Return to Earth

Jiang Zhu and Crocodile Ancestor moved on, countless little crocodiles following behind them. Before long, they had left the ruins of the Great Thunderclap Temple far behind.

"Fellow Daoist, can you tell me now what you intended by leaving behind this wisp of Divine Sense?"

Jiang Zhu was wondering how to trick Crocodile Ancestor into becoming his coachman and hired muscle. At those words, he sighed softly. "What did it matter that I swept through the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, reversed the cycle of heaven and earth, and stood invincible above and below? In the end, I could only watch the rise and fall of the mortal world alone, see beloved beauties grow old and family and friends turn to yellow earth one by one, while I alone endured, undying..."

Before Jiang Zhu could finish his lament, Crocodile Ancestor interrupted him, gazing toward Earth. "Old ghost, stop pretending. You aren't a great accomplishment sacred body. What are you lamenting for? Are there secrets of immortality on that Water-Blue Star?"

As though his thoughts had been exposed, Jiang Zhu fell silent.

"Old ghost, this star system has only one ancient life star. If you didn't stay here for the Immortal Burial Ground in the Demon Sea Eye, then it could only have been for that water-blue planet."

Jiang Zhu remained silent. Clever people firmly believed in the truths they deduced for themselves. The less he said, the more Crocodile Ancestor probed, and the closer he came to Jiang Zhu's goal.

"Old ghost, you're only a wisp of Divine Sense now, with no divine power left. Even if that planet holds some tremendous opportunity, you probably couldn't reach it on your own!"

The more Crocodile Ancestor spoke, the more excited he became. He felt he had uncovered a great secret, perhaps even one connected to immortality.

Immortality-throughout the ages, no cultivator had ever faced its secrets without going mad.

Even someone as astonishingly gifted as an Ancient Great Emperor could cultivate the Dao for an entire life, comprehend its laws for a lifetime, and gain invincibility through the ages, yet still be unable to withstand the flowing waters of time. In the end, only a sorrowful cry remained:

"I dare ask the heavens: do Immortals exist?!"

At that thought, Crocodile Ancestor let out a thunderous laugh. "Fellow Daoist, why don't we travel together and seek the secrets of immortality?"

Jiang Zhu was laughing inwardly too. At last, he would no longer have to sit on Mars, staring at Crocodile Ancestor while Crocodile Ancestor stared back. Otherwise, with Crocodile Ancestor occupying the Northern Sea, was he supposed to become the Divine Crocodile of the Southern Sea?

During a Great Opposition, Yinghuo Ancient Star was closest to Earth, at fifty-five million kilometers. During a Mars Conjunction, it was farthest away, at around four hundred million kilometers.

Yinghuo Ancient Star belonged to the same Solar System and was a planet neighboring Earth, yet the distance between them was still such an astronomical figure. One could only marvel at humanity's insignificance.

Compared with Ye Fan, who had used countless Profound Jade Platforms to return to Earth from Mars, Jiang Zhu and Crocodile Ancestor had a much easier time.

Although Crocodile Ancestor had been suppressed for over two thousand years, he was still a Peerless Saint. He gathered all the little crocodiles into his Minor World, then tore open the void with a thought and crossed the starry reaches.

The next instant, the two of them could clearly see the water-blue star.

Viewed from space, the water-blue star was breathtakingly beautiful, like a blue diamond sparkling with crystalline light, almost dreamlike.

The water-blue star was not very large, nowhere near comparable to other ancient life star regions, yet it possessed an inexplicably vast aura.

Relatively speaking, it was small and exquisite, but it carried an aura that made one tremble, as though a living Great Emperor dwelled there.

"What a strange feeling. Why does it seem many times larger than what I can see, even vaster than any ancient life star I've ever encountered?" Crocodile Ancestor stopped and asked in bewilderment.

"This planet is called the Primordial Ancient Star, also known as the Emperor Star. Ancient legends say that Emperor Zun, the Lord of the Heavenly Court who founded the Heavenly Court in the mythological era, refined the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, and brought the Heavenly Venerables together to stand side by side, came from this planet."

Crocodile Ancestor was delighted. "This planet truly does hold a great opportunity! Once this journey succeeds, I'll set foot on the Starry Sky Ancient Road, pursue Shakyamuni, and suppress him to wash away the hatred of my two thousand years imprisoned in hell!"

Then he looked at Jiang Zhu again. "This star is strange. Fellow Daoist, do you know exactly what opportunities it holds?"

Jiang Zhu shook his head and sighed. "Hundreds of thousands of years have passed since my previous life. Times have shifted, and blue seas have become mulberry fields. Do the immortal lands and dragon veins of those days still look the same? Still, this star's spiritual energy is sparse now, cultivation is difficult, and no Saints remain."

