Chapter 273: Tales of the Upper Realm

Void rifts opened and closed erratically; the blood-colored figure's movements were treacherous and unpredictable.

The rift he had just used to narrowly dodge a fatal strike snapped shut. Another gap suddenly tore open elsewhere in the sky, and the figure of blood mist flashed out. Calmly evading Jiuyou's pursuit, he hovered quietly in the bloody sky.

That figure of blood mist—or rather, the only true Wang Xunzhen left now—let out an ethereal, eerie laugh that slowly echoed through heaven and earth.

"The memories of that remnant soul I just devoured contained extensive records of you," he said, his voice laced with the lazy amusement of one who had seen through the world. "It called you the most troublesome Deity Transformation Cultivator in the Lower Realm. Exchanging blows with you today, I see your reputation is well-deserved."

He paused, his tone suddenly softening as the biting killing intent faded.

"However, you have a deep feud with that remnant soul, but no grudge with me whatsoever. A fight to the death would only be a pointless drain on our vitality. Why don't we sit down and make a trade? What do you say?"

Jiuyou stood in the void, his expression as calm as still water. He said nothing. His Sword Intent remained concealed but ready to strike, and his divine sense locked tightly onto every inch of space around Wang Xunzhen, not daring to relax in the slightest. Having endured multiple illusion schemes and death matches, he had long since seen through this monster's treacherous nature and would absolutely not let his guard down.

Seeing Jiuyou so guarded, Wang Xunzhen chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.

"Why so tense?" he asked. "We have no past enmity. Speaking of which, you could even be considered half a benefactor to me."

Without waiting for Jiuyou to speak, he continued slowly.

"A thousand years ago, you plucked the Ten-Thousand-Year Longevity-Increasing Fruit, cutting off the energy source of the divine restrictions here and loosening the ancient seal suppressing me. It was exactly because the seal weakened day by day that I managed to break free and accumulate power. Otherwise, by the time that remnant soul arrived just now, I likely would have been the one devoured. I remember this favor quite clearly."

Jiuyou's eyes shifted, but his face remained impassive as he calmly replied.

"There is no need to speak of favors. Since you say we have no feud and you wish to make a trade, you might as well be honest. Tell me the secrets of the Upper Realm truthfully, and then state your demands. If the terms are reasonable, cooperation is not impossible."

His tone was flat, appearing to yield, but his mind remained on high alert, waiting for him to reveal his true objective.

Hearing this, Wang Xunzhen seemed to laugh in exasperation. The scarlet mist roiled slightly as he let out a cold, low chuckle.

"What a sharp mind. Very well, I shall open your eyes and tell you the truths that this world of ants could never reach."

As he spoke, his figure submerged back into the thick blood mist. The light and shadows of the surrounding world began to shift as a faint illusion quietly unfurled.

This illusion was extremely shallow and crudely constructed. Let alone a Deity Transformation Cultivator, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could see through it at a glance. Clearly, he had no intention of fighting to the death right away; he only meant to use the illusion to pass on a message and bewitch the mind.

In the next instant, a vast, boundless three-dimensional map slowly surfaced before Jiuyou's eyes.

The mountains and rivers were vast, the territories stretching on without end. The layered structure of the world was clearly distinct, displaying a magnificent geography that this Lower Realm had never possessed. Wang Xunzhen's ethereal voice slowly rang out in his ears, every word clear and soul-shaking.

"The ethereal 'Upper Realm' you all speak of has no unified name. Its territories are boundless, filled with tens of thousands of races. Its vastness is absolutely beyond the imagination of the Lower Realm's mortals. This entire, complete world of yours is nothing more than a tiny speck to the Upper Realm—a firefly compared to the bright moon, a speck of dust in the great ocean."

"The human race of the Upper Realm only occupies a remote corner of that vast heaven and earth, and that territory alone is divided into the Nine Provinces and Thirteen Domains. My origin lies in the Returning Spirit Domain, one of those Thirteen Domains."

