Chapter 48: The Oldest Person in the Nine Provinces
The Nine Provinces Barrier Formation was a concept Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu had come up with long ago.
The Outer World Demons came from other worlds, and their arrival locations were always random. Although Jiang Li could easily defeat them, he first needed to know where they appeared and then rush to their landing site.
This gap in time was enough for the demons to cause widespread destruction, leading to millions of deaths.
To minimize casualties and buy time, the Nine Provinces Barrier Formation was conceived. According to their plan, this formation would envelop the entire Nine Provinces, and when an Outer World Demon arrived, it would take fifteen minutes to break through. During this time, Jiang Li would receive an alert and rush to the breach to eliminate the demon.
However, there were two major challenges in creating this formation.
First, maintaining the formation required a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. To sustain it, Jiang Li gathered the Six Great Sects and Nine Great Dynasties, having them take turns supplying six Soul Formation Stage cultivators at all times, with two more provided by the Human Sovereign Hall, making a total of eight cultivators constantly channeling spiritual energy to maintain the formation.
Despite their great power, only the Sect-Protecting Formation of the Pure Land of the Mortal World was guaranteed to withstand the Outer World Demons. The other factions were powerless against them. No one wanted to be slaughtered by a suddenly appearing demon, so they all agreed to Jiang Li’s plan.
Second, the formation itself was too vast. No array had ever covered the entire Nine Provinces before. It wasn’t as simple as just scaling up an existing formation—it required consideration of topography, spiritual energy flow, transfer nodes, and countless other factors. The design was incredibly complex; even Soul Formation Stage cultivators would spit out blood from overwork just attempting it.
For this reason, Bai Hongtu only began designing the formation after breaking through to the Tribulation Stage.
“Using an immortal artifact as the formation’s core?” Jiang Li wasn’t informed about this beforehand, but he wasn’t surprised.
A formation of this magnitude required an artifact strong enough to bear such immense karmic weight.
“Yeah, I consulted Ancestor Changcun, and he said the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal is connected to the heavens and earth, possessing spiritual enlightenment abilities, making it the most suitable core.”
“Is Immortal Changcun still doing well?” Jiang Li asked.
“Of course, he’s doing great. Judging by his energy, I’ll probably die of old age before he even starts feeling tired. Do you want to meet him?”
“I have some questions for him.”
“Can I come too?” The Holy Maiden of Tranquility pointed at herself. She had only heard of Immortal Changcun’s name but had never seen the legendary elder in person.
“Of course. Master Ancestor loves a lively crowd—the more, the better.” Bai Hongtu nodded.
“I still have preparations to make for the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly, so you two can go on your own. He’s still in the Sealed Cave.” Bai Hongtu said and quickly left.
Hearing from Wang Bian that Jiang Li had learned about his failed infiltration, Dong Zhongren felt too embarrassed to stay and also made a quick escape.
Wuzhi, on the other hand, was very interested in the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly. Even though it hadn’t officially started yet, many cultivators had already arrived to display their weapons. He happily wandered off to browse, excitedly exploring the exhibits.
“Is Immortal Changcun really the oldest person in the Nine Provinces? Is he truly an immortal?”
On the way to the Sealed Cave, the Holy Maiden of Tranquility asked.
“He’s indeed an immortal. As for being the oldest… well, that depends on how old your Red Dust Ancestral Master actually is. Aside from the uncertain age of the Red Dust Celestial, Immortal Changcun is certainly the oldest.”
“I suspect he was a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, but he never admits it.”
Before Jiang Li became the Human Sovereign, he had consulted Immortal Changcun many times, deeply respecting the old man.
The Holy Maiden of Tranquility was slightly surprised. If he really was a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, then Immortal Changcun truly lived up to his name—Eternal Longevity, never dying.
A disciple of the Dao Ancestor would be at least fifty thousand years old.
A Soul Formation Stage cultivator could live for two to three thousand years, long enough to witness countless sects rise and fall.
But Immortal Changcun had lived long enough to witness the rise and fall of countless Soul Formation Stage cultivators.
When the Nine Provinces were still connected to the Celestial Realm, many immortals had visited. However, most returned to the Celestial Realm after a few centuries. Only Immortal Changcun, a native of the Nine Provinces, ascended, found the Celestial Realm less familiar than his home, and returned—never leaving again.
Jiang Li figured the old man was basically retiring in the Nine Provinces.
But thanks to this ancient relic, many mysteries had been answered—such as what exists in the Celestial Realm, how one ascends, what lies beyond the Tribulation Stage, and that the Red Dust Celestial is the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao’s concept of “beauty.”
Furthermore, when past Human Sovereigns failed to stop the Outer World Demons, Immortal Changcun personally intervened to slay them.
However, his interventions had to be limited.
After becoming an immortal, one’s spiritual energy completely transforms into celestial energy, which sustains the immortal body.
But celestial energy only exists in the Celestial Realm.
When an immortal descends, their celestial energy cannot be replenished. Every use of celestial energy depletes their life force.
Immortal Changcun had originally planned to return to the Celestial Realm when he ran low on celestial energy. After all, he could travel between realms at will.
But then, the Stairway to Immortality malfunctioned, making return impossible.
This was a huge problem.
If he used up all his celestial energy, his immortal body would collapse, and he would die from the Five Decays of Heaven and Man!
Thus, he avoided taking action whenever possible.
“Immortal Changcun, are you here? I’ve come with more questions!” Jiang Li called out at the entrance of the Sealed Cave, and the stone door automatically opened.
The two entered and found the cave filled with ancient books. Some were neatly arranged on shelves, others scattered across the floor.
Of course, “ancient” was relative—for Immortal Changcun, these books were freshly published.
“You brat, every time you come, you bring more questions. Can’t you just visit this old man for no reason?!” Immortal Changcun feigned indignation, but the Holy Maiden of Tranquility could tell he was genuinely happy to see Jiang Li.
“Oh? You even brought someone with you this time? That’s rare.”
Immortal Changcun looked like a typical countryside elder—skinny, hunched back, age spots, calloused hands, dressed in plain hemp robes.
This was the ultimate suppression of one’s life energy.
As he gazed at Jiang Li, the revered Human Sovereign, he felt nostalgic.
Who would have thought that this once-Nascent Soul brat would grow into someone so unfathomable?
Even as an immortal, he could no longer see through Jiang Li’s strength.
“This little girl looks quite pretty. Which family’s child is she?”
“Immortal, this is Jingxin from the Pure Land of the Mortal World. She is a descendant of the Red Dust Ancestral Master.”
“The Red Dust Celestial? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Immortal Changcun chuckled, warmly welcoming them and even offering high-quality spirit tea and pastries.
Even though they practiced fasting, that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy good food.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the Holy Maiden of Tranquility felt that after mentioning her ancestry, Immortal Changcun became noticeably more enthusiastic.
Even the way he looked at her seemed different—
Like he was spoiling his own granddaughter.
“This man has seen the Red Dust Celestial in person,” Jiang Li transmitted to her.
The Holy Maiden of Tranquility suddenly understood—
He’s still thinking about my ancestor, huh?