What met her eyes was a scene of utter desolation.
Desert yellow sand, fierce winds circling, a pitch-black sky without sun or moon—only several bright stars illuminating the entire land, making Jian Chou’s current location bright as day.
The altar-like Ascension Pool looked extremely ancient.
The rippling golden water surface lay surrounded by yellow sand.
Around it stood sixteen enormous snow-white dragon pillars. At first glance, they seemed carved from white stone, but when she flew down from the water’s surface, she discovered that these sixteen massive snow-white dragon pillars were actually real giant dragon bones!
Yellow sand desert, white dragon bones, Ascension Pool!
Though not the “immortal winds swaying, ethereal sacred realm” that scholars on isolated islands of the old mortal world had imagined, this desolation still carried several traces of heart-trembling magnificent aura!
Was this the Upper Void?
Jian Chou stood at the edge of the Ascension Pool, glancing around at her surroundings. She saw dragon pillars piercing the sky and boundless desert. Apart from herself, there seemed to be no other “ascenders” around—only behind a snow-white dragon bone pillar to her left, where a head poked out, observing her with somewhat hesitant eyes.
He wore purple-blue dao robes that looked quite ordinary, but his brows and eyes held considerable heroic spirit. He seemed to have just stood up from the ground, with some sand and dirt still clinging to his robes, as if he had been waiting here for a long time. A string of deep black iron slips hung at his waist.
When he stood up, the iron slips clinked against each other.
He had been watching Jian Chou, and naturally noticed when she looked over.
The Ten Death Order that had been spread across his legs had already been tucked into his sleeve at the first opportunity, and even the momentary shock on his face was concealed without a trace.
No one could refuse such an opportunity.
In just a brief moment, Sun Cheng had already made his decision.
In this Upper Void Immortal Realm, even just a small Earth Immortal had been a figure who commanded wind and rain in the lower realm before ascension. Though after ascending, some might become mentally unstable due to changed circumstances and could no longer maintain their former spirit, the reason strong people were strong was that they possessed greater adaptability and restraint than ordinary people.
The Upper Void had never been a paradise, but a realm of Asura.
Because this place was filled with strong people, even if circumstances were temporarily poor, few would become disheartened. As long as they were given an opportunity, they might become your most dangerous and deadly opponent, bursting forth with power that would make the entire immortal realm gasp.
Like Ancestor Luye.
Having ascended less than fifteen hundred years ago, she had already broken the balance originally maintained by the four supreme Sacred Immortals: White Crane Great Emperor and Lord Bixi of Great Luo Heaven, Medicine Buddha of Free Heaven, and Lady Tianmo of Non-Evil Heaven. With her unexpectedly bold style and incomparably powerful strength, like a burning meteor falling from outer space, she had defeated Lord Bixi on the combat platform with the swiftest and most fierce momentum, shaking Great Luo Heaven that hadn’t changed for tens of thousands of years, becoming the third pole at the Immortal Venerable level in Great Luo Heaven.
To this day, people still wondered how she possessed such nearly dominating power upon arriving in the immortal realm.
Sun Cheng was merely an ant-like minor figure in this immortal realm, naturally even less clear about these matters. As for Ancestor Luye, such a Sacred Immortal among Sacred Immortals who could already be called an “Immortal Venerable,” she was completely beyond reach.
What he could see now was only Jian Chou.
Ten Death Orders issued from Non-Evil Heaven had never failed to be honored, and a Sacred Immortal’s “promise” was truly too important for his current situation.
Generally speaking, this so-called “promise” meant that within the power of the person behind the order, they would fulfill one wish proposed by the person who completed the task.
How rare were those at the Sacred Immortal realm in Great Luo Heaven?
Yet he was merely a small Earth Immortal. At minimum, he could have the Sacred Immortal allow him to enter Great Luo Heaven, thus obtaining a better cultivation environment. At maximum, he could request the Sacred Immortal to elevate his realm, or obtain a very handy magical artifact, or receive the Sacred Immortal’s dao teachings…
Any of these had been beyond his reach in the past.
