Chapter 403: Chapter 402: Illusory Hope (Additional Update for God Shadow Thunders)

“Immortal Elder, can you share about the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons? Everyone is somewhat interested in this,” the Golden Elder asked, still not entirely trusting the Immortal Elder’s words.

Immortal Elder was not offended and said, “After the Immortal Realm took control of the Ten Thousand Realms, a Heavenly Immortal was traveling through the Void and happened upon an unidentified creature of an aggressive nature. The creature only had the power of an Earth Immortal, and the Heavenly Immortal took it back to the Immortal Realm.”

“After thoroughly studying this unidentified creature, the Immortals discovered its cultivation system was different from ours. They do not rely on spiritual energy or immortal power for energy, but feed on negative emotions like anger, fear, grief, and urgency. Death is the biggest source of negative emotion, and so they kill.”

“The Immortals wanted to find the world where these unidentified creatures came from, but they haven’t yet found the Immortal Realm. Some have speculated that the Heavenly Demons were born from the negative emotions of living creatures, but it’s just speculation.”

“At first, the people of the Immortal Realm were somewhat interested in these unidentified creatures. But when they found that these creatures had no rationality and couldn’t communicate, they gradually lost their interest.”

“Because the origins of these unidentified creatures were unknown, the Immortals believed that there must be places in the Immortal Realm that they hadn’t explored yet, and referred to these places as ‘extraterrestrial’.”.

“Since the unidentified creatures were born from negative emotions and had no rationality, they were deemed naturally demonic.”

“Hence, the unidentified creatures were eventually named extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons.”

“After that, hundreds of thousands of years passed. Probably because of the proliferation of creatures in the Ten Thousand Realms and an increase in negative emotions, the number of extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons increased. They seemed to start attacking a small area within the Immortal Realm.”

“The Immortal Realm just laughed at this. Without any rationality, these beasts only had the strength of Earth Immortals. They were not a significant threat. A few Heavenly Immortals were enough to keep them in check.”

“So that’s how it is. Immortal Elder, you truly are knowledgeable.” Most people believed Immortal Elder’s words.

Immortal Elder has always been known for his extensive knowledge and omniscience in the Nine Continents. Moreover, he had never lied, so his credibility was very high.

A small part of the Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivators still didn’t believe him, but given the current situation, they had no choice but to believe.

Having hope is always better than having none.

“So, if the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons only have the power of an Earth Immortal, who destroyed our Celestial Ladder to Immortality?” Long Eyebrow Buddha was puzzled.

“Hmm, it could be a new variety of extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon. But it doesn’t matter. If a piece of the sky really falls, we still have tall people to hold it up. With the existence of Daoist Ancestor, Buddha Ancestor, and others to hold the fort in the Immortal Realm, we will definitely be able to deal with that extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.”

Everyone laughed happily. The more that Immortal Elder belittled the danger of the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons, the more they felt the problem wasn’t severe and could wait for support from the Immortal Realm.

Immortal Elder exhaled in relief. He had spent dozens of days in his residence, spending some time fabricating this explanation just in case. It seems to have been useful now.

After obtaining the answers they wanted from Immortal Elder, everyone left one after another, each returning to recover from their injuries.

As everyone left, the smile on Immortal Elder’s face disappeared gradually. He returned to his residence and sat quietly in front of his bookshelf, not saying a word.

He felt guilty for concocting the existence of extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons and claiming his master was a special extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

He kept telling himself that he had no other choice. What else could he say, given the circumstances?

Should he tell everyone that the Daoist Ancestor had died, that the Immortal Realm harbored hostility towards the Nine Continents, and that there would be an endless stream of enemies coming? The Earth Immortal was just the beginning, and there may be Heavenly Immortals, or even higher-level immortals coming after. Everyone, just stop resisting. We’re all going to die eventually, so we might as well indulge in pleasure.

If he were to actually reveal the truth, it would surely lead to conflicts between the Orthodox and the Demon Cultivators in the Nine Continents. The neutral monks would probably join the Demon Cultivators.

The Nine Continents would self-destruct even before the Immortal Realm conquered them.

