"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, fellow Daoist."
Cheng Xinzhan cupped his hands in thanks.
Qian Boya waved his hands repeatedly, saying it was no trouble.
"Fellow Daoist, do you know the latest situation in the Wandering Immortal Realm-that is, the present Immortal Realm?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked another question.
This time, however, Qian Boya shook his head. "During the Former Tang, a change occurred in the Divine Immortal Realm: the Golden Firmament Locking. Nor was that an isolated occurrence. In the Late Song, the Wandering Immortal Realm underwent a change as well: Severing Heaven and Earth. Entry was permitted, but not exit. All the houses of the White Jade Capital's Five Cities and Twelve Towers compared notes long ago. Neither the Immortals above nor their messages can come down, and our messages from the mortal world cannot go up either. Only the channel for ascension still remains.
"The high-level cultivators in the mortal world today can be divided into three groups. The first consists of those whose forebears never produced an Immortal. Most belong to minor schools and sects or are Rogue Cultivators who reached a high level through fortuitous encounters. They know little of affairs above, so they are still eager to ascend and become Immortals.
"The second and third groups both know about the changes above. The former hurry their cultivation, eager to ascend, fearing that Severing Heaven and Earth will grow ever tighter until, one day, it seals shut completely. Even the ascension channel will disappear, and they will lose their chance to ascend.
"The latter slow their cultivation, unwilling to ascend. They, too, fear the Immortal Realm sealing shut. If they are trapped above, who knows what changes might occur? Besides, I have heard that even before Severing Heaven and Earth, the Wandering Immortal Realm