Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 288 Toad Eating the Moon
Because the second Immortal Destiny Conference lasted for too long, a "Immortal Destiny Banquet" was only held on the first day.

Those invited, besides a few grandmasters and great grandmasters, were the leaders or heads of some sects and forces that were on good terms with the White Stone Immortal Sect, such as Qu Zhiweng and Ye Lingying.

However, as usual, Murong Zhen took Murong Ruyan's invitation and came over to freeload a meal. This emperor of Xiao Kingdom has now settled in the still under-construction Baozhou Palace for a long time, and sometimes he also goes to the Shuntian Army camp. The dishes at the "Immortal Fate Banquet" are all "immortal food" that only cultivators and immortals can eat, so he certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

As for the Southern Chu Kingdom... Although Ye Shuyun's invitation was delivered to the Southern Chu Emperor's desk, the Southern Chu Emperor did not come; he only sent his younger brother, the Prince Kang, to participate.

The Kang King of the Southern Chu Kingdom was named Liu De. He was the ninth son of the previous emperor of the Southern Chu Kingdom and had always been close to Emperor Liu Dan of the Southern Chu Kingdom.

This time, his visit to the White Stone Immortal Sect can be described as Liu Dan's eyes and ears.

These eyes are now experiencing pupil dilation.

Faced with everything about the White Stone Immortal Sect, King Kang was so shocked that he was almost speechless.

The entire White Stone Immortal Sect, and he, the scholars of the Southern Chu Kingdom, and even more so the "sects" in the martial arts world that the Emperor had imagined, were all so different!

It is also completely different from the "country" that the Southern Chu Kingdom had imagined!

If it were merely a difference, it would be fine, but the strength displayed by this "sect" and the power it represents are causing King Kang considerable worry.

If the Immortal Path is truly as powerful as he has seen and even heard in the rumors, then it would not be impossible for this sect to move south and gradually devour and swallow up the Great Chu!
Realizing this, King Kang wrote a letter overnight, recounting everything he had seen and heard.

"Your subject, De, respectfully reports: Today, I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's divine grace in granting me the authority to conduct the Immortal Affinity Assembly of the White Stone Immortal Clan..."

When this letter reached the Southern Chu Kingdom, the entire kingdom was joyfully congratulating the Southern Chu emperor on breaking through to the level of a post-natal Venerable.

Although the rank of Acquired Venerable is rare, as an emperor, with so many rare and precious materials, raising one is not difficult.

In fact, the Southern Chu Emperor's breakthrough was due to his continuous consumption of "immortal food" from the White Stone Immortal Sect, which gradually accumulated and eventually led to his breakthrough.

Just as the Southern Chu emperor was breaking through to the throne, his birthday was approaching. Therefore, the entire Southern Chu court wanted to take this opportunity to hold a grand birthday banquet, hoping that the emperor would bestow some fine gifts so that everyone could share in the glory.

The letter from the King of Kang was delivered the day before his birthday.

The palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and civil and military officials presented birthday gifts to congratulate Emperor Chu on breaking through to the realm of the Acquired Venerable.

The Imperial Kitchen specially prepared a nine-layered longevity cake shaped like a peach, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices arranged a variety of acrobatic performances. The rice and noodles served at the birthday banquet were all made from spirit rice and spirit wheat that were purchased at a high price from the White Stone Immortal Sect. The tea was also changed to Immortal Peach Tea—a fruit tea made from pickled dried immortal peaches, which can strengthen the body and make people feel energetic.

Outside the imperial city, lanterns and colorful ribbons were already hung in the streets and alleys, and the entire capital was immersed in the festive celebration.

Liu Dan had just finished receiving the homage of his ministers at the court assembly and returned to his study with a smug smile on his face.

Breaking through to the Acquired Venerable realm, though costly, was ultimately a success. It represented the pinnacle of his personal martial prowess and symbolized the prosperity of his nation. He was currently planning how to display his imperial majesty at tomorrow's birthday banquet, how to take the opportunity to reprimand a few recently unruly regional warlords, and ideally, send a few official letters to other countries to inform them—

The value of my Acquired Venerable status is quite high. To be able to break through to the Acquired Venerable at such a young age, it is conceivable that even a Grandmaster might not be able to reach that level in the future.

When the eunuch presented the Prince of Kang with a birthday greeting, he casually opened it, expecting to see his younger brother's usual words of congratulations, but unexpectedly, what fell out first was an urgent memorial sealed with sealing wax.

The urgent memorial and the birthday wishes to the emperor were in the same package. Liu Dan frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding passing through his mind.

But he opened the letter without hesitation, and as expected, his face turned increasingly pale.