Speaking of his homeland, his tone took on a rare fluctuation, hiding a complex sense of melancholy and reminiscence.

"What you see before you is the fragmented geography of the Returning Spirit Domain from my remaining memories. Just this scrap of land alone possesses a territorial mass that crushes the sum of all the continents in your entire Lower Realm combined."

"In the Upper Realm, tens of thousands of races rise together, warring for supremacy without end. Chosen geniuses emerge in droves, and experts are as common as rain. The human race is not heaven's favored child; on the contrary, we belong to the weaker races, struggling to survive in the cracks between countless mighty races, every step fraught with peril. If there were no peak experts holding the fort, the human race would have long since been reduced to vassals of foreign races and completely wiped from existence."

The images within the illusion shifted accordingly, displaying the magnificent, tragic, and breathtaking scenes of various races partitioning territories and cultivators waging bloody wars.

Wang Xunzhen abruptly changed the subject, voicing the true essence of cultivation that Jiuyou had been bitterly pursuing.

"In this Lower Realm, Deity Transformation is the endpoint of cultivation. But in the Upper Realm, Deity Transformation is merely the entry-level foundation for transcending the Great Dao. Above Deity Transformation are three major realms: Void Refinement, Body Integration, and Mahayana."

"Only upon reaching the level of a Mahayana cultivator can one control the rise and fall of a race, determine the structure of the myriad races, and sway the survival of the world. Without a Mahayana expert holding the line, a race can never escape the fate of destruction. The reason the human race could gain a foothold in the Upper Realm is because our race possessed two supreme saints at the Mahayana Stage guarding our lands. It is just that with the passage of time and endless wars, I have no way of knowing how the human race fares today."

The light and shadows of the illusion constantly changed, unfolding image after image that surpassed the understanding of the Lower Realm.

Void Refinement cultivators moved mountains and filled seas. Almighty Body Integration experts altered the heavens and changed the earth. Mahayana overlords looked down from above, plucking stars, seizing moons, and shifting the constellations. The flourishing splendor of the Upper Realm, its vast mountains and rivers, the clashes of chosen geniuses, and the slaughters of the myriad races all reflected in Jiuyou's eyes. It was so real it bordered on surreal, constantly stirring the obsession for the Dao and the yearning for eternal life buried deep in his heart.

That highly bewitching voice lingered in his ears, coaxing him layer by layer.

"You have cultivated bitterly for a thousand years to reach the peak of Deity Transformation, only to be trapped by the shackles of the Lower Realm, your path forward severed. Look at this vast Upper Realm—endless opportunities, the supreme Great Dao, and the secrets of eternal life are all within it. Do you not yearn for a higher realm? Do you not thirst for supreme power? Do you not wish to break free from mortal chains, ascend to the absolute peak of the immortal Dao, and become an eternal immortal saint?"

As the words flowed, the originally shallow illusion quietly transformed. Illusory and real intertwined, the spiritual light growing ever more authentic. It wound into his mind thread by thread, intending to trap him forever in this illusory grand scene.

Jiuyou took all this information to heart. He closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, sorting through and digesting these secrets of the Upper Realm that completely overturned his understanding.

His thousand-year obsession, the bottleneck in his cultivation, the Great Dao of eternal life—all of his doubts had found their root cause.

After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was clear and resolute, stripped of all false distractions, leaving only biting killing intent and absolute clarity.

"Resorting to the same old trick is far too boring."

A cold shout rang through the illusion. Jiuyou had long since seen through Wang Xunzhen's intentions. The so-called trade, the so-called honest disclosure—it was ultimately just a disguised illusion meant to bewitch his mind, an attempt to pry open a flaw in his Dao heart.

He hesitated no longer. The Ember Moon Sword in his palm instantly left its sheath. The biting Sword Intent slashed across the void, explosively shattering the false illusion around him.

The sky full of light and shadow shattered inch by inch. Jiuyou used the momentum of his sword to cleave open a real spatial rift, and following the trajectory of Wang Xunzhen's hidden aura, he charged straight into the thick, blood-colored mist!