The Nine Heavens...
Within a grove of purple bamboo, all was peaceful and serene. The crystalline stalks gave off a thin, swirling purple mist, and the breeze occasionally stirred a rustling sound, pleasant to the ear!
A murmuring stream flowed past a Dao platform within the grove, where two people sat cross-legged, one old and one young.
The elder had white hair and wore hemp robes, looking very advanced in years. The younger man was handsome in white, appearing to be in his twenties. His vital energy surged mightily, and he looked like an exiled immortal walking the world, someone who did not belong to the mortal realm.
They sat facing each other, sipping tea and discussing the Dao in quiet voices. Golden lotuses occasionally carpeted the ground, and wondrous phenomena appeared one after another.
The two seemed to exist as one with heaven and earth, every movement carrying an ineffable resonance of the Dao, breathtaking to behold!
"Must you do this? Aren't you rushing things?" Brilliant light filled the elder's eyes, and he was visibly moved.
"Old Meng, you should know we have no time left. That realm is about to attack. Without immortal-level fighting strength, how can we hold them off?" the young man said with a hint of urgency, gazing into the distance through countless galaxies.
He saw a city that had endured since antiquity, wreathed in chaotic mist. With stars as its foundations, it towered into the clouds, magnificent and immense. Any living creature seemed tiny before it, no more than a speck of dust.
Beyond that city lay a vast, boundless desert. Deep within it, demonic clouds mingled with immortal mist, like yin and yang embracing, forming an abyss that no gaze could penetrate.
Yet a demonic force dwelled there, capable of devouring anything, even stars. It was terrifying!
"With your talent, you should wait a little longer. That would be safer!" Meng Tianzheng looked at him with admiration and respect. To reach the point of becoming an immortal through an alternative path in a little over a hundred thousand years was truly extraordinary.
He had shattered every record for cultivation speed, becoming a Supreme before the age of five hundred and shaking the world. Moreover, he had successfully walked the path Meng Tianzheng himself had failed to complete—Body-as-a-Seed.
He had risen with a triumphant song, advancing boldly and unstoppably, subduing immortal orthodoxies and shattering immortal artifacts with his bare hands. Unrivaled throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a rarity across the ages, he had been honored as the "Sage Emperor."
One could imagine how powerful a man had to be to bear the title of emperor. Defying heaven, utterly unmatched, he reigned supreme beneath the firmament.
Meng Tianzheng did not want to see him take this risk. Becoming an immortal was far too difficult. Since the Immortal Ancient era, not a single person in the Primordial Ancient Realm had succeeded. All had fallen on the road to immortality.
They were both teacher and student, and friends. If the Sage Emperor failed and perished, it would be an enormous loss to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
"If we don't erupt in desperation, we perish in desperation. Rather than die in the future, I'd rather stake everything now!" Lin Tianfan declared with unwavering resolve, his heart set.
He was not originally from this world. Ever since he had transmigrated here over a hundred thousand years ago, he had clawed and struggled his way forward, eventually becoming an Ultimate Supreme.
Although his cultivation was already enough to make countless people of this age look up to him, he knew it was nowhere near sufficient.
An Ultimate Supreme merely stood at the pinnacle of the mortal Dao. Above that lay immortals and Immortal Kings.
And soon, the Foreign Realm would attack the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. His meager cultivation would not be enough to face it.
Even the future Desolate Heaven Emperor would not be born for another few years. Where was the time for him to grow?
Now, staking everything on a sliver of a chance to become an immortal was the only hope of survival once the age of turmoil arrived.
"Then... what can I do to help you?" Meng Tianzheng sighed, knowing that once the other man made a decision, changing it was nearly impossible.
"I know you intend to establish an academy to nurture the younger generation. I'll leave my path and methods here.
If I succeed, I'll open up a new cultivation system. If I fail, I hope someone can inherit the path I leave unfinished. Consider it a little support for your academy!" Lin Tianfan's long black hair fluttered, and he carried the tragic grandeur of a man departing never to return.
The wind keened, the Yi River ran cold; a warrior departed, never to return!
"Very well!" Meng Tianzheng agreed solemnly. He understood Lin Tianfan's desire to create a new system. For now, it was only an embryonic form, not yet truly brought into the world, and others could not learn it.
