Sovereign of the Ashes

While the Tenth Pharaoh of the Amenkha Empire was being cornered by a group of Immortal Realm overlord-level dragonkin, elsewhere, in the distant Immortal Realm Civilization, negotiations for a military alliance between the Magus Civilization and the Immortal Realm’s Daoist faction had only just begun.

Tomov, a Rank Six mage and representative of the Magus Civilization’s diplomatic delegation, was currently on his way to Celestial Venerable Duobao’s temple.

Celestial Venerable Duobao was a disciple of the Grandmaster of Heaven, Tongtian. He was also Jie Sect’s best disciple and the one currently holding authority within the sect.

Among the Daoist factions of the Immortal Realm, setting aside the smaller sects and rogue cultivators, Jie Sect currently ranked second among the three major Daoist sects—Chan Sect, Jie Sect, and Human Sect—surpassed only by Chan Sect.

Chan Sect was still led by its founding patriarch, Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning, Yuanshi. With him personally overseeing the sect, no immortal dared to defy it.

Jie Sect, on the other hand, was in a slightly different position.

Since the passing of Sect Master Tongtian, the sect’s legacy had remained intact, and its number of disciples had continued to grow. Some, like Celestial Venerable Duobao, had even advanced into the Sage realm.

Even so, Jie Sect ultimately lacked a founding patriarch to anchor it.

Because of this, Jie Sect cultivators often lacked confidence when they ventured beyond their own territory.

As for Human Sect, it ranked at the bottom, but not because its high-ranking members lacked combat strength.

On the contrary, the sages of Human Sect were among the most elite beings in the Immortal Realm today.

Human Sect’s relative weakness came entirely from its lack of interest in spreading its teachings, as well as its adherence to the principle of “governing through non-action”.[1]

However, non-action does not mean doing nothing at all. Rather, it refers to acting in a way that follows the natural flow of things, without forcing one’s will upon others or going against the natural order.

A true sage acts in harmony with the laws of nature. He does what is best for the people and teaches without relying on words, much like how nature nourishes all living beings without seeking praise. He may accomplish many great things, yet he doesn’t care whether those achievements are credited to his name. After helping others and fulfilling his role, he quietly steps back. And because he doesn’t cling to his accomplishments or demand recognition, people remember and honor him all the more. This is how “wu wei” is achieved.[/ref]

In fact, Human Sect did not even have a proper ancestral temple.

Mount Shu Sword School, the most prestigious sword cultivation sect in the Immortal Realm, was said to have been founded by the White-Eyebrow Sage, who was reportedly only a nominal disciple of Human Sect’s founding patriarch, Laozi.

It was worth noting that the strongest figure in the current Immortal Realm Civilization appeared to be Laozi himself, the sage who had long been cultivating in seclusion at the Palace of Eight Views outside Primordial World.

He wielded one of the Immortal Realm Civilization’s famed civilizational treasures—the Heavenly Dao Sword!

The Buddhist faction had never fully severed ties with the Immortal Realm.

Likewise, Buddhism, Daoism, and the Yao Clan had never erupted into full-scale civil war or suffered a complete falling-out within the Immortal Realm.

In this, Sage Laozi had actually played a significant role.

Golden Turtle Island, Primordial World...

As a sacred site that had once welcomed tens of thousands of immortals from Jie Sect, Golden Tortoise Island was the place Celestial Venerable Duobao had chosen to establish his own temple.

This alone showed just how deeply Celestial Venerable Duobao valued his master and his sect.

Many sages of Primordial World chose to establish their own temples beyond the Immortal Realm. Over time, some of those planes had grown so prosperous that they could rival large-sized worlds.

With Celestial Venerable Duobao’s abilities, he could easily have created an extremely powerful and prosperous world of his own.

But he did not.

When Tomov arrived, he immediately sensed the incredibly profound planar essence of Primordial World.

Even on the small Golden Turtle Island before him, millions of cultivators were diligently practicing nearby.

