Make the Immortal Sect Great Again

Inside the quiet room.

You Xuexin’s beautiful eyes were shut tight. She threw the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman far away as if it were a venomous snake, then dropped directly into a cross-legged seat on the floor.

At some point, a Red-Skin Gourd had appeared in her hands.

Her primary spell was the Sword Art, and she specialized in flying swords. As weapons of slaughter, her swords were normally kept in a sword box to be nourished.

This gourd was her sword box.

As she circulated her magic power, her surging spiritual sense merged into the Red-Skin Gourd. The originally quiet gourd gradually began to emit the roars of dragons and tigers.

”Please appear, treasure!”

You Xuexin formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation. Without a moment’s hesitation, she popped open the mouth of the gourd, and surging sword qi instantly poured out like a burst dam.

”Clang!”

A sword chime rang through the quiet room, as if an invisible flying sword were weaving through the air. Finally, it settled firmly above You Xuexin’s head and spun in a light, airy circle.In that instant, it was as if an invisible connection had been severed by the flying sword. Clarity returned to You Xuexin’s beautiful eyes, and she let out a long breath. Only then did she cup her hands toward the gourd. It let out a chiming response before the sword returned inside, hiding away all phenomena.

”Thank goodness...”

You Xuexin patted her full chest, then cast a lingering, fearful glance at the jade slip she had forcefully thrown into the corner of the room.

She had even used a spell for that throw.

It was Scenery Shifting, the very same spell she had used to capture Wang Ping. Just as the name implied, it could shift external scenery and shape space, creating a situation where something inches away was actually separated by the ends of the earth.

Right now, for instance, the jade slip looked like it was just on the other side of the quiet room. In reality, if one wanted to pick it up, they would have to walk at least a hundred kilometers just to touch it.

Against such an evil object, however, no precaution was too extreme. Out of caution, You Xuexin didn’t even dare to retrieve it right away. She figured it would be better to wait a moment until her magic power and spiritual sense were restored to their peak. It wouldn’t be too late to pick it up after making full preparations.

At this thought, You Xuexin inspected her sea of consciousness again.

What she saw was a vast ocean built of memories. A small area of it was visibly distorted, and a massive amount of cultivation method memories were faintly forming into a talisman.

”Hiss...!”

You Xuexin gasped. ”Good thing I severed the relevant memories in time. Otherwise, once that talisman took shape, I’m afraid I really wouldn’t be able to forget it.”

This was the treacherous nature of the Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman.

Once a cultivator was bewitched by it and saw the contents of the cultivation method, a resonance would immediately bloom within their sea of consciousness, and their memories of the cultivation method would manifest out of thin air to form a talisman.

This talisman, engraved deep within the sea of consciousness, allowed the cultivator to completely bypass the arduous training stage. They would grasp all the experience of this supreme immortal method out of nowhere and could use it the moment they finished reading it. Its speed of mastery was practically number one in the Immortal Gate. In exchange, however, it had a fatal flaw.

That was being targeted by the Heaven-Stealing Thief.

”The Heaven-Stealing Thief spreads this method, but its true nature is akin to raising venomous Gu bugs. All the cultivators who stand out from the pack will ultimately be reduced to fuel for his Immortal Dao.”

With such a flaw, no matter how great the benefits, You Xuexin would not be tempted.

...

Inside the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag.

Wang Ping’s eyes were shut tight. He was also inspecting his inner self, looking at the extra talisman that had appeared in his sea of consciousness. It was the size of a thumb and currently flowing with boundless radiance.

A second later, the talisman’s true name surfaced in Wang Ping’s mind.

Life-Stealing Thief.

”A thief that steals life, capable of usurping life force and vital essence. This talisman allows me to steal the essence, energy, and spirit tied to a person’s life the instant I make contact with them.”

It didn’t sound all that impressive.

In reality, however, this method of stealing life force and vital essence was incredibly tyrannical. If trained to the highest Realm, one could steal a person’s life the moment they touched them.

Whoever he touched would die on the spot!

Moreover, the stolen life force and vital essence wouldn’t just dissipate. It would completely merge into his own body to nourish his physique. The effects were better than any miraculous pill or spirit medicine!

Thinking of this, Wang Ping’s gaze grew deeper. He stared fixedly at that Life-Stealing Thief talisman in his sea of consciousness, examining it from left and right, searching it up and down. He carefully savored and digested the knowledge and experience transmitted from it. Only then did he finally spot two words hidden between the lines of the talisman—

Eating people!

”Why do all the cultivation methods of this Immortal Gate follow the demonic path?!” Wang Ping felt his scalp tingle. ”What Life-Stealing Thief? To put it bluntly, it’s just eating people!”

Raising his eyes, Wang Ping looked outside the flag once more.