In this Upper Void, though some people became pure-hearted and desired little after ascending, hiding away from the world, more were those who remained unwilling to be ordinary after entering the great world.
Sun Cheng asked himself—he was one of them.
Though he didn’t know how this newly ascended cultivator named Jian Chou had offended a Sacred Immortal, he didn’t need to know. All he needed to know was—
This female immortal named Jian Chou had just ascended!
The world didn’t have that many Ancestor Luyes. Most Earth Immortals were at their weakest when they first ascended. In their unfamiliar situation, they could hardly avoid a sneak attack from an Earth Immortal who had spent hundreds of years in the immortal realm!
“Miss Immortal, did you just ascend from the lower realm?” Sun Cheng’s face showed no flaws. After Jian Chou saw him, he walked directly out from behind the dragon pillar, bowed to Jian Chou, and first introduced himself. “I am surnamed Sun, given name Cheng. I’ve been in this realm for some time, but lacking means of livelihood, I wait by the Ascension Pool near this Pleiades Star for ascending dao friends, guiding their path and introducing the general situation of the Upper Void Immortal Realm to earn some compensation.”
These words were spoken very honestly.
Most who ascended to the Upper Void knew nothing about it. Arriving in a new place, unfamiliarity was inevitable. If there were immortals who had lived here long to introduce and guide them, it would naturally be excellent.
So such words, when spoken to people, rarely aroused suspicion.
In fact, these were also words Sun Cheng often said to people.
However, Jian Chou vaguely felt something was off, her mind flashing back to the scene when she had just turned around and seen him sneaking glances from behind the dragon pillar.
If he were truly a guide who made his living this way, upon seeing her emerge from the Ascension Pool, his first reaction should have been more direct.
Jian Chou remained alert, returning his bow and saying: “Friend Sun is too kind. I indeed just ascended from the lower realm. Is this realm the Upper Void?”
“Yes, this is the Upper Void. No need to rush. If Miss Immortal wishes to understand, I can explain everything to you, and I even have star domain maps of the Upper Void Immortal Realm! Oh, by the way…” At this point, Sun Cheng seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, “I forgot to ask—how should I address Miss Immortal?”
Jian Chou also seemed to just remember, smiling: “I’m new here and was only focused on seeing what the Upper Void looked like, being discourteous instead. Please forgive me, Friend Sun. You may call me ‘Lian Zhao.'”
Lian Zhao?
Sun Cheng had only been testing with that question to confirm this “Jian Chou’s” identity. He hadn’t expected this female cultivator who looked identical to the one depicted on the Ten Death Order to say without hesitation that she was called “Lian Zhao.”
Could he have been mistaken—were they just similar in appearance?
But how was that possible?
Though the three thousand worlds below were vast and broad, aside from twins, the Upper Void Immortal Realm had never seen people who looked exactly alike, let alone recent ascenders.
After his thoughts circled once, Sun Cheng ultimately didn’t believe it.
But on the surface, he had already said “Oh” and repeated the name “Lian Zhao” twice, then praised continuously: “What a wonderful name, truly wonderful. You should know this Upper Void Immortal Realm covers over a hundred star domains, but most Ascension Pools are at the Upper Void’s edge. If Miss Immortal had a sect in the lower realm, the Upper Void might not lack sects established by seniors from your sect. If that sect still exists and is in Great Luo Heaven, you could be considered extremely lucky—you might even be taken to cultivate in Great Luo Heaven!”
“Great Luo Heaven?”
Though the “Nine Curves River Map” contained much information, it only recorded from the primordial era of the universe’s birth to the end of Eternal Night—that is, the moment when Great Sage Pangu perished and disappeared. It mentioned nothing about the later establishment of the Upper Void Immortal Realm in ancient times or the immortal realm’s situation. So Jian Chou knew nothing about the Upper Void Immortal Realm and naturally asked.
Sun Cheng gestured for her to walk alongside him.
The boundless yellow sand of the great desert met the boundless darkness of the sky above. Brilliant stars replaced the familiar sun and moon Jian Chou knew, illuminating this desolate scene before her. Fierce winds blew with destructive power that exceeded even the most bitter black winds in the Black Wind Cave of old.
