Make the Immortal Sect Great Again

In the dim cosmos, the light of twelve stars bathed the heavens, illuminating the void. They advanced slowly along their set orbits, looking as if they would never burn out.

Yet, at the exact moment Wang Ping struck down You Xuexin, a faint fluctuation rippled through the light of one of those stars. Like a pebble dropping into a calm lake, the disturbance sent slight ripples vanishing into its depths.

What came into view was a magnificent continent.

Surrounded by the sea, it boasted towering mountain ranges and countless rivers. Its historical sites and scenic wonders were too numerous to count, and streaks of escaping light darted back and forth—the very picture of a sacred immortal land.

But just then, in the northwest corner of the continent, a thunderclap shattered the broad daylight. There were no clouds or rain, only the roar of thunder rolling across the sky. It grew increasingly violent, startling the beasts on the ground into stampedes and scattering the birds in the heavens. Mortals kowtowed in worship, while cultivators looked around in bewilderment.

"What's going on?"

Young cultivators exchanged blank looks, having no idea what was happening.

Only a few experienced cultivators revealed expressions of dawning realization:

"Thunder booms from the heavens without a source... I fear a Qi Refining practitioner has been disturbed. Their rising anger caused heaven and earth to echo their will, bringing about this thunderbolt from a clear sky."

Amidst the murmurs, a young cultivator clapped his hands.

"I remember now! Uncle-Master Mingyou of Sun and Moon Lake is nearing the end of his lifespan. Perhaps he felt his days were numbered during meditation, sparking this sudden fury..."

"Shh! Watch your mouth!"

Before he could even finish, the young cultivator's senior brother violently clamped a hand over his mouth. The grip was so fierce it nearly tore his jaw apart.

"Do you have a death wish?!"

The senior brother hissed angrily, "Uncle-Master Mingyou cultivates the Discerning Truth and Illusion Illuminating Qi! Run your mouth like that, and he can spot you with a single thought!"

Hearing this, fear flashed across the young cultivator's face. "Is... is he really that powerful?"

"Obviously! Which uncle-master are you studying under to not know this?"

"Uh, I haven't taken a master yet. I'm still an inner sect disciple..."

"Oh, inner sect. That explains it."

Without another word, the senior brother took a step back in disgust, washed the hand he had used to cover the junior's mouth with a wave of magical power, and turned on his heel.

He left the young cultivator standing there, dumbfounded in the wind.

Similar scenes of chaos broke out across other parts of the continent. Countless people raised their heads, gazing toward the source of the clear-sky thunder.

Sun and Moon Lake.

Though named a lake, its actual scale was massive—it was effectively an inland sea. Its waters were divided into black and white, resembling a classic ink wash painting.

In the center of those black and white waters, right where the polarities divided, sat a small island with a thatched cottage. At this moment, someone walked out of it. Dressed in a black-and-white robe and wearing a Fish-Tail Crown, he held a horsetail whisk in his hand. Despite his formal attire, he bore the appearance of a young boy.

He stood there, looking up at the sky.

Centered around the thatched cottage, serpentine lightning coiled and thunder roared across a radius of ten thousand miles. Brilliant rays of dawn light rippled outward, blending the water and the sky into a single, vibrant hue.

The boy stared unblinkingly at the rosy clouds. The light in his eyes flickered like brilliant lanterns, brightening and dimming in a flash. Then, he lowered his head and let out a slow sigh.

"Xuexin is dead."

His voice was the exact opposite of his youthful appearance—ancient, heavily laden with the aura of twilight and decay.

"She died on the road while escorting the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman. Going out of her way to deliver it showed some filial piety, but in the end, it was a dereliction of duty."

The rosy clouds pulsed slightly, shifting in color.

Frowning at the sight, the boy's tone grew heavier. "Regardless, she cannot die yet. I need her to keep watching the Eight Trigrams Furnace for me."

As his words fell, the rosy clouds froze in place. Only then did the boy give a slight nod. "Good."

Immediately after, he shifted his gaze to the other side of the firmament. Locking his eyes on a particular star, he lightly nudged the Fish-Tail Crown on his head.

Rumble!

In an instant, an auspicious tri-colored cloud, as massive as a mountain, erupted from the ground. It pierced straight through the firmament before unfurling, propping up a magnificent canopy.

This canopy reached the sun and moon above and covered the rivers below. Lightning prowled its edges, occasionally ringing out like heavenly drums. Now stretching across the sky, sitting at the very center of the cosmos, it took a single breath—and instantly drew in spiritual energy from all four directions. The energies rushed forth to meet it in a brilliant display, illuminating thousands of rosy clouds that adorned its surroundings.

Then, the tri-colored canopy soared straight upward.

In a split second, it smashed through the Thirty-Three Heavens and plunged into the cosmic expanse. Wherever it passed, the stars flickered in turns and the heavens and earth shook. In a flash, it vanished into the infinite distance.

At almost the exact same moment, the boy vanished as well.

