Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 9

Whether the girl’s heart was filled with turbulent excitement or sorrow after hearing the True Lord’s words, she had no time to speak. With a casual wave of the expert’s hand, Apu was pulled forward and landed unceremoniously on her bottom right in front of her.

The two sat cross-legged, facing each other. The True Lord’s tone was no longer the warm, storytelling voice from before. She sat with solemn dignity as the Red Ribbon flew down from above, coiling around her body like a goddess descending to the mortal realm.

She lowered her gaze and began: “The path to immortality consists of three Ranks, nine Realms, and eighteen Orifices. From lowest to highest, there are the Human, Earth, and Heaven Ranks, each divided into three Realms.

The eighteen Orifices refine the skeletal structure. Regardless of its quality, every person has eighteen Orifices within their bones. A cultivator, in their final pursuit of perfection across the three Ranks and nine Realms, must achieve total clarity in all eighteen Orifices to attain the Leisurely Body…”

This was the Initiation.

Apu kept her mouth shut and listened intently. Not everyone had the fortune of being personally initiated by a True Lord.

Why was the skeletal structure important? Because at the end of the journey, all eighteen Orifices must be refined to completion. A top-tier structure like Jade Bones meant that the eighteen Orifices were naturally open from birth.

And why did experts view the structure as a mere external factor? It was because with enough effort, any person with a skeletal foundation could eventually refine all eighteen Orifices.

The Heavenly Dao is cold; those born without a skeletal foundation are destined to have no immortal fate in this life. Yet, the Heavenly Dao rewards the diligent; as long as the foundation exists, regardless of talent, a “clumsy bird” who flies early can catch up to the geniuses.

“The three Realms of the Human Rank are: Dust’s End, Mortal Shedding, and The Unreturning.”

For a mortal entering the path, Dust’s End signifies the severing of worldly ties and the start of creation; at this stage, one condenses the Dantian and the Sea of Consciousness. Mortal Shedding involves tempering the sinews and bones, undergoing the tribulations of thunder and fire to wash away the mortal frame, extending one’s lifespan by a hundred years. Thereafter, one fights Heaven for fate and becomes a stranger to the mortal world, stepping into the Realm of The Unreturning.

“The three Realms of the Earth Rank: Creation, True Immortal, and The Fallen.”

Starting from the Earth Rank, one sees one’s true nature. Each Realm brings a tribulation, and each tribulation adds five hundred years of life. To move from The Unreturning to Creation, one must perceive nature and connect with the world’s spiritual energy. Then, a Gale Tribulation rises from the Yongquan points at the soles of the feet, sweeping through the body. Surviving this leads to the True Immortal Realm…”

“One becomes an immortal at the Earth Rank?” The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

The True Lord chuckled. “The True Immortal Realm is about finding your own Dao and cultivating a ‘True Immortal’ within your Sea of Consciousness…”

After Creation, the Gale Tribulation scours away the old flesh to reshape a celestial body. At this point, one can begin to refine external objects or artifacts into a “Natal True Spirit” that resides in the Sea of Consciousness. As long as the original body lives, the True Spirit does not vanish, and the artifact is never destroyed. From then on, the True Spirit in the Sea of Consciousness is the most reliable companion on the long road.

Because the True Spirit is indestructible, it is colloquially nicknamed a “True Immortal.”

After the True Immortal comes the tribulation of the Sea of Consciousness: The Fallen.

“What do you think is being cultivated in The Fallen?” the True Lord asked suddenly.

Apu thought for a moment and answered seriously, “Temperament and heart? The Human Rank reshapes the body, and the Earth Rank’s Creation and True Immortal refine spiritual perception. After that, The Fallen should be about cultivating the heart.”

The True Lord nodded with a satisfied smile. “Good intuition. The Fallen itself is a Heart-Demon Tribulation. No matter how good the talent, those with poor temperament cannot advance a single step beyond this point; most fall into madness and perish here.”

In the millions of years of the Lingqi Continent’s history, countless brilliant figures have appeared, yet ninety percent fall at the Realm of The Fallen. This is why minor sects care only for skeletal quality, while Great Sects value heart, comprehension, and fate above all else.

“Four thousand years ago, the Daoist Lord ascended. Many have attained the Dao since, but only the Daoist Lord returned to the human world a thousand years ago to guide his disciples and leave behind the Ancestral Instruction…”

“What instruction?” Apu was enthralled. Seeing her senior stop, she couldn’t help but ask.