Among them were quite a few Daluo Golden Immortals whose strength matched his own, or even surpassed it. There were also several Quasi Sage-level cultivators present.

And yet, for some reason, Tomov could not shake the feeling that Golden Turtle Island carried a faint sense of desolation, both within and beyond its borders.

The cultivators gathered here clearly did not represent the full strength of Jie Sect.

At present, Jie Sect’s main focus was on the newer, livelier, and far more vibrant cultivation realms beyond Primordial World.

Only a few ancient figures remained in the Great Primordial Land.

For example, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi of Chan Sect was still said to reside in Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun within the Primordial World.

That was Chan Sect’s sacred ground.

***

Duobao Temple...

There, Tomov met Celestial Venerable Duobao of Jie Sect and presented him with the Magus Civilization’s letter of credence.

Jie Sect actually owed the Magus Civilization a favor, one connected to Sect Master Tongtian.

Furthermore, within the Immortal Realm, Jie Sect cultivators were famous for their loyalty and camaraderie.

This seemed to be closely tied to Jie Sect’s long-standing traditions and values.

In simple terms, if one Jie Sect disciple got into trouble, that person could often call upon an entire group of senior and junior brothers for help.

In this regard, they were somewhat similar to the Dragon Clan of the Immortal Realm.

Perhaps this was simply the culture of the Immortal Realm Civilization. Jie Sect cultivators just happened to be more grounded and easier to get along with.

Celestial Venerable Duobao was a very approachable sage-level powerhouse.

During his meeting with Tomov, he did not put on the airs of a typical sage at all. Instead, he casually asked Tomov about a few minor matters.

As for the actual situation on the frontlines between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation, Tomov did not need to explain too much.

Or rather, the Immortal Realm Civilization likely did not place much faith in the Magus Civilization’s one-sided account.

Those who were interested had already used various channels to gain a general understanding of the situation on the Magus Civilization’s frontlines.

Tomov’s visit this time was mainly to represent the leadership of the Magus Civilization and make clear where their bottom line lay, as well as what benefits they were willing to offer.

These were the things the major Dao courts of the Immortal Realm cared about most.

After speaking with Tomov for a while, Celestial Venerable Duobao did not give him an immediate answer. Instead, he asked Tomov and the rest of the Magus Civilization’s delegation to stay on Golden Turtle Island for the time being.

After all, Celestial Venerable Duobao still needed to consult with his junior brothers and sisters.

Seeing this, Tomov could only take his leave for now.

Before he departed, Celestial Venerable Duobao gave him a bead as a parting gift.

It was clearly a masterpiece only a sage could have created.

Although the pale golden bead had not reached the level of a world-class secret treasure, it was already close. It also appeared to be a single-use item.

Tomov once again expressed his gratitude to Celestial Venerable Duobao.

After he left, Celestial Venerable Duobao glanced around. With a wave of his right hand, a surge of sage-level power spread out, enveloping the entire building.

Once he had completely blocked off any possible external surveillance, several waves of overlord-level energy fluctuations appeared one after another inside the hall.

As a Rank Six mage, Tomov was still too inexperienced. He had not sensed at all that there was more than one sage inside this place!

Just as the Magus Civilization had suspected, Jie Sect had been waiting for them all along.

The sage-level powerhouses who appeared inside Duobao Temple at this moment were Golden Spirit Mother, Kui Niu, and Zhao Gongming.

Zhao Gongming, also known as Marshal Zhao is a god of wealth in Chinese folk religion and Daoism. He is the most widely venerated of the various forms of Wealth God, and is conventionally identified as the central figure of the Five Roads Wealth Gods system. Within the Chinese pantheon, Zhao Gongming is the principal Military God of Wealth.[/ref]

Together with Celestial Venerable Duobao, these four Sages were currently the core members of Jie Sect.

Others, such as the Immortal Emperor of the East Pole, were indeed sage-level powerhouses who came from Jie Sect, but their positions were slightly more peripheral.

