Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

Although Everlasting Celestial was only five days old, his face looked old, as if he only had five days left to live, which hardly connected with the nickname “little face.”

“Are immortals always this modest?” Qiu Jin’an observed Everlasting Celestial’s restrained and ingratiating demeanor, finding it a bit odd.

Qiu Jin’an looked towards Yun Zhi, attributing this behavior to Yun Zhi having scared him into submission.

“Looking at his level, he doesn’t seem to be an immortal?” Among those present, apart from Yun Zhi, the abbot of the Hanging Temple had the highest cultivation level.

The abbot of the Hanging Temple used his divine vision to thoroughly examine Everlasting Celestial and discovered that his cultivation level was not yet that of an immortal, at most similar to his own, or even less.

Emperor Xia hesitated as he looked at Everlasting Celestial, feeling something familiar about him.

“Is this… the power of incense and faith?”

The foundation of The Great Xia Dynasty was similar to that of incense and faith, but it was a concept based on this, which in the emperor’s words, was called “the will of the people.”

Thus, Emperor Xia had the clearest understanding of what constituted Everlasting Celestial, more so than the other sect leaders who could only guess at the implications.

“Could he be a new soul born from the thoughts of the Undying Sect’s followers?”

Yun Zhi nodded, “Yes, and it’s not just him; his ariya-phala nascent form was also born this way.”

“He has an ariya-phala nascent form?!” This revelation shocked everyone.

In Everlasting Fairy’s view, the ariya-phala nascent form was something ambiguous and inferior, unworthy of being presented publicly. That was because she herself was an immortal, and also the possessor of an undying ariya-phala.

The concept of ariya-phala was almost equivalent to that of an immortal, a supreme treasure.

As an incomplete form of ariya-phala, the ariya-phala nascent form was incredibly precious, ranking just below the supreme treasures. In ancient times, it could ignite wars capable of destroying stars.

The golden ariya-phala nascent form was displayed before everyone, with the highest rules of “undying” continuously flickering and bursting within the ariya-phala.

The supreme rules of undying were too profound, and if one’s resolve was not strong enough or their cultivation insufficient, even a glance could affect their mind and subsequently their future path.

This was precisely why Everlasting Fairy did not allow Lu Yang to view the ariya-phala nascent form.

All those present were at least at the invincible stage of Unity Stage, each having their own path, unlikely to be lost to the supreme rules of undying.

“This is the nascent form of the undying ariya-phala.”

“Undying ariya-phala?” The people were unaware of Everlasting Fairy’s existence.

From an outsider’s perspective, the existence of Everlasting Fairy belonged to the ultimate mysteries of ancient times, a taboo hidden in the dust of history, unknowable and untraceable. Revealing the existence of Everlasting Fairy could lead to earth-shattering events.

However, both Lu Yang and Everlasting Fairy were oblivious to this.

Yun Zhi did not intend to disclose anything about Everlasting Fairy. Although those present were trustworthy and there was no concern about eavesdropping here, if the ancient immortals decided to investigate and resorted to extreme measures like using soul-searching on those present, the secret of Everlasting Fairy could no longer be kept.

Yun Zhi was uncertain how the ancient immortals would react upon discovering Everlasting Fairy’s resurrection.

She explained gently, “Based on my estimation, the undying ariya-phala, as the name literally suggests, can confer immortality.”

“What’s the difference between immortality and the eternal life of immortals?” Emperor Xia asked.

As far as he knew, once one became an immortal, they transcended the limitations of lifespan and would not die of old age, achieving true eternal life.

During the last meeting of the Five Great Immortal Sects, Yun Zhi introduced the method to revive Everlasting Celestial, and the sects understood the concept of immortality.

However, Emperor Xia was not invited to that meeting.

“Immortals live eternally, but they can still die in battle or be killed and cannot be revived. An immortal possessing an undying ariya-phala, however, can be revived on the spot if someone calls out their title and true name, being truly undying and immortal,” Yun Zhi said.

“In other words, as long as someone knows of this immortal’s existence, the immortal will not die.”

“If someone accidentally calls out the title and true name, the immortal can also be revived.”

Emperor Xia’s pupils constricted, realising the powerful and unreasonable nature of an ariya-phala that could change the rules of the world.

“This nascent form of the undying ariya-phala was also created through the faith of followers, though it’s not as potent as a mature ariya-phala. Given enough time, it could also mature.”

Prison-Suppressing Sect’s leader frowned deeply: “Does that mean the other three demonic sects, Solar Sect, Nine Nether Sect, and Heartless Sect, might also produce similar ariya-phala nascent forms?”

The Solar Sect worships the sun as the supreme entity, the beginning and end of all things, containing the power to create and destroy everything, even the ubiquitous spiritual energy of the world is believed to emanate from the sun.

The Nine Nether Sect believes that upon death, souls travel to a place called the Nine Nethers, where they are cleansed of sin before reincarnating back into the world.

The Heartless Sect is unique; although its members are human, the mainstream cultivation world refers to them as “demons,” not considering them part of humanity.

Heartless Sect believes that emotions are chains imposed by the heavens to limit beings’ potential. They advocate for beings to free themselves from these chains to fully unleash their potential.

Members of Heartless Sect, having freed themselves from these chains, are ruthless in achieving their goals.

According to a captured Heartless Sect follower, once he freed himself from emotional chains, he felt lighter, and the entire world seemed more expansive.

Relatives, friends, lovers… these no longer became factors limiting his cultivation but instead could be used as resources for his practice.

“The existence of ariya-phala nascent forms in the remaining three demonic sects is just my speculation, it may not necessarily be true.”

Yun Zhi could not guarantee her speculation was accurate. For instance, her previous discussion with Daoist Dao Yan of Heaven’s Mysteries Sect about the purpose of the Undying Sect’s existence was closer to the truth than her own guesses.

“Regardless, the Undying Sect has been eradicated, thankfully revealing the issue in time, giving us new insights into the other three demonic sects,” Emperor Xia concluded.

He then proposed a series of strategies to strengthen actions against the demonic sects, which had the leaders of the Five Great Immortal Sects nodding in agreement.

Emperor Xia excelled in this area.

Before the meeting concluded, Yun Zhi made another request.

“Your Majesty, after the interrogation of the leader and deputy leader of the Undying Sect is complete and all intelligence gathered, could you hand these two over to the Dao Seeking Sect for handling?”

Emperor Xia was momentarily stunned, then nodded. Strictly speaking, the entire Undying Sect was Yun Zhi’s trophy; she just hadn’t claimed it, giving it to The Great Xia Dynasty instead. Naturally, she could claim it if she wished.

“I’ll ask one more thing, what do you need these two for, Daoist Yun Zhi?”

“Our sect lacks a slaughterhouse.”

“Huh?”