Immortal of the Ages

With Zhao Xuanran having departed, the mountains of Azure Spirit seemed especially desolate that night. Yun Xiao, with his sword beneath him, stood atop these lonely peaks, his white robes dancing gracefully in the gentle breeze.

"The world still holds its integrity!" Yun Xiao proclaimed, his voice echoing into the vast emptiness. "So, even when unoccupied, the spirits of Azure Spirit caress the hills tonight, emanating unabated purity and openness."

Yet, merely three days prior, Azure Spirit, despite its liveliness, was shrouded by malevolence, its nighttime woods haunted by spectral shadows, ominously sinister.

"Azure Spirit is better devoid of people; the mortal world will be better off!” A radiant twinkle filled Yun Xiao's eyes, reminiscent of a starry galaxy, as he recalled the carefree and forthright lady, a smile gently animating his features.

“Senior Sister Zhao, go on and be a Sword Immortal who ventures the mortal realm to slay demons! The Sea of Swords, and the Sect Master... I shall look after them all!”

VROOM! A lone azure silhouette in the night sky, he soared across the celestial vault of Azure Spirit, the embodiment of both solitude and effortless elegance. A little black beast perched on his shoulder, its large mouth dangling a scarlet tongue, swinging in the mid-air, emitted an odd sound.

"Ugh!" Its deep blue eyes trembled and, clutching its mouth, it unleashed a torrent within its belly. Again, it regurgitated a large pile of Heavenly Dao Sariras.

“I've been waiting half an eternity for you!” Yun Xiao said, laughing, as he stretched out a hand to catch them. Thereafter, he descended on his sword, landing in the courtyard of Zhao Xuanran's quaint Little Cloud Residence.

Without Zhao Xuanran, this little abode felt vast and empty. The stone table, pond fish, and osmanthus tree still remained!

The small black beast, its face etched with urgency, squatted down, puking ceaselessly onto the ground, amassing a small mountain of Heavenly Dao Sariras.

“You had this much left?” Yun Xiao exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with astonishment.

Yun Xiao had obtained 2,000,000 Spirit Stones from the spoils of the Northern Wastelands expedition. He had given Zhao Xuanran 1,500,000 Spirit Stones to repay the sect, keeping 500,000 for himself. On the return journey to the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, Yun Xiao fed all the stones to Red Moon.

“Red Moon hasn’t even finished digesting the 1,000,000 Spirit Stones from the treasure vault last time! Darn it, I’m dead beat,” Blue Star, supporting its waist, wore an expression of utter exhaustion.

“What are you tired for? It's the baby doing all the digesting!” Red Moon protested loudly.

“Do I not exert energy when I vomit? Push me, and I'll switch to defecation. I can ensure it’ll be quite the long-distance affair!” Blue Star cursed and ranted.

Yun Xiao scooped up the Heavenly Dao Sariras, placing them on the stone table.

“Uh.” Suddenly recalling the all-night battle he and Zhao Xuanran had on this table, consuming these pills here didn’t seem quite right!

“We can try condensing an Origin Core tonight!” Yun Xiao said to the little black beast.

“It’s worth a shot!” Blue Star replied.

In the battle of the Northern Wastelands, even the folks of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect were unaware of Yun Xiao’s realm! Since he was attempting to condense an Origin Core now, preparing to enter the Origin Core Realm... it indicated that he was currently in the Establishment Divine Sea Realm!

Yun Xiao was at the same cultivation level as Zhao Xuanran, possessing five Divine Seas!

During the duel with Ye Tiance, Yun Xiao was still in the Late Divine Sea Realm. Within those three days, the million Spirit Stones from the treasure vault allowed him to break through two stages. Using two Dragon Springs, he produced two more Divine Seas, advancing to the Establishment Divine Sea Realm. As a result, he could defeat both Elder Fan and Holy Son Chu, who were at the Mid Origin Core Realm.

Holy Son Chu, with his higher Sword Soul talent, was undoubtedly slightly stronger than Elder Fan.

“Any realm, once it has reached the Establishment stage, the very peak stage, signifies that it’s possible to assail the next major realm in the immortal Dao!”

The Establishment Stage was a small transformation!

Breaking through a major realm was the major transformation!

"Origin COre Realm!” The magic power of the five Divine Seas almost completely filled Yun Xiao's Dantian, leaving no room for further generation of magic power. To break through, he needed to compress the power of the Divine Seas into an Origin Core

"Demons and monsters form cores in much the same way, though they use demonic power to create a Demon Core!" Yun Xiao mused.

