No one knew where the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons had come from. They were born with boundless destructive desire. The Immortal Realm had been in confrontation with these demons for countless epochs, yet the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons remained in the weaker position—if not for their main base being utterly indestructible, the Immortal Realm would have already wiped them all out.
Nine thousand years ago, the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Ladder mysteriously vanished. Immortal Elder Changcun speculated that it was the work of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons. Knowing they could not defeat the Immortal Realm directly, they sought to erode it from below, through the lower worlds.
The void was like an ocean, while worlds were like fish swimming within it, constantly shifting. Yet the Immortal Realm was no ordinary fish—it was like a Kun, far greater than any other; by comparison, the Nine Provinces were like a mere whale. The Immortal Ascension Heavenly Ladder had been the only link between the Immortal Realm and other worlds.
With its disappearance, both sides lost their means of locating new worlds. Only the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons seemed to possess other methods for roughly determining the location of the Nine Provinces World. Every few centuries, one would eventually find its way in.
Whenever a Heavenly Demon of the Earthly Immortal rank descended, it would begin an indiscriminate massacre the instant it touched down upon the Nine Provinces. Naturally, the human realm could never withstand such power.
Only the Human Emperor could resist, aided by those in the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and Union Stage, along with various means such as Immortal Artifacts, the blessing of the State Lord’s National Fate, and other ancient measures. The foundations of the Nine Provinces had long been worn down. Tribulation Transcendence cultivators had fallen one after another.
Nine thousand years ago, there had been twenty such experts守护ing the Nine Provinces. Today, only four remained: Bai Hongtu, Yu Yin, the Sect Master of the Dharma Body Sect, and Commander Liu of the Human Emperor Palace. …… Jiang Li returned to Mount Sumeru.
When he had faced off against the Old Buddha earlier, all the monks had already taken notice. The two left into the void, but only one returned—Jiang Li—with a single damaged relic bead in his hand. The Old Buddha’s fate was easily guessed.
No monk questioned Jiang Li’s deed. They had all heard their exchange clearly. The Old Buddha had killed to prolong his life, while Jiang Li had come to deliver divine retribution.
None could accuse Jiang Li of wrongdoing. The cycle of cause and effect, retribution for taking lives—this had always been the essence of Buddhist doctrine. Jiang Li placed the incomplete relic bead into the hands of Buddha Child Wuzhi.
The Buddha Child seemed to have expected this outcome long before it came. He no longer chanted the Rebirth Mantra, but instead accepted the relic bead solemnly and performed a Buddhist salutation toward Jiang Li.
“Human Emperor,” he said quietly, “my master once told me that if the day came when you sought him but did not find him, I should give you something he left beneath his lotus platform.”
Jiang Li paused, then looked under the Old Buddha’s lotus platform—there lay a list. A list of every follower of the Divine Repository Cult. The first line read: Cult Master, Qin Xi, of Peacock Kingdom.
Qin Xi—so that was the mundane name of the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru. He had once laughed and told Jiang Li that the character “Xi” in his name meant he was destined to be bound to the Western Paradise. But the Peacock Kingdom had long since perished, several millennia ago.
Below the first line were other names—Vice Cult Master, High Priests, and so on. Most of them were marked in red, signifying they were already dead. In truth, there had been no need for the Old Buddha to keep such a list in writing; he could no doubt remember them all.
So why had he kept it? Jiang Li didn’t know, nor did he intend to dwell on the reason. The Old Buddha’s position as master of Mount Sumeru had never been due to the might of his cultivation, but because his comprehension of Buddhist Dharma was the deepest.
In Buddhism, one’s cultivation base did not decide one’s rank—only one’s understanding of Dharma did. Jiang Li could already foresee that the eventual master of Mount Sumeru would be Buddha Child Wuzhi. ……
“Where is Immortal Elder Changcun? I have something to ask him.”
“What happened in the Buddhist Sect?”
Another voice came from across—Bai Hongtu.
“I sensed the aura of an Immortal. It felt like that Old Buddha’s, but now it’s gone.”
