Primordial World, Eastern Sea, Ningzhen Island.
On the island, towering peaks rose above flying waterfalls and flowing springs. Spiritual energy gathered into mist, and sunlight shone down, casting a rainbow across the mountains.
Above a lake filled with blooming lotuses, a handsome young Daoist with a face as flawless as jade and refined features sat cross-legged atop a lotus.
The young man wore a Plain Daoist Robe, its fabric as light and thin as a cicada's wing. Runes flowed across its surface; at a glance, it was clearly an Immortal Treasure.
His eyes were closed, his mind detached from the world. A vast vortex enveloped him as the Five Elements Qi of heaven and earth entered his body in the formation of the five directions and five elements.
Suddenly, a black chain appeared above his head, binding his body tightly. Its other end disappeared into the void.
This chain was the shackle of his Lifespan, originating from the Book of Life and Death.
Ever since the Six Paths of Reincarnation had been established, beings below the Golden Immortal Realm had been subject to a fixed lifespan. The Book of Life and Death was the treasure that determined its limits.
Although the young man was a Disciple of the Sect of Interception and had been fortunate enough to obtain a Sage's Dao Method, he had yet to become a Golden Immortal. He could enjoy only 129,600 years of life.
Suddenly, brilliant light burst from his body, and an aura of immortality spread around him. Under its radiance, the black chain flickered several times before shattering completely.
He had broken through to the Golden Immortal Realm!
The strange phenomena around him gradually faded. He slowly opened his eyes, their depths flashing with brilliance.
"After fifty thousand years of cultivation, I've finally reached the Golden Immortal Realm. From now on, I won't need to take risks. As a Saint Disciple, only my Lifespan or a great calamity can bring about my death."
At last, a satisfied smile appeared on Fang Yang's face.
Ever since he had transmigrated to the Primordial World and become one of the Human Clan living overseas, he had kept himself on edge.
If he had never seen a chance at immortality, he would have gladly lived out his natural lifespan. But now that he had obtained a token to the path of eternal life, he had no choice but to strive for it.
Fortunately, he was a Disciple of the Sect of Interception, and he had also received the opportunity Sect Master Tongtian had left in the Eastern Sea.
An opportunity laid out by a Sage could turn the fortunes of any living being in the Primordial World.
Fang Yang had indeed turned his fortunes around. After obtaining that opportunity, he had joined the Interception Sect and become a Saint Disciple.
No matter how low his cultivation was, and no matter that before he began cultivating he had been no more than an islander in the Eastern Sea, the moment the label of Saint Disciple was stamped on him, his status became extraordinarily exalted.
Fang Yang turned his right hand over, and a Jade Scroll appeared in his palm. Lightning flickered across it, illuminating the five characters "Shangqing Divine Firmament Art."
This Jade Scroll marked the beginning of Fang Yang's path to immortality.
Back then, Fang Yang had been nothing more than a mortal. While chopping wood in the mountains, he had encountered a mudslide. In his panic, he had fled into a cave.
Inside, he had found the Shangqing Divine Firmament Art and an Immortal Pill. Trapped in the cave by the mudslide, he had swallowed the pill without hesitation.
Who would dare use the word "Shangqing" recklessly?
The past is like smoke. If I hadn't entered that cave, I'd have gone through who knows how many reincarnations by now. Perhaps in one of my lives, Demons would have refined me into a Heavenly Demon Banner and used me as fuel for their cultivation.
To mortals, the Primordial World was unquestionably a perilous place.
The tribe Fang Yang had come from had fled overseas to escape the slaughter of the Wu and Yao. According to the tribe's elders, they had set out with a hundred thousand people, but only a thousand had reached the islands.
Buoyed by the clouds, Fang Yang rose slowly. When he reached midair, he stood upright, stepped through the void, and left the lake behind.
Now that he had broken through to the Golden Immortal Realm, it was time to visit Mount Emei Luofu Cave, pay his respects to Zhao Gongming, and claim his breakthrough reward.
In the Sage sects, immortals who had not attained eternal life did not count as true immortals; they were merely half-immortals. The Interception Sect offered generous rewards to every Disciple who broke through to the Golden Immortal Realm.
The rewards might be a powerful divine ability or a Houtian Spiritual Treasure refined by a great figure of the sect, such as Daoist Duobao. They were all things the Disciples could only dream of obtaining.
Fang Yang was an Outer Disciple, and Zhao Gongming oversaw all Outer Disciple affairs.
Zhao Gongming was the strongest backer among the Outer Disciples, but Fang Yang had no intention of cozying up to him.
He was a nobody in the Interception Sect. No one paid attention to him, much less targeted him, so he could simply stay at his sanctuary and cultivate in secret, quietly building up his strength.
If he went looking for a powerful backer, he might get dragged into the sect's factional struggles.
Fang Yang couldn't be sure whether undercurrents ran through the Interception Sect, but even the slightest chance was enough to make him unwilling to take the risk.
When it came to cultivation, Fang Yang was happy to take his time.
He had already lived an extra eighty thousand years. Even if he died that very day, he would have come out ahead. As for the future, he would take what he could get and wouldn't force anything that failed to work out.
He had never intended to change the Battle of the Investiture of the Gods.
Opposing the Heavenly Mandate and turning against the whole world were matters for great figures like Sect Master Tongtian and Daoist Duobao to consider. A nobody like him only needed to protect himself and avoid causing trouble for the Interception Sect.
He planned to join the Heavenly Court ahead of time and attain godhood through his physical body. Once the Investiture of the Gods was over, he would bring out the Interception Sect's Dao Methods to help preserve the sect's legacy.
Fang Yang tapped his toes, and his figure instantly vanished into the void. Like a fish, he swam freely through the Space-Time Universe. With one burst of speed, he left Ningzhen Island and arrived a million miles away.
What he was using was the Interception Sect's secret Nine Heavens Ten Earths Divine Roaming Technique. It allowed him to merge with heaven and earth and become one with them. Its mysteries had much in common with the Sect of Enlightenment's Great Technique of Earth-Traveling Golden Light.
Beyond the shores, the sky stretched high above an endless sea. The ocean went on without end, its vastness impossible to measure.
The seas brimmed with spiritual energy, and countless Sea Monsters and demonic beasts dwelled there. Colossal creatures swam leisurely through the depths, occasionally churning up great waves, while swarms of demonic beasts stirred up enormous ocean storms.
After racing onward for eight years, Fang Yang finally spotted the coastline with his Divine Sense.
"Beyond that lies the Great Desolation Continent. Now that I think about it, I've never set foot on the Great Desolation Continent!"
Knowing his cultivation was inadequate, Fang Yang had always kept to himself and avoided getting entangled in disputes and Karma. With all the rival powers on the Great Desolation Continent and its tangled mix of forces, he had never planned to go there before becoming a Golden Immortal.
Now, however, things were different.
A Golden Immortal might not count as a great figure, but with his status as a Disciple of the Sect of Interception, he could travel the world without trouble. He wasn't so conceited as to think Sage Zhunti would take an interest in him and try to bring him to the West.
Just as he was about to enter the Great Desolation Continent, a sudden intuition stirred within him. He sensed that an opportunity was waiting for him.
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