Returning from the Immortal World

Old Sycamore let out a deep sigh and firmly stated, “There are some people who you can never forget in your entire lifetime even though you have seen them just once. The things that have already happened can’t be changed, so there’s no viable way to end this karma. Although he’s dead, I still haven’t repaid the debt I owe him. Tell me, just who are you?”

Tang Xiu put away the tea table and the tea set, then slowly stood up and said, “Since you wish to seek the answer to this, serve at my side from now on! You shall learn what you wish to know in the future.”

“Hahaha…”

Loud laughter came from Old Sycamore as he said, “You want me to serve you? Are you kidding me? There’s only one person who can let me serve him in all of the Immortal World, but unfortunately, he has long since disappeared… both in flesh and soul.”

Tang Xiu countered back. “Since you believe he has disappeared in flesh and soul already, why have you come to bother me then?”

“That’s…”

Old Sycamore was left dumbstruck and tongue-tied.

Tang Xiu’s expression changed suddenly when he sensed a shadow rush towards him like a bolt of lightning, and a somewhat wry expression emerged on his handsome face.

“Why did you come here?” Tang Xiu asked helplessly.

Apotheosis Bella glanced at Old Sycamore, and immediately after, she revealed a strange expression as she said, “I sensed a powerful aura make its way over here, so I followed it all the way here. I didn’t think Old Sycamore had actually come to find you. Are you two acquaintances?”

A glimmer of light flashed in Old Sycamore’s eyes as he greeted. “Apotheon Bella… No, it should be Supreme Bella Fern Regalia. Have your injuries healed completely?”

Apotheosis Bella nodded and said, “I obtained a Holy Dragon Fruit, so they have healed fully. On the other hand, your injuries have healed faster than I was expecting them to.”

Old Sycamore smiled bitterly. “I found an interesting person, so I spent all my life’s savings to heal sooner and made my way over here. No, wait. Wasn’t it rumored that the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor has ousted you, so how come…?”

Tang Xiu interrupted him, then looked towards Apotheosis Bella and asked, “Bella, you’re acquainted with Old Sycamore?”

Apotheosis Bella said, “We have known each other for a few hundred years now. In the past seven hundred years, we have worked together multiple times to battle the experts of Inner Pill Sect and Everlasting Palace. If it weren’t for Old Sycamore holding the rear when we were besieged by the Inner Pill Sect, Everlasting Palace, and Myriad Sword Sect last time, I might have been unable to return to the Immortal Lyceum.”

Tang Xiu let out a deep sigh and firmly said, “Were you aware that he was on friendly terms with the Vermillion Bird Holy Sect?”

Apotheosis Bella shook her head and said, “I wasn’t aware of it. However, I considered any power or person who had a grudge with the Inner Pill Sect and Everlasting Palace as allies.”

Tang Xiu turned to look at Old Sycamore and said in a bitter voice, “You… did all this just to repay that debt of ten Immortal Crystals from back then? To repay his kindness for continuously sending you cultivation resources and helping you breakthrough?”

Old Sycamore stated decisively, “You’re right. If it weren’t for the Star Cultivation Great Emperor, there would be no Old Sycamore today. Although my younger brother is already dead, I’m still alive. Since he has no way to repay the kindness, I can do it in his stead.”

“Was there a need to do that?” Tang Xiu continued bitterly. “Let it be. I shall give you a satisfactory answer for all that you have done over these past hundreds of years. If you’re still unwilling to follow me after that, that’s your choice to make. The reason your younger brother kept sending you all kinds of cultivation resources steadily and helped you achieve breakthroughs was that I urged him to do so. However, I wasn’t expecting him to willingly take on the blame for me and end up dying tragically at the hands of a disciple from a sect that I exterminated.”

“How could this be possible?”

Old Sycamore’s eyes filled with shock as he retreated a few steps. He then anxiously asked with disbelief all over his face, “You… are Star Cultivation Great Emperor?”

Tang Xiu nodded and said with a sigh, “You didn’t think I was still alive, right? I believed I was done for too, but a fragment of my soul ended up surviving, and this allowed me to make a comeback. Old Sycamore, in this entire world, only two people know which art you are cultivating. One of them is your younger brother, and the other one is me. That’s because the Heavenly Art of Divine Wood Bestowal is a cultivation art I created.”

After hearing all this, the way Old Sycamore looked at Tang Xiu had changed thoroughly. His expression became more respectful and excited. His aged body straightened perfectly as he kneeled before Tang Xiu and said respectfully, “Old Sycamore greets Star Cultivation Great Emperor. I shall never forget the favor you have shown me by teaching me. I’m willing to become your subordinate and move at your beck and call.”

Tang Xiu said, “Old Sycamore, you’re good, and so is your brother. Since you have come to a decision, so be it then! I’m in need of men right now, so I hope you can consider the Great Tang Empire as a place you belong to and that you can treat it as your… home.”

“Home?”

Old Sycamore stared blankly as a long time had passed since he had heard this word.

Tang Xiu said in an earnest voice, “That’s right. The Great Tang Empire is your home from now on, and I, Tang Xiu, am your family. He’s my disciple, and you’re his elder brother, so you’re my family as well. As long as I’m alive, you have to stay alive too. And when I advance to the Supremacy Stage, you have to follow behind me and embark on it as well.”

