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Since ancient times, mortals have spoken of the Immortals. In countless legends, history has never been short of tales about those who achieved the Dao through rigorous Immortal Cultivation.
There were Sword Immortals who could soar through the air by controlling their flying blades, and powerful cultivators who could exorcise demons and vengeful spirits with ancient talismans and solemn incantations. Though rare, such figures occasionally descended into the common world, their presence a whisper of the divine.
Whenever monsters and devils ravaged the land, someone from the Path of Cultivation would inevitably emerge, to slay the evil, defend the innocent, and uphold cosmic justice. By accumulating virtue and merit, these heroes were honored and revered by all who lived under the heavens.
This was a wondrous world: majestic mountains towered endlessly, rivers and seas flowed across the land like sleeping dragons, and Spiritual Qi, the very breath of creation, filled every corner. Sacred mountains and blessed lands of cultivation could be found everywhere.
It was a realm of profound cultivation, where all living things possessed spirits and could gain wisdom. Through sheer perseverance, any creature could strive to attain immortality.
Animals could refine their essence to become Demon Immortals, the spirits of the dead could find a path to become Ghost Immortals, and humans, the most numerous, pursued the Immortal's Way, striving to transcend the bonds of fragile mortality.
Among the countless sects, the most renowned and respected was, without doubt, the Mount Shu Immortal Sword Sect.
Ever since Xu Zhangqing, the current Sect Lord, had taken charge, he had tirelessly restored ancient temples and sword peaks, greatly strengthening the sect's power and spreading its fame across the land. Its disciples frequently descended from the mountains to eliminate threats and restore order, earning the revered title of Heavenly Immortals, the foremost among the Seventy-Two Immortal Realms of the Mortal World.
Beyond Mount Shu, countless other major and minor cultivation sects existed, each with their own unique methods for achieving enlightenment and ascension.
Outside the mortal realm existed other powerful planes: the sprawling Demon Realm, the treacherous Devil Realm, and the sorrowful Ghost Realm, each vast and singular. Above them all lay the legendary Nine Heavens, and beyond even that, the terrifying power of the God Realm.
In the God Realm resided countless Innate Deities, beings of unimaginable power who controlled the very principles of heaven and earth. The residual shockwaves from their battles alone were said to be enough to annihilate entire worlds.
At this very moment, in the God Realm, outside the legendary Well of Gods and Demons, a vast, chaotic expanse stretched endlessly.
Everything here was withered and dead. Winds sharp as knives howled through the void, while frost, searing fire, fierce tempests, and torrential rain alternated in a violent, unending cycle, tearing across the heavens and the earth. No mortal could possibly survive such a place.
The very air was thick with corruption and toxic gases; the violent weather itself could strip the flesh from bone. Beyond that, invisible rifts in the space-time fabric appeared without warning, ready to swallow anything nearby.
High above, within the silent Heavenly Realm, the Divine Wills stationed before the Gates of Heaven occasionally opened their immense, shining eyes, scanning this chaotic void, only to close them again soon after. Such a place was rarely worth their attention. For the most part, they merely rested, letting the ages pass.
Suddenly, a group of men materialized in that chaotic space, wearing strange, modern-style military uniforms of deep jade and black.
"What a vicious environment… Is this truly the new world His Majesty wanted us to explore?"
The leading officer, a stern-faced Major General, surveyed the surroundings with a grave expression.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of sulfur. The ambient temperature exceeded fifty degrees Celsius, and the scorched red ground ahead glowed faintly as if molten.
"Sir, this place is too barren. I don't see any resources at all," one soldier stated, doubt in his voice.
According to the Emperor's intelligence, this world's civilization was supposed to be far more advanced than their own, a realm of Immortal cultivation filled with unknown possibilities. Yet what they saw before them was nothing but a desolate, collapsing waste.
"I confess, I don't understand either," The Major General admitted, frowning. "But from what I can tell now… we may have come to the wrong place."
"This doesn't look anything like the spiritual paradise His Majesty described, there is no Spiritual Qi, no sacred mountains, no trace of the Immortals from the legends."
He fell into a troubled silence. The world before them stretched endlessly, but it was a lifeless wasteland. Natural disasters erupted constantly, storms, geysers, unnatural lightning, as if this was a dying, collapsing realm on the brink of destruction.
