The First Immortal of Destiny

This decrepit mountain gate occupied an area of almost a hundred li, nearly a million hectares!

On Jade Spring Mountain, where every inch of land was precious, it was considered extremely spacious. However, the sect grounds, both inside and out, were permeated by a sense of desolation and loneliness...

At the main entrance, a jade plaque was engraved with the large characters ”Dragon-suppressing Sect.” The calligraphy was archaic yet powerful, subtly incorporating principles of runes, Formations, and other inscriptions. However, after enduring the wind and rain without careful maintenance, much of the golden ink on the stone plaque had peeled off, giving it a weathered and mottled appearance.

The large Formation enveloping the entire mountain gate was also dilapidated. Various array bases and array cores had been removed, leaving only a limited Formation protecting a few key areas within the sect!

Inside, there were structures such as palaces and pavilions, herb gardens, dense bamboo forests, streams and lakes, and Spirit Beast Pastures. It was easy to see how magnificent this Sect, known as the ”Dragon-suppressing Sect,” must have been in its prime. But now, like the plaque at the mountain gate, everything was in a state of decay and ruin!

Furthermore, disciples of the Fulong Sect still lived and engaged in cultivation within the mountain gate, but they numbered fewer than a thousand. The vast majority were low-class cultivators; forget Golden Core Realm experts, there were hardly any Spirit Sea Realm Cultivators to be found.

A moment later, Shen Mo withdrew his sense and nodded at the linen-robed old Daoist. ”This mountain gate is quite to my liking. Fellow daoist, name your price!”

After arriving at Jade Spring Mountain, Shen Mo had been contemplating finding a place to establish the Green Cloud Cave.

Alas, although Jade Spring Mountain was vast and magnificent, all land from its mid-slopes down to its foot was already claimed. Even the clouds drifting around the mountainside were occupied by various Xiu Xian Forces.

After all, with a True Immortal presiding over it, the mountain suffered few Demon incursions. It was considered a high-grade Blessed land even in the Universal Realm. Over countless years, every piece of land on Jade Spring Mountain, down to the most barren, out-of-the-way corners, had acquired an owner!

Out of options, Shen Mo had to dispatch Red Flame Sect Members to various immortal markets to inquire if any territories were for sale.

After several months of searching, he finally located a Daoist ground that met his requirements: the core territory of the Dragon-suppressing Sect. The linen-robed old Daoist before him was True Master Bian, Law Master of the Fulong Sect, and the only late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator in the entire Sect.

Hearing Shen Mo speak, a complex emotion flickered in True Master Bian’s eyes: joy at finding a buyer, mixed with the sorrow and helplessness of having to sell his Sect’s ancestral land.

”Junior has one more matter to report to Senior...”

”Although Junior is selling my Sect’s core territory, if Junior can successfully build the Divine Bridge within five hundred years, I hope Senior Qingyun will graciously allow Junior to buy back ten percent of this Blessed land, so that I may rebuild the mountain gate of the Dragon-suppressing Sect!”

Several thousand years ago, the Dragon-suppressing Sect was also a powerful and renowned major Sect.

Its patriarch, Fulong Immortal Master, with his Formless Realm cultivation, single-handedly subdued five Formless Realm (Class VI) True Dragons. He then refined them into a top-grade spiritual treasure, the Five Dragon Divine Chariot, which brought him great fame. He was even qualified to attend the immortal banquets hosted by Jade Spring Fairy, discussing the profound Dao with True Immortals, making him one of the foremost figures on Jade Spring Mountain!

However, this Formless Realm Immortal Master perished during a visit to a friend, and even the Five Dragon Divine Chariot vanished without a trace. Consequently, the Dragon-suppressing Sect gradually declined and fell into ruin.

Today, the Dragon-suppressing Sect had fewer than a thousand Sect Disciples remaining, with very few Spirit Sea Realm Cultivators left. To prevent opportunistic villains from coveting their assets, they had invested most of their cultivation resources into True Master Bian, supporting him with the entire Sect’s strength to cultivate to the late-stage Golden Core Realm!

