Volume One: Youthful Encounters in Humble Times Chapter 135: The Immortal Appears at the Heavenly Gate (Part 2)

The immortal gazed at Li Yu and the Daoist before him, his mind surging with a thousand thoughts.

The fact that the Daoist possessed the knowledge of the "Five Primordial States"—a concept long lost to the mortal realm—was in itself highly intriguing. Furthermore, the appearance of a child whose soul carried the aura of an immortal made the immortal even more suspicious of Li Yu’s true identity.

In particular, while the Daoist acted as Li Yu’s master, there was something about his demeanor that gave the immortal the distinct impression that he was, in fact, Li Yu’s guardian. To have someone who understood the Five Primordial States acting as a guardian—the immortal could think of no other possibility than that Li Yu was the reincarnation of a supreme being from the Immortal Realm.

The immortal ceased speaking. Feeling the strength within him gradually slipping away, he saw no point in continuing useless discourse. In truth, not every jade bone contained a celestial spirit; it just happened that this particular one did. Initially, the spirit had no real desire to clash with the Daoist; it simply did not wish to be swallowed by the path of Return to Ruins.

However, upon seeing the Daoist and Li Yu, the spirit had been drawn to their uniqueness, sparking a sense of curiosity and a desire to probe further. It was only after realizing the Daoist possessed the Five Primordial States that the spirit felt compelled to act, hoping to uncover the Daoist's true origin.

Sensing that his power had drained significantly, the immortal knew that any further delay would lead to his complete dissipation. Before vanishing entirely, he wished to send the Daoist and Li Yu to the Immortal Realm. Regardless of who they were, once returned to that realm and steeped in its celestial aura, everything would revert to its origin.

To the immortals, it was an unspoken rule—a tacit consensus—that whenever an immortal reincarnated for whatever purpose, the spirits within their jade bones were tasked with disrupting their plans. This was because every reincarnated immortal, upon returning to the Immortal Realm, would gain a new elevation in power and cultivation.

Beyond the Source Dao realm, every step of advancement was arduous. If the entry-level of cultivation in the mortal world were likened to a chasm, the realms after ascension were as distant as heaven and earth.

With this intent, the spirit no longer hesitated. He transformed his Great Dao into a phantom river. The river shimmered with a murky, profound hue, resembling the Yellow Springs Daoist arts—the very same river the Phantom Demon had once manifested in his illusions. Yet, the river manifested by the immortal carried a depth and purity of the Yellow Springs path that felt far more authentic to the Daoist.

Daos have their hierarchies. Generally, primordial Daos are stronger than acquired ones, though this is not absolute. Take the Sword Dao, for instance; it is an acquired Dao, yet if mastered to its zenith, it can sever even the primordial Daos. Nevertheless, before ascension, primordial paths are almost universally superior.

However, an attained Dao after ascension signifies that the practitioner has reached an apex of enlightenment, earning the recognition of the Heavenly Dao. One might even say they have become the embodiment of that Dao within the world.

The Daoist did not underestimate his opponent. The Yellow Springs Dao was never simple. The reason he had easily dismantled the Phantom Demon’s river was that the demon had never truly grasped the power or the essence of the Yellow Springs. What the Daoist had faced before was merely a "dead" river—a hollow shape lacking its soul. This river, however, was forged from the true Yellow Springs Dao.

Knowing his own power was waning, the Daoist did not wish to prolong the conflict and risk unnecessary danger. As the River of Yellow Springs emerged, he unleashed his own Path of Tai-Chu (The Great Beginning).

Before the Yellow Springs could even touch him, it was swept away by the surging Path of Tai-Chu. The river water shattered into profound, unspeakable symbols, dissolving from a river into segments, then into countless droplets, until the droplets faded into mere symbols of the Yellow Springs.

Seeing this, the immortal’s face was etched with undisguised shock. He had not imagined that the Five Primordial States could truly be seen in the mortal world, let alone that someone had attained Dao through them. This was not the flawed Tai-Ji (Supreme Ultimate) path the Daoist had shown earlier, but the complete and authentic Path of Tai-Chu.