"Your subject, De, respectfully reports: Today, I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's divine grace in granting me the authority to conduct the various matters concerning the Immortal Gathering of the White Stone Immortal Sect."

In his letter, King Kang described in detail what he had seen and heard at the White Stone Immortal Sect, which sounded somewhat absurd.

What kind of immortal sect disciples can manipulate the energy of heaven and earth with a mere gesture, and what kind of cultivators can fly and escape into the earth after only half a year of training!

How can this be! ?
Liu Dan has cultivated diligently for over thirty years, expending countless resources, to reach his current Acquired Realm... Flying through the sky and escaping into the earth? That's something even Grandmasters can't do!

What else could condense water into ice, blow fire into walls, and summon lightning into arrays?! This is practically a story from mythology and legends! Even with my cultivation as a post-natal Venerable, I can't achieve such a level; I must be above the innate Venerable level!
But Liu Dan knew perfectly well that his younger brother was not one to make empty promises. If he wrote such a letter, it meant he had actually seen it with his own eyes. But... but if that were really the case, then the power of those immortals was already so terrifying when it first appeared.

Liu Dan took a deep breath, suppressing his surprise and a hint of anger at being offended, and continued reading, but the more he read, the more terrified he became.

According to King Kang, when the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect sparred, their flying swords moved like lightning, capable of cutting through gold and jade from a hundred paces away. Some even possessed the power to split mountains...

This is definitely not a martial arts technique!
He pictured the scene of the elite Southern Chu army facing such tactics.

Back then, few military formations could rival a Grandmaster; now, facing cultivators…

Before they even engage in battle, their morale will likely collapse. And this isn't just one or two experts, but rather a whole unit of "cultivators"!
Is that human being! ?

"Martial arts true energy originates from oneself and will eventually be exhausted; immortal magic, however, can draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for its own use, which is vast, boundless, and inexhaustible..."

These words were like a cold needle, piercing Liu Dan's heart.

"What's even more terrifying is that those cultivators can travel via 'teleportation arrays,' instantly teleporting thousands of miles away. And in the White Stone Immortal Sect's kingdom, there are already hundreds of such 'teleportation arrays'..."

If they truly intend to march south, even with a million-strong army and countless grandmasters and great grandmasters, our Great Chu would likely be unable to withstand them… What use are the border passes and treacherous terrain in the face of an impending military onslaught?

Liu Dan's hands trembled slightly, as if the thin letter paper weighed a ton.

He had just broken through to the Acquired Venerable Realm and thought he was already a top expert in the world. Given time, he thought that when he broke through to the Innate Venerable Realm, he might be able to reach the ultimate Grandmaster Realm, and he would be able to awe all around him.

He had even fantasized about unifying the surrounding areas in his lifetime, achieving a hegemony far surpassing that of his ancestors, and having his own throne placed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. But... But what the King of Kang said in his letter was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly freezing all his pride and ambition, leaving only a bone-chilling cold and a sense of panic of being left behind by the torrent of the times.

His pride in his military might and the army he relied on might be incredibly fragile in the face of a completely different power system.

"Could it be... that martial arts are truly inferior to the path of immortality?"

Liu Dan muttered to himself, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Once the thought arose, it grew wildly, shaking his decades-old beliefs.

After an unknown amount of time, several eunuchs stood to one side like statues, their eyelids barely moving, and the breathing in the room was barely audible, making it so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Liu Dan suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the imperial study, his anxiety beyond words.

The festive atmosphere of the Emperor's birthday celebration now seemed incredibly ironic; the congratulations from his ministers still echoed in his ears, yet they felt like a mockery of his current predicament.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he strode to the bookshelf, frantically searching through the pages, and finally took out a book that had been presented to him several months earlier—"The Book of Immortals of Baishi".

This was recommended by Ye Shaobao. He said it was very popular in the White Stone Immortal Sect, and even in the Xiao Kingdom, Murong Zhen ordered it to be printed in large quantities.

Unfortunately, I used to scoff at the idea of ​​"governing a country with a sect," thinking it was nothing more than unorthodox methods, strange tricks, and frivolous skills, not worthy of serious consideration, let alone enough to shake the foundation of the country. So I put it on the bookshelf and never read it seriously.

But at this moment, every word in the letter from King Kang urged him on. He finally remembered the book and, with an almost desperate desire to verify it, opened this strange book that would soon make him both love and hate it.

He eagerly flipped through the pages, his gaze quickly settling on the very first passage: "The cultivation of immortality begins with drawing qi into the body, followed by refining qi, building the foundation, forming the elixir, the nascent soul, leaving the body, transforming into spirit, merging the body, penetrating the void, and finally reaching the Great Ascension. Each breakthrough into a major realm will temper the body and bones through tribulation lightning, multiplying lifespan. Some cultivators even possess supernatural powers that arise spontaneously..."

