Chapter 157: Burying the Mortal Heart in Dust

Yuntian scratched his head with an embarrassed laugh and said apologetically, "Senior Sister, you know as well that I have been in the Great World of Donghua for less than twenty years. Before this, I was always cultivating peacefully by Master's side in the Mansion of Emperor Donghua. Aside from ordinary Celestial Immortals, I don't even know those famous Celestial Immortals in this Great World of Donghua!"

"You knew nothing, yet you dared to rush blindly into the Kunwu Mountain Range! Have you lost your mind?" Fairy Biyou glared at Yuntian in annoyance.

"Senior Sister, I haven't lost my mind! Do you know how many human tribes were brutally slaughtered during the recent demonic disaster at Xueliang Mountain?" Yuntian could not help pressing further, "If you don't believe me, I can take you to see for yourself. Beneath Xueliang Mountain, it has already turned into a living hell. Tell me, how could I remain indifferent? How could I not avenge them?"

Fairy Biyou was stunned, then frowned and said, "Avenge them? Yuntian, the enmity between mankind and the demon race is a blood feud spanning ages. Let alone a demonic disaster, even tragedies a hundred or a thousand times more miserable and cruel are countless. Across the Three Thousand Great Worlds and myriads of Lesser Worlds, how many miserable people are there? How many cruel things happen? Can you manage them all? What you should be doing right now is figuring out how to survive the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. If you cannot become a Celestial Immortal, no matter how powerful a Loose Immortal is, you cannot live beyond a million years, and you will eventually perish amidst the increasingly terrifying Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations. By then, what connection will the pain and calamities of this world have with you?"

"I understand! But since I have encountered it, I cannot simply ignore it. As a cultivator of the Immortal Dao, I must even more so not violate my true heart. This is my Dao heart, and it will never change," Yuntian said firmly, before respectfully bowing to Fairy Biyou. "Thank you, Senior Sister, for revealing yourself to help me this time. However, even if given another choice, even if that Kunwu Celestial Immortal were a True Immortal, a Celestial God, or even a Primordial Chaos Creator, I would still never regret this trip to the Kunwu Mountain Range."

Fairy Biyou stared blankly at Yuntian. As she recovered, her expression softened slightly into a sigh, "Now, I somewhat understand why Master values you and is willing to take you as a disciple."

"Very well, I have no desire to lecture you further. I merely wish to remind you not to be overly extreme and impulsive at times," Fairy Biyou changed the subject and added, "That Kunwu Celestial Immortal attained the Dao as a divine beast Kunwu, possessing the strength of a top-tier Celestial Immortal. Even compared to me, he is not much inferior, save for having fewer treasures and methods than I do. Do you know that this is only his Second Primordial Spirit avatar? Had his main body not failed the Celestial God Tribulation and died, this Kunwu Celestial Immortal would be even more terrifying. Among the numerous Celestial Immortals in our Great World of Donghua, his strength can rank in the top ten."

Yuntian, upon hearing this, could not help laughing: "He is merely a divine beast Kunwu who failed the Celestial God Tribulation, leaving behind only a Second Primordial Spirit avatar—he is not worth fearing. Once I successfully undergo the Celestial Immortal Tribulation, killing him will be as effortless as lifting a hand."

"You..." Fairy Biyou's pretty eyes widened slightly in vexation as she glared at Yuntian. "Fine! It seems you do not even hold your Senior Sister in your eyes, is that it? Fine, I will no longer interfere with you. Do as you please; I want to see if you can truly survive the Celestial Immortal Tribulation."

"Hey, Senior Sister!" Seeing Fairy Biyou vanish instantly via spatial teleportation after speaking, Yuntian raised a hand and called out, then felt somewhat helpless. "I was only joking! Why take it so seriously? She actually got angry, truly..."

Shaking his head, Yuntian used the Great Teleportation to leave the Kunwu Mountain Range, arriving at the central territory dominated by the human race in the Great World of Donghua. He found a secluded and tranquil mountain range to live in reclusion.

***

In a small city within Lianhua Commandery in the Great World of Donghua, a bustling tavern was filled with noise and excitement. It was precisely noon, and there were many guests.

"Coming! Sir, your braised pork! Please enjoy your meal!" A loud voice echoed through the tavern. Yuntian, dressed in green robes and a small cap like a tavern waiter, had a white towel slung over his shoulder and carried a plate of braised pork on a wooden tray, delivering it to one of the tables. His natural smile and practiced movements made it clear he had not been doing this for just a day or two.

