CHAPTER 546: CHAPTER 508: STRANGE CONVERSATION

"Alright, now that everything’s settled, do you plan to stay here or come with me to Gourd City?"

Elder Xue didn’t force Tian Lin to go to Gourd City, after all, strictly speaking, Tian Lin wasn’t really a disciple of Gourd City.

"Is there even a question? This place is unbearably dull, and we can’t leave freely. Naturally, it’s better to go back to Gourd Peak!"

Without waiting for Tian Lin’s answer, Fairy Mei had already walked over from the next room.

Elder Xue nodded and asked if Tian Lin and the others were ready.

As cultivators, all belongings are kept in Storage Bags. Besides, there’s nothing here worth packing up.

Tian Lin bid farewell to Tao Li and soon left the place on Elder Xue’s Flying Boat.

The feeling of riding a Flying Boat in the secret realm is different from outside. The boats in the outside world are often shrouded in mist, and under the sunlight, the lands and mountains below can also be seen clearly.

But in the secret realm, the sky is pitch black, and the mountains below are equally dark.

Tian Lin had never ascended to the top of the sky and was unclear about the boundaries above the secret realm. However, seeing no stars in the sky, he deduced that the secret realm wasn’t directly connected to the outside starry sky—unless there was a Transmission Array.

"Are you curious about the origins of the secret realm?"

Elder Xue at the bow felt Tian Lin’s curious glances without turning back.

This wasn’t something to be secretive about since even members of the Wenda Sect speculated about the secret realm’s origins.

"From what I know, it’s rumored that the secret realm is actually a fragment of the old underworld. Whether this is true or not is unknown."

Elder Xue said, "That’s what most people say, but I’ve heard another explanation: It’s said the secret realm was created by an Immortal modeling it after the Netherworld, following the disappearance of the Daqi Dynasty and the Heavenly Court’s abandonment of this world."

Tian Lin asked in surprise, "After the Daqi Dynasty disappeared, did Immortals from the outside still come here?"

"That’s not so strange."

Elder Xue said, "In our eyes, Divinity Transformation cultivators are extremely rare. But in reality, they are as common as the sands of the ocean across the heavens—simply because our cultivation and status are low, we usually aren’t qualified to meet them. And even if a Divinity Transformation cultivator travels among us, we might not recognize their cultivation level due to our low cultivation."

Tian Lin nodded, and Elder Xue said, "So you shouldn’t assume that there are no Immortals in our world—in fact, there have always been Immortals traveling here."

Tian Lin frowned; Fairy Mei directly questioned, "How is that possible? If there were Immortals here, the flying locusts and evil spirits wouldn’t be so rampant."

"Perhaps an Immortal could easily eliminate flying locusts and evil spirits, but why would they? In the eyes of most cultivators, mortals are as insignificant as ants. So, cultivators do not see mortals as their own kind; killing a mortal is no different than killing an ant.

Similarly, in the eyes of Immortals, those ’monsters’ from the perspective of mortals living for thousands or tens of thousands of years are just somewhat stronger, slightly longer-lived ants compared to them."

Fairy Mei was momentarily speechless because, while she had no interest in wantonly killing mortals, she didn’t regard mortals highly either.

Moreover, she shares a common mindset with most cultivators. That is, the death of mortals is not more precious than harvested chives, as mortals, like chives, will always regrow after being cut.

So, what does it matter if thousands or tens of thousands die at once? In a dozen or so years, mortals will give birth to more than those who have died.

"What are Immortals doing in this world? Surely it’s not merely for traveling, is it?"

"Naturally, it’s for researching the Great Dao."

Elder Xue said, "Immortals use the people of miniature worlds to study their own Great Dao—they observe the evolution of the miniature worlds, and even accelerate their progress or demise to prove their Dao.

Just like this secret realm, which is evidently a failed attempt by that Immortal to mimic the Netherworld."

Tian Lin felt that Elder Xue’s tone seemed certain that the secret realm was imitated by an Immortal—but in reality, there are endless explanations for the origin of the secret realm, all seemingly plausible.

Instead, Elder Xue’s proposed origin explanation isn’t mainstream.

"You don’t believe my words? I don’t want to either—unfortunately, this explanation came from your master."

Elder Xue looked at Tian Lin and said, "I highly suspect that your master is one of those Immortals traversing many worlds, trying to prove their Great Dao."

The one Elder Xue referred to was naturally Elder Yu!

Tian Lin didn’t doubt that Elder Yu currently had the cultivation level of the Immortal Realm, as the old fellow had lived for far too long. Even earlier, the old fellow was already at the late stage of Divinity Transformation.

But to believe Elder Yu was an Immortal who came to this world before the Daqi Dynasty? Tian Lin found that somewhat hard to believe.

"If Elder Yu is an Immortal, why would he need to send messages for us to seek opportunities within the secret realm when he could simply use a Divine Skill to take us away from this world?"

Fairy Mei countered Elder Xue’s statement, yet Elder Xue retorted, "How can you be certain that the letter advising the sect truly came from Elder Yu?"

Fairy Mei was stumped and looked toward Tian Lin.

Tian Lin was also a little surprised; he hadn’t expected that even Elder Xue was skeptical about the origins of the letter.

But if Elder Yu were indeed an Immortal, who in this world could or dared to impersonate Elder Yu in writing a letter? At the very least, it would also have to be an Immortal, right?

And if it were an Immortal, for what purpose would they deceive the Wenda Sect?

An Immortal, why bother adopting a deceptive attitude toward ants?

Moreover, is there another Immortal in this world?

"Since the elder doubts the letter’s origin, why not raise these questions with other elders of the sect?"

Tian Lin looked at Elder Xue, who explained, "The current external situation is unclear. Staying in the secret realm is seemingly indisputable better than staying outside.

Moreover, I’ve discussed it with the Sect Master and a few others—if there indeed is an Immortal scheming behind all this, and we don’t follow their expectations, would they spare us? It would merely accelerate our demise.

Conversely, if the letter is not the work of another Immortal impersonating, or if the impersonated Immortal bears no malice toward us, then we can leave this world and no longer suffer from the plagues and evil spirits."

After speaking extensively, the sect also harbored suspicions. Despite the doubts regarding the letter’s origin, there was no choice but to act accordingly.

"If Lord Yunding were here, perhaps we could discuss this matter with him."

Ran Lang had the Immortal-level cultivation; although he had just entered the Immortal Realm, it was incomparable to ordinary cultivators.

However, after Ran Lang became an Immortal, Tian Lin hadn’t been able to contact him again.

Elder Xue chuckled, "So you see, now you have not only Elder Yu but also Ran Lang as your backers—nobody wants to bear the consequences of harming you and facing their retribution. Therefore, in the Wenda Sect, as long as you don’t behave recklessly, no one can trouble you."

Fairy Mei looked at Tian Lin, doubting her understanding of life again.

What had Tian Lin done to deserve the favor of two Immortals?

But Tian Lin understood that it was all just coincidental. Besides, whether Elder Yu was truly an Immortal remained uncertain. And even if Ran Lang had become an Immortal, bound by the Houtu oath not to kill him, there was absolutely no intention of helping him.

Thus, the idea of masters and sworn brothers was all just illusory.