Chapter 656: Immortal and Mortal A World Apart

"Could this be true?"

"Any one of the Ten Immortal Sects is undoubtedly a colossal power. What exactly was in that giant city in the sky that could forge such formidable immortal sects?" Li Fan, hearing this, immediately displayed a look of great shock, exclaiming.

Fang Zaiji nodded slightly: "When I first learned of this, I was also somewhat skeptical. However, after inquiring from multiple sources, I can mostly confirm that it's true. The reason the Ten Immortal Sects could suddenly rise was precisely because of the opportunities they obtained in Tiandu!"

Without waiting for Li Fan to ask further, he continued: "It is said that although Tiandu was empty and devoid of living beings, in the central pavilion, a figure sat cross-legged. Beside the figure, a child attendant stood by. The figure's face was indistinct, but it seemed to be lecturing on Dao principles to the empty space before it. Countless profound and subtle Dao theories, like the resonating sound of a great bell, echoed in everyone's ears. Even more remarkably, the content each person heard was not entirely the same."

"Everyone listened entranced, utterly absorbed. When they awoke from their enlightenment, they wanted to continue listening. However, they found that they could no longer hear anything from the figure. Instead, the child attendant beside the figure gently waved a hand and expelled them from the pavilion."

"The cultivators who came out compared their recent insights with each other, finding that all of them originated from their own previous studies. However, they were far more profound and complex, seemingly thousands of times more refined than what their sects had taught."

"After that, no matter how much they tried, they could never re-enter that pavilion."

Fang Zaiji sighed slightly: "These cultivators deeply understood how precious this opportunity was. After they quietly left Tiandu, they all notified their disciples to come. But perhaps it was this very action that alerted the Xuantian Sect. While pursuing the cultivators who had emerged from Tiandu, they dispatched their minions to completely seal off the giant city in the sky."

"This disrespectful act seemed to displease the figure in Tiandu, who sent the child attendant to engage in battle. The details of this battle are unknown. The result was that although the Xuantian Sect retreated ignominiously, the other cultivators could no longer enter Tiandu."

"However, every year, purple qi would occasionally drift down, dispersing throughout the Xuanhuang Realm. If a fortunate person obtained it, although it couldn't compare to personally hearing the figure lecture on the Dao, it was still not far off!"

Li Fan pondered for a moment, then frowned: "Where did Tiandu go afterwards? And why did so few people know about it in our time?"

"Tiandu hung in the sky for a full ten years. Ten years later, just as it had descended from the heavens, it departed silently, unnoticed by anyone. Soon after, the conflict between the Xuantian Sect and the Immortal Dao Sects gradually reached an irreconcilable point. Amidst a great war that swept across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, no one paid any mind to the vanished Tiandu anymore."

Fang Zaiji sighed: "By our era, Tiandu had become nothing more than a legend, only discussed in casual conversation."

At this point, Li Fan also looked enlightened: "I remember now, I once saw in the Heavenly Profound Mirror that in Yuandao State ahead, there was a Dao-integration cultivator named Lan Yu. He claimed to be from the lineage of the Tiandu Grandmaster, but..."

Li Fan's face showed some doubt: "However, I heard that Tiandu fell in ancient times for some unknown reason. One can even see its ruins on the ground now..."

"What? Tiandu fell?" Now it was Fang Zaiji's turn to be stunned.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" A moment later, Fang Zaiji definitively denied this claim. "If Tiandu had really collided with the Xuanhuang Realm, it's hard to say who would have fared worse!"

"Sir, do you mean..." Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's right, Tiandu, very likely, came from the legendary Immortal Realm! And that figure in Tiandu might be a legendary immortal! The reason the cultivators of the Ten Immortal Sects couldn't see them clearly back then was precisely because, after ascending to immortality, they had completed a transformation in their life essence, far exceeding the comprehension of ordinary cultivators!" Fang Zaiji declared with conviction.

"Another immortal. And it didn't fall..." Li Fan remained noncommittal. He thought of the unknown entity hovering above Yuandao State, consuming time. Perhaps, some kind of unforeseen change had indeed occurred, leading to that bizarre phenomenon?

Seeing Li Fan's skepticism, Fang Zaiji snorted coldly: "Without witnessing it yourself, of course, you can't understand the power of a true immortal. If you were as fortunate as I to obtain a wisp of Tiandu Purple Qi, you would know that my words are not false. By the way, Lan Yu's claim of being from the lineage of the Tiandu Grandmaster might not be baseless either. Because the Tiandu Purple Qi contains many inheritances from the Tiandu Grandmaster."

Li Fan was slightly startled: "Sir, have you obtained a wisp of Tiandu Purple Qi?"

Fang Zaiji said with some pride: "Of course! Back then, I was still a naive child, merely gaining the opportunity without knowing its origin! Otherwise, how could an ordinary person like me, without sect or lineage, cultivate to the Dao-integration realm? How would those arrogant disciples of the Ten Immortal Sects have proactively mentioned this secret history to me? It's precisely because they sensed the essence of Tiandu Purple Qi from me."

"Is the Tiandu Grandmaster the figure in Tiandu?" Li Fan asked after a moment of silence.

Fang Zaiji rolled his eyes at Li Fan: "What are you thinking? I said that figure is very likely a true immortal. Since she's an immortal, if she doesn't reveal herself, how could the world know her identity? Moreover, even those few from the Ten Immortal Sects who were fortunate enough to hear her lecture probably wouldn't dare claim to have received a true immortal's teachings."

"What we refer to as the Tiandu Grandmaster is the child attendant beside the figure. Even merely by listening to the immortal for a short while, one could create the Ten Immortal Sects. The attainments of the Grandmaster, who had always served by their side, naturally reached an unimaginably profound level."

"The Tiandu Purple Qi largely contains the Grandmaster's insights into the immortal's teachings, which can be described as all-encompassing. Even a small amount obtained by a mortal is enough to benefit them for a lifetime."

"What I obtained back then was some of the Grandmaster's insights on artifact refining." Fang Zaiji glanced towards Yuandao State again and said slowly.

Li Fan understood then. Originally, the Ten Immortal Sects had received direct guidance from the immortal. However, the Tiandu Purple Qi contained the insights of the Tiandu Grandmaster, who had listened to the immortal's lectures for years. After a cycle of transmission, it was considerably weaker than the immortal's direct teachings. Yet, even so, it was easily capable of forging a Dao-integration cultivator.

"This is the true distinction between immortals and mortals. The gap is so immense that it even surpasses the difference between ordinary mortals and cultivators," Li Fan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.