Immortals Descend to the Mortal World

The specifics of that catastrophe were widely debated.

Some said it was the wrath of an Immortal, causing rivers of blood and bodies to pile up like logs.

With a mere wave of a hand, seventy percent of the world's Martial Path experts vanished!

Others claimed that several Grandmasters launched a surprise attack, catching the Immortal Master off guard and even injuring them. However, the Immortal Master eventually produced a treasure resembling yellow paper, which was used to eliminate the many Martial Path experts.

Still others said that if not for the Imperial Family's guards, the Immortal Master might have perished.

Even Chen Xiaosheng and Su Jishi's accounts, told along the way, differed drastically, making it impossible for Li Ji'an to ascertain the truth.

However, the final outcome was consistent: nearly half of the world's Martial Artists were gone.

This included their sects, families, and friends... entire clans were annihilated, with methods so cruel that besides the main culprits who were encased in molten iron to be eternally sculpted beneath the Immortal Master's feet as atonement, the rest suffered dismemberment by a thousand cuts, being torn apart by five horses, boiled, or branded with hot irons... every conceivable torture was employed.

From that point on, everyone in the world accepted that the only path to the Immortal Realm was to become an Immortal Seed.

While Li Ji'an paid his respects to the Immortal Master, he also silently mourned the many Martial Path predecessors in his heart.

He should be grateful to them. If they hadn't paved the way, Li Ji'an would have spent many more lifetimes exploring and searching for other possibilities.

And each extra lifetime spent would carry considerable risk for him.

After completing his registration, Li Ji'an had no desire to wander the Imperial City, heading straight back to his quarters.

His third-place ranking in Chong'an Prefecture was practically at the bottom in the Immortal Palace.

Furthermore, this place gathered talents from across the land. Besides reserve Immortal Seeds like himself who only arrived upon receiving their Immortal Scrolls, there were many prodigies cultivated from childhood, Martial Path geniuses gathered from all regions like fish in a school. As land in the Imperial City was extremely valuable, his assigned dormitory was a small courtyard shared by four people, smaller even than the private courtyard he had in Chong'an Prefecture.

His assigned dormitory was located in a corner of the Immortal Palace's residential area. The other three occupants were not from this batch of reserve Immortal Seeds. Fortunately, the four rooms in the small courtyard were independent, and sharing only the small courtyard meant they wouldn't disturb each other too much.

With his living situation settled, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

It had to be said that the Immortal Palace's resource allocation was truly generous. The flesh and blood of Spirit Beasts, which required connections to obtain in Chong'an Prefecture, were supplied almost without limit.

Even some Immortal Pills and Divine Medicines, rarely seen in Chong'an Prefecture, were awarded selectively as incentives.

Among them, he even saw the "Marrow Cleansing Pill" that he had dreamed of for his next life.

This greatly boosted Li Ji'an's motivation.

Two months later, all the Immortal Seeds gathered, and they saw the Ning Yutan sisters again.

And they learned a major piece of news: two Immortal Seeds from this batch had died – the prodigy from the Wang Family, a Grandmaster family, and the talented son of the Prefectural Governor of Qiongzhou Prefecture.

The Wang Family encountered two unknown Grandmasters who intercepted them. The Wang Family's ancestor was held back, and the Immortal Seed was assassinated.

As for the Prefectural Governor of Qiongzhou Prefecture's entourage, including the escorts from the Immortal Palace and fellow reserve Immortal Seeds, no one survived!

The Emperor was enraged, issuing three Imperial Decrees to the world, denouncing the culprits on behalf of the Immortals, vowing to capture the ringleaders and execute them, and ordering the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Censorate, along with the Shadow Guard, to lead the troops, digging three feet into the ground if necessary to find the culprits.

This news sent a chill down Li Ji'an's spine. If the perpetrators had not underestimated their opponents, Duke Dingguo's entourage would likely have met a grim fate as well.

He made up his mind to try his best to start from the Imperial City, or even directly from the Immortal Palace, in his next life.

Besides worrying about being intercepted halfway after finally achieving the status of an Immortal Seed in his next life, there was another reason stemming from the other piece of news – Prince Yun's entourage encountered no interception!

With such an open scheme revealed, regardless of Prince Yun's original intentions, the most powerful of the Vassal Lords, Prince Yun, and the current Emperor would inevitably become hostile towards each other, leading to a fight to the death.