What kind of world is this? What is there here worth exploring, much less conquering?
After a long pause, the Major General finally waved a dismissive hand.
"Spread out. Explore the area and see if you can find anything of value. Maintain absolute vigilance."
He had little choice but to give the order.
But half an hour later, when the reports from his reconnaissance teams came back, the Major General felt a chill.
This desolate world was completely empty, devoid of any recognizable life. The air itself was laced with deadly toxins and corrosive gases. Anyone who stayed here too long would suffer organ failure.
Even though they were all high-level Jōnin from the former Shinobi World, having mastered ninjutsu and possessed chakra for far greater endurance than normal humans, they still could not withstand such poison indefinitely. In the end, their bodies were still frail flesh and blood.
"Could it be… we truly arrived in the wrong world?"
"But that shouldn't be possible. The Realm Gate is a flawless technology, and His Majesty's foresight is never wrong!"
The Major General's brows furrowed, confusion giving way to mounting alarm.
They were the vanguard unit dispatched by Qin's Nation. The detachment was small, barely a thousand men, but each was an elite, a powerful warrior chosen for their skill and tenacity.
To explore a Major World whose Civilization Rank had reached Starlight Level Five, even if Qin Yi himself wanted to charge in personally, his Court Officials would never permit it. Sending in a vanguard to first scout, investigate, and gather intelligence was naturally the wisest and safest course of action.
However, the moment the vanguard crossed over, they found themselves in a murky, unstable Minor World, leaving them utterly disoriented.
By the third day, the Major General's expression had turned increasingly grim. He had now completely confirmed that this was definitely not the world His Majesty had spoken of, not the spiritually rich realm of immortal mountains and eternal gods.
Instead, this was a desolate, dying wasteland, a worthless world on the brink of total collapse!
"We came to the wrong place!" He sighed heavily, utterly perplexed.
"Major General, what should we do now?"
The soldiers were equally at a loss. In such a barren, poisonous land, if they stayed any longer, they risked complete biological decay. There was no sustainable food source, the climate was brutal, and the constant presence of toxins was gradually eroding their chakra-enhanced bodies.
"Prepare to return to the homeland," the Major General decided, shaking his head. "Report everything we've found about this desolate world to His Majesty for analysis."
"Understood!" The soldiers nodded in relief.
Thus, the thousand-strong team split up once more, beginning the tedious process of collecting samples of the air, soil, and stones, and recording footage of the toxic terrain, intending to analyze them in detail after returning.
This process took five to six exhausting hours.
Covered in sweat and grime, the soldiers regrouped, preparing to signal the homeland so that their Emperor could reopen the Realm Gate and bring them back.
And then, "Major General, look over there!" One soldier suddenly shouted, his face contorted in astonishment.
"Hm?" The Major General frowned and turned toward the indicated direction, only for his eyes to narrow to slits.
"That is--?!"
Before them, the very fabric of space twisted and warped, and a figure shimmered into sudden, violent view.
Clad in magnificent silver armor, a long, ornate spear gripped in one hand, his features blurred by a halo of pure white light, the newcomer radiated overwhelming, bone-deep divine majesty. He was a Celestial Soldier clad in shining silver, descending upon them like a vengeful god.
"Heavenly Devils from beyond the realm, You dare trespass upon the Heavenly Realm?" The divine soldier's voice boomed, cold and devoid of mercy. "Die!"
Before the Major General could even issue an order or react, the silver-armored figure swept his spear forward in a blinding, instantaneous arc.
"WOM!"
The void trembled violently. A terrifying wave of golden energy burst forth, a shockwave so sharp it seemed to tear apart the very air.
The Major General's eyes widened, filled with sheer, paralyzing terror.
"No!!!"
Before his scream even finished, several soldiers behind him, unable to even perceive the motion of the spear or the divine soldier himself, were struck by the devastating energy blast.
And then, The space around the strike point collapsed inward.
In an instant, the thousand-man vanguard force began to disintegrate, their chakra defenses overwhelmed, their bodies crumbling into fine motes of ash that vanished into the toxic void.
(End of Chapter)