Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

Thunderclouds rolled in, spreading across the entire Tianqian Domain sky like ink.

The dark red "Nine Netherworld Immortal Extermination Tribulation" was brewing in the clouds, and each thunderclap was accompanied by a spiderweb-like shattering of the void.

This is the karmic backlash accumulated over three thousand years in the Heavenly Dry Domain, the last and most solid chain preventing cultivators from ascending to the lower realms.

Chu Chang, dressed in black, stood in the center of the roaring sea of ​​thunder.

The ancient sword of Broken Dust lay horizontally in front of him, its blade covered with countless cracks. But what emanated from those cracks was not the deathly aura of destruction, but rather the primordial chaos light of ultimate sublimation.

"The karma of three thousand years will be severed by my sword today."

Chu Chang looked up at the white jade heavenly gate that was faintly visible deep within the thunderclouds.

The Heavenly Gate was tightly shut, exuding an air of aloof indifference and condescension. Faintly, through the cracks in the gate, several divine senses seemed to sweep down, carrying a mocking and greedy gaze as they appraised the captive livestock.

"boom!"

The first bolt of dark red lightning finally struck, a bolt thousands of feet thick, like a blood-red raging dragon, carving a huge black chasm directly into the void.

Chu Chang neither dodged nor avoided, but instead took the initiative to meet him.

"Forge your sword with lightning, cleanse your marrow with calamity!"

He shouted loudly, and the chaotic true essence surged wildly into the Broken Dust Ancient Sword.

The Broken Dust Ancient Sword let out a deafening sword cry, colliding directly with the blood-red raging dragon. The violent power of lightning instantly spread throughout Chu Chang's body, each bolt of lightning tearing at his Tribulation Transcending stage physique, attempting to completely extinguish the life force within him.

However, Chu Chang's chaotic primordial spirit only slightly opened its eyes, and all the lightning tribulation power that surged into its body was instantly assimilated and absorbed by the chaotic magic power, turning into a tonic to temper the body and primordial spirit.

Under the impact of the lightning, the cracks on the Broken Dust Ancient Sword began to peel away piece by piece, revealing a brand new sword body inside that was as deep as black gold.

That was a true immortal artifact infused with the laws of chaos.

"The second one!"

"The third one!"

……

One after another, the Nine Netherworld Immortal-Slaying Tribulations crashed down, causing the entire Tianqian Domain to tremble under this divine might. The world only saw that the dark figure ascend higher and higher amidst the sky full of blood-red lightning, each strike making his aura even more unfathomable.

When the ninth and final lightning tribulation was cleaved apart by Chu Chang's sword, his aura had reached the pinnacle of the mortal realm, faintly transcending the constraints of the rules of this universe.

His eyes were filled with chaotic energy, devoid of any human emotion, displaying only absolute indifference towards the Great Dao.

"Now, it's time to open the door."

Chu Chang stood before the white jade heavenly gate.

The Heavenly Gate stood ten thousand feet tall, radiating a sacred white light, and the celestial energy in front of it was so dense it was almost liquefied. But beneath this celestial energy, Chu Chang's keen divine sense could detect a putrid, bloody stench.

Behind this gate, countless brilliant and talented sages of the lower realms are buried.

"Buzz"

The Heavenly Gate trembled slightly, and a grand yet indifferent voice came from behind it, ethereal yet carrying an undeniable majesty:

"Chu Chang, a sinner from the lower realm, has privately destroyed the boundary marker and forcibly undergone the Heavenly Tribulation. Considering the difficulty of your cultivation, you shall quickly discard your natal magic treasure, kneel before the Heavenly Gate, and enter my Immortal Realm as a slave for three thousand years to be spared from death."

This voice, high above, regards the mortal world as mere ants.

Upon hearing this, Chu Chang's lips curled into a cruel and unrestrained smile.

"Three thousand years of slavery?"

He slowly raised the Broken Dust Ancient Sword in his hand. Chaotic immortal light condensed at the tip of the sword, turning into a pitch-black hole that frantically devoured the surrounding void.

"My cultivation of the sword is about unwavering perseverance and boundless freedom."

"You want me to be your slave?"

"Who do you think you are, to dare point fingers at me?!"

Chu Chang gripped his sword with both hands, took a sudden step forward, and his figure transformed into a golden aurora that tore through the darkness.

