Black Mist

Qingxi circled the room, taking the opportunity to set up a simple spirit-gathering array. No sooner had she finished than she heard footsteps; turning back, she saw Dugu Yan.

"How was it?"

"Of course I agreed. It's like getting a granddaughter for free, don't you think, little sister?" Dugu Yan said with a cunning smile.

"Yes, yes, you've barely lived a few years and you're already trying to be my big sister. Between my two lifetimes, I'm over seven hundred years old," Qingxi retorted with a disdainful scoff.

"So, Master, you really are an old hag!" Dugu Yan's eyes widened; after all, her master rarely spoke of the past.

Had she not let it slip, she would never have known her master was so old.

"Seven hundred years is very young for a cultivator, you know. Besides, I was already at the Void Realm back then. If not for... I would have been immortal and indestructible. It's just that the lifespans in your world are too short. I've never seen a cultivation system like yours before."

"A fleeting life is like a flash in the pan—beautiful, yet brief. That is why mortals seek the path of immortality, purely for the power to transcend all things. That is the pursuit of eternal life..." As she spoke, Qingxi took a thick book from her storage bag. "I wrote this based on my memory. It contains the life stories of legendary figures from the Daoist Sect. Although most have fallen, their stories remain as brilliant as the galaxy. Don't just spend every day playing around."

"It's clearly you who likes to play, Master." Despite her words, Dugu Yan took the book. On the brown cover, the words History of the Daoist Sect I were written in elegant, delicate script.

"What is this?" She asked, opening the book with some confusion.

"Learn more. I have volumes two through nine here as well. Take advantage of the spirit-gathering array and cultivate properly. I'm going into seclusion; don't disturb me unless it's urgent." She waved her hand and walked toward her room.

Once inside, she took out the refined iron she had purchased during the day. A wisp of golden flame shimmered within her dantian before appearing in her palm, its scorching heat distorting the very air.

The flame enveloped the refined iron, tempering it and burning away all impurities until it melted into a black liquid. She controlled the intensity of the flame, using her spiritual sense to shape the liquid into the form she required.

She did not know how much time had passed, but after consuming more than half of her spiritual sense, a finger-long, cone-shaped mechanical sphere appeared before her.

It was hard to imagine that a hundred pounds of refined iron had been reduced to something no larger than a thumb. She took out a few high-quality spirit stones to temper, using them as the core of the mechanism.

Then, she channeled her own power into the spirit tool, imbuing it with its function.

Thus, a magical treasure capable of a peak strike from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was born.

"Interesting." Qingxi toyed with the conical sphere. Its seventy-two internal cores perfectly stored the power she had infused.

This was a hidden weapon, one of the mechanical creations of the Artificer Gate of the Immortal Sect. They were the most proficient sect in artifact refining, famous throughout the Immortal Realm for selling all manner of machinery.

Back then, Yanshi Gu had sought to borrow her power to complete a peerless weapon capable of killing cultivators at the Immortal Realm. Since completing such a mechanism often required cultivation stronger than the Immortal Realm itself, he had come to her.

And she, in turn, had learned a portion of the Artificer Gate's heritage.

Qingxi put the hidden weapon away, a look of exhaustion appearing on her face. The only difficulty with this forging technique was the massive consumption of spiritual sense.

In her sea of consciousness, a pale red lotus emitted a soft radiance, replenishing the spiritual power and mental energy she had expended.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes, and circulated the Chaos Art, drawing the surrounding spiritual energy toward her bit by bit.

The scene before her was filled with white mist. As she walked forward, a mountain peak shrouded in clouds and fog came into view.

The spiritual energy was abundant, filled with Strange Flowers and exotic herbs. A young girl sat obediently on a meditation cushion, listening to the old Daoist at the front preach and teach.

"Disciple, I ask you: you cultivate the Dao to become an immortal, but do you have an ideal?"

"Yes! I want to be like the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, and wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace!" The girl was high-spirited, her eyes filled with longing.

"Nonsense!!" The old man scolded, his ruler striking the girl on the head.

That was the first time she had been disciplined by her master.

Yet, even so, she later chose the Universe Staff.

Later, she saw with her own eyes that monkey pinned beneath the Five Elements Mountain, and she saw her master transform into an old man to offer a bowl of longevity noodles.

Only then did she realize that the famous Sun Wukong was also her master's disciple.

She hid it from her sect and traveled west with Tang Sanzang and the others, witnessing a trial of human nature, the taming of wild beasts...

"So, you are the anomaly that came from the East?" An ethereal voice suddenly echoed in her ears.

No!

A flash of coldness crossed Qingxi's eyes. The Universe Staff appeared in her hand, and she struck, shattering the memory before her. It splintered like glass, and when she looked again, there was only endless darkness and void.

