Xiao Heng rubbed his eyes and looked around in a daze.
The eerie atmosphere surrounding him made him instinctively uneasy.
In the distance, five peculiar and conspicuous white pillars stood crookedly, reaching straight into the sky.
Looking down at his feet, Xiao Heng noticed the ground was made of the same white material.
“Where is this…”
Xiao Heng felt puzzled.
He remembered he was on a deserted island, wasn’t he? Could it be a dream?
Subconsciously, Xiao Heng pinched himself.
“Ouch!”
The intense pain instantly woke Xiao Heng up.
“This is not a dream?”
Fear crept into Xiao Heng’s heart.
He shivered and surveyed his surroundings.
In the distance, there was a dark, endless void, permeated with an ancient and desolate aura.
The ground under his feet and the five white pillars in the distance seemed to be connected, floating in this space.
Xiao Heng suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with this place, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
After carefully observing for a while, a scene flashed through his mind.
Various details became more and more similar.
Suddenly, Xiao Heng was shocked and fell to the ground, trembling all over.
“This… is that bone hand?”
Such a bizarre occurrence exceeded Xiao Heng’s cognitive limits.
Fear instantly took over his mind, and he instinctively curled up like an ostrich, burying his head in his arms.
However, after a while, the fear of the unknown couldn’t suppress his curiosity.
Seeing no other movements in this space, Xiao Heng’s curiosity gradually overwhelmed his terror.
He got up and cautiously explored the area.
The region he was in, the palm, was relatively spacious, and he didn’t have to worry about falling into the endless void.
Most of the surroundings were ruins, indicating a fierce battle that had once occurred, destroying all the buildings.
Navigating through the debris, after a moment, something caught Xiao Heng’s attention.
A broken sword was stuck upright in the ground.
The sword was covered in dark red bloodstains.
As Xiao Heng approached, he realized that the sword had first pierced through a skull before being embedded in the ground.
“This place must have existed for who knows how long. This sword can endure for so long without much damage. It must be an extraordinary treasure!” Xiao Heng thought to himself as he approached.
Grasping the hilt with both hands, he pulled the sword out with force.
However, before Xiao Heng could examine the newly acquired treasure, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook violently.
“Despicable Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance!”
The skull that had been stabbed by the long sword actually let out a roar and flew up into the sky.
Once again, Xiao Heng was frightened by this scene and fell to the ground.
With a clang, the long sword in his hand also fell to the ground.
Seemingly attracted by the noise, a pitch-black light shot out from the dark eye sockets of the skull, hitting the sword’s blade directly.
“Boom!”
The long sword exploded in a burst of light.
The instant the light shot out, Xiao Heng instinctively jumped to avoid the explosion.
Although he evaded the explosion, he was still frightened, sweating profusely.
“Senior, spare me! Spare me!” Xiao Heng knelt on the ground, kowtowing. While kowtowing, he shouted, keeping his eyes fixed on the skull, ready to escape at any moment.
It seemed that Xiao Heng’s shouts had an effect.
The skull’s voice became somewhat puzzled, “Huh? Not from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance? Where did this little kid come from?”
The skull then flew up into the sky, circled around, and after a while, returned to its original position, looking somewhat lost, “So much time has passed…”
Seeing that the skull seemed to have no hostile intent, Xiao Heng breathed a sigh of relief.
He tentatively asked, “Senior, where is this? Can you send me back?”
The skull sneered, “You, kid, are really strange. Since you can come here, how do you not know where this is? You’re even asking me?”
Xiao Heng looked innocent, “Senior, I didn’t lie. I really don’t know where this is!”
“Hmph!”
The skull, full of disbelief, quickly flew closer, making several turns.
With its dark eye sockets, it carefully examined Xiao Heng.
“Hmm? No traces of the ritual, how did you get in?” After a long time, as if it had discovered something, the skull questioned suspiciously.
“Ah?” Xiao Heng was puzzled by the question.
But soon, he realized, “The hand bone! I have a hand bone exactly like the one under us!”
“Senior, is this place inside that hand bone?”
“Hand bone?”
The skull suddenly understood, “So that’s how it is.”
“Kid, are you not from the Xuanhuang Realm?” the skull asked.
“Xuanhuang Realm? What’s that?” Xiao Heng was somewhat puzzled.
