Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 613: Nine Thunders Divine Ark

In the quiet hours past midnight, the Hall of Soaring Thunder was dead silent

The Thunder Department selection had drawn to a close. The names of nine freshly minted Rank 6 Heavenly Officers shone brilliantly on the Thunder Rankings, drawing the envy and aspiration from the young talents of this vast land.

To belong to the Thunder Department, regardless of rank, meant being an Arbiter.

Although the nine finalists possessed no real power just yet, it wouldn't be long before they did. Among them, the name Lu Yao caught the most attention.

Yun Xiao had relayed this news through Moon Fairy to Liu Mumu and Miss Yu, which immediately caused the two to burst into tears of joy. He cared about these two deeply, and knowing that this news brought them such joy and pride filled him with satisfaction.

He had fulfilled a dream of Lu Yao. Now, every Immortal across the Thunder Department remembered the name of that unremarkable Rank 9 Arbiter Initiate from Sky Soaring City.

But even in this moment of solace, the disappearance of Cao Shuo stirred unease in Yun Xiao. The fact that she still hadn't returned so late into the night likely meant whoever had taken her away was unwilling to let her go.

"Is he waiting for me to meet my downfall at the Divine Gateway?" Yun Xiao mused to himself. He'd gained a thorough understanding of all the high officials of the Thunder Department. Apart from Cao Shuo, all of them were self-righteous and self-serving.

"Well, let's see..." Yun Xiao closed his eyes and focused.

Within the darkness, his Buddha's Treasure Spirit wrapped in dense azure spiritual lightning, manifested the appearance of the Creator Immortal. It was an elegant and righteous presence, subtly aligned with the Prison Warden Sigil, radiating a sense of sacred solemnity and profound compassion.

After practicing the Buddha's Treasure Art, Yun Xiao's spirit contained the expanse of the cosmos, becoming vivid and lifelike. Viewing the world through this enlightened perspective, his emotions—joy, wrath, greed, and foolishness—seemed purified, his desires washed away, leaving him serene and desireless.

Within Yun Xiao's body was the Primordial Void, and within his soul and spirit, the cosmos itself.

"Spirit and will as one, soar through the celestial expanse!" Yun Xiao muttered.

From the Divine Self Realm to the Celestial Expanse Realm required one critical process. The spirit had to detach from the fleshly body and travel a far enough distance; it was a feat that demanded a leap in the quality of the spirit, both in power and resilience.

Now, after reaching the Establishment Divine Self Realm and learning the Buddha's Treasure Art, Yun Xiao was qualified to step into the next realm.

"Lord Lu was at this level too. He tried to use his spirit to assassinate me from a distance; now, it's my turn for my spirit to ascend the celestial expanse too…" Yun Xiao murmured. The Heaven Burial Sword Soul in his hand transformed into a three-inch Flying Sword and circled his fingertip.

His spirit, not even an inch tall, held the tiny Flying Sword. His spirit and Sword Soul unified; his thoughts and intentions became one.

"Go!" Yun Xiao commanded. His spirit, aboard the Flying Sword, soared out of the Hall of Soaring Thunder and flew into the distance!

Viewing the world through the perspective of his spirit was profoundly different. He could more clearly see the Celestial Sourcecore, the flow of celestial power, and magic formations. Meanwhile, the people, buildings, and streets appeared to fade to clouds and smoke.

The world became a vast tapestry of energy—only power and perception mattered.

From this vantage point, the essence of the world seemed clearer, offering Yun Xiao a revelation that shook him to the core.

"The dao realm consists of energy and consciousness; all else is irrelevant."

Beings were merely parts of consciousness.

The Buddha's Treasure Art represented the most fundamental form of consciousness.

The Celestial Sourcecore and spiritual essence of heaven and earth were the fundamental energies.

"All things under heaven are born of energy and consciousness!" Yun Xiao remarked.

After coming to this realization, his spirit roamed the heavens and earth more freely, no longer just a part of the body but now the essence of his consciousness.

The body was merely a vessel for energy. Consciousness existed between heaven and earth on its own. Separated from energy, consciousness could still traverse the world.

And, of course, the Heaven Burial Sword Soul was also a vessel for energy, complementing the spirit.

Though still slightly perturbed, Yun Xiao entered a state of self-forgetfulness, soaring above the sacred land of the Thunder Department with his spirit, observing the many Immortals below.

Yun Xiao saw not their expressions or gestures but the oscillations of their spirits and energies. At the center of each Immortal, where the Dantian lay, the interplay of spirit and celestial power created ripples, like the Buddha's Treasure Art, storing each person’s karma and thoughts.

The ripples were enchanting.

"Is this ripple what we call humanity?" Yun Xiao wondered, a hum vibrating through his consciousness.

In such a revelation, all worldly things—including love, hate, passion, and desire—drifted away, losing their significance.

"No wonder, the higher a cultivator climbs, the colder they become, the more they disregard life. In the realm of energy and consciousness, life is equal, but consciousness is not; the greater the consciousness, the more it tends to consume the lesser. In this world of energy and consciousness, there are no morals, no good or evil, just a convergence into one."

For Yun Xiao, this truth was a harsh one, for it lent a sort of righteousness to those advocating the incense offerings, a notion deeply unsettling to him.

His spirit took a deep breath, a gesture that helped him recover from his shock momentarily.

"That's not right..." Yun Xiao's gaze intensified. "Just because it's like this doesn't mean it's correct. If I were the Creator Immortal setting the framework of the dao realm, then the concept of righteousness would merely be foreign to me. If I remained that emotionless being, holding the mandate of heaven, then nothing would change. But now, the Creator Immortal has fallen and been reborn…

"This perhaps means that there are flaws and problems with my past obsessions. Since I've been reborn, it's not to follow the fixations of my past life but to identify flaws now and forge new paths, to create a better world."

