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"The Great Collapse has already begun, and even the immortal realm is not spared; the immortal realm has shattered, and the heavenly court has become ruins!"

"Even seizing the chance to become an immortal is useless," Ancestor Tianshu laughed heartily.

"The time since the heavenly court fell into the Return Ruins shouldn’t be very long; the spiritual energy is extremely rich and should not be much weaker than the legendary immortal realm."

"This heavenly court ruin is the so-called opportunity to become an immortal. Meditating and cultivating here for a thousand years or more should help one reach the peak of the Mahayana Stage, with hopes of becoming an immortal…"

"But what is the use of this?" Ancestor Tianshu’s smile slowly turned sad.

"After waiting for ten thousand years, fighting against the heavens and people, in the end, everything becomes empty. When the great disaster comes, all will turn to ashes."

"The realm of immortals is shattered… the heavenly court is in ruins…" The Sky Piercing Water Spirit felt a shock in his heart and couldn’t help but mumble it repeatedly.

Stories about the realm of immortals and the heavenly court have been told since ancient times and never ceased.

Even though he was only a water spirit born for less than several years, he understood the weight of this matter, which was truly unimaginable.

Ancestor Tianshu must have been heavily injured by other cultivators deeper within the heavenly court and uncovered this astonishing secret.

No wonder a Mahayana cultivator, who is so powerful, has become confused and lost all sense of purpose at this moment.

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit thought that if it were him, waiting for ten thousand years only to face a ruined heavenly court and a shattered realm of immortals, he too would find it hard to keep his sense of purpose.

Only Qiao Mu remained somewhat calm.

"Water spirit, since you have seen the appearance of the South Heavenly Gate and know that what Di Ting said is true, you should stop here," Qiao Mu said.

"If you go further into the depths of the heavenly realm, there are at least three Mahayana cultivators. If you go, it will be a dead end for you."

"Ah… right, that’s true," replied the Sky Piercing Water Spirit.

Although it was not a cultivator of the immortal path, seeing that the hardworking Ancestor Tianshu had fallen into madness after countless years of struggle, it could not help but feel a sense of sorrow.

"Why are you so calm, Qiao?" At that moment, the little Nascent Soul in Qiao Mu’s hand suddenly shouted.

He had already gone half-mad, showing no reaction to the question earlier, but now he was staring intently at Qiao Mu.

"There is no way to move forward; the immortal realm has already shattered. Who can still ascend? What use is it for you to enter this ruined heavenly realm?"

"Ascend to the immortal realm?" Qiao Mu glanced down at Ancestor Tianshu’s Nascent Soul and said without expression.

"Did I ever say that I wanted to ascend to the immortal realm?"

Ancestor Tianshu tilted his head, very confused.

"Since you are not here to become an immortal, and not here to compete with us, then why have you come?"

Qiao Mu calmly replied, "Not to become an immortal, but to prevent you from coming back. To smash your heads, block your path, and mess up your plans, understand?"

Ancestor Tianshu sat in Qiao Mu’s palm, staring wide-eyed at him.

"It’s hard to believe that someone could be so harmful to others without any benefit to himself; it seems you have truly lost your mind."

"I won’t listen to a madman’s insults," Qiao Mu said, ignoring what Ancestor Tianshu was saying, and turned to the water spirit beside him, advising,

"You should leave now, don’t harm yourself and lose your life."

"You are the water spirit of the Sky Piercing River; even if you are drowning, you can last for a while.

If you search carefully, you might find your way back in these Return Ruins to Jiu Province."

Qiao Mu reminded them that the Sky Piercing Water Spirit had not yet spoken.

Ancestor Tianshu again burst into loud laughter.

"I understand."

"Whether in the path of immortals or the way of warriors, those who have cultivated to this point are close to the peak of the mortal realm. How could they harm others and benefit themselves?"

"Jiu Province… return? Ha, a foolish dream!"

Ancestor Tianshu pointed around.

From the high place of the collapsed South Heavenly Gate, looking down, one could see endless twisted ruins beneath the white clouds.

Roaring floods flowed from all parts of the sky, gathering in one place, with twisted ruins drifting in the yellowed seawater like floating islands.

"The sea of suffering is boundless, and turning back brings no shore," Ancestor Tianshu laughed heartily.

"Return Ruins is the end of the skies, the resting place of all worlds. All the heavens and worlds will fall here, where there are no directions, no past or future."

"There is a saying: a day in the heavenly realm is like a year on the ground."

"Return Ruins is a place where the times of all the heavens and worlds meet, with no directions at all. How can you know if time flows differently here, like it does in Jiu Province?"

Ancestor Tianshu smiled widely, but the light in his Nascent Soul body began to fade.

"It has been several days since we entered this Return Ruins."

"Can you guess how many years have passed in the human world of Jiu Province?"

"Turn back? There is no shore to turn back to!"

"Even if you find a place to return, Jiu Province must be like the heavenly realm, completely crumbled and fallen into the Return Ruins!"

Ancestor Tianshu laughed heartily.

He has already lost his will, his body is dead, and only the Nascent Soul is barely surviving.

Not to mention falling into the hands of the Qiao family, even if he returned to the small world of the Soul Predicting Path in the next moment, there would be no chance of survival.

But Qiao Mu in front of him was acting so calm and composed, which made anger rise in his heart.

