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

Three days later, at the foot of Mount Sixiang.

Su Xiang, dressed in his neatly made official robe, stepped up the stairs leading to the top of the mountain.

Sixiang Mountain has four main peaks and one sacred mountain.

The Taiwei Palace, where the Celestial Master's Mansion is located, is situated halfway up the Immortal Mountain.

The mountain is over 10,000 meters high, and there are more than 100,000 steps to climb from the foot of the mountain to the top.

From lush green grass to swirling clouds and mist, it's like a path to heaven.

At the summit of White Tiger Peak, Ming Jiayu and Zhang Ming'an leaned against each other, holding an oil-paper umbrella.

"Junior Uncle, who is this person coming up the mountain? He looks so aggressive, shouldn't we stop him?"

"Su Xiang, the Prime Minister of the Great Qi Dynasty, is the only disciple of Qin Sheng, the former Deputy Hall Master of the Wenchang Hall..."

After giving Ming Jiayu a brief introduction to Su Xiang, Zhang Ming'an narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Let him go up the mountain; there are some questions I also want answered..."

"Oh? What other problem could possibly stump a genius like you, Junior Uncle?"

Zhang Ming'an slowly opened his squinting eyes and looked up at the clouds.

Deep within the clouds and mist, a fairy island appears and disappears.

Gazing at the fairy island deep in the clouds, Zhang Ming'an murmured softly.

"What exactly is an immortal? And what exactly is a human? We seek the Dao, but what is it that we are ultimately searching for...?"

Similar conversations took place at the summit of the Four Peaks, but the masters of the four peaks of the Four Symbols Mountain chose to ignore them and let Su Xiang proceed towards the summit.

One command after another from the Peak Master reached the hearts of the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion, and all the disciples who wanted to step forward to inquire or stop him were stopped by their own elders.

……

Halfway up the mountain.

After crossing the vast, shimmering lake, a palace made of white jade came into Su Xiang's view.

Unlike the magnificent Daqi Palace, the Taiwei Palace, which symbolizes the power of the Celestial Master, is made entirely of white jade and is filled with a vibrant spirituality.

The immense power of heaven and earth gathers here, giving everything that lives here a touch of spirituality.

One hundred and eight pillars support the entire palace, and the carvings on them are clearly visible.

Mountains, rivers, plants, trees, sun, moon, stars...

Each pillar is a hundred meters high, overlooking the heavens and earth and all living beings, as well as Su Xiang standing in front of the palace.

Just like the Celestial Master's Mansion located here, it has remained detached from worldly affairs for thousands of years.

Su Xiang stopped in front of Taiwei Palace.

This place was not his final destination, but without the permission of the land's inhabitants, he had no possibility of continuing forward.

As Su Xiang bowed in greeting, a sea of ​​clouds surged forth from the main hall of Taiwei Palace, wisps of green smoke rising, creating a dreamlike and illusory scene, accompanied by various strange phenomena.

Two voices rang in his ears at the same time, one old and one young.

"You may proceed on your own." The aged voice came from Li Tailing, the current Celestial Master of Sixiang Mountain, an old man who was always in seclusion and had little presence.

"Follow the mountain path upwards, and at the summit lies a fairy island. With your sword, you can part the sea of ​​clouds."

The young voice came from Zhang Ming'an, Li Tailing's last disciple, the acting Celestial Master of Sixiang Mountain, and the sixth in the world.

As the two voices faded, Su Xiang raised his head again and walked with firm steps toward the misty main hall.

Behind the main hall are the steps leading to the mountain peak, which is also the place in the Nine Realms closest to the heavens.

……

Step over the last step.

The vast mountaintop came into Su Xiang's view.

He swept his gaze across the empty mountaintop and looked up at the sky above.

The sea of ​​clouds rolled and blocked the celestial islands high in the sky.

Standing at the highest point of Mount Sixiang, Su Xiang realized how insignificant he was, so insignificant that he couldn't even see where the fairy island above the clouds was.

After looking up for a while, Su Xiang found a rock and sat down silently.

He lowered his head, placed the Qiming sword on his lap, and wiped it with his sleeve again and again.

The Qiming Sword trembled slightly, responding to Su Xiang's movements.

In the vast city of Qi'an, Su Xiang is one of the few people qualified to use the Qiming Sword.

No one in the world is perfect, and the sword of humanity allows its users to have their own flaws.

Once, twice, three times... Su Xiang wiped it a hundred times before standing up again and looking at the thick clouds overhead.

He drew his sword, swung it, and sheathed it.

Golden light emanated from the sword, dispelling the thick clouds and revealing the celestial islands high in the heavens to the mortal realm.

Black and white fish swam around the fairy island, isolating it from the human world.