“Take a look. These are the terms the Magus Civilization has offered us,” Celestial Venerable Duobao said as he presented the law contract in his hand to the three junior disciples before him.

“Although Lady Bev did not say it outright, I can sense that the price the Magus Civilization has offered our Jie Sect is probably the most generous one.”

The letter of credence Tomov had brought from the Magus Civilization also functioned as a law contract. As long as Celestial Venerable Duobao and the others imprinted their sage-level divine consciousness into it, it would essentially mean that a partnership had been established.

The first to accept it was the Golden Spirit Mother.[2]

She was a mature and dignified woman dressed in a golden Daoist robe, with a lifelike phoenix-tail hairpin tucked neatly into her updo.

Within Jie Sect, the Golden Spirit Mother’s prestige was second only to Celestial Venerable Duobao’s.

She also had another identity: she was an overlord-level Golden Phoenix from the Phoenix Clan of Primordial World.

After giving the contract a brief look, the Golden Spirit Mother passed it to Kui Niu.

Kuiniu was a burly, dark-skinned man with sturdy bull horns and a golden ring through his nose.[3]

Strictly speaking, Kui Niu was not a junior brother to any of the sages present.

He was actually the mount of Sect Master Tongtian, the founding patriarch of Jie Sect.

In Primordial World, Kui Niu also carried a formidable title—The Great Sage Who Pacifies the Heavens, the Bull King!

The last to read the law contract was a middle-aged man whose face carried a faint trace of sorrow.

He wore a golden crown, and his face was marked with wrinkles that seemed to tell of a long and difficult life.

In truth, given the lifespan of an overlord-level being, Zhao Gongming was not particularly old. For some reason, however, he looked rather aged at that moment.

Zhao Gongming was best known in the Immortal Realm for the innate spiritual treasure in his possession—the Sea-Calming Pearls.[4]

However, it was also said that because of this world-class secret treasure, this Jie Sect sage had a very poor relationship with the Lamp-Bearing Buddha from the Buddhist faction.

After Zhao Gongming finished reading the contract, Celestial Venerable Duobao asked, “What are your thoughts, junior brothers and sister?”

Translator’s Notes:

1. 无为 “Wu wei” is a core concept in the ancient Chinese philosophy of Daoism, championed by the ancient philosopher Laozi in the Classic of the Way and its Virtue. It is often translated as “non-action” or “effortless action.” However, non-action does not mean doing nothing at all. Rather, it refers to acting in a way that follows the natural flow of things, without forcing one’s will upon others or going against the natural order.

A true sage acts in harmony with the laws of nature. He does what is best for the people and teaches without relying on words, much like how nature nourishes all living beings without seeking praise. He may accomplish many great things, yet he doesn’t care whether those achievements are credited to his name. After helping others and fulfilling his role, he quietly steps back. And because he doesn’t cling to his accomplishments or demand recognition, people remember and honor him all the more. This is how “wu wei” is achieved. ☜

2. Golden Spirit Mother or Saint Mother of Golden Spirit is the strongest female warrior in Investiture of the Gods. She is portrayed as having attained the realm of “All Things are Severed”, where her strikes not only destroyed physical forms but also cut through the karmic roots of cultivation, a power said to be beyond the comprehension of Great Luo immortals. ☜

3. In the 16th-century Chinese mythological novel Investiture of the Gods, the Kui Niu is a legendary, one-legged mythical beast from Liubo Mountain. It serves as the powerful divine mount of Tongtian. The creature is described as an bull-like beast that is dark blue, hornless, and possesses only one leg. It is said to bring wind and rain wherever it goes, shines like the sun and moon, and roars like thunder. ☜

4. The Sea-Calming Pearls is an innate spiritual treasure from Investiture of the Gods, made up of twenty-four precious pearls strung together. It can release a five-colored light that obscures an opponent’s perception. It is pretty interesting that White Stella also has something similar called the Sea-Taming Pearl. ☜