[I'm Here, I've Always Been Here] (Second Update, Please Keep Reading)

The human body held endless mysteries. If cultivators did not wish to remain trapped in the Sea of Bitterness and wanted to explore the other secret realms within the human body, they had to strengthen their Sea of Bitterness.

Only by cultivating a Heavenly Vein, spanning above the Sea of Bitterness and leading to the Other Shore, could one lay the foundation for escaping this predicament. This was the Divine Bridge Realm, an extremely crucial checkpoint.

But as the Heavenly Vein grew and stretched across the void, where exactly did it have to extend to reach the Other Shore? Some spent their entire lives unable to see through illusion, trapped at this end of the Divine Bridge and unable to cross the Sea of Bitterness. This was the calamity of losing one's way.

At its worst, one's five senses could be stripped away, spiritual perception completely lost, turning one into a useless shell without knowledge or feeling. It was terrifying beyond measure.

When most cultivators condensed a Heavenly Vein and attempted to break through to the Divine Bridge, mist would block their path. It was relatively mild at first, but when they sought to reach the Other Shore, it became incomparably severe. This was not merely cultivation of one's realm, but a journey of questioning one's heart. Both body and mind would be tempered.

Throughout this process, the flesh and spirit ascended together. Only when spirit and shell became one, breaking through restraints and transcending oneself, could one return to the origin, find the root, and make the Divine Bridge arrive like a rainbow, forcefully crossing the Sea of Bitterness. This was the fourth realm of the Sea of Bitterness Volume—the Other Shore!

"Calamity of losing one's way, questioning the Dao heart... This touches upon cultivation in the Divine Bridge Realm. So my Dao heart has already reached the Divine Bridge, and I've touched the threshold of that realm?"

Lin Xian fell into thought. His heart grew firmer, and he became increasingly certain of his path.

He had come from the mortal world and would journey to the Immortal Realm.

This was called: a mortal cultivating immortality.

It was both his advantage and his disadvantage.

In this Golden Great Era, kings of every race rose together, yet few could break the shackles of their constitutions and charge into the higher Sage Realm.

The same was true for even more advanced constitutions. It was merely that the bottlenecks they faced were the higher Great Saint Realm and the Quasi-Emperor Heavenly Pass.

It was a watershed that blocked ninety-nine percent of all constitutions in the world.

That was why rumors existed throughout the universe.

After entering the Great Saint Realm, neither constitution nor bloodline was the most important thing anymore. Who among those capable of reaching that step was ordinary? Every one of them possessed something extraordinary!

There was no strongest law, nor was there a supreme constitution. There were only the strongest people.

To break into the Quasi-Emperor Realm, one could only rely on oneself.

Rely on oneself—rely on what, exactly?

As Lin Xian pondered deeply, something suddenly stirred in his heart, and he recalled a saying.

[It has been passed down since ancient times that the Mortal Body is the foundation.]

Then what was the foundation?

System 10086 assisted him once more, like an external optical brain, providing a deduction.

The Mortal Body was the foundation, not the strongest!

The foundation was not combat power, but realm.

Combat power was water, while realm was a bucket. Only by enlarging the bucket could one hold more water.

Before the Emperor Pass, the kings of all races dimmed into insignificance. Only a handful of top-tier constitutions could continue onward, and it was precisely at this stage that the Mortal Body began to reveal its true strength.

While the Emperor's sons still agonized over the confinement of their fathers' Emperor laws, and while Sacred Bodies and Overlord Bodies despaired over failing to cross the Emperor Tribulation, Mortal Bodies were already advancing triumphantly. Their cultivation speed was astonishingly fast, allowing them to pluck the fruit of attaining the Dao.

On the path to attaining the Dao, one step ahead meant every step ahead.

If the Chaotic Body was ten thousand, able to resonate with all Daos, then the Mortal Body was one, able to bear every Great Dao.

The Mortal Body was weak and had nothing to rely upon, but it also had no restraints or shackles that needed to be cut away. It could bear all Daos in the shortest time and attain the Dao to become an Emperor.

