Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 404 Blocked Above and Below, Severing the Connection Between Heaven and Earth

The secret realm of Wufu Mountain.

Cheng Xinzhan hasn't come for many years.

Outside, snow was falling heavily, but here it was still lush and green. The original path for people to walk on was nowhere to be found, and the ground was covered with green trees and fragrant grass.

Cheng Xinzhan flew through the air, stepping on the tips of the grass, searching through the forest according to his memory. Before long, he saw a familiar hillside. He walked forward and immediately saw the hut guarding the tree. Of all the huts on the mountain, only this one, built by the Tongxuan Patriarch himself, remained unchanged.

Qu Zu was sitting there, smiling at him.

Qu Zu hadn't moved for a long time. He sat cross-legged with his hands forming the Meridian Mudra in front of his abdomen. At this moment, a small bird's nest had appeared on the immortal's hands. Several emerald-green chicks chirped in the nest, and a female bird stood on Qu Zu's lap, looking around.

Cheng Xinzhan approached and bowed.

"I have met Master Qu."

The female bird on Qu Zu's lap looked at the visitor with curiosity.

"sit."

Qu Zu said with a smile.

So Cheng Xinzhan sat down next to Qu Zu.

Opposite Lupeng stands the Ginseng Fruit Tree. Twenty or thirty years later, this sacred tree looks quite different:

This spiritual root was neither a sprout nor a seedling, neither young nor small; it now truly appeared as a massive tree! The tree was already over twenty zhang tall, its roots as thick as a woman's slender waist. Its branches were lush and green, its leaves verdant and shady, its growth thriving.

The bark of the immortal tree is not cracked, but smooth and delicate like that of the crape myrtle tree. However, its color is much more beautiful than that of the crape myrtle tree, with a bright green luster, like jade or the finest green silk.

The leaves of the fairy tree are even stranger. I couldn't tell when I was a child, but now that I'm older, I can see it clearly. They look exactly like banana leaves! Each of these leaves is three to five feet long and eight or nine inches wide, and they are lush and green.

"They've grown so big."

Cheng Xinzhan sighed.

Qu Zu nodded with a smile.

“Spiritual roots and immortal seeds cannot be judged by ordinary standards. I have observed them carefully over the years, and this tree is growing faster and faster.”

"Growing faster and faster? Is it still growing right now?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

Qu Zu nodded.

“It’s growing every moment. If you listen carefully, you should be able to hear the sound of the branches and leaves sprouting.”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan cleared his mind of all distractions and listened attentively.

"Swish, swish—"

The wind swayed gently, and soon enough, the breeze that swept past the immortal tree brought a rustling sound. Cheng Xin gazed at the towering immortal tree, quite astonished. She thought to herself, "It's already so big, yet it's still growing, and growing faster and faster. How tall will it grow?"
"The immortal tree is still in its infancy, and who knows how many mysterious changes it will undergo in the future? It's just a pity that I, this old Taoist, will not live to see it."

Qu Zu sighed.

Only he himself knows the extent of his gains during those forty years of guarding the tree.

“Master Qu, there is no need to worry. Once you ascend to the Immortal Realm, the pure energy will wash away the impurities, and then you can descend to the mortal realm again.”

Cheng Xinzhan comforted her.

Qu Zu shook his head as he listened.

"That's the problem. It's been many years since we've seen any immortals descend to the mortal realm."

Cheng Xinzhan's expression shifted, realizing this must be the unclear situation in the Immortal Realm that the sect leader had mentioned, so he asked,

"Master Qu, what exactly is happening in the heavens?"

Qu Zu had summoned Cheng Xinzhan today to tell him some secrets, and now that he was being asked, he naturally answered everything he knew.

"Because of the presence of celestial beings, the connection between the celestial realm and the mortal realm has never been severed. In earlier times, before the underworld lost contact, the three realms interacted with each other. However, due to the constraints of heavenly laws and earthly rules, the number of times celestial beings descend to the mortal realm and ghost immortals ascend to the mortal realm was limited and not so casual."

"Later, a series of unexpected events occurred. First, the underworld suddenly lost contact, and the immortals could not descend, nor did the ghost immortals from the underworld ever return. Then, during the Tang Dynasty, a second incident of immortals disappearing from the world occurred, and the Heavenly Court was deserted in a single day. The celestial and mortal realms suddenly became desolate."