"With your cultivation, subduing this ancient star would be as easy as examining the lines on your palm. You'll surely uncover the secrets of immortality! When the time comes, I'll exchange this wisp of split soul to reclaim the Dao Fruit of my previous life, and then I can obtain all those secrets!"

Crocodile Ancestor heard the threat in his words, and his heart tightened.

The Dao Fruit from the previous life of a great accomplishment sacred body's divine malignance! Unless a Great Emperor appeared, who could contend with such a being, whose might overwhelmed the universe? Even a wisp of ultimate aura could easily crush an ancient star, let alone a mere Saint-level figure.

Could a wisp of split soul belonging to a divine malignance stripped of ninety percent of its cultivation still summon the Dao Fruit of its previous life?

But Crocodile Ancestor did not dare gamble. If it could, jade and stone would burn together, and both of them would dissolve into the Dao.

Crocodile Ancestor nodded and said no more. With a single step, the two appeared atop a towering mountain that loomed majestically, its grandeur overwhelming.

Dozens of Five-Colored Altars stood on the summit. At the very center was an enormous altar, clearly different from the other earthen altars. Positioned in the heart of the mountaintop, it was imposing and far larger than those surrounding it.

At that moment, two groups of cultivators were facing off on the mountain.

On one side stood elderly Daoist priests dressed in azure Daoist robes. On the other was a group of blond, blue-eyed people wearing ancient armor.

"This is Mount Tai. Cultivators from the West, you've crossed the boundary!"

Across from them, a young man with short golden hair stepped out from the group and was about to speak.

Suddenly, an immense surge of saintly might erupted above Mount Tai. Its tyrannical aura shook heaven and earth, jolting the entire planet.

Everyone on Mount Tai was pinned firmly to the ground, unable to rise.

And that was with Crocodile Ancestor deliberately restraining his aura. Otherwise, it would already have crushed them all to ash.

"One day from now, every Dao lineage shall come to Mount Tai to pay homage. Those who disobey shall be destroyed by heaven and earth, their lineages reduced to ash!"

His voice exploded like ten thousand peals of thunder at once. Demonic energy surged, shrouding the entire Earth.

The sun's blazing light was blocked, plunging the whole planet into darkness. Those words resounded in every person's mind.

Earth instantly descended into chaos.

Some went mad, unable to believe what had happened;

Some were terrified, kneeling and kowtowing as they prayed silently;

Some were excited, shouting that the end of the world had arrived, that a True God had descended, and that they were his Divine Son. For just fifty yuan, anyone could join the True God's followers, escape the bitter sea, reach the other shore, and enter a new world.

The myriad faces of humanity were too numerous to recount.

Everyone with cultivation trembled in fear. The deeper their cultivation, the more they sensed. Such might belonged, at the very least, to a Saint of ancient times.

Ever since Earth entered the age when cultivation became difficult, Immortal Platform cultivators had been hard to find, and those at Dragon Transformation reigned supreme. Who could have imagined that a living Saint would appear today?

After his declaration, Crocodile Ancestor withdrew his saintly might and carefully examined the Five-Colored Altars.

The Eastern and Western cultivators who had been prostrate on the ground now rose trembling to their feet. They stood quietly where they were, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.

Seeing Crocodile Ancestor studying the Heavenly Book, Jiang Zhu stepped out from behind him and said, "You may leave for now. Return at this time tomorrow."

They all voiced their assent and bowed as they backed away. Only when they reached the foot of Mount Tai did the two groups exchange wordless looks and go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, the great cultivation powers of the East and West were all discussing how to act now that a Saint of ancient times had appeared.

In the end, without consulting one another, they all decided to send people to Mount Tai first, see what the Saint wanted, and respond accordingly.

After examining the altar's foundation, inscribed with the Heavenly Book, Crocodile Ancestor was deeply stirred. Without letting it show, he put away the entire altar.

"The spiritual energy here has dried up. This altar might prove very useful someday."

Jiang Zhu nodded without asking further, but inwardly he was delighted. The old crocodile had finally taken the bait. He knew the great secret contained in that Heavenly Book Bird Script: it recorded a heaven-shaking hidden truth-the Ancient Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains.

At the end was also a terrain map, one of the fragments of the Immortal Map that led into the Kunlun Immortal Land!

But without the Immortal Treasure Map, even a Quasi-Emperor would shed blood if he rashly entered the Immortal Ascension Ground. Countless Great Sages had already left their corpses there. Crocodile Ancestor's Great Sage cultivation was utterly insignificant.

Still, he could not let Crocodile Ancestor rush off to his death so soon. He was hoping to borrow Crocodile Ancestor's strength to take care of his own affairs.