Chapter 150: The Remnant Soul Clinging to Life

Upon witnessing this scene, Xinjing's astonishment reached its absolute peak!

"You must know that the World Tree is an ultimate treasure!"

"Aside from the primordial yellow-gold clouds where it naturally grows, no soil in existence can nourish it!"

"Unless... it is the kind of soil that can grant immortality even to Immortal Kings..."

As a Holy Heavenly Demon Monarch, Xinjing naturally possessed vast knowledge.

Yet it was precisely this extensive knowledge that left her utterly horrified!

***

Meanwhile, at a location not far from the Tianwu Realm, the landscape stretched out boundlessly. Majestic rivers flowed endlessly, carrying a mingling aura of immortality.

Though sparse, this energy was sufficient to nurture the existence of immortals.

Numerous legends echoed across the world; alongside the birth of immortal treasures, even Profound Immortals occasionally roamed the realm.

At the very center of this world stood an ancient city.

Suspended high above the city gates were five striking characters:

"Diwen Realm Branch!"

At this moment, a sudden flash of light appeared before the Diwen Realm's branch.

It was a wisp of a remnant soul, though its origin remained unknown.

The immortal guarding the city gates took one look and immediately rebuked in a stern voice:

"Retreat, remnant soul! This place is by no means somewhere you are permitted to linger!"

"Get lost at once!"

Struggling to drift forward, the remnant soul exerted every ounce of its remaining strength to coalesce into a recognizable form.

The gate-guarding immortal instantly froze in shock.

"Shen Bing!?"

"What on earth happened? How did you end up reduced to a mere wisp of a remnant soul?"

"What has transpired within the Xuantian Realm?"

***

With arduous effort, Shen Bing's remnant soul finally made its way into the Diwen Realm branch.

Before long, the gatekeeper reported the news to the higher-ups within the branch.

In an instant, the entire Diwen Realm branch was thrown into a state of profound shock!

Inside the ancient hall, all the elders and the Branch Master of the Diwen Realm had assembled in their seats.

A middle-aged man sat at the head, attired in flowing purple robes.

His entire being was shrouded in an aura of profound mystery.

Flanking him on both sides were more than a dozen elders, each possessing an equally unfathomable aura!

"What on earth has happened?"

"Not long ago, the life-lanterns of everyone Shen Bing led into the lower realm were extinguished all at once!"

"And now, Shen Bing has returned as nothing more than a remnant soul..."

The gathered figures began to murmur and discuss amongst themselves.

"Could it be that they crossed paths with some immensely powerful entity?"

"We must question him directly to ascertain the specific details!"

"What should we do now?"

The middle-aged man in the purple robe seated at the head spoke with icy detachment: "Bring Shen Bing inside."

A wisp of a remnant soul was escorted into the grand hall.

"Speak," the middle-aged man commanded.

Shen Bing’s voice was exceptionally faint, his spiritual projection trembling with palpable panic and terror.

"Branch Master! I led a party to the Tianwu Realm, and there we encountered an exalted master..."

"In order to accomplish our mission, I investigated this person's background..."

Gathering his remaining strength, Shen Bing recounted the events from beginning to end.

He detailed how he had borrowed a knife to kill, dispatching men from the Soul-Searching Sect, only for them to be utterly defeated by their target using a single melody of music.

"What did you say?" the purple-robed man asked in disbelief.

"The Soul-Searching Sect of the Realm-Between-Clouds dispatched ten Profound Immortals, yet they were effortlessly defeated by that person through a mere song?"

"The lower realms designated with the prefix 'Heaven' are the very domains where Shen Bing's forces originated, where the highest cultivators are merely Profound Immortals. How could such a terrifying expert possibly exist there?"

"Could it be that the Tianwu Realm harbors beings surpassing the realm of Heavenly Immortals? But that strikes me as utterly impossible!"

