Immortal of the Ages

Yun Xiao had flawlessly executed the Ten-Step Scale after merely listening and watching for a day. The first time he unsheathed his sword, it rang out ten times!

Zhao Xuanran was stunned. Everything happening at this moment made her doubt the year of arduous cultivation she had endured. The most infuriating part was, after the youth sheathed his sword, he even blew a breath on the Sword Soul, then turned around revealing a harmless smile, saying to everyone, “Seems like a Moon grade sword technique isn't that difficult.”

“You!” Zhao Xuanran felt like he was calling her dumb.

“Want me to teach you tonight? You know, I can show you some extra length...” Yun Xiao said with a light laugh.

“Oh?! Oh ho?” Cai Maomao seeing this, started to howl and stir things up.

Zhao Xuanran glared at him for a long while, and then unexpectedly turned and left.

“Hey? Are you going back on your word? What did you just promise me?” Yun Xiao said.

“Nothing.” Zhao Xuanran retorted angrily.

Sure enough, she went back on her word. Yun Xiao knew she would, so he was just joking.

“What did she promise?” a group of Sword Pavilion disciples asked in unison.

“Uh!” Yun Xiao mumbled. It wasn't convenient to say! “Senior Sister Zhao, wait.” He chased after her.

“What?” Zhao Xuanran turned around, pretending to be fierce.

“The sword manual, give it to me.” Yun Xiao extended his hand, “I’ve learned the First Sword of Azure Spirit, I want to leave my name.”

“Oh!” She took out the sword manual from her bosom and handed it to Yun Xiao. Having just walked two steps, she turned back to glare at Yun Xiao, saying, “Don’t write nonsense!”

Before her words fell, she found Yun Xiao had already written something! “What did you write?” she asked curiously as she moved closer.

“Here.” Yun Xiao showed her. Written on it was... Yun Xiao, who loves to drink his Senior Sister's Daughter Red.

“You little…!” Zhao Xuanran was furious. SMACK SMACK SMACK! She picked up the sword manual, and hit Yun Xiao on the head three times. After hitting him, she threw the sword manual at his chest and left with graceful steps.

“Ah, ah! I get it!” Yun Xiao, watching the direction Zhao Xuanran left, muttered to himself, “Hitting me three times is code for come over when the clock strikes three at night!”

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“Ugh!” In the dense forest, Blue Star clutched its abdomen, squatted on the ground and once again began hurling. One by one, dark red Heavenly Dao Sariras bounced out of its mouth, piling into a small mountain before Yun Xiao.

"Ah! I'm dead tired! I finally vomited them all out!” The little black beast collapsed on the ground, belly bared, a face of utter exhaustion painted upon it.

"Wow, there was still that much left…?" Yun Xiao's sword-like eyebrows twitched. Sure enough, 320,000 Spirit Stones was no small amount. It had taken the coffin soul beast this long to finally refine them all.

Earlier, Yun Xiao had relied on the initial batch of refined Heavenly Dao Sariras to transform his second Dragon Spring into a Divine Sea and reach the Mid Divine Sea Realm. This was enough of a power boost to allow him to overpower Ye Ziyan and Liu Xuan, who were both in the Perfect Divine Sea Realm! As for how he beat Ye Xuanying, who was at the Establishment Divine Sea Real and three stages above him… the biggest factor was that the former Sword Venerable's combat power had waned considerably with age..

“You've refined every last one, right?” Yun Xiao asked, scooping up the Heavenly Dao Sariras.

“Every last one!” Blue Star said.

"How are you two feeling? Yun Xiao asked. He knew a considerable portion of the 320,000 Spirit Stones had been absorbed by them.

“Not bad, we've probably recovered to about the Mid Divine Sea Realm. Handling some small fry for you shouldn't be a problem. But if we push past our limits and battle those above the Establishment Divine Sea Realm, we’ll fall back down.” Blue Star explained.

"Got it!” Yun Xiao replied.

