Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Four Elephant Mountain, Hanging Island, Jade Palace.

High in the clouds, a suspended island floats in the sky, with waterfalls cascading down its slopes, cranes soaring, and deer playing in the water...

At the very center of this floating island stands a palace entirely made of flawless white jade.

Deep within the palace, the old Celestial Master, who had been in seclusion for cultivation, suddenly stopped his practice and turned his gaze to Changzhou, tens of thousands of miles away.

The old celestial master threw his whisk into the sky, thus blocking the heavenly secrets and severing the power of the five elements that was tracing back to its source in the heavens.

He also took the opportunity of this brief connection to greet Mu An.

The two looked at each other across tens of thousands of miles and greeted each other.

Seeing that Mu An gave a friendly response and stopped spying on the secret, the old master narrowed his eyes again, and the whisk that had been hanging in the air above the hall flew back to his waist.

An invisible stream of energy, resembling the Great Dao, descended from the sky, passed through the main hall, and transformed into a colorless pearl in front of the old Celestial Master.

In the very center of the pearl, a green caterpillar transforms into a white cocoon, then emerges from the cocoon and transforms into a colorful butterfly.

The same thing happens repeatedly, playing out continuously inside the jewel.

The old celestial master on the prayer mat stretched out his right hand, grasped the precious pearl in his hand, and examined it carefully for a while.

"Breaking out of the cocoon and transforming into a butterfly is a good path. If it can be perfected and become a complete path of evolution, it would be a pleasant surprise for me."

Unfortunately, this child is too strong-willed and too sensitive.

"Upon discovering the existence of the Dao Seed, it would rather shatter its own Great Dao than let it be used by me, thus wasting one of my superior Dao Seeds in vain."

After making a remark, black and white streams of energy suddenly shot out from the old master's hand, swirling endlessly in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, the pearl was refined by the Yin and Yang energies, transforming into the purest essence of the Great Dao, which was absorbed by the Celestial Master.

After completely absorbing the essence of the Great Dao, the old Celestial Master took a blissful breath, his expression returning to its usual expressionless state.

He lightly touched the whisk and murmured to himself.

"One of the seeds planted in Wendao has been harvested ahead of schedule, and we still need to plant some more."

If another genius like Qin Sheng could emerge, it would be a pleasant surprise.

Moreover, there are Buddhist sects, demonic sects, Yunmengtai, Sword Pavilion, demon races, dragon races, spirit races...

The Nine Realms are vast, and the Dao Seeds I have planted are still too few. If I want to gather all the Daos under heaven, I need to plant more.

As for Qishan Dao... it seems that this extraterrestrial saint really has no intention of passing on his lineage in the Nine Domains, so he won't waste his Dao seed there.

The methods of the extraterrestrial deities are unpredictable. Although they may not appear to be particularly powerful on the surface, it is impossible to know what kind of trump cards they hold.

Judging from the little princess who was born ninety years ago, the same thing happened in both of her births.

His usual behavior is acceptable, but once he is pushed to the brink of death, the backup plan he left behind in his previous life will be activated, and even I am powerless to resist the power on Tian Sheng Mountain.

This Five Elements True Lord also seems to have brought his natal treasure with him, unlike the little princess who was constantly reincarnating.

The intricacies involved are impossible to fathom without stepping outside the circle; it likely involves a power struggle among countless powerful beings.

It's better not to provoke them, lest you bring unexpected changes to your life.

Moreover, it is not advisable to harm the younger generation in the mountains for the next thousand years. That young man named Zhang Ming'an is quite capable and has discovered many secrets.

If we really tear off the mask of civility, it will inevitably ruin my grand plan. Although I am not afraid, it will inevitably affect my chances of success.

As long as things develop normally, as the immortals on land in the outside world reach the end of their lives and transform into Dao, their Dao seeds will be gradually recovered, so a little bit of time won't make a difference.

Thus, a thousand years later, the Great Dao can be achieved!

……

The day after Mu An reached an agreement with the Old Celestial Master, on the banks of the Changjiang River, on an unnamed mountain.

Meng Yan, who had left early, appeared here alone. He stood in front of the small mound of earth, looking at the simple tombstone in front of him.

As the sun began to set, Meng Yan sighed and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of Qin Xiucai's grave.

"My disciple Qin Shengwu, butterflies are always accompanied by flowers. If you want to be a butterfly, then being stuck in the soil is too bleak."

We were teacher and student after all, yet we never had a proper goodbye, which is truly regrettable.

Even if Qin Sheng has changed his appearance, shattered his own path, and stood on the opposite side of me as his master, he is still my disciple in the end.

However, I still can't understand why you, my disciple, were only one step away from becoming a terrestrial immortal back then, and I had planned to help you attain your position. Why did you choose to shatter your own path at the very last moment?

Transform into a butterfly, transform into a butterfly. As a humble farmer's son, you have come to the gate of the immortals on earth. What more could you possibly want?

If this doesn't constitute a true transformation, then what exactly is the path you are seeking?

The question went unanswered, and Meng Yan's back appeared somewhat hunched as he stood before Qin Xiucai's grave.

Meng Yan's Dao heart made it impossible for him to be indifferent to this; Qin Xiucai's death had a significant impact on Meng Yan's Dao heart.

He lamented the death of Qin Xiucai and was deeply puzzled by Qin Xiucai's decision to destroy his own path back then.

Meng Yan had thought he could figure these things out through this bet and understand why Qin Xiucai's path had been shattered.

But even after Qin Xiucai's life was completely cut off, Meng Yan still didn't understand, and instead became even more confused.

Meng Yan could see clearly that when Qin Xiucai helped Zhuang Sheng perfect the Book of Great Harmony, his understanding of the Great Dao was even greater than it had been back then.

It is no exaggeration to say that Qin Xiucai played a role in the final refinement of the Book of Great Harmony that was no less significant than that of Zhuangzi.

In other words, although his disciple shattered the Great Dao, he has not given up exploring himself over the years.

From Meng Yan's perspective, given Qin Xiucai's state of mind at the last moment, if he were willing to ask them for help, the Seven Sages of Literature and Dao would be fully capable of helping Qin Xiucai break through and rebuild, re-establish the Great Dao, and ascend to the status of a terrestrial immortal in one fell swoop.

But ironically, his apprentice never asked them for help until his death.

All of this made Meng Yan increasingly troubled, and countless possibilities arose in his mind.

Ultimately, due to a lack of information, Meng Yan couldn't understand why his most prized disciple had turned out this way.

But he was certain that there was something hidden, something he hadn't noticed.

Filled with doubt, Meng Yan stood before the grave and let out a long sigh.

He raised his hand and pointed, and a surge of righteous energy flowed from his fingertip. A hazy white light swirled in the soil, and a brand-new tombstone made of jade appeared on the right side of the original stone.

Once the tombstone had completely solidified, Meng Yan used his finger as a pen to leave two lines of text on it.

"Tomb of Qin Sheng, disciple of Meng Yan and deputy head of the Wenchang Hall"

—Written by Meng Yan, Master of Wenchang Hall

As the sun sets, an elderly man with a hunched back slowly walks down the mountain path.

The long shadow was perfectly reflected on the mound of earth behind him.

Two tombstones, one shrouded in shadow, extremely simple.

A piece of land, bathed in the setting sun, gleamed brilliantly.