Chapter 520 Part 1

Chapter 520 Part 1: The Last Immortal Gate in the Mortal World (1)

Entropy?

The name that Qiao Canxue spoke surprised both Lingling Taoist Priest and Immortal Diyuan, clearly something they had never heard before.

This clearly did not come from the mortal cultivator Qiao Canxue’s memory; it was likely from the memories of the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter in a past life.

Qiao Mu looked down at the simple drawing of a barbarian sacrifice on the ground.

In the drawing, a gigantic serpent appeared in a scene of destruction, causing mountains to collapse and oceans to overturn, as if it intended to swallow the world.

"If we follow the understanding of these wild people, then the ‘entropy’ that Qiao Canxue mentioned can be seen as a snake that swallows the heavens and the worlds."

"But this does not seem to completely match with the ouroboros."

With a quick movement of his hand, a round coin appeared in Qiao Mu’s hand, featuring a design of a snake eating its own tail.

This coin came from the demon world that Qiao Mu had once reached; it was a token from the chief of the Ring Snake tribe, Nine Dead Demon Lord Qiao Busi.

When Qiao Mu arrived, the strongest being in the demon world, Nine Dead Demon Lord Qiao Busi, had already fallen victim to the Immortal Lord Qingxuan’s poison, along with Immortal Diyuan, who was also defeated and nearly dead.

Qiao Mu sank his mind into the sea of his heart.

A Long Life Lock, made of a material like jade and stone, once again floated in his mind.

The Long Life Lock was now free of chains; on the lock was a design of a snake eating its own tail, forming a circular ring around it, with four big characters inside.

Immortal and Undying.

In the countless realms of existence, there are two types of beings that have achieved immortality; their lifespans are endless, living as long as the heavens and the earth.

One is the True Immortal that is cultivated through effort, and the other is the Ancient Gods and Demons that are born from the primordial essence.

The former is the ultimate path of cultivation for all beings, while the latter represents the awakened natural laws.

However, even the Gods, Demons, and True Immortals will eventually face death.

Even the Heavenly Emperor, the ruler of the celestial realm who has proven that all laws are unbreakable, still died in the ruins of heaven, his body falling into the Return Ruins.

Conversely, Qiao Mu was born immortal; he stood from the very beginning at the endpoint of all beings in the countless realms.

So, where does his power of immortality come from?

Although Qiao Mu does not yet know all the answers, he is already aware that he is very close.

Qiao Canxue is the guide who led Qiao Mu on his martial journey, the techniques of Long Life Fist and Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, which he relies on for survival, were all taught by Qiao Canxue.

Now looking back, in this long life of sixty-nine thousand years, Qiao Canxue certainly did not participate deeply, but each encounter often came at a crucial moment.

There is no need to mention the past from when I was young in Yan City.

When we met again in Zhong Province under the name of "Qiao Shui," it was Qiao Canxue who brought the complete "Long Life Fist Sutra" that Qiao Mu was desperately seeking at that time.

Qiao Mu silently gazed at Qiao Canxue, who had her eyes closed.

If Qiao Canxue saw in him a large, coiled serpent shadow.

Then Qiao Mu also saw the shadow of the Heavenly Emperor in Qiao Canxue.

"It seems like a coincidence, but in reality…"

Remembering the body of the Heavenly Emperor in the ruins of the Heavenly Palace, Qiao Mu shook his head.

"Now that it has come to this, let’s go." Qiao Mu said deeply.

"It is time to settle things with the Soul Predicting Path."

In today’s Jiu Province world, not only have pieces of the fairy realm like Kunlun Mountain appeared, but it also overlaps with the Wilderness Realm.

From his experience of traveling through a thousand worlds, this means that the Great Collapse is about to sweep through the Jiu Province world.

It is like an earthquake; before the disaster, there are always some signs.

But when the earthquake truly comes, it does not shake little by little and gradually increase; instead, the ground shakes violently and tears apart suddenly.

……………………………………..

In the Soul Predicting Path sect at the mouth of the sea near Baichuan City in Southeast Province.

The sect leader stands on the mountain, gazing far away, like a statue.

"Sect leader, the army of those mortal martial artists has already reached our sect’s doorstep."

Elder Shaoyang walked over at this moment, his face showing worry as he spoke.

He had already reached the Soul Changing Stage and was now one of the last remaining elders at this stage in the sect.

"At this point, what can we do?"

The leader of the Soul Predicting Path sect shook his head; even though they were pushed to their doorstep, he seemed not to care very much.

