's hands by Daoist Golden Resonance.
This Immortal Sword, named the Burial Path Dragon God Sword, was a standard Fifth-Rank Immortal Sword, but undeniably within the domain of a Golden Immortal.
With the Burial Path Dragon God Sword as its core and nine Fourth-Tier and twelve Third-Tier Immortal Swords as nodes, Han Yi had established a Sword Realm capable of challenging even a veteran Profound Immortal.
However, his most powerful Immortal Artifact was no longer this Fifth-Rank Immortal Sword, but the fully awakened Green Ripple Sword.
With a thought, Han Yi sheathed the twenty-two Immortal Swords, and a longsword of profound black hue materialized before him.
This was, of course, the Green Ripple Sword. Its once pitch-black blade had transformed into a deep, profound black, and the azure lotus vines that coiled around its hilt now covered over half the blade's length, twice their original extent.
More crucially, the aura emanating from the Green Ripple Sword was no longer that of a Third-Tier Immortal Sword, but...
Sixth-Tier.
Because Han Yi was its Sword Master, the Green Ripple Sword could be wielded with unparalleled efficiency. Otherwise, given his current cultivation realm and Immortal Power, it would have been nearly impossible for him to control a sword so far beyond his capabilities.
The Green Ripple Sword had fully integrated its six Sub-Swords three years prior. During this process, Qingping had soared into the sky, and only Han Yi's swift action in restraining her Sword Qi had prevented alarming the other Golden Immortals in the Primal Art Dao Field and attracting unnecessary attention.
After all, even seasoned Golden Immortals might not possess an Immortal Sword of this caliber. If word got out that Han Yi, a Veteran Profound Immortal, wielded a Sixth-Tier Immortal Sword, it would undoubtedly incite covetous eyes.
For this reason, the Green Ripple Sword had remained hidden within Han Yi's Immortal Spirit Realm for the past three years, its existence unknown to the world.
With a gentle wave of his hand, Han Yi stored the now Sixth-Tier Green Ripple Sword and prepared to resume his cultivation. He planned to focus primarily on advancing the Ancient God System.
His Divine Aperture World still held an abundance of Divine Power Crystals, enough to sustain his cultivation for centuries. By his estimates, this supply could even propel the Ancient God System to the peak of the Supreme Truth Realm.
Once he reached the peak of the Supreme Truth Realm, his power would rival that of a Peak Golden Immortal. With such formidable strength, Han Yi could then safeguard his path as he advanced the Immortal Dao System to the Golden Immortal stage.
This was the mutually reinforcing cultivation method he had developed since committing to the Dual Cultivation System: using one system to protect the other, alternating between advancements in both.
This approach was only possible thanks to his mysterious and powerful Proficiency Panel. Without it, most cultivators struggled to master even a single system, let alone two.
But on the very next day...
While meditating in his Immortal Pavilion, Han Yi suddenly snapped his eyes open. He leaped to his feet, fled the pavilion using an Escape Technique, and turned his gaze northeastward.
He saw three colossal Immortal Fortresses rolling in from the northeast, separated by an immeasurable distance.
These were no ordinary Extraterritorial Void Battlefield Immortal Fortresses. They were the same 108 gargantuan fortresses deployed during the Great Expedition to the Wisdom Realm two centuries ago.
Simultaneously, two terrifying auras erupted from the Immortal Venerable Realm Heavens within the Immortal Court.
In an instant, the entire Immortal Court began to shimmer with light, rising and coalescing into an unimaginably dense Dao Formation.
A Dao Formation surpassing even Ninth-Rank Immortal Formations.
However, as Han Yi sensed this surging aura, he frowned. It was not the aura of a Dao Ancestor, but merely that of an Immortal Sovereign.
Immortal Venerable Daoling and Immortal Venerable Wan Chuan.
"The Dao Ancestor is not in the Immortal Court."
"No, if the Dao Ancestor were in the Great Luo Immortal Realm—the very land where He attained enlightenment—He would have manifested instantly. His absence strongly suggests He is in the Outer Domain, another Immortal Realm, or even beyond the Primordial Great World."
"Therefore, upon detecting the return of the Immortal Fortresses, the two Immortal Sovereigns guarding the Immortal Court immediately activated the Dao Formation enveloping the entire realm."
Thoughts racing through his mind, Han Yi turned his gaze toward the three high-specification colossal Immortal Fortresses in the distant horizon.
The Immortal Fortresses, which had moments ago emitted an endless aura, now abruptly suppressed it, as if deliberately attracting the attention of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court and beckoning an Immortal Sovereign to personally escort them. When Han Yi tried to sense them again, the aura was faint and blurry, and they were nearly impossible to discern with the naked eye.