In the void, a mass of black mist drifted in mid-air.

Strike first to gain the advantage!

Qingxi lunged at the black mist with her staff.

The black mist dissipated instantly, only to coalesce once more.

"Universe in Palm?" The voice within the black mist sounded slightly surprised.

"What are you?" Qingxi frowned deeply. The evil-breaking power of the Universe should have suppressed all malevolence, yet it had no effect on this mass of black mist.

"Take a guess?"

She did not answer. Raising her hand, a small wisp of golden flame appeared in her palm and she tossed it into the black mist. The mist ignited instantly and vanished completely, leaving only that wisp of golden flame, which Qingxi recalled back into her body.

"Chaos Fire? And Universe in Palm... are you Mingxin of the Daoist Sect?" The next second, a formation appeared and vanished. It had taken no more than a second, and the black mist reappeared.

"You know me?! You also come from Blue Star?" Qingxi looked at the reappearing black mist, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.

If she wasn't mistaken, the formation from just a moment ago was the Law of Time.

And 'Mingxin' was her dharma name in her sect, chosen in the hope that her heart would remain clear and bright throughout her life. She had never told anyone in this world.

Unless, this person had known her all along.

The Spirit Eye whirred into motion, targeting the black mist before her, but the fog was hollow and empty. There was not even a trace of life-force, merely a lingering remnant of a will.

"Hahahaha... The renowned Immortal Bone and Spirit Marrow, a dignified powerhouse of the Immortal Realm, reduced to this! It is Heaven's will that my life shall not end here!" A wild, arrogant laugh erupted from within the black mist.

"Mingxin, I know you wish to reach the Immortal Realm through cultivation and shatter the void to return to your homeland; I am the same. But I can tell you clearly: you will not make it across. You won't even be able to survive the Division of Spirit Tribulation."

"Absurd!" Qingxi pointed her staff at the black mist, her eyes cold and piercing.

"Do not disbelieve me. Our world's cultivation system is not recognized by the Heavenly Dao of this world. Look at this world—it has existed for ten thousand years, yet the people here only know of Soul Power?" The black mist circled her, unable to hold back a scoff, as if mocking the stupidity of the masses.

"The mortal realm has only existed for ten thousand years, yet a hundred schools of thought have blossomed. The Immortal Realm has existed for a million years, with countless sects and millions of Daoist techniques. But this world... it is stubborn and unyielding. I have been in this realm for a million years. My cultivation stopped at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. To survive the Immortal Tribulation, I even prepared a Flying Immortal Pill..." Within the black mist, there was an indescribable sense of dejection and despair.

"I failed, and then I was cut in two by the enforcers of this realm. My life and Dao were extinguished..."

"Why did you fail?" Qingxi watched him. To have reached such a level, he was clearly no ordinary person.

"If the Heavenly Dao wants me dead, it will want you dead too! I once tried to preach and impart my teachings, but in the end... they all died. Not a single one could survive the Division of Spirit Tribulation..."

The Heavenly Dao...

Qingxi's brows locked tight. Mortals cultivating to become immortals were already acting against the heavens, but the Heavenly Dao would never interfere in the affairs of the mortal realm.

"Since you sought me out, it couldn't just be to tell me these things, could it?"

"..." The black mist remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly: "I want to go home."

"I spent a long time searching for answers among mortals. The only disciple who survived the Division of Spirit stage came from this continent. He had 99 levels of Soul Power and barely survived the Division of Spirit stage, but it is a pity that he was a Soul Beast."

"I suspect that the difficulty of the Immortal Tribulation may be related to Soul Power. Of course, a Primordial-grade divine artifact would also be enough to contend with the Heavenly Dao."

"Are you trying to swindle me?" Qingxi's expression darkened. She did not actually want to cultivate a Martial Soul; after all, the cultivation of a Soul Master was simply incomparable to immortal cultivation.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A perfectly good Primordial-grade divine artifact reduced to this state—have you never wondered why its divinity is sealed away? I saw your Nascent Soul lightning tribulation; you were nearly struck to death. Guess what happens during the Division of Spirit stage... tsk, tsk, tsk, you'll be blasted into a firework!"

With a darkened face, she swung her staff toward the black mist, leaving only streaks of afterimages in her wake.

"Reach level one hundred in Soul Power, unlock all the seals of the Universe in Palm, and become a god at level one hundred. A Primordial-grade divine artifact to contend with the Heavenly Tribulation—it is the only chance of victory for both you and me."

"Heh! You are merely relying on the Law of Time to repair a lingering remnant? Deceitful nonsense!!"