Chapter 357: 208. Substitute one’s own punishment, the Immortal Treasure of Mountains and Seas
Chapter 357: 208. Substitute one’s own punishment, the Immortal Treasure of Mountains and Seas
Chapter 357: 208. Substitute one’s own punishment, the Immortal Treasure of Mountains and Seas
Following Xuan Li’s story, Tan Shuchang came to understand that the cultivating families in the Land of the Four Pillars were not forever unchanging. Every so often, a group of cultivating families would disappear from this world, owing to a True Immortal’s descent to undergo tribulation.
It seemed like some unwavering constant.
Whether a cultivating family could continue to thrive often hinged on luck. Even if a cultivating family had never offended the True Immortal descending to face their tribulation, and had even aided them significantly, they might still be vanquished by a mere comment: “You, the strongest family in this land, did not control the cultivators here, allowing them to be too idle, which is indeed a way to court death.”
Therefore, when faced with a possible descent of a True Immortal for tribulation, the best strategy was to say nothing and hide the entire family away.
After all, no matter how one might be “courting death,” one must first be found!
“That reason, why does it sound so much like, ‘if a sheep dares to stare us down today, it might dare to eat people tomorrow’?” After hearing this, Tan Shuchang couldn’t help but feel that the True Immortal descending to undergo tribulation was akin to descending to randomly kill a bunch.
Nevertheless, this helped Tan Shuchang further ascertain the hierarchy within this realm: the Immortal Clan at the top, then the thirty-six Dao Palaces, followed by the Immortal Sect, with the larger and smaller cultivating families on the same level of the food chain.
Last were the Loose Cultivators, who also could be considered the lower-tier cultivators.
Though among these Loose Cultivators, there were quite a few formidable ones. After all, with a large base, there would always be a few lucky ones. Maybe a True Immortal took a whim, or two powerful figures used them for a wager, resulting in a strong Loose Cultivator.
But such powerful Loose Cultivators, despite seeming to have unlimited glory, were seen by those cultivating families as merely having transformed from someone who could be summoned and dismissed at will, into someone who needed a bit of incentive to be controlled.
It was much like raising a dog.
After all, even in training a dog, one needs to give something to make the dog obey.
So, in a world where everything was judged by one’s birth and connections, even if Loose Cultivators had high cultivation and had established families, they were still counted among the lowest rank of cultivators.
Xuan Li had always thought this way, until recently, when an immensely powerful Immortal Treasure appeared in front of her without anyone summoning it. After slaying three Immortals who had achieved eternal life, it came straight to her.
Shuang Jia said that it was attracted by her bloodline.
It was from that moment that Xuan Li began to harbor suspicions toward Shuang Jia, her mentor, and friend. She pondered whether she might be a lucky one, perhaps a pawn in a wager between two powerful cultivators.
Those with three achievements were known among cultivators of the Immortal Path, though not yet Immortals, could be called formidable beings with at least a thousand years of cultivation. For them, considering an Immortal as a mere piece in a game wasn’t inconceivable.
The difference between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
One achievement for eternal life, two to unite with the Dao, three to leave one’s name in the Immortal Path; these were three great realms in themselves.
Xuan Li’s subtle expressions did not escape Shuang Jia’s detection, for after many years together, it believed that Xuan Li had immense trust in it.
After all, having been together so long, and with Xuan Li’s usual lively character, it couldn’t always be concealing its true feelings, right?
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