Urban Immortal Lord

Xia Tian was shocked by the human figure manifested by the spirit before him. He had obviously not expected that there would be traces of cultivators in a valley of Baiyun Mountain.

However, after being swept into the deep sea and seeing the ruins of the celestial palace in the night sea, as well as the teachings of Tianjizi, Xia Tian was surprised by these incredible and mysterious things, but not unable to accept them.

After all, Xia Tian is now considered a cultivator. Moreover, Xia Tian can sense that the spirit manifested by Tianjizi is much more powerful than the spirit he sees before him.

"Was the senior a Golden Core stage expert in his previous life?" Xia Tian couldn't help but ask curiously. The division of cultivation realms was introduced in the Mortal Level Chapter of the Six Paths Reincarnation Technique, so Xia Tian had a certain understanding of cultivation realms.

Upon hearing this, the Hermit of Wangchuan said with utter disdain, "How can a mere Golden Core ant compare to me? Ten thousand years ago, I was a Great Luo Golden Immortal, but due to damage to my foundation, I fell to the Tribulation Transcending stage."

"The lifespan of a Golden Elixir cultivator is no more than five hundred years, while I have lived in seclusion in this valley for thousands of years."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Hermit of the Forgotten River turned his gaze to Xia Tian, ​​his weathered eyes seeming to see through the hearts of people in the world.

After a full ten breaths, the Hermit of Wangchuan withdrew his gaze, revealing a look of surprise: "You are extraordinary. I could not discern your past life, and there is a special aura about you that seems to belong to another world."

"My past life?" Xia Tian asked in confusion. He knew something about his background; he was not his parents' biological child, but an abandoned baby left behind on Baiyun Mountain.

Before, Xia Tian always thought she was no different from ordinary people. Although she didn't know who her biological parents were, she was still just an ordinary person. But now, she seemed a little lost.

Xia Tian hadn't even figured out the mystery of her origins in this life, but she learned from the Hermit of the River of Oblivion that she had a past life!

"Indeed, perhaps a supreme expert concealed the secrets of heaven for you. Otherwise, with my status as a Great Luo Golden Immortal, as long as I am within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, there is nothing I cannot see through."

The Hermit of Wangchuan spoke slowly, as if he saw Xia Tian's confusion, and then said, "Young friend, there is no need to worry. All the reasons and causes in this world will eventually be revealed."

Xia Tian nodded, no longer dwelling on the mystery of his origins. Through the series of events that had occurred, he knew that the so-called destiny of immortality would not happen to him for no reason. How could there be so many coincidences in the world?

The reasons for all of this can only be unraveled by him slowly.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. I have benefited greatly from it." Xia Tian clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your musical skills are truly unparalleled throughout history. However, I heard endless desolation and sorrow in your music. In that illusion, I saw a woman dancing gracefully in a sea of ​​flowers, like a flower fairy..."

Upon hearing this, the Hermit of Wangchuan laughed heartily, but there was helplessness and vicissitude in his laughter.

"Young friend, we are destined to meet. Now that I am about to vanish from this world, would you like to hear a story from me?"

Wangchuan Jushi gazed at Xia Tian, ​​whose refined and handsome face resembled that of an old man in his twilight years.

Xia Tian nodded and said, "Please speak, senior. I am all ears."

He vaguely guessed that this would be an incredibly tragic love story.

"At the intersection of the ghost realm and hell, there is a river that seems to have no end, called the River of Oblivion; there is a road that leads to hell, called the Yellow Springs; between the river and the road, there is a sea of ​​flowers, called the Other Shore."

"In the River of Oblivion, there lived a dragon-fish that, after ten thousand years of cultivation, finally transformed into human form and became a ghost immortal."

"In the sea of ​​red spider lilies, the celestial music of the Great Dao resounds day and night. From within the sea of ​​flowers, a flower spirit emerges, taking the form of a woman, and dances gracefully in the flower sea."

"The dragonfish plays the zither, the flower spirit dances. After thousands of years of companionship, they have developed feelings for each other..."