The little black beast and Yun Xiao were different. It had two kinds of combat power. One was the base combat power. The second was explosive power. For instance, when it killed Yao Qingqian, that was unleashing explosive power. Using it meant its base power would drop. But if it stuck to just using its base power, then nothing would happen. The little black beast had used its base power to kill Fan Shi.

Despite using its explosive power twice in the past week, thanks to the ample amount of Spirit Stones that Yun Xiao had brought back, Blue Star and Red Moon's base power was still on the rise.

"But once those two engage in battle, they have to transform into that ferocious black-scaled beast. They must slay the opponent. So, I shouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary," Yun Xiao muttered.

Failure to kill would brew great trouble! Although they held no demonic aura and would never take human form, if someone forcibly labeled them as demons, like Ye Tiance would, wouldn’t that cause a huge stir?

"Letting them serve as a pill refining furnace and portable cultivation room is the safest choice!” Yun Xiao decided, believing he should be the one handling all the combat.

Holding the Heavenly Dao Sariras, Yun Xiao’s eyes blazed. “I wonder, can these Heavenly Dao Sariras allow me to enter the Late Divine Sea Realm and possess Three Divine Seas?”

“Why not give it a shot?” Blue Star chuckled.

“Is it appropriate to break through so quickly?” Yun Xiao questioned.

“Quick, your sister! If you can’t, let me become the Creator Immortal," Blue Star blustered.

Yun Xiao knew it would certainly say this was the start of the path of immortality, the phase of accumulating magic power, where quick rises in cultivation was possible, and reaching the heavens and understanding the Dao were still far off.

“All right!” Yun Xiao declared, resolute and ready for whatever lay ahead. He made no further ado.

“Once you reach the Establishment Divine Sea Realm, you might find forming an Origin Core a little tough. In the initial stages of this immortal journey, only major transitions through realms like Dragon Spring to Divine Sea will be a small hiccup. Once you actually enter the realm. early, middle, late stages, whatever, just charge ahead without fear,” Blue Star said, rolling its eyes in the air.

Now that was what you called a monumental rebirth!

“To be reborn and not make strides by leaps and bounds, to still laboriously cultivate, just shows how useless you were in your previous life as a mortal!” Blue Star said with disdain.

“What Great Emperor, Immortal Emperor, Sword God rebirth or reincarnation can compare with the Creator Immortal?” Red Moon clamored, continuing its search for stones to gnaw on.

Yun Xiao was struck speechless by the spiel. All he could say was, having these two things was truly delightful! Heavenly Dao Sariras! Perhaps this thing was also designed by the Creator Immortal. It really did help Yun Xiao’s early realm breakthroughs.

"Ye Guying has entered the Forbidden Tower. I wonder who'll be faster in their power-ups. Me or him?" Yun Xiao muttered. He didn’t know much about the Forbidden Tower. “Rumors say he only needs ten days to become stronger than the Sect Master. That alone says a lot about the average cultivation level in the Forbidden Tower. I heard it also has the effect of top-level pills!”

Tonight passed, and only eight days were left!

Yun Xiao really wasn’t sure if he could catch up with Ye Guying and achieve his revenge. “These 320,000 Spirit Stones are a windfall. Now, even if I borrow from the Sword Pavilion elders, and the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Sword Venerables, it probably wouldn't even amount to 150,000 Spirit Stones.

“It's said that the Azure Spirit's treasure vault contains millions of Spirit Stones. But that's communal wealth, saved up by the sect's ancestors over several hundred years!”

Azure Spirit had a limited amount of Spirit Stones. However, Yun Xiao’s need for Spirit Stones was only growing like a bottomless pit. Blue Star and Red Moon also desperately required a vast amount of Spirit Stones to regain their strength.

"Ah, why do I feel broke as hell." Yun Xiao sighed. A sum of 320,000 Spirit Stones was enough to rival a small sect, and in a flash, it was gone. Yet, good fortune smiled upon him. When the last batch of Heavenly Dao Sariras slid down his throat, employing the Primordial Void Technique, he smoothly cultivated the Third Divine Sea in his Dantian.