The True Lord’s expression turned somewhat strange. She answered hesitantly, “Well… anyway, the instruction means that on the path of cultivation, The Fallen is not just a single stage. One must always maintain the ‘True Self’ and keep the heart clear so as not to lose one’s original intention. You will see it for yourself when you return to the sect.”

“As for the Heaven Rank: Voyage, Leisure, and Traceless. This is mainly when the True Spirit transforms into the Second Primordial Spirit.

In the first two Realms, Voyage and Leisure, the tribulations vary by individual and follow no set pattern. Each Realm adds a thousand years of life. But when your cultivation is profound and your Primordial Spirit can wander at will, the Heavenly Dao takes away all your remaining lifespan and gives you a single, final limit of three thousand years.

After those three thousand years, regardless of your cultivation, the Five Elements Heavenly Tribulation descends. If you pass, you become an immortal; if you fail, you perish. Either way, you ultimately become Traceless in the human world.”

Dust’s End, Mortal Shedding, The Unreturning. Creation, True Immortal, The Fallen. Voyage, Leisure, Traceless.

Across these three Ranks and nine Realms, the True Lord of the Red Ribbon, Mo Xianjun, had exhausted her lifespan in these final three thousand years.

“As for specific cultivation techniques, follow the arrangements of the sect after you return. That girl from the Bronze Sparrow Terrace and the big cat are waiting for you outside. That cat has just begun to develop intelligence and is quite sentient; it is willing to take you back to the mountain. Whether you want it to be a minor guardian of Yushan or recognize you as its master is up to you.”

Having finished, the woman in yellow stretched lazily and stood up.

Mo Xianjun held her longsword as the gold-trimmed Red Ribbon flew back from the surroundings, nimbly tying itself to the hilt.

She smiled. “Today is my limit. My Life Tablet has shattered. I fear the youngsters in the sect will be grieving, but they should have recovered by the time you reach the mountain.”

Apu suppressed the sorrow in her heart and performed a deep bow.

The True Lord flipped her sword and plunged it into her own Dantian. Outside the Black Volcano, a sudden thunderclap shook the dark sky. Bolts of lightning, like thousand-fathom waterfalls, pierced straight through the lava and struck down!

The longsword instantly shattered into ten thousand fragments. A gale erupted, and the Chaos Sea surged with monstrous waves. The gold-trimmed Red Ribbon left the hilt and danced around Apu to protect her.

Mo Xianjun closed her eyes, her hands shifting through mudra seals. The sword fragments swirled around her in a hurricane. Her body began to crack like a piece of fine porcelain, with blinding light seeping out from the fissures. As the cracks multiplied and her entire being turned into pure light, the True Lord’s body suddenly exploded. The whistling wind carried the sword fragments, burst through the volcano, and flew toward the pitch-black shore.

The Eastern Chaos Sea, which had not seen light for millions of years, was illuminated by a dazzling silver torrent. Ten thousand sword fragments manifested into complete longswords, plunging into the coastline one after another with a series of heavy thuds. Silver light then rose, using the swords as foundation stones to erect a brilliant screen of light from the bottom up.

The monstrous waves of the Black Sea crashed against the light screen only to be repelled. The sword barrier did not budge an inch; not a single drop of the black water could reach the shore. The True Lord had sacrificed her natal artifact and used her body to become a barrier, standing on the coastline to forcibly block the entire Sea of Chaos!

Suddenly, many hideous faces surfaced in the sea. They roared and clawed at the light screen, then let out a shrieking whistle, glaring at the shore before departing unwillingly.

The massive volcano where Apu had been was now a hundred-fathom crater. Lava splattered across the black earth, slowly cooling into new obsidian.

As the silver spiritual torrent poured toward the coast, Mo Xianjun’s glowing body gradually dimmed and turned translucent. The Red Ribbon that had been protecting Apu lost its vitality, becoming sluggish.

Finally, the transfer of spiritual energy ended. The True Lord’s Primordial Spirit was now as ethereal as smoke. The translucent figure waved a hand, and the listless Red Ribbon returned to its master’s palm, solidifying into half of a red hand.

“This is the last trace of my spiritual power. I will grant you a Soul Curse for protection.”

The True Lord’s voice was weak and ethereal. The solidified half-hand held its fingers like a sword, and where the long fingers passed, she drew a talisman in the air in a single stroke.