For a new cultivation system to emerge, it had to gain the recognition of heaven and earth and endure the test of lightning tribulation. Otherwise, it was merely a pavilion suspended in the air, flowers in a mirror and the moon upon water.
"By the way, do you think I should clean out those turncoats in the Nine Heavens before I attempt immortality?" Lin Tianfan suddenly asked with a smile, his peculiar expression carrying a touch of impishness.
He knew much of what would happen in the future, which was why he brought it up.
Besides, the Jin Family, Wang Family, Feng Family, and others had all been at odds with him, making things difficult for him at every turn when he first came to the Nine Heavens.
Later, as he rose with overwhelming might, those powers had come to his door to reconcile, paying an enormous price. But he still remembered that in the future, they would be nothing but cowards who clung to life and feared death-classic reeds swaying whichever way the wind blew.
At moments of life-and-death peril, they contributed neither merit nor effort. Their whole bodies seemed to consist of nothing but a mouth, and sometimes they even stabbed others in the back.
"Don't... that would cause a terrible upheaval. The entire Nine Heavens would descend into chaos. As long as they haven't openly defected, we'll still need them in the future!" Meng Tianzheng hurriedly stopped him, afraid he might actually do it.
He knew very well that Lin Tianfan was not merely talking. This man had been ruthlessly fierce in his youth, staining his path with countless lives. Before being called the Sage Emperor, he had borne the title of Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor, cultivating through devouring all along the way. People feared him, ghosts dreaded him, and even the gods withdrew.
More than one Supreme had died at his hands. He had even refined a Human Emperor Banner, making death itself difficult to obtain. The primordial spirits of those he killed had to enter the banner, forced to serve him for lifetime after lifetime, forever denied release.
Had he not been gravely wounded and left near death while fighting in the Uninhabited Zone, then reborn through nirvana, transforming his demonic embryo into an immortal embryo and tempering his disposition before founding the Sacred Emperor Palace to rule hundreds of millions of miles of territory, who knew how many more powerful cultivators would have died at his hands?
"Then forget it. If I become an immortal, I can sweep everything aside. If I fail, the contingencies I leave behind will keep them from stirring up any waves." Lin Tianfan spoke casually, not particularly concerned. It had only been a suggestion, and he understood Old Meng's worries.
Meng Tianzheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly feared that Lin Tianfan might do something uncontrollable and plunge the already precarious Nine Heavens and Ten Earths into crisis.
"All right, Old Meng, it's time I left. If a young man named Huang comes here someday, look after him a little. Perhaps he can also succeed in using Body-as-a-Seed."
After leaving his legacy behind, Lin Tianfan waved goodbye to his old friend and departed the Purple Bamboo Forest with easy grace.
"Huang..." Meng Tianzheng murmured, committing the name to memory. He knew Lin Tianfan would not have mentioned it without reason.
"Three bodies as one! Today, I shall attain the Dao and become an immortal!" A shout rang through the cold universe as three identical men shone with radiance and gathered together.
These were Lin Tianfan's three bodies of essence, energy, and spirit. Each possessed the strength of an Ultimate Supreme, incomparably powerful, roaming the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths without an equal.
In the past, to accelerate his transformation, accumulate strength, and approach the power of a Mortal World Immortal, he had cultivated a great method passed down from the Immortal Ancient era. He had split himself into three, then cultivated each body back to the utmost pinnacle of the mortal Dao, all for this moment.
The current age had not yet entered the age of declining Dharma. There was ample longevity substance, and Supremes could live for over a million years. He could not transform over lifetime after lifetime, nor did he have enough time for such transformations. He could only use this method.
Boom!
The three bodies merged into one, erupting with dazzling light. Lin Tianfan's crystalline black hair turned pale gold in that instant, and terrifying divine power shook the starry universe.
At that moment, the resulting fluctuations were beyond compare. Beneath that firmament, stars fell, great celestial bodies burned, and plummeted downward.
The sight was stunning and astonishing. One crimson star after another burned away and exploded, enormous meteorites blanketing the sky in every direction.
Lin Tianfan resembled a battle immortal, his body shrouded in immortal light. Auspicious radiance filled the heavens, and towering light surged upward, dimming every star field.
"What... is that?!"
Countless people were shaken. Beings throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and the great forbidden zones were startled awake, opening their eyes to gaze toward that star field, where the Sage Emperor stood.