However, just as Yuntian turned around, a guest at the neighboring table suddenly stood up and collided directly with him.

"Damn brat! Are you blind? Do you have no eyes?" Amidst the cold reprimand, the burly, fierce-looking man with a scar on his face—who had bumped into Yuntian—glared fiercely at him. Reaching out, he grabbed Yuntian and casually hoisted him up, tossing him onto the ground not far away.

Having fallen clumsily to the ground and covered in dust, Yuntian merely furrowed his brow slightly. Ever since he began working as this tavern waiter, he had encountered even worse situations; this was merely child's play, and he had long since grown accustomed to it. It was precisely in this environment that he could deeply experience the mindset of mortal beings, striving to comprehend the true essence of the fourth realm of mind power: "The Mortal Dust."

That's right, Yuntian had long since embarked on the path of mind power cultivation. Although there were no mind power cultivation manuals for reference, Yuntian knew that the foundational mind power cultivation in this Desolate Era world was divided into several realms: Entry, Frozen Heart, Dominator, and Mortal Dust. Across the entire Three Realms, very few had reached the fourth realm of mind power, "The Mortal Dust," and according to legends, only Houyi, who created the *Houyi Archery*, had reached the mysterious fifth realm of mind power.

With the complete memories of Patriarch Qiankun, coupled with his avatar in the Desolation World wandering through numerous material planes to temper his Dao heart and gaining profound insights into the soul and destiny, Yuntian had easily entered the threshold upon pondering mind power slightly, and swiftly comprehended the Frozen Heart and Dominator realms.

The so-called Frozen Heart meant the mind was as pure as ice, unperturbed by external objects, which was already an impressive manifestation of mental state. The Dominator, on the other hand, meant using one's own soul and willpower as the ruler—one was their own master, and their mind power was vastly stronger.

However, the fourth realm of mind power, Mortal Dust, was far more ethereal and illusory. Some principles were very difficult to articulate clearly. Even if one understood them, without personally experiencing and feeling them, and having one's mind stirred with realization, one still could not truly grasp them.

*Sish...* The faint sound of a sharp weapon cutting through flesh rang out. The burly, fierce man who had thrown Yuntian away was just about to leave when his entire body suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening in shock. At the same time, a thin line of blood appeared on his neck, and immediately afterward, his head rolled directly to the ground.

"Ah..." Amidst gasps of astonishment, guests at several surrounding tables hurriedly stood up and scattered. The entire tavern descended into chaos, and pairs of gazes involuntarily landed on the young girl who had abruptly appeared beside the burly, fierce man, holding a blood-stained curved saber in her hand.

The girl appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a blood-red silk gown with a cold, pretty face. Her entire person radiated a sharp, murderous aura, resembling a bloody saber.

Disregarding the headless corpse of the burly, fierce man collapsing to the ground, the blood-robed girl stepped forward directly to Yuntian, knelt on both knees, lowered her head, and respectfully called out, "Master!"

"You naughty girl, you've ruined my cultivation again." Glaring at the blood-robed girl in annoyance, Yuntian removed his hat, stripped off his green outer robe, threw it to the ground, and directly stood up to walk away.

The blood-robed girl remained indifferent and expressionless as she stood up and followed closely behind, though a faint curve tugged at the corner of her lips.

In the deep mountains not far from the small city, a bamboo house stood beside a serene lake. On the grassy lawn outside the bamboo house, the black-robed youth Yuntian sat cross-legged with his eyes closed quietly.

"Master, Blood-I is wrong. Please stop being angry, okay?" Walking over on tiptoe to his side, the blood-robed girl knelt down and pleaded.

Slowly opening his eyes, Yuntian glanced at the blood-robed girl and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Blood-I, Master is going to leave, but this time I am not taking you with me."

"No, Master! Please don't leave Blood-I behind! Master, I truly know I was wrong," Blood-I instantly grew anxious upon hearing this.

Seeing Blood-I, whose pretty eyes seemed suddenly reddened, Yuntian let out a soft sigh and said, "This time, Master is going to other worlds, and it is inconvenient to bring you along. Blood-I, you have grown up too; you cannot follow Master forever, and you must learn to walk your own path of cultivation."

Blood-I was extremely reluctant to part with him, feeling somewhat lost and helpless. She was the very girl Yuntian had rescued back at Xueliang Mountain. Over these years, Yuntian had kept her by his side to teach and guide her. Though this girl had suffered a checkered fate, she possessed extraordinary talent; in a mere seven or eight years, she had already stepped into the Zifu realm, possessing true strength capable of rivaling Wanxiang Adepts.