As the red spiritual energy was expended, the talisman took shape, and the last solidified part of the hand faded back into a phantom. The True Lord’s Primordial Spirit dissipated like mist, her soul scattering.

The faint soul-mist pushed the Soul Curse into the center of Apu’s forehead. The mist brushed past her cheeks, her neck, and the golden Peace Lock tied there…

The Peace Lock suddenly exploded with golden light. The two characters for “Peace” on the front floated up and twisted into two strange, ancient characters. They rotated and connected, transforming into a pale gold formation map. It seemed to be chasing and swallowing the mist formed by the True Lord’s soul. The formation expanded and expanded… and then, along with the young girl in the center, the formation swallowed the entire space and vanished.

Standing not far away, Wuyanzi watched in horror as the space collapsed and tore apart. From the massive void, a gale leaked out, and tiny blue bolts of lightning crackled at the edges. Countless hideous Void Demons cheered and shrieked as they tried to squeeze into this world.

In the void, the monsters swarmed with grinning faces, pushing forward one after another.

The dark clouds over the Chaos Sea rolled, and thunder rumbled deep in the sky. Flashes of light occasionally pierced the black clouds. Clearly, the Heavenly Dao had sensed the void breach, and bolts of heavenly lightning were slowly brewing.

This world is protected by the continent’s Heavenly Dao. Void Demons can only invade under two conditions:

1. When an Earth-rank cultivator in the Realm of The Fallen has their Sea of Consciousness invaded by a Heart-Demon.
2. When a Heaven-rank cultivator undergoes a tribulation, the laws of the Heavenly Dao tear the void and release demons. These invading monsters are either killed by the cultivator or destroyed by the lightning along with the cultivator if the tribulation fails.

Outside of these two situations, Void Demons cannot survive on the continent; the Heavenly Dao destroys them upon sight.

But the Eastern Chaos Sea was an exception. It was known as the “Land Abandoned by Heaven” precisely because the Heavenly Dao was weak here. Mo Xianjun could stabilize space here to avoid her death tribulation, and if powerful Void Demons entered, the lightning brewed by the Heavenly Dao would likely be of limited power.

Wuyanzi was an Earth-rank cultivator in the Creation Realm; she was two realms away from even encountering a Heart-Demon, let alone facing a Void Demon directly. She trembled with terror, her legs giving way as she backed into a small, furry object.

The once mighty and massive giant tiger had somehow shrunk to the size of a common cat, shivering and hiding behind the man in red.

The cheering monsters had reached the mouth of the rift, huddling together to push into this world. The limbs of the monsters that managed to squeeze through were struck by the weakened lightning that had pierced the clouds, resulting only in black smoke and foul blood. They wailed in pain, yet their ugly faces were twisted in cruel, ecstatic grins.

Suddenly, a massive, scarred, blue-black claw swept across. The void in front of the rift was instantly emptied as the giant hand grabbed the screaming monsters and stuffed them into the mouth of a colossal Demon God.

He crunched on them, his massive face—covered in puss-filled lumps—leaning forward. A man-sized vertical eye in the center of His forehead stared through the slowly shrinking void hole to observe this world.

The monsters surrounding the rift were terrified upon seeing Him. They immediately scattered, wailing as they fled, and the void near the rift fell silent in an instant.

As soon as the Great Demon God appeared, Wuyanzi’s eyes turned blood-red and bulged, leaking tears of blood. This was a true Nine Heavens Demon God!

She let out a scream as her vision blurred. The overwhelming pressure forced her to bow her head in terror, not daring to look at the Demon God’s silhouette. The kitten behind her also wailed and slumped to the ground.

The Demon God recognized this world at a glance. He looked around with little interest, but His vertical eye stared intently at the man in red for a long moment.

He stepped back and tilted His head. Then, He plucked out the vertical eye from the center of His forehead and tossed it toward the paralyzed Wuyanzi.

The rift closed. The Demon God’s vertical eye transformed into a black pill and rolled to a stop in front of Wuyanzi.

The void rift vanished, and the rolling black clouds gradually settled.

The wind brought a chill. Everything was silent. Wuyanzi’s frozen, cold body gradually recovered. She spent several minutes regulating her breath before her bloodshot eyes could finally see clearly.

The man with a female soul looked conflicted. After a moment of hesitation, she wiped the tears of blood from her face and bent down to pick up the black pill.

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