"Lifespan doubled!"
These four words made Liu Dan's heart skip a beat.

"According to my investigation, most of the outer disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect are Qi Refining cultivators, also known as Qi Refiners. This is the initial stage of the Immortal Path, but they are already not to be underestimated. It is said that when the White Stone Immortal's eldest disciple was in the Qi Refining stage, he was able to defeat Senior Mu Feng, who was a Grandmaster, in one move... Although I do not know if it is true or not, judging from the actions of the Qi Refining disciples in the White Stone Immortal Sect, it is probably not far off..."

Can a Qi Refining stage cultivator defeat a Grandmaster? Liu Dan felt dizzy; he couldn't imagine what the later stages would be like.

"...The methods of martial arts arose when spiritual energy was scarce. Extraordinary individuals created a unique method to refine spiritual energy into internal force, thus forming the martial arts. Martial arts true energy is constrained by the level of internal force cultivation; physical strength alone cannot overcome all techniques..."

“Force cannot break all laws…” He repeatedly chewed on these words, his brows furrowed.

It wasn't that he had never opened the book, but he never imagined that what it described was not an exaggerated legend, but a cold and cruel reality!

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke the silence of the imperial study.

The Chu Emperor, already in a state of unease, frowned and asked sternly, "What's all this commotion outside?"

A eunuch scrambled in, his face filled with panic, and reported, "Your Majesty, there is a strange phenomenon in the heavens! Yes, yes, yes, there is a toad eating the moon!"

The eunuch stammered, which Liu Dan found unsettling. His unease intensified, and he quickly walked out of the hall.

In the night sky, a bright moon was being slowly swallowed by an invisible giant mouth, and the moon had no power to resist.

The Chu Emperor stood there, stunned, gazing up at this rare celestial phenomenon. He remained silent for a long time, a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The secret letter from King Kang, the terror of the immortal path, the limitations of martial arts, and this timely "toad eating the moon"...

All of these things intertwined and created a tremendous impact on him.

He recalled the last paragraph of King Kang's letter: "Your Majesty, I observe that the state of the immortal sects is beyond our comprehension. If the immortal path flourishes, the world will surely undergo great changes! The Xiao Kingdom has already taken the lead, and if our Great Chu cannot respond in time, we fear the danger of its annihilation..."

Could this "toad eating the moon" be a warning from Heaven to Southern Chu and to Liu Dan himself?

"Issue the decree," Liu Dan suddenly turned around, his expression unusually serious, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, only his voice hoarse and heavy: "The celebrations for the Emperor's birthday should be simplified. Tomorrow morning court, I have important matters to discuss with you all!"

Logically, no court assembly should be held on the Emperor's birthday, neither regular nor grand court assemblies, but he couldn't care less about that at the moment.

The eunuch obeyed and left, but Liu Dan remained standing by the window, clutching the Prince of Kang's secret letter tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

At this moment, Liu Dan was no longer the emperor who had just broken through to the Acquired Venerable Realm and was full of vigor, but a bewildered person who suddenly realized that the martial arts peak he had pursued all his life might not even be as good as the starting point in front of another system, a helmsman who shouldered the fate of a country but suddenly found that the road ahead was full of turbulent waves.

The difference between the path of immortality and the path of martial arts is like the difference between a firefly and the bright moon, or between a stream and a vast ocean.

It was late at night, but the lights in the Imperial Study remained on.

Liu Dan sat at the table and began to carefully reread the brand-new "White Stone Immortal Book." Every word and every picture now had a completely new meaning in his eyes, concerning the life and death of the Chu Kingdom.

After a long while, until the entire book had been roughly flipped through, Liu Dan finally let out a soft sigh, but his chest felt even heavier.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he got up and searched through the vast collection of books, finally taking out a few dusty volumes that recorded ancient secrets and anecdotes, and carefully opened them.

Because he suddenly discovered that the current rise of the Immortal Path, its rapid momentum, and its immense power bore a striking resemblance to the records of the rise of the Martial Path thousands of years ago, when it replaced the even older cultivation system! Both were so sudden, both were so mind-blowing, both were so...unstoppable.

Behind all this, it seems, is an invisible hand propelling the wheels of time, relentlessly crushing the old order and forcing all living beings, from emperors and generals to ordinary citizens, to adapt to and pursue this new power.

Whether it was the martial arts of the past or the immortal path of today.

As arranged by some supreme power, it is beyond question.

(End of this chapter)