Chapter Sixteen: The Gate of Transcendence

  The news of the city's collapse spread quickly.

  News soon spread that two powerful fairies were fighting, causing the city walls to collapse.

  At first, there were some true parts in these messages, but later on, the more they were passed on, the more exaggerated they became. There were even rumors of two great scattered immortals fighting each other from the void, and during the process, accidentally revealing the residual waves of battle that destroyed the city.

  Although the news is getting more and more exaggerated, people's awe for Xian has deepened.

  The sect that first possessed the Immortal Throne saw an increase in the number of people coming to pay their respects, with the number of disciples increasing by nearly two layers in a short period of time.

  "It's time to stir up the mundane world." On a desolate and uninhabited rocky mountain, Ding Yan gazed at the sky.

  After leaving the city, Ding Yan spent nearly three days to recover from the injuries during the escape. Afterwards, Ding Yan spent another five days to find this uninhabited place and set up a simple defensive array using the last jade stone in his hand.

  With the existence of this defensive formation, even if those scattered immortals from Huashengmen come to kill again, Dingyan will have enough time to escape. However, Dingyan did not know that the injury suffered by the middle-aged man with the surname Hua was much more severe than he had imagined. To say nothing of a few days' effort, it is likely that even after half a year, he may not be able to recover.

  "Although I've been hunted for so many days, there have also been some small gains. After understanding these things, passing through the mortal tribulation should be said to be completely without error." As he spoke, Ding Yan opened his right hand.

  In his hand, he was grasping a piece of broken stone.

  This is an ordinary gravel, but it contains the Xianyuan force left by a middle-aged man with the surname Hua.

  With Ding Yan's insight, a piece of jade containing the essence of Xianyuan was enough for him to deduce many secrets of this realm of scattered immortals. Adding to that the ancient books he had read in Lianhuagu, Ding Yan was absolutely confident about crossing the tribulation!

  With a casual grasp, he crushed the pebbles in his hand into powder.

  He sat down cross-legged, and slowly closed his eyes...

  At the same time, Huashenmen.

  A middle-aged man with the surname Hua walked through the winding path in front of him and came to a grand, ancient temple behind Mount Huashen. As he entered the temple, he saw that it was filled with incense burners, on which were placed the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Huashen Gate. Below them were three meditation cushions, and on the central one sat an old man.

  The old man's head hung down, his body devoid of any vitality, like a withered and lifeless log. His white hair covered his face, reaching all the way to the green stone floor. This person was none other than the Supreme Elder of the Hua Shen Gate.

  Huà Shén Mén, with a history of over 800 years, was also once a prominent Xianmen sect. At its peak, the sect had more than 30 Xians, including nine who had survived the first tribulation, and there were even rumors that the founder of Huà Shén Mén was a two-tribulation Xian who had transcended the second thunder calamity!

  But all of this has become a thing of the past. As the older generation of Huashenmen passed away, the sect declined day by day. The once prosperous Huashenmen gradually declined, and even the mountain gate was occupied by others. In the end, the entire sect had to move to the eastern border to survive, but even so, the sect had already fallen into decline, and Lianhuagu, which was less than two hundred years old, had surpassed it.

  "Hua Jiu requests an audience with the Supreme Elder!" Hua Jiu walked forward and bowed to the elderly man who seemed to have already become one with nature.

  Inside the temple, incense smoke wafts, extremely quiet and still.

  After a while, the old man seemed to wake up from his sleep, and his bones made a series of crisp sounds all over his body. His drooping head slowly lifted up.

  "You are..."

  The old man's eyes seemed a bit dull and his voice was somewhat unnatural.

  Hua Jiu lowered his head and remained silent, knowing that at this moment the old man had not yet fully awakened, and his memories were still slowly returning.