The Emperor's throne was unique. Once a Mortal Body attained the Dao, it would become a Great Emperor.

A Great Emperor's invincibility was no empty claim. Even an unfulfilled Chaotic Body had fallen at the hands of a Celestial Venerable, let alone other constitutions that had yet to attain the Dao.

This was the path of the Mortal Body—using realm to crush others!

"In this lifetime, I am not an immortal." Lin Xian smiled faintly, his Dao heart completely enlightened. His theory was flawless.

In this lifetime, he was destined to be ordinary. Everything he did was only to charge with all his might into the Great Saint Realm, then burn a dazzling immortal flower amid splendor, undergo Ultimate Sublimation, and touch that forbidden domain of turning mortal into immortal.

The path of the Quasi-Emperor was when the Mortal Body truly shone.

The mist before him completely dispersed. Lin Xian was still Lin Xian, but that transcendent air about him had receded considerably. He drew closer to the ordinary and became ever more simple and true.

"Not an immortal..." Xu Xiang panted, feeling his breathing grow smoother and his complexion turn rosy. Realizing that he had reached the final stage of a deathbed revival, his expression became peaceful. "But I think you are an immortal."

"Why?" Lin Xian asked, puzzled yet somewhat curious. "Did Xu San and Xu Si tell you?"

Xu Xiang did not answer. He merely asked, "You know Awu's identity, so you should be able to guess that her appearance does not change and that she possesses Immortality."

"Yes, I know." Lin Xian nodded, then his expression went blank, his eyes as tranquil as a lake.

What was so remarkable about Immortality? Just a few days ago, he had even met Feng Baobao in her Ultimate Sublimation form—the Ruthless Emperor.

"That is Immortality." Xu Xiang sighed. "How could an ordinary person remain so calm upon hearing of Immortality? Back then, those Inhumans went mad over the Immortal Secret."

"Is it possible that I simply have noble character?" Lin Xian smiled teasingly without so much as blushing. "Not everyone seeks Immortality. Some cultivators only seek peace of mind. What they seek differs, and so do the paths they walk."

"Where we meet, one is either immortal or sage, sitting quietly to discuss the Huangting Scripture." Xu Xiang recited it twice, then smiled in relief. "Indeed, indeed. No wonder President Zhao said you were not the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. You were the Bodhi Patriarch."

"President Zhao?" Lin Xian raised his head toward the window. Hearing the whir of helicopter rotors, he could not help muttering, "He got here fast."

"No."

An aged voice suddenly rang out in the room. Beneath the bedding on Xu Xiang's hospital bed, a phone vibrated as it spoke. "I'm here. I've always been here."

The blanket was lifted, and the screen lit up. It was the phone number of Zhao Fangxu, chairman of Nadutong.

"You were here. Why didn't you say anything?"

Lin Xian's face darkened. This truly had been a waste of his time and feelings.

"If an immortal has not asked, how would a mortal dare speak first?"

Voices sounded simultaneously from outside the door and from the bed. A white-haired old man who looked kind and approachable yet carried an imposing presence walked in, followed by the two brothers Xu San and Xu Si, as well as a team of Inhumans moving in orderly formation.

"Baobao..." The Xu brothers immediately grew anxious at the sight of Feng Baobao and were about to rush inside.

However, Zhao Fangxu stopped them. He waved a hand and said, "You do not have the authority to hear what comes next. Go guard the door."

"No authority?" Xu Si's expression changed. He was a regional chief; even the directors' secrets were not entirely beyond his access. Yet now, he did not have the authority.

What exactly had happened to Baobao?

Under Zhao Fangxu's solemn gaze, heavily armed Inhumans took over the hospital room and formed the first line of defense. Though it was only one line, it was as impregnable as gold and stone.

In this world, firearms were not frightening, nor were Inhumans. But Inhumans who knew how to use firearms were terrifying.

In the entire Inhuman World, only Nadutong possessed such authority.