Chapter 115: Chapter 112: A World-Shocking Gamble: The Bizarre Dao of Immortality

Those otherworldly, stunning Fairies, who were pure as jade and aloof before the world, became gentle and demure before him, Xie Zhang, all for a single glance of his favor.

Even the number one Celestial Pride of the Human Race’s younger generation, Yun Liuguang, the Daoist of the Profound Heart Sect who practiced the Emotionless Sword Dao, had sent him an invitation to the Xuanling Feast. He was invited to Xuanling Peak to preach the Dao to all the masters of the world!

Xie Zhang, basking in his success, preached on Xuanling Peak for ten days. He spoke with such divine eloquence it was said flowers fell from the heavens and even stubborn stones nodded in agreement.

Amidst countless praises, he returned laden with honor.

But on the day of his glorious return, he found the main gates of the Xie Family residence wide open, and the grounds littered with corpses.

The Xie Family’s House Protection Array had failed for some unknown reason. Countless clan members and servants were dead or injured. Blood flowed across the ground, dyeing everything he once knew crimson.

Seeing this, a surge of fury shot straight to the top of Xie Zhang’s head.

Hearing what sounded like mournful cries echoing from deep within the estate, Xie Zhang immediately used an Escape Technique. In just a few steps, he crossed the spatial barriers and arrived at the very core of the Xie Family compound.

Then, the scene he witnessed next rooted him to the spot in an instant.

It was as if a basin of ice-cold water had been dumped over his head, extinguishing his blazing fury and chilling him to the bone.

What did Xie Zhang see?

He saw, standing amidst the carnage, the one he had always looked up to and pursued, the one the entire Xie Family had devoutly worshipped as a god... their Ancestor!

Xie Zhang was struck as if by a bolt from the blue. He saw the Ancestor extend a blood-soaked hand, a hand that was wrapped tightly around his father, Xie Yunfeng’s, neck.

"Zhang..." Xie Yunfeng struggled to turn his head and forced out two words, "Save me!"

Xie Zhang shuddered. Just as he was about to plead with the Ancestor, the old man glanced over nonchalantly and spoke in his usual, tepid tone, "Zhang, do you know why this venerable one has chosen to slaughter our kin today?"

It felt as if countless little men were fighting inside Xie Zhang’s head. He replied in anguish and confusion, "Ancestor, I... I do not know!"

The Xie Family Ancestor said, "Then it seems this venerable one’s past lessons were not thorough enough. Watch closely. This venerable one will teach you again."

As he spoke, he pointed a finger. A short distance away, a wailing Xie Family member who had collapsed on the ground was instantly pierced between the brows from afar, dying on the spot.

The Xie Family Ancestor casually retracted his finger and said, "Everything in this world is a sea of bitterness. Mortals cannot cross it; thus, they struggle for half a century only to fade away like dust. Cultivators may be able to traverse halfway by boat, but that is still not enough, for they can never reach the shore of eternal life."

"Most Cultivators in the world can never reach the other shore. Even True Immortals, who can live for thousands or tens of thousands of years, still have a limited lifespan."

"So what if they bear the name of Immortal? They still cannot live forever!"

"Oh, Zhang. You think this venerable one is slaughtering our kin today merely for the sake of slaughter?"

"No. This venerable one is helping them find release!"

"Rather than striving and desperately pursuing what is ultimately an illusion, why not leave this sea of bitterness sooner? It will also be our path to achievement!"

Xie Zhang was stunned into silence. After a long moment, he stammered, "An-Ancestor, our path to achievement... what do you mean?"

The Xie Family Ancestor said, "This venerable one has recently comprehended a Dao that leads directly to the other shore!"

"When people live in this world, they are inevitably entangled in the mortal coil. The deepest of these entanglements always come from kin. All relatives are but armor of suffering for the physical body, festering sores upon the bloodline. To eliminate evil, one must be thorough!"

"Zhang, the first step on this path to the other shore is to slaughter one’s entire clan."

As he spoke, he pointed casually and killed another person.

Xie Zhang swallowed hard. ’He... he’s a direct descendant of the Ancestor. Isn’t he also part of the clan?’

The Xie Family Ancestor seemed to see right through him. He said flatly, "You are my True Disciple. If you willingly renounce your status as a scion of the Xie Family, you will naturally no longer be this venerable one’s kin."

As he said this, his gaze fell upon Xie Yunfeng, still clutched in his hand.

Xie Yunfeng, his neck in the Ancestor’s grasp, heard this shocking and heretical philosophy, but still clung to one last sliver of hope.

He widened his eyes and used every ounce of his strength to look at Xie Zhang.

Though he could no longer speak, his desperately turned head, the veins bulging on his neck, his dim eyes that still held a faint glimmer of light... all of his body language screamed one thing: Save me! Save me!