Jian Chou naturally didn’t refuse, following Sun Cheng out of the Ascension Pool and accompanying him toward a certain direction in the desert sand.
Along the way, Sun Cheng introduced most aspects of the Upper Void Immortal Realm, especially the fascinating “Three Heavens” at the Upper Void’s center, and several long-renowned Immortal Venerable-level figures within them.
When Jian Chou heard “Ancestor Luye,” she was slightly startled.
But she didn’t interrupt, nor did she immediately show it.
Even after Sun Cheng finished his introduction, she didn’t ask additional questions. Instead, she asked: “So Friend Sun means that this realm we’re currently in is called ‘Pleiades,’ within the Haotian Star Domain, at the edge of the Upper Void Immortal Realm, extremely far from the ‘Three Heavens’ at the Upper Void’s center, belonging to the remote wilderness. So if one wanted to go to Great Luo Heaven or Non-Evil Heaven, one would have to cross half the immortal realm, dozens of star domains?”
“Exactly. Moreover, the Upper Void Immortal Realm was established at the end of ancient times and beginning of antiquity by several Immortal Venerable-level figures borrowing Great Sage Pangu’s residual power, and it has suppressive force on everyone. If traveling through relatively prosperous star domains, that would be fine—at most one would expend more primordial essence and arrive in a few months. But if one’s purse is light and cultivation insufficient, traveling intermittently, even dozens or hundreds of years might not be enough. Not to mention, the immortal realm doesn’t consist entirely of good people. Encountering fallen immortals or great demons from Non-Evil Heaven along the way and meeting misfortune is also common.”
Primordial essence, immortal essence stones—these corresponded to the spirit stones of the Nineteen Continents.
Even without Sun Cheng’s explanation, Jian Chou could understand this point.
As he spoke, he raised his hand to point ahead.
“I’m just a minor cultivator in the Upper Void. Pleiades Star is a small star in the Haotian Star Domain, very desolate, basically all yellow sand. But crossing this large stretch ahead, there’s an oasis. That’s the most prosperous place on all of Pleiades Star, called ‘Jiangnan Shore.’ If your sect has people there and they’re fairly prominent, you’ll likely be able to contact them there.”
Jian Chou looked in the direction he pointed, seeing only spreading yellow sand—she really couldn’t see where this so-called desert oasis was. But she didn’t extend her spiritual consciousness to investigate, only turning back to look at Sun Cheng: “Then Friend Sun mentioned earlier that you guide cultivators and sell star domain maps of the Upper Void Immortal Realm for a living…”
“Oh yes, Miss Immortal, please look.”
Sun Cheng had already extended his immortal consciousness to probe Jian Chou’s cultivation, only discovering that the immortal power in her body was extremely shallow. She was probably one of the least talented types in the lower realm. Even forcing herself to ascend to the Upper Void, she hadn’t absorbed much immortal power when passing through the Ascension Pool. Her current strength should be quite poor.
Such weakness could be killed casually.
But now wasn’t the time to act.
Though Pleiades Star was desolate, and even a Golden Immortal was hard to find normally, his own strength wasn’t very high either. If he didn’t choose the right place to act and was discovered, he would face the danger of being intercepted. With such a heaven-sent opportunity to earn a Sacred Immortal’s promise, how could he let others have it?
So he only spoke normally now, further relaxing Jian Chou’s vigilance.
Grabbing a handful of iron slips from his waist, Sun Cheng shook them gently and opened one marked “Haotian Star Domain” for Jian Chou to see: “Each star domain has its own map, marking the domain’s general directions, territories occupied by major powers, and some dangerous places best avoided. According to their level of detail, they’re divided into rough, ordinary, and precise types. A minor cultivator like me can only obtain rough and ordinary star domain maps—the more precise ones require sect powers to access. If Miss Immortal needs one, you only need to trade some artifacts or pills from your person. If Miss Immortal doesn’t need one, considering this as making a friend along the way, there’s no loss.”