BOOM! The little black beast transformed into an ancient bronze coffin, standing amid the courtyard of the Little Cloud Residence. The coffin was old and showed signs of countless epochs, with many mottled marks adorning it.

Without a word, Yun Xiao, holding the Heavenly Dao Sariras, entered the bronze coffin!

Inside, the darkness enveloped him, and nine coffins within the coffin quietly lay to one side. One, engraved with the words 'Prison Warden', exuded a heavy malignant aura lately, subtly influencing Yun Xiao’s mentality during his cultivation.

"The Heaven Burial Primordial Coffin and the Divine Pillar merged into my Sword Soul! What will the Prison Warden Primordial Coffin combine with, and what will it become? Will it be a Sword Soul, or something else? Will it definitely serve me?" Yun Xiao yearned to know, as after all, the power of the Heaven Burial Sword Soul was formidable, fundamental to his current combat capability.

"Daydreaming, you little trash. You still haven’t birthed a Origin Core, thoroughly shaming the Creator Immortal!" Blue Star scoffed.

Upon its words, the cultivation method for the Origin Core Realm swiftly appeared within the Primordial Void Technique. Character after character seemed to be born from chaos, and the coffin lid, at this moment, appeared to become the origin of the world, the initial of life’s power.

"Compress the Primordial Void Sea into a Primordial Void Core! The core becomes a singularity, birthing worlds and all beings!" Yun Xiao silently recited, harnessing the power of the five Divine Seas with the Primordial Void Technique. "This process is a bit like making dumplings. First, roll up the flat sea, wrap a dumpling with five layers of dough, wait for the dumpling to take shape, then continuously compress it, continuously infusing the power of the Heavenly Dao Sariras, prompting the magic power to condense into an Origin Core!"

HUM! Let the dumpling-making begin!

Using the Primordial Void Technique, Yun Xiao rolled up the five Divine Seas, wrapping them up in the center of his Dantian, and pressed them into a spherical ‘dough’ of magic power. This dough quivered thunderously, its ocean-like magic power conjuring storms upon it!

Piece by piece, the Heavenly Dao Sariras transformed into a magic power spring, crashing into the Dantian like a waterfall, infusing into the magic power sphere, continuing to expand it, pushing it to its limits!

BOOM BOOM BOOM! Yun Xiao's body spiraled a whirlwind, forming a storm within the bronze coffin, his white robe and long hair dancing wildly, yet the nine original coffins remained unswervingly still.

"Compress!" Yun Xiao urged, deploying the Primordial Void Technique.

Just as the massive sphere of magic power nearly burst his Dantian, he began to suppress it, madly condensing. The five Divine Seas resisted like a ferocious, unyielding beast.

"Primordial Void Core, form!" Despite the resistance, Yun Xiao encountered no difficulty. With ease, he found the knack, steadily squeezing the five Divine Seas smaller and smaller like a seasoned craftsman, until finally compressing it into a genuine, solid core!

An Origin Core no larger than a grain of rice. Yet it contained magical power far surpassing that of the five Divine Seas!

"The breakthrough of a major realm essentially raises a cultivator’s upper limit!” Yun Xiao adjusted his power, stabilizing the Primordial Void Core.

“Early Origin Core Realm! One-layer Origin Core!” Inside Yun Xiao's Dantian, a pure white core hovered, akin to a singularity born from chaos.

"The Origin Core Realm also consisted of five stages. To enter the Mid Origin Core Realm, I have to cultivate five Divine Seas again! However, the Divine Seas won't form a new Origin Core. Instead, they'll be compressed into the original Origin Core, allowing it to continue to grow bigger!"

It was evident that, the further one advanced on the path of Immortal cultivation, the greater the amount of magic power required.

Yun Xiao’s Origin Core encompassed everything, not only containing the myriad Dao but also elements such as wind, fire, water, earth, thunder, wood, and more. It possessed all the properties of heaven and earth!

"That’s why whatever attribute of daoist spells and swordsmanship I learn, I can perfectly unleash its power."

Azure Lightning Crane, Azure Dragon Squall! Thunder, storm, all were easily within his control!

“I really am a perfect genius, without a single weakness!” Yun Xiao couldn’t help but sigh. Simply through possession, he had gained the Creator Immortal's reincarnated body, and it was just too cool.

“Not a single damn weakness? You struggled just to condense this crappy Origin Core in your Dantian! Hurry up and seize that Nine Dragons Dantian, or I'm afraid your Dantian won't withstand the Primordial Void and will directly burst!” Blue Star retorted, eyes rolling back.

