10: Chapter 10 Ice Ancestor

At the center of the lake, on a small island.

A young man wearing a white Daoist robe embroidered with gold silk sat on a peach tree, reached out to pick a peach, and popped it into his mouth. After chewing for a while, he felt it was eighty percent sweet and twenty percent bitter...

"Without realizing it, three months have already passed since I last parted ways with Senior Ji."

"I wonder, how is the Jianren Sect doing now?"

Su Fan muttered to himself, threw away the pit, and jumped down from the peach tree.

By now, his cultivation had broken through to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Early Stage, Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Great Perfection Stage are the four minor stages that must be passed through in every major Realm.

While practicing that Green Fire Nether Art, he certainly hadn't forgotten to Cultivate the Qiankun Spirit Gathering Art every day.

This Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique was truly terrifying; it directly caused his cultivation speed to skyrocket. In just three months, he had broken through two minor Realms of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

If this were any other Disciple of the same Sect, they probably wouldn't have been able to achieve this even in thirty years!

"By now, the Sect is probably gone..."

Su Fan walked slowly, thinking about what plans he should make next.

In this world, he had no family. Even if he did, Cultivators of the Mortal World would sever all ties, dedicating themselves solely to seeking the Dao until death, or pursuing eternal life...

What is the Dao? What is the Dao? Su Fan had pondered this question many times.

However, he had not come up with an answer.

What exactly did the so-called "Enlightenment and Ascension" mean? After Ascension, what was the Upper Realm like? ...These kinds of questions often lingered in his mind.

Clearly, as his Realm improved, he became increasingly aware that there were always people better than oneself, and he grew more eager to improve his cultivation.

Seeking the Dao, attaining the Dao... it seemed to have become an obsession in the heart of every Cultivator.

[By the dock, an old ferryman stood at the bow of the boat and asked with a smile: "Young Master, would you like to take a boat?"]

[You looked at the lake surface; without knowing when, the entire lake had frozen over. It was now early summer, yet the entire lake was frozen?]

[When you came, it was February, and it hadn't frozen.]

[Now, it had actually frozen...]

[The old man asked you again with a smile: "Young Master, would you like to take a boat?"]

[You didn't know how he had docked the boat, and besides, you had already mastered Sword Flight, so why would you need a boat? Just as you were about to refuse, you thought again that it might be nice to enjoy the scenery, so you nodded and agreed.]

One boat, one old man, and one young man slowly traveled across the frozen lake surface...

The old man wore a straw raincoat and held a bamboo pole, while the young man stood gracefully at the bow. In this world, it looked like a landscape painting done in splashed ink...

However, if there were a Cultivator above the Void Refining stage on this boat, they would be able to perceive that this old man was clearly not his true body, but a Clone...

The Void Refining stage allows one to refine a phantom into a Clone, but at this stage, one can only Cultivate a Clone into a youthful form...

The old man before him, who was a Clone, was clearly in an elderly form. What Realm, then, must his true body be at? Thinking about it, it was terrifying...

[Arriving at the shore, you asked: "Old man, how much silver?"]

["No money needed."]

[The old man just smiled and waved his hand.]

[You took out a few Spirit Stones and said: "To tell you the truth, I am a practitioner of the Dao. Take these few Spirit Stones; they can be exchanged for thousands in gold and silver..."]

[Who would have known that the old man still waved his hand and said with a smile: "This old man doesn't know anything about Cultivating or the Dao. I only know that you and I were fated to meet here. You needed help, and I happen to be a ferryman, so I will ferry you across. To be honest, Young Master, I only ferry those who are fated, and I don't charge a single penny!"]

[After hearing this, you looked at the old man with newfound respect. You put away the Spirit Stones and instead stuffed a bag of peaches you had picked from the island into his hands, then asked: "Old man, do you know... what happened to the Jianren Sect?"]

["Which Jianren Sect are you referring to?"]

[The old man narrowed his eyes and asked in return.]

[You said: "Isn't the Jianren Sect's territory spread across tens of thousands of miles?"]

[The old man nodded as if he suddenly understood something, and pondered: "Young Master, you are asking about those Immortal matters, right? I have heard a little bit about it. If you are not in a hurry, you can listen to me explain it in detail."]

"Mm, go ahead!"

The old man said slowly: "Let's talk about the origin of this Jianren Sect. It is said that three thousand years ago, this Sect was not called the Jianren Sect, but the Sword Immortal Sect..."

"Oh, really?"

Su Fan immediately became interested and listened intently as the old man continued.

The old man chuckled and continued: "It was just because a person named 'Sword Immortal Li' also founded a Sect and also wanted to call it the 'Sword Immortal Sect'. Neither would yield to the other, so in the end, the Sect Master of the original Sword Immortal Sect had a fight with Sword Immortal Li, lost, and died miserably... Then, this Sect was forced to change its name to the Jianren Sect."

"Wait... are you saying that the Sect Master of the original Sword Immortal Sect, which is the current Jianren Sect, was killed by Sword Immortal Li? Who exactly is this Sword Immortal Li to be so powerful?"

"Since he is called a Sword Immortal, he is naturally an Immortal!"

"Haven't all Immortals ascended?"

"Young Master, you don't understand. Some Immortals are not in the Upper Realm..."

"This... if an Immortal is not in the Upper Realm, are they still an Immortal?"

"Of course they are still Immortals, but they are Immortals left behind in the Lower Realm, known as 'Loose Immortals'."

"Loose Immortals..."

Su Fan's pupils dilated in shock upon hearing this. The words the old man had spoken so casually had actually shattered his previous understanding of Cultivation.

He had originally thought that all Immortals had ascended to the Upper Realm after attaining the Dao. He hadn't expected... that there were actually Immortals left behind in the human world...

This... this is too unbelievable, isn't it?

"Old man, you know so much!"

Su Fan said, and continued to ask: "Old man, do you know how the Jianren Sect is doing now?"

"I heard... it was destroyed by The Demoness a while ago. Ninety percent of the entire Sect died miserably, and over a dozen mountain peaks were snapped in half. I imagine it has been completely wiped out..."

The old man spoke in a calm tone.

Su Fan gasped upon hearing this. Senior Ji had really gone to slaughter the Sect...

At this moment, he naturally felt no sympathy for anyone in the Jianren Sect, including his former Revered Master, Elder Gu, but he also believed that Senior Ji must have had her reasons for slaughtering the Sect.

"Young Master, this old man must go pick up the next fated person. Thank you for the peaches!"

The old man waved to Su Fan, then poled his bamboo pole, slowly rowing along the icy surface...

Su Fan stood stunned in place for a long time before coming back to his senses, and then looked toward the direction of the Jianren Sect.

"Perhaps I should go back and take a look, to see how miserable the Sect is now..."

"Also, whether those shameless bastards like Mo Qingfeng are still alive..."

The old man came rowing the boat again.

This time, he brought not just one person, but several Venerables at the Soul Transformation Stage.

"Old Ancestor Bing, ever since The Demoness slaughtered the Jianren Sect that day, she went on to slaughter several more Sects and then vanished from the world as if she had disappeared. It has been two months, and we still cannot find any trace of her. What should we do?"

The old man stroked his beard and chuckled, his eyes flashing with a sharp light: "Just now, that young man had a trace of a connection with The Demoness on him. Follow him, and perhaps we will be able to find The Demoness..."

Several Soul Transformation Stage Venerables looked in the direction Su Fan was heading, and then nodded in unison, following him unhurriedly...