The unrest in the world was evident. The only ones who might not be affected were the Immortals, whom both sides sought to appease, and the Immortal Seeking Palace built for them.

"Do all class struggles eventually devolve into internal strife?" Li Ji'an shook his head slightly, showing little interest in the affairs of the mortal world.

As one of the remaining eight Immortal Seeds about to meet the Immortal Master and accompany them to the Immortal Realm, Ning Yutan held an extremely high status within the Immortal Palace.

Even the Chief Steward of the Immortal Seeking Palace, the renowned third-ranked Grandmaster on the Grandmaster Ranking, Eunuch Mo, treated Ning Yutan with great respect.

Furthermore, due to her captivating beauty, lively and generous demeanor, and highly intelligent personality, she was highly sought after by the other five male Immortal Seeds.

There were even rumors that the seventeen-year-old prodigy, ranked first in talent for this batch, had declared that upon reaching the Immortal Realm, he would seek to become Ning Yutan's Cultivation Partner.

"Brother Li, they are so annoying. I just want to spend some quiet time with you now and don't want anyone to disturb us." Ning Yutan complained first, then glanced at Ning Sujin inside the room and said with a hint of coquetry.

"Absolutely not!" Li Ji'an refused immediately.

The three of them, being from the same hometown in Chong'an Prefecture, gathering together was understandable.

If it were just the two of them alone in a room, it would be difficult to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Especially that Young Prodigy, who had achieved success at a young age and was currently arrogant. His temperament was not yet mature, and if he were instigated by someone with ulterior motives, using his impending Ascension and status as a pretext to target him would not be worth it.

Since two of the ten Immortal Seeds chosen by the Immortal were missing, two more needed to be selected from the remaining reserve Immortal Seeds.

Across the land, no one dared to attack the reserve Immortal Seeds who had already entered the Immortal Palace, except for the eight Immortal Seeds themselves.

Therefore, at this very moment, these reserve Immortal Seeds were all secretly exerting themselves, competing with each other. There would undoubtedly be those who wished for only him and one other reserve Immortal Seed to remain, a possibility that had to be guarded against.

"Why?" Ning Yutan saw that Ning Sujin had not yet retorted, and Li Ji'an had so decisively objected. Her eyes immediately turned red, appearing quite wronged.

"You idiot, are you trying to get Ji'an killed?" Before Li Ji'an could speak, Ning Sujin cursed first.

Ning Yutan's eyes darted, and she suddenly understood. She sniffled and said aggrievedly, "Brother Li, I'm sorry. It's just that I cherish my time alone with you so much that I wasn't thinking clearly."

Dealing with intelligent people was indeed easier, and it saved Li Ji'an the trouble of finding an excuse.

"Brother Li, don't worry. When I go to the Immortal Realm, I will definitely wait for you. I believe in ten years, we will be reunited." Ning Yutan then disregarded Ning Sujin, or perhaps she was acting for Ning Sujin's benefit all along, frequently becoming emotional.

Instead, Ning Sujin remained silent, not saying a word, nor disturbing them.

It wasn't until Ning Yutan mentioned she had already pleaded with her father and that the Duke Dingguo's estate would heavily fund Li Ji'an that Ning Sujin finally couldn't help but say, "Idiot, the Duke's estate is in precarious straits right now, and its future is uncertain. How can it possibly have the energy to fund us?"

"You're talking nonsense! I'm about to go to the Immortal Realm, and His Majesty also highly esteems my father. The Duke's estate will surely prosper!" Ning Yutan disagreed with Ning Sujin's words.

"Hmph! Short-sighted fool. His Majesty appointed your father as the Imperial Envoy to investigate Prince Yun's estate. Do you think His Majesty merely distrusts Prince Yun's estate?"

"Don't forget, out of this batch of four foreign Immortal Seeds, only Prince Yun's estate and yours are unharmed," Ning Sujin sneered.

"This... you mean His Majesty also suspects our Duke's estate... No, we also suffered an assassination attempt, unlike Prince Yun's estate." Ning Yutan was rather naive on this point.

Ning Sujin looked at Ning Yutan as if she were mentally challenged, "Some things don't require looking at the process, only the results!"

"You..."

"Dong! Dong! Dong..." Just as Ning Yutan was about to retort, the magnificent sound of bells suddenly echoed from outside, deafeningly loud!

"Nine Bell Chimes?"

"An Immortal descends to the mortal world!"