[The Primordial Chaos, the Creation of Heaven and Earth!]

This sword strike contained all of his cultivation at the Tribulation Transcending stage, fused with the immortal inheritance left by the Taiyi Immortal, and also carried the resentment and anger of the Tianqian Domain that had been unable to ascend for three thousand years.

With a single sword strike, the world lost its color.

The golden sword light slammed into the white jade heavenly gate.

"Boom!"

The entire sky seemed to collapse in that instant.

The violent energy aftershocks transformed into tangible ripples, shattering the void within a radius of tens of thousands of miles into nothingness. Countless cultivators in the Tianqian Domain felt as if they had gone deaf, with only the dazzling golden light remaining in the world.

"Click..."

A crisp cracking sound rang out clearly in the silence.

The white jade heavenly gate, which was said to be forged from celestial gold from the upper realm and had suppressed the lower realm for thousands of years, developed a tiny crack in the middle under Chu Chang's sword strike.

Immediately afterwards, the cracks spread rapidly, covering the entire Heavenly Gate like a spider web.

"No! This is impossible! This power has surpassed the limits of mortal existence!"

The voice behind the door let out a scream of extreme terror and disbelief.

"Smash it for me!"

Chu Chang's face contorted in rage as his immortal energy erupted once more.

boom!

The towering white jade gate, standing tens of thousands of feet tall, shattered suddenly amidst the gazes of countless cultivators from the lower realms, turning into countless white jade fragments that scattered across the ground.

The Heavenly Gate has opened!

Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Chang transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the unknown white light behind the Heavenly Gate.

As the blinding white light passed through, the void twisted violently.

Chu Chang was prepared to face the raging spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and even the siege of countless immortals.

However, when the feeling of weightlessness disappeared and his feet were firmly planted on the ground again, he was greeted by a gust of wind that was putrid, damp, and filled with the metallic smell of iron.

Chu Chang was slightly taken aback, then suppressed his aura and looked around.

The sky was not the ethereal, cloud-filled scene one might imagine, but rather a hazy gray, even tinged with a hint of dusk, remarkably similar to the twilight of the Tianqian Domain.

The air does indeed contain spiritual energy dozens of times more concentrated than that of the Heavenly Dry Domain, but this spiritual energy is mixed with a violent and chaotic impurity, making it extremely difficult to absorb.

Beneath their feet lay a desolate, reddish-brown expanse of land, barren of everything. In the distance, one could vaguely see a range of desolate mountains, a landscape so barren that it was even less fertile than some of the wastelands in the Tianqian Domain.

"This is... the Immortal Realm?"

Chu Chang frowned.

He strolled through the void, his divine sense spreading in all directions like a tidal wave.

As his divine sense spread, his expression became strange.

Although the rules here are more robust and the space is harder to tear than in the Heavenly Dry Domain, in essence, there is no difference in their superiority or inferiority.

There are no mythical birds or auspicious beasts, and no lingzhi mushrooms growing everywhere.

What he sensed were the same mortal cities struggling at the bottom, and the same low-level cultivators fighting fiercely over a spirit stone or two.

"boom!"

Just then, a violent surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted from behind a desolate mountain not far away, accompanied by angry shouts and the sounds of magical artifacts colliding.

Chu Chang's figure flickered and he instantly disappeared from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was above a valley, hidden in the void.

A fierce battle is taking place in the valley.

The two sides that were fighting were two groups of cultivators, about a dozen people in total.

"Li Mo! Hand over that Purple Cloud Fungus, or Bright Moon Valley will be your burial ground today!"

A middle-aged cultivator dressed in a crimson robe with a sinister face sneered. This man was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and held a flying sword that emitted blazing flames.

The one being besieged was a young man dressed in a simple blue robe, covered in blood, whose cultivation level was only at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

The young man clutched the medicinal herb tightly in his arms, and said with a bitter laugh:

"Deacon Zhang, I went through great lengths to snatch this Purple Cloud Herb from the jaws of a demon beast, hoping to exchange it for a pill to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Your Blazing Sun Sect's blatant theft and plunder—aren't you afraid of the Qingyuan Palace's punishment?"

"Qingyuan Palace?"