Generally speaking, lower realm cultivators who were new arrivals, encountering such a guide, would mostly be willing to purchase a star domain map from him. But there were also those who were wary and unwilling to reveal their wealth.
But really, how much could a small Earth Immortal from the lower realm possess?
Even if people in the Upper Void Immortal Realm wanted to seek “wealth,” they mostly wouldn’t choose such small immortals who had just ascended. Ascended cultivators could all deduce this, so generally their interactions with such guides were pleasant.
If not for that slight unease and small suspicion about Sun Cheng from before, Jian Chou might have already lowered her guard.
She lowered her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
Sun Cheng was a bit ahead of her, flying through the air. Having passed through a large stretch of rocky desert, he smiled at her: “Miss Immortal needn’t feel troubled. Anyone arriving at the Upper Void knowing nothing inevitably feels lost. If Miss Immortal trusts me, or wants to search for your sect and find support after arriving at the Upper Void, you could tell me which realm Miss Immortal comes from, or which sect. Immortals from the same realm often gather together. If we can find them, it would count as having support in this realm.”
He asked for her name, then which realm she came from, and which sect.
Under normal circumstances, each question would seem very natural, and even in the current situation, they didn’t seem abrupt.
But Jian Chou maintained considerable wariness toward this Upper Void after all.
Her clear gaze circled Sun Cheng’s face, with extremely dim light faintly passing through, but Sun Cheng, harboring ulterior motives, was completely unaware. He only saw her seem to hesitate before hearing her say: “I come from the Primordial Beginning Realm…”
The moment the words “Primordial Beginning” emerged, Sun Cheng felt all his pores open.
It was simply an indescribable wild joy!
It was real!
Even though this female cultivator had said she was “Lian Zhao” earlier, he hadn’t believed it, instead proving that she was wary of outsiders. But now she had actually revealed she came from the Primordial Beginning Realm!
Below the Upper Void were countless great worlds like grains of sand in the Ganges River—who could count them all! Sun Cheng himself had ascended from below, so how could he not know the difficulty of ascending from each realm below? Sometimes no one could ascend for over a thousand years. If this female cultivator before him truly came from the Primordial Beginning Realm, there was a ninety-nine percent chance she was that Jian Chou, not to mention their identical appearance!
She probably never imagined that someone would want to kill her right after ascension!
Sun Cheng forcibly suppressed the killing intent about to burst forth, but his fingers gripping the iron slips had quietly tightened. He continued leading Jian Chou in conversation without showing any sign: “The Primordial Beginning Realm has produced quite a few impressive people who ascended in recent millennia. Ancestor Luye came from the Primordial Beginning Realm back then. And among Great Luo Heaven’s twenty-four Sacred Immortals, the fairly notable Eight Extremes Dao Venerable and Shangren Buyu both came from the Primordial Beginning Realm! Since Miss Lian Zhao also comes from this realm, you must be outstanding in that realm too. You should have some connection with them?”
Hearing these familiar names, Jian Chou felt moved internally, but her eyes only turned slightly as she said: “Friend Sun misunderstands. I was merely a bottom-feeder in the demonic path in the Primordial Beginning Realm. How could I have any connection with these three seniors? However, one of my enemies seems to have considerable ties with them…”
“Enemy?”
Ahead lay towering rocky terrain. Looking in all directions, not a single person could be seen. Fierce winds swept up turbid sand and dust, spinning under the sky’s canopy and obscuring the surroundings in yellow gloom.
It was a good place to act.
Sun Cheng knew very well that this place was barren, producing neither heavenly treasures nor earthly treasures, and the environment was harsh—few immortals were willing to set foot here.
Killing someone here would absolutely go unnoticed.
He pretended to be curious and raised his brows, asking about Jian Chou’s “enemy” while his right hand withdrew into his sleeve, ready to strike at any moment.
Jian Chou stopped at this moment.
Suspended in mid-air, looking around at the emptiness, she naturally couldn’t see the oasis Sun Cheng had mentioned called “Jiangnan Shore.”
