A journey through immortal realms begins with a phantom tale.

Before leaving, Luo Cheng suddenly remembered Fu Shan's matter. Fu Shan would face a calamity in the future, but he would also turn misfortune into blessing and become the third Heavenly Venerable.

The calamity is related to the Eastern Emperor.

This tribulation contains the opportunity to become a Celestial Venerable.

But in Luo Cheng's view, there is no need to go to the underworld for reincarnation if you want to become a Celestial Venerable.

Just like Luo Cheng, he did not accept the Heavenly Venerable's inheritance, nor would he compete with Li Qiang for it. However, he will forge his own path.

He pondered for a moment, then said to Li Qiang, "Junior brother, if you have time, go to the Chu Wu tribe again."

Li Qiang's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Senior brother, did you figure something out?"

He knew that the Chu Witch Clan would die if they tried to predict the heavens, so Li Qiang would no longer seek their help. Cultivators of gods possess the nine hearts of a celestial being, among which are the heart of a mortal, the heart of compassion, and the heart of pity.

Luo Cheng understood Li Qiang's thoughts and said frankly, "I predict that Brother Fu will face a calamity."

These words struck Li Qiang like a thunderbolt, leaving his mind reeling. Fu Shan was both an elder brother and a father figure to him, and he urgently asked, "Senior brother, could you be more specific?"

"As for the calculation, you only have a rough estimate, as you know," Luo Cheng sighed softly.

Li Qiang clenched his fist: "Looks like I'll have to make a trip to the Immortal Realm!"

Luo Cheng said no more, and in a flash returned to Fengyuan Star, landing beside Lin Chen. Upon seeing this, Lin Chen rushed over and hugged him. Even though she knew that Luo Cheng was the original owner of the body and could use the power of the source to protect himself, she still couldn't help but worry. Now, seeing him return safely, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Qiang, watching Luo Cheng's retreating figure from the void, pondered to himself, "Judging from my senior brother's expression, he doesn't seem too worried. It seems he has a way to deal with this."

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he still couldn't let it go—Fu Shan held too much weight in his heart. He made up his mind to go to the Chu Wu tribe and ask them; if necessary, they could offer more compensation.

On the other side, Luo Cheng was preparing to travel, partly to find his apprentice and partly to search for Lin Mengdie, whom he hadn't seen for hundreds of years.

Lin Chen straightened up, glanced at him, then lowered his head again and whispered, "Brother Cheng, Li Mengtian has been taken away by Chi Ming."

"What?" Luo Cheng was stunned, not expecting Chi Ming to take Li Mengtian away. "What's wrong with Lone Star? He can't even keep an eye on a demon!"

"Back then, Chi Ming came to Fengyuan Star to cause trouble, but he was chased away by Xuan Long, Qian Shanyong, and Sister Dai Nan. When he left, he also kidnapped Li Mengtian," Lin Chen explained.

"He didn't say why he took her away?"

"I told you, Li Mengtian's physique is suitable for cultivating demonic arts."

Luo Cheng sneered twice: "They should have gone to the Demon Realm. Let them go." In his opinion, even if Li Mengtian became a Demon Lord, she wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

For demon cultivators, undergoing tribulation is a thousand times more difficult than for true cultivators. Of ten true cultivators, only two can successfully undergo tribulation, while of ten thousand demon cultivators, only two or three can succeed.

Lin Chen had always known that her friendship with Li Mengtian was superficial; Luo Cheng had long since treated Li Mengtian as a stranger. They'd only exchange a few casual words about Li Mengtian before changing the subject: "By the way, any news about Mengmeng?"

"Decades ago, the Ancient Sword Academy sent a message saying that she had appeared on Linjiang Star."

"Linjiang Star?" Luo Cheng raised an eyebrow. He remembered this planet; he had once transformed into a mortal there, and Linjiang Star was close to Huanlang Heaven—the secluded place of Yuan Gu. "What about Ning Zhe?"

"He came to Fengyuan Star a hundred years ago. He had already reached the Nascent Soul stage. When he saw that you were not there, he stayed for two years and then continued his travels."

Luo Cheng was somewhat surprised. With Ning Zhe's talent, if he hadn't suppressed his cultivation, he should have already undergone tribulation. He then asked, "Is there any news about Luo Xian?" Luo Xian was his eldest disciple.

Lin Chen shook his head: "I haven't heard anything from her."

"Let's look for it," Luo Cheng thought to himself, hoping to see Luo Xian one last time before ascending to immortality.

Now that he is the Lord of the Primal Realm, travel is extremely convenient. He can teleport to any place he has been to using the power of the Primal Realm. He protected Lin Chen with the Primal Realm, and they instantly arrived in the outer space of the Illusion Tree Star.

The two didn't rush inside, but stood in the void gazing into the distance. It was Lin Chen's first time seeing the Illusionary Tree Star; he had only seen footage of it in Luo Chenglu's records. Now, looking at the divine tree rooted in the universe, he couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so beautiful!"

"It is indeed beautiful." Although it was Luo Cheng's second time here, he was still amazed by this spectacular sight.

"Brother Cheng, legend has it that these are seeds dropped by the gods, is that true?"

"Possibly." Luo Cheng wasn't sure either. If he wanted more accurate information, he would have to check the Myriad Realms Collection Pavilion in the Divine Treasure Tower, which contained information about all the myriad realms.