"I’ve reached the Late Divine Sea Realm!" Yun Xiao proclaimed. With power equal to an ordinary Sword Venerable, twenty-two layers of Sword Aura, and mastery of Moon-grade sword techniques, all achieved in a mere day, he felt his combat power skyrocket once again.

"Hahaha! I'm on top of the world. Is this what it feels like to be a genius?" Yun Xiao mused. Even the soul of his mortal self found it hard to swallow this terrifying new reality.

“You’re too weak! As a reincarnation of the Creator Immortal, please don’t embarrass yourself. If I were you, I’d have ascended to the heavens in three days,” Blue Star disdainfully uttered, rolling its eyes.

Yun Xiao, stifling a chuckle, whispered, "Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Regaining his composure, he stood tall. “In just six days within the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, I’ve gone from a Dragon Spring Realm novice to a powerhouse, standing among the top three of the entire sect!”

A breakthrough every day! In six days, he tore through the ranks like a hot knife through butter. Were it not for Ye Guying’s miraculous power-up in the Sea of Swords, Yun Xiao would have destroyed Ye Tiance with the help of Elder Fan on the day of the Grand Conclave.

No matter what Blue Star said, Yun Xiao’s spirit soared unbridled.

"Will you choose a different path?" Blue Star suddenly asked.

“What path?” Yun Xiao asked.

“The path of everlasting caution. Shying away from problems, refusing to save people, failing to take revenge, always choosing the safest option, agreeing to everything just to become an Immortal?” Blue Star probed calmly.

“If my sword can’t kill, and vent my emotions freely, why live again? I might as well be dead!” Yun Xiao coldly declared.

“Rightly said! A Sword Cultivator refines energy. And a human breathes emotion! Hold onto this vital breath, and you’ll carve a thousand miles with the wind of delight. Lose it, and I fear you’ll never become the Creator Immortal,” Blue Star uttered with intense eyes.

"Why?" Yun Xiao asked.

“You’ve changed, losing the heart of a pure being borne of primordial chaos; gaining greed, wrath, and foolishness; and gaining worldly emotions. Your path is different. You cannot return to your innocent self or the previous Creator Immortal. You can only be Yun Xiao, swift to love and avenge, to be reforged anew as the Creator Immortal,” Blue Star said meaningfully.

"Greed, wrath, foolishness? Isn't it supposed to include lust? Why not add lust?” Red Moon interjected, confused.

SMACK! Blue Star slapped it, snapping, “I’m sparing him some dignity, alright?!”

“Waa, bullying the honest!” Red Moon covered its face, crying.

Yun Xiao watched them, a sudden deep breath signifying understanding. “I get it!”

“What do you get?” Blue Star asked satisfactorily, eager to hear him reiterate.

Glancing at the sky, Yun Xiao solemnly declared, “It's the dead of night! Senior Sister Zhao is waiting for me to join her for a drink!” And with that understanding and a light chuckle, he rose to his feet, looking forward to embracing that streak of snow white yet again.

JL's Thoughts

Ever dance with a volcano in the pale moonlight? I mean, scarf down those infamous Korean fire chicken noodles? I did, the hot chicken and cheese flavor—and let me tell you, I am living in a world of regret right now.

Now, pause for a sanity check. Why would yours truly, with Asian genes and a notoroious lactose averse, ever think this was the culinary thrill I needed in my life? (Spoiler alert, it wasn't) Epecially since I'd just waved goodbye to a bout of food poisoning, so my stomach was already in a vulnerable state.

Flash forward to now, I'm paying dearly for my transgressions. Words cannot describe how much pain I am in. It's like my guts are punishing me for remotely thinking what I did was a good idea. Remember when your Boomer parents caught you trying to smoke a cigarette and thought a good way to teach you a lesson was to force you to smoke a whole pack while they watched? That's my guts screaming at me right now, "You like eating shit!? I'll make sure you keep shitting until your asshole's fused with the toilet bowl!"

Moral of the story? Don't mix dairy and insane spice, especially if you're not built for either. So, if you need me, I'll be out doubling as a human lava lamp.

- JL, keeping it spicy (but maybe not that spicy)