"However, although the celestial immortals have secluded themselves from the world, they haven't suddenly locked the passage between heaven and earth like the underworld has. The Southern Heavenly Gate is still there, and the ascension passage is still there. Once their cultivation reaches a certain level, they can still ascend to the celestial realm. Therefore, since the Tang Dynasty, newly ascended immortals have continued to reside in the celestial realm. Moreover, because the ancient immortals, gods, and Buddhas have secluded themselves from the world, the celestial realm is vast and sparsely populated. All the powerful beings at the Golden Immortal level and above have disappeared without a trace. For these newly ascended immortals, there are neither superiors nor heavenly rules to bind them, so everyone's life is much better."

"The Immortal Realm is vast, with each heaven being much larger than the Human Realm. Previously, there were many heavens and secret realms that lower-ranking immortals were not allowed to enter, but now those rules no longer apply. These newly ascended immortals roam the starry seas, explore mysteries and visit ancient sites in each heaven, lingering there and reluctant to leave. Occasionally, some yearn for the mortal world; when they tire of living in the heavens, they come to the mortal realm. Once they have accumulated enough earthly energy and can no longer stay in the mortal world, they return to the Immortal Realm, living an extremely carefree life."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan thought to himself, "If that's the case, then the celestial beings of that time were indeed carefree. No wonder everyone wanted to become a celestial being."

"but."

But at this point, Qu Zu abruptly changed the subject, saying,
"Several thousand years of such carefree days passed. By the mid-to-late Southern Song Dynasty, we discovered that the barrier between the celestial and mortal realms was gradually thickening and strengthening, and it was no longer so easy for immortals to travel between the mortal and mortal realms. The first sign of this was that the incense for the two realms was no longer effective."

"Two Realms Fragrance, what is that?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked, feeling that he had heard too many new words today.

Qu Zu replied,

"Logically speaking, as the master of all laws in the sect, you should be able to receive the incense of the two realms, but you have never even heard of it. This is because the incense of the two realms is no longer effective, so I guess Hehe didn't tell you about it."

"The Incense of Two Realms is a kind of incense that can communicate between the celestial and mortal realms. Immortal sects like our Sanqing Mountain have ancestral halls in both the mortal and celestial realms. When we light incense in the mortal realm, the incense can ascend directly to the celestial realm, and the ancestors above can receive the message in the incense. In the past, there were not many immortals left in the mortal realm. If there was any urgent matter in the sect, we would burn incense to invite the ancestral masters down, or use talismans or magical artifacts to summon immortals, which was sufficient."

At this point, Qu Zu glanced at the ginseng fruit tree opposite and said,

“If the Two Realms Incense still works, we would definitely report to our ancestors and ask them for the best way to plant the tree, instead of us messing around blindly. Fortunately, thanks to our ancestors, although we messed around, at least we managed to plant the tree. Otherwise, we would have truly let down our ancestors.” Cheng Xinzhan listened, feeling that his knowledge was too shallow. Could there really be such a miraculous thing?
Qu Zu continued,
"At first, the incense from the two realms failed, and the smoke couldn't rise, but the more costly Azure Edict and Green Seal still worked. However, soon, the Azure Edict and Green Seal also stopped working, and then even the Yellow Dragon Heavenly Book, which was supposed to be sent from the upper realm to the lower realm by the immortals, could no longer be transmitted. Communication between the two realms could only be conveyed through the immortals going up and down to the lower realm, and the news suddenly became much more blocked."

Cheng Xinzhan frowned upon hearing this and asked,

"Was that caused by the power of heaven and earth, or by human intervention?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Zu glanced at Cheng Xinzhan with considerable approval, but then shook his head.

"That's a good question, but we can't find out. In other words, at least a Celestial Immortal definitely couldn't do that, and even a Golden Immortal probably couldn't, or..."

Qu Zu looked at Cheng Xinzhan and said in a low voice,
"Or perhaps the ancient immortals did not completely renounce the world, but rather did not want to see too much interaction between the upper and lower realms."

After muttering a word of speculation in a low voice, Qu Zu continued,

"Actually, we are more inclined to believe it is the power of heaven and earth. Because in the past few thousand years, there have been too many immortals from the upper realms who descended to the mortal world at their own whim, without any scruples, and playing around in the human world. Moreover, there are quite a few demon immortals among them, and there are also many people with bad character in the righteous path. Sometimes when conflicts arise, they do not know how to restrain themselves and destroy the mountains and rivers. Over time, it is indeed possible that they have corrupted the earth's energy, causing heaven and earth to automatically close the passage between the upper and lower realms."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded slowly.