An Immortal of Immortal Monarch rank or higher had obscured his vision.
No sooner had this thought crossed Han Yi's mind than Immortal Venerable Daoling, who was overseeing the Immortal Court, departed from the Dao Formation and headed toward the three Immortal Fortresses.
Less than an incense stick's time later, Immortal Venerable Daoling returned, descending into his Immortal Venerable Realm Heaven within the Immortal Court. The three Immortal Fortresses had vanished without a trace.
The Dao Principles activated by the Immortal Court swiftly subsided.
Those Immortals unaware of the truth behind the Expedition to the Wisdom Realm saw nothing amiss, simply assuming it was a routine retreat of Immortal Fortresses into the Void.
But for Han Yi, who knew the truth, his heart grew heavy with unease.
"At the standard speed of high-grade colossal Immortal Fortresses, it should take three hundred years to reach the Wisdom Realm. Yet only two hundred years have passed. This means those three fortresses never reached their destination."
"The reason behind this must be far from simple."
"Moreover, the expeditionary force included numerous Immortal Sovereigns and Monarchs. Yet the returning Immortal Fortresses showed no trace of Immortal Sovereigns, not even a hint of Immortal Monarchs. This..."
Han Yi sensed that this matter was far from simple, but the stakes were too high for him to meddle. With Immortal Venerable Daoling personally involved, it was beyond his station to intervene.
Over the next half-month, Immortal Fortresses gradually returned. On the final day, Han Yi detected a familiar aura.
"Immortal Venerable Hongwu," he murmured. "He's back."
"But... something feels off about his aura."
Compared to their last encounter at the World Barrier over two centuries ago, Immortal Venerable Hongwu's aura was significantly weaker. Worse still, Han Yi thought he detected a faint trace of death energy clinging to it, though he couldn't be sure if it was merely his imagination.
Fifteen days later, no more Immortal Fortresses arrived.
By now, every Immortal in the Sui Zhu Immortal Court—except those in secluded cultivation—had sensed the impending storm. The air crackled with tension, like the calm before a typhoon.
With the arrival of the last Immortal Fortress, the Immortal Court finally revealed the truth about the Expedition to the Wisdom Realm and fully opened the Myriad Immortals Hall.
A wave of shock and disbelief swept through the Immortal Court.
The sight of countless Immortal Names shattering simultaneously within the Myriad Immortals Hall ignited panic. Among those names was even Profound Radiance Immortal Venerable, one of the six great Immortal clans of the Age Candle lineage, whose name occupied a prominent position on the highest tier of the hall.
As for the Immortal Monarchs, a staggering twenty-seven had fallen, including the third-ranked Yi Long Immortal Monarch, the seventh-ranked Immortal Monarch Lin'an, and the eleventh-ranked Cloud Departure Immortal Monarch, their Immortal Names shattering simultaneously.
This spectacle sent chills down the spines of the immortals in the Immortal Court, filling them with unspeakable dread.
"Terrifying... utterly terrifying."
"So many immortals have perished! No wonder something felt amiss. We've lost all contact with that batch of Immortal Fortresses."
"An expedition to the Wisdom Realm? That explains it."
"What a tragedy. The Wisdom Realm is so distant—a round trip takes over six centuries. And it's only been two hundred years. Those Immortal Fortresses hadn't even reached their destination when disaster struck, forcing them to retreat."
"Even Profound Radiance Immortal Venerable has fallen in the Chaos."
"We can only speculate about the cause. Only Immortal Monarchs can survive in the Chaos. Whatever triggered this catastrophe must have been at least a Dao Ancestor-level entity, perhaps even a Heavenly Venerable or something beyond."
"Nine deaths for every sliver of life... a true nine-out-of-ten death sentence."
The loss of countless immortals, including Immortal Sovereigns and Immortal Monarchs, marked the Sui Zhu Immortal Court's greatest loss of life since the Primordial Era.
This catastrophe surpassed even the upheaval at the dawn of the Eighth Epoch, when two Dao Ancestors perished, the Great Luo shattered, and the Chaotic Demon Zone emerged—an event that had been considered unparalleled in its scale and consequences.
After all, Age Candle hadn't fully committed his forces in the initial conflict, so the losses had been relatively minor. This time, however, he was one of the main commanders, making the situation entirely different.
Two weeks later, news arrived from beyond the Immortal Court. The Great Luo Immortal Realm had suffered devastating losses, not just Age Candle.
