Chapter 91: The Indifferent Celestial Realm

Bai Hongtu stared at Jiang Li in disbelief. Are you even human? You’re basically Heaven’s favored son!

Just moments ago, he had been worried about how to deal with a Heavenly Immortal-level Outer World Demon. Turns out, Jiang Li could actually defeat one?! Seeing Jiang Li’s grim expression, he had assumed Jiang Li was prepared to die in battle.

What a waste of emotions!

He—tui! (Spits in frustration.)

“If a Heavenly Immortal-level demon has been lurking in the Nine Provinces for the past 380 years, staying hidden all this time, what do you think?”

“You were only at the Soul Formation Stage back then, yet you were already a threat to a Heavenly Immortal-level demon?” Immortal Elder Changcun was stunned. “…Fine, don’t look at me like that. I don’t know the reason either. I’m just a small Terrestrial Immortal, not omniscient.”

Seeing that the Immortal Elder truly had no answers, Jiang Li recalled the Dao Ancestor’s tragic demise and asked, “Are you sure nothing happened in the Celestial Realm? Otherwise, how could the Outer World Demons locate the Nine Provinces, but the Celestial Realm can’t? And the Dao Ancestor even left a message on the stone tablet saying there was chaos in the Celestial Realm…”

“You’d best not count on the Celestial Realm coming to save the Nine Provinces,” Immortal Elder Changcun’s expression darkened. “Do you think there’s a reason I chose to return to the Nine Provinces instead of staying in the Celestial Realm, where everything is filled with immortal energy?”

“Immortals are cold and detached. The longer they live, the more they lose their humanity. They only care about the Celestial Realm—they don’t give a damn about what happens to other worlds. I despise the Celestial Realm for this.”

“As for my master’s message about chaos in the Celestial Realm, I don’t think it’s about an Outer World Demon invasion. If you look at the tablet, he never even mentions the demons. I think it’s more likely that the powerful figures in the Celestial Realm started fighting among themselves, and my master chose the wrong side. He got exiled from the Celestial Realm… and then ran into the demons.”

Immortal Elder Changcun was visibly angry. If only his master had retired to the Nine Provinces like him, none of this would have happened.

“The Celestial Realm has internal conflicts?”

“Of course! More than you can imagine! One of the reasons you’ve seen for yourself—Mortal World Celestial Fairy.” Immortal Elder Changcun’s expression shifted, and he had the sudden impulse to stand up, only for Jiang Li to press him back down into his seat.

“Besides that, there are Daoist lineage disputes, power struggles, and more. After all, Outer World Demons pose no real threat to them, so they don’t fear internal strife.”

“In contrast, the Nine Provinces are currently united.” Immortal Elder Changcun sighed, shaking his head. “Back when the Stairway to Immortality still existed, the Nine Provinces had the Celestial Realm as a backer. Even then, internal conflicts were frequent, just slightly fewer than those in the Celestial Realm. Now, with the demons attacking and your Human Sovereign Hall enforcing order, no one dares to start an internal war.”

Immortal Elder Changcun continued, “Originally, I didn’t want to tell you any of this. What good does it do to know? At least when you’re unaware, you can still hope that the Celestial Realm might come to save the Nine Provinces.”

Jiang Li remained silent for a while before asking, “What exactly are the Outer World Demons? If Terrestrial Immortal-level demons have no intelligence, how do they even cultivate to the Tribulation Stage?”

“Their cultivation system is different from ours. They don’t rely on spiritual energy or immortal energy as power sources. Instead, they feed on negative emotions such as rage, fear, grief, and despair. And the greatest source of negative emotions? Death. That’s why they kill. Some in the Celestial Realm speculate that demons are actually born from the negative emotions of living beings, but that’s just a theory.”

“You think killing people could grant karma?”

“Killing evil people?”

“Killing anyone.”

“That… sounds an awful lot like something the Outer World Demons would do.”

“Oh? How so?”

Immortal Elder Changcun shook his head. “I’ve only heard rumors, never seen it firsthand. But some warriors returning from the battlefield have secretly told me that the demons have their own god. This god is in charge of distributing karma—anyone who worships it and kills can gain karma.”

Bai Hongtu’s eyes widened in disbelief. A god like that actually exists?!

“Do you know this god’s title?” Jiang Li stared into Immortal Elder Changcun’s eyes.

Immortal Elder Changcun shook his head. “The Celestial Realm strictly controls information about this. I have no idea.”

Jiang Li nodded in understanding. Whether in the Nine Provinces or the Celestial Realm, the idea that killing could grant karma was far too dangerous—it was an outright path of pure demonic cultivation.

He chose not to tell Immortal Elder Changcun about the Divine Repository Sect or the Divine Repository Sovereign. After all, Immortal Elder Changcun was still an immortal, entirely dependent on immortal energy. If he ever learned of a way to gain karma through killing, would he resist the temptation?

Jiang Li wasn’t sure.

And how much karma would it take to sustain a single Terrestrial Immortal? Jiang Li didn’t even want to calculate it.

As long as Jiang Li was around, Immortal Elder Changcun wouldn’t need to fight the demons personally. His immortal energy would never run out.

The Kingdom of Yelang was a small and remote nation, surrounded by mountains on three sides and bordered by a river on the fourth. Due to its poor resources, the kingdom had little contact with the outside world and was rarely noticed by others.

However, there was one thing that made Yelang unique—its ruler.

The King of Yelang was exceptionally talented. Despite having no access to heavenly treasures, he had managed to cultivate from the Qi Refining Stage all the way to the Soul Formation Stage within just a few decades.

The people of Yelang all knew that their king had not inherited his throne—he had taken it by force.

The current King of Yelang, Zhang Han, had once been a mere executioner—a burly, fierce-looking man with a terrifying demeanor. But those who knew him well understood that he only looked scary. In reality, he was kind-hearted, often helping others and beloved by his neighbors.

Over time, people noticed that Zhang Han’s cultivation was slowly advancing. Initially, no one thought he had a chance of ever reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage—yet he broke through.

When asked how he did it, he would only scratch his head and laugh, saying, “Just luck. Just luck.”

People believed him—until his cultivation kept rising. Within just a few years, he reached the late Foundation Establishment Stage.

His superiors took notice. A mere executioner with such talent couldn’t be wasted. One official even considered marrying his daughter to Zhang Han to secure his loyalty.

But Zhang Han refused, saying he was content being an executioner.

The official saw this as a sign that Zhang Han lacked ambition, dismissed the idea, and abandoned any thoughts of marrying his daughter to him.

Meanwhile, Zhang Han’s personality started changing. Previously, he would grow depressed for days after an execution. But ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, he seemed… cheerful.

It was as if beheading people was no longer a grim duty—he actually seemed to enjoy it.

His neighbors began fearing him.

Then, one day, a masked vigilante appeared in the city, killing corrupt officials and redistributing their wealth.

And coincidentally… Zhang Han advanced to the Golden Core Stage. And not just any core—his was top-grade.

For years, the vigilante legend continued, and criminals in the city grew scarce.

By then, Zhang Han had reached the late Golden Core Stage.

But his progress stalled.

There was no one left for him to kill.

Then, as fate would have it, his superior arranged for his daughter to marry a gifted young man.

Zhang Han refused to accept it.

Even though the girl also had feelings for Zhang Han, her father disagreed—Zhang Han was talented, but something about him was… off.

So, on the day of the wedding, Zhang Han slaughtered the groom’s entire family—and kidnapped the bride.