Lightning showered the mortal world.
The enormous eyes gazing out from time immemorial looked down impassively, watching everything.
Until the lightning annihilated the cultivator undergoing his tribulation below.
The mountain-sized pillars of lightning withdrew into the dark clouds. The lightning that had gained sentience concealed itself, appearing no more.
The dark clouds shrouding the entire minor world slowly dispersed. The hundred-thousand-year Nascent Soul Lightning Tribulation vanished, retreating into heaven's lightning pool.
The mighty figures hurriedly directed their divine senses toward the spot. Their hearts lurched, filled with disappointment.
The figure undergoing the tribulation was gone. Perhaps he had vanished into smoke along with the lightning tribulation.
The mighty figures sighed again. What a pity to lose a potential Great Emperor, but it was only a pity.
The Great Emperors in existence could be counted on one's fingers. Potential Great Emperors could not.
Those who had yet to grow could earn only a sigh of regret.
The mighty figures withdrew their divine senses to the Immortal Realm and scattered, lingering no longer, paying no further attention to this minor world.
And the changes in the minor world began the moment the rain of blood fell.
All manner of plants revived, growing into strange shapes. Some people accidentally ate them and gained inexplicable divine abilities, such as the ability to photosynthesize.
There were even supreme martial artists who suddenly found their thoughts clear and stepped onto the immortal path.
Wild beasts in the mountains began to mutate. Some even spoke human language, and one went further still: a black bear spirit insisted on stealing a kasaya from the neighboring temple.
What a uniform fetishist.
Just like that, the immortal path opened up to the entire minor world.
And so everyone learned one thing.
Spiritual Qi revival!
Amid a broad pool, the surface lay still as a mirror, like the end of time.
Chen Xia lay on the water. He sat up in bewilderment and looked over his completely unharmed body, which left him even more bewildered.
"You're awake?" A casual greeting came from an old fisherman, slowly drifting into Chen Xia's ears.
"Who are you?" Chen Xia was somewhat puzzled.
Holding a bronze fishing rod, the old fisherman smiled with his aged face. "I'm the one who fished you out of the river of time."
"I became a message in a bottle?" Chen Xia was a little surprised.
The old fisherman's thick brows furrowed slightly. "That's not quite how I'd put it. You can think of it as having ascended, but not to the Immortal Realm. You've ascended to Great All-Heavens!"
Chen Xia looked even more bewildered.
The old fisherman explained, "Among all the heavens and myriad worlds, the place you were before was a minor grotto-heaven. The Immortal Realm is a major plane, while this place is one level higher, called Great All-Heavens."
"Is there any difference?" Chen Xia asked with a frown.
The old fisherman shook his head. "No. The strong eat meals, and the weak eat shit. There's no difference."
The words were crude, but the reasoning wasn't. That really was how it worked.
Chen Xia asked again, "Why did you fish me out?"
The old fisherman chuckled. His eyebrows, thick as two long worms, rose, and he held up one finger as he answered.
"Because you're the one."
Chen Xia froze. Something unpleasant came to mind, and he hurriedly shook his head. "I'm not a 1, and I'm not a 0 either."
"You're the only one." Ignoring Chen Xia's words, the old fisherman continued, "You're the only one in that minor grotto-heaven. In ordinary terms, you're the protagonist."
"Okay, okay, okay." Chen Xia nodded repeatedly, still puzzled. "But you still haven't said why you fished me out."
The old fisherman laughed. "Just to take a disciple. You can think of it as me completing a task, so I needed to fish out the only one-you-and make you my disciple."
"Why me?" Chen Xia frowned and asked for the third time.
"Why couldn't it be you?" the old man asked with a smile, then gave an explanation.
"Your talent reaches the Great Emperor level, and you're the only one in a minor grotto-heaven. You have the potential to transcend, and there's also the presence of a true dragon descendant. Naturally, I could choose you."
Chen Xia folded his arms and asked another question. "Who are you?"
The old fisherman looked at him with a chuckle. "You cultivate the Great Dao of Time, yet you don't know who I am?"
Chen Xia frowned and guessed, "You're the Time Ancestor?"
The old fisherman shook his head. "No, but I've beaten up the Time Ancestor."
