Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 19: Do You Want to Die?

Just as Li Yan began to sink into the water, Military Advisor Ji’s expression on the shore suddenly changed.

“He could endure until he had absorbed seven or eight tenths of the medicinal power, just like that disciple last time.”

“But if it’s like this, with his Spirit Root’s qualifications, it’ll be even harder to refine the medicinal power to the Condensation Stage. No matter what, we’ll have to try and see. Hopefully, it won’t end up like last time.”

He didn’t think about it anymore and pushed off the ground with both feet, his body soaring into the air. His arms spread out to the sides, and his sleeves fluttered in the wind as he dived towards the water’s surface like a black swan.

As he approached the water’s surface, he flapped his sleeve, dispersing the black energy that was still swirling on the surface. The black energy dissipated into tiny wisps of smoke that scattered in all directions.

Next, he dove down from mid-air, his other hand reaching out from his sleeve to grab Li Yan from underwater. With a “splash,” Li Yan was pulled out of the water.

Then, he lightly tapped the water’s surface with his foot and flew back towards the shore with Li Yan in tow.

At this point, Li Yan’s unconscious body felt weightless in his hands, and Military Advisor Ji’s body moved swiftly and lightly, like a wisp of smoke.

What he didn’t notice was that when he swept his hand across the water’s surface, the strange book he always kept hidden in his sleeve was affected by the force, and a golden light burst out of the book.

The light then mixed with the scattered black smoke on the water’s surface and rapidly approached Li Yan’s body, disappearing in an instant.

Military Advisor Ji landed on the shore and gently laid Li Yan down on the ground. He then formed several hand seals and pointed at Li Yan’s abdomen, shooting several blue lights into his body.

Li Yan’s body trembled, and then returned to its calm state.

Military Advisor Ji saw this and furrowed his brow. He formed several more hand seals, shooting more blue lights into Li Yan’s abdomen, but this time, Li Yan’s body didn’t react at all.

Military Advisor Ji’s brow furrowed even deeper, and he quickly approached Li Yan, bending down to examine him. He used his finger to probe Li Yan’s nose and frowned even more deeply. He muttered to himself.

“This is strange. He’s not dead, but he can’t wake up. Last time, it only took a single breath of spiritual energy to wake him up, but this time… why is it like this?”

He stood up straight, rubbed his forehead, and began to think.

At this moment, Li Yan’s body was already ravaged by the fire poison, and his meridians were severely damaged.

Just as his life was on the brink of extinction, a mysterious power suddenly emerged within him. This power was enormous, like a torrent of water, cool and flowing.

With incredible speed, the power surged through every part of his body, covering the damaged meridians that had been ravaged by the fire poison. The meridians began to recover at an alarming rate.

The chaotic fire poison was also being suppressed by this enormous power, eventually being forced to one corner of Li Yan’s body.

When Military Advisor Ji’s blue lights had entered his body earlier, Li Yan’s mind suddenly became clear. The hard training for dozens of days has made him an instinct.

Just as he was about to sit up and try to refine the medicinal power, a voice suddenly boomed in his mind.

“Do you want to die?”

Li Yan’s mind was shaken, and he felt a wave of dizziness. He lost consciousness and awareness.

He didn’t know how long he was out, but when he slowly came to, a voice echoed in his mind.

“Don’t open your eyes, or you’ll be close to death.”

Li Yan was stunned and wanted to ask a question, but he realized he couldn’t make a sound. Panicked, he tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn’t budge.

“You were told not to open your eyes, but you didn’t listen. You’re wasting my limited spiritual power.”

The voice echoed again, filled with fatigue.

Li Yan was shocked and thought to himself, ‘Is this death? Is the underworld so dark that I can’t even see or speak?’

At that moment, his mind was filled with a wave of dizziness, and then his vision began to blur. When he regained clarity, he found himself standing on a small, black lake.

His body was suspended in mid-air, and the sky above was dark and gloomy. The lake was calm, with no wind or waves, giving him a sense of oppression.

He couldn’t move up or down, and was stuck in place.

As he looked around in confusion, the air in front of him began to distort and blur. The distorted image was filled with black lines that twisted, intersected, and overlapped.

Finally, a blurry figure formed, and as it approached, its features became clearer.

It was an old man with a tall, slender build, white hair that cascaded down his shoulders, a serene face, and eyes that seemed like deep, unfathomable pools of water, as if he could see through the ages.

The old man wore a gray robe, but his face was pale and worn. As he walked, an invisible aura emanated from him, pressing down on Li Yan, making him stumble and sway.

Li Yan let out a bitter laugh in his heart.

‘Is this the Avici Hell that the Buddhist scriptures speak of? And is that sea of suffering below? Then this old man should be the Ferryman of the Underworld, but he doesn’t seem intimidating at all.’

The old man in gray slowly approached Li Yan, his eyes fixed on him, and a cold, eerie aura emanated from him.

“If I had delayed for just a moment, you would have died.”

Li Yan was stunned and blurted out, “Ferryman, I’m already dead, aren’t I? Otherwise, why would I be in this Avici Hell?”

After speaking, he was even more shocked to realize that he could talk, despite being unable to speak earlier. It was as if his soul had left his body, and it was his soul that was speaking now.

