Immortal of the Ages

"What do you think? The incense is burning bright, and these folks are kneeling like brainwashed zealots. Those three up there are also close to ascending. This situation is a lot trickier to deal with than the Nian breaking free" Blue Star said. Then slapping a furry paw to his forehead, he came to a realization. "Here I was wondering why this sacred land of Immortal cultivation would birth an incarnation of transcending calamity! It's clear a sickness has rooted itself deep into the land. Perhaps this is the real humanity wiping calamity!

"You mean that girl, Lian Xi?" Yun Xiao was now sure of it. That girl was undoubtedly the same as Chen Xi, a reincarnation of the Primordial Immortal Ancestor! And here she was, once again!

"So, you're telling me that the Primordial Ruins, once a haven for the humans of myriad worlds, now suffers from a deep rot? Everyone's been bewitched, and that's why the evil has been able to grow unrestrained? That includes those people in the Sky Origin Ruins? The fact that they're willing to burn a whole world to refine a treasure shows their inner rot, I suppose," Yun Xiao said gravely.

"Exactly! The All Life Devouring Gu is a forbidden art because of its endless greed. Those Three True Immortals, using the Primordial Ruins as their base of operations, aim not just to conquer this sacred land but to sweep through all worlds. If we let them spread this so-called Ascension Technique and bring people into their soul collective Forget the myriad worlds. Let them run amok in just a few worlds, and even if an actual High Immortal were to descend from the heavens, they might just meet their end here," Blue Star explained.

"How bad is it now?" Yun Xiao looked upon the bustling Primordial Ruins, his voice a heavy low.

"By the looks of it, pretty dire," Blue Star said, face in palm, tired.

"Alright then," Yun Xiao understood the situation. He hadn't met Lian Xi yet. But when he thought of Chen Xi, he could only lament, "Such a tragic fate for a girl. To be reborn endlessly in worlds of turmoil."

For ages, the Divine Continent had been oppressed by the Demon Continent, with countless humans suffering tragic deaths. Then, she was born, emerging boldly as humanity's light.

And now, with the Primordial Ruins becoming a nest for three parasites, threatening to swallow myriad words. She emerged again!

What kind of fate and life was this?

"Primordial Immortal Ancestor," Yun Xiao whispered, feeling a mix of emotions. She was his greatest foe. Yet, what she did, and what he wanted to do, often aligned in principle. "Forget it. Out of sight, out of mind!"

With another disaster looming over the Nine Hells, he had no time to dwell on things in the far future. He wasn't even sure if he should get involved with the situation in the Primordial Ruins!

Seeing folks still lost in their trance, Yun Xiao couldn't help but feel frustrated. He was running out of time! He could only take a risk! He darted into an alley, passing by a few corners, before his gaze locked on a boy in the corner.

The boy looked about twelve years old, with messy hair. He was also looking up at the sky and trying to practice the ascension technique.

WHOOSH! Yun Xiao appeared like a specter, one hand muffling the boy's mouth, the other brandishing an azure Sword Soul at the boy's throat. fre(e)novelkiss

The boys eyes bulged, a mix of shock and stupefaction at Yun Xiao's sudden presence.

"Shh, quiet now. No harm will come to you," Yun Xiao whispered, dragging the boy into a deserted courtyard, its owners likely off paying their respects, leaving the place empty.

Once secluded, Yun Xiao released his grip, though the Sword Soul remained a whisper from the boy's neck.

"Y-you!!" the boy gasped, eyes wide as saucers. "What in the world are you doing not practicing at this hour, and instead, kidnapping people?"

"Can't I?" Yun Xiao's face was a mask of indifference.

"This... this is heresy! You'll be roasted alive at the Three Immortals Temple!" The boy was aghast.

Who would dare to commit such a bold act?

"So, your devotion is born from fear, not faith?" Yun Xiao probed.

"Nonsense! Don't you dare slander me! My reverence for the True Immortals is as endless as the rivers..." the boy blurted out in fright.

"Ah, so the True Immortals' influence isn't as pervasive as I thought," Yun Xiao mused.

The boy was lost, clueless about Yun Xiao's cryptic words.

"Listen," Yun Xiao tightened his grip on the boy's collar, "do you know Lian Xi?"

"Only a fool wouldn't!" the boy retorted.

"Where is she?" Yun Xiao pressed.

"At the Primordial Academy!" the boy declared.

"Primordial Academy? Lead the way," Yun Xiao commanded, rising.

"Lead the way yourself!" The boy pointed towards the east, where a colorful pagoda pierced the mists. "That's the Primordial Pagoda, and the academy is built around it. Lian Xi is surely there."