"Even if a Heavenly Immortal-level entity were concealed there, it would be utterly impossible to annihilate ten present Profound Immortals with just a single piece of music!"

Inside the grand hall, the jaws of many elders practically dropped in sheer disbelief.

One must realize that within the Immortal World, even the most lowly and insignificant faction, when transferred to a lower realm bearing the 'Heaven' prefix, would reign as an absolute supreme existence!

Yet, all ten Profound Immortals sent down by the Soul-Searching Sect had been utterly wiped out!

If word of this spread, no one would dare believe it.

Shen Bing continued, his voice trembling.

"We originally intended to bide our time and directly seize the World Tree, after which the Tianwu Realm would be reduced to a heap of barren dust..."

"However... a streak of green lightning suddenly manifested and shattered the Heaven-Swallowing Urn..."

"As for the rest of us... we all exploded from within, our bodies disintegrating completely! Thanks only to the life-saving artifact bestowed upon me by the Branch Master, I narrowly managed to preserve a wisp of my remnant soul. Everyone else perished."

As Shen Bing finished speaking, the gathered figures once again drew in sharp breaths of cold air.

"You say the Heaven-Swallowing Urn was struck and shattered?"

"That is the Heaven-Swallowing Urn! It is a vessel capable of securely containing even the World Tree, and its grade surpasses even that of Profound Immortals!"

"I am now desperately curious to know what kind of entity resides within that minuscule Tianwu Realm!"

"Not even a being at the Heavenly Immortal tier should possess the capability to destroy the Heaven-Swallowing Urn!"

"Could it be... that the Tianwu Realm houses a Golden Immortal?"

Everyone was struck dumb with shock!

This piece of news was weighty enough to take a very long time to digest.

The Diwen Realm Branch Master—the middle-aged man in the purple robe—furrowed his brows deeply.

A Golden Immortal?

It was utterly impossible for it to be merely a Golden Immortal.

His own cultivation realm had already reached the stage of a Golden Immortal, and he was well aware of the Heaven-Swallowing Urn's might. While it was merely a replica of a certain supreme sect's ultimate treasure, it was certainly not something a mere Golden Immortal could destroy.

"The Tianwu Realm, you say?"

He muttered to himself in deep thought.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind!

"Could this Tianwu Realm be connected to that legendary myth?"

Hearing these words, the eyes of all the elders immediately snapped toward the Branch Master.

"Branch Master, are you referring to the legend of the Primordial Heavenly Realm?"

An elder blurted out in sudden realization.

The purple-robed Branch Master nodded slowly. "According to ancient legends, among the countless lower realms of the past, there existed four lesser worlds of such extraordinary power that they could almost rival the Immortal World itself."

"Within the foremost of those four worlds, an Immortal Monarch of undying might even emerged..."

"However, the Immortal World could never tolerate the existence of such a domain. Before long, the Immortal World launched an offensive against these four worlds. Three of them, for various reasons, chose to submit and pledge allegiance to the Immortal World."

"Yet, the primary world, refusing to surrender to the bitter end, drove the Immortal World to expend countless human and material resources to utterly shatter it, reducing it from a vast, supreme world into countless fragmented, minor realms."

"Legend has it that the physical body of that Immortal Monarch from the First World was blasted to dust right alongside it..."

Hearing the Branch Master recount this tale, several elders still remained utterly bewildered.

"What does the story of the Four Great Realms have to do with the Tianwu Realm?"

The purple-robed Branch Master cast a glance at the elder who spoke and continued:

"After the First World was shattered, it fractured into innumerable minor realms. Due to the varying sizes and intrinsic tiers of these worlds, their respective strengths differ greatly. Yet, every single one of them forever remembers the First World!"

"The character 'Heaven' was derived directly from the legacy of the First World."

As these words fell, every single elder present was instantly gripped by panic.

Though the lower realms were countless as the sands of the Ganges, they were far from equal; a strict hierarchy divided them even among themselves.