"Tick-tock, tick-tock."
A woman in a green dress walked barefoot across the water's surface, each step creating gentle ripples.
She spoke with a light laugh as she reached the other end of the water and smiled again.
"Why are you looking for me?"
A stiff voice came from beneath the water, "Ninth Mountain inheritor, when will you become a Grand Emperor?"
"Grand Emperor?" Huang Qingyue crossed her arms, looking somewhat plump, and shook her head in distress: "That's hard to say. Why don't you give me more magical treasures? After all, you're the biggest treasure box in all the realms."
"I already gave each of you Nine Mountain inheritors a magical treasure last time. Why do you want more?" the stiff voice questioned.
"Fine, forget it if you won't give any. No need to be so rude about it, it's not like I'm desperate," Huang Qingyue rolled her eyes.
The stiff voice fell silent for a moment, then continued: "The battles between the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm are becoming more intense. The Nine Mountains' Supreme Lord is still in slumber. We need the Grand Emperors of the Nine Mountains to resist. As the Ninth Mountain inheritor, you should become a Grand Emperor soon."
"The problem is I can't, and I'm troubled by it too," Huang Qingyue scratched her head.
The stiff voice didn't know what to say to that, and instead asked, "You've been in contact with Xu Zhen from the Fuyao Immortal Sect recently. What's your relationship with her?"
"Love rivals," Huang Qingyue answered quickly.
This response startled even the stiff voice, which replied confusedly, "Though I'm just a magical treasure and don't understand matters of the heart, you shouldn't deceive me."
"Believe it or not," Huang Qingyue rolled her eyes again.
"Then who do you both like?" the stiff voice asked.
Huang Qingyue frowned, "Questions, questions, why do you like asking so many questions? Instead of hiding in this pond, why don't you move to the foot of the mountain and gossip with passing cultivators?"
The stiff voice was speechless, remaining silent for a long while before speaking again.
"Though I don't understand matters of the heart, I have a question: after thousands of years of separation, can true feelings still exist?"
This question was so pointed that Huang Qingyue couldn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her head, beginning to worry.
After thousands of years without seeing each other, could feelings truly remain?
Though cultivators were known for their steadfast hearts and cherished ordinary memories, with youthful emotions lasting forever, she could only guarantee her own unchanging feelings.
But what about Chen Xia's?
She couldn't be sure, and this made her worry.
The stiff voice asked again: "When people don't see each other for a long time, feelings become distant. Though I'm just a magical treasure, I understand this principle. What do you think?"
Huang Qingyue didn't respond immediately, then raised her eyebrows and replied irritably.
"None of your business!"
She turned and quickly walked away from the pond, soon disappearing from sight.
Though the stiff voice knew it had said something wrong, it didn't know exactly what the mistake was. It could only sigh like a cultivator would and make one final comment.
"What a devoted soul."
In the following years of the Immortal Realm, the main focus was on the battles with the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm were two equally matched major realms with long-standing grudges. If one were to count back, these grudges would span dozens of great eras.
That's why during this chaos, the Divine Realm chose to attack the Immortal Realm.
However, the Immortal Realm wasn't easy to deal with. The Nine Mountains alone had nine Grand Emperors, and the four great states below had six Grand Emperors. Adding the Nine Mountains' Supreme Lord who was in transmission, there were sixteen Grand Emperors in total.
In terms of the number of Grand Emperors, the Immortal Realm should be the greatest among all major realms.
The only shortcoming was that while the quantity was high, the quality wasn't particularly impressive. More than half were first-level Grand Emperors, only four were second-level, and just one was third-level.
The legendary Nine Mountains' Supreme Lord was fifth-level, which was the Immortal Realm's final trump card.
The battles between the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm weren't limited to Grand Emperors; cultivators of all levels, from Yuan Ying to quasi-emperors, had their own battlefields.
Among the new generation of quasi-emperors, Xu Zhen was particularly brilliant. She was already one of the top prodigies across all realms, and after becoming a quasi-emperor, her killing power increased even further. She was considered on par with the Divine Realm's Divine Prince.
Their battles were indeed intense, having fought several times one-on-one, displaying power close to that of Grand Emperors, though neither suffered casualties.
This was what battles between top-tier prodigies looked like.
The Grand Emperors' battles took place outside the realms, in the void, where brilliant lights of their divine techniques would often flash.
The Divine Realm and Immortal Realm had been entangled in battle for thousands of years, and it seemed there would be no clear victor.
Until the eight thousandth year.
An ancient aura emerged from within the Divine Realm as an old monster who had been sleeping for an unknown time awakened and pointed a single finger at the Immortal Realm.
This one finger pierced through the Immortal Realm's barriers like heavenly tribulation, instantly severely wounding two Grand Emperors and breaking through the realm's defensive barriers.
The Divine Realm's Grand Emperors invaded afterward, descending upon East Jia State and instantly occupying thirty percent of its territory, using it as a base for further battles against the Immortal Realm.
This was the first time the Immortal Realm had been breached.
The ancient figure from the Divine Realm looked at the Immortal Realm and softly said: "Old Heaven Patroller, you continue your slumber. Don't blame me for awakening first and making my move."
There was no response from the Immortal Realm; the Nine Mountains' Supreme Lord remained in slumber.
In the Great Death Realm, Chen Xia was also in slumber. Beside him stood his heart demon, frowning with a gloomy expression, now angry.
The old being from the Divine Realm had crushed ten percent of the territory of the Ten Thousand Mountains in East Jia State, effectively destroying his dao techniques.
The heart demon's crimson eyes kept flashing as rationality held back his impulse to act, reminding him it wasn't time yet.
"Old monster, I'll kill you sooner or later and hang your head on the mountain peak!"
The heart demon exhaled again and looked out from the Ten Thousand Mountains to observe the several Divine Realm Grand Emperors stationed in the Immortal Realm.
His eyes suddenly lit up, and a smile appeared on his lips.
There really was such a thing as karma in this world.
His figure shifted as he emerged from the heart lake of the Ten Thousand Mountains, adjusted his sleeves, and headed toward where the Divine Realm Grand Emperors were.
If he couldn't fight the old one, he'd fight the young ones first, mainly to vent his anger.
By the way, here's a recommendation for a new book by an author in our group, also about immortality. Interested readers can check it out.
"Starting with Immortality Through the Ages, Watching the World's Rise and Fall"
Good night.