  The Great Dream Technique, cultivating in deep sleep, a dream that lasts for a thousand years! If one doesn't have a firm heart intention, it's very likely to get forever lost in the dream realm, unable to distinguish reality from dreams. When Hua Jiu became an immortal, he also tried to cultivate the Great Dream Technique, but ultimately failed, and even his consciousness got lost in the dream realm. If not for the timely rescue by the Supreme Elder, he would have become a dead man long ago.

  Time passed minute by minute, second by second, and the old man's dull eyes gradually became spirited. Until finally, a burst of dazzling brilliance shot out, and on his decaying body, a thick aura of immortal energy appeared.

  "What happened? Who hurt you?" The old man obviously recalled everything, looked at Hua Jiu, and with a glance, he saw the injuries in Hua Jiu's body.

  Hua Jiu bitterly smiled "was injured by that old freak who entered the Dust Gate."

  The old man heard this and his pupils slightly contracted.

  It's clear that he is also extremely wary of that old freak who entered the Dust Gate.

  "How could he have attacked you? Could it be that the thing in my hand has been revealed to him?" The old man asked, sinking into thought for a moment.

  "That's not it." Hua Jiu shook his head and said "I unintentionally provoked this person, that's why I was hit by him."

  The old man frowned.

  "So you woke me up this time, what's the matter? Are you thinking of asking me to heal your wounds? Don't you know that my next heavenly tribulation is about to arrive? If I still can't break through, under the thunder calamity, it will be absolutely fatal!"

  Hua Jiu smiled bitterly "I'm well aware of that! However, with the decline of Huashenmen and my severe injuries, it's hard to intimidate those who are watching. The master is now missing, so I had no choice but to awaken you... But I have some news about Lianhuagu that I need to tell you."

  As soon as he heard the three words "Lotus Valley", a hint of murderous intent flashed in the old man's eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and he continued to speak.

  "Say."

  "I suspect that Ding Yan, a disciple of Lianhuagu, has obtained an ancient relic!" Hua Jiu said in a low voice.

  The old man heard this, suddenly opened his eyes, and a burst of dazzling light shot out from the pupils, vaguely, as if seeing a thread of flashing lightning.

  "Where is he?"

  "He got away......" Hua Jiu sighed bitterly.

  "Damn it! Did the loose immortal from Lotus Valley save him? Didn't I give you a sacred yuan pellet? Use it directly when necessary! Don't you know the importance of ancient ruins?" The old man was furious.

  At the mention of Xianyuan, Hua Jiu's face twitched even more.

  "I've used up all my spiritual energy." Before the old man could speak, Hua Jiu continued, "However, it was not a loose immortal from Lotus Flower Valley who saved that little brat, but rather that old freak from the Entering Dust Sect. The injuries on me are a result of this..."

  The old man was taken aback, then his face turned gloomy and he didn't say a word.

  "You can go now, I know about this matter."

  Hua nodded, his injuries were indeed too severe and he had to return for treatment.

  As he walked out of the grand hall, Hua Jiu clutched at his chest, a thread of fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face turning even paler. He turned back to glance at the grand hall, muttering to himself...

  "After the Supreme Elder wakes up, I can finally rest and recover. As for that little brat... now that the Supreme Elder knows about this news, he probably won't be able to escape for much longer!" Thinking of this, Hua Jiu's right hand clenched tightly, a hint of vengeful light flashing in his eyes.

  Hua Jiu returned to Xuanhai City, originally intending to bring back the stone statue of his son, in order to ask Taishang Laojun for help. Who would have thought that upon returning to the original location, he found that the statue had already shattered, and his beloved son's life force was completely extinguished.

  "Recover your cultivation as soon as possible!" With that thought, Hua Jiu didn't stay any longer and flew back to his own cave, closed the mountain gate, and started his seclusion.

  ......

  The day after Hua Jiu closed the door, Ding Yan slowly opened his eyes on the nameless stone mountain, with a calm and peaceful look in his eyes, without any ripples.

  The sky, dark clouds gather silently.

  A sense of oppression begins to emerge.

  The ordinary world, has begun!