The Lower Realm

Zhang Xuezhou didn't think he was crazy.

Of course, it wasn't so easy for him to demonstrate the power he drew from the Reincarnation Stone.

When the new emperor repeatedly changed the subject and urged him to be rational, he couldn't help but doubt his own life and whether his art of life and death would actually work.

"Don't even think about that Reincarnation Stone. His Majesty the Great Ancestor said the Reincarnation Stone held great fortuitous opportunity, but he and all his founding marquises never enjoyed any of them," the new emperor tried to persuade him. "Besides, my ability to draw upon the sword's power might be the reason for the changes in this secret place, just like Wei Qing successfully drew upon the power after witnessing a landslide. My success may actually have no special connection to the Reincarnation Stone!"

"If you don't stab me to death, it'll be difficult for me to find people to test me!"

With both his physical body techniques and the Nine Revolutions Qi Integration Technique reaching the level of the Sole Self Realm, Zhang Xuezhou felt that there were not many people left who could kill him.

No matter how much Zhang Xuezhou tries to restrain himself, his body's instincts will remain. For example, his evasion techniques will draw away the destructive force and counterattack, his physical body techniques will naturally resist the blows and injuries, and his Nine Revolutions Qi Harmony Technique will keep him alive.

Making Zhang Xuezhou die while he controls his body is a difficult task. Great cultivators such as the Nine Spirits Primal Sage could capture and trap him, but they couldn't kill him easily.

If the killing were to occur when Zhang Xuezhou travels back to the real world, such a death would lack the meaning of verification.

Zhang Xuezhou was quite annoyed by this skill of his that he couldn't showcase.

He replied sullenly to the new emperor, who felt that Zhang Xuezhou's mind had finally returned to normal and did not ask him to slit his throat with a sword as before.

The two stopped dwelling on the fortuitous opportunity by the Reincarnation Stone and began to temporarily leave the area.

With exceptional agility, I darted across the small hills strewn with pebbles, and the dilapidated Taishan Fujun Daoist Temple came into view.

This simply constructed Daoist temple could not withstand the impact of the earthquake in the secret region and collapsed into ruins, just like the main hall of the Yin-Yang School.

From which point did you regain consciousness?

Upon arriving at the Daoist temple, Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the entrance to the secret realm and then surveyed the hazy surroundings. He was also curious about how the new emperor had landed in this secret realm after leaping from Jade Emperor Peak.

When the new emperor pointed, Zhang Xuezhou saw a jagged, strange rock in the distance, its outline still visible amidst the swirling dust.

Two tall, sinister figures crouched on the strange rock, trembling, clearly still shaken from the turmoil.

On the strange rock, one can still faintly see the mark of a long sword, which can be easily identified as the new emperor's act of stabbing the rock wall with his sword to slow down when he fell.

"You've fallen really far," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"It's a good thing you know this place, otherwise I wouldn't know how to get out," the new emperor nodded. "I was in a daze at the time, and I felt my body fall into a clump of mud, then sink into the mud, and after rolling around, I was squeezed here!"

The new emperor touched his body and then pulled out six broken talismans, indicating that he had almost died in this ordeal.

"You're a lucky person, blessed by heaven. Even without my search, you might have been able to slip out of that place!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the jagged rocks and felt that this place might have some kind of passage to the Yin-Yang Secret Land.

If we can drill upwards from here, we might find another entrance and exit to the Yin-Yang Secret Land.

"I can't fly that high. Only you can squeeze out of there," the new emperor waved his hand and said, "This secret place, not to mention the dangers of the magnetic field light and illusions of the Shanglin Garden secret place, can still trap me without any problem. I don't have that many talismans to mess with!"

"My cousin practices corpse magic and can enter and exit this place. It's a bit dangerous, but as long as you're careful, you won't get caught. Your Majesty, if you search carefully, you'll find the exit. Look over there!"

The dust mixed with the thick fog of the night on Mount Tai, making it difficult for the two to even exchange a few words; they could spit out dust as soon as they opened their mouths.

After some intermittent communication, Zhang Xuezhou and the others leaped lightly.

As the endless dust and thick fog receded, Mount Tai came into view at night.