Yun Xiao was struck speechless once more. He had no way to retort. Every time he felt his breakthrough speed was already astounding, Blue Star would give him a sucker punch, making him feel genuinely trashy.

"Off to the Sea of Swords!" Yun Xiao stood up, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "After ten days of seclusion in the Forbidden Tower, with his Nine Dragons Dantian, I wonder what realm Ye Guying will break through in one go?"

Once tonight passed, there were four more days until Ye Guying would emerge from seclusion.

"Jiang Yue is dead. Your turn is next!"

▬ι══🪦✧⚰️✧🪦══ι▬

Before his departure, Yun Xiao made one last visit to the Spirit Pavilion's Grand Hall.

"Master." Yun Xiao stood inside the central chamber, eyes solemn. Before him lay a middle-aged man in an azure robe, tranquilly reposing, his face peaceful. His hands folded across his abdomen, his skin pallid, breath feeble.

"Aunt Yu, if I speak, can he hear me?" Yun Xiao turned to ask a blue-robed woman beside him.

"He can," Shangguan Yu spoke softly, "Since you returned from the Northern Wastelands, bringing back the souls of the Sword Pavilion Seven, his complexion has improved significantly, and it seems a smile has formed on his face."

She had been keeping vigil here for three days.

"Yun Xiao, with you and Lil Ran around, his life's grand vengeance has been fulfilled. Now that the Azure Spirit Sword Sect is back on the right path, he will be content and certainly will hang on," Shanguan Yu said.

"Good!" Yun Xiao's eyes held unwavering resolve. "Aunt Yu, the people of the Forbidden Tower will resort to any means. I beg you to take him away with you!"

"Alright! I'll carry him to the thousand mortal nations and travel through the mortal world. If we encounter demons, we can still assist Lil Ran." Shangguan Yu gently smiled, clearly finding the impending journey to be a pleasant prospect.

However, her gaze dimmed quickly, and a note of sorrow entered her voice. "In this way, should he ultimately depart this mortal coil, he could rest in peace if he passes away in the mundane world that he has protected."

"Aunt Yu!" Yun Xiao's eyes warmed, "Saying this... it’s like you don’t trust me."

"I apologize." A semblance of guilt showed Shangguan Yu. She looked at Yun Xiao, conviction finally shining through her eyes again. "It's my mistake! Yun Xiao, I believe in you! You are the peerless hero bestowed upon the mortal world by the heavens above, a specialist in exterminating evil and crooked ways! With you here, no one is afraid!"

Yun Xiao offered a gentle smile. He knew he was not some peerless hero, nor did he wish to be a moral guardian. He was just a monarch of a mortal nation who sought to retaliate when wronged, and who also desired to restore the Creator Immortal.

"Aunt Yu, have the Azure Spirit Hall and the Bluedrop Flag been dealt with?" Yun Xiao finally asked.

"Yes, they are forever burning in a desolate place where no one can save them," Shangguan Yu, feeling a bit of a headache coming on at the memory, asked, "Yun Xiao, the Azure Spirit Cauldron is after all the will of the Azure Spirit. When can it be placed back in front of the Grand Hall in a fair and square manner? When can those Sword Cultivators who went to exterminate demons return to Azure Spirit to rest their feet?"

With fierce determination, Yun Xiao’s Sovereign Sword surged into the sky, his eyes ablaze. "When I’ve destroyed the Forbidden Tower!" With that declaration, he vanished into the night sky of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, speeding toward the direction of the Sea of Swords!

A sword that dominated the heavens! Who could stand in its way?

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

The standard bao or Chinese potsticker isn't quite correct here. It's... more like a sweet soup dumpling. This was the first time I've had to translate a scene that used dumpling-making as an anology for Immortal cultivation. Hopefully, it came across right for you guys in English. There wasn't much to work with in the Chinese. But I did my best!

By the way, this is the first cultivation novel I've properly translated. It's a wild ride, like learning to cook a new recipe with just your instincts and a sprinkle of daring. I'm still finding my feet (or fingers?) in this genre, tuning my writing style and all that, but it's shaping up to be one delicious soup dumpling.

On the life update front, my morning walk turned into a wildlife encounter—picture a tiny, baby squirrel crawling down a tree and beelining you like you owed it lunch money. I spent a solid minute dodging its attempts to crawl up my pants, while freaking out and wondering what was wrong with the lil' fella. Note to self, stop reading about brain worms at 3 AM. Once again, I've come to realize that internet has ruined me. I should've snapped a pic.

-JL, victim of a squirrel loan shark, over and out 🐿️