In the blink of an eye, time rushed by like flowing water. Five hundred years had been gently caressed by the passage of time, leaving behind weathered traces.
The Three Thousand Great Worlds' mountains and rivers remained unharmed, yet amid the shifting winds and clouds, they had accumulated countless unspoken words. In the Azure Sky Forest Sea, the Eight Direction Willow hung lush and green, peach blossoms remained as enchanting as ever, and tree shadows swayed leisurely through the forest.
Yet within those quiet years, they seemed to be telling endless tales, sketching the splendor and vicissitudes of days gone by.
Great changes had transformed the seas into mulberry fields, and the land had changed hands.
The setting sun sank westward, clouds unfurling and gathering. Its lingering glow shone upon ancient buildings, every stone brick and every green tile dreamlike and illusory.
Beneath the boundless heavens, countless living beings and cultivators pressed onward in their struggle for immortality. Rivers and mountains were torn apart, ancient peaks crumbled, there was slaughter, love and hatred, betrayal, light, darkness... without end.
Yet one place remained in absolute peace: the Jade Bamboo Mountain Range.
Looking out, the mountains and rivers for a million miles in every direction had been forcibly claimed by a single sect. If one entered without cause, one either paid a toll or worked off a debt.
Never mind whether one was some Great Vehicle Honored One from wherever, or some Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Lord. There was only one thing to say: Senior, times had changed. Your cultivation was no use here...
The Five Elements Sect was the most reasonable. It did not follow that weak-devour-the-strong nonsense of the Desolate Heaven Domain. Pay the toll, and everything could be discussed!
If anyone dared to default, the sect would go to their