"Then I can't guess." Chen Xia chose to give up trying.
The old fisherman smiled. "Who I am doesn't matter. Once we've become master and disciple, you probably won't see me anyway. Haha."
Chen Xia didn't respond to that. Instead, he asked, "Your... our sect-what is it?"
The old fisherman looked at him with fathomless eyes and chuckled. "The Azure Heaven Sword Sea. Top three in Great All-Heavens."
"Uh, if I choose not to ascend, could you put me back wherever you fished me out?" Chen Xia asked tentatively.
The old fisherman immediately shook his head and declared imperiously, "I never come back empty-handed."
Chen Xia froze. This old man was pretty trendy.
The old fisherman chuckled. "Great All-Heavens has everything. All sorts of power systems mingle here: immortal cultivation, technology, superpowers. Don't worry about that. Memorize this Method Formula, and it'll keep you safe and sound."
Chen Xia sat up straight, all ears.
The old fisherman slowly recited.
"Don't dress too warmly, don't eat too much, don't live too lavishly, don't travel too richly, don't work too hard, don't rest too comfortably, don't rejoice too exuberantly, don't rage too violently, don't seek too much fame, don't covet too much profit..."
"If you can't beat them, run."
Chen Xia froze at first, then nodded repeatedly. "Good, good, good. Truly, listening to your words is like listening to your words."
The old fisherman laughed too and nodded. "You're an amusing kid. Get up. Get ready to come with me to the Azure Heaven Sword Sea."
Chen Xia stood up and waited for the old fisherman to lead the way.
But the old fisherman didn't move. He set the fishing rod at his waist, gazed at the pool, and smiled. "It's right beneath your feet."
"This pool?" Chen Xia asked in confusion.
"No." The old fisherman shook his head and smiled. "The sea."
The entire little pool gradually expanded in Chen Xia's vision. His ears twitched slightly, as though he had heard a tsunami, with the faint ringing of swords mixed in.
The ringing came from the sky... the sky?
He looked up in astonishment.
Between the boundless sky and sea hung a sword, laid horizontally across heaven and earth!
This was the Azure Heaven Sword Sea!
It was Chen Xia's second month in the Azure Heaven Sword Sea. With his Nascent Soul cultivation, he had been assigned to the shallows to catch fish.
He was very satisfied. It was a good job.
Beyond a million li of shallows lay the true sea. He had heard that bizarre creatures were suppressed within, and anyone below a Saint should not enter.
Chen Xia had absolutely no intention of going in. He simply caught his fish in peace and practiced techniques on the side.
His "Great Turtle Breathing Technique" had now upgraded to the "Giant Turtle Breathing Technique," becoming a Tribulation Transcendence Realm technique. It would take only three hundred years of cultivation to reach Tribulation Transcendence. Aside from the lousy name, there was nothing else bad about it.
Chen Xia also discovered a strange phenomenon. Spiritual Qi often entered his body for no apparent reason, filling his limbs and bones and raising his cultivation.
He was utterly baffled at first. Only later, when he sensed this Spiritual Qi, did he find its source.
It was Spiritual Qi coming from the minor grotto-heaven.
He had become a god in that minor grotto-heaven, cut down the giant hand, and brought about the revival of Spiritual Qi.
Now it was feeding him in return.
It was like an entire world was pushing Chen Xia to cultivate. The stronger Chen Xia became, the stronger that world became, and vice versa.
Chen Xia's eyes shone.
He had invented a perpetual motion machine!
PS: Six thousand characters updated today. Thanks for your support, brothers. I'll chat with you here a little, haha.
First, thank you for your support, brothers. I definitely have to get on my knees to thank you for this.
Please keep up with the updates every day, too. Even if you're stockpiling chapters, don't stockpile too many. Read them every ten days or couple of weeks, haha.
Little Sour will try to write ten thousand characters every day. If the stats are good, I can add even more updates.
Also, thanks to the brothers who sent tips. I'm truly full of gratitude.
Some people also asked whether there's a group. There isn't one at the moment, but if enough brothers want to join, Little Sour can make one.
Finally, thank you again, brothers. And while I'm at it, please keep reading and requesting updates. Please, this really matters to me.