"Is that so?" Yun Xiao saw it too.

Dragging someone along would only slow him down.

"Alright, thanks. Go back to your kneeling," Yun Xiao dismissed.

"I-I can't... Could you, with your swift speed, whoosh me back as if none of this ever happened?" the boy asked, his voice tinged with hope and a hint of dread.

"What's your name?" Yun Xiao inquired.

"Ah Can," the boy replied.

"I'll remember it." With a grasp and a gust akin to a tempest, Yun Xiao whisked the boy back to the spot he'd been devoutly kneeling.

"Primordial Academy..." Ah Can, dazed, watched Yun Xiao's departing silhouette, murmuring to himself with a hint of regret, "That's the only place that doesn't require someone to practice the ascension technique.

In his eyes was a glimmer of yearning. He glanced back, slyly, at two adults in tow. His parents, lost in fervor, hadn't noticed his brief absence, their faces aglow with a zealous obsession.

He saw, with his own eyes, smoke billowing from their crowns, spiraling into a golden swirl, devoured by three spectral figures with a ghastly twirl Yet, he dared not disclose what he saw.

In the distance, an elder by the temple, with a smile so gentle and a stroke of his beard, mused aloud, "The five decays of heaven and man, a cultivator's plight, a sorrow that spans the land. Blessed be the arrival of the True Immortals, with powers grand, to guide all beings from sand to strand. This, a kindness vast and grand!"

"Sighs and praises for the True Immortals, boundless and grand!"

Soon after, Yun Xiao found himself in an open space. Looking up, he beheld the Primordial Pagoda, resplendent as a pearl set upon this holy land, illuminating all living beings under it.

Closer in sight he saw a humble gate, with crooked letters that read Primordial Academy.

Compared to the bustling grandeur of the Primordial Ruins, this academy's entrance, plain as could be, seemed barely a match for any street-side shop's entrance, embodying simplicity.

This was the Primordial Academy! It did indeed have the look of academic sanctity.

Seeing no one around, Yun Xiao approached the academy gate.

"Halt." A muffled voice came from the side.

Yun Xiao turned to the source of the voice to see a small book shack bound with books all around.

Inside the book shack sat a bald, middle-aged man with the towering stature of a devil clan member, engrossed in a book no larger than his handanother top-tier powerhouse.

"I'm here to see Lian Xi," Yun Xiao declared.

The bald man glanced up, taken aback, and asked, "Another admirer drawn by her fame?"

Yun Xiao shook his head.

"Then leave," the man coughed, returning to his book with a stern look.

"How can I gain entry then?" Yun Xiao pressed.

"Outsiders aren't welcome, and disturbing my study of the sages' works will only earn you a swift expulsion skyward," the bald man intoned gravely.

Catching a glimpse of the book through the man's fingers, Yun Xiao spotted the title, Beauty's Mirror.

..." Yun Xiao felt speechless. What work of sages? The bald man was basically reading smut!

He approached the man directly.

"You?" the man's brow furrowed.

Before any action could be taken, Yun Xiao spoke, "I hail from the Nine Hells. The Nian is about to break free from the Immortal Asylum, threatening the masses. I came with Zhang Qingwei to the Sky Origin Ruins to report this, but that Yuan Xianjun killed her, intending to annihilate the Nian by refining my world into an Ascension Pill... Now, the souls of the Nine Hells are in peril, and I seek Lian Xi's aid!"

With his plea concisely delivered, the bald man fell silent. Then, he stood abruptly, his book thudding to the floor, revealing an illustration of a scantily-clad mermaid.

Slapping himself awake, he said, "Lian Xi is challenging the eighth level of the Primordial Pagoda. Come with me!"

Passing through the unassuming gate, Yun Xiao discovered the vastness of the Primordial Academy, dwarfing even the Heavenly Realm's Grand Temple in its heritage. The place was nearly half the size of the Heavenly Realm itself, bustling with talented youths.

"Lian Xi is about to conquer the eighth level of the Primordial Pagoda!" the news rippled through the crowd, drawing many towards the towering structure.

As Yun Xiao neared, he found the area beneath the Pagoda swarming with a sea of people...

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

Before any action could be taken, Yun Xiao spoke, "I hail from the Nine Hells. The Nian is about to break free from the Immortal Asylum, threatening the masses. I came with Zhang Qingwei to the Sky Origin Ruins to report this, but that Yuan Xianjun killed her, intending to annihilate the Nian by refining my world into an Ascension Pill... Now, the souls of the Nine Hells are in peril, and I seek Lian Xi's aid!"

*Looks at other stories taking the most convuluted path when a simple explanation would have worked.

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