Chapter 686: Simply Put, the Immortal Realm Is Gone

“Can Jiang Li actually resolve the Heavenly Dao? If he can’t, I’ll go up there in his place.” Bai Hongtu declared with overwhelming heroic spirit.

He certainly had the confidence for such a claim. If Jiang Li wasn’t counted, he was the number one powerhouse in the Nine Provinces.

“Oh? Is that so? I’d really like to see how Sect Master Bai plans to go up there in my place?” A voice as ghostly as Jiang Li’s suddenly rang out from behind Bai Hongtu, startling him so much he shivered, instinctively raising his hands in surrender with practiced ease.

“Brother Jiang, I was just joking!”

Bai Hongtu turned his head to look, only to see it was that bastard Dong Zhongren imitating Jiang Li’s voice.

“Dong Zhongren, you son of a bitch!” Bai Hongtu flew into a rage, ready to teach Dong Zhongren why a Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator must not be insulted.

Jiang Li’s voice sounded from behind Bai Hongtu again: “If Sect Master Bai wishes to go to the Immortal Realm to confront the Heavenly Dao, this Human Sovereign fully supports you.”

Bai Hongtu sneered coldly: “You think I’d fall for such a childish trick again? Even if you pretend to be Jiang Li, even if the real Jiang Li came, I’d still dare to ascend to the heavens… Heavens, it’s the real Jiang Li.”

Bai Hongtu turned around and saw the genuine, authentic Jiang Li.

Standing beside Jiang Li was a refined and scholarly Confucian scholar.

The scholar praised: “The Nine Provinces are truly extraordinary, to have produced such an outstanding hero, unafraid of the Heavenly Dao and undaunted by powerful authority.”

“Confucius Sage!” Dong Zhongren cried out involuntarily, completely forgetting his composure.

Everyone else also shot to their feet with a start, their eyes fixed intently on the scholar, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Statues and portraits of the Confucius Sage were often placed at school entrances and on walls; the cultivators of the Nine Provinces were extremely familiar with his appearance.

“Your unworthy disciple’s disciple pays respects to the Confucius Sage.” Dong Zhongren performed a grand ceremonial bow, his body trembling with excitement.

“Disciple’s disciple? Who is your master in your sect?”

“In reply to the Confucius Sage, this junior is a descendant of Dong Zhongshu. Dong Zhongshu was your Honorary Disciple.”

The Confucius Sage’s expression turned strange: “Is that how Dong Zhongshu introduced his status to you all?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a problem?” Jiang Li was also curious. Everyone in the Nine Provinces knew that Dong Zhongshu, the founder of the Confucian School, was the Confucius Sage’s Honorary Disciple.

The Confucius Sage explained: “Dong Zhongshu was indeed my disciple, but he was an unrecorded disciple. For him to call himself a recorded disciple isn’t entirely wrong either.”

“After all, I remembered his name, and he was indeed my disciple.”

Jiang Li: “…”

This was the first time he had heard the term “Honorary Disciple” interpreted this way.

If interpreted this way, did Bai Hongtu count as an “Honorary Friend”?

Jiang Li began to suspect that the backgrounds claimed by the various sects and powers in the Nine Provinces, each more grandiose than the last, might not all be true.

At the very least, the origin story of the Wishful Gourd was fake. The Tianyuan Dynasty publicly claimed it was gifted to the First-generation Tianyuan Emperor by the Dao Ancestor, but in reality, the First-generation Tianyuan Emperor bought it for three times the market price.

“May I ask, Human Sovereign, since the Confucius Sage is here, does that mean the current Immortal Realm…” Someone hesitantly voiced the question everyone present wanted to ask.

Although everyone had confidence in Jiang Li’s strength and felt he wouldn’t lose against the Immortal Realm, when faced with reality, it still seemed like a fantasy.

But judging from Human Sovereign Jiang’s expression and the Confucius Sage’s presence, it was highly likely to be true.

“Perfect, since everyone is here, let’s call Immortal Elder Changcun over as well. There are some matters I need to discuss with everyone.”

Ji Zhi said: “I knew you’d say that. I already sent someone to invite the Immortal Elder. By my estimation, he should be arriving just about now.”

Ji Zhi looked at Jiang Li, a radiant smile on his face.

Ever since he reached the Unity Stage, he was no longer afraid of Jiang Li.

