Aspiring To The Immortal Path

Late autumn.

The winds blowing through Nadir Hill had a somberness to them.

There were few living creatures to be seen on the Gargantua Plain, and Godhead Mountain standing tall over the vast earth seemed bleak and depressing.

Bleakness was a kind of misery, a sign that one was heading into one's twilight years.

At some point, that high and shining Godhead Palace started to feel like it was sinking down toward the horizon.

In truth, Godhead Mountain was still Godhead Mountain, and Godhead Palace was still Godhead Palace. What had changed was not these majestic structures, but the people dwelling within them.

In the past, the cultivators of Godhead Palace had been impressive and arrogant, receiving respect wherever they went.

But ever since that incident 130 years ago, everything had changed.

The emigration of the masses had led to a faltering economy and a much smaller pool of people to recruit from. Although there were still countless people fighting to get into the academy every year, the number of geniuses had fallen, and more people had to be recruited to compensate. Overall, the quality of Godhead Palace's cultivators had greatly fallen.

Fortune no longer favored them. Natural disasters occurred frequently on their lands, and Godhead Palace disciples abroad would die for inexplicable reasons. Gradually, they started to lose more talents than they were bringing in.

When an organization's rate of losing talents began to outpace the rate at which it gained talents, it began an inevitable slide into decline.

Many people started to panic.

But while they panicked, few were able to take action to salvage the situation.

Tang Jie wasn't doing anything complicated. He was just improving the lives of the people, allowing him to draw in more talents.

But something so simple was actually very difficult to do well.

Some people tried to handle the problem in the way Tang Jie had. However, they failed for several reasons. The first was that they simply lacked the ability. Putting all their intelligence toward cultivation meant that they understood little about politics. Secondly, there was a problem with their attitude. Even someone as capable as Tang Jie had had to toil for thirty years to get the results he did, but those people simply thought that issuing a few decrees would get things done, having no idea how complicated things really were. Finally, the Basking Moon Sect was sabotaging them, and their efforts plus the abandonment by fortune meant that all their reforms ended in failure, even making things worse. Reform was like surgery. Surgery done well could grant a new lease on life, but a failed surgery could lead to death on the operating table.

Godhead Palace had performed surgery on itself, but instead of healing old ills, they had thrown their internals into disarray.

68 years ago, the Six Generals of Godhead Palace had combined their might to ambush the Hawk King of Jade Pearl City, Shi Haomei, while Dragon King Chang Hong had been injured and fled. Afterward, the Hawk Hall and Dragon Pavilion were purged, leading to the deaths of a hundred and fortysome cultivators, including thirty-some Celestial Heart True Persons. The reason was that these two had been the main proponents of the reform.

Godhead Palace Master Jin Wuyu had been furious over this, personally killing the main culprit, Heaven-Conquering Marquis Bo Nan. He wanted to kill the other five, but Shi Wunian, Zhan Wushang, and Han Wuxin managed to plead for their lives, and their death sentence was commuted to one hundred years in the Frozen Hell Jail.

One hundred and thirty years had passed.

A hundred and thirty years was enough for ten-some political regimes to come and go, for society to be flipped upside-down, for the common people to turn into powerful bandits, and for a strong organization to decline.

Godhead Palace had withered away in these last one hundred and thirty years.

For many cultivators, this was a little too fast. After all, one hundred and thirty years could be considered a rather challenging period of seclusion for cultivators, or a particularly long excursion, or perhaps enough time to consolidate one's enlightenments.

Yesterday had still been glorious, but today was like this!? It had come so quickly that they couldn't help but be caught off guard.

The Palace of No-Thought ('Wunian').

Shi Wunian stood on an eave of the palace, gazing into the distance.

Opulent buildings extended off into the distance.

A desolate and bleak light appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly said, "Forty-five hundred years ago, the people of Nadir Hill emerged from their small island, and it took more than four thousand years for them to create all this, shedding countless drops of blood and sweat in the process. Warrior Tie Cang braved the Sea of Trees alone, the Jadewood True Lord slew the Triclops Sea Fiend, the Divine Might Marquis conquered the lands and hacked down a million contenders, the Unwithering Elder sacrificed himself in order to cover the retreat, and even my Shi Clan lost thirty-one of its members in all those countless campaigns throughout history. It was their blood and sweat that created the majesty of my Godhead Palace. My Godhead Palace can be defeated, but it will never be toppled! But now, we haven't even been defeated, so why does it seem like we're about to topple?"

He let out a long sigh.

The space above the Palace of No-Thought rippled.

A golden-robed man appeared next to Shi Wunian.

"You've been getting more and more excitable lately."

Shi Wunian lowered his head. "It is this Wunian's mistake, Palace Master. It's just that when I think of my Godhead Palace's situation as of late, I can't help but be worried."

This golden-robed man was none other than the master of Godhead Palace, Jin Wuyu ('No Desire').

Jin Wuyu indifferently said, "There are simply fewer people now, and they are less happy. It's certainly not the end of the world."

Shi Wunian muttered, "These are all minor matters. The problem is the turning of the Heavenly Dao"

He didn't continue, for he saw his senior brother's face darken.

Just as Shi Wunian had said, the drop in people, the fall in quality, and the lack of self-confidence were all nothing serious. So long as the foundations were there, these things could be brought back up. But the reversal of fortunes was far more serious. This matter concerned the survival of the sect and was an indicator of which way the wind was blowing.

Although Godhead Palace didn't understand Fate, it could sense Fate.