The night enveloped everything; standing in the mountains, one could only vaguely see the outline of the mountains, and some sparse trees that looked like they were about to bar their fangs and claws.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to persuade the new emperor to board the Sky Shuttle, knowing that he could fly blindly in the air once he had identified the direction, a faint white light appeared above the Jade Emperor Peak.

"Records say that the Heavenly Gate of the Immortal Court is on the top of Mount Tai, but I didn't expect it to be right on the Jade Emperor Peak. The name of this mountain peak is so direct that it's easy to overlook it!"

As Zhang Xuezhou stared, the new emperor seemed to grit his teeth, yet also filled with curiosity.

To the new emperor and others, the Immortal Court was a behemoth hidden within the Great Han Dynasty, possessing extremely high defection capabilities due to its sect's foundation. The Immortal Court had been glorious for over eight hundred years during the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even after the Great Zhou Dynasty's collapse, it remained the most ideal place for many to cultivate.

It wasn't until the various schools of thought contended that the Immortal Court ceased to be the only and highest choice for cultivation.

When dealing with this force, no amount of caution is excessive.

The new emperor remained calm and composed, standing in the mountains and gazing at the floating light above, without rashly heading towards the Jade Emperor Peak.

"Dongfang Shuo, keep an eye on my body, I'm going to use my Yang Soul to check on the situation!"

"OK!"

The new emperor cautiously entrusted Zhang Xuezhou with the task. Zhang Xuezhou was slightly taken aback, after all, the Yang Soul released by martial artists had a short range and was difficult to sustain, and the level of concealment was limited. He was more suitable for observation.

However, Zhang Xuezhou did not refuse the new emperor's request. He agreed to guard the new emperor's physical body and then sat on the ground to wait.

The appearance of the shimmering light at Jade Emperor Peak only signifies the connection between the Heavenly Gate and the mortal realm. It will take nearly half an hour for the immortals to pass through the Heavenly Gate and travel to the mortal realm.

Zhang Xuezhou had previously offered a weak explanation for how he was able to enter the secret place of the Lord of Mount Tai, but this time he didn't utter any more irrelevant words.

There were some inconveniences in dealing with the new emperor. There were some things Zhang Xuezhou could tell Rong Tianding, but he couldn't tell the new emperor, lest he get entangled and cause trouble.

What was common knowledge in the Immortal Court for Zhang Xuezhou was a secret for the new emperor and others; the new emperor alone had to learn about it.

"So, am I finally able to die, or am I still unable to die?"

There's not much to say about immortals descending to the mortal realm; it's always the same old story. Zhang Xuezhou figured it was most likely that the immortal group was searching for the Yin-Yang secret realm or investigating Zhu Jiuyin.

The search is easy; anyone can participate. However, investigating Zhu Jiuyin's matter is not easy. Even immortals cannot fly across the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains starting from Mount Tai if their flying skills are insufficient.

Compared to observing immortals descending to the mortal realm, Zhang Xuezhou was more concerned with himself.

He felt at times that he was deeply imprinted with a profound understanding of life and death, but at other times he felt that the time was too short and that perhaps everything he had experienced was not so real.

What Zhang Xuezhou felt as if he had experienced several days was, to the new emperor, only a dozen breaths—not even a minute.

Zhang Xuezhou had some doubts that the short time was insufficient to construct the fusion of life and death, and that everything he had experienced might be an illusion given to him by the Reincarnation Stone.

"Why am I starting to question the meaning of life after all this spiritual practice?"

Zhang Xuezhou looked up at the sky, a puzzled expression on his mind.

Looking at the sky didn't answer his questions, but Zhang Xuezhou did discover something unexpected in the night sky.

When the Heavenly Gate opens, ordinary immortals will pass through it to the lower realm, but some special great cultivators will be an exception.

In the distant night sky, a purple streak of light fell, its descent even faster than Zhang Xuezhou's.

Besides being able to take a beating, Zhang Xuezhou's flying leap technique was one of his specialties.

He knew that there were top-tier cultivators in the Three Realms who were skilled in flying, and he had also witnessed the flying ability of the Peacock Great Wisdom King.

Only then did he encounter a top-tier flying expert in human form.