As the radiance of the Life-Stealing Thief flickered slightly, he instantly saw the immeasurable, terrifying life force and vital essence within You Xuexin’s body.

”Gulp...”

In that split second, Wang Ping’s mouth watered. It took a massive amount of effort just to swallow it back down. An indescribable, terrifying hunger swept through his entire body!

So hungry! So hungry! So hungry!

I want to eat! I want to eat! I want to eat!

’Wait... this thing is controlling me?’

Wang Ping abruptly held his breath. All of his spiritual sense madly flooded into the Life-Stealing Thief, barely managing to suppress the hunger and maintain his rationality.

’What a strong demonic nature.’

’This won’t do. I have to find a way to completely master this hunger, or sooner or later, it will drive me into qi deviation.’

Would suicide help?

Wang Ping thought about it, then immediately shook his head. His intuition told him it probably wouldn’t work, because the existence of the Life-Stealing Thief wasn’t anchored to his physical body.

It was based on his consciousness and memories.

’If I want to eliminate its influence, I have to sever all memories related to it. Otherwise, even if I die and restart, this thing will likely still follow me.’

For now, his only plan was a two-pronged approach: suppress it with his spiritual sense while stealing a measured amount of life force and vital essence to satisfy the hunger. Although this method treated the symptoms and not the root cause, it would buy him a long time—enough for his cultivation base to progress further and allow him to find a new solution.

...

A full three shichen passed before You Xuexin finished adjusting her breathing and recovered. Then, she reached out and summoned the jade slip that had fallen in the corner of the room back to her hand.

Following that, she took out a jade box, tossed the jade slip inside, and sealed it tight. Then, forming her fingers into a sword, she continuously carved seal script and secret talismans onto it. Only when the entire surface of the jade box had no more room to write did she take out an even larger jade box and repeat the process...

After doing this several times in a row, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

”This matter brooks no delay. It’s best if I escort this item over as quickly as possible and let Master handle it. If I keep it in my hands, I’m afraid something else will go wrong.”

At this thought, You Xuexin didn’t dare to dawdle.

The next second, she formed a hand seal and muttered an incantation. Finally, with a point of her finger, a dazzling burst of golden light bloomed from where she stood.

Inside the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, Wang Ping had been quietly observing the outside world the entire time. Now, his vision blurred, and by the time he came to his senses, the scenery had completely changed.

The sights of the Daoist temple had vanished, replaced by a magnificent deck. What entered his eyes was a stretch of resplendent pavilions and towers surrounded by blue skies and white clouds. It was a giant tower ship suspended in the air. Streaks of seal script and secret talismans on the ship’s hull were currently lighting up one after another.

’What an impressive flying boat!’

Wang Ping was shocked. Then, he saw You Xuexin channel her magic power. The flying boat moved in response, rapidly pulling away from the ground surrounded by a cluster of golden light.

This speed was beyond Wang Ping’s imagination.

In just the blink of an eye, the Daoist temple turned into a faintly visible black dot in his field of vision. He didn’t even get a clear look at the environment surrounding it.

All he could see were the mountains and rivers that had already become tiny. Even those were gradually turning into abstract paintings as time flowed on.

Suddenly, a moment of enlightenment struck Wang Ping.

’Don’t look down anymore.’

Only souls bound by gravity would focus entirely on the earth. What he should be doing right now was raising his head to gaze up at the even more vast and boundless firmament.

And so, Wang Ping raised his head.

In an instant, as the flying boat smashed through the boundary qi and cloud sea of the Thirty-Three Heavens, a familiar yet unfamiliar sight entered Wang Ping’s eyes.

It was a profound darkness, as if the very dome of the sky had been stained by splashed ink. Yet, compared to the tiny earth, this darkness was so broad and deep. As the flying boat drew closer, streaks of silver-white starlight gradually lit up in the depths of that darkness.

The universe.

Wang Ping was one hundred percent certain that the sight unfolding before his eyes right now was the universe. At this very moment, the flying boat was sprinting straight toward it.

What was this?

Breaking through the atmosphere solo?

Wang Ping’s gaze shifted. Looking at the endless, dazzling stars that dotted the darkness, he began to observe them almost subconsciously.

He tried to find a familiar section among the starry skies... but to his disappointment, all the constellations were completely alien to him.

The Big Dipper, the twelve zodiac signs, the Twenty-Eight Mansions... he didn’t see a single one.

”...Heh.”

Suddenly, Wang Ping chuckled.

Never before had there been a moment where he so clearly realized that he had indeed transmigrated. Yet, precisely because of this, a momentary doubt arose in his mind:

’Something doesn’t seem right.’

Even though the constellations were completely unfamiliar, looking closely at them now, they felt inexplicably familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

An illusion? Déjà vu?