The middle-aged cultivator, addressed as Deacon Zhang, laughed heartily, his eyes filled with mockery:

"The powerful figures of Qingyuan Palace are too busy plundering offerings from the lower realms to care about the petty grudges of us on the fringes. Li Mo, the immortal realm is a dog-eat-dog world; blame it on your lack of backing!"

"Do it! Kill him!"

Several cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sect immediately unleashed their magical treasures, ready to blast the young man to death.

"The Immortal Realm..."

Chu Chang, suspended in mid-air, heard everything clearly.

"Qingyuan Palace, a place of worship in the mortal realm, where the strong prey on the weak."

He shook his head, a disappointed sneer appearing on his lips.

I thought there would be a more exciting world in a higher dimension beyond the Heavenly Gate, but I never expected that this place was just another Heavenly Qian Domain.

The same numerous sects, the same survival of the fittest, and even the same classification of cultivators by cultivation level and the same methods of competing for resources are exactly the same.

The so-called "ascension" is nothing more than jumping from a larger pond into another murky lake.

In the eyes of these "immortals," cultivators from the lower realms are nothing more than nourishment that provides resources and fortune.

"Who's up there?!"

Deacon Zhang seemed to have sensed the extremely faint fluctuation of law in the void, and suddenly looked up and shouted sharply.

Chu sighed and stepped directly out of the void.

He wore a simple black robe and did not exude any cultivation fluctuations, looking just like an ordinary mortal.

"Who are you, fellow Daoist? Our Lieyang Sect is handling matters here. Please do not interfere, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

Seeing that Chu Chang possessed an extraordinary demeanor, Deacon Zhang was unsure of his background. He spoke with slightly more politeness, but the threat was evident in his words.

Chu Chang slowly landed on the ground, looked at the deacon, and spoke calmly:

"I have just come up from the lower realm and have some questions for you."

"Did you come from the lower realm?"

Deacon Zhang was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

The surrounding Lieyang Sect cultivators also showed greedy expressions.

"You're the lower realm cultivator who just blasted open the Heavenly Gate and forced your way up here?!"

Deacon Zhang stared intently at Chu Chang, his greed almost tangible: "Hahahaha! You've chosen the path to hell when there's one for you! Although I don't know how you escaped from those immortals, as a sinner from the lower realm, your luck hasn't been washed away. As long as I offer you to Qingyuan Palace, I'll never have to worry about cultivation resources again for the rest of my life!"

In the minds of cultivators in the celestial realm, cultivators who come from the lower realm are considered to be highly beneficial, as they possess the fortune of the entire lower realm. Capturing such a cultivator would be a tremendous achievement.

"superior!"

Without uttering a single word, Steward Zhang transformed his blazing flying sword into a fiery serpent several meters long, radiating intense heat as it hurtled madly toward Chu Chang.

The other cultivators also made their moves, and various colorful magical treasures swept over Chu Chang.

"Really, they're courting death."

Chu Chang stood still, not even interested in drawing his sword.

Faced with the absolute power of those in the Tribulation Transcending stage (which in this world could even be called the True Immortal Realm), these few Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation stage cultivators were no different from ants on the ground.

He simply uttered a single word:

"Certainly."

hum!

This area, spanning several miles, froze completely in that instant.

The fire snakes, magical artifacts, and even the cultivators who were pouncing in mid-air were all frozen in the void in a strange posture, unable to move.

The greed and ecstasy in their eyes froze instantly, replaced by endless terror and despair.

"The laws of space... their words become law?!"

Deacon Zhang discovered that he couldn't even move a single finger, and even the magic power within his body had stopped circulating, causing a huge uproar in his heart.

How could this possibly be the power possessed by a cultivator from the lower realms?!

Even the Mahayana stage elders of Qingyuan Palace could not confine space so casually!

Chu Chang walked up to Deacon Zhang, his expression calm:

"Now, I will ask, and you will answer."

"If you dare to utter even half a lie, I will extract your primordial spirit and roast it in the sun's essence fire for ten thousand years."

"Do you understand?"

Deacon Zhang frantically rolled his eyes to show obedience, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Chu Chang flicked his sleeve slightly, releasing Steward Zhang from the vocal cord restraint.

"Please...please spare my life, senior! I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. Please ask, senior, and I will tell you everything I know!"

Deacon Zhang looked mournful, his previous arrogance completely gone.

"What is the name of this world?" Chu Chang asked.

