Chapter 214: Many Corpses on the Path of Cultivation

The Immortal Gate, Huankong Realm.

The gaseous celestial body formed by the Major Divine Ability, [A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms], had eternal storms raging across its surface—but on this day, they suddenly ground to a halt.

Not only that, but across the Immortal Gate's domain—from the outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples of the eight great immortal peaks to the countless celestial bodies inhabited by independent cultivators—everyone discovered something highly unexpected. A massive organization they saw every day had suddenly undergone a drastic shift.

The Heaven and Earth Pavilion.

This super faction among the Immortal Gate disciples, built single-handedly by the fifth true transmission, Kunyun, was now facing an unimaginable upheaval.

Vast numbers of blessed lands were sold off.

Stockpiled spiritual materials were carted away piece by piece.

Moreover, an ocean of incense dharma coins was funneled through various channels toward the Heaven and Earth Pavilion's headquarters—the Cave Abode where Kunyun usually resided.

Naturally, such a colossal volume of resources caught the eyes of many bandit cultivators. However, the vast majority chose to back down as soon as they saw who was transporting the goods. Without exception, the escorts were all Divine Powers cultivators, and nearly every one of them was equipped with a Grotto-Heaven.

Any single one of them was no weaker than Xuanyin.

The Heaven and Earth Pavilion had a full dozen of such cultivators. Right now, they rode their streaks of light to gather on the gaseous celestial body, arriving before Kunyun's Cave Abode.

"Senior Brother Yuan."

After landing, the several Divine Powers cultivators immediately looked toward the man who had come out to greet them. He was a middle-aged Daoist dressed in a moon-white robe.

"Why did Senior Brother Kunyun summon us here?"

One of them asked carefully. News always traveled fast in the Immortal Gate, and quite a few people had already heard that Kunyun was about to face his life tribulation.

These core members of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion were undeniably anxious at this moment. A true transmission facing a life tribulation had always been a narrow brush with death. If he succeeded, they would naturally ride his coattails to greater heights. But if he failed, they would have to scatter like birds and beasts, perhaps even moonlighting as bandit cultivators to make a small fortune.

"I don't know either."

Faced with their inquiries, Yuan Chengsong shook his head. "Anyway, just wait outside for now. Give me everything, and I'll go see Senior Brother Kunyun."

Hearing this, none of them dared to object.

After all, within the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, Yuan Chengsong was the sole cultivator possessing a Major Divine Ability. He had almost reached perfection in the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer, only a single step away from the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer.

Once he collected all the resources, Yuan Chengsong strode toward the immortal estate where Kunyun was secluded. He pushed the door open, and the scene before his eyes instantly shifted.

Behind the door was not the palatial hall he expected. Instead, a vast ocean flowed freely, bordered by towering, cloud-wreathed cliffs. At first glance, it looked like an otherworldly paradise. But upon closer inspection, he realized that what flowed in the ocean wasn't water, but a terrifying expanse of lightning plasma, dense to the extreme and nearly liquefied.

As for the cloud-wreathed cliff, it actually took the shape of a dragon's head.

Pitch-black scales formed the rocky boulders on the cliff, and further up were two gnarled horns that seemed ready to pierce the sky, forming the very peak of the cliff.

At the top of this majestic dragon-head cliff, a young man sat cross-legged. Wearing a leisurely expression, he was conversing with a pale-skinned, white-haired old man.

"Senior Brother."

Yuan Chengsong floated upward and landed beside the young man, saying softly, "Everything has been delivered."

"You've worked hard."

Kunyun smiled and patted Yuan Chengsong's shoulder before pointing at the old man across from him. "Take half of it and give everything in that half to Junior Brother Xuanlong."

The moment he said this, Yuan Chengsong froze. Half? This was the wealth accumulated after the Heaven and Earth Pavilion liquidated its assets and emptied its stockpiles. If converted into incense dharma coins, it would easily start at several million, perhaps even tens of millions. And he was just going to give half of it to this old man?

Was it tax evasion? Was his senior brother hiding assets?

Yuan Chengsong couldn't help but entertain the thought.

Despite this, he didn't voice his doubts. He simply used his divine sense to swiftly inventory the items, packed half into a Hundred Treasures Pouch, and placed it into the old man's arms.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Kunyun."

