These several hundred figures streaked across the night sky like a meteor shower. As the distance closed, the crowd could clearly see the identities of this group—they were actually a host of immortal path experts from the Wuling Immortal Realm, all uniformly Great Desolate Spirit Immortals.
If they were merely ordinary Great Desolate Spirit Immortals, they naturally wouldn't deserve the title 'immortal path experts'.
As is widely known,
Great Luo Golden Immortals cultivate the Nine Luminaries and open the Great Luo Five-Phase Yin-Yang Gates.
While Great Desolate Spirit Immortals cultivate the Nine Harmonies and open the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates.
An ancient saying goes: Open the Five-Phase Yin-Yang Gates, and the truths of nature are yours to seek.
Open the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates, and you become the foundation of Heaven and Earth's Great Dao.
This means that opening the Great Luo Five-Phase Yin-Yang Gates allows one to pursue the true essence of the great nature.
Whereas opening the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates allows one to transcend birth, aging, sickness, and death, achieve a source of the Dao, and henceforth roam freely between heaven and earth.
Some say the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates are the most important hurdle on the path of seeking immortality.
If one cannot cross it, they might remain that way their entire life. Failing to open the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates means one can never fuse their immortal spirit with their physical body. Although they can pursue the truths of nature, that is all they can do. If they encounter any of the Three Calamities, Six Disasters, or Nine Tribulations, and luck is not on their side, they might very well be reduced to ashes.
If one can cross this hurdle, they can open the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates. From then on, their immortal spirit and physical body become one. The body is the immortal spirit, and the immortal spirit is the body. The form is the form, and also the spirit. They completely shed their flesh-and-blood vessel. Their immortal path flesh body also transforms into an immortal path spirit body, truly transcending so-called birth, aging, sickness, and death, becoming a spiritual source of the immortal path.
In the current era, across the myriad heavens and worlds, Great Desolate Spirit Immortals might be a dime a dozen. Some rely on the revival of all things in the current era, abundant spiritual energy, and rich resources to be forcefully elevated. Others have painstakingly cultivated bit by bit since the Ancient Times.
However,
these Great Desolate Spirit Immortals are, at best, Great Desolate Spirit Immortals in name only. Because they have not opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates. The Yin-Yang Life-Death Gates of a Great Luo Golden Immortal might be forcibly opened through various arrays, miraculous elixirs, abundant resources, and so on. However, the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates of a Great Desolate Spirit Immortal are extremely difficult to force open with external aid.
This thing places very high demands on a person's talent, comprehension, opportunity, luck, destiny, and so on, and all are indispensable.
Looking across the thousands of people present, there were quite a few Great Desolate Spirit Immortals, including many immortals conferred by the Nine Heavens, such as the Upper Immortals Mo Baiyu, Fu Ying, Yun Zhou, and others who had received the immortal path's edict.
However, Great Desolate Spirit Immortals who had opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates were exceedingly few. Counting them all, there were no more than three. Shangguan Dong's father, Shangguan Feixing, was one of them. He had opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates. Although he was only a Wu-Gui Spirit Immortal, not even considered a single Harmony, he had at least opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates.
Even among Great Desolate Spirit Immortals, whether one has opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates makes a world of difference.
An ordinary Great Desolate Spirit Immortal, no matter how high their immortal power, only commands Yin-Yang and the Five-Phase.
A Great Desolate Spirit Immortal who has opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates commands immortal power that is the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches—more powerful and profound than Yin-Yang and the Five-Phase.
What was astonishing was that among the several hundred people from the Wuling Immortal Realm this time, although most were also ordinary Great Desolate Spirit Immortals, there were actually thirty or forty Great Desolate Spirit Immortals who had opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates. Moreover, there were not only Wu-Gui Spirit Immortals but also the more powerful Ding-Ren Spirit Immortals and Bing-Xin Spirit Immortals.
Consider that among the thousands present, which included various immortals and experts from major immortal families, the Great Desolate Spirit Immortals who had opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates numbered only a handful.
Now, the Wuling Immortal Realm had brought dozens of such Great Desolate Spirit Immortals at once. This lineup could not be considered anything but powerful. One couldn't help but sigh in admiration: the Wuling Immortal Realm truly lived up to its reputation as a great immortal realm in the Lingluo Heavenly Domain. Merely because Yuanwu was injured, they had sent so many immortal path experts.
However,
the most astonishing thing was not just these dozens of Great Desolate Spirit Immortals who had opened the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches Life-Death Gates, but the middle-aged man and middle-aged woman leading them.
The identities of these two were extraordinary.
They were none other than Yuanwu's master and mistress, also the famous Ancient Immortal Jin Yan and Ancient Immortal Wu Hua of the Lingluo Heavenly Domain.
Everyone knew that those honored as Immortal and Immortal in the Ancient Times were, without exception, powerful existences who had ascended the Great Dao Heavenly Ladder. They not only possessed profound cultivation but also powerful destinies, and their personal strength was unparalleled.
The earlier incident where Immortal Lixin had beaten Bai Ze half to death with just a few slaps was a perfect example.
Although Bai Ze was not an Upper Immortal who had received the immortal path's edict, he was, after all, a disciple of the Eternal Life Pavilion. Whether in terms of talent and comprehension, or opportunities and destiny, he was beyond comparison with others. His cultivation and strength were naturally absolutely not weak.
This was indeed the case.
Upper Immortals like Mo Baiyu and Yun Zhou might not have fought Bai Ze, but they had all witnessed his formidable strength. None dared to boast that they could defeat him.
Yet such a Bai Ze had been beaten to the brink of death by Immortal Lixin with just a few slaps. One could imagine how terrifying the strength of those Ancient Celebrities who had ascended the Great Dao Heavenly Ladder must be.
"Who is so reckless as to dare severely injure this immortal's precious disciple!
Come out here! This immortal will make him regret ever being born into this world today!"
The voice arrived before the person.
And it was a powerful sonic force. When it came, it was like rolling heavenly thunder exploding in the sky. Some Great Luo Golden Immortals with weaker cultivation had their minds scattered on the spot, struggling to stand steady. Even those Great Desolate Spirit Immortals who had cultivated for many years, including Upper Immortals like Mo Baiyu who had received the immortal path's edict, had their expressions drastically change from the powerful sonic force, immediately guarding their minds. Even the dozens of Xuantian vessels present were shaken slightly.
Soon!
Yuanwu's master and mistress, Immortal Jin Yan and Immortal Wu Hua, appeared on the scene. Both wore stern expressions, radiating a murderous aura that made one feel fear from the bottom of their hearts. Immediately after, the several hundred immortal path experts from the Wuling Immortal Realm all arrived.
"This junior Mo Baiyu pays his respects to Immortal Jin Yan, Immortal Wu Hua."
As Mo Baiyu took the initiative to step forward and offer greetings, Yun Zhou, Mu Feng, Fu Ying, and others also successively stepped forward to offer their greetings.
Following that, Shangguan Dong, led by his father Shangguan Feixing, also stepped forward to offer greetings.
Most of the immortals present who operated within the Lingluo Heavenly Domain did not hesitate either, stepping forward one after another to offer their greetings. This included Lei Lie as well. After all, he was also from the Lingluo Heavenly Domain. Moreover, his Lei Family not only had business dealings with the Wuling Immortal Realm, but his parents were also acquainted with the two Ancient Immortals, Jin Yan and Wu Hua. Although Lei Lie had always looked down on this couple, as a junior, he had no choice but to step forward and offer his greetings.