The Immortal Ancestor had died.
When Qiao Sidao realized that he had been reborn into the ancient cultivation world—a time when the Ten Great Immortal Sects dominated the world and the new cultivation method had yet to emerge—a daring thought surfaced in his mind.
He would follow the Immortal Ancestor and become one of the earliest pioneers of the new way of cultivation!
At present, the Ten Great Immortal Sects were at their peak.
However, knowing the trajectory of the future, Qiao Sidao was keenly aware that their seemingly unshakable dominance would crumble before the sweeping tide of the new cultivation method.
It wouldn’t be long before the new cultivators—trained in a method that allowed them to plunder the heavens and earth, cultivating at an astonishing pace—would rise under the leadership of the Immortal Ancestor, They would crush the Ten Great Immortal Sects and establish the magnificent Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, destined to rule the Xuanhuang Realm for eons.
In such a grand revolution, the greatest merit lay in supporting the right leader.
If Qiao Sidao pledged his allegiance to the Immortal Ancestor before his rise, then when the Immortal Ancestor eventually ascended to the heavens, Qiao Sidao would undoubtedly secure a position within the supreme ruling body of the Alliance—the Dharma Transmission Council.
…
And it was exactly what he acted upon.
He abandoned the hard-earned identity of an inner disciple of the Seven Stars Sect, traversing mountains and rivers from the heart of the Immortal Lands to reach the remote wilderness of Congyun Marsh.
After years of patient waiting, the day finally arrived when the great Immortal Ancestor—no, at this time, he was still known as the Dharma Transmission Immortal Venerable—began spreading his teachings.
News of the Immortal Venerable sharing his teachings had recently begun to circulate in the surrounding regions.
However, the Immortal Venerable’s reputation was still modest at this time.
Announcing the dissemination of his teachings and blessings to the world was met with skepticism.
Few believed him.
Before Qiao Sidao stood only a dozen or so cultivators who had come out of curiosity.
Qiao Sidao made sure to secure a seat at the center of the front row, intending to make himself known.
Surveying those around him, Qiao Sidao realized that these individuals would one day become the key figures who wielded power within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance. His heart began to race.
When the Dharma Transmission Immortal Venerable’s gaze swept across him, Qiao Sidao immediately composed himself, no longer daring to look around.
Three days later, despite the sovereign’s teachings being profound, only about thirty cultivators had gathered on the small island within Congyun Marsh.
The Immortal Venerable, however, remained unbothered.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he began his grand discourse.
He spoke of the world of Xuanhuang, the laws of immortality, the mysteries of the human body, and the secrets of vital energy. He then elaborated on the intricate connections between the universe and all living beings.
His words flowed eloquently, captivating every cultivator present.
As the Immortal Venerable continued, celestial phenomena began to manifest in the skies.
Golden light illuminated rolling purple clouds arriving from the horizon, creating a divine and majestic scene.
Even at night, the island radiated with a never-ending glow of purple and gold, visible from hundreds of miles away.
This attracted an increasing number of cultivators who, mesmerized by the spectacle, flocked to the island.
Respectful and awestruck, the newcomers settled wherever they could find space, silently regretting their delayed arrival and the missed opportunities to absorb the profound teachings from earlier days.
Eventually, the island was teeming with over ten thousand cultivators.
At this point, the Immortal Venerable declared:
“To ascend to immortality, why beseech the heavens? If the heavens do not grant it, then take it for yourself!”
“To follow the heavens is mundane; to defy the heavens is Immortality!”
“Thus, the path of immortality lies in:
– Absorbing the spirit of heaven and earth to wield its energy;
– Harnessing the marvels of the heaven and earth to establish a foundation;
– Observing the laws of the heaven and earth to refine the golden core;
– Seizing the essence of creation to form the nascent soul;
– Extracting the marrow of the world to transform into the divine soul;
– Sacrificing the spirit of heaven and earth existence to merge with the Dao;
– Defying the principles of the heavens to achieve Longevity Immortality!”