He then took out a brush, inkstone, and paper from his interspatial ring. In just a short minute, he drew a few thousand immortal characters with beautiful penmanship. After that, he handed over this sheet filled to the brim with immortal characters to Old Sycamore and said in a deep voice, “After you’re done memorizing it, burn it to ashes.”

Old Sycamore received the sheet and immediately revealed an excited expression after going over the immortal characters drawn on it. This was the late-stage cultivation art for the Heavenly Art of Divine Wood Bestowal, which now opened up the path to Supremacy Stage for him. He believed he would be stuck at the Perfected Golden Immortal Stage forever because he didn’t know the method to break through to the Supremacy Stage. Even if he had an epiphany, he wasn’t sure about how to proceed with cultivation after that.

But now, he didn’t need to worry about all that since he had obtained the late-stage cultivation art for the Heavenly Art of Divine Wood Bestowal. He could cultivate up to the Supremacy Stage without any issues now.

Old Sycamore read through the immortal characters a dozen times or so and learned each one by heart. Once he had fully memorized all of them, he immediately used Samadhi True Fire to burn it to ashes. He then said respectfully, “You have my gratitude, Star Cultivation Great Emperor.”

Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “Star Cultivation Great Emperor is already dead, I’m the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor now. You must also take care to keep my identity a secret as the current Great Tang Empire is still too weak. When I return to the Supremacy Stage in the future, the Great Tang Empire will also become stronger. That’s the moment when we will start a war with the Inner Pill Sect and the Everlasting Palace, and it will also be the day the Star Cultivation Great Emperor resurrects.”

Old Sycamore could comprehend the reason Tang Xiu had decided to conceal his identity, so he nodded and said, “I will cultivate as quickly as possible and breakthrough to the Supremacy Stage.”

Tang Xiu nodded. “Before you become a Supreme, you can cultivate here in the Misty Spring Ocean! I will be looking forward to the day you break through to the Supremacy Stage. Because when you reach it, I will have an important task for you to do.”

“All right!” Old Sycamore nodded solemnly.

As time passed by, the Great Tang Empire’s influence over the Immortal Lyceum grew exponentially powerful. In just a decade, it had secured the Immortal Lyceum in its entirety.

Seventy-eight years later, experts emerged in large numbers from the Great Tang Empire. The number of Golden Immortal Stage experts was exceptionally high—they had long surpassed 30,000 people. Furthermore, the Great Tang Empire had occupied a large section of Aeterneum, Obsideum, and Chalcedoneum that laid to the southeast, west, and north, respectively. These three Immortal Domains had a significant number of experts, and a lot of them had defected to the Great Tang Empire, leaving behind only those who were putting up a resistance stubbornly. However, with how the Great Tang Empire was developing, their resistance was but a futile one.

Eighty-eight years later, the Great Tang Empire held its first Immortal Court Assembly at its headquarters, the Misty Spring Island. 34,650 Golden Immortals and Perfected Golden Immortals attended this assembly. Some of the top-level personnel of the Great Tang Empire was also present. Although they hadn’t reached the Golden Immortal Stage, they had all passed the tribulation of immortality and become Immortals. The total headcount finally came to 35,800 people.

The majestic and lofty palace present here was a 9th-grade defensive immortal artifact, which was the highest-grade of its kind in the Immortal World until now. Its territory spanned several hundreds of kilometers, and it was surrounded by rainbow clouds that gave it a splendid magnificence.

Nine Dragons Cathedra.

This was a 9th-grade offensive immortal artifact that once belonged to Apotheosis Bella. It had been brought over from the Immortal Lyceum Palace and became Tang Xiu’s exclusive throne. Tang Xiu sat on top of the Nine Dragons Cathedra boldly and decisively. He swept his sharp gaze across the 35,800 Immortals present inside the hall and then said in a clear voice, “This is our Great Tang Empire’s first court assembly, and this marks the day our Great Tang Empire has finished laying its foundation. My fame as the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor and the glory of my Great Tang Empire shall spread across the entire Immortal World today and awe all Immortals.”

“Great Tang Heavenly Emperor!”

All 35,800 experts of the Great Tang Empire kneeled, placed their right firsts on their hearts, and then roared out his title loudly.

Tang Xiu got up from his seat and nodded satisfactorily. “You may rise.”

As everyone stood up, Tang Xiu asked in a deep voice, “Where is Tang Ahlang?”

“Disciple is here, Master.”

Tang Ahlang looked just over 20-years-old like before. He even looked more handsome and scholarly than before. However, the aura his body exuded had clearly surpassed that of an ordinary human. He now carried an air of immortality that only Immortals possessed.

Tang Xiu nodded and said in a low and deep voice, “Extensive preparation pays off eventually. You have reached the Immortal Stage in less than a hundred years, so your progress is pretty decent. Henceforth, you shall command the army of the Great Tang Empire, and also handle the distribution of the Great Tang Empire’s resources. You must completely occupy Aeterneum, Obsideum, and Chalcedoneum. I want to see the flag of the Great Tang Empire in each corner of the four Immortal Domains within ten years.”

Tang Ahlang revealed an excited expression on his face and acknowledged in a solemn voice, “Disciple shall carry out your command.”

Tang Xiu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “Everyone, I need you to don your battle armors and embark on this expedition. All Perfected Golden Immortals shall oversee the entire army. Submit, and they shall prosper, or oppose and perish. My Great Tang Empire shall use the blood of our enemies to declare to the entire Immortal World that only death awaits those who oppose us.”