Chapter 152: A Daring Probe

"Fan Jun, you are next."

Hearing Jiang An's words, Fan Jun didn't react for a moment.

"This is the Pulse-Clearing Pill I refined. After taking it, you will be able to practice martial arts just like a normal person. First, find a way to break through to a Grandmaster of Martial Arts, and then you can practice the *Still Water Scripture* I gave you."

With that, Jiang An tapped his storage bag and tossed a small jade bottle over to Fan Jun. Fan Jun was overjoyed—it turned out His Highness had never forgotten about this matter!

He expressed his gratitude with utmost excitement, and Jiang An smiled and told him to step back.

"Alright, I have two small-capacity storage bags here, each with a space of about one cubic meter. The previous owner's imprint has already been erased. Dao Mo, Cheng Yang, I bestow these two upon you. Right now, aside from me, you two are the most powerful combat forces in the Yu Gate. I hope you make good use of them and redouble your cultivation!"

Storage bags were immortal treasures, after all; who wouldn't want one? Dao Mo and Cheng Yang immediately bowed deeply in profound gratitude. Jiang An encouraged the others, saying, "The rest of you shouldn't envy them. Without reaching the Grandmaster realm, having this thing is useless anyway. Once Gaochao comes out of seclusion, he should have broken through to the Grandmaster realm as well."

After that, Jiang An dismissed them as well.

Tong Hao finally couldn't hold back any longer. He raised his hand high and shouted, "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law! Can I speak?"

Tong Yi blushed deeply and kicked her younger brother, but Tong Hao ignored her completely and asked full of anticipation, "Can I cultivate too? I want to become a powerhouse just like brother-in-law!"

"Actually, your talent for immortal cultivation is quite good," Jiang An replied.

"Oh yeah!"

Tong Hao was so excited he felt like he was flying to the heavens. He jumped up and down, almost wanting to rush over and hug Jiang An's thigh while crying out for a sugar daddy.

"Brother-in-law, then let's start! Hurry up and teach me how to cultivate!"

Jiang An, however, put on a stern face. "You, and your sister, still need to study properly. Lay a solid foundation while you study."

"No way!"

Tong Hao instantly protested. He was all ready to go, and yet he still had to wait several days—are you kidding me? He was just about to complain when Jiang An cut him off.

"I never say things twice. It's useless for you to protest."

Tong Yi drooped her head, not daring to argue any further. Who asked Jiang An to be the boss? Still, Tong Hao refused to give up. He asked, "Brother-in-law, then tell us about the world of immortal cultivation. Let us broaden our horizons so we can set better goals and not be like frogs at the bottom of a well."

This time, Tong Hao grew clever and used the word "us." Sure enough, when the others heard this, they also became filled with anticipation.

Jiang An pondered for a moment. This didn't seem like a bad thing, either.

"Very well. Since you all want to hear about it, I will tell you. Immortal cultivation is the refining and transforming of the heaven and earth's primordial qi to remould oneself, continuously transcending the self to reach a lifespan matching the heavens. The hardships and obstacles along the way are countless; countless people charge forward only to die halfway, and only a tiny fraction can reach the highest realms. The Earth where we are located is a lower plane, while the upper plane is the Immortal Realm. Between the two realms lies the Spirit Realm. The stages of a cultivator's realm are roughly: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation (the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation stages are collectively referred to as the Divine Soul stage in the Immortal Realm), Void Training, Profound Clarity, Karmic Retribution, and Creation. Generally speaking, as long as one reaches the Void Training stage, one possesses the divine ability to turn the void into reality and touch stone into gold, and can be called an immortal. As for the Creation stage, one's achievements can be said to rival creation itself; grasping the Dao in one's hand, one can be called a 'Dao Lord'..."

At this point, a flash of inspiration struck Jiang An, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind. He decided to give it a try!

"So, are there realms above the Creation stage? Or rather, are there planes above the Immortal Realm? According to primordial classics, there are. Only by ascending to the Eternal Pure Land can one truly achieve immortality and indestructibility, free from all calamities and disasters. But unfortunately, ascending to the Eternal Pure Land could only be achieved by the Arch-Saints of the Primordial God Clan. After the Primordial God Clan vanished, the ascension path completely closed for unknown reasons. Afterwards, countless mighty figures of various races in the Immortal Realm could only remain trapped within the Immortal Realm, perishing as they faced the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and the Four Calamities of Saints. Yet, heaven leaves no dead ends. After countless more years passed, a great secret somehow began circulating throughout the Immortal Realm: if one wants to ascend to the Eternal Pure Land, one must 'take a detour'!

"If the location of the Immortal Realm is '1' and the Eternal Pure Land is '2', then Earth is the origin of all worlds, which is '0'. Since ascending from '1' to '2' no longer works, one must go from '0' to '2'. Thus, the major factions of the Immortal Realm began plotting, wanting to occupy Earth. In the eyes of those mighty figures, mere lower planes could be easily conquered by any avatar sent by these Dao Lords and Saints who could cover the heavens with a single hand. However, they were wrong. Earth is not terrifying in itself, but Earth's existence is governed by the Heavenly Dao! These saints are simply no match for the Heavenly Dao..."

The people listening grew more and more shocked. They never expected Jiang An to drop such a massive bombshell, and for a moment they were completely dazed. Just then, however, Jiang An suddenly shouted:

"What did I just say!"

Tong Hao subconsciously replied, "What you just said was... Huh? That's right, what *did* you just say? Sis, what did brother-in-law say?"

Tong Yi rubbed her head as well. "I don't know either. It seemed like he was talking about some kind of realm."

"Strange. His Highness indeed said something just now, but I can't remember anything at all. How about you?"

"Huh? Did His Highness speak just now?"

Everyone asked each other, completely clueless, growing more and more confused as if they had contracted collective amnesia. Seeing this, Jiang An already had his answer: The Barrier of Knowledge and Perception!

Just now, he wanted to test whether the power of the Heavenly Dao would block him and whether it was truly omnipresent if he spoke of the great secrets of the Immortal Realm and his ultimate purpose for returning. If the test succeeded, Jiang An wouldn't have to be so bound and restricted in his future actions. Of course, he was merely holding onto a slim hope. Sure enough, these great secrets concerning the origin of the world—unless one had attained the status of a Dao Lord—meant one was not qualified to hear them; even if heard, nothing could be remembered.

"You don't need to rack your brains. I didn't say anything just now, I merely offered a few pointers regarding your cultivation problems," Jiang An prevaricated.

Dao Mo and the others nodded in agreement, as if that were truly the case.

Jiang An had no other choice. These matters could only be buried deep within his own heart; they were still a hundred thousand miles away from that realm.

"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law! Can I speak?" Tong Hao suddenly raised his hand high again, with the exact same posture, the exact same expression, and the exact same tone, as if a replay had just been triggered.

The others also showed not a shred of surprise.

Very well, the power of the Heavenly Dao was being far too cautious, directly turning back time to eliminate all hidden risks while also giving Jiang An a chance to speak anew.

"Can I cultivate too? I want to become a powerhouse just like brother-in-law!"

Sure enough, the next line came as well.

Jiang An rubbed his temples and said flatly, "You can. You possess the aptitude of dual earth and wind spiritual roots; you're quite a good sapling."

"Really?!"

This response was different from before; it had taken a completely different timeline.

*(PS: A transitional chapter, and the climaxes are about to erupt once again right away!)*