Chapter 8: Immortals and Mortals Forever Apart

High in the sky, a strange phenomenon unfolded once more!

A giant sword, forged through a thousand refinements, lay forgotten in the shadows, untouched for a millennium.

As centuries passed, its blade lost its gleam, its edge its sharpness, and its entire surface was covered in rust.

Yet, a surge of anger and defiance suddenly erupted from it!

The rust's corrosion intensified, but so did the giant sword's mystical power and majesty!

“Foundation Establishment cultivator Dao Xuanzi, having cultivated for two hundred and one years, established his foundation using the wondrous object, the Rusty Sword of Dao Xuan. In the Land of Immortal Seclusion, he fought fiercely against others and ultimately died at the hands of Foundation Establishment cultivator Kou Hong.

“Now, his body is gone and his dao vanished, returning to the heavens!”

A brilliant spectacle illuminated thousands of miles of sky, like fireworks.

“Dao Xuanzi...” Kou Hong looked up at the magnificent sight, seemingly stunned, murmuring to himself incessantly.

All the soldiers present also looked up at the sky, lost in a daze.

“I am Li Fan, greetings, Immortal Master.”

Just then, an old man with white hair and beard, leaning on a cane, tottered over to Kou Hong.

Kou Hong ignored him, but Li Fan was in no hurry. He stood by, waiting, while also signaling the soldiers to wait patiently.

After a long while, once the heavenly phenomenon had dissipated, Kou Hong finally looked at Li Fan.

“You are the leader of the mortals here?” Kou Hong’s tone was stiff, clearly not holding Li Fan in high regard. “Those sounds that echoed everywhere earlier—that was you, wasn’t it?”

“Mere trifling tricks, unworthy of an Immortal Master's notice,” Li Fan said, cupping his hands, avoiding the topic. He bowed deeply, adding, “I implore the Immortal Master to show mercy and save the lives of over a thousand of my people.”

“Mercy...” Kou Hong scoffed at the words. “Dao Xuanzi and I fought, each relying on our own abilities, and our lives were decided by fate. How dare you, a mere mortal, interfere in a battle between cultivators?”

He looked at Li Fan, his killing intent unmistakable in his words: “Speaking of which, even though Dao Xuanzi and I fought to the death for the Core Formation technique, he was still my brother of over a hundred years. Now that you've schemed against him, perhaps I should kill you to avenge Dao Xuanzi?”

Ignoring Kou Hong’s aggression, Li Fan merely offered a wry smile: “It was just a desperate attempt for a glimmer of hope! As this old man said before, if the Immortal Master had been defeated, my people would surely not have escaped death.”

Kou Hong’s expression softened upon hearing this. He sighed lightly: “A good attempt for a glimmer of hope. You’re right, times are hard; who isn't struggling desperately for that sliver of survival?”

Seeing Kou Hong’s tone soften, Li Fan quickly pressed his advantage: “Earlier, Dao Xuanzi... the Immortal Master promised me that if...”

Before he could finish, Kou Hong frowned and interrupted him: “If it’s about that, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. Dao Xuanzi probably never intended to keep that promise.”

Li Fan was stunned: “What does the Immortal Master mean by that?”

Kou Hong said, a hint of mockery in his voice: “For a hundred years, Dao Xuanzi presented himself as upright and trustworthy, always keeping his word. I never imagined he was actually so unprincipled, even deceiving mortals.”

He paused, looked at Li Fan’s expression, and continued: “That Immortal Seclusion Grand Array is incredibly dangerous. Our ability to break in earlier involved a certain degree of luck. It would take considerable effort for us to leave by ourselves, so how could we possibly take mortals with us?”

“What? You don’t know how to leave this place either?” Li Fan was profoundly shocked, his face turning incredibly grim. Over a hundred years of hope was personally denied by the cultivator before him; Li Fan’s composure nearly shattered.

Fortunately, Li Fan’s mind was resilient, tempered by several lifetimes of experience. He composed himself and said to Kou Hong: “This is not the place to talk, Immortal Master. Please follow me.”

With that, he led Kou Hong through the ruins of Xuanjing City for a moment, arriving at an underground shelter.

During Kou Hong’s previous fight with Dao Xuanzi, the city’s soldiers had hidden in these shelters. Xuanjing City had hundreds of similar shelters, varying in size.

