Immortal?
Shi Hao narrowed his eyes, divine radiance flickering between his lashes. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard those two words, and clearly, they held immense significance!
He suspected it didn’t refer to a single individual—perhaps a group of beings, a unique era, or something else entirely, something unfathomable.
Sure enough, after uttering the term, Qi Daolin fell into deep silence, his gaze fixed on the heavens as if trying to pierce through the cosmos and glimpse something beyond.
“Hmm? No slacking off. Time to train,” Qi Daolin suddenly turned, casting him a glance before refocusing on the starry abyss.
“It’s already past midnight. More training? Shouldn’t we meditate on bone texts instead?” Shi Hao grumbled.
“Move it. Unless you don’t want to learn the Eight-Nine Heavenly Arts anymore. Or should I just ‘clean house’ right now?” Qi Daolin said flatly, his mood clearly foul.
“Damn it all!” Shi Hao had no choice but to hoist a massive mountain onto his back and sprint away, cursing inwardly. This was pure misery—had he joined some kind of cult? Who trained like this?
He prided himself on his diligence. Aside from being a glutton, he was a training fanatic, never slacking. Yet today, he was being “motivated” like this, pushed to his limits—or face being “cleansed.”
“Rumble—!”
The earth trembled. Every creature in the wasteland gaped as, under the night sky, a mountain sprinted across the land—an utterly bizarre sight.
Shi Hao’s stature was negligible compared to the mountain, so from afar, he was practically invisible beneath its bulk.
That night, the legend of the “Mad Mountain” was born in the wasteland.
Days later, Shi Hao’s travels had taken him far and wide. Finally, he stepped onto the grasslands, entering the borderlands between Fire Province and Celestial Immortal Province, not far from Celestial Immortal Academy.
“Hey, what’s that? A moving mountain?” someone exclaimed, looking as if they’d seen a ghost.
Celestial Immortal Academy students, out searching for divine ores in the grasslands, were especially stunned. A mountain was sprinting—and at incredible speed.
“That’s… a mountain god!”
“No, it’s a mountain treasure! A peak nurtured immortal essence into a treasure, now sentient. Chase it!”
Chaos erupted as many gave pursuit, some soaring through the air, others dashing across the ground.
“Grab it! Even if it’s a mountain god, it must’ve birthed an earth-element core—a rare divine material!”
Shi Hao had no choice but to push harder, merging flesh, bone texts, and spirit into a streak of light, vanishing over the horizon with the mountain on his back.
The onlookers were left dumbfounded. This was beyond bizarre!
If the mountain had flown away, fine—but it was bouncing up and down, wobbling like a mad thing before disappearing at breakneck speed. What kind of logic was this?!
Days later, Shi Hao collapsed to the ground, utterly spent, shooting Qi Daolin a resentful glare. The old man had made him sprint nonstop for three days and nights!
“Go—” Qi Daolin began, only to be cut off by Shi Hao’s wail: “Just kill me already!”
Once, he’d been cursed as a scourge despised by gods and men alike. Now, he was being crushed so thoroughly—karma at its finest—leaving him speechless.
Shi Hao couldn’t take it anymore. This was mind-numbing—hauling a mountain day after day, half-dead from exhaustion.
“I was going to say, go rest. Recover your strength. The path of cultivation requires balance—tension and relaxation,” Qi Daolin said.
“@#￥%…” Shi Hao cursed inwardly.
A breeze rustled through ancient trees, their leaves whispering. Millennia-old vines shimmered with radiant light—a sign of sentience and refinement.
The mountain remained, but the land had grown desolate.
During his “break,” Shi Hao returned to the Supreme Dao Field, retracing his steps. But what he saw bore little resemblance to his first visit.
The mountain stood imposing, yet eerily silent.
He trekked onward, finding ancient stone steps—now cracked, collapsed, and utterly ruined.
Then he looked up—and froze. The towering, cloud-piercing gate? Gone.
Wild grass choked the land, tall enough to swallow a person. Broken walls and scattered rubble spoke of desolation, decay, and an unspoken sorrow.
“What is this place?”
Shi Hao was certain he hadn’t taken a wrong turn. Yet, this bore no resemblance to his first visit.
The gate that once rivaled the mountain, vanishing into the clouds, was gone. Only weeds, cracked foundations, rusted nails, rubble, and shattered pillars remained.
He stepped onto a broken wall, touching it—and a sinister glow erupted. Powerful glyphs still lingered, proof this place had once been glorious.
A world-shaking defensive array guarded it. This ruin wasn’t the work of time—it was war.
“I thought I’d joined a glorious sect. Turns out, even its gates and divine court were razed. I’ve been scammed!”
All evidence pointed to one conclusion: he’d been abducted. This had nothing to do with Celestial Immortal Academy. He’d suspected as much but assumed the Supreme Dao Field was at least respectable. Who knew this “respectable” sect had been annihilated long ago?
