Living in the deep palace

With a deafening roar, the golden decree exploded in the air, transforming into countless points of light that instantly disappeared into the Great Dao Source of the Starry Sky.

At this moment, throughout the entire starry sky, countless cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level or location, experienced a violent tremor in their sea of ​​consciousness!

They 'saw' it—the laws governing immortals and mortals!

Article 1: Mortals are the foundation of the immortal path. Cultivators must not, in any form, bully or slaughter mortals without cause.

Article Two: Immortals have a responsibility to protect all living beings. Having received the power of heaven and earth, they should perform acts of protection.

Article 3: Before the law, immortals and mortals are equal. Those who violate the law will have their cultivation revoked, or even be annihilated, depending on the severity of the offense.

Article 4: ...

……

……

Each and every line is clearly imprinted deep within the soul of every cultivator.

This is not a discussion, nor a warning; this is the legislation of the 'Tao'! It is the 'Tao Ancestor' who created this new immortal path, personally revising the world he created!

Su Chen watched as the countless points of light completely merged into the void, and spoke calmly, his voice resonating deep within the heart:
"Gu Chenzi".

"This is your 'sin,' and also your future 'path.' When you truly understand the essence of this 'law of immortals and mortals,' rather than its literal words, then you will return to the 'Taiyi Dao Platform.'"

Gu Chenzi stared blankly in the direction where the imperial edict had vanished.

The Xuanxian realm, which had stagnated for a century, seemed to have developed a crack in its solid barrier!
He got it!

He sat high in the position of 'Mysterious Immortal' for a hundred years, enjoying the awe and offerings of all living beings. But unknowingly, he transcended the realm of 'humanity,' forgot the dust beneath his feet, and forgot that he was once a 'mortal' who struggled to rise from the dust!
The Dao Ancestor established this law between immortals and mortals not to deliberately humiliate him, but to enlighten him!

The root of the path to immortality lies in 'humanity'!
Without its source, the Dao is like a rootless duckweed; how can it grow strong and how can it glimpse a higher realm?

Gu Chenzi's voice trembled, no longer from fear, but filled with excitement and understanding:

"Daozu!"

"You...you're enlightening a disciple?!"

"Yes!"

"Disciple was wrong! Disciple has sat high in the clouds for a hundred years, forgetting the suffering of mortals, forgetting that 'I' was once a 'mortal'! This decree is not punishment, but grace! Disciple... accepts the decree!"

Gu Chenzi kowtowed deeply, his forehead touching the cold ground. This time, his devotion was palpable, as if he were reborn.

Su Chen nodded slightly and said no more.

He slowly turned around, his gaze seemingly fixed on the depths of the endless starry sea.

Now that this matter is settled, he should leave.

Gu Chenzi suddenly looked up, his voice carrying a hint of urgency and fear:
"Daozu!"

"Where are you...where are you going? Your disciple will see you off."

Su Chen didn't turn around. He simply took a step forward, his figure disappearing silently into the hustle and bustle of the Red Dust Inn, like ink merging into rice paper, leaving only one sentence echoing slowly:
"I'm going to find the 'root cause' of the problem."

Gu Chenzi stood there, stunned, muttering to himself: The root of the problem?
Su Chen's voice seemed to drift from beyond the heavens, or perhaps whispered right beside him:

“Gu Chenzi, you and Feng Shaoyu are merely ‘pathological sites.’ And this ‘sea of ​​stars’ that I created with my own hands… is sick.”

"He is very ill."

"I am searching for the source, and also for the final piece of the puzzle leading to the Great Immortal Perfection."

……

……

Su Chen left.

There were no rays of rosy dawn, no celestial music, only the wind in the ancient city stirring up a few fallen leaves, telling the story of a supreme being who once lingered there.

however.

The ancient city of Xinhuo, and even the entire Cangqiong Star Sea, were plunged into months of aftershocks of the Great Dao due to his decree of the 'Immortal and Mortal Law'.

Gu Chenzi, the renowned 'Mystic Immortal' who has guarded the ancient city of Xinhuo for a century, has truly... shed the immortal robes that symbolize his status and power.

He dismissed everyone from the branch hall, sealed 99% of his immortal essence, and alone, transformed into an old mortal with a bamboo staff, and moved into the mortal district of the New Fire Ancient City.

He began his long journey of self-cultivation in the mortal world.

He had a premonition.

After this incident, his mind was at peace, and he had a chance to break through from the Xuan Yu Immortal realm to the first-tier Golden Immortal Dao Fruit!
This was his destiny.

of course.

He also needs to be able to control it.

The once illustrious Feng family was also wiped out of the immortal path overnight. All the family's cultivators had their cultivation levels imprisoned, and they truly became an ordinary family that had to struggle for a living.