With his current mastery of the Dao of time, he could travel back to five hundred years ago at any time and have a life-or-death duel with the weak Jiang Li of that era.

Whether he beat up Jiang Li now or not was entirely up to his mood.

As they were speaking, the aged laughter of Immortal Elder Changcun drifted in from outside the hall.

“To think that at my age, there are still so many people who remember me, calling me for meetings.”

“Con-Confucius Sage?!” As soon as Immortal Elder Changcun entered the main hall, he noticed the highly conspicuous Confucius Sage.

“I remember the Dao Ancestor mentioning that his youngest disciple was called… Huang Changcun?”

“Human Sovereign Jiang introduced you to me. Creating a new cultivation stage is truly remarkable.” The Confucius Sage didn’t know the exact origins of the Mahayana Stage, only that Immortal Elder Changcun had proposed the existence of a stage called the Mahayana Stage, and then Jiang Li achieved it.

Thinking according to common sense, Immortal Elder Changcun could be considered Jiang Li’s guide, Jiang Li’s teacher. Immortal Elder Changcun was truly extraordinary.

Therefore, the Confucius Sage’s admiration for Immortal Elder Changcun came from the heart.

However, Immortal Elder Changcun felt something was off upon hearing this. He coughed once, changing the subject: “Jiang Li, why have you called everyone here?”

Meanwhile, Ji Zhi had already ordered the Ministry of Rites personnel to arrange the tables in a circle, mimicking the scale of Human Sovereign Hall council meetings.

The Ministry of Rites staff, upon seeing the Confucius Sage, were so terrified they nearly pulled their hair out. What protocol should be used to receive a Primordial Chaos and Limitless Immortal visiting Great Zhou?

“To put it simply, the Immortal Realm is gone. Not a single immortal remains, and the Heavenly Dao is also gone.”

Right from the start, Jiang Li dropped this bombshell, shocking everyone present into a temporary loss of thought.

What about the process?

That was the Heavenly Dao, the ultimate endpoint for all living beings to comprehend the Dao and cultivate. You say it’s gone, just like that?

And the Immortal Realm? They just built a single Celestial Ascension Ladder, and you say the Immortal Realm is gone?

What’s the difference between that and finally finding your house key, only to discover you’ve already moved?

One question after another flooded everyone’s minds, but because there were too many things they wanted to ask, they didn’t know where to begin.

“I won’t go into the specific details of the battle. It was basically just a ‘boom’ with a punch, a ‘smack’ with a palm. Not very interesting.”

Jiang Li waved his hand, using onomatopoeia to give a succinct yet appropriately detailed description of his battle with the Heavenly Dao, causing the Confucius Sage’s eyelids to twitch.

So the battle they viewed as perilous in the extreme, where a single misstep meant death, was only of this level in Jiang Li’s eyes?

“Now that the Heavenly Dao has vanished, no more merit will be generated, and consequently, no more merit will be converted into immortal power. However, everyone needn’t worry about the issue of becoming an immortal. The Celestial Ascension Ladder can convert spiritual energy into immortal power; there’s no need to go to the Immortal Realm or use merit.”

The Confucius Sage responded: “Although I don’t know as many Immortal Realm cultivation techniques as the Dao Ancestor, I can still remember about eighty percent of the Immortal Realm’s techniques and Classic Texts. I can provide everyone with immortal methods and immortal arts.”

“I can teach the Nine Provinces how to break through to Celestial Immortal and Golden Immortal.”

Hearing the Confucius Sage’s words, everyone felt overwhelmingly honored. Such a lofty, great figure as the Confucius Sage was actually willing to provide them with techniques and teach them? They truly felt deeply honored.

Jiang Li looked at everyone speechlessly. What, I, a Mahayana Stage cultivator, consider your needs every single day. Why don’t I see you feeling overwhelmingly honored because of me?

“The Immortal Realm’s destruction of the myriad heavens and worlds also has profound reasons. This involves one of the rules, called the Rule of Destruction.”

“To deal with the Rule of Destruction, there are two methods.”

Jiang Li detailed the two methods proposed by the Heavenly Dao and Emperor Shun, not mentioning that he would go to the Convergence of Possibilities.

The third method was uncertain, and mentioning it might easily lead everyone to think this matter wasn’t a big deal since Human Sovereign Jiang would handle it anyway.

Driven by that mindset, it would be detrimental to implementing order.