“Hehe, it’s commonly known as the cultivation world. Kid, in the world where you come from, are there legends of cultivators?”
Xiao Heng looked strange, thought for a moment, and then honestly confessed, “I won’t hide it from you, Senior. I used to be in a place called the Dali Realm. But not long ago, a senior cultivator brought me and a few others from my hometown to the cultivation world.”
“What?” The skull seemed shocked, quickly asking, “Is your main body in the cultivation world now? Are there any cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance around you?”
Xiao Heng shook his head, “The senior who took us out of Dali seemed to have encountered a cultivator from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. They claimed he committed some crime, and they fought. I took the opportunity to escape to a deserted island.”
“Although that senior later found us, he unfortunately died.”
“Hmph, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is truly wicked. He just helped ordinary people return to the cultivation world, but it’s labeled as a crime. They are really adept at adding insult to injury!” The skull expressed extreme anger and disdain.
“Kid, remember, never let the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance cultivators discover the white hand bone on you.”
“Otherwise, your life will be in danger!”
The skull cautioned.
“Why?” Xiao Heng widened his eyes.
“This involves a great being’s grudges with the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.” The skull sighed and then recounted a past story to Xiao Heng.
A long, long time ago, a True Immortal descended into the Xuanhuang Realm.
He was compassionate and cared for all living beings.
Understanding the difficulties of cultivation and the hardships of cultivating immortality, he tirelessly taught the principles of cultivation to cultivators worldwide.
Many cultivators benefited from his kindness, rapidly advancing in their cultivation.
The cultivation world experienced a period of great prosperity.
However, when the True Immortal’s time in the lower realm reached its limit, and he was about to return to the Immortal Realm, he was attacked by a group of cultivators.
These people had profound cultivation and were fearless in the face of death.
They directly shattered the connection to the Immortal Realm, leaving the True Immortal with no escape.
Under the endless consumption of countless battles, the True Immortal’s injuries became increasingly severe.
Eventually, he fell in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Although the True Immortal died, his determination did not fade.
Before falling, he took one last look at the Xuanhuang Realm, memorizing everything. Later, the True Immortal’s lingering consciousness, after thousands of years of evolution, formed a vast world of consciousness.
The Fallen Immortal Realm.
The cultivators who attacked the True Immortal were the original Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
…
The story contained a vast amount of information, and Xiao Heng took a while to digest it.
“Senior, why did the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance attack the True Immortal?” Xiao Heng asked.
“Why? Naturally, for the sake of profit! The True Immortal descended from a higher realm with numerous immortal techniques and artifacts.”
“Acquiring just one of them would be a great opportunity.”
“For instance, the foundation of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance today, the Tianxuan Mirror, was once one of the True Immortal’s personal artifacts.”
“It has endless marvelous uses.”
The skull’s tone was full of resentment as it explained.
Later, it introduced the wondrous aspects of the Tianxuan Mirror to Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng, who had never seen such a treasure, couldn’t help but be fascinated.
Afterward, he couldn’t help but say, “The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is truly despicable!”
After a while, Xiao Heng asked again, “Senior, who are you, and how did you end up like this?”
The skull fell silent for a long time, seemingly immersed in memories.
Then, it slowly said, “Not all cultivators are as crazy as the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance back then.”
“There are still many cultivators who, having received kindness from the True Immortal, felt extremely grateful and respectful toward him.”
“Upon hearing the news of the True Immortal being attacked by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, they were grief-stricken and vowed to avenge the True Immortal.”
“They spontaneously formed the Immortal Revival Organization and resisted the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.”
“Unfortunately, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was too powerful, and the Immortal Revival Organization was far from enough.”
“After thousands of years of annihilation, the number of people in the Immortal Revival Organization grew smaller and smaller. Now, only I am left.”
The skull’s words contained an endless aura of sadness.
Xiao Heng, who had an extremely strong sense of justice, could not help but be infected by it, and his eyes reddened slightly.
“Senior….” He wanted to speak a few comforting words but was interrupted by the skull.
“Haha, an old man like me doesn’t need a small child like you to pity me!”
“Previously, I was left with only my consciousness, surviving in the cracks of the Fallen Immortal Realm, with no one left to succeed me.”
“But heaven didn’t forsake the Immortal Revival Organization and brought you to me!” A faint light shot from the skull’s eye sockets, enveloping Xiao Heng.