The old man stood up shakily and offered a respectful bow. "Since that is the case, I agree to our previous deal. I will arrive on time."

"Then I will have to trouble you, Junior Brother."

Kunyun cupped his hands in return, gesturing to see him off. Only then did the old man turn around, his figure suddenly vanishing without a trace like bursting sea foam.

"Hm?!"

The old man's disappearance mildly shocked Yuan Chengsong. As a cultivator possessing a Major Divine Ability, he actually hadn't sensed the slightest trace of the old man's departure.

'Tribulation Transcending Third Layer?'

Yuan Chengsong instantly came to a conclusion in his mind. The Tribulation Transcending Third Layer wasn't exclusive to true transmission disciples. In fact, there were some inner sect disciples whose cultivation had also reached this stage. However, lacking a true spiritual root, they were doomed to never reach Qi Refining. Even braving a narrow brush with death, they could only hope to become a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, and surviving a life tribulation was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Cultivators like this were mostly just waiting to die.

But that didn't mean they were weak. Quite the opposite—at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer, the gap between inner sect and true transmission disciples was at its narrowest.

Right at this moment, Kunyun spoke.

"Do you know who that was?"

"I do not." Yuan Chengsong shook his head. There were thousands upon thousands of inner sect disciples; they weren't exactly rare, and it was impossible for him to recognize every single one of them.

"His name is Xuanlongzi."

Kunyun didn't mind his ignorance and continued, "He can be considered an outstanding hero of his generation. His comprehension is top-tier, and his opportunities were also excellent. He built his fortune on a legacy of drawing talismans."

"In his youth, he was the most brilliant independent cultivator on his celestial body. Thanks to his parents and family helping him at all costs, he eventually obtained an orthodox legacy and found work in a good blessed land. A few years later, the original master of that blessed land was killed by bandit cultivators, and he became its new master."

"He was diligent in his cultivation, skilled at drawing talismans, and his talent for management was downright superb."

"Under his operation, that blessed land rapidly expanded, earning him quite a lot of incense dharma coins. These profits were funneled back into his cultivation, allowing him to advance by leaps and bounds."

"It formed a positive cycle."

"At the age of three hundred, he made a massive gamble. He mortgaged the entire blessed land and all his assets to exchange for a Middle Divine Ability from the Dharma Transmission Hall."

"He won the gamble."

"Before his debt came due and his cash flow could collapse, he broke through. Having successfully cultivated a Divine Power and become an inner sect disciple, he received investments from many fellow disciples."

"Very soon, he further expanded his family's enterprise, and the blessed land was upgraded into a Grotto-Heaven. From then on, his family branched out and spread, gaining quite a bit of fame within the Immortal Gate. After that, he participated in the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle three times, competing for quotas and resources, and his cultivation elevated to the Realm of a Major Divine Ability."

"Following that, he made another massive gamble."

"Just like before, his Grotto-Heaven, his Divine Powers, his soul, his dharma power... he pushed everything he could possibly wager onto the scales of [destiny]."

"And he won again."

"This time, he carved out a place of his own within [destiny]. Reaching the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer, he walked almost to the point of standing as an equal with true transmissions."

Kunyun spoke of this casually.

However, Yuan Chengsong himself was an inner sect disciple. Just by listening to these words, he could naturally picture in his mind just what kind of grueling years those must have been.

The reason was simple.

'An inner sect disciple at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer, with no Qi Refining master behind him, and seemingly without any true transmission serving as a backer—yet he managed to achieve all this?'

It was inconceivable!

One had to remember, he acted as the second-in-command in a super platform like the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, yet even now, he was merely a cultivator possessing a Major Divine Ability.

An outstanding hero of his generation—Kunyun's evaluation was extremely fair.

However—

"Afterward, he idled away a full three thousand years."

Kunyun abruptly changed his tone. "He only took a thousand years to reach the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer, but he has lingered at this Realm for three thousand years, never advancing a single step further!"

Why?

Kunyun didn't need to explain. A trace of bitterness surfaced in Yuan Chengsong's eyes. After all, the reason couldn't be simpler—it was because he lacked a true spiritual root!

"Without a true spiritual root, he had no path left to walk."