From afar, the Illusion Tree Star resembles a colossal tree reaching for the sky, its branches extending into the depths of the void, its leaves layered upon each other, some as vast as a continent, others as large as a football field.

Lin Chen watched for a while, then asked Luo Cheng to take photos for her as a souvenir. Luo Cheng first used magic to save the image, then took out a camera from Earth to take pictures. Lin Chen took the camera and looked through it, smiling with satisfaction.

"Brother Cheng, if you're broke, you'll definitely become a hit as a photographer."

Luo Cheng sighed helplessly: Now that he was the Lord of the Original Realm, even disregarding his original identity, a cultivator wouldn't be short of money. He knew Lin Chen was joking, and followed up, "So if I'm broke, will you support me?"

"Okay, I'll take care of you!" Lin Chen smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the two landed on a branch of a tree on the planet Illusion Tree. On this planet, even an ordinary tree branch is comparable to a piece of land, extremely spacious.

"Come on, let me show you some of the local delicacies of the Illusion Tree Star."

"OK!"

Because of the unique nature of the Illusion Tree Star, its inhabitants build their houses on tree branches, forming settlements on the thick twigs, similar to towns on other planets.

Luo Cheng and Li Qiang had visited once before, and this time they went straight to Deer Horn City—named for the tree branches that resemble deer antlers. It is one of the oldest cities on Illusion Tree Star, with nearly ten million inhabitants, of whom cultivators make up one percent.

When Lin Chen first arrived on Illusion Tree Star, everything was new and exciting. While houses on other planets were built on the surface, here houses were constructed by carving holes in tree branches, layer upon layer like castles in the sky.

She looked around at the buildings and laughed, "This place is even more magical than Blue Star Mountain City."

Blue Star Mountain City is built against the mountain and is jokingly called an 8D magical city by netizens - you are clearly on the 22nd floor, but when you step out of the stairs you find that you are on the first floor, and even the navigation cannot tell the direction.

Compared to Deer Antler City, the magic of Mountain City is nothing—who has ever seen roads paved with leaves or steps carved into tree branches? There are also strange vines for ordinary people to climb.

Because the entire planet is a tree, and people build their dwellings on the tree, the cities of the Phantom Tree Star have a three-dimensional structure.

The two entered a tree-hole restaurant, which from the outside looked just like a tree hole. Despite its tree-hole appearance, the interior was spacious and bright.

The streets were bustling with people, and the mode of transportation here was quite unique—not carriages or horses, but rather domesticated giant insects and birds pulling carriages along the tree-lined avenue. Lin Chen was overwhelmed by the sights and found it all incredibly fascinating.

A waiter approached: "Which seats would you like, gentlemen?"

"It has a wide field of vision."

Please come with me.

The two were led to a window where they could see the street scene.

The waiter handed over the menu, and Lin Chen leaned closer to take a look. He shuddered and instinctively stepped back, exclaiming, "Oh my! What are all these?"

Luo Cheng looked at the menu with a strange expression: "Chenchen, it takes a bit of courage to eat here."

Lin Chen pointed to the pictures on the menu: "Are they all bugs?"

"That's normal. You can't farm on Illusion Tree Star, and since it's a tree-shaped planet, it's mostly infested with insects," Luo Cheng explained.

"I'm not eating!" Lin Chen's scalp tingled. The insects on the menu were bizarre and varied, some with horns and some with compound eyes. Just looking at them made him unable to bring himself to eat them.

Luo Cheng laughed and said, "Just try it, consider it like eating crayfish."

"How can you compare them?" Lin Chen frowned. "What kind of crayfish looks like this?"

"Since we're already here, let's give it a try." Luo Cheng didn't insist. "You can't farm here; everyone can only survive by catching insects and picking fruit."

"What is their staple food?"

"Something called breadfruit."

"Then try this!"

Luo Cheng stopped joking and ordered some fruit and pastries made from bread fruit for Lin Chen, while he ordered two plates of insects that looked like crayfish for himself—only these were barely edible. As for those fat, fleshy worms, even Lin Chen couldn't eat them, let alone him.

After eating, the two continued shopping. The trinkets and toys on the street were quite novel. They weren't short of money, and whatever Lin Chen took a liking to, Luo Cheng bought it directly. Her storage space was large enough that Luo Cheng didn't need to carry it by hand.

After wandering around for most of the day, Lin Chen suddenly remembered, "Oh right, the most famous thing on Illusion Tree Star is Divine Wood Liquid. Since we're here, shall we go and get some?"

"it is good."

The two quickly arrived at the Divine Tree Sect. This was Luo Cheng's second visit; the last time was to help Hou Pijing. Now, Hou Pijing had already ascended to immortality, and to meet him again, they would have to go to the Immortal Realm.

Centuries have passed, and the sect leader of the Divine Tree Sect has changed. Luo Cheng asked, "Has Sect Leader Carmen ascended to immortality?"

The newly appointed sect leader sighed: "Sect Leader Carmen failed to transcend the tribulation and has turned to ashes."

Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng's face darkened, and his spirits sank. Lin Chen's smile faded, and her heart sank—she finally understood the cruelty of cultivation; not everyone could become an immortal. To cultivate for hundreds or even thousands of years, only to fail in the tribulation and perish under the heavenly tribulation, how tragic.