Just as the saying went: Carrying fire to shift the star continent, ascending on clouds from Tripod Lake!

...

Space shattered. The Heaven Within the Pot collapsed. The flying boat tumbled out of the void, crashing heavily onto a mountain peak.

"Bad, bad, bad!"

Aboard the ruined flying boat, the man surnamed Lin was pale with terror. A jade pendant in his robes had suddenly shattered. It was a secret treasure he had specially procured before setting out.

It could sense fluctuations in the Qi of heaven and earth. If any of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Qi underwent a sudden change, this treasure would alert him.

And just moments ago, the Discerning Truth and Illusion Illuminating Qi had fluctuated. The disturbance was so immense that it outright shattered the jade pendant, meaning he himself was the cause. Thinking of You Xuexin's master—the one who dwelled permanently in Sun and Moon Lake—the terror in the man surnamed Lin's heart could no longer be contained.

"He... he's coming!"

"How is this possible...? He actually realized You Xuexin is dead? With the Divine Powers of a Qi Refining practitioner, riding the Qi of heaven and earth to travel, he'll be here any second!"

The more the man surnamed Lin thought about it, the more terrified he became.

In his panic, he didn't even care about the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman right in front of him. He immediately pulled a talisman from his robes and ignited it with his magical power.

"No, I have to run first..."

The next second, flames violently erupted. It was a Divine Power talisman inscribed with the Fire Evasion Divine Power, and its light swallowed the man surnamed Lin whole.

Immediately after, his figure vanished into the fire, escaping to some distant realm. Only a group of frenzied bandit cultivators were left behind.

Three breaths of time passed.

Then, the movements of all the bandit cultivators came to a screeching halt. Among them, the young boy appeared out of thin air, holding the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman in his hand.

The majestic, tri-colored cloud canopy had also appeared in the sky above the boy.

Looking up, three colors intertwined within the clouds, harmonizing water and fire. And to the billions of living beings enveloped beneath its shadow, at this exact moment, it was the heavens!

"Heavens above..."

With a collective thud, all the bandit cultivators dropped to their knees in perfect unison. Gazing up at the cloud canopy with expressions of absolute devotion, they turned into flying ash mid-kowtow.

"He ran?"

The boy glanced around. He quickly spotted the firmly planted Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, as well as You Xuexin's soul drifting aimlessly in the air.

But calling it You Xuexin's soul was a stretch. Because her cultivation was lacking, once her soul lost its physical body and was exposed to the world, its true spirit quickly dissolved into the surrounding spiritual energy. It had already entered the natural cycle of heaven and earth. Bereft of any consciousness, it was at best a wisp of wandering Yin energy.

In other words, he was too late.

"Interesting."

The boy sneered. He then reached out toward the empty air in front of him. As if grabbing hold of something invisible, he slowly began to turn it.

Whoosh!

The sound of a surging river suddenly echoed between heaven and earth. The crystal-clear scenery all around unexpectedly blurred, growing hazy and surreal.

Following that, all the bandit cultivators who had just turned to ash came back to life within the hazy scenery. Everything was flowing backward into the past. Before long, a burst of fire flashed—the man surnamed Lin, who had already escaped with his life, was forcefully dragged back, standing in the exact same spot!

Yet this still wasn't the end.

Time continued to rewind. Finally, a change occurred in You Xuexin's soul. Her true spirit, which had already assimilated into the cycle of spiritual energy, was forcibly extracted and pulled back.

Her soul thus regained its sentience.

Then, it sank downward.

At the same time, her ash-reduced flesh rapidly reassembled. Her full, delicate body manifested once more. The soul sank into it, and her stalled breathing jump-started back to life.

"Haa... gasp!"

The next second, You Xuexin abruptly sat up, her eyes filled with bewilderment. The hazy, illusory world around her snapped back into crystal clarity.

"This is..." You Xuexin shifted her gaze and quickly spotted the boy. Her pretty face blanked in shock for a moment before she seemed to realize something. The color drained completely from her cheeks. Slowly, she turned her body and prostrated herself on the ground. "To have troubled Master to personally step into the mortal dust... please punish this disciple."

Her trembling tone carried both terror and sheer thrill.

Terror, because her life and death had disturbed the boy, and she feared his punishment. Thrill, because she was awestruck by the Divine Power he had unleashed.

'Heaven-Reversing Sun-Turning Sundial!'

'That's it. It has to be this grand Divine Power. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to drag me back when I was already dead, my soul and true spirit having fallen into the cycle of spiritual energy.'

The world always said time could not flow backward and the years would never return.

Yet to the Immortal Gate's Qi Refining practitioners, even precious time had to obey their will and bow before their mighty power!

"Rise," the boy said, his tone ghostly and profound.

"It's fine. This place is no longer considered too close to the mortal dust. Besides, I have some connections within the Divine Weapon Courtyard. They won't make a big fuss over this."

Having said that, the boy glanced at the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag beside You Xuexin. Under his gaze, the demons inside the flag and the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King had absolutely nowhere to hide; they could only submit to his scrutiny. After a moment, the boy murmured, "The cause of your death was this artifact."

