Descending into the Myriad Worlds

Cultivation in the Azure Heaven Sword Sea was tedious.

Fortunately, Chen Xia had long since grown used to tedium. Besides, he had a colleague to chat with.

His colleague was an octopus who enjoyed playing the recorder and stood on six legs. Truly remarkable.

Chen Xia and the octopus slacked off catching fish within a hundred li of the shallows. The fishing was nothing special, but the fish they caught were. Supposedly, they were swordfish from the Sword Sea, containing Sword Qi that could help sword cultivators comprehend the Sword Dao.

Chen Xia did not care about any of that. All he knew was to eat whatever he caught. He sensed no Sword Qi, but the flesh certainly tasted delicious.

At such times, his octopus colleague would often give him a strange look, his mouth slightly open, wanting to say something, only to stop despondently.

Chen Xia noticed this attentively, offered him the fish in his hand, and asked, "Want a taste?"

He really was very polite.

The octopus tugged at his clothes and shook his head slightly. "No, thank you. These aren't suitable for me to eat."

Chen Xia said no more about it. Looking at the octopus, he instead asked a question that had been on his mind.

"What are we fishing here for?"

The octopus lifted the recorder at his waist, his gaze profound. "To forge our swords."

Chen Xia felt as though he were lost in clouds and mist. Puzzled, he asked, "What do you mean?"

A shark's back surfaced in the distant sea. It was roughly a thousand zhang long, and merely swimming stirred up surging waves.

All six of the octopus's legs moved together. He drew the recorder from his waist and walked toward the thousand-zhang giant shark, answering as he went.

"This is the Sword Sea. Countless sword intents surge within it, and the swimming fish are manifestations of Sword Qi."

"To catch fish is to subdue swords. The bigger your catch, the stronger what you subdue, and the denser your sword intent!"

Without looking back, he drew his recorder fully and walked toward the shark.

Chen Xia urged anxiously, "That still doesn't mean you can go sing to a shark!"

The octopus answered confidently.

"This isn't a musical instrument..."

"It's my sword!"

The recorder came free, great waves parted, and nothing barred his way. He strode across the Sword Sea, intent on slaying the thousand-zhang shark with his sword!

One final roar came from the octopus.

"Today, I either forge my sword or die trying!"

Thirty breaths later.

The octopus successfully met his end in the shark's belly.

The sea grew calm, its surface shimmering.

Watching the thousand-zhang giant shark leave with the octopus, Chen Xia could not help sighing over this colleague with whom he had spent so much time.

He really was so brave. I'm crying my eyes out.

The octopus's sacrifice also taught Chen Xia one thing: never leave the shallows. Ideally, stay right where he was.

So he stayed in that water for thirty years.

He soaked in the water all day, occasionally eating some small fish and shrimp, and never saw anyone else.

Aside from being tedious, this life was tedious.

Chen Xia endured it, even gradually adapting.

Until the first hundred years had passed.

The Old Fisherman finally came. He looked at Chen Xia in surprise and asked with a frown, "You haven't moved an inch?"

"No need," Chen Xia answered.

"It's been a hundred years. Couldn't you walk up there yourself?" the Old Fisherman asked, pointing at the enormous sword lying across the sky.

"No need," Chen Xia answered.

The Old Fisherman raised his brows, his tone growing somewhat anxious. "You need to go up and take part in the entrance selection! I brought you here. If you don't place, how am I supposed to have the nerve to ask the sect master for anything?"

"No need," Chen Xia answered.

The Old Fisherman was baffled. His figure flickered, bringing him close to Chen Xia. "What are you, a broken record?"

Chen Xia sighed, covering his face with half a hand, and shook his head. "Cultivation isn't all fighting and killing. I think you should give me another few tens of thousands of years to prepare."

"Tens of thousands of years?" The Old Fisherman's brows slanted. "Are you preparing to see me to my grave?"

Indignant, he asked Chen Xia again, "With so many beings across all the heavens and myriad worlds, if you don't compete or fight for anything, how will you reach the top? How will you rise?!"

"Outlast everyone," Chen Xia answered sincerely. "As long as I outlive all of you, I'll be invincible."

The Old Fisherman curled his lip, speechless. "Then forget cultivating these techniques. Go learn the way of the tortoise. Those things can really last."

Chen Xia disagreed on that point. After all, the Giant Turtle Breathing Technique he had learned was a life-shortening method.

The Old Fisherman looked at him helplessly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "You absolutely must attend the entrance selection in five hundred years, or you'll be exiled to the deep waters of the Sword Sea."

"All right." Chen Xia nodded instantly, his expression solemn. "I've decided to attend the entrance selection in five hundred years."

An attitude was never absolute. It could always change.

The Old Fisherman nodded in satisfaction, looked Chen Xia over, and asked another question.

"How far have you condensed your sword intent? Our Azure Heaven Sword Sea is a sword-training sect, dominated by sword cultivators. You'd best cultivate the sword too."

"No need." Chen Xia shook his head, looked at the Old Fisherman, and said sincerely, "Just let me keep going for another few tens of thousands of years."

"Alas." The Old Fisherman sighed helplessly and said.

"You don't understand. Since ancient times, none of the Great Emperors or supreme beings have ever reached their heights by outlasting others. They all fought their own way there, one footprint at a time. Without talent, and without even fighting for anything, you'll never reach the peak in your lifetime!"

Chen Xia looked at the perfectly serious Old Fisherman. The hand covering his face shifted to rub the tip of his nose. After considering his words, he replied.

"Maybe they just didn't last long enough?"

"You child." The Old Fisherman shook his head, no longer wanting to persuade him. He would let Chen Xia do as he pleased. He reached out and pulled, and heaven and earth spun.

Chen Xia lowered his head. Beneath his feet was an enormous sword blade.

He stood high in the heavens.

"Among those taking part in this entrance selection are many ancient species, even mythical species. There are also two Great Emperor seedlings. If you want a good ranking, you'll have to work hard at cultivating."

The Old Fisherman said.

"No." Chen Xia shook his head. "I don't want one."

The Old Fisherman was the one who wanted a good ranking.

The two stared at each other. In an unfriendly tone, the Old Fisherman said, "I'll give you a chance to say that again."

"Mm." Chen Xia nodded. "I really want one."

An attitude was something that could change at any time.

"That's more like it." The Old Fisherman nodded, clasping his hands behind his back, and continued, "And the best way to cultivate is to descend into the myriad worlds."

"Time isn't equal across all the heavens and myriad worlds. The smaller a realm, the faster time passes. Time in our Great All-Heavens flows at only eighty percent of the Immortal Realm's rate."

"And in some tiny realms, the ratio can even reach 1:100. One day in the Great All-Heavens is a hundred days in a small realm."

Chen Xia's eyes lit up, as though the gates to a whole new world had opened.

There was something this good?

The Old Fisherman noticed his delight, shook his head, and doused him with cold water.

"That may be so, but almost no one is willing to descend into tiny realms, because their fortune and fortuitous opportunities are far too limited. The locals have long since divided them all up."

"As an outsider, not only would your strength be suppressed, but you might even be killed by the locals. Such things are far from uncommon."

"The risks are completely out of proportion to the rewards, so I recommend you visit a medium-sized realm. At least there will be enough fortuitous opportunities."

"No, I want to go to a tiny realm." Chen Xia shook his head, his gaze firm as he spoke.

"Fortuitous opportunities and all that aren't important. Mainly, I like challenging risks."

The Old Fisherman froze for a moment. Only after a long while did he shake his head and say.

"You really are a fucking oddball."