The First Immortal of Destiny

An hour after the battle ended, reinforcements from the Heaven Patrolling Temple just managed to arrive at the Ancient Vine Sect.

As Shen Mo expected, no Heavenly Monarch from the Divine Bridge Realm made an appearance.

However, the three peak Golden Core cultivators who did arrive hailed from sects that either currently had Heavenly Monarchs or had possessed them in the past. Furthermore, they regularly managed cases involving Demons and Evil Spirits, and each possessed some strong trump cards.

If only they had arrived earlier, even if they could not have directly killed Lin Zhaozai, they should have been able to drive him away!

Even though they arrived late and had not helped much during the Ancient Vine Sect’s crisis of potential extermination, Law Master Qin Wenzhen still gifted them many spiritual items to express her gratitude.

The trio also showed great interest in Shen Mo and specifically conversed with him, aiming primarily to further understand Lin Zhaozai’s background and origins, and to trace his whereabouts. If an opportunity arose, they would try their utmost to annihilate this Evil Demon to prevent similar situations from recurring!

Because of Zhu Zhao of the Taiyi Sword Alliance, most cultivators in the Heaven Patrolling Temple had come to know Shen Mo’s true identity.

Fortunately, these three were not from the hardliner faction and did not get along well with Zhu Zhao, so their conversation did not cause any unpleasantness.

Shen Mo also learned a great deal of confidential news from them!

Firstly, concerning the Teleportation Array and communication methods, there was a high probability they might return to normal. According to a Heavenly Monarch within the Heaven Patrolling Temple, both of these became ineffective after the earth-shattering change, likely due to the collision and infiltration of multiple worlds. During such violent upheaval, certain rules of this world were inevitably affected. In the cultivation world, this manifested as Teleportation Arrays’ anchored coordinates becoming disordered, Sound Transmission Talismans failing, and so on. As this world gradually returned to tranquility, the agitated ripples would also slowly settle. After some time—ranging from one to two years at the shortest to several decades at the longest—transport and communication methods would restore themselves.

Secondly, there was news about the movements and stances of the Heavenly Monarchs within the Heaven Patrolling Temple. Apart from their daily cultivation aimed at reaching higher Cultivation Realms, these peak figures in the cultivation world seemed to be researching methods to travel to other worlds. The Heaven Patrolling Zone had once been invaded by the Heavenly Demon Realm, and most of the current Heavenly Monarchs in the Heaven Patrolling Temple were from that era. Some had indeed crossed through the rift between the two realms into the Heavenly Demon Realm! However, the environment in the Heavenly Demon Realm was extremely harsh, with a severe lack of nature’s spiritual energy and cultivation resources, making it unsuitable for cultivators to reside and practice cultivation. Now, the rewards from more Outer Zone creatures and forbidden lands had shown them a broader cosmos, making them want to break free from the confines of this world and journey to a world more suitable for pursuing the Dao and seeking immortality! For this reason, some Heavenly Monarchs had personally ventured to the forbidden lands of the Outer Zone creatures belonging to the moderate and neutral factions, attempting to establish contact with their Protectors...

From the current looks of it, they had made some gains but had not yet achieved their ultimate goal. There were many surrounding worlds that were even more inferior, desolate, deathly still, and decaying; almost none could compare to the world where the Red Flame Zone and Heaven Patrolling Zone were located! Otherwise, why would entities like the Soaring Serpents, Bizarre Dragons, and Four-eyed Giants, as well as other Outer Zone creatures, choose to descend into this world?

As for the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons, also known as the Vacuous Realm, the Heavenly Monarchs in the Heaven Patrolling Temple also seemed to have sensed its mysteries. They had made many attempts over the years, but once the ten-year limit arrived, outside cultivators would be expelled, making it difficult to use the ancient battlefield to reach other worlds. More critically, through contact with the forbidden lands, the Heavenly Monarchs in the Heaven Patrolling Temple seemed to have grasped a method to travel to other worlds. What they lacked was a world where the Immortal Path was more prosperous, one that could allow their Cultivation Realms to advance further—perhaps it could even be called the ”Immortal Realm”!