"You forged this yourself, didn't you?"

"Your forging method was somewhat crude. This caused the main soul to lose control and run rampant when you activated it. It already bore a grudge against you; it's only natural that it caused a backlash."

"Ah? This..."

You Xuexin froze at his words. But on second thought, her master's judgment couldn't possibly be wrong. A look of deep remorse quickly surfaced on her face.

Yet soon after, she furrowed her brow.

"Please forgive your disciple's presumption, but... exactly how did I die?"

She couldn't remember.

This shouldn't be the case. Time had been reversed; she ought to vividly remember her own death. But thinking back on it now, her memories were somehow a blurry mess.

She only remembered that her death had felt incredibly abstract.

Why was it like this?!

A chill ran through You Xuexin. She looked up, only to see the boy also frowning slightly. He shook his head. "It should be that little thief's doing."

"His Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Method holds supreme profundities. If he used that technique to kill you, it's only natural that you don't remember. It also makes sense that I couldn't find any clues even when rewinding time. After all, that little thief loves erasing karma more than anything. Being able to drag back a little shrimp is already an unexpected boon."

With that, the boy looked at the man surnamed Lin, who had been dragged back.

The man surnamed Lin: "Huh?"

Even now, he still hadn't snapped out of it. His consciousness was still stuck in the joy of escaping by the skin of his teeth using the Fire Evasion Divine Power talisman. His face was a mask of sheer daze.

To him, only an instant had passed, yet it also felt as if he had drifted through tens of millions of years.

The next instant, as the boy's gaze landed on him, he finally regained the right to think. Waking from his trance, his eyes settled on the boy.

But in his eyes, the boy's figure was entirely cloaked by an unstoppable aura, as vast as mountains and seas. A single glance was enough to shatter his courage.

'So... so I didn't get away...'

Thud!

The man surnamed Lin crashed to his knees on the spot, slamming his forehead heavily against the ground. He didn't dare use magical power to protect himself. He even willingly broke his own flesh, causing blood to instantly pour out like a fountain.

"I beg Master for forgiveness!"

"An inner sect disciple who hasn't entered the true transmission—are you even worthy of calling me Master?"

The boy's tone was flat. With a single glance, he peered right through the man surnamed Lin's soul, but found no useful information. Losing patience, he gave his sleeve a dismissive flick.

The next second, the man surnamed Lin—along with the bandit cultivators who had been resurrected by the time reversal—collapsed once more. Their bodies disintegrated, turning into absolute nothingness.

Seeing this, You Xuexin couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Master..."

Her gaze narrowed slightly as she caught sight of the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman in the boy's hand. As if remembering something, she immediately whispered an explanation:

"Congratulations to Master on obtaining this treasure. Your disciple inquired beforehand—it contains the Life-Stealing Thief technique. It can usurp lifespan and vital energy. As long as Master cultivates this method, you can use it to replenish your lifespan. In the future, you won't need to be at the mercy of the Divine Weapon Courtyard and the Immortal Prescription Courtyard, nor be suppressed by them."

"Life-Stealing Thief..."

Hearing this, the boy inspected the jade slip in his hand once more. Its eerie, demonic allure was enough to drive any cultivator into an obsessive frenzy, yet it utterly failed to shake his Dao heart.

"...Hardly worth the effort."

"That little thief is a scheming one. Everything left drifting outside his sect are incomplete fragments. They only possess the power of ordinary spells—they cannot compare to Divine Powers, much less reach the level of the Qi of heaven and earth."

"This item is useless to me."

After saying this, the boy crushed the jade slip. He then looked at You Xuexin. "You shouldn't have taken this mission. Although it was out of filial piety, you tried to be clever and ended up making a mess."

"Go back. Don't harbor any other schemes. You only have one task right now, and that is to watch the Eight Trigrams Furnace for me in the Divine Weapon Courtyard. Hurry and forge that life-extending artifact, then bring it back to me. Once it is done, you will naturally be given the opportunity to cultivate a grand Divine Power."

You Xuexin hastily kowtowed. "Your disciple accepts her orders!"

The boy nodded, then casually added, "As for your Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag... though it was forged crudely, it isn't necessarily beyond saving."

"Guarding the Eight Trigrams Furnace this time is an opportunity."

"Find a good moment to toss it into the Eight Trigrams Furnace and patiently temper it for a decade or so. It might just undergo a complete rebirth and advance into a true dharma treasure."

"Thank you for the guidance, Master!"

...

Inside the Taiping Sutra space.

Still deeply shaken, Wang Ping sat on the high platform. He watched the light floating and sinking, flickering unpredictably across the towering tome in front of him. A long while passed before he finally let out a long breath.

In this moment, though he had a belly full of words he wanted to say, they ultimately dissolved into a single exclamation of shock:

"Holy shit... This is Qi Refining?"

Is there something wrong with this immortal cultivation system?!

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