Chapter 101: The Divine Realm

Page (1/3)

Upon hearing the voice, Wang Yuanfeng immediately recognized it as the Golden Carp Deity. Without smiling, he noted that it sounded like a child. The aura was identical to the one he had sensed earlier—clearly, no one else but this being could be here.

Wang Yuanfeng paused his actions. It seemed the Golden Carp Deity let out a sigh of relief. The youthful voice continued, “Immortal, could we speak somewhere else?”

Wang Yuanfeng nodded. This place was too crowded and hardly suitable for conversation. Not only did Wang Yuanfeng feel a certain fondness for this Golden Carp, but he also did not refuse.

At that moment, a cheerful voice came from the shadows, saying to Wang Yuanfeng, “Alright, thank you! Please, Immortal, follow me behind the statue.”

Seeing that everyone was busy offering incense and praying, seemingly paying no attention to him, Wang Yuanfeng adjusted his breathing and slowly entered a state of unity with himself. The world seemed to quiet down as he began to move toward the back of the statue.

“Hey, where did the person go?” A puzzled voice suddenly sounded beside him, as if searching everywhere for someone.

An elderly man who had just finished offering incense looked around, appearing to be searching for someone.

The temple caretaker nearby was familiar with this old man. Though he had lived to the age of eighty-nine due to his health practices, his life had been profoundly tragic.

He had suffered the three great sorrows of life: losing his father as a youth, his wife in middle age, and his child in old age. Fortunately, he still had a great-grandchild who kept him company.

Despite all this, he was a man of broad-mindedness who understood many truths of life. His prestige in the market was considerable. It was he who had initially proposed building the Golden Carp Temple, and he had helped significantly along the way. It could be said he was the most respected figure in this market.

The caretaker looked on curiously and asked, “Old Fu, are you looking for someone?”

“Heh,” the old man chuckled softly and shook his head. “Old eyes are failing. Sometimes I just can’t see clearly.”

The caretaker said nothing more, only wishing the old man good health. After the old man thanked him, he began to walk away, muttering to himself, “Where did that young man go? He just disappeared all of a sudden.”

Page (2/3)

“Maybe he went off to play somewhere,” the old man said, shaking his head as he walked away.

At that moment, the Golden Carp, who had been searching for Wang Yuanfeng, overheard the old man’s muttering. The elder was someone he knew well. When the Dragon King had once struck him nearly to death with a dark thunderbolt, it had been this old man’s suggestion to save him. The Golden Carp Temple itself was his idea, providing a sanctuary for the deity. The Golden Carp owed him a great debt.

Having forgotten the old man earlier in his search, the Golden Carp quickly released a sphere of golden light that floated onto the old man’s body and slowly merged with him. Only then did the Golden Carp nod in approval.

As soon as the old man stepped out of the temple, he felt a surge of energy enter his body, making him feel utterly refreshed, as if he had grown decades younger. He smiled.

This sensation was familiar to him every time he came to the Golden Carp Temple. Once a man nearing the end of his days, he now seemed rejuvenated as if reverse aging were possible. The old man picked up his empty basket, felt the money pouch at his waist, and found a few copper coins remaining. Thinking of his great-grandchild who should be finishing school soon, he decided to head to the market to buy ingredients for a meal.

Though many in these turbulent times claimed that studying was useless, the old man disagreed. Despite his limited literacy, he understood many truths derived from life experience and found them echoed in books. Yet, his sacrifices had been immense.

He did not expect his great-grandchild to become a high official, only to read and understand reason. With this in mind, he stepped briskly towards the market.

Meanwhile, Wang Yuanfeng was slowly walking behind the statue. To avoid drawing attention, he had adopted this method. When he still possessed his Dan Yuan cultivation, such precautions were unnecessary; a simple illusion would suffice to make him invisible to most.

But now, having lost his Dan Dao cultivation and possessing only his sword heart and sword energy within, he could not use magic, so he tried this method: using his sword heart to reach a state of unity with heaven and humanity, gradually merging with the space itself.

He still existed but had become one with the space, so even those with greater cultivation might not perceive him. Though standing there, a casual glance would overlook him entirely.

Trying this for the first time, he was pleasantly surprised. He remained in this state, noticing that Old Fu’s gaze swept past him but instinctively ignored him.

The Golden Carp Deity also carefully scanned the area with divine perception but found nothing. Wang Yuanfeng felt as if he had existed long ago yet was now nowhere to be found.

“Never expected such a method,” Wang Yuanfeng thought with some delight.

It made sense; the reason the Sword Immortal was unmatched was not only due to his powerful offense but also because his attacks were unpredictable and difficult to defend against. Moreover, the Huashan Sword Immortal’s cultivation was renowned for its perilous and cunning techniques. Wang Yuanfeng was not surprised that such a method existed.

Page (3/3)

“With this technique, I can face the upcoming Dongting Lake expedition with confidence. Even if the Dragon King is formidable, he won’t find me,” Wang Yuanfeng mused, shaking his head as he continued toward the back of the statue.

“Just as expected.” Wang Yuanfeng gazed at a small doorway behind the statue—just the size of a small door. Inside was a wondrous place, roughly the size of a single room.

He had only heard of such places—paradises, blessed lands, divine realms—but had never seen one. In ancient times, these were naturally formed. Those who possessed great fortune in the cosmos could, through destiny, locate these paradises or blessed lands and consecrate them, establishing their own cultivation grounds.

These served as places for training and refuge from disasters—similar to parallel dimensions. Some cultivators ascended to higher realms, taking their paradises or blessed lands with them. Others left them behind on the mortal plane. If no cultivators with matching fortunes appeared, the paradises would fade and grow wild.

Only when a person of great fortune arrived would they reappear. Since resources were limited, almost every cultivator sought a place to cultivate. They studied these paradises and blessed lands to develop arts such as life foundation techniques and Feng Shui.

Some divine cultivators even created divine realms, like the Golden Carp Deity’s own. Though this one was only the size of a room, it was the fruit of five decades of effort by cultivation predecessors.

Wang Yuanfeng examined the simple yet exquisite furnishings—meditation cushions, tables, and chairs all arranged neatly. On a low wooden desk lay several jade slips. Sitting before them was a boy of eight or nine years, clad in golden armor that still radiated divine light but was somewhat tattered, as if from battle.

The boy’s expression was tinged with disappointment, though he seemed unwilling to give up. He spread his divine senses in all directions, searching for something. After a long while without success, he sighed and resumed flipping through the jade slips. Wang Yuanfeng smiled quietly, guessing the boy was disheartened because he could not find him.

“Ahem.”

Wang Yuanfeng then returned to normal, standing before the closing fissure and coughing twice.

“Who’s there?” The boy immediately grew alert, assuming a defensive stance. Upon recognizing Wang Yuanfeng, he promptly reopened the closing fissure and said, “Honored guest, please come in.”