The only way

Chapter 930 The Theory of the Three Realms

More than a decade has passed, the green hills remain the same, but two or three old friends are nowhere to be seen.

Even the sect leader, Chonghe Zhenjun, who sat upright behind the white jade desk, had the same solemn face as before, but his originally jet-black sideburns had been tinged with white.

When he looked up at Ling Chu, his eyes first showed relief, followed by endless vicissitudes.

"As long as you're back safely."

Familiar words rang in her ears. Ling Chu gazed at the white hair at the sect leader's temples. The words she originally wanted to ask, or rather question, immediately fell back into her throat.

On the contrary, Chonghe Zhenjun seemed to have seen through something. A gentle smile appeared on his serious face. With a flick of his sleeve, the layers of jade slips and scrolls on the white jade desk disappeared.

Instead, a pot of clear tea and a pair of white jade-like teacups appeared on the table.

With a light tap of fingertips on the table, a white jade stool appears, and clear tea rises and gurgles into the cup.

The tea is served seven-tenths full, its fragrance as delicate as orchids, lingering and never dissipating, instantly calming the mind and spirit.

"Sit down and try the tea leaves from that old tea tree on Youlan Peak."

This sounds like it's time for a heart-to-heart talk.

Ling Chu thought that this conversation should be able to resolve her doubts.

Lingchu sat down on the white jade round stool, picked up the teacup, and felt its smooth, creamy texture. The fragrance was delicate and refreshing, as clear as gardenia and as sweet as orchid, and the tea soup was apricot yellow with a hint of green.

It has a rich aroma upon entry, a refreshing taste upon swallowing, and a sweet aftertaste upon entering the stomach.

Regardless of the spiritual energy it contains, the taste alone is already considered excellent.

Ling Chu also commented in the same way.

Youlan Peak is not high, nor is its spiritual energy abundant. It is unremarkable among the continuous mountains of the Sanqing Dao Sect. However, an old tea tree grows there, and the tea leaves it produces resemble orchids and have a fragrance as rich as orchids. Therefore, the sect named this peak Youlan Peak, and this tea is called Youlan Tea.

This peak has no owner, so the Orchid Tea is harvested every year by a task assigned by the sect. The tea is then processed and placed within the sect for disciples who like it to exchange for contribution points.

Chonghe Zhenjun really liked this Youlan tea and would replace it every year.

Ling Chu had heard of it, but this was the first time she had ever tasted it.

"Thinking back carefully, Taiwei, you are not very old, but you have been to many places. So, in your opinion, is this world vast?"

Chonghe Zhenjun picked up his teacup, took a sip of the orchid tea, and looked at Lingchu with a calm and gentle gaze.

Ling Chu was born in the Eastern Continent, has been to the Northern Wilderness, seen the boundless sea, and visited the Western Continent. In the vast Lingxu Realm, she seems to have been to most of the places, but upon closer examination, there are actually many places she has not yet set foot in.

Thinking of this, Lingchu replied, "Heaven and earth are infinite, and nature is extremely vast."

"Then do you know what lies beyond this world? And what realm lies beyond the Nascent Soul stage?"

Chonghe Zhenjun's words were sharp as a knife, asking questions that ordinary cultivators would never know.

Even for a top-tier immortal sect like the Sanqing Dao Sect, the disciples only knew that this world was called the Lingxu Realm and that the place where the Sanqing Dao Sect was located was called the Eastern Continent.

The stages of cultivation progress from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and finally Spirit Transformation.

In today's world, gods are revered.

The subsequent realms were not recorded in any books or jade slips.

Ling Chu was also a Nascent Soul cultivator. She learned from her master that after transforming into a Deity, one would become a Mahayana cultivator.

"Do you know when the last cultivator reached the Mahayana realm?" Chonghe Zhenjun raised his hand, and a stream of light flew out from his sleeve, revealing a plate of crystal-clear, jade-like fruit. "Try it, Jade Plum, it tastes quite good with Youlan Tea."

