Yes, Pei Xuanjing's judgment was mistaken, this world did give birth to a True Immortal!
If it could be said that at the moment when Pei Xuanjing activated the embryonic form of the Secret Inheritance of the Mystical Land of Blessings, he captured a whiff of an aura that made him suspect the birth of a True Immortal in this world, then what he discovered later undoubtedly completely overturned his previous judgment.
As mentioned before, the Star Moon Temple placed great importance on the region where Xuanjing's fief was located. Even though they had not completely controlled this region, they still established a branch there and constructed the tavern at a considerable cost.
Initially, Xuanjing guessed that there must be something important within the region of his fief that the Star Moon Temple valued; otherwise, they would not have done so.
Later, after the Moon Temple Master returned in defeat, the urgent actions of the Temple Master to reclaim the Moon God Blade and retake the branch were undoubtedly further confirmation of this idea.
Therefore, Xuanjing, in addition to working on the embryonic form of the Secret Inheritance of the Mystical Land of Blessings for the Royal Mansion, also devoted some time to studying the geographical feng shui of this region, searching for possible significant locations.
...
Not long ago, after Xuanjing had fully activated the embryonic form of the Mystical Land of Blessings, although he only had complete control over a few dozen miles around the Royal Mansion, he still had some influence over the areas beyond, allowing him to probe into their secrets.
In this way, without any clues, relying solely on his own power and divine abilities, Xuanjing found the inheritance site of the Ancient Immortal Path's Great Immortal Sect that the Star Moon Temple had spent countless efforts trying to find.
Before the rise of Martial Arts, the world thrived with the Immortal Path; the cultivators of that era dominated Heaven and Earth. The inheritance the Star Moon Temple sought was none other than one of the Secret Inheritances of the Ancient Immortal Path's Great Immortal Sect, the Sanbao Divine Sect.
It is said that Heaven has three treasures: the sun, the moon, and the stars; Earth has three treasures: water, fire, and wind; Humanity has three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit. The Sanbao Divine Sect cultivated the three treasures of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. As the disciples reached for the sun, moon, and stars above, and grasped the water, fire, and wind below, they tempered their essence, qi, and spirit within. With such a unique cultivation concept, they became a great force; even in the era of a prosperous Immortal Path, they were a top-tier power.
The Star Moon Temple, in fact, was established after the decline of the Immortal Path and the rise of Martial Arts by a later inheritor of the Sanbao Divine Sect's teachings. However, this inheritor of the Star Moon Temple did not have complete teachings, possessing only the doctrines of the stars and the moon. Although he integrated the system of Martial Arts to compensate for foundational shortcomings, and reached the summit of the Martial Arts' Twelve-Floor Tower Realm, he still fell short of perfection, the fabled Eternal Realm eluding him, and he died with regrets.
Therefore, the founder of the Star Moon Temple left behind a decree, hoping that future inheritors could gather all inheritances of the Sanbao Divine Sect, completely restoring the skill he had started. He also stated that if one day a successor managed to complete the skill, they might glimpse the threshold of the Eternal Realm.
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Thus, this decree became the ancestral instruction of the Star Moon Temple. Generations of Temple Masters worked tirelessly towards this goal: not just to fulfill the regret of the predecessor but also to see if, after fully restoring the inheritance, they truly could pursue Longevity.
After generations of Temple Masters sought out these teachings, up to the current Temple Master's era, their inheritances had been largely restored. The site of inheritance within Xuanjing's fief was probably the last inheritance site of the Sanbao Divine Sect.
If this Temple Master obtained this inheritance and remedied the foundational flaw, even if he could not glimpse Longevity, his power should still climb to another level.
But unfortunately, due to timing and fate, the final step, the crucial moment, the Secret Inheritance left by the Sanbao Divine Sect did not fall into the hands of the Star Moon Temple, but instead into the hands of Pei Xuanjing.
Such an outcome, if known to the past Temple Masters of the Star Moon Temple, would probably be enough to bring them back to life from anger. But by now, nothing could be changed.
Xuanjing easily obtained the last inheritance of the Sanbao Divine Sect; even though this sect from the Ancient Immortal Path had left behind countless safeguards in their teachings, they were still unable to prevent the intervention of Xuanjing, a True Immortal.
After obtaining these inheritances, although the teachings and cultivation path of the Sanbao Divine Sect were somewhat helpful to Xuanjing, they weren't of much importance. Instead, it was their concepts, the recognition of the three treasures of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, that inspired Xuanjing and provided some aid in his future cultivation and in refining the divine artifact Sanbao Jade Ruyi.