Qu Zu also said,

"The lack of communication was just the beginning. By the end of the Song Dynasty, even it became difficult for immortals to descend to the mortal realm. Moreover, the earlier an immortal ascended, the more powerful they were, and the more they had previously descended to the mortal realm, the more difficult it was for them to descend. The Nine Heavens Cloud Restriction truly became an insurmountable barrier between heaven and earth. Based on this, we infer that it is more likely that Heaven and Earth acted on their own initiative, not wanting powerful immortals to arbitrarily interfere with the operation of the mortal world. It should be a kind of 'heavenly law' that is generated autonomously by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."

"After we noticed this change, our sect—I mean the sect in the immortal realm—decided to send several immortals who had never descended to the mortal realm before and who had only recently ascended to immortality, to take advantage of the fact that the gate between heaven and earth was not completely closed and to take up their posts at the ancestral altar."

Qu Zu pointed to himself and said.
"The old Taoist priest is one of them."

Cheng Xinzhan was surprised. He had thought that the immortals in the grotto-heaven all passed the tribulation of immortality and did not ascend to heaven. He did not expect that some of them ascended to heaven and then descended to the mortal realm. But now it seems that the ancestors were farsighted. With the situation of being blocked from above and below and with a demonic tide rising in the mortal realm, it was really reassuring to have a few immortals in the sect to guard it.

"It wasn't just our Wanfa Sect. Several other immortal sects that were on good terms with us discussed the number of people to descend to the mortal realm in staggered shifts and in batches. This was because immortals had to break through the nine layers of cloud restrictions to descend to the mortal realm, which was already quite a commotion. In addition, descending to the mortal realm had become difficult. If everyone rushed down to the mortal realm, they might block the passage and none of them would be able to leave."

"At that time, our Eastern Daoist sect recommended Ancestor Sa to coordinate the overall command. Ancestor Sa was selfless and put us first, arranging for the Shenxiao Sect to be the last to descend to the mortal realm. However, no one expected that the passage between heaven and earth would close so quickly. The first few people sent down from each immortal sect actually became the last batch. Before the second round, the passage had already closed."

"When the last Daoist of the Shenxiao Sect descended to the mortal realm, Yun Jin suddenly became solid. According to him, he was almost cut in half at the waist. It was only thanks to the great power of the Ancestor Sa that he was able to open a passage and survive. I remember that was five hundred years ago. In other words, since the Ming Dynasty, no immortal has descended to the mortal realm. We have been cut off from the immortal realm for more than five hundred years."

Cheng Xinzhan's expression was solemn. The underworld had been out of contact for many years, and many calamities had occurred in the human world. He never expected that such a major change would also occur in heaven.

"That's not all."

Qu Zu sighed and said softly,

"At that time, it was a turbulent time. The old Heavenly Court had collapsed, and the immortals had been living freely for thousands of years. As a result, a rumor was spreading in the immortal realm that a new Heavenly Court should be established to govern the immortal realm."

Cheng Xinzhan's eyelids twitched as she listened. Just hearing a few words about this kind of thing was enough to make her imagine the bloodshed behind it.

"Those who are free-spirited naturally do not want to be bound by rules, while those who are ambitious admire them highly. And such matters cannot be resolved by debate; they must be settled through action. In any case, when I descended to the mortal realm, the immortal realm was also turbulent and full of undercurrents. Considering the need to preserve strength to protect the foundation of the immortal realm, the sects did not send many people to the mortal realm in the first round."

Qu Zu glanced at Cheng Xinzhan again, his expression becoming inscrutable, and said,
"At that time, when we were discussing the time and number of people to descend to the mortal realm, the leader of the Jingming Sect in the Immortal Realm said something."

"What?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

He said that if, five hundred years later, the mortal realm and the immortal realm still cannot make contact, to be on the safe side, and without knowing the situation in the immortal realm, he suggested that future generations, when in the four realms, should no longer prioritize the Dao of Heaven as before. Instead, they should weigh the number of Heavenly Immortals and Earthly Immortals based on their own cultivation methods, ensuring that half of them can support the immortal realm and bring new news from the mortal realm. The other half should become Earthly Immortals and remain in the mortal realm, both to protect the ancestral foundation and to preserve strength in case of unforeseen circumstances.