"Replying to Senior, this realm is called the Spirit Realm, and it is one of the main realms of the Azure Origin Domain," Deacon Zhang answered honestly.

Are there immortals among them?

"Immortals?" Deacon Zhang asked, somewhat bewildered. "Legend has it that there were immortals in ancient times, but in this world today, the strongest are only at the Great Perfection of the Mahayana stage. Those Supreme Elders of Qingyuan Palace, whose cultivation is astounding, are called half-immortals, but ultimately they have not been able to achieve immortality."

"So, this place is also the end of the Dharma era?" Chu Chang frowned slightly.

"Yes...yes, I've heard from the adults that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is declining day by day. In order to maintain the cultivation of the upper sect, we can only continue to exploit the various mortal realms under our jurisdiction, absorbing their fortune and laws through the Heavenly Gate to maintain the operation of the Spirit Realm..."

Deacon Zhang's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, because he noticed that Chu Chang's expression was getting colder and colder.

Hearing this, Chu Chang finally understood.

What celestial realm? What ascension?

This is just a "second-class cabin" that is slightly more advanced than the Heavenly Dry Domain.

For its own cultivation, the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain in the Heavenly Dry Domain has severed the Heavenly Dry Domain, exploiting the mortals and cultivators at the bottom. Similarly, the Azure Origin Palace in the Spirit Realm is also severing the void for its own survival, sucking the blood of lower realms like the Heavenly Dry Domain through the White Jade Heavenly Gate.

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp.

The order of this universe is so cold, cruel, and boring.

"Senior, I've told you everything I know, please release me..."

Deacon Zhang pleaded.

"Boring."

Chu sighed.

He had thought that after smashing open the Heavenly Gate, there would be an earth-shattering battle, more profound laws of heaven and earth waiting for him to comprehend, and a brand new path to immortality for him to explore.

But in the end, it was just watching the same terrible show in a different place.

Now that we know the answer, there's no need to keep these people around.

Chu Chang didn't even make a move; it was just a thought that flashed through his mind.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The void trembled slightly, and the primordial spirits and golden cores of several cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sect, including Deacon Zhang, instantly exploded, turning into clouds of blood mist and scattering away, without even being able to utter a scream.

Inside the valley, only Li Mo, the young man in the blue robe who had been surrounded, remained, slumped on the ground, staring in disbelief at everything that had happened.

In his eyes, the unapproachable Deacon Zhang of the Lieyang Sect was nothing more than an ant in front of this young man in black.

Chu Chang glanced at him and flicked his finger.

A pill radiating abundant vitality landed in front of Li Mo.

"Eat it, then get out of here."

"Thank you so much, senior, for saving my life!"

Li Mo suddenly realized what was happening, hurriedly swallowed the pill, kowtowed several times to Chu Chang, then grabbed the Purple Cloud Fungus from the ground and scrambled away towards the valley.

Chu Chang stood in the ruins of the valley, his long hair fluttering slightly in the wind.

"Do true immortals really exist in this world?"

He looked down at the Broken Dust Ancient Sword in his hand, his expression somewhat forlorn.

Half a day later.

A terrifying red light ripped through the gray sky and descended upon the valley.

The newcomer wore a long robe with a blue dragon pattern, had a majestic face, and exuded a terrifying aura of a Great Perfection stage cultivator. He was none other than Qing Yuanzi, the Palace Master of Qing Yuan Palace, one of the rulers of the Spirit Realm.

The moment the white jade gate shattered, Qingyuan Palace received the news.

The soul tablets of the elders they sent to guard the Heavenly Gate shattered, and Qing Yuanzi, enraged, personally followed the powerful aura of the lower realm to find them.

"You sinner from the lower realm, it was you who killed the gatekeeper elder of my Qingyuan Palace and destroyed the Heavenly Gate?"

Qing Yuanzi stood in the void, looking down at Chu Chang, who was sitting on a boulder wiping his flying sword, his eyes filled with terrifying killing intent and greed.

"The period of transcending tribulation?"

Qing Yuanzi carefully examined Chu Chang, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before he sneered:

"To be able to cultivate and transcend tribulation in such a barren place as the lower realm, you are indeed an unparalleled genius. But it's a pity that you came to the Spirit Realm."

"In this world, the rules are set by my Qingyuan Palace! Even if you are a true dragon, you must coil up before me here!"