But that was as far as it went.

Apart from their mountain gate’s core territory, the Dragon-suppressing Sect had already sold off all its other properties. They were unable to support True Master Bian’s cultivation to the Divine Bridge Realm, and even the resources needed for the daily cultivation of their Sect Disciples were extremely scarce!

To gather enough spiritual items, the Dragon-suppressing Sect had no choice but to put this core territory up for sale. This was to give True Master Bian, the Law Master of the Fulong Sect, a chance to attempt to break through to the Divine Bridge Realm within his remaining five hundred years of Lifespan. If he succeeded, the Dragon-suppressing Sect’s prestige could be restored. If he failed, the remaining spiritual items could be used to better nurture the Sect Disciples.

True Master Bian had five hundred years of Lifespan left, and the Dragon-suppressing Core he had condensed was of superior quality. There was indeed a sliver of hope that he could build the Divine Bridge...

Shen Mo wasn’t sure if their high-stakes gamble would pay off.

But for everyone in the Fulong Sect, rather than clinging to their mountain gate’s core territory and slowly declining, it was a wiser choice to take this gamble!

Even if True Master Bian couldn’t build the Divine Bridge, they could still place their hopes on the Fulong Sect disciples, who would now have ample resources. After all, their Daoist lineage remained intact; perhaps they could even cultivate another ”Fulong Immortal Master.”

After a moment of contemplation, Shen Mo nodded slightly, agreeing to True Master Bian’s request.

Once the Green Cloud Cave was unfurled, it would manifest as a multicolored sphere of light spanning dozens of square li. There would be plenty of empty space for the Dragon-suppressing Sect to rebuild its mountain gate. If True Master Bian truly managed to build the Divine Bridge, they would only need to retract an array base of the Mountain Protection Array on one side inward by twenty or thirty li, which wouldn’t affect the Fairyland in any way!

However, it was more likely that True Master Bian, with his remaining five hundred years of Lifespan, would be unable to build the Divine Bridge.

After all, at such a Realm, while spiritual items were indispensable, relying solely on external objects was far from enough. Otherwise, the Immortal Realm would have long ago become a strange place where ”Divine Bridges roamed everywhere”!

On the contrary, even among cultivators in the Immortal Realm, the vast majority were still at the Body Tempering, Qi Gathering, and Spirit Sea Realms.

Except on specific occasions, it was rare to see cultivators of the Golden Core or Divine Bridge Realm gathered in groups, and Formless Realm cultivators were even scarcer. As for True Immortals above the Formless Realm, although Shen Mo had had contact with them, he had never personally witnessed the true appearance of any Immortal.

Soon enough, Shen Mo and True Master Bian settled on a price, made a Dao vow, and signed a contract.

Afterwards, he retrieved a vast quantity of spiritual items from his Sword Zone. These included, but were not limited to, Spirit Stones, spirit gold deposits, spiritual plants, unique products native to the Green Cloud Cave, extraordinary materials from Demons, and finished magic artifacts, talismans, Elixirs, and so on!

In total, it took more than a dozen Universe Bags to hold all the spiritual items used for purchasing the Dragon-suppressing Sect’s mountain gate.

After carefully stowing away these Universe Bags, True Master Bian bowed deeply to Shen Mo and then returned to the mountain gate.

Before long, nearly a thousand Fulong Sect cultivators packed all the Sect’s remaining belongings into Universe Bags. They then began to dismantle the dilapidated Mountain Protection Array, the stone plaque at the gate, palaces, pavilions, and other surface structures. This was done in order to save on spiritual material costs when rebuilding their mountain gate elsewhere!

Shen Mo, finding their progress too slow, unleashed a sweep of Fairyland sword light, releasing tens of thousands of Red Flame Sect Members who were already on standby from his Fairyland. They were to help the Fulong Sect cultivators relocate their mountain gate.

「A few days passed.」

The site where the Dragon-suppressing Sect’s mountain gate once stood was now completely bare!