This made Elder Shaoyang feel upset, and he could no longer hold back, saying directly:

"Sect leader, you are being very foolish. You missed the important event of the Long Life Gate being surrounded, and you have even allowed the powers of the Immortal Gate and the temples in Jiu Province to be slowly eaten away."

"At this point, should we just wait and do nothing?"

After these words were spoken, the almost-statue-like leader of the Soul Predicting Path sect turned to look at Elder Shaoyang and finally nodded.

"You are right; we should take some action."

Elder Shaoyang just felt a spark of joy in his heart, but then he heard the leader of the Soul Predicting Path sect give an order:

"Send a message to the small world, asking Taoist Child and all the other cultivators who are staying in the small world to move out completely."

"Huh?" Elder Shaoyang was instantly shocked, and even began to doubt if the sect leader had been possessed by an enemy…

The young cultivators like Taoist Child who stayed in the small world were there as a spark for the sect’s future.

It was similar to how, fifty years ago, the Soul Predicting Path retreated from the power of the Qiao family and hid in the small world to escape the ‘Qiao disaster.’

If they faced a similar disaster again, perhaps one day the sect could rise again like Mount Dong, but the sect leader meant…

………………………………

The Sky River Immortal Boat sailed along the mighty Sky Piercing River toward the east, grand and magnificent.

This Immortal Boat was extremely fast, and it wouldn’t take long to travel from Nan Province to Southeast Province.

Qiao Mu and his friends’ goal is the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate by Baichuan City in Southeast Province.

Baichuan City is at the mouth of the Sky Piercing River in Southeast Province, named for the many rivers that flow into the sea, making it the first port in the southeast of Jiu Province.

"The hundreds of rivers flow east to the sea; when will they return west… This Sky Piercing River has indeed returned west before, but this time it flows east again."

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit stood beside Qiao Mu, looking worried as it did before.

Survival is the instinct of any living being, and it is no different for it, born from the Sky Piercing River.

At this moment, its thoughts were not on the grand Inhuman War in the human world of Jiu Province but were immersed in the shadow of the Great Collapse.

"You said there is a water god, so what about the water spirit?" Qiao Mu turned to ask Immortal Diyuan beside him.

"She is considered a creature of nature, close to a natural deity, but even natural deities are very different from the Ancient Gods and Demons," Immortal Diyuan replied, shaking his head.

The Gods and Demons and the True Immortal are two kinds of beings that enter the realm of immortality.

Although the Sky Piercing Water Spirit is extraordinary, currently it can only be considered a king of demons among humans, with great power.

"I heard that the cultivation of demons is a path of returning to their ancestors, ultimately getting closer to the original ancestors of each race," Qiao Mu thought of the Feather King Qin Li.

"And the water spirit was also born from the sky and earth, with no ancestral bloodline. How can she return to her ancestor’s bloodline?"

"The so-called return to ancestors does not necessarily mean a return by bloodline…" Immortal Diyuan shook his head.

"From the river spirit to the river’s flow… as more rivers are controlled. If we go further up, perhaps it represents the source of all rivers in ancient gods and demons?"

"Are you saying that the demon race will return to the direction of Ancient Gods and Demons?" Qiao Mu was taken aback.

"I have heard this saying, but it has yet to be confirmed," Immortal Diyuan shook her head, not completely certain.

The age of the Ancient Gods and Demons is already a thing of the past, and now neither gods, demons, nor the immortal realm exist anymore.

The multitude of worlds has been caught in the Great Collapse; even the Heavenly Emperor is not an exception. Who still cares about returning to ancestors?

"Baichuan City is almost here," Qiao Mu closed his eyes.

Baichuan City is a place where many rivers flow together into the sea, and the Sky Piercing River is just one of the largest rivers, not the only one.

At this moment, after he closed his eyes, his spiritual refining intuition sensed countless tiny points of light, flowing toward this place from all directions of Jiu Province like rivers going to the sea.

The Spiritual Sound Conducting Technique was created by Qiao Mu long ago, and later spread to Jiu Province, used by the spiritual refining masters in the martial world and the Flying Fish Guard of the Great Yan Imperial Court.

Today, the number of Spirit Refining martial artists is very different from that of the martial world fifty years ago or one hundred years ago. In Qiao Mu’s sharp intuition, it felt like there were countless voices around him communicating, sharing the latest news of the Inhuman War.

The Spiritual Sound Conducting Technique of the past has now woven a huge spiritual net made up of many Spirit Refining martial artists across the land of Jiu Province.

"Southern King Wang Songhe leads five thousand mountain troops to destroy the incense temples of Southeast Province; the Immortal Gate’s foundation has been emptied."

"Commander Wei En of the Flying Fish Guard leads one thousand Flying Fish Guard members and ten thousand Great Yan soldiers to provide support!"