Before Wang Ping could sort out his thoughts, he couldn’t even see the constellations anymore—because the flying boat didn’t stop. Instead, it sped rapidly toward one of the stars.

In the process, the constellations gradually shifted as if a curtain had been pulled back. Wang Ping saw the other side of the starry sky from an entirely new angle—entering his vision were twelve entities radiating light like stars, mixed in among the sea of stars.

When observed from afar, they hadn’t stood out.

But when the flying boat truly drew close to them, the fundamental difference between stars and planets immediately caused the former to shine brightly, displaying an absolute presence.

”One Palace, Three Academies, and Eight Immortal Peaks...”

Right then, You Xuexin’s voice suddenly rang out, brimming with emotion. ”No matter how many times I see it, I can’t help but marvel at the mighty power of the Exalted Immortals.”

Wang Ping eavesdropped from the side, silently committing it to memory.

One Palace, Three Academies, and Eight Immortal Peaks—was this the source of the twelve streaks of starlight? Taken literally, it seemed to be an internal organization of the Immortal Gate.

Wang Ping studied the twelve stars before him even more earnestly, and then he noticed something was wrong.

He saw that these twelve streaks of starlight were each guiding a batch of celestial bodies. Scattered in the depths of the boundless, dark universe, they actually formed a pattern.

To be precise, it was a gate.

Eight relatively dimmer streaks of starlight constructed the frame of the gate, while three brighter streaks sketched out the outline of a plaque.

As for the most dazzling streak of starlight, it sat firmly dead center on the plaque. Unlike the other streaks of starlight that still guided celestial bodies and revolved along their orbits, this streak of light was perfectly centered, unmoving and unshakable, as if illustrating that it was the true center of all this.

What kind of mighty power was this?

Wang Ping had no doubt that there was external interference. Otherwise, how could the orbits of the stars form a gate? The chances of it forming naturally were far too low.

’This is the Immortal Gate?’

The moment this thought was born, Wang Ping abruptly held his breath. So the so-called ”Immortal Gate” didn’t mean a sect, but was actually the name of a galaxy?

Are you kidding me!

Compared to the abstract descriptions of cultivation worlds from his previous life—things like Heavenly Realms or Oceans of Light—this very real universe before his eyes shocked Wang Ping even more.

It subtly aligned with a part of his own worldview, and this overlap made Wang Ping realize even more clearly just what kind of colossal entity the so-called Immortal Gate was. Measured on a cosmic scale, its radiant immortal light appeared all the more dazzling and brilliant.

”How is it? Very spectacular, right?”

—A voice suddenly rang out.

These few simple words were like a basin of cold water, instantly dousing all of Wang Ping’s thoughts. It was as if his consciousness froze in that split second.

However, he quickly reacted.

’It’s not talking to me!’

Inside the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, Wang Ping lowered his head, no longer paying attention to the boundless starry sky above. Instead, he looked at the ground beneath his feet that was gradually growing larger.

This was one of the planets.

It was not one of the twelve stars, but rather an insignificant speck among the starry sky. It was a stopover for the flying boat on this escort journey.

Right at this moment, however, the scenery suddenly changed.

The ground was like a canvas being lifted and crumpled, shattering in an instant to reveal the boundless radiance behind it. It actually overshadowed the stars of the universe!

”Indeed spectacular.”

A cold, calm voice responded to You Xuexin’s question, echoing between heaven and earth. ”Fellow Daoist’s spiritual sense is extraordinary, but unfortunately, you noticed a bit too late.”

Stars fell, the heavens opened.

Amidst the brilliant divine light, Wang Ping saw a towering figure. He stood just like that in the starry space of the universe, his fingers—comparable to mountains and rivers—slowly forming a seal.

Compared to him, the flying boat seemed like nothing more than a fallen leaf in his palm.

Immediately after, he watched as the figure’s ten fingers intertwined. The seal he formed looked at first glance like a precious vase, and the mouth of the vase was pointed dead center at the flying boat.

”Divine Powers, manifest—”

The majestic incantation echoed through the starry sky, seemingly issuing commands. As the voice fell, the world actually began to change exactly as he had spoken.

All things and all matter abruptly collapsed.

The flying boat, the human figure, the starry sky—everything originally existing on a cosmic scale was plummeting, like a bird with broken wings plunging toward a vast lake.

Such a violent change in scenery left Wang Ping stunned for a good while before he finally realized what had happened.

’No, it’s not that exaggerated. It isn’t heaven and earth changing.’

’It’s me... It’s this flying boat that’s changing, shrinking!’

’Someone laid a trap on the planet the flying boat was heading toward, using some method to shrink the flying boat and send it into another world!’

At almost the same time, that majestic voice commanding heaven and earth slowly spat out its final syllables.

”—Heaven Within the Pot.”