Chapter 965: Hui Doudou's Purpose

Unable for now to unmask the architect of the rumors, the Immortal Yingtian set the matter aside, preparing to recount what the Immortal Undying did not know.

"Jinghong, leave us for a moment. Should you learn what I am about to say, your very life will be forfeit."

"Yes, Master." Utterly obedient, Jinghong departed from the miniature world within the ancient ring.

"And young friend Lu Yang, you should also step—"

"You mean that matter concerning my other self? Lu Yang has long known of it," the Immortal Undying interjected, seeing no reason for his departure.

Light dawned upon Yingtian. "Ah, quite so. You must be aware; had you not known, you would not have suffered two separate ambushes from the Immortal Nirvana."

"Since you have already encountered Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi, and young friend Lu Yang is at the early stage of Divine Transformation, he must have survived the tribulation and met the manifestation of my immortal will. Surely you already know the entire history from your fall, Undying, to the founding of the Spark Dynasty."

"There is no need for me to repeat that era. Let us begin, then, from the twilight of the Spark Dynasty."

"When we believed we had successfully returned you to life, closer acquaintance revealed that it was not the entirety of you who had been resurrected, but rather yourself from the period when you possessed only the embryonic form of the Nirvana Dao Fruit. Yet resurrection was a blessing in any case; we thought little of it and spoke to that version of you concerning many matters of the realm of immortality."

"In that, she shared your genuine self's supreme talent and staggering speed of cultivation. Before long, she crossed the tribulation of immortality, attaining the Nirvana Dao Fruit and styling herself the Empress of Nirvana."

"Our true intention in restoring you was also to borrow your might to vanquish the mastermind concealed behind the curtains."

"Through our clashes with that hidden hand, we discovered an existence of immense power, whose martial prowess yielded nothing to your own, having arrived nearly at the absolute boundary of the realm of 'Immortality'."

"By my calculations, the mastermind's Dao Fruit is highly likely to be that of Cause and Effect, an exceptionally thorny adversary."

"It was precisely this ambition to defeat the hidden hand that caused events to spiral beyond control."

"The Immortal Nirvana believed that to conquer the mastermind, one must ascend to the level above immortality—'Transcendence'."

Lu Yang recalled the Immortal Undying speaking of the realm beyond immortality, a state never attained by any soul, existing purely in theory as 'Transcendence' and 'Omniscience'.

"To achieve Transcendence, one must sever every thread of cause and effect. Whosoever holds knowledge of her existence becomes bound to her by fate."

Lu Yang nodded; when they had encountered the second Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yu, the Immortal Undying had explained a similar concept.

"Thus, for the Immortal Nirvana to attain Transcendence, she required the slaughter of everyone who knew of her, including the entire populace of the Spark Dynasty and the four of us."

"When the battle commenced, because she had only newly ascended to immortality, her strength was not yet peerless. Yet as the number of her victims swelled, her power soared exponentially, until none remained who could hold her in check."

"Had the four of us combined our strength with the Chronicler Immortal—who, though lacking in martial might, was an immortal nonetheless—our five-fold alliance would have sufficed to suppress her."

"You must have heard from the manifestation of my will that the Immortal Time was assassinated during that period. Only the mastermind possessed the capacity for such a deed."

Lu Yang nodded once more; only an existence of the mastermind's caliber could have assassinated the Immortal Time.

"I heard from Senior Yingtian's immortal will that after Senior Time fell, the remaining four immortals ceased to fight as one. Why was that?"

At the time, Lu Yang had found it peculiar, sensing an ellipsis in the tale.

"The manifestation of my will was ignorant of the intermediate events, hence the narrative seemed somewhat disjointed."

"At that time, anticipating a potential ambush by the mastermind, we designed a formation at whose very core the four of us stood."

"Should any one of us suffer an assault from an outsider, the remaining three would instantly teleport to the scene to confront the foe together."

Here, Yingtian's voice grew heavier and more somber. "Yet when the Immortal Time was attacked, the formation never stirred."

"This indicates that the one who ambushed the Immortal Time was no outsider, but one of the three of us!"

"With the mastermind's methods, it was entirely possible that one of our trio had been possessed before disaster befell the Immortal Time!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang and the Immortal Undying were startled in unison.

"Had we chosen to join forces against the Immortal Nirvana then, we would inevitably have faced a sudden betrayal from the mastermind, and not a single soul among us would have survived!"

"Upon realizing this truth, Qilin, Jiuchong, and I ceased to trust one another. We avoided even meeting, choosing instead to fight our separate battles."

"Meanwhile, the Immortal Nirvana hunted relentlessly for our tracks to secure her path to Transcendence."

"Perhaps when she has slain me, Qilin, Jiuchong, and Ao Ling, and no living soul remembers her existence, that will be the moment of her Transcendence."

"The Immortal Nirvana appears capable of tracing the locations of those who know of her through the bonds of cause and effect."

"Later, we discovered that so long as we concealed ourselves within spaces of the 'Miniature World' classification, she could not find us."

"I recall Ao Ling hid within a dragon pearl; it contained a space akin to a miniature world. The moment Ao Ling emerged from it, the Immortal Nirvana descended upon her immediately."

Lu Yang's Azure Edge Sword space was likewise of the miniature world classification.

Most spaces of this tier were anchored permanently to a specific location and could not be moved—the supreme secret realms.

Treasures like the ancient ring, the dragon pearl, and the Azure Edge Sword were immortal artifacts, exceedingly rare.

"To hide within a miniature world requires not only the body to remain inside, but even the divine sense must not extend outward, lest it be detected by the Immortal Nirvana."

"Once I concealed myself within a certain secret realm, I could only rely on cultivators who stumbled inside to learn of the outside world. Yet such realms do not open frequently, and the knowledge those cultivators possessed was fragmentary."

"Thus, I forged this ancient ring containing a miniature world, allowing cultivators who entered the realm to discover and claim it. I guided their cultivation, and in return, they would relate everything they had seen and heard."

"From one such cultivator, I learned that a Nascent Soul cultivator had appeared in the outer world, possessing extraordinary combat prowess, a Nascent Soul capable of independent battle, and a wooden plaque upon his chest. It sounded remarkably like a disciple raised by you, Undying."

"Furthermore, when looking through the passage of time previously, though I could not discern the visage of the cultivator standing beside you, I sensed the presence of a Divine Wood plaque upon his chest."

"Believing you had already been resurrected, I went directly to find you."

"Yet upon arrival, I discovered it was a trap set by the Immortal Nirvana!"

"At that time, her power was peerless and beyond compare. I was no match for her, and after a fierce struggle, I fled with grievous wounds."

"However, my injuries were too severe, and the rhyme of the Nirvana Dao Fruit raged within my form. To survive, I desperately executed the Method of Corpse Liberation for Transcendence."

"My success lay in preserving my life and erasing the Nirvana rhyme, despite my severe wounds. Yet my failure was the loss of my physical body, which developed its own consciousness and now seeks to devour me."

"I was forced to flee, hiding within the miniature world of this ancient ring to nurse my wounds, while searching for a suitable cultivator to continue reporting the events of the outer world."

"Three hundred thousand years passed, until this ring was found by the child Jinghong."