This was undoubtedly the most crucial realization in Yun Xiao's spiritual journey. To remake himself as the old Creator Immortal? What would be the point of returning to a fallen past?

Now, having gained control of the Ten Primordial Coffins and transformed two Dao Sources into a Sword Soul and a Life Sigil, Yun Xiao's new path should be to surpass the Creator Immortal.

To transcend, Yun Xiao should not accept everything about this dao realm as the cold hard truth, but should view it from the fresh perspective of a mortal, from the ground up.

With this thought, Yun Xiao suddenly felt at ease. His thoughts became grander, his spirit bold!

"Beyond energy and consciousness, does a third fundamental element exist in this world? If it lacks this foundation, is the Dao imperfect? Is it destined for destruction? What is this third foundation?" Yun Xiao pondered this question.

His spirit, riding the Flying Sword, traveled further and further, not just reaching the celestial expanse but surpassing it, invisibly flying to the very edge of the sacred land of the Thunder Department.

Today, Yun Xiao had found no answers, but his eyes blazed with the certainty that this path would lead to them eventually. He looked back at the intertwining lightning of the Thunder Immortal Formation, his gaze then drifting to the multitudes moving within the complex web of consciousness, his heart filled with myriad thoughts.

"Time to return."

Yun Xiao's spirit, diminutive yet determined, turned around and mounted the Flying Sword, stylishly retreating over a trail of azure lightning snakes. This journey had nurtured his spirit to a sufficient strength.

BUZZ! As Yun Xiao's spirit returned to his Dantian, settling upon the Primordial Sacred Wheel and Worldly Dao Heart, it was as though he found his meditation mat. His energy and consciousness merged into one. He clasped his hand in prayer and beheld the world, his heart free of scars.

The Primordial Void began to rotate, absorbing the Tri Heaven Sariras, growing ever more formidable.

Another hum marked Yun Xiao's step into the fourth realm of the Third Dao Tribulation—the Celestial Expanse Realm!

His physical body, spirit, Sword Soul, and Life Sigil all leaped in evolution.

As dawn's light crept over the Thunder Department, another night had passed.

"Cao Shuo still hasn't returned." Yun Xiao was not perturbed; after all, with his origins undisclosed, none would dare harm her.

"If I use the Thunder Immortal Formation to blast Cao Shuo out now, then I can't go to the Divine Gateway."

With this thought, only one path lay before him.

As the blazing divine light of the earth and sky shone into the cultivation chamber of the Hall of Soaring Thunder, Yun Xiao looked up towards the direction of the Divine Gateway and murmured, "Chaos Sovereign Lu, you owe the Lu Family mother and sons so much. It's about time you pay them back."

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At dawn, Gu Suwan came looking for Yun Xiao. She had stayed away the previous night when Yun Xiao had gone to seek out Cao Sheng, and now she pretended to be unaware of Cao Shuo's circumstances. She knocked softly at the door, her voice gentle, "Yao'er, your mother is here to take you to the Nine Thunders Arena. Everyone is gathering there to head to the Divine Gateway together."

Releasing anyone wasn't really within Gu Suwan's power. So, Yun Xiao saw no point in holding her accountable, especially right after receiving 800,000 True Immortal Jades from her household.

Yun Xiao straightened his clothes and donned his Rank 9 Arbiter armor before stepping outside.

"Why not change into something else? I've prepared something for you," Gu Suwan suggested, pulling a splendidly ornate, protective robe of gold thread and jade from her Bag of Holding.

"No need. For the Immortal Tournament, it's fitting to wear the uniform," Yun Xiao said, pushing her hand away and striding out.

"This child..." Gu Suwan muttered, taking his mood to be a tantrum over Cao Shuo's situation, and let him be.

Catching up to him, she added, "The Thunder Department rules state that of the nine distinguished Arbiters going to the Divine Gateway, only one family member can accompany each. Your foster father is busy with Thunder Department duties, so it'll just be your mother cheering you on."

Yun Xiao didn't reply and simply rode his Flying Sword to the Nine Thunders Arena.

With a resigned smile, Gu Suwan followed, cooing and cajoling as if dealing with a child's mood.

Upon reaching the Nine Thunders Arena, everyone seemed ready to depart.

Yun Xiao looked up to see a massive violet thunder ship beside the Thunder Rankings, resembling a deep-sea leviathan with nine thunderous eyes on its crown. These eyes shot out endless lightning snakes that wrapped around the ship, bursting and flashing with thunderous light.

These nine thunderous eyes were Celestial Sourcecores driving the giant ship.

"Quick, get on the Nine Thunders Divine Ark. They're all up there," Gu Suwan urged gently.

Yun Xiao glanced at her and asked, "Has the Nine Thunders Sovereign returned?"

"Not yet," Gu Suwan smiled. "With such a large group of us heading to the Divine Gateway for the Immortal Tournament, it must be done with grandeur. So, the Nine Thunders Sovereign personally lent us his vessel."

"Okay."

Without further questions, Yun Xiao and Gu Suwan ascended through the dense lightning net of the Nine Thunders Divine Ark and landed on the opulent deck of the luxurious ship.

Around thirty people were gathered!

The head of the group, whom Yun Xiao had just met the previous night, was the Eight Paths Cloud and Thunder General Yun Yin. He held a necklace strung with nine thunder beads, likely the control core of the Nine Thunders Divine Ark.

After seeing Yun Xiao, Yun Yin softly smiled. "Good. Everyone's gathered. Now, my dear young talents of the Thunder Department, let us depart!"