Immortal

The cult leader hadn't expected that an immortal would actually appear.

He had indeed sensed the immortal being reviving, but he hadn't expected the immortal to appear in the world so quickly; it was a completely unexpected delight.

The cult leader excitedly introduced himself, "Congratulations, immortal, on awakening from the river of history! My name is Xie Bingzhi, the leader of the Immortal Cult. The current era is 300,000 years removed from the era you know. Oh, you may not know the Immortal Cult. We are one of the four great demonic cults, and our aim is to awaken you from your slumber..."

The immortal listened quietly to the sect leader's eloquent introduction. Seeing that the sect leader had stopped talking, he chuckled twice and slowly said, "Child, don't get excited. I already know everything you just said."

The cult leader calmed down and realized that he had overstepped his bounds and lost his composure. "Immortals know everything."

The immortal shook his head. "It's not that exaggerated. Who dares to claim to know everything? Even Ying Tian and Qilin can't be said to know everything, let alone me, who has been gone for 300,000 years. The world has changed, and who could have predicted what would happen today?"

A drop of golden liquid appeared out of thin air in the immortal's hand, and with a flick of his wrist, it landed in the sect leader's hand.

The cult leader could sense the terrifying vitality contained within it.

"You were wounded by a powerful enemy, and it will take at least a hundred years to fully heal. This drop of immortal liquid can help you speed up your recovery."

"This... this is the legendary 'immortal' Dao Fruit?" The sect leader's hands trembled; this was the first time he had ever felt the power of an immortal.

The immortal sage smiled kindly and said, "Immortal Dao Fruits are not easily revealed; this is merely a drop of dew on an 'immortal' Dao Fruit."

The cult leader immediately swallowed it. The golden liquid transformed into a strange energy as soon as it entered his mouth, filling his limbs and every part of his body.

The cult leader could clearly feel that his injuries were healing faster.

He had heard that the Immortal Dao Fruit was the foundation of every immortal and was never easily revealed to others. The Immortal Immortal was indeed worthy of being an immortal who had saved the human race, being selfless and impartial, and had allowed him to have the good fortune to glimpse a trace of the power of the Immortal Dao Fruit.

"I know why you awakened me. The struggle among geniuses, the pursuit of immortality, is an age-old topic..."

The immortal immortal stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly closed and somewhat cloudy, as if recalling ancient events. In the end, he let out a long sigh, shook his head, and did not comment further on the past.

He murmured, "Does humanity need my salvation once again...?"

The sect leader hurriedly said, "Immortal, the High Antiquity era is coming again, and cultivators are resurrecting in various places. If war breaks out then, only your intervention can save humanity!"

"Very well, perhaps saving humanity is my mission, so why not save it one more time?"

Just as the sect leader was about to say something, the immortal immortal raised his hand to interrupt him, "However, I am now only a soul, and my Dao Fruit is not yet complete. I can only temporarily reside in the statue and cannot protect you as I did at the end of High Antiquity times. If you want to return to your peak state, you will need a body to reside in."

"Can I?" the cult leader volunteered.

The immortal shook his head. "Your body is already fixed, and you've taken many wrong paths during your cultivation. The accumulated problems are difficult to reverse, and your chances of condensing a Dao Fruit are very slim."

"I've heard that Yun Zhi of the Ask Dao Sect is known as the strongest among the Five Great Immortal Sects. Is her body capable of handling this?" the sect leader asked again.

The immortal shook his head. "Heh, the strongest of the Five Great Immortal Sects? As far as I know, the Five Great Immortal Sects are merely five sects with some foundation in the Central Continent. Not to mention the four regions of East, West, South, and North, the overall strength of the Five Great Immortal Sects is probably not even as good as the Great Xia Dynasty that rules the Central Continent."

"Under these circumstances, how strong could the strongest among the Five Great Immortal Sects be to enable me to ascend to immortality once more?"

The cult leader quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"There is still some time before the great battle truly erupts, enough time for me to cultivate back to my peak. I need a body that has just begun its cultivation. With this body as my vessel, I can return to the realm of immortals. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to suppress Ying Tian, Qilin, and the others, and become the head of the Five High Antiquity Immortals."

"By then, even if I were to intervene to protect the human race, the risk of my demise would be greatly reduced."

"May the immortals bear witness."

"Go and gather all the Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Refining stage believers. I will personally select them and see who is qualified to be possessed by me."

"Yes."

"Immortal, I have a question for you."

"Child, ask away."

"Who exactly transformed the countless stars into a continent?"

Legend has it that the immortal beings witnessed this momentous event that brought an end to the High Antiquity era.

The immortal closed his eyes and shook his head. "Your cultivation is too low; this is not something you should know."

The cult leader was somewhat frustrated, but he also admitted that he was far inferior to the immortals.

Before leaving, the cult leader hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your name seems... not an ordinary name?"

What the cult leader actually wanted to say was that I really couldn't think of any other name, so I just made up "Cloth Wants Face". Why would an immortal have such a strange name?

The immortal being remained silent, his face dark.

The cult leader realized he had asked the wrong question and took his leave.

After leaving the secret chamber, the sect leader hurriedly summoned the three vice sect leaders and elders, but only Vice Sect Leader Jin was present. After inquiring, he learned that Vice Sect Leaders Liu and Gao had taken the immortal treasure to the Ask Dao Sect and died.

"They're willing to risk their lives for power?!" The sect leader gritted his teeth, able to guess the two fools' thoughts: they simply wanted to establish a reputation within the Ask Dao Sect Seeking Sect in order to vie for the sect leader's position.

Why did you have to go to the Ask Dao Sect of all places?

You went in alive, but did you come out alive?

"How long has it been since the Five Elements Sect's visit to the Ask Dao Sect ended?"

"It's only been half a day, and there's still no reply."

The sect leader took a deep breath. "No need to wait for news, they've definitely been captured by the Ask Dao Sect might even already know the location of our headquarters!"

"There is only one solution left now."

"Surrender?"

The cult leader roared, "Surrender my ass! Have you ever seen a demonic cult surrender to the righteous path?!"

"So, we've made history?"

The cult leader resisted the urge to strangle the elder and said, "Quickly move to backup stronghold number five!"

"Oh."

To prevent the higher-ups from being captured, the cult leader revealed the locations of the headquarters and backup strongholds, ensuring that each vice-leader only knew the location of one stronghold.

For example, Vice Leader Liu knew about Backup Base Number Three, while Vice Leader Gao knew about Backup Base Number Four.

In just two months, they had to move from their second stronghold to their third, all because of the Ask Dao Sect.

The Immortal Cult acted swiftly, quickly packing their belongings and heading to Backup Outpost No. 5.

The cult leader peeked into the secret chamber and asked, "Immortal, shall I carry you, or will you walk by yourself?"

Immortal: "..."

What's with this feeling of uncertainty, like living day to day?