Once the Path of Tai-Chu emerged, all things under heaven were forced to return to their original forms. Even the Yellow Springs—a path belonging to the category of Death—could not escape being dissolved.

As the Yellow Springs vanished, the momentum of the Path of Tai-Chu did not cease; it surged toward the immortal. He realized his fate; no matter what measures he took, he could not escape the shroud of the Path of Tai-Chu. The surrounding forces of the "Return to Ruins" retreated in even greater terror than they had shown toward the immortal himself. The Five Primordial States are paths of creation, while the Return to Ruins and the Netherworld belong to the path of extinction. By rights, they should not have shown such cowardice. Yet, the fact remained that both the immortal and the Daoist’s Path of Tai-Chu felt like an irresistible force to the Return to Ruins.

The Daoist noted this reaction. He condensed these subtle changes into a fragment and silently left it within Li Yu’s soul. Unable to speak further, he could only leave this spark of clarity as a legacy. If Li Yu could one day discover it, he would realize that Heavenly Gate Town, which seemed to have yielded all its secrets, still held many unknown mysteries waiting to be unraveled. Even someone as powerful as the Daoist could not claim to fully understand the town; much of it remained a blur, a flower viewed through mist, even at the Source Dao level.

The Path of Tai-Chu surged forward with unstoppable force, crashing into the immortal’s consciousness in an instant, leaving no room for retreat. As the impact took hold, the immortal began to fade into nothingness.

Looking at the Daoist, the immortal gave a bitter smile. "I never imagined you had grasped the Path of Tai-Chu, and attained Dao through it. If you are not a reincarnation from the Immortal Realm, then your fate and fortune are truly beyond words."

Having exhausted his Path of Tai-Chu, the Daoist no longer had the strength to maintain his own form. Weakly, he replied, "I am not from the Immortal Realm. My grasp of the Path of Tai-Chu is indeed due to fortune, but it is undeniable that the effort I have poured into the path of cultivation is beyond what most could imagine."

The immortal shook his head, smiling. "Your effort is important, but fortune belongs to Heavenly Fate, something human effort cannot force. I might as well tell you: since you became an immortal without undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation, you know little of Heavenly Fate. But all of us, even immortals, live under its decree. If Fate wills someone to ascend, they are destined to become an immortal. If Fate does not, no matter your talent, you are but a fish attempting to cross the river, destined to leave only regrets in the mortal realm."

This was the first time the Daoist had heard such a claim. Despite his vast experience, he was shaken by the notion that destiny dictated everything. "Are you saying that our lives, including our final destinations, are inescapable? Even an immortal like you, reduced to a mere jade bone—was that also destined? If so, what is the meaning of our cultivation?"

Cultivators seek longevity and mastery over their own destiny, aiming to live as long as heaven and earth, to transcend the rules of the world, and even to become the ones who dictate those rules. If these goals were unattainable, then their cultivation was meaningless. To reach the end only to find one was still controlled by an ethereal Heavenly Fate—it was a crushing thought. For all cultivators, the pain of training could be endured, but the lack of hope could not.

The immortal replied, "When we cultivated in the mortal realm, we thought ascension was the end. Only after ascending do you realize there is a long road ahead. And once you finish that road, you find another. It is a cycle without end. We walk through a series of journeys, and in the process, we may get lost in the scenery of our own cultivation, creating mental barriers that make us seem to go far, while in reality, we drift further from the highest truth. That, I do not know."

The Daoist understood these words, and even Li Yu had a vague sense of them. But the immortal’s words were not spoken in vain. What he truly meant, and why he could not speak plainly, was a mystery worth pondering.

Their conversation ended there. Neither was a true physical entity—one was a celestial spirit, the other merely a remnant of the Daoist’s consciousness left in the human world. Neither could bear the weight of the truth behind these revelations.

The rules of heaven and earth have their own Dao. Even immortals who can manipulate the forces of nature trigger a mysterious, heavenly retribution the moment they touch upon truths meant to be hidden. As their conversation had begun to graze the truth of the universe, could heaven and earth simply watch as they spoke it aloud?

Impossible.