Originally, in both the Red Flame Zone and the Heaven Patrolling Zone, so-called Immortals and the so-called Immortal Realm were nothing more than illusory legends. But now, with the changes in the Way of Heaven, this legend had become more tangible!

The final piece of news concerned the situation regarding the internal factions within the Heaven Patrolling Temple. The faction advocating for contact with Outer Zone creatures and cultivators from other realms, in order to collectively respond to the changes in the world, had thoroughly overthrown the traditionalist faction! The reason was easy to understand. Even Heavenly Monarchs of the Divine Bridge Realm had voluntarily gone to forbidden lands to seek the Way, hoping to find the legendary ”Immortal Realm.” In light of that, how could the traditionalist cultivators—who advocated for maintaining the status quo of the Heaven Patrolling Zone and wished to use all their power to expel foreign creatures—possibly gain an upper hand? These individuals were mostly beneficiaries from the establishment of the Heaven Patrolling Temple in the Heaven Patrolling Zone over the past millennium and did not want to change the status quo. However, if they wanted to expel the Outer Zone creatures, wouldn’t they ultimately have to rely on Heavenly Monarchs of the Divine Bridge Realm to take action? And in a forbidden land, there was at least one Class V Protector, equivalent to a Human Cultivator at the Divine Bridge Realm. Once a war broke out, even Heavenly Monarch-level figures would be at risk of falling!

On one hand was the legendary ”Immortal Realm,” and on the other was the dire risk of perishing in a calamity… The choice the Heavenly Monarchs within the Heaven Patrolling Temple would make was self-evident!

「Several days later.」

The Ancient Vine Sect, by spending heavily to hire multiple Array Masters, had reconstructed its Mountain Protection Array. Currently, millions of cultivators had gathered in Caiyi Country. As long as one could offer Spirit Stones, spiritual items, and other such cultivation resources, even Array Grandmasters from the Profound Invisible Sect could be hired.

And Shen Mo’s injuries had mostly recovered. However, several curses of Evil Magic that had seeped into his very marrow were yet to be completely dispelled. They needed to be gradually refined and worn away in the future to prevent any latent afflictions!

At their parting, Law Master Qin Wenzhen, as previously promised, presented him with over two pounds of Enlightenment Tea and a large quantity of top-grade spiritual items, once again expressing her profound gratitude to Shen Mo for saving the entire Ancient Vine Sect.

In that crisis which threatened the sect’s complete extermination, if Shen Mo had not intervened, the entire Ancient Vine Sect, including Law Master Qin Wenzhen herself, would likely have been utterly slaughtered by Lin Zhaozai. Therefore, to Qin Wenzhen, Shen Mo had not only saved the Ancient Vine Sect but had also saved her life. No expression of gratitude or repayment could ever be sufficient!

Moreover, the Ancient Vine Sect had turned misfortune into fortune, acquiring a mountain forest Blessed Land. As long as they managed it well, they would be able to recover their strength quickly and might even recapture the glory of their peak eight hundred years ago.

The most crucial issue was the scarcity of top-tier experts within the sect. Therefore, Shen Mo, as a powerful and exceptionally skilled Alien Minister Elder, became increasingly important. With his deterrent presence, those opportunistic lowlifes who might harbor designs on the Ancient Vine Sect would not dare to act recklessly. After all, aside from Heavenly Monarchs of the Divine Bridge Realm, there were few Evil Demons in the world stronger than Lin Zhaozai. Even such a formidable existence had been seriously injured and forced to flee; what audacity would others have to invade the Ancient Vine Sect?

After receiving the Enlightenment Tea and other spiritual items, Shen Mo returned to his temporary mansion in the Hidden Phoenix Mountain Range.

As soon as he returned, Liu Siyun, his maid and disciple, once again kowtowed in thanks to Shen Mo on behalf of her sect and her Master, Ge Qing. That night, when Shen Mo suddenly left the mansion, Liu Siyun had not known what occurred. It was not until news of the Ancient Vine Sect’s calamity arrived that she realized her sect had narrowly escaped extermination by an Evil Demon...

After expressing her profuse thanks, Liu Siyun conveyed Lady Scarlet’s invitation for him to enter the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons once more.