"Hand over the mortal realm's fortune within you, and offer your primordial spirit as a servant of my Qingyuan Palace, and I might spare the lives of your disciples!"

With a wave of his hand, Qing Yuanzi caused countless cyan law chains to instantly appear in the surrounding space, sweeping towards Chu Chang and entangling him.

Chu Chang didn't even raise his head.

He simply blew lightly on the blade of the Broken Dust Ancient Sword, producing a clear, ethereal sword cry.

"Why do you so-called rulers speak in the exact same tone as those two old monsters from Ten Thousand Swords Mountain?"

Chu Chang slowly stood up.

The moment he stood up, the entire sky over the Azure Origin Domain suddenly darkened.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, exceeding the limits of this world, surged forth from his body like a tidal wave.

Rumble!

In that instant, the void within a radius of tens of thousands of miles collapsed layer by layer, revealing a pitch-black void.

The azure law chains that Qing Yuanzi was determined to obtain were instantly shattered into the most primitive spiritual energy molecules and dissipated the moment they came into contact with this oppressive force.

"This...this power?!"

Qing Yuanzi's expression changed drastically. His original majesty and greed vanished in an instant, replaced by endless terror.

His body trembled in the air, and the terrifying sense of oppression almost made this Great Perfection stage Mahayana cultivator kneel down.

"You're not in the Tribulation Transcending stage! You...you're already a True Immortal?!"

"A true immortal?"

Chu Chang gave a self-deprecating laugh, and with a flicker of his figure, he instantly appeared in front of Qing Yuanzi.

It was too fast; even the laws of time couldn't catch a trace of it.

"I have no idea what a true immortal is."

Chu Chang looked at Qing Yuanzi, who was standing close at hand, sweating profusely, and spoke in a flat tone devoid of any warmth:

"All I know is that in this world, whoever I want to die, must die."

"No! I am the master of Qingyuan Palace, you cannot!"

Qing Yuanzi screamed and was about to use a forbidden technique to escape.

However, Chu Chang simply raised his right hand and gently touched Qing Yuanzi's brow with one finger.

Chaos, obliteration.

A wisp of black chaotic fire flashed and disappeared from his fingertips.

Qing Yuanzi's voice abruptly stopped.

His body, starting from his brow, gradually turned into nothingness and black ash, which dissipated into the world with a gust of wind.

Along with his primordial spirit at the Great Perfection of the Mahayana stage, and all the laws within his body, it was completely erased by this one finger, leaving not a trace.

The ruler of the Spirit Realm has fallen.

Chu Chang stood high in the sky, dressed in white as snow, with his hands behind his back.

His divine sense pierced through the void, taking in the entire Spirit Realm and even the dozen or so lower realms that it depended on.

Inside Qingyuan Palace, countless powerful figures were in chaos as they looked at Qingyuanzi's shattered soul tablet, with cries of despair filling the air.

In the ordinary city, common people are still busy making a living.

Even within the major sects, cultivators are still scheming against each other, killing and robbing for cultivation techniques and elixirs.

There is no fairyland in this world, nor is there an end point.

There is only an endless cycle and an ever-growing cage.

And now he stands at the very top of all these cages.

In this universe called "Spirit Realm," there is no one and no power that can withstand his sword strike.

"So, are we invincible now?"

Chu Chang looked at his hands, his eyes showing no joy, no excitement, only a desolate stillness like stagnant water.

Back then, carrying the Broken Dust Ancient Sword, he fought his way up Ten Thousand Swords Mountain in a bloody and turbulent manner, all for revenge and to survive.

At that time, he harbored hatred and had a goal.

Now, with all his enemies vanquished and the gates of heaven open, he stands alone with his sword, stepping onto the pinnacle of this world.

But they discovered that the view from the top of the sky was incredibly desolate.

"That's enough."

Chu Chang sheathed the Broken Dust Ancient Sword, turned around, took a step, and disappeared into the endless void.

Since this day is a cage, then he will remain a spectator at the very top of this cage.

Witness the changing of the world, witness the transition of eras.

Until the day he finds the true boundary beyond this world and cleaves the end of the universe with a single sword.

The legends of the Heavenly Dry Domain continue, and in the Spirit Realm, another invincible myth about the "Mysterious Sword God" has emerged.

But for Chu Chang...

All of this has long since lost its appeal.

(End of the book)