…
The Venerable then proceeded to elucidate the details of each realm, leaving the gathered cultivators stunned and speechless.
So, immortality could be pursued in such a way!
Qiao Sidao’s blood surged with excitement.
He knew that these cultivators, relying on this revolutionary method of plundering the heavens and earth, would eventually overthrow the Ten Great Immortal Sects and establish the great Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.
It felt as though he were a part of history in the making.
However, just as the Dharma Transmission Immortal Venerable reached the pivotal point in his discourse—explaining the principle of defying the heavens—a cold voice suddenly reverberated across the skies, interrupting the sovereign.
“Such deceptive rhetoric!”
“The heavens nurture all things. For cultivators to not repay this debt is already egregious, but to engage in such vile plundering is no different from beasts!”
The voice boomed like thunder, echoing endlessly.
Interrupted suddenly, the cultivators on the island listening to the teachings were naturally both shocked and enraged.
“Who is this reckless cultivator courting death?”
Qiao Sidao, on the other hand, wore a look of amusement, ready to watch the drama unfold.
After all, he knew that the Immortal Ancestor had dominated the world for thousands of years, practically unrivaled.
Wasn’t the one provoking him seeking death?
However, what Qiao Sidao inadvertently glimpsed made him feel a vague sense of unease.
At this moment, the Preaching Immortal Venerable abruptly stood up. His face was filled with solemnity.
“May I know the name of this friend?”
“The so-called 3,000 Great Dao Paths…” The Immortal Venerable cupped his hands and was about to speak.
But he was rudely interrupted again.
“Words are pointless! Under the rule of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, anyone spreading heresies—”
“Must die!”
With a thunderous roar, the speaker revealed himself.
He appeared to be no more than a teenager, clad in shining golden armor, with a red ribbon tied to his head, and wielding a silver spear.
He looked less like a cultivator and more like a mortal general.
“Remember, the one taking your lives today is ‘Wu’ of the Creation Sect!”
As his words ended, the silver spear descended from the heavens.
“Arrogant child…”
The Immortal Venerable snorted coldly, lightly extending two fingers of his right hand to block it.
Who would have thought…
The silver gleam flashed like lightning, piercing through the Immortal Venerable’s body in an instant.
Then, without losing momentum, it slammed violently into the ground.
“Boom!”
In the Immortal Venerable’s incredulous gaze, the entire Ten Thousand Immortal Island turned to dust in an instant.
As the massive silver shockwave crushed the island, it also swept through Congyun Marsh relentlessly.
In just a few breaths, the vast Congyun Marsh no longer had any signs of life.
Only the rampant silver serpents continued to dance in the void.
“Foolishness!”
Before Qiao Sidao’s consciousness faded, he only heard Wu’s cold snort,
and saw the gradually vanishing figure of the Immortal Ancestor.
…
When he awoke from a pitch-black void again,
Qiao Sidao was surprised to find himself back at the very start of his rebirth.
The outer disciples of the Seven Star Sect were still anxiously preparing for the inner sect assessment.
But this time, entering the inner sect no longer concerned him at all.
His mind was filled with countless doubts.
Why?
Why did the Immortal Ancestor fall so easily?
Who was this “Wu”?
Why had he never heard of such a person before?
Countless questions surged in his heart.
Days passed, and Qiao Sidao still couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.
However, since the world of his rebirth diverged from the historical trajectory he remembered,
he decided he must carefully consider the future.
With a figure like Wu around, it seemed unlikely that the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance could rise to prominence.
Though somewhat regretful, a wise man knows when to yield.
In this life, Qiao Sidao decisively chose to side with the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
But something unexpected happened once more.
In his previous life, Wu, who ended the Immortal Ancestor’s life with a single spear,
simply did not exist in this life.
Without Wu’s dramatic feat on the Ten Thousand Immortal Island, the new teachings spread like wildfire across the entire Xuanhuang Realm within a few years.
It was a vast, unstoppable force.
In the war against the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, Qiao Sidao, as cannon fodder for the Ten Great Immortal Sects, once again lost his life.