The glory and privileges of the past have vanished like smoke.

'When the Dao Ancestor was enraged, the immortals were punished, and laws were established between immortals and mortals.'

These twelve short characters became the most sensational and far-reaching 'storm' in the century since the beginning of the new era of the Azure Star Sea, sweeping across every corner.

The being who created all of this—Su Chen—has once again transformed into an inconspicuous mortal in a blue robe, walking on the land of another distant and unfamiliar star field—'Tianxuan Star Field'.

He dismissed the arrogant and domineering Feng Shaoyu, punished the negligent and indulgent Gu Chenzi, and established the seemingly righteous "Immortal and Mortal Laws".

This appears to be an undeniable 'thunderous measure,' the supreme authority of the 'Dao Ancestor' in maintaining order.

But only Su Chen himself knew...

He failed again.

He still hadn't grasped the true meaning of 'Wu,' the ultimate concept that represents the end and nothingness of everything.

He needs to continue searching!
Su Chen walked on a 'wild' planet with scarce spiritual energy and a harsh environment, stepping on scorching sand and muttering to himself, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness and self-mockery:

"What kind of state of mind is lacking for a Great Luo Immortal to reach perfection?"

“I have established the ‘Law of Immortals and Mortals,’ which is a new ‘order,’ a new ‘rule,’ and another form of ‘life.’”

“I am still ‘creating’, ‘making amends’, and using a new framework to cover old problems.”

“I am still ‘avoiding’…avoiding that true, complete ‘end’, avoiding that absolute ‘negation’ of all phenomena and essence! This…is not ‘wu’.”

Su Chen looked up, his seemingly cloudy and ordinary eyes easily piercing through the endless void, overlooking the entire starry sea.

He saw it.

The appearance of the 'Immortal and Mortal Laws' was like adding alum to a murky lake, clearing up the atmosphere of the 'Sky Star Sea'!
On the surface, everything appears peaceful and orderly.

but……

Su Chen also saw something deeper.

Beneath the seemingly impenetrable shadows, the malignant tumors were not eradicated. They merely moved from the surface to the underground.

'Feng Shaoyu is just the 'lesion' that has surfaced.'

'Gu Chenzi is merely an 'oversight failure' due to inadequate supervision.'

But the root cause of these lesions...

Su Chen's gaze traversed the endless galaxy, finally settling on the seemingly dazzling central region of the Tianxuan Starfield.

what exactly is it?
What is it that has allowed this universe, which I personally banished the evil spirits and reshaped the laws of nature, to become a place brimming with life and hope?

In just a century, arrogance, class, and oppression have re-emerged...

'Is this kind of malice so 'similar' to the survival-of-the-fittest mentality and the trampling of all living beings advocated by the old "evil spirit sect"?'

Su Chen couldn't understand it.

This lingering frustration in his heart once again hindered his pursuit of '【芜】'.

Then he thought of someone. Someone who, in his deductions, represented the bright side of the 'New Immortal Path'.

'Lu Cheng.'

That boy, a hundred years ago, was the first to 'awaken his spiritual root' when his divine sense swept across the newly formed universe.

That person, who rose step by step through his own efforts and character, is now revered as 'Ancestor Lu Cheng' by cultivators in 'New Fire Ancient City' and even the wider star field...

'Son of the New Way'!
If Feng Shaoyu is a "stain" produced by his "new immortal path" system, or a "poisonous fruit" that has grown crooked.

Therefore, Lu Cheng should be the most outstanding representative of his 'new immortal path', a bright and beautiful 'immortal fruit'.

“I went to see the ‘poisonous fruit’ and removed it.”

"Now... I should go and see this magical fruit."

Su Chen took a step forward, his figure rippling like water, merging into the void, heading towards the core of the 'Tianxuan Starfield'.

……

Tianxuan Star Domain, 'Demon Suppression City'.

This city is completely different from the bustling 'New Fire Ancient City', which is full of life and human warmth.

There are no 'mortals' here. It's not that the law forbids it, but that no mortal could possibly survive in this cruel environment.

This is the real 'battlefield'!
It is a colossal war fortress built upon a terrifying, grotesque 'Star River Rift' that spans a star field!
The city wall was not made of ordinary bluestone, but was forged from ten-thousand-year-old black iron and countless broken pieces of star remains. It was covered with dense runes and marks from sword cuts and chiseling, exuding a cold and murderous aura.

Within the city, there were no noisy 'restaurants' or markets, only well-ordered 'barracks', heavily guarded 'alchemy workshops' and 'weapon workshops', and 'watchtowers' that were always in operation.