"With no Qi Refining practitioner to guide him, he wanted to pivot to cultivating as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, but he was completely in the dark. He couldn't find a cultivation method that matched his own innate qi."

"His road has come to an end, and now he is also on the verge of dying from old age."

At this point, Kunyun shook his head. "Even unluckier, a while back, his favorite young junior fell victim to a mysterious bandit cultivator."

"Dying near [Dao Proving Mountain]."

"According to the report from his martial nephew, that young junior and two other outer sect disciples were all killed by a Brahma Nation spy, but no clues could be found."

Hearing this, Yuan Chengsong pondered for a moment before his gaze shifted slightly. "Senior Brother is referring to the trio of Xiaoxiang, Fengyuan, and Changyangzi. I've heard of this matter before... This Xuanlongzi is Changyangzi's master? I remember that the one in charge of handling that incident was Xuanhe."

"Correct."

Kunyun smiled. "Xuanlongzi has always brooded over Changyangzi's death, and I gave him an answer. This is the karma between him and me."

Speaking of this, Kunyun once again recalled the cultivator who had previously destroyed a strand of his divine sense in the [Eight Trigrams Furnace]. The person seemed to be called [Dousheng].

"[Destiny] is truly fair."

It was precisely this subtle thread of karma that allowed him to find Xuanlongzi. And with this karma in place, it was perfectly logical for Xuanlongzi to participate in his life tribulation!

Or rather, he was already caught within the life tribulation.

"Although with his strength he definitely can't defeat a Brahma Nation true transmission, if he deliberately stalls for time, it won't be easy for the opponent to kill him either."

Kunyun chuckled. "So I contacted him and negotiated a deal... It just so happens he has the desire to gamble a third time, so we hit it off immediately."

"Senior Brother..."

Yuan Chengsong's expression gradually changed, for he could hear the very same massive gambling intent in Kunyun's tone. A sense of unease unconsciously bloomed in his heart.

Almost at the same time, Kunyun also looked toward him.

"You take the remaining half. To the outside world, I will say I collected it... Wealth must not be exposed. If people find out you took it, you will definitely die."

"What?"

Yuan Chengsong's face drastically changed, but before he could speak, Kunyun had already stood up. With just this single movement, the surrounding mystical scenery collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The lightning ocean, the dragon cliff—all the illusions shattered, revealing the true appearance of the palatial hall. Meanwhile, all the shattered illusions were entirely inhaled into Kunyun's lungs.

Yuan Chengsong watched blankly, as if returning to all those years ago. This true transmission senior brother had sought him out all alone, saying he wanted to build a massive faction. He had even personally written the calligraphy, finalizing the name of the [Heaven and Earth Pavilion], and bragged about how "I am the master of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, the heavens are vast and the earth is immense, but I am the greatest..."

Now, he was leaving.

Except, just like when he first arrived all those years ago, he was still alone. He was going to face the greatest tribulation of his life, and perhaps this would be the last time they ever met.

"People always say the Immortal Gate has no room for camaraderie."

Kunyun chuckled. "Actually, that isn't entirely true. As long as there isn't a competitive relationship, there can still be some affection. It's a good thing you're only in the inner sect, Chengsong."

"Take my good junior brother, for example—I'd love nothing more than to butcher him to pair with my wine."

At the end, Kunyun stood with his hands behind his back and suddenly let out a faint sigh. "Xuanlongzi and I, the inner sect and the true transmissions... when it comes down to it, there really isn't much difference between us."

"We're all gambling, all fighting for a chance."

"It's just that the inner sect has slightly less capital, while true transmissions have slightly more... Besides, the outcome doesn't change. If you lose the gamble, you'll still lose absolutely everything."

"There are many corpses on the path of cultivation. We have only ever seen people leave, never seen them return."

To attain the Immortal Dao, Corpses pile upon green hills.

Winds sweep the scattered clouds away, Where can the fallen heroes be found?

Kunyun's figure rapidly faded, leaving behind only a lingering echo. "After I leave, disband the Heaven and Earth Pavilion."

Hearing this, Yuan Chengsong froze for a moment. Recalling the bits and pieces of his time spent with Kunyun over the years, a long while passed before he let out a deep sigh. "This Biyang's... The person is gone, but what about the legacy? You're not leaving it for me?"