“You are a rare cultivation genius seen once in a millennium. Join us and take up the banner to fight against the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. It’s perfect!”
Saying this, Xiao Heng noticed a storage ring appearing on his hand.
At the same time, numerous pieces of information instantly appeared in his mind.
Most of them were common knowledge needed for cultivation, but there was even a technique called the “Sea Fixing Sword Technique.”
The skull retracted the faint light and slowly said, “I have imparted some foundational knowledge to you, enough for you to safely cultivate to the Golden Core stage.”
“But remember, you must be careful to conceal yourself and not expose your identity. The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s Immortal Ancestor is unfathomably powerful. After thousands of years, his strength is probably no less than that of the True Immortal back then.”
Xiao Heng’s expression became solemn. However, he awkwardly asked, “Senior, I’m young and alone. It seems a bit… inappropriate for me to confront the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, isn’t it?”
The skull scolded, “Nonsense! You can recruit people! If you encounter someone with good talent, you can invite them to join our Immortal Revival Organization. The Immortal Revival Organization has been dormant for thousands of years, and it’s time for fresh blood to join.”
“But make sure they are trustworthy individuals, and don’t let any spies from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance infiltrate.”
Xiao Heng, hearing this, was pleasantly surprised. “That’s great!”
The skull continued, “I’ve consumed too much energy in transmitting these skills to you. I’m about to fall into a deep sleep.”
“For a while, the matters of Immortal Revival Organization will be in your hands.”
“If there are new members, you can take them to the middle finger bone.”
“There is an altar there, which is a special treasure of the Immortal Revival Organization. Through prayers, you can obtain techniques and items.”
“However, the altar has a spirit and will only respond to reasonable requests. You’ll know the specifics when you use it.”
The voice of the skull grew weaker, but it continued to provide instructions.
“Senior, how long will you sleep before awakening?” Xiao Heng asked with concern.
“Hehe, that’s hard to say. I was already a dead man. I can survive only because of a lingering obsession. I might wake up in a year or two, or I might never wake up again.”
“But if you’re willing, in the future, when you have the ability, you can collect the Foundation Treasures left by cultivators after death for me. These things have lost their value to others but are helpful for my recovery.”
The skull spoke slowly.
Xiao Heng nodded repeatedly, remembering these instructions.
“Remember one more thing. If you sense that my aura has completely disappeared, it means this place may have been exposed. Destroy the hand bone immediately and never come here again,” the skull emphasized.
“Alright, that’s it.” The skull seemed extremely weakened, unable to continue.
“Senior!” Just as the skull was about to fall into a deep sleep, Xiao Heng hesitated for a moment and asked the lingering question in his heart.
“You haven’t told me your name yet?”
“…You are not worthy of knowing my name at the moment. When you truly bear the heavy burden of Immortal Revival Organization, you will naturally find out.”
With these words, the skull dissipated into the darkness.
“Senior? Senior?” Xiao Heng called several times, but there was no response.
Regretfully sighing, he looked at the empty surroundings. Xiao Heng took out a silver necklace from his storage ring.
Following the instructions of the senior, he probed it with his spiritual consciousness, and the silver necklace emitted a radiant light.
Then, Xiao Heng’s vision darkened, and after a moment, he found himself back inside the flying boat on the deserted island.
His companions were still sleeping around, and everything that happened seemed like a dream.
However, the ring on his hand and the necklace hanging on his chest reminded Xiao Heng that this was not a dream.
The young Xiao Heng now bore a burden that a child of his age shouldn’t bear.
Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, it didn’t take long for him to fall into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, he woke up earlier than everyone else.
Alone, he went to the seaside, recalled the techniques taught by the senior, closed his eyes, and began sensing the spiritual energy around, quietly cultivating.
After half a day, when Ye Feipeng, who couldn’t find Xiao Heng’s trace after waking up, sensed a spiritual energy fluctuation by the seaside, he walked over.
Initially, he didn’t notice anything unusual.
However, as he approached, Xiao Heng suddenly opened his eyes, and a faint blue, vaguely formed water sword appeared.
Hovering in front of Xiao Heng, the sword pointed directly at Ye Feipeng, ready to launch a lethal attack.
Ye Feipeng was instantly horrified, stumbling and falling to the ground.
Pointing at Xiao Heng with his finger, his body trembling, he couldn’t utter a word.