Shi Hao ventured deeper, climbing other peaks. Ancient trees swayed, weeds thrived. The grand celestial palaces were gone—only ruins, ghostly flames, and chilling silence remained.
After a full circuit, he confirmed: this place was abandoned.
“That old man is shameless,” Shi Hao muttered as he walked. He’d been utterly duped.
This derelict land expected him to dominate the world? Otherwise, he’d be deemed unworthy and “cleansed”?!
After another round, Shi Hao sat on a boulder, pausing.
Much later, voices reached him—a group of youths approaching from beyond the mountain.
“See? This is the place. Plenty of ruins left,” someone said, leading the way.
Shi Hao listened, realizing they were treating this as a historical site—a place for nostalgia and reflection.
“Look at this pathetic gate. Once, it shook the heavens, but in the end, it was crushed,” someone remarked.
“So this is the Supreme Dao Field? Doesn’t look bad. Must’ve been majestic once,” a girl said.
“Wrong. It was always a dump. This is its true form,” a youth declared, hands behind his back.
Nearby, Shi Hao scowled. Like it or not, he was now the Supreme Dao Field’s sole disciple—its senior brother. Hearing them mock it rankled.
“I think this place must’ve been impressive once,” the girl insisted.
“Junior Sister Xiaorou, don’t judge by appearances. This place was never glorious—just infamous. Its people were downright notorious,” the youth said, turning to their guide. “We’re new here. Senior Brother Liu, enlighten us.”
“Brother Lu flatters me,” Senior Brother Liu chuckled.
“Though separated by many provinces, I’ve heard of the Supreme Dao Field. It caused quite a stir back then, involving many great sects. But I know little. Please explain, Senior Brother Liu,” Jing Xiaorou said.
From their chatter, Shi Hao gathered these were mostly new Celestial Immortal Academy recruits, led by senior students on a sightseeing trip.
“Well, the Supreme Dao Field’s master was truly…” Senior Brother Liu paused, glancing around.
“What? A peerless genius?” someone asked.
“A peerless eccentric!” Senior Brother Liu confirmed, reassured no one else was around. Rumors said those who badmouthed that master suffered dearly.
But surely, after so long, that man was gone.
“How so?”
“Back then, this master was hunted by the entire world—universally despised, like a rat in the streets,” Senior Brother Liu said, shocking the newcomers.
Shi Hao gaped. Were they talking about Qi Daolin?
“Can you imagine? Hunted by experts from every sect, enemies everywhere—how vile must one be? There was a saying: ‘Rotting from head to toe.’ Truly unique.”
“How so?” someone pressed.
“You see these ruins? Once grand and vast. Know how they got here?” Senior Brother Liu smirked.
“How?”
“He stole them—from Creation Academy. One night, he sneakily hauled their gate here,” Senior Brother Liu said.
The group stared, dumbfounded. That worked?
“His excuse? He ‘missed’ Creation Academy, so he stole their gate—because he’d trained there briefly,” Senior Brother Liu added.
Laughter and shock followed. “He was a Creation Academy disciple?”
“Not just that. He was also one of ours,” a senior sister chimed in.
“What did he do at our academy?”
“Plenty. Typical of the infamous Master Qi. While our guardian spirit slept, he used a treasure stolen from the old dean—the Phoenix Beak Shears—to snip off half its feathers for a lousy fan. Despicable, no?”
Outrage erupted. This master was shameless.
“How’d he steal the dean’s treasure?” someone wondered.
“Well… he nearly stole the dean’s great-granddaughter too. You get the idea,” Senior Brother Liu coughed.
“Gods! The dean’s great-granddaughter—you mean Vice Dean Qianqian?” Jing Xiaorou gasped.
“Let’s just say… it’s best not to discuss this at the academy,” someone whispered.
Shi Hao seethed. The old man was a lecher himself—how dare he lecture others?
“See that palace ruin? Stolen from the Celestial Clan. Originally called Heavenly Palace. Again, he ‘missed’ his teachers, so he took a famous palace to remember them by,” someone continued.
“What?!” The group was speechless.
“He joined the Celestial Clan too? Did such things?”
“Not just them. Master Qi joined over a dozen great sects, betrayed each one, and fled after stealing their secrets,” Senior Brother Liu said. “And those are just the ones we know. Some sects kept quiet.”
Another senior sister added, “And these were top-tier, ancient sects—ruling entire regions, overseeing hundreds of provinces!”
The group was stunned. This man was beyond comprehension.
“Put simply: he was sneaky. Stole techniques, ambushed elders, extorted peers—his crimes are endless,” a senior sister said.
“There’s more—his origins, and—”
“Hey, there’s someone here. Another ruin explorer?” someone noticed Shi Hao.
“Hey, brother, here to see this dump too?” they asked.
Shi Hao looked up, deadpan. “This is my sect.”
“What? Haha—someone actually joined this disgraceful dump? Are you stupid?”
The group swarmed, pointing and laughing, treating Shi Hao like a freak.
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