The number of fallen immortals from Donghuang, Lingxiao, Luo Tian, and the Imperial Court sent a chill through everyone. Among them were Donghuang's Demon Venerable Yingzhao and the Imperial Court's Immortal Venerable Ziwei.
Excluding the missing Immortal Venerable Zhurong of Lingxiao and Haotian Immortal Venerable of Luo Tian, the Great Expedition had already claimed the lives of three Immortal Sovereigns.
Across the Great Luo Immortal Realm, nearly a hundred Immortal Monarchs had perished, news that sent tremors of fear through the realms.
Like a stone thrown into a pond, this news rippled outward.
More details emerged.
On the Extraterritorial Void Battlefield, the previously sealed front lines had been reopened. While the Wisdom Clan of the Wisdom Realm and their subordinate races had vanished, nearly half of the Immortal Fortresses remained operational, while the other half returned to the Immortal Court for repairs.
Much to the concern of the major powers, the Blazing Flame Dao Court hadn't exploited the Immortal Realm's turmoil to launch aggressive territorial conquests, maintaining its usual tranquility.
Yet beneath this calm surface, probes and maneuvers by various factions were inevitable, with hidden currents swirling beneath the surface.
Beyond this, the power vacuum created by the deaths of Immortal Monarchs and even Immortal Sovereigns within the major Immortal Courts had already ignited fierce competition. Though these struggles remained veiled, mishandling them could easily sow the seeds of future calamity, with consequences stretching across countless millennia. As a result, each major power adopted its own approach to managing the situation.
Sui Zhu Immortal Court, Primal Art Dao Field, Immortal Pavilion.
Han Yi set down the golden token in his hand and rubbed his temples, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information it contained. The token held not only intelligence from the Immortal Courts but also reports from external factions—a vast and turbulent ocean of data.
Naturally, Han Yi focused on news from the Wisdom Realm, Chaos, the upper echelons of Great Luo, and other Immortal Realms.
For him, the pursuit of fame and fortune had long lost its allure. Now possessing the combat prowess of a Golden Immortal, he knew that advancing to the Golden Immortal realm, and even to Immortal Monarch status, was only a matter of time. Yet he harbored no desire to establish his own Dao Field, preferring instead to devote himself to personal cultivation. While rare among the Immortal Monarchs of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, such inclinations were not entirely unheard of.
However, the information he truly cared about was sparse: reports of the three fallen Immortal Sovereigns and updates on the handful of others who had gone missing or suffered severe injuries. Beyond these cases, he ignored the rest.
The greatest mystery surrounding the Immortal Fortress was what had transpired in the Chaos that caused it to abandon its journey to the Wisdom Realm and abruptly turn back toward the Immortal Realm.
According to the surviving True Immortals, Profound Immortals, and Golden Immortals, after shaking off the Wisdom Clan and their subordinate races beyond the World Barrier, they ventured deep into the Chaos. Nearly two centuries later, without warning, the Immortal Fortress suddenly reversed course and began its retreat.
This abrupt maneuver suggested that the Immortal Monarch controlling the fortress had received urgent communications from Immortal Sovereigns or other independent Immortal Monarchs ahead, prompting him to order the retreat.
The crucial question remained: what had happened in the region between the two realms, closer to—or perhaps even within—the Wisdom Realm itself, that compelled this massive expedition, guarded by a Dao Ancestor and multiple Immortal Sovereigns, to abandon their advance without hesitation, foregoing even a single attempt to break through?
This mystery weighed heavily on Han Yi's mind.
Only the Immortal Monarchs who led the expedition knew the truth.
Yet since the Immortal Fortress's return, every surviving Immortal Monarch had remained tight-lipped, refusing to answer any inquiries about the incident.
"Still," one mused, "though the Great Expedition failed, it effectively drove the Wisdom Clan back, relieving the Great Luo of its lingering concerns."
"Moreover..."
"Li Zhengyang actually returned alive and even advanced to the Profound Immortal Realm. That's truly remarkable," Han Yi mused.
After the Immortal Fortress returned, Han Yi had been meticulously scrutinizing the list of returning Immortals. When he spotted Li Zhengyang's name, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, he went to the Pill Sun Dao Field to find Li Zhengyang, only to discover that his friend had already advanced to the Profound Immortal Realm—a stroke of good fortune amidst the disaster.
Previously, Han Yi had informed the shopkeeper of the Nine-Ring Pavilion about Yang Jiuhuan's whereabouts but had withheld further details.
Now, facing Li Zhengyang, he shared the full story of Yang Jiuhuan's situation. Upon hearing this, Li Zhengyang immediately rushed to the Lingxiao Immortal Court to search for Yang Jiuhuan.