He didn’t want to die, especially not in front of his son.

Xie Zhang’s lips trembled. A powerful emotion urged him to speak, but then he heard the Xie Family Ancestor say, "Zhang, if you still consider yourself a scion of the Xie Family, there is nothing wrong with pleading to this venerable one. However, all sons of the Xie Family are on this venerable one’s list to be killed."

A single sentence forced all of Xie Zhang’s words back down his throat.

’What choice should I make?’

No!

He had no choice at all.

The Ancestor had already paved the road for him. He only needed to keep his eyes open...

Xie Zhang wanted to close his eyes, but an invisible force held them wide open, making it impossible to shut them.

And just like that, he watched, wide-eyed, as the Xie Family Ancestor snapped Xie Yunfeng’s neck right in front of him, as easily as wringing the neck of a chick.

THUD. The head rolled away, its topknot smearing through the blood and filth on the ground. Only the eyes, amidst all the grime, remained stubbornly open, still fixed on Xie Zhang.

"AH!" Xie Zhang cried out, violently wrenching himself free from the nightmarish scene.

He looked around again and saw a dim Black River before him, spanned by an arched bridge. Beside it stood a massive, towering pavilion.

It was the Eternal Pavilion!

The withered-faced grotesque across from him stretched its features into a dry smile. "Congratulations, passerby. You have won this round."

Nearby, the Incense Stick that had been floating in mid-air was now burnt out. Only the small wooden core remained, proof that the incense had once been lit.

Twenty Primordial Longevity Pearls floated down from the air and landed directly in Xie Zhang’s hands.

Xie Zhang clutched the twenty Primordial Longevity Pearls, only then snapping back to his senses as if he had been burned by something scorching hot.

But instead of throwing the scalding Primordial Longevity Pearls away, he gripped them even tighter.

His mouth hung open, his expression contorting between a sob and a smile for a long while before he finally laughed out loud. "I... I won! Hahaha, I won! I wasn’t wrong, I knew I wasn’t wrong! Haha! Hahahaha..."

Xie Zhang laughed maniacally, so he failed to notice that the few people who had been gathered near the Eternal Pavilion were now quietly backing away.

These people watched Xie Zhang from a distance, their gazes all filled with the same, unified contempt.

Xie Zhang thought only he could see what happened in the Illusion Realm. He had no idea that everything he experienced, every choice he made, was being projected onto a light screen that had appeared out of thin air in front of the Eternal Pavilion.

And it wasn’t just in front of the Eternal Pavilion. In the corresponding normal spacetime of the Mortal World, on Wangjiang Peak, several identical light screens had also appeared.

These light screens each reflected several landmark structures within Illusory Nether City.

One of them was the Eternal Pavilion.

At this moment, the Illusion Realm that Xie Zhang had experienced was also being watched clearly by the group of Cultivators stationed on the peak.

The Cultivators had been in a heated discussion, because this was the first time in many years that Illusory Nether City had projected an image into the Mortal World!

Connecting this to the recent string of accidents and disasters occurring throughout the Great Zhou, a sense of anxiety naturally arose among the crowd.

Someone said, "Elder Xie, your Earth Immortal Clan really has it good. With an Earth Immortal Ancestor watching over you, even if the heavens and earth were to face a calamity, the Ancestor would surely protect his descendants..."

The words had barely left his mouth when one of the projected light screens revealed the scene of the Xie Family Ancestor slaughtering his entire clan.

The entire crowd fell silent. As they watched the events on the screen, and especially when they heard the Xie Family Ancestor repeatedly declare, "All relatives are but festering sores, to eliminate evil, one must be thorough," the scene became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned speechless, losing the ability to talk.

In Illusory Nether City, Xie Zhang was still stroking the twenty Primordial Longevity Pearls in his hand when he heard the withered-faced grotesque ask, "Passerby, now that you have twenty Primordial Longevity Pearls, do you wish to make another wager? This one is willing to put up twenty Primordial Longevity Pearls to bet against you."

Xie Zhang’s hand tightened instantly. He bit the inside of his cheek and let out a single, loud word: "Bet!"

A short distance away, Xie Yunxiang watched Xie Zhang with both disappointment and hatred. He slammed his fist on the wooden plank beside him and also gritted his teeth. "Brother Xin, do you think some people are born evil, or are they spoiled into becoming evil? I used to think Xie Zhang only hated me, but I thought he at least held genuine love and respect for his father. I never imagined..."

A torrent of emotion surged forth. Although it was triggered by Xie Zhang, because Xie Yunxiang was also questioning Song Ciwan, the Heaven and Earth Scale still collected this mass of "human desires" from him.

[Human desires. The hatred, fury, and wrath of a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. Four catties and one tael. Can be sold.]

Song Ciwan: "..."