The most important part of this inheritance was not these teachings, at least not for Xuanjing. Within them, the Sanbao Divine Sect had left behind the true reason for the fall of the Ancient Immortal Path, revealing to Xuanjing why the Martial Arts powerhouses of this world, despite possessing strength comparable to the Supreme Strong, only had lifespans of five hundred years.
Everything started from an incident, a person, long ago.
Before the rise of Martial Arts, there wasn't even the concept or recognition of Martial Arts in this world; the Immortal Path was the mainstream, and Qi cultivators dominated the world.
At that time, the Qi cultivators of this world were revered much like those in the Great Ming World, highly esteemed and admired. Not only did they wield divine powers capable of altering mountains and seas, they also had long lifespans. While not eternal, the strongest among them could live for thousands of years, in no way inferior to the Supreme Strong of the Great Ming World, and perhaps even surpassing them.
With such a long life, lineages would not break, and there was ample time to cultivate successors, study, and extrapolate skills, causing the Immortal Path to become ever more prosperous.
But as it goes, the more prosperous becomes vulnerable to decline, a seemingly immutable law Between Heaven and Earth. The powerful and prosperous era of the Immortal Path finally faced an unprecedented challenge, a disaster of complete destruction.
A boy from a small mountain village, in his early years, had a blissful life. Although somewhat poor, he was happy with his parents and siblings.
However, due to a battle between Qi cultivators, the aftermath of their clash brought about catastrophic destruction, eradicating the entire small mountain village, and only a young boy who happened to be playing elsewhere survived by chance.
The clashes of Qi cultivators, earth-shattering and devastating, led to the casualties of commoners. While not common in the flourishing era of the Immortal Path, it was certainly not rare. Yet no one expected that this one incident would spark the great calamity of the Immortal Path era.
When Xuanjing read through these records, he could feel the writer's helplessness, regret, and anger. However, he did not sense the slightest bit of guilt for those innocents, instead, it felt as if such events were taken for granted.
"Not to mention anything else, just such an attitude alone, regarding ordinary lives as mere weeds, it's no wonder the Immortal Path era met its demise," Xuanjing said with a cold expression and a sneer, showing utter disdain.
Powerhouses may indeed be strong, but that does not mean they should act without restraint, wantonly, and without regard for life. They must maintain a reverence for all beings. They may kill, but they must not kill indiscriminately.
This is the code of the strong, not only an act of mercy towards the weak but also a restriction on their own hearts.
This was precisely why Pei Xuanjing brought forth the proposal to constrain cultivators throughout the world at the Shenxiao Debate Conference, not only for the sake of the common people but also as a warning to cultivators.
And the Qi cultivators of this realm, though powerful, viewed mortals as worthless as chaff; their eventual decline, however, was also the just cycle of Heaven's retribution.
Of course, Pei Xuanjing harbored some dissatisfaction in his heart, yet he continued to read on at the time, wanting to understand the true reason behind it all.
A sudden disaster destroyed everything he had, all his relatives died, only a young boy survived. Such a blow would be nearly impossible for an adult to accept, let alone a child.
...
But this boy was not frightened, he accepted reality and swore to embark on the path of cultivation, to seek out the Qi cultivators who fought against his kin and use their lives to avenge his supporting relatives and friends.
From then on, the boy left his mountain village, setting out alone on a journey to find a master and learn. The hardships that a ten-year-old boy had to endure were unseen by anyone, but one can imagine.
Yet this was only the first step of hardships encountered in his life. Years passed, and the boy had grown into a sixteen-year-old youth, he had met some Qi cultivators, visited some immortal sects, but his wish to find a master was repeatedly rejected because he lacked the talent for Refining Qi.
Fate mocks the unfortunate; a leaky house meets continuous rain; to add frost to snowfall—none of these phrases adequately describe the young man's plight. Had it been many others, they might have already given up, the path ahead seemed too dim, with not the slightest glimmer of hope.
But this youth did not give up. He persisted, continuing to walk among Heaven and Earth, seeking a master to learn from.
As time flowed on, year after year went by, and the youth was now in his twenties, but still, he had not found a renowned master willing to accept him as a disciple. However, some were moved by his perseverance and granted him the most basic Qi Refining skill to strengthen his body.
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Facing such circumstances, spurned by all, the young man still did not surrender. The hatred in his heart transformed into endless motivation, inspiring him to press on.