Though deeply buried underground, the shelters were brightly lit as day by lamps. Ventilation ducts connected to the outside prevented any stuffiness.

Kou Hong examined the lights on the ceiling with interest, praising them: “No wonder Dao Xuanzi sought cooperation with you mortals earlier. To be able to harness and utilize the power of lightning, it seems you mortals in this Land of Immortal Seclusion have developed quite well over thousands of years. And those hidden weapons from before were also quite powerful.”

Then, he shook his head again: “It’s a pity, but these magical tools are only useful in this land where the Great Dao is incomplete. Outside of this place, under the suppression of the Great Dao’s laws, none of these things would have any use.”

“Speaking of which, when did Dao Xuanzi find you and tell you to ambush me here? The timing doesn’t add up. Could it be that he secretly cultivated a clone technique?” Kou Hong suddenly remembered something and asked.

Li Fan remained composed, about to answer, but saw Kou Hong suddenly lose interest and wave his hand: “Never mind, why dwell on it? After death and the vanishing of one’s dao, all things become empty.” With that, he simply sat down on a chair, his expression rather dejected. Clearly, Dao Xuanzi’s death had struck him hard.

“It’s best he doesn’t ask about this; if I say too much, there will inevitably be flaws,” Li Fan thought to himself.

Then, with a hesitant expression, he asked Kou Hong: “Immortal Master, what you said earlier about not being able to take mortals out of this Land of Immortal Seclusion—is that true?”

Kou Hong sneered: “You’re just a mere mortal; why would I lie to you? Perhaps a Core Formation cultivator could protect mortals through that Immortal Seclusion Grand Array, but with only Foundation Establishment cultivation, it’s absolutely impossible!”

“Of course, if you don’t mind being reduced to a few scattered pieces upon leaving, I’d be willing to give it a reluctant try.”

Ignoring Kou Hong’s not-so-funny jest, Li Fan stubbornly asked: “Then, do we mortals truly have no hope of leaving this world?”

Kou Hong thought for a moment, then shook his head: “To leave the Land of Immortal Seclusion, one must brave the Immortal Seclusion Grand Array. For a mere mortal body, there’s absolutely no way to pass through it. Any attempt would only be courting death. Besides, you’re already half in the grave; why are you so fixated on leaving here? Isn’t being a local emperor quite good?”

Kou Hong’s face showed clear disdain.

“It wouldn’t matter if this old man dies, but I still wish to leave some hope for my descendants,” Li Fan persisted, asking again: “If my descendants could cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, like the Immortal Master, wouldn’t it then be possible for them to leave here?”

Kou Hong burst into laughter at this: “Not to mention there’s not a trace of spiritual energy here, making cultivation impossible. Just considering the eternal separation between immortals and mortals, how can the mortals here, covered in miasma, cultivate the immortal dao?”

Kou Hong scoffed: “I advise you to abandon this idea. For you mortals to cultivate, you first need to go to the outside world to reshape your bodies and cleanse yourselves of the miasma. Otherwise, even if the Great Dao to Immortality were laid out before you, you could see it but never touch it.”

With Kou Hong so certain on several consecutive questions, Li Fan finally seemed to give up.

“Immortals and mortals eternally separated, immortals and mortals eternally separated...” Li Fan murmured to himself, somewhat dispirited. “So, there really is no way?”

“Truly, there isn’t.” Seeing Li Fan’s extreme despondency, Kou Hong felt surprisingly good, for some reason.

“Truly none,” he repeated.

“As the Immortal Master says, immortals and mortals are eternally separated,” Li Fan sighed deeply.

“Ah, yes, yes, yes,” Kou Hong nodded repeatedly.

Li Fan, as if struck by the cruel truth, seemed disoriented. He bid farewell and departed.

The moment he walked out of the shelter, the door slammed shut.

Kou Hong’s expression changed, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart.

But it was too late.

Billowing white mist, containing the immortal-mortal miasma, surged out from various parts of the room.

“Ah!”

Kou Hong let out a scream, then was engulfed by the thick mist.

Outside the shelter, Li Fan’s gaze was deep as he slowly said: “Since immortals and mortals cannot coexist,”

“then how could I, a mere mortal, fully believe your words?”