"Xue Changhe, Wu Mingkong, and Qiao Feixian have returned from Nan Province and have arrived before the mountain gate of Soul Predicting Path…"

"……"

When Qiao Mu left Jiu Province, the South King and the Great Yan Imperial Court stood in opposition, although they were still in a period of recovery, there was already a sense of confrontation between them.

However, the returning Immortal Gate quickly became their greatest enemy, forcing everyone to join forces until now.

Qiao Mu closed his eyes, and messages exchanged like stars shining in the night sky, dazzling for a moment.

"The time for counterattack has come; there is only one great Immortal Gate left in the world!"

"The Inhuman War is coming to an end; once we take this step, the sky will be high and the clouds vast!"

"This is an unprecedented era of martial arts; after a century of chaos, it will end today, and whether we succeed or fail will be decided today!"

Many soldiers and martial artists were filled with excitement, and the communications of the Spirit Link network surged like a mighty tide.

This made Qiao Mu, who returned after fifty years, unconsciously feel a vague and indescribable emotion in his heart.

"Let’s go take a look."

He leaped into the air, his feet becoming clouds, swiftly moving through the sky.

On the fairy mountain at the sea entrance, is the place where the Soul Predicting Path’s sect is located.

At this moment, a faint spiritual light surrounded the sect, and the Mountain Protection Formation had already been activated. The battle between the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate and the martial artists of the human world had long begun.

At this moment, three thousand Immortal Slaying Army soldiers were already assembled and climbing the mountain, with more and more soldiers and martial artists from various places pouring in like a rising tide, surrounding the lonely mountain like a flood.

Sizzle!

In an instant, Qiao Mu’s figure had soared across the sky, leaving a long white trail behind him, waving like a ribbon in the wind.

"White Rainbow Across the Sun!"

This sudden occurrence naturally caught the attention of many martial artists on the battlefield.

At first, they thought it was the amazing Wu Mingkong, the Wujing Empress.

But when someone looked up, they immediately noticed a familiar figure.

"Is that… a member of the Qiao family?"

"Is it the ancestor of the Qiao family, Qiao Huo, who is said to have returned from beyond the sky?"

The martial artists were greatly shocked.

The current martial arts in Jiu Province are based on the "Human Path Sutra." It may not quite be a method for immortality, but calling it a method for longevity is not wrong.

The "Long Life Fist Sutra" remains powerful even in old age, and the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" helps maintain strong energy and improve health, allowing the elderly to experience a second spring.

The combined "Human Path Sutra" is the path to longevity for ordinary martial artists.

Setting aside extraordinary figures like Founding Emperor Yan and Earth Sword Immortal.

A martial artist like Li Changshi has lived peacefully to over a hundred years old, full of energy and vitality.

While their lifespan is far from that of an immortal cultivator, it is certainly considered long compared to ordinary people.

The martial artists appearing on the Soul Predicting Path battlefield are mostly top-notch experts, with many of them over seventy years old, having successfully practiced the Human Path Sutra, and older than Xue Changhe and his friends.

The younger martial artists in their thirties or forties have not lived through the times of the Qiao family members and often only heard stories from their parents.

However, the top experts on the battlefield, who are older, are different.

They experienced the era when the Qiao family members swept through the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates, and when Qiao Huo appeared, they were almost in a frenzy.

"Qiao family member, Qiao Huo?!"

"The Martial Ancestor family has really returned to Jiu Province, just like the rumors say?"

At this moment, all the martial artists on the battlefield were deeply moved.

Any martial artist of an older age knows what the Qiao family member brought to Jiu Province fifty years ago.

Fifty years ago, the Immortal Gate hung over Jiu Province like a dark cloud, while the Qiao family member was like a flash of lightning, tearing through the sky for a moment and briefly illuminating the world.

The Qiao family member came and went, but what they left behind was far more than just this moment of brightness.

Today, Jiu Province is in an exceptionally brilliant era of martial arts, but the foundation of martial arts was rooted during those three years.

The saying "One Sage, One Ancestor, Five Peerless Ones" reflects that the breakthroughs in martial skills fifty years later are greatly connected to the Qiao family member from that time.

From this perspective, even well-known martial artists like Founding Emperor Yan and Earth Sword Immortal, who became famous before the Qiao family member, still owe a debt of gratitude to them.

Others, like Xue Changhe, Wu Mingkong, and Qiao Feixian, are actually the juniors in front of the Qiao family member.

The peach and plum trees planted fifty years ago at Peach Blossom Villa have now spread across the world and are in full, dazzling bloom.