Three Great Demon Cults
The appearance of the immortal being quickly attracted everyone's attention.
"Small face?"
Although the immortal immortal was only five days old, his face looked as if he only had five days left to live, and he couldn't be associated with the term "small face" at all.
"Are all immortals this humble?" Qiu Jin'an found it strange that the immortal was so reserved and ingratiating.
Qiu Jinan looked at Yun Zhi and could only attribute the reason to Yun Zhi scaring him and making him behave.
"Judging from his cultivation level, he doesn't seem to have reached the level of an immortal?" Among those present, apart from Yun Zhi, the abbot of the Hanging Temple had the highest cultivation level.
The abbot of the Hanging Temple used his divine eye to look the Immortal up and down, and found that his realm was not even that of an immortal, at most similar to his own, or even inferior.
Emperor Xia looked at the Immortal with hesitation, feeling as if he saw something familiar in the Immortal.
"Is this... the power of incense, of faith?"
The foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty was similar to incense offerings and beliefs, but it was a concept built upon these foundations. In the words of the Xia Emperor, this was called "the people's hearts."
Therefore, Emperor Xia had the clearest understanding of the origins of immortals. Other sect leaders saw some clues, but none of them saw as thoroughly as Emperor Xia.
"Could he be a new soul born from the thoughts of the Immortal Cult members?"
Yun Zhi nodded. "Yes, and it wasn't just him who was born this way; the prototype of his Dao Fruit was also born in this way."
"He has the rudiments of a Dao Fruit?!" Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
In the eyes of the Immortal Fairy, the nascent Dao Fruit was nothing but a worthless piece of trash, unworthy of being presented on the surface. That was because she herself was an immortal and the holder of the Immortal Dao Fruit.
The concept of Dao Fruit is almost equivalent to that of an immortal; it is a supreme treasure.
As an incomplete form of the Dao Fruit, the prototype of the Dao Fruit ranks only one level below the Supreme Treasure in terms of rarity. In High Antiquity times, it would have been enough to start a war that could destroy stars.
The golden, nascent form of the Dao Fruit was revealed before everyone, with the supreme rules concerning "immortality" within it constantly flickering and shattering.
The supreme rules of immortality are too profound. If one's will is not firm or one's level of understanding is insufficient, even a glance at them will affect one's mind and thus one's future path.
This is precisely why the Immortal Fairy wouldn't let Lu Yang see the nascent form of the Dao Fruit.
Everyone here is at least an invincible being in the Body Integration Realm, having already embarked on their own paths and will not be blinded by the supreme rules of immortality.
"This is the prototype of the Immortal Dao Fruit."
"The Immortal Dao Fruit?" No one knew of the existence of the Immortal Fairy.
From an outsider's perspective, the existence of the Immortal Fairy is an ultimate mystery of High Antiquity, a taboo, hidden in the dust of history, unknowable and untraceable. If the existence of the Immortal Fairy were exposed, a momentous event that would shock the ages would occur.
However, neither Lu Yang nor the Immortal Fairy had any concept of this.
Yun Zhi did not intend to reveal the matter of the Immortal Fairy. The people present were indeed reliable and trustworthy, and she was not worried about being overheard. However, if the Four Immortals of High Antiquity were determined to investigate, they could use extreme methods, such as soul searching on those present, and the secret of the Immortal Fairy would be impossible to keep.
Yun Zhi was unsure how High Antiquity Four Immortals would react after learning of the Immortal Fairy's resurrection.
She explained calmly, "Based on my speculation, the Immortal Dao Fruit, as the name suggests, allows one to achieve immortality."
"What is the difference between immortality and the longevity of immortals?" Emperor Xia asked.
As far as he knew, after becoming an immortal, one transcends the limitations of lifespan and does not die of old age; one achieves true immortality.
At the last meeting of the Five Great Immortal Sects, Yun Zhi introduced the method to resurrect immortals, Five Great Immortal Sects learned the meaning of immortality.
However, Emperor Xia was not invited to that meeting.
Yun Zhi said, "Immortals live forever, but they can still die in battle or be killed and cannot be resurrected. However, immortals who possess the Dao Fruit of Immortality can be resurrected on the spot as long as someone calls out their honorific title and true name, thus achieving true immortality."
In other words, as long as someone knows of this immortal's existence, the immortal will not die.
"If someone accidentally calls out the honorific title and the immortal's real name, the immortal can be resurrected."
Emperor Xia's pupils contracted sharply. As expected of a Dao Fruit capable of altering the rules of the world, this ability was truly domineering and unreasonable.
"This nascent form of the Immortal Dao Fruit was also created through the faith of the believers. Although it is not as mature as a Dao Fruit, it may mature given enough time."
The Sect Master of the Prison Suppression Sect frowned deeply. "So, it means that the Radiant Sun Sect, the Nine Nether Sect, and the Ruthless Sect might all have similar rudimentary forms of Dao Fruit?"
The Radiant Sun Sect, the Nine Netherworld Sect, and the Ruthless Sect are the other three major demonic sects.
The Radiant Sun Cult believes that the sun is the supreme being, the beginning and end of all things, containing the power to give birth to and end all things. Even the omnipresent Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi overflows from the sun.
The Nine Nether Sect believes that after death, the soul goes to a place called the Nine Nether, where it cleanses itself of its sins and is reincarnated to return to the human world.
The Ruthless Cult is the most unique. Although its members are all human, the mainstream of the cultivation world refers to them as "demons" and does not consider them to be human.
The Ruthless Cult believes that emotions are shackles imposed on living beings by God, limiting their potential. They advocate that living beings should break free of these shackles and strive for freedom, so as to maximize their potential.
Those who follow the Heartless Cult are people who have broken free of their shackles; they are ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
According to the captured cult member, when he broke free from the shackles of emotion, he felt a lightness in his body and the whole world became expansive.
Family, friends, lovers... none of these become factors that limit his spiritual practice; on the contrary, they become materials for his practice.
"The remaining three demonic sects may have the rudiments of Dao Fruit, but this is just my speculation and may not be true."
Yun Zhi cannot guarantee that her speculations are correct. For example, when she discussed the purpose of the Immortal Sect with Daoyan Shangren of the Tian Ce Sect, Daoyan Shangren's speculation was closer to the truth, while Yun Zhi's speculation was less accurate.
"In short, the Immortal Cult has been eradicated. Fortunately, the problem was exposed in time, allowing us to gain a new understanding of the other three demonic cults," Emperor Xia concluded.
Then, Emperor Xia proposed a series of countermeasures to strengthen the fight against the Demonic Sect, which drew frequent nods of approval from the leaders of the Five Great Immortal Sects.
Emperor Xia was most skilled in this area.
Before the meeting ended, Yun Zhi mentioned it again.
"After Your Majesty and the others have finished interrogating the Immortal Sect's leader and deputy leader and have gathered all the intelligence, could you hand them over to the Ask Dao Sect for processing?"
Emperor Xia was taken aback, then nodded. Strictly speaking, the entire Immortal Sect was Yun Zhi's spoils of war, but she didn't want it and gave it to the Great Xia Dynasty. Of course, she could take it away whenever she wanted.
"May I ask one more question? What do you need these two for, Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi?"
"The sect needs a slaughterhouse."
"Um?"