"The sects' Secret Realms are why the Eight Sects stand unrivaled in the Mortal World, and the foundation of their power. Otherwise, compared with other branches and schools, they would merely have more techniques, longer histories, and a few more Treasures. As the River of Time surges on, all that would eventually wash away..."
In the Kunlun Secret Realm, amid clouds of immortal qi.
A long-haired man sat above the clouds, speaking with someone. "During the Campaign Against Zhou, several of my Senior Brothers fell into the Nine-Curve Formation. The Great River washed away the Three Flowers above their heads and the Five Qi within their chests. The Cause and Effect that bound them afterward laid the foundation for the sects of the Mortal World."
A voice came from across from him—
"Though those exalted immortals lost their Three Flowers and Five Qi, with their foundations, restoring their cultivation could hardly have been difficult."
The long-haired man chuckled. "Once the Five Qi in their chests and the Three Flowers above their heads were gone, they had no choice but to undergo Tribulation and cultivate anew. The Great Hua Secret Realm, for instance, evolved from the Peach Paradise Senior Brother Red Essence condensed during his renewed cultivation. It was a labor of love, but when he ascended Beyond the Mundane, he had to abandon it and return to his former Daoist sanctuary. Thus the Secret Realm remained in the mortal realm, and a sect arose from it."
He paused, then added, "The Kunlun orthodoxy remains in the lower world precisely because several of my Senior Brothers had their Three Flowers and Five Qi stripped away. Seeking the Dao once more among mortals, nearly all of them brought forth new Grotto-Heavens and Secret Realms. They left these behind when they departed the