“... The Old Buddha violated the commandment against killing.”
Jiang Li said only that much. Having known Jiang Li for almost five centuries, Bai Hongtu saw his lost and weary look and instantly understood. The Old Buddha must have slaughtered many—only then would Jiang Li, who had always respected him, have personally delivered punishment.
Bai Hongtu told him where to find the Immortal Elder, then patted Jiang Li’s shoulder.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Rest a while.”
Jiang Li gave a helpless smile.
“If you knew there’s a Heavenly Immortal-level Extraterrestrial Demon that’s been hidden in the Nine Provinces for at least three hundred and eighty years, could you really rest?”
Bai Hongtu’s eyes widened in shock. A Heavenly Immortal-level Demon? How could that be?
Hadn’t their Ancestor Changcun always taught that only Earthly Immortal-level demons could reach the Nine Provinces? And besides—whenever a demon entered the Nine Provinces, it would go mad and begin killing. None had ever retained clarity or reason.
Who had ever heard of a demon hiding, remaining dormant? Furthermore, if it had arrived three hundred and eighty years ago, why hadn’t it slaughtered then? Jiang Li back then hadn’t even been a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator—had it truly been waiting?
No one could have stopped a Heavenly Immortal-level demon’s rampage in those years. And even now—could Jiang Li possibly stand against such a being? Unless… unless there was something in the Nine Provinces that even the demons feared?
“Is this for real? Are you sure about this?”
Bai Hongtu asked. It wasn’t disbelief in Jiang Li himself—it was the sheer absurdity and contradiction of the claim.
“The Old Buddha told me this right before he died.”
“Then we go together,” Bai Hongtu said without hesitation.
“We’ll ask Master for confirmation.”
For a matter this grave, Bai Hongtu would not let Jiang Li face it alone. Immortal Elder Changcun was at that moment in the highest level of the Dao Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, browsing through ancient texts older than himself. When Jiang Li arrived, he didn’t waste a moment.
“Elder,” he asked bluntly, “are you certain the Extraterrestrial Demons are only of Earthly Immortal level?”
“Why do you ask?”
Elder Changcun looked up, puzzled.
“Yes, they are. In the Immortal Realm, I’ve never seen a Heavenly Immortal-ranked one. The demons’ only advantages are their vast numbers and their nearly indestructible home base. They have strength, but no mind.”
“I’ve met one,” Jiang Li said gravely, “a Heavenly Immortal-ranked demon—and one with terrifying intelligence. How do you explain that?”
Hearing those words, Elder Changcun froze. Seeing both Jiang Li’s stern expression and Bai Hongtu’s questioning eyes, he knew he could no longer conceal the truth.
He sighed.
“I lied to all of you. There are indeed Heavenly Immortal-level demons.”
He spoke slowly, explaining as he went.
“I claimed otherwise only because I feared that if those of the Nine Provinces learned such truth, your predecessors would lose all courage. They already fought desperately against Earthly Immortal demons—imagine if they knew even stronger ones existed. They would live their lives in despair and dread.”
“Even now, though you’ve reached the Mahayana Stage, I still didn’t wish to tell you. This should be your brightest, proudest era—why should I darken it by revealing that mightier enemies still lurk beyond your reach? That no matter how strong you grow, there will always be one you cannot defeat?”
“The Earthly Immortal demons are indeed mindless brutes. But once they ascend to the Heavenly Immortal rank, their intelligence soars—they become far more cunning, and infinitely harder to face. I don’t believe even you could best one.”
Jiang Li thought for a moment, then said frankly, “The Heavenly Immortal-level demon seems afraid of me. It doesn’t dare face me head-on.”
“Cough—” Elder Changcun almost choked on his own saliva.
Good heavens!
For someone at the Mahayana Stage—who, by theory, should still be on par only with an Earthly Immortal—to say such a thing! He knew Jiang Li could fight across realms, but this… this was outrageous. A Mahayana cultivator crossing realms to suppress a Heavenly Immortal?
This was simply unbelievable.
(End of Chapter)