Even at this point, the supreme sage above the nine heavens did not respond to the people on the mountain.

Looking up at the celestial island standing high in the heavens, and at the vast and boundless palace complex on the island, Su Xiang smiled.

The laughter was manic, unrestrained, and chilling.

He could see it clearly; the layout of the palace was exactly the same as the map of the Nine Regions inside the Great Qi Imperial Palace.

The palace that should have represented the Great Qi and the city of Qi'an has disappeared from the complex.

Qi'an City fell just three days ago, and it's still there; there are still people continuing to resist...

Since things have come to this point, there's no need to say anything more.

The deceased emperor did not beg for anyone's charity, nor did the ministers who represented his will.

Standing atop the mountain, facing the howling mountain wind, Su Xiang slowly drew the Qiming Sword from his hand.

Golden light swept in all directions, turning Su Xiang's robes gold.

"Prime Minister Su Xiang of the Great Qi Dynasty has three questions, and hopes that the Supreme Sage of Heaven and Earth will grant him guidance."

The wind on the mountaintop paused for a moment, then became even more intense. High above, the scattered clouds regrouped, turning into thick, inky clouds.

Mountains and rivers, ancient towns and villages, and countless people...

Amidst the shimmering golden light, illusory figures appeared, reflected behind Su Xiang.

Looking up at the thick clouds overhead, Su Xiang raised the sword in his hand.

"My first question is for the Supreme Sage, on behalf of my king: Demons slaughtered the city, and meteors fell from the sky—what wrong has the Great Qi done?"

Purple lightning descended from the sky, striking the mountaintop hard. Amidst the swirling purple lightning, Su Xiang bent over.

Golden light emanated from the Qiming Sword, desperately resisting the thunder that symbolized destiny.

Amidst the booming thunder, cracks began to appear on the surface of the Qiming Sword.

His teeth were crushed, and blood spilled from his mouth. Su Xiang straightened up again and held the tattered books in his arms high.

"My second question is, on behalf of my teacher, I would like to ask the most revered sage for guidance on how he saved the world and transformed insects into butterflies. What wrong has my teacher done?"

The lightning grew even brighter, its purple light spreading and turning the entire sky purple. A second bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and struck the people on the mountaintop.

The tattered books quietly crumbled, transforming into milky-white butterflies that circled around Su Xiang.

Under the raging thunder, the fragile butterflies only lasted for a moment before disappearing into the world. Golden light followed, and illusory figures of humanity appeared one after another, but they still could not withstand the overwhelming power of heaven.

Amidst the deafening thunder, Su Xiang was slammed to the ground.

He struggled to get up, but was repeatedly overwhelmed by the overwhelming pressure of heaven and earth.

The Qiming Sword fell to the side, Su Xiang's hair turned white rapidly, and one wound after another opened up on his body, overflowing with bright red blood.

"The...the...third..."

The sound was intermittent, accompanied by rapid and weak breathing.

High above, a third bolt of lightning was being formed.

Five flying swords flew in from a distance, forming a sword array above Su Xiang.

The moment the flying sword appeared, the lightning that was about to strike stopped.

A blue light descended from the sky, giving those on the ground a chance to catch their breath.

If Su Xiang were to give up now, he might still have a sliver of a chance to survive.

But he did not give up. Su Xiang, lying on the ground, stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with blood. He used his blood-soaked hands to support himself on the ground, struggling to get up.

Blood dripped from his body, congealing into a pool on the ground atop the mountain.

Amidst a multitude of complex gazes, Su Xiang stood up and fell down repeatedly, finally straightening his body and shouting towards the immortal island high in the heavens.

"My third question is for the Sage to answer on behalf of all people: the world is a game of chess, and all living beings are pieces. Life and death are decided by the sage; what wrong have the people done?"

A hand with shattered meridians gripped the blade of the Qiming Sword. Ancient cities and towns, grand palaces and thatched huts, countless ordinary people...

Phantom images symbolizing humanity appeared one after another, rushing into the sword, and dazzling sword light soared into the sky.

At this moment, Su Xiang saw his younger self, his sister whom he depended on for survival, the hypocritical Qin Xiucai, the always-smiling Zhuang Sheng, and all the little things that had happened along his journey...

Finally, he saw the emperor in the light and shadow.

Even if we are as weak as ants, we still have the courage to raise our swords against the enemy!

Swing your sword! Swing your sword! Swing your sword!

The golden sword light shot into the sky, plunged into the thunderclouds, and disappeared into the vast heavens.

The person on the mountaintop remained motionless, maintaining the gesture of swinging a sword.

"Crackling..."

The longsword fell to the ground, its golden light vanishing and replaced by cracks.

The man holding the sword fell to one side and fell completely silent.