She inexplicably laughed.
Just this laugh made Sun Cheng feel chills, actually generating a particularly strange sense of crisis: “Why does Miss Immortal laugh?”
Jian Chou sighed, turned to look at him, and said word by word: “Friend Sun doesn’t know—this enemy of mine looks exactly like me. She is a disciple of Cliff Mountain in the Primordial Beginning Realm, named Jian Chou!”
Jian Chou!
Sun Cheng had considered many possibilities, but he never expected that Jian Chou, who had clearly called herself “Lian Zhao” before, would suddenly speak the name “Jian Chou.”
Was she Jian Chou or Lian Zhao?
His first reaction was a kind of hesitant confusion.
But this was definitely not the reaction he should have!
Because if he had never heard of the name Jian Chou before, at this moment he should be somewhat confused and shocked, but definitely not hesitant. Having hesitation proved that at this moment, this was not the first time he had learned of this name!
Not good!
The instant her words landed, Sun Cheng already understood he had fallen into a trap. In the lower realm, he had also been a strong person whose mental calculations and methods were definitely not weak. How could he not realize that Jian Chou’s earlier statement was deliberately testing him!
Testing his intentions, testing whether he had heard of her!
But when Jian Chou actively mentioned her own name to test him, Sun Cheng had already fallen from his original initiative into a passive situation!
First, he hadn’t expected Jian Chou to turn the tables and test him. Second, seeing with his own eyes that Jian Chou had appeared above the Ascension Pool as a newly ascended Earth Immortal, her cultivation definitely shouldn’t exceed his!
So the current Sun Cheng was completely undefended!
Before the blade hidden in his sleeve could emerge, before its sharp tip could fully appear, an even sharper sword point had already pierced through from behind his head, emerging from his brow center!
In this instant, his eyes filled with incomprehension.
A trace of bright red seeped from his brow center, flowing down along his nose bridge.
In Sun Cheng’s eyes, this indifferent female cultivator standing before him, including the long sword at her waist, had not moved even slightly!
But…
If she hadn’t killed him, then whose hand held the sword that had now penetrated his skull?
Sun Cheng’s sea of consciousness was instantly destroyed by sword qi.
The image remaining before his eyes was only that sword tip protruding from his brow center, with a line of stern crimson!
“Bang!”
The hollow corpse fell into the yellow sand, splashing up a cloud of dust!
Without the corpse’s obstruction, the figure that had been standing behind it with sword drawn was revealed.
Jian Chou looked at her, and she looked at Jian Chou.
Identical ice-snow-like indifferent faces, identical landscape robes with different flowing patterns, identical one-chi long swords—one clean, one bloodstained.
It was Jian Chou looking at Jian Chou!
The one holding the bloody sword looked down at her feet, then at the endless yellow sand around them, only saying: “It’s probably soon. We must hurry.”
Having said this, she vanished into thin air.
Only Jian Chou remained in place, along with Sun Cheng’s corpse fallen before her.
Toward the “self” who had just appeared before her, she showed not the slightest surprise on her face, as if this were already a commonplace matter. After the other disappeared, she only lowered her gaze and bent down to search Sun Cheng’s corpse.
Several iron slips inscribed with star domain maps.
A black sheepskin depicting her own appearance. The crimson “kill” character on it made Jian Chou frown deeply when she unfolded it, then her gaze fixed on the words “Sacred Immortal,” deep in thought.
She had just “ascended”—who wanted to kill her?
An ominous premonition rose in her heart.
When she found a star-like pearl in Sun Cheng’s sleeve, this ominous feeling climbed to its peak.
This pearl was extremely similar to the communication spirit pearls of the Nineteen Continents.
The difference was that the Nineteen Continents used wind and thunder messages, while this pearl transmitted “light messages”!
At this moment, faint starlight was overflowing from the pearl!
This clearly indicated that some message had been transmitted outward…
“This is bad…”
Jian Chou’s heart sank, and a shadow had already fallen over her refined features. With a “crack,” she directly crushed the star pearl, turned to grab those iron slips, and left this place without hesitation!