It would be better to deceive them with an illusory hope, which could keep their spirits up for the time being.

Jiang Li watched the Immortal Elder in silence, sighing softly.

The young monk learned about the existence of the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons from Long Eyebrow Buddha and was very puzzled.

He had extensively read scriptures and books but had never seen any mention of extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons. Now, the Immortal Elder suddenly told everyone about this insignificant enemy in the Immortal Realm, known as the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

The young monk was very skeptical of Immortal Elder’s words.

He voiced his doubts to Long Eyebrow Buddha, who after chanting Amitabha Buddha, said, “Xumi, believing the Immortal Elder’s words is the best outcome. Do not dwell on this matter.”

The young monk didn’t understand and, uncharacteristically, did not heed his master’s words.

He persisted in believing that there was something wrong with the Immortal Elder.

Twenty years later, another event shook the Nine Continents.

The Golden Elder was about to host an Ascension to Immortality Conference and had invited his peers to observe.

“Golden Elder, why have you chosen to host the Ascension to Immortality Conference now? With no trace of the Celestial Ladder, what’s the point of becoming an immortal now?” Long Eyebrow Buddha asked the Golden Elder. Apart from the Golden Elder, he was the one closest to the Transcendence Tribulation, which made him very interested in Golden Elder’s every move.

Golden Elder shook his head helplessly, “I had no other choice. I don’t want to go through the Tribulation, but the Transcendence Tribulation would automatically find me.”

“I put a stop to my cultivation twenty years ago. I originally thought that this would help me avoid the Transcendence Tribulation, but unfortunately I sensed the coming of the Transcendence Tribulation a month ago.”

“Don’t worry, even if I pass the Transcendence Tribulation, I won’t be an immortal, so there is no danger to my life.”

“So, that’s how it is,” nodded Long Eyebrow Buddha.

The Ascension to Immortality Conference was held as scheduled. Nineteen Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivators brought their disciples to observe, and Immortal Elder was also invited.

In past Ascension to Immortality Conferences, they had attracted attention from all over, with people from across the Nine Continents celebrating. Even the elders from the Immortal Realm would descend to give their comments, making it a grand event.

However, this Ascension to Immortality Conference was deserted, with less than a hundred people attending.

Most cultivators were still unaware that the Celestial Ladder to Immortality had been shattered. This huge news couldn’t be concealed forever, and one day, everyone would know.

As per tradition, Golden Elder made an opening speech. He thanked his peers for visiting, explained his understanding of cultivation, reassuring the attendees that their trip was worthwhile.

When he reached the end of his speech, Golden Elder stopped talking and looked up at the sky.

The Transcendence Tribulation descended. Dark clouds enveloped the city, giving off a shroud of darkness and concealing stars in the sky. Thunder echoed all around.

“Haha, enough small talk. Allow me to face the Tribulation first. We’ll discuss the Dao of immortality later!”

Golden Elder laughed heartily. Although he faced his Transcendence Tribulation under less than ideal circumstances, it was still the Transcendence Tribulation he had long desired.

“No matter how many times I witness the Transcendence Tribulation, its majestic power is still an awe-inspiring force that can’t be resisted”, whispered Li Wu, a Demon Cultivator.

Golden Elder was an experienced Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivator. He was a disciple of the Golden Yuan Palace in the Immortal Realm, renowned for having mastered numerous secret techniques. He had prepared multiple methods to face the Transcendence Tribulation, and it was indeed as easy as flipping his hand for him.

Immortal Elder didn’t think there would be any problems for Golden Elder either.

Purple lightning descended to cleanse the Nine Continents, causing all creatures to fear.

“Golden Pestle Body!”

Golden Elder shouted, his body seemed cast from Immortal Gold, even his eyelashes were unbreakable, as if formed from the same material.

The Golden Pestle Body was Golden Elder’s proudest cultivation technique. His body was as resilient as a Vajra Pestle. It could slaughter demons and evil creatures when on the attack, and provided unparalleled defense when retreating.

He had already cultivated his Golden Pestle Body to the realm of perfection.