It was easy to sense the effects the changing of fortune was having on Godhead Palace. Inexplicable disasters and various unlucky incidents were all on the rise. Disciples attempting breakthroughs would abruptly die, a 5% chance of death being multiplied several times over, and fiends were wreaking havoc.

The Beast Refining Gate was in the same state. The territories of both sects seemed to have been abandoned by fortune.

In comparison, the Seven Absolutions Sect, Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and the Thousand Passions Sect were unchanged, while the Basking Moon Sect was rising like the sun.

Given such an obvious discrepancy and Tang Jie's big reformation all those years ago, even a fool could tell what was going on.

Using mortals as threads to influence the world was a power unique to Fate!

Thus, Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate knew that Fate had abandoned them.

Although this was man-made, there was no denying how terrifying it was to be abandoned.

Some people had already guessed at where the shifted fortune had gone, and they grew even more concerned about the future.

Not everyone needed to wait until the country was on the verge of collapse to see its death. In truth, many people would sense it, but even if they knew, they couldn't do anything about it.

Even cultivators had times where they were helpless!

Jin Wuyu said, "Your Divine Soul still hasn't recovered from the injury inflicted by the God-Conquering Merak Sword, and so you are easily provoked. You should meditate more and think less about such things."

Shi Wunian could only lower his head and comply.

At this moment, a cultivator came up. "Zheng Liang greets the Palace Master and the Aspirational Lord."

Jin Wuyu looked at that cultivator. "Zheng Liang, are you ready to set out?"

Zheng Liang answered, "All the Red Sulfur has been prepared, and this disciple will deliver it personally."

Red Sulfur was an extremely rare material that was hugely nutritious when fed to fiends. But this rare material was only produced in small amounts in Nadir Hill and Duskland, and of these two, Nadir Hill's Red Sulfur was of better quality. Every year, the Beast Refining Gate would buy large amounts of this substance from Godhead Palace, which was one of the connections bonding the two sects.

Zheng Liang was Jin Wuyu's third disciple, at Soul Transformation, his strength nearing the level of a chief. Jin Wuyu could rest a little easier with this man personally delivering this year's Red Sulfur. But he still said, "To be safe, as always, you should go to the ancestor's golden body and request the protection of a strand of Divine Will."

He waved his hand, and an edict flew toward Zheng Liang.

Zheng Liang received the edict and said, "As the Palace Master wills!"

Godhead Palace divided up the Divine Will Golden Body very finely, a sliver being one hundredth, and a strand being one tenth.

In these last few years, Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate had been beset by disasters and misfortune, so Godhead Palace needed to be extremely careful. Something as important as the delivery of Red Sulfur not only had to be delivered by the palace master's disciple, but also needed the protection of the golden body's Divine Will.

This was to guarantee that Godhead Palace would not suffer a huge loss. It was just that there were more complaints now that the higher-level cultivators were being mobilized more often.

Zheng Liang went off to the ancestral hall.

A golden statue stood within the hall. It seemed unremarkable at first, a simple clay statue of rather crude handiwork. But if one looked carefully, one would notice that this golden body flowed with a divine light that made it seem alive.

Two elders sat cross-legged next to the divine statue, both of them Soul Transformation experts.

Zheng Liang came forward and offered up Jin Wuyu's edict. He then kneeled in front of the statue and said, "Ancestor, please grant me your protection!

"Ancestor, please grant me your protection!" Zheng Liang repeated this phrase ten times.

Finally, a golden light emerged from the statue and fell on the center of Zheng Liang's forehead.

Zheng Liang shuddered, and then an expression of immense satisfaction appeared on his face, as if this Divine Will had brought him immeasurable joy.

Zheng Liang stood up, bowed to the statue, and withdrew from the ancestral hall.

Upon leaving the hall, Zheng Liang flew out of Godhead Mountain.

As he was leaving, a cultivator flew in from the distance, coming up to Zheng Liang with a beaming smile. "So it's Senior Brother Zheng? Long time no see! Your complexion is looking rather fine. This junior brother just gathered some Southern Jade Aroma tea leaves a few days ago and was about to invite a friend to enjoy them with me. Senior Brother, since we've run into each other, why not join us?"

Zheng Liang quickly said, "So it's True Person Huang! Zheng Liang appreciates True Person's kindness, but my master has given me a mission, and I must carry it out without delay."

"If it's not too important, you can just head out a bit later," that True Person Huang insisted.

Helpless, Zheng Liang dropped his head and whispered, "Master is having me deliver Red Sulfur to the Beast Refining Gate."

True Person Huang turned solemn. "Delivering Red Sulfur? That is no small matter at all. Are you heading out right now?"

Zheng Liang patted his Mustard Seed Bag. "Of course."

True Person Huang glanced at the Mustard Seed Bag and drily laughed. "If that's the case, I won't disturb you any further."

Zheng Liang apologized and flew off.

After seeing Zheng Liang leave, True Person Huang suddenly flew off in another direction.

He flew far, far away, far enough that the palace master's and the Aspirational Lord's Divine Wills couldn't reach. He then chuckled and said, "Senior Brother Zheng, please don't blame me for being heartless. Alas, the tree that is Godhead Palace is about to fall, and I have to give myself a way out."

He took out a fire talisman, ignited it, and sent it into the sky.

The skies to the south of Godhead Palace.

Tang Jie was seated cross-legged on the outer edge of the Astral Wind region, unmoved as the winds buffeted him.

His eyes suddenly opened, and he smiled. "The little lamb has come out."

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