"But who could have foreseen that this good fortune would not last long? The one who preached to the Flower Spirit day and night, and imbued her with spirit, turned out to be the Great Emperor of the Ghost Realm, whose purpose was to select a Ghost Queen for the Ghost Realm!"

"Although there are many women in the Ghost Realm, none can compare to Hua Ling even slightly. Therefore, Hua Ling became the Ghost Emperor's first choice."

"The dragonfish could not bear to be separated from its beloved, so it chose to fight the Ghost Emperor. That battle lasted for thousands of years and alarmed countless ghost cultivators."

"In the end, the dragonfish was no match for the enemy. At the cost of destroying its own foundation, it tore apart the space between the two realms and fled to the human world..."

At this point, the Hermit of Wangchuan looked at Xia Tian and sighed, "I presume you already understand, young friend. This dragonfish is my true form, the woman you saw is the spirit of the Other Shore Flower, and the Emperor of the Ghost Realm is the Yellow Springs Emperor!"

"I never imagined there could be such a devoted person in this world, someone who would disregard everything for the one he loves, even if it meant spending ten thousand years together, even if it meant being an enemy of the entire ghost realm..." Xia Tian felt genuine sadness for the layman's past, but also deep admiration for his devotion.

What Xia Tian didn't expect was that the legendary ghost realm, hell, the River of Oblivion, and the other shore flower... actually exist in this world.

Xia Tian suddenly realized that his love affair with her was utterly ridiculous compared to that of the Hermit of the Forgotten River.

He also dreamed of holding hands with his beloved, watching the sunrise and sunset, observing the clouds drift by, and growing old peacefully in the passing years...

Unexpectedly, reality dealt him a heavy blow; this so-called love could not withstand the cruel tricks of human nature.

"I see that you seem troubled by something, young friend, perhaps because of a complicated love affair?" Wangchuan Jushi asked, noticing Xia Tian's bitter expression.

Upon hearing this, Xia Tian asked, "Senior, do you know what the human heart is?"

"I have lived in this mortal world for five thousand years, traversing mountains and rivers, witnessing the changes of history, experiencing the transformation of the sea into mulberry fields, and the cycle of all things." The Hermit of Wangchuan sighed, "The power, money, and beauty of this world are all born from the changes in the human heart. If we talk about the human heart, it is nothing more than the source of desire."

"The source of desire?" Xia Tian pondered, lost in thought.

The Hermit of Wangchuan said, "If I'm not mistaken, what you want to know about people's hearts is probably the thoughts of your beloved, isn't it?"

Although Wangchuan Jushi was now just a ephemeral spirit, he was a cultivator who had lived for countless years and could see through Xia Tian's thoughts at a glance.

"The most difficult thing to explain in this world is love. Mortals suffer eight kinds of pain: birth, old age, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, resentment, hatred, unfulfilled desires, and inability to let go. Although I have lived in this human world for thousands of years, I still cannot see through the love, hatred, and grudges of this world. After all, my greatest wish in this life is simply to be with her, and I ask for nothing else."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Hermit of Wangchuan raised his finger slightly, and the guqin on the table trembled slightly and floated in mid-air.

"This zither was crafted by me thousands of years ago, using the body of a phoenix as its body and the sinews of a dragon as its strings."

The Hermit of Wangchuan slowly said, "The music you just heard was the manifestation of my thousand-year obsession with playing the zither before my demise."

Upon hearing this, Xia Tian suddenly realized that the guqin had a spirit, and the Hermit of Wangchuan had developed an obsession by playing it day and night. However, this obsession had not dissipated for a thousand years and had turned into an illusion.

"Since you love her so deeply, why don't you go and find her?" Xia Tian paused and sighed.

Wangchuan Jushi sighed, "I was injured by the Yellow Springs Emperor, and my foundation was completely destroyed. With my cultivation at the Tribulation Transcending stage, I am unable to break through the space of the Ghost Realm. I can only entrust my thoughts to Yaoqin, but there is nothing I can do."

Summer sighed deeply. Separated by the two worlds and time, longing was useless and reunion seemed impossible. He couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for the Hermit of the River of Oblivion.

I searched high and low, but found nothing in either place!