Translator: CinderTL
The moment the thought struck him, Xu Sanyan startled even himself. These were sages—the strongest beings beneath immortals, comparable to the Sect Leader of the Harmonious Heart Demonic Sect and the Abbot of the Heaven's Will Demon Subduing Temple.
With immortals absent from the world, sages stood at the absolute pinnacle of the cultivation world. How could such figures be refined into a secret realm?
Xu Sanyan had heard that the Hundred Saints Secret Realm was created by immortals, with over a hundred sages collaborating in its creation.
But that was sages creating the realm, not sages being used to create it.
A mere difference of a few words, yet the implications were worlds apart.
The old man's gaze flickered erratically, as if recalling something deeply terrifying.
"Dao Lord Tian Shu, Dao Lord Zi Yang, Immortal Maiden Bi Yue... all dead," he murmured.
"All dead..."
The old man slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant as he stared blankly ahead, his pupils unfocused.
Xu Sanyan calmed his racing thoughts. Though he didn't recognize the names the old man had mentioned, he surmised they must have been sages from the Yaotian Holy Sect in its prime.
"Senior, might I ask... was the great elder an immortal?"
Only an immortal would possess the audacity to refine over a hundred sages into a secret realm in one fell swoop.
The old man didn't answer, still immersed in his memories. As his thoughts grew clearer, more memories resurfaced.
Xu Sanyan gazed at the old man's silhouette, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Just then, the old man seemed to accept the fact of his death, his face ashen as he asked, "What year is it now?"
Xu Sanyan paused briefly. "Thirty thousand years later."
"Thirty thousand years?" The old man's head snapped up. "Does the Yaotian Holy Sect still exist?"
"No, it doesn't."
"As I feared..." The old man sighed, as if he had long anticipated this. "In the end, we couldn't escape it..."
"Escape what?" Xu Sanyan sensed a deeper meaning in his words.
"The heavenly tribulation," the old man whispered, each word carrying immense weight.
Xu Sanyan frowned. "Senior, what do you mean?"
Ancient texts confirmed that the Yaotian Holy Sect had existed over thirty thousand years ago. Yet among the Great Sects and noble clans of the Central Region, the oldest was the Heaven's Will Demon Subduing Temple, founded only seven thousand years ago!
Where had the missing twenty-three thousand years gone?
Xu Sanyan had often wondered about this. He had scoured ancient texts but found no trace, as if those millennia had been erased from the river of time, leaving not a single trace behind.
Moreover, the oldest sect in the World of Immortal Cultivation that can be traced back to today is none other than the Yaotian Holy Sect. There are no records extending further into the past.
The World of Immortal Cultivation has existed for countless ages, yet in the end, only records spanning less than a hundred thousand years remain.
Now...
It seemed possible to glean fragments of this lost history from the old man's words.
The old man countered with a question: "Do any immortals still exist in the world today?"
Xu Sanyan paused to consider, then shook his head. "I haven't heard of any."
Among the cultivators he knew, the highest cultivation levels belonged to the Sect Leaders of the Five Great Sects. However, all five had only reached the sage realm; he had never heard of any immortals still living.
"Alas..."
The old man tilted his head back and sighed wistfully. "When prosperity reaches its peak, decline is inevitable. This is the heavenly dao. We can only blame the Yaotian Holy Sect for becoming too powerful..."
Xu Sanyan nodded in agreement. Even from the books, one could sense the Yaotian Holy Sect's overwhelming might. They had dominated an era, seizing the blessings of heaven and earth to nourish themselves. How could they not become formidable?
"Throughout the ages, no sect has ever surpassed the Yaotian Holy Sect in power. They boasted over a dozen immortals, hundreds of sages, and countless masters of void harmony. That era was truly the golden age of Cultivation."
The old man spoke slowly. "Yet we lacked restraint, driven by selfishness and greed. After tens of thousands of years of relentless plunder, the heavenly dao, seeking self-preservation, finally unleashed the heavenly tribulation."
"After countless ages, the World of Immortal Cultivation has finally been destroyed, a fitting end for its own deeds..."
A hint of relief flickered in the old man's eyes before he burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! How laughable that the great elder used the pretense of creating a secret realm to deceive us into helping him forge this Peach Blossom Secret Realm, all so he could hide here and evade the heavenly tribulation!"
"Hahahaha... How absurd! As if he could ever escape the heavenly tribulation!"
Xu Sanyan understood now. So this secret realm was originally called the Peach Blossom Secret Realm; the name Hundred Saints Secret Realm was merely a later designation.
Its true purpose wasn't to train disciples, but rather a pretext for the so-called great elder to create a sanctuary for himself.
Alas, human schemes are no match for the will of heaven. For reasons unknown, the great elder never managed to enter the realm and vanished into the long river of history.
Noticing the old man's increasingly frail state, Xu Sanyan quickly asked, "Senior, are you alright?"
He suddenly didn't want this old man to die, hoping to extract more information from him.
"Heh, this old man is merely a remnant soul clinging to this body. After tens of thousands of years of attrition, it's already on the verge of collapse. You needn't lift a finger; I'll be gone in moments."
The old man's gaze swept over Xu Sanyan, instantly discerning the young man's hidden intentions.
Xu Sanyan remained composed, standing quietly to the side. He respectfully said, "Senior, do you have any unfulfilled wishes? This junior will do his utmost to fulfill them."
"Wishes..." The old man shook his head with a bitter smile. He had too many unfulfilled desires: he had never ascended to the immortal dao to witness the splendor of the Celestial Immortals; he had never kept his promise to his beloved to travel the world hand-in-hand. All these opportunities were now lost forever.
After a moment of silence, the old man said, "There is one wish. Take me out of this secret realm. I want to see what the world is like after thirty thousand years."
"Can you even leave, Senior?" Xu Sanyan asked, surprised. He had assumed the old man was confined to the secret realm.
"Don't you have a piece of Soul-Startling Wood? I sensed it earlier. By possessing it, I can nurture my soul spirit and perhaps survive for a few more months."
"Soul-Startling Wood?" Xu Sanyan frowned in thought, then remembered—the discipline ruler!
Back on Great Solitary Mountain, the Old Teacher had used the same artifact to escape the Soul Realm and reincarnate. He never expected to need it again.
Xu Sanyan retrieved the discipline ruler. "Is this it?"
"Exactly," the old man nodded, then looked up and asked, "Do you agree?"
Xu Sanyan pondered briefly. The old man was now just a wisp of a remnant soul, posing no threat to him. Moreover, he could glean more secrets through him.
Furthermore, the old man had participated in forging the Hundred Saints Secret Realm and undoubtedly knew its inner workings intimately. Now that he was in Xu Sanyan's grasp, wasn't it akin to having a personal "Old Man" at his beck and call?
After weighing the pros and cons, the advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages. Xu Sanyan extended the discipline ruler.
"Senior, please proceed."
The old man nodded, and a phantom-like soul spirit detached from his physical body, attaching itself to the discipline ruler.
"Thank you," the old man's voice echoed in Xu Sanyan's ear.
"It is my honor to serve you, Senior," Xu Sanyan replied with a warm smile, radiating sunny cheerfulness like a bright-eyed young man.
With the soul spirit departed, the corpse lost its animation, collapsing awkwardly to the ground. A staircase leading upward materialized, revealing the tenth level.
"Huh? No treasure in this level?" Xu Sanyan asked, surprised.
"The tenth level is the treasure," the old man explained.
"I see."
Xu Sanyan tilted his head slightly and addressed the two elders behind him. "Go ahead and check it out first."
"Yes, Holy Son."
(End of the Chapter)
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