The topic of discussion was a secret little known to the people of the Spirit Ruins Realm, yet True Lord Chonghe remained leisurely and content, as if they were having a casual chat.

Lingchu picked up a jade plum, took a bite, and found it crisp, cool, and with a refreshing, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The taste was indeed quite good.

"Please enlighten me, Sect Leader."

"The last Mahayana cultivator was more than eight thousand years ago," said Chonghe Zhenjun, picking up a jade plum and reminiscing as he ate it.

"I've heard that Mahayana cultivators can live for over ten thousand years. Is that Mahayana senior from over eight thousand years ago still alive?"

This was the first time Ling Chu had ever heard of cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage, so she was naturally very curious.

A dark glint flashed in Chonghe Zhenjun's eyes as he said meaningfully, "Mahayana cultivators do indeed have long lifespans; even after ten thousand years, they remain immortal. If you were to ask about the Mahayana cultivator from over eight thousand years ago, I could tell you definitively that she is no longer in this world."

"Not in this world? Could it be that this senior has ascended to immortality?" Ling Chu was startled, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"No, our Spirit Ruins Realm has not had a cultivator ascend to immortality for tens of thousands of years."

When the words "ascension" were mentioned, Chonghe Zhenjun's tone revealed an undisguised sense of melancholy.

The fact that no cultivator has ascended for tens of thousands of years—what this means is something that True Monarch Chonghe understands all too well.

Perhaps some ignorant cultivators might think that the lack of exceptionally talented cultivators is the reason why no one has ascended to immortality.

But as the head of a major sect in the Spirit Ruins Realm, Chonghe Zhenjun deeply understood what this meant.

There has never been a shortage of exceptionally talented people in this world.

Those who can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage are the best among their peers, and those who can cultivate to the Divine Transformation stage are geniuses who stand out in the world.

But don't they have the potential to ascend? No, the Spirit Ruins Realm has had cultivators with the potential to ascend generation after generation.

But what trapped them was never their talent or ability, but the world itself!

With a flick of his sleeve and a wave of his hand, Chonghe Zhenjun drew the clouds and mist outside the window into the main hall.

The clouds gathered in front of Lingchu, and Chonghe Zhenjun pointed a finger at them. The originally snow-white clouds were like drops of ink, instantly turning into a cloud of gray mist.

Before heaven and earth were separated, there was only chaos and primordial darkness. When heaven and earth were obscured, all things did not exist.

"Afterwards, there were ancient gods who created heaven and earth. In the beginning of chaos, the pure qi rose to become the sky, and the turbid qi sank to become the earth. In the middle, the pure and turbid qi coexisted, and the three realms were established."

As Chonghe Zhenjun spoke, the gray, misty cloud surged and rolled, with a faint flash of lightning within it, before splitting into three.

A cloud of white mist rose, a cloud of black mist sank, and in the middle remained a cloud of gray mist.

The three colors coexist harmoniously, yet remain distinctly separate.

"Above the nine heavens, the place of ascension, is the celestial realm, the abode of immortals and gods."

"Below the Nine Netherworlds, the place of return is the Earthly Realm, the place of reincarnation in the Underworld."

"Beneath the heavens and above the earth, the land of all living beings is the human realm, where all living things depend for survival."

In the blink of an eye, the three characters for Heaven, Earth, and Man, glowing with golden light, appeared above the clouds, with Heaven above, Earth below, and Man in the middle.

Chonghe Zhenjun waved his sleeve again, and the two clouds of mist in the sky and on the ground dissipated, leaving only the person in the center.

"Leaving aside the Celestial Realm and the Earthly Realm for the time being, for us cultivators, the most important thing before ascension is the mortal realm where we are located."

Chonghe Zhenjun stretched out his finger and gently touched the space between the two of them, where a gray cloud of mist appeared again.

The next instant, the character "人" (person) soared into the air and stood tall above the gray mist.

The gray fog split into three again, but this time the color did not change. Instead, it was divided into three distinct clusters of different sizes from top to bottom, resembling an inverted triangle.