If no one is willing to teach me, then I shall learn by myself. Without a skill, I shall create my own. I must succeed in cultivation; I must have my revenge.
With hatred burning in his heart, the young man, using the most rudimentary Refining Qi skill, with Heaven and Earth as his teachers, understanding nature, imitating all spirits, actually forged a unique path which he called: Martial Arts!
From then on, Martial Arts were born in this realm, created by a youth whose heart was filled with hatred. And the very purpose of the Martial Arts he created was for slaughter, for vengeance. Thus Martial Arts may be lacking in other aspects, but in the realm of killing, they far surpassed Qi cultivators of the same realm.
A young martial artist then rose to prominence; he began crafting his legend within this realm of Heaven and Earth. He journeyed across thousands of mountains and rivers, treading upon innumerable famous peaks and great streams. He honed himself, perfected his martial arts, and founded the Martial Arts Twelve-Floor Tower system.
Finally, at the age of thirty-seven, he advanced to the Nine-story realm of Martial Arts. At this age, the youth had already made a name for himself. Though no one knew his name, he was dubbed the Martial Lunatic for the martial arts he pioneered and his practice of seeking out challenges everywhere he went.
Considering that he started practicing martial arts at the age of twenty, creating his own skills and exploring the path alone, it's evident that his talent for martial arts was almost monstrously phenomenal, having achieved such a realm in merely seventeen years.
It was also in this year that he finally found the Qi cultivators who had destroyed his small mountain village. The hatred that had been suppressed in his heart for nearly thirty years was ultimately vented at this moment.
The Qi cultivator from back then had only reached the mid-level of the Immortal Dao Realm by now, which was roughly equivalent to the Nine Layers Realm in martial arts, the same realm as this Martial Lunatic.
But with the overwhelming strength of martial arts, even when facing two opponents, the Martial Lunatic didn't flinch. After paying a hefty price to suppress the two Qi cultivators, he broke through his shackles to open the heavenly gate and ascended to the Martial Arts Tenth-Floor Tower, becoming one of the powerhouses of this world, his power comparable to many elders of the Great Immortal Sects.
If everything had ended there, it would merely be the inspiring history of a youth's growth, a tale of a young man carrying a sea of blood and deep hatred, who without anyone's help, single-handedly created a cultivation system, killed his enemies, and became a local hero.
Even if the Martial Lunatic waited a few more years for his martial arts to mature completely, and then spread his teachings, in the future, he would undoubtedly be revered and admired by countless Martial Artists, hailed as a grandmaster of a generation.
However, things were not so simple. If everything were that easy, there wouldn't be so many cycles of vengeance between Heaven and Earth.
Hand-in-Hand, the Qi cultivators destroyed the small mountain village by accident, causing its annihilation. Therefore, the Martial Lunatic spent over a decade searching for the Qi cultivators to exact his revenge, paying countless prices.
Having exacted his revenge, the hatred was vented, but just as he had friends and family, so did the Qi cultivators; hatred was born in their hearts as well, and they sought to avenge.
It's not that it all started because of the Qi cultivators. The Qi cultivators in this realm had been high and mighty for too long, viewing mortals as weeds and not seeing any fault in their actions.
So, this feud didn't end with the death of the Qi cultivators; instead, it escalated. Coincidentally, these Qi cultivators hailed from Great Immortal Sects with extraordinary friends and family. Faced with their kin being killed by a Martial Artist without any force to back him, even if he was the renowned Martial Lunatic, they couldn't stop themselves from seeking revenge.
Thus, some Qi cultivators immediately sought revenge against the Martial Lunatic. Even though he could fend off one or two with his power, it's hard to fight against many hands. With Immortal Daoist Strongmen continuously seeking him out and even more powerful beings descending, the Martial Lunatic, despite having ascended to the Tenth-Floor Tower realm, still couldn't withstand them.
So, he could only flee in a sorry state. During these engagements, countless Qi cultivators perished at the hands of the Martial Lunatic, and the Martial Lunatic had many narrow escapes from death, escalating their hatred to the point of being nearly irreconcilable.
The number of fallen Qi cultivators continued to increase, and as they died because of the Martial Lunatic, they too had friends and relatives who, seeking vengeance, began to pursue and retaliate against the Martial Lunatic. As Qi cultivators continued to fall one after another, the Martial Lunatic only grew stronger, becoming the demon in the eyes of immortal sects.