The cultivators coming and going were all enveloped in a tangible aura of malevolence, with cold, stern faces, sharp eyes like eagles, and ruthless, decisive actions.

Their cultivation level is at least Foundation Establishment!
This is the Tianxuan Starfield... and even the entire 'Azure Star Sea'... universally recognized as the most 'dangerous' and 'arduous' frontline!

Because, beyond the towering walls of 'Demon Suppression City,' lies the bottomless 'Star River Rift,' constantly emanating an ominous aura...

This is the most terrifying and bizarre "enemy" that has been entrenched in this "New Immortal Path" for the past hundred years!
——'Evil'!
What is 'evil spirit'?
No one can fully explain its origin.

All I know is that it has been around for about fifty years.

Inexplicable anomalies have begun to appear in the cosmic wasteland of the 'Azure Star Sea'.

Some cultivators with considerable skill will suddenly go berserk without warning!
They will become extremely 'cruel', 'bloodthirsty', and 'arrogant'!
They will inhumanely slaughter planets inhabited by mortals, and will frantically devour the cultivation and lives of their fellow disciples!
Their 'path' will undergo a bizarre 'alienation,' becoming chaotic and full of destructive power!

Their 'souls' will be completely 'distorted,' losing all reason and emotion, turning them into monsters that only know destruction!

They call themselves 'demons'!
And this 'Star River Rift' in the 'Tianxuan Star Region' is one of the largest known 'nests' and sources of 'evil'!

'Lu Chengzhenjun' is the one from this 'Demon Suppression City'...

Supreme Commander – 'City Lord'!
This is also what is now universally acknowledged in the 'Sky Star Sea'...

'The number one demon suppressor!'
At the age of less than a hundred, he has achieved the astonishing cultivation of the 'Great Perfection of Nascent Soul' and has guarded this treacherous 'Demon Suppression City' for a full thirty years!
Over the course of thirty years, he personally led his "Demon Suppression Army" to fight on the front lines, and personally killed at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, "demons"!

He is hailed as the "order" walking beneath the "Tao Ancestor"! He is the most steadfast "guardian" and "purifier" of the "New Tao"!
Su Chen, like an ordinary intruder, walked step by step into this steel behemoth exuding a soaring murderous aura, on such an afternoon when the blood-red setting sun shone upon it.

At this time.

A gentle laugh, yet one that couldn't conceal a deep weariness, came from not far behind Su Chen:
"Cough cough."

"Fellow Daoist appears to be quite remarkable. May I ask what brings you to this city?"

A streak of moon-white light flashed by, and a young cultivator dressed in a Taoist robe appeared at the city gate.

His face was gentle and refined, and his appearance was exceptionally handsome, but his eyes, which should have been bright, carried a weariness and vicissitude that seemed incompatible with his age.

Su Chen looked at the young man.

This young man looked to be in his early twenties, in the prime of his youth.

However, the unfathomable aura of the 'Great Perfection of Nascent Soul' emanating from him, as well as the immense, restrained pressure that he had condensed through countless bloody battles, all demonstrated his powerful strength and extraordinary status.

He simply stood there casually.

It seemed to have naturally become the core of this 'Demon-Suppressing City'! It was the light and faith in the eyes of all the cultivators guarding the city!

He is the legendary 'Son of the New Way'.

Lu Cheng!

Su Chen looked at 'Lu Cheng' with great interest.

Lu Cheng, with a perfectly timed 'smile' on his face, looked back at 'Su Chen' with an honest gaze.

Lu Cheng cupped his hands again, his tone gentle and polite:
"gentlemen."

"Just now, I was observing the strange movements of the 'star tide' at the edge of the 'crack' 30,000 miles outside the city, and I happened to 'see' you here alone."

He paused, a barely perceptible hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes, and continued:
“Sir, although I am… well, a ‘mortal’ body.”

"But for some reason, the 'Daoist aura' surrounding the gentleman made 'Lu Cheng' feel something, but he couldn't see through it at all."

"May I ask, sir, what is your background?"

Su Chen smiled upon hearing this.

He knew perfectly well that he hadn't been seen "by chance."

Rather, the moment he 'stepped' into the Tianxuan Starfield, he was locked onto by this perceptive 'Son of the New Path' in some special way.

This 'Son of the New Path' did not 'sense' the 'cultivation level' that he deliberately concealed.

Instead, it was through its extraordinary spiritual perception that it 'senses' the unique 'Daoist charm' emanating from this 'mortal'—a charm that was out of place and transcendent in the world!
"What a wonderful phrase, 'unfathomable'."

"If you could truly see through even a fraction of me, you would be able to look down upon this sea of ​​stars."

Su Chen shook his head and chuckled. (End of Chapter)