"At the time, we all thought it was the Jingming Sect leader's concern about the situation in the Immortal Realm after the lockdown, a conservative and mature view, which we also thought made sense. We were just surprised that these words would come from the mouth of the Jingming Sect. Now, five hundred years later, when Hehe told me about the 'Dragon Sand Prophecy,' I know why."

Qu Zu looked at Cheng Xinzhan and said with a smile.

Cheng Xinzhan smiled upon hearing this. It seems that the eminent figures of the Jingming School throughout the ages have regarded Xu Zhenjun's prophecies as gospel.

Although Qu Zu smiled, he immediately became serious again.
“Xu Zu is a man of extraordinary spiritual attainment. The time, place, and event of your prophecy were exactly as predicted. In addition, at this very moment, the connection between the celestial and mortal realms was severed and turmoil occurred in the celestial realm. It is reasonable for people to consider him an earth immortal. And the Jingming Sect is unaware of this.”

Qu Zu pointed to the ginseng fruit tree that stood tall and spreading out in front of the two of them.

"With so many coincidences coming together, it can't be a coincidence. Now, not only the Jingming Sect, but also myself, Hehe, Tongxuan, and Duyi, all the four realms in the sect who know the truth, are convinced of it."

As the one who was supposed to be answered by the prophecy, Cheng Xinzhan was now able to view it with equanimity. He neither shied away from it nor acted arrogantly, simply stating...
"Let nature take its course. What path one chooses to follow and what kind of immortal one becomes is a personal choice."

Qu Zu was clearly satisfied with his condition, and nodded, saying,
“That’s right, we should go with the flow and make sure it aligns with our own path. Take Shouzhen, Marshal Kui, and Wujiu who has just been born, for example. Their paths are all in the heavens. How can they possibly align with the earth’s energy?”

"However, on the other hand, in the old understanding, celestial immortals can ascend to heaven and descend to earth, making them more carefree and having more opportunities than earth immortals. Most importantly, celestial immortals who fail their tribulation can become scattered immortals, which provides them with a wider escape route than earth immortals. And regardless of which type of immortal they become, the tribulation to become an immortal is not of varying difficulty; becoming an earth immortal is no easier than becoming a celestial immortal. Therefore, those who can become celestial immortals definitely want to become celestial immortals. But now—"

Qu Zu glanced at Cheng Xinzhan,

"The situation in the Immortal Realm is unclear. Taking a step forward could mean certain death, while taking a step back could open up a vast expanse. People's thoughts will naturally change. Moreover, if the 'Dragon Sand Prophecy' is true, then there really will be eight hundred Earth Immortals born. Eight hundred! What kind of number is that? In the past, apart from the Investiture of the Gods and the Imperial Edict, it would be impossible for eight hundred immortals to appear at the same time. The tribulation of becoming an immortal is not a child's play."

"So, if eight hundred Earth Immortals really are born, I think it won't be through normal tribulation to become an immortal. It's more likely that it will be through a method similar to imperial decree."

Qu Zu looked intently at Cheng Xinzhan.

"Both lead to immortality, but one involves overcoming a near-death experience to achieve the status of a celestial immortal, with an uncertain future; the other is appointed by imperial decree and immediately attains the status of an earth immortal, with a master earth immortal to guide him. I think for most people in this world, this choice shouldn't be difficult."

“Xinzhan, everyone has their own closeness and distance. Didn’t Xu Zu, who was known for ‘one person attaining enlightenment, and even his chickens and dogs ascending to heaven,’ also bring his entire family with him when he ascended to heaven? What you said about going with the flow is true. We will not stop those who aspire to become celestial beings. We will let them go and congratulate them on their journey to become celestial beings.”

"However, for those who want to become Earth Immortals, and those who are willing to become Earth Immortals, there are still many who are trapped in the Five Realms and are not confident in passing the Tribulation of Immortality. For these people, if one day you really reach the realm of being appointed Earth Immortals, shouldn't we reserve more spots for the sect?"

Cheng Xinzhan answered without any hesitation.

“Of course, my sect has been incredibly kind to me, and I will never be stingy with any opportunity to repay the sect.”

"Hahaha--"

Qu Zu burst into laughter upon hearing this; these were exactly the words Cheng Xinzhan had wanted to hear. After his laughter subsided, he said...

“Alright, now that’s settled, I have nothing to worry about. I can’t wait to tell our ancestors in heaven this good news. Xinzhan, do you still have any doubts about your cultivation? I have a few more days, so feel free to ask me anything. I will answer everything I know.”

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(End of this chapter)