The old man listened to Li Yan’s words, initially startled, but then a smile appeared on his serene face.

“You think you’re just a soul? Well, what you said is true, but it’s not entirely true either.”

Li Yan saw that the old man didn’t seem menacing, so he gained some courage and asked hesitantly, “Ferryman, what do you mean? I was just in the valley of Green Mountain Pass, and then I suddenly arrived here. Isn’t this the realm of the dead?”

The old man listened to Li Yan’s words, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

“I’m saying that you’re currently in your own sea of ​​consciousness, or rather, in your consciousness space. Do you believe me?”

Li Yan’s expression was one of shock.

“Sea of ​​consciousness? My consciousness space?”

Li Yan had never heard of the term “Sea of ​​consciousness,” but he understood the concept of “consciousness” from his meditation practices, which was also known as “intention” in the martial arts world.

“Is my body appearing in my mind’s intention?”

Li Yan’s face was filled with a puzzled expression.

“You can put it that way,” the old man said with a smile. “The sea of ​​consciousness is a space within one’s consciousness, which can be large or small. Ordinary people cannot enter their own or others’ sea of ​​consciousnesss.”

The old man continued, “Right now, I’ve brought your consciousness into your sea of ​​consciousness, and it’s just a projection of your body. So, in a sense, you’re correct in saying that you’re a soul.”

Li Yan’s face was filled with disbelief. His body was appearing in his own mind? This was a concept he couldn’t understand.

The old man looked at Li Yan’s bewildered expression and smiled kindly.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll explain briefly. The sea of ​​consciousness, or what you call intention, is a space that grows stronger with one’s consciousness. For immortal cultivators, it’s possible to observe one’s own or others’ sea of ​​consciousness, and the broader the space, the stronger the immortal law. Of course, there are many uses for the sea of ​​consciousness, but that’s something you’ll have to discover on your own.”

Li Yan felt like he was in a fog, unsure of what was happening. What was going on? How did immortal cultivators appear? Were they immortals? Weren’t they only supposed to exist in legends?

Just as he was about to ask more questions, the old man in gray seemed to sense his confusion and continued, “I know you have many questions, but I don’t have much time. I’ll only tell you the important things, and you’ll understand more when you join an immortal sect in the future.”

The old man’s face looked exhausted as he spoke.

Li Yan listened to the old man’s words, still confused, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He stood quietly, waiting for the old man to continue.

The old man looked at Li Yan’s expression, nodded slightly, and stretched out a finger. A black light appeared at the tip of his finger.

Before Li Yan knew what was happening, the old man had already pointed at his forehead.

Suddenly, a massive amount of information flooded Li Yan’s mind, including many things he couldn’t understand.

A magnificent, unprecedented picture unfolded in his mind, leaving him stunned and speechless.

Were there immortals in the world?

The answer was: yes.

Immortals had existed since ancient times, and after Pangu created the heavens and Nuwa repaired the sky, the world was divided into several stages: the mortal realm, the immortal spirit realm, and the true immortal realm.

The mortal realm was the lowest level, where ordinary people and low-level beasts lived. They had ordinary abilities, but their reproductive abilities were extremely strong.

The immortal spirit realm was between the mortal realm and the true immortal realm, where many ancient humans and demonic beasts from the ancient era lived.

This realm was filled with spiritual energy, and humans and other living beings lived long lives. They had inherited many ancient cultivation methods from their ancestors, which allowed them to fly, traverse the land, and control the seas.

However, the heavens had their own laws, and with long lives came other restrictions. The descendants of the ancient era found it difficult to reproduce, whether they were humans, demonic beasts, or other species, and their populations were scarce.

The highest level was the true immortal realm, where the legendary immortals lived, such as Pangu and Nuwa.

They lived as long as the heavens and earth, shining like the sun and moon, and were immortal. Each true immortal had the power to control the heavens and earth, and could change the world with a mere thought. They could even create their own small realm and create new life forms.

The number of true immortals in the true immortal realm was not fixed, and they also faced the risk of falling. True immortals could fight each other, explore unknown laws, and more.

Many cultivators in the immortal spirit realm, after reaching the Great Ascension realm, could try to break through the two realms and ascend to the true immortal realm.

Cultivation was divided into ten great realms: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, Void Refining, Union of Souls, Tribulation, Great Ascension, and True Immortality.

Each great realm was further divided into smaller realms. For example, the Qi Condensation realm was divided into ten small realms, with stages one to three being the initial stage, four to six being the middle stage, seven to nine being the late stage, and the tenth stage being the completion stage, after which one could break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

After the Foundation Establishment stage, each realm was divided into three small realms: early, middle, and late stages.

The Qi Condensation realm was just the beginning, where one condensed the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth into their body, accumulating the foundation of cultivation through ten small realms.

Only after entering the Foundation Establishment stage did one truly step onto the path of cultivation. During the Qi Condensation realm, one’s body became stronger, and they could use some simple magic, but their lifespan was only slightly longer than that of ordinary living beings.

However, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one’s lifespan increased to over 200 years, and at the Golden Core stage, it reached over 500 years. At the Nascent Soul stage, it was even more terrifying, reaching over 2,000 years.

As one’s cultivation realm increased, their lifespan would also continue to increase, until they broke through the Great Ascension stage and reached true immortality, becoming immortal.