He wanted to see this Qiao family member in a state of despair, just like he was before, with a broken mind!

But Qiao Mu still remained calm at that moment.

"I understand," he said.

He took a step forward, crossing the collapsed South Heavenly Gate, and walked deeper into the heavenly realm.

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit was still digesting this shocking news and felt a strange sense of loss.

Who would have thought that he would soon see Qiao Mu turning to walk through the South Heavenly Gate with determination, which made his previously empty heart feel steadier.

"No wonder he is the elder of the Qiao family. Does Mr. Qiao Chonggui really think he can guess this too? He doesn’t even look surprised."

"I didn’t guess this at all," said Qiao Mu.

He casually threw the dim Nascent Soul figure of Ancestor Tianshu toward the Sky Piercing Water Spirit, who instinctively reached out to catch it.

"I just… prepared myself long ago for the possibility of dying in battle."

Qiao Mu closed his eyes.

Return Ruins, Fairy Realm, Heavenly Court, Great Collapse…

From a ten-thousand-year-long run, to then gathering strength to continue for six thousand more, watching the finish line grow legs and run back away from him…

He no longer had any hope in his heart.

This was destined to be an endless marathon, with a finish line that was desirable yet unreachable.

At first, Martial Saint said that the greatest truth in this world is that the weak are eaten by the strong.

This is the lesson taught to him by the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates.

Therefore, in this world, the strong and the weak are very different, and the lives of mortals are as worthless as grass, while the strong act without restraint.

However, Qiao Mu does not want to see this truth.

Looking back at the past.

People say that he, a member of the Qiao family, values loyalty over life and death, and dares to be the first in the world.

People say he is an exceptional hero, and the rage of a common man can bring the inhuman down to earth.

People say he is the peak of martial arts in the world, sweeping through the Immortal Gate without rivals, causing the Immortal Gate to retreat in fear wherever he goes.

But to him, it seems that he has always been doing the same thing.

When he was young.

In Yan City, he saw the City Lord’s son robbing someone in the street, and he bravely stepped forward.

While in Heyang City, he witnessed a female cultivator named Ming Yue unleashing a beast to harm people; he showed his courage and burned himself like a fragrant offering.

In Great Qin City of Zhong Province, when he fell at the hands of King Qin, he already knew that all choices came from his heart; it was only about having compassion for all living beings and following his own heart.

From then on, he understood himself clearly and no longer had confusion or hesitation, facing countless deaths without regret.

But… what if the length of the Long Life Dream could be extended from several decades or hundreds of years to thousands or even tens of thousands of years?

A person’s spirit and will are like muscles; they can be strengthened through exercise, but there is ultimately a limit; simply having willpower or determination cannot surpass such a long time.

Qiao Mu, who was over eighteen thousand years old, had no regrets or defiance against his heart just like when he was young; he just gradually realized one thing.

The road ahead has no end.

Martial Saint said that the greatest truth in this world is the survival of the fittest, so he became a terrifying beast to swallow the sky.

Patriarch Lingyuan said that immortals live on the mountains; the higher you go, the farther you are from people and the closer you are to heaven.

Qiao Mu did not agree with their beliefs, but it is indeed how things are in the world.

So, in front of him, there will always be obstacles.

He will always stand up for what is right, just as he did when he faced the City Lord Guo Yan of Yan City in his youth.

So no matter how high the martial arts skills of the Qiao family members are, or how strong they are, they will eventually die young, one after another.

Unless one day, there is no one in the world stronger than him, no one capable of killing him.

By the time he was over ten thousand years old, Qiao Mu was almost unbeatable in the human world.

But after defeating the Tao Achieving Stage ancestor, there were still Mahayana Stage ancestors behind.

So, after the Mahayana Stage, are there still True Immortals, Xuanxian, Jinxian, Taiyi Jinxian, Immortal Kings, Immortal Emperors, and those above the Immortal Emperors, and so on…

The road ahead is long and without end, but he will not go against his heart and take a step back.

So naturally, he can only have…

"Let’s stop here," Qiao Mu said, gently rubbing his temples.

"Since I am here, I will find peace here; since I have come, I will be laid to rest here."

He looked towards the heavenly palace before him, with its many halls hidden in the clouds, unseen.

In the depths of this heavenly palace.

There is Patriarch Lingxu of the Great Dao Sect, who is at the peak of the Mahayana Stage, the strongest, just one step away from becoming an immortal.

There is Immortal Qingmu from Qingxuan Road, the first person in the Nine Provinces to refine the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire, the source of the incense immortal way.

There is Patriarch Changsheng of Long Life Gate, who sits quietly in a small world and silently guides the changes in the martial arts of the human world; he is the source of Spiritual Refining Martial Art.

There is also some unknown secret that caused the fourth Mahayana cultivator Ancestor Tianshu to lose his resolve.

The path ahead is indeed very winding.

But what does any of this have to do with him?

"Whether success or failure, it leads to a dead end." Qiao Mu walked alone deeper into the heavenly palace, his figure gradually disappearing into the light mist.

Only the Sky Piercing Water Spirit that looks like Qiao Xin remained in place, holding the dim and lifeless Nascent Soul of Ancestor Tianshu, watching Qiao Mu’s retreating figure vanish from sight.