PCJ – Chapter 758 Planning

“Back then, when the end of the Dharma era was approaching, the cultivation world convened a grand assembly to discuss countermeasures. They decided to take the risk of activating the teleportation array that led to the Immortal Realm. It is said that in ancient times, the Immortal Realm and the Mortal Realm were originally connected. But immortal beasts from the Immortal Realm frequently invaded the Mortal Realm, causing enormous slaughter. Ancient cultivators feared their descendants would be unable to withstand the invasions of immortal beasts, so the great powers used mighty arts to separate the two realms, leaving only one teleportation array.

When the end of the Dharma era came, cultivators of the Mortal Realm decided to reopen the teleportation array. But no one expected that the day of its opening would turn out to be a day of disaster for the cultivation world. Tens of thousands of cultivators entered the Immortal Realm through the array, yet in the end, less than one in a thousand survived. My proud Tianshan Immortal Sect had thousands of cultivators, but in the end, only a dozen survived. Because of hidden injuries sustained in the Immortal Beast Mountains, I was the only one who managed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.” Wan Jiqing’s face showed deep pain.

He paused for a moment, then continued: “If not for my sect brothers and elders sacrificing themselves to protect me, how could I have made it here unharmed? I built this city of cultivators and named it Yan City. I am like a wild goose soaring in the sky, hoping that one day I could return to my sect. But after that catastrophe, my sect ceased to exist long ago. I have already become a homeless orphan.”

“At that time, before the decline of spiritual energy had fully arrived, wasn’t it possible to break through by cultivation and open the barrier to enter the Immortal Realm?” Zhang Jiaohua asked curiously.

“Although the end had not yet fully come, spirit stones in the Mortal Realm were already scarce. Without spirit stones as support, it was exceedingly difficult for an ordinary cultivator to break through from the Nascent Soul stage to the Void Refining stage. By the way, from what you’ve said, Fellow Daoist Zhang, did you not come here through the teleportation array in the Immortal Beast Mountains, but instead broke through by cultivation and directly passed through the barrier into the Immortal Realm?” Wan Jiqing asked in shock.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang is truly extraordinarily gifted. To directly break through by cultivation and pass the barrier into the Immortal Realm is something that happens once in countless ages. Only in the primordial Hongmeng era, when the Mortal and Immortal Realms were connected, spiritual energy was abundant, and spirit stones were as numerous as sand, was it possible.” Wan Jiqing looked at Zhang Jiaohua with envy.

“If I wish to return to the Mortal Realm, is that possible?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“What—you still wish to go back? Actually, this was something we considered back then. Since you could break through the barrier to enter the Immortal Realm, theoretically you should also be able to break through it to return to the Mortal Realm,” Wan Jiqing said.

“This passage can indeed be reopened, but it cannot bring cultivators from the Mortal Realm into the Immortal Realm. And the energy cost of opening it is enormous.” Zhang Jiaohua had already sensed that it was possible to break through the barrier by exhausting a vast amount of spiritual power. But doing so would nearly drain him completely. When he first entered the Immortal Realm, he had nearly encountered disaster this way. Naturally, he was unwilling to use such a dangerous method.

“Does Fellow Daoist Zhang wish to open the passage through the Immortal Beast Mountains?” Wan Jiqing asked.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“Though Fellow Daoist Zhang’s strength is formidable, attempting to enter the Immortal Beast Forest and reopen the passage is still incredibly difficult. While Immortal Beasts of the Unity stage are rare in the mountains, those at the peak of the Void Return stage are numerous, and early- to mid-stage Void Return beasts are everywhere. To open a passage through the Immortal Beast Mountains is simply impossible.” Wan Jiqing shook his head.

Liang Dengheng also spoke: “The three great sects—Kunlun, Shushan, and Buzhou—each had over a dozen Supreme Elders, all experts at the early Void Return stage. Yet after entering the Immortal Realm, within a single day, fewer than three remained. All perished in chaotic battles. Fellow Daoist Zhang must not take risks lightly. It would be better to take the long view. If you could advance to the Unity stage, then you could freely roam anywhere in