"The light of immortality, illuminating antiquity and blazing through the present!"
"Someone is attempting to become an immortal!"
"How is that possible? Who could become an immortal in this age? Even astonishing geniuses like Ye Qianyu and Mo Wudao failed, their bodies dead and their Daos extinguished."
Many cultivators cried out in astonishment, discussing it fervently as they witnessed this moment. Some could scarcely believe it, convinced that this man would follow his predecessors to the same fate.
"You must succeed!" Meng Tianzheng sighed, gazing into the distance. He dearly hoped Lin Tianfan could survive this safely. It was far too important to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Had his own Dao fruit not still been immature and gestating, he would have wished to take Lin Tianfan's place, rather than let him attempt to attain the immortal Dao fruit so early.
Szzzt!
Beams of immortal light blossomed deep within the universe. A rain of light scattered, illuminating all heaven and earth. The world seemed eternal, dazzling and awe-inspiring!
Sweet dew descended from the chaos, divine springs welled up, and golden lotuses bloomed. All manner of rarely seen phenomena appeared, rendering all heaven and earth sacred and inviolable.
For a time, every race was shaken, and the whole world erupted in clamorous excitement!
Rumble!
Thunder rolled through heaven and earth, accompanied by swirling immortal energy. In an instant, it engulfed that stretch of starry sky, packed so densely that it seemed endless.
This was an immortal Dao lightning tribulation. Its lightning was unimaginably terrifying. Even across countless star fields, it made hearts quail and courage falter.
Crack!
In mere moments, that star field was destroyed, vanishing completely.
Fortunately, Lin Tianfan had chosen the Uninhabited Zone for his tribulation. Otherwise, hundreds of millions of miles would have turned to dust, and countless living beings would have perished. That lightning was too terrifying.
His lightning tribulation was far from ordinary, fiercer even than the ones recorded in the Bone Scripture. This tribulation of immortality surpassed the heavenly tribulation an ordinary true immortal should have faced. It was far more dreadful.
"Kill!"
Lin Tianfan roared, doing everything in his power to resist the terrifying tribulation of immortality. At the same time, a Three-Legged Golden Cauldron surging with Chaos Qi bathed in the sea of lightning alongside him.
This was his artifact, transforming into an immortal artifact, its clear immortal light shining brilliantly.
Countless bolts of immortal Dao lightning struck down like a great river pouring from the heavens, battering Lin Tianfan like pillars of surging water. His skin split and his flesh tore, blood spilling across the vast sky.
Even his primordial spirit came under attack, nearly cleaved in two.
Activating a secret art, Lin Tianfan immediately healed his injuries, repeating this process over and over. Each time his flesh reformed, his body grew stronger, as though undergoing transformation after transformation until he finally attained the immortal Dao fruit.
"The Immortal-Slaying Executioner's Blade!"
An executioner's blade bearing crimson, bloody light appeared within the sea of lightning. Cold gleams flickered along its peerless edge, and it exuded an intensely dangerous aura that chilled Lin Tianfan's back and raised gooseflesh as he faced his tribulation.
The blade descended from the vault of heaven, out of the sea of lightning, accompanied by billowing immortal energy and releasing undying immortal light.
Yet behind that serenity lurked endless killing intent. It severed both flesh and primordial spirit, more terrifying than the lightning tribulation itself.
Clang!
The scrape of metal rang out like a death knell from hell, making everyone feel as though they had fallen into an abyss. Their souls trembled, and their hair stood on end.
This was one of the hardest barriers to attaining the immortal Dao fruit. Many beings had fallen beneath the executioner's blade.
At the same time, it was a blade born of heaven's will, expressly meant to bar one's path to the Dao.
Boom!
Lin Tianfan erupted, his vital energy blazing like a rainbow and shaking heaven and earth into collapse. He was like ten suns crossing the sky, like ten million volcanoes erupting, yet fiercer and more brilliant still.
It was astonishing. He hardly seemed like a living being at all, but rather an entire universe blooming into existence, cleaving heaven from earth!
Golden light blazed. Countless particles within Lin Tianfan's body trembled, and myriad gates opened, bursting with eternal light.
At that moment, his flesh was enduring and indestructible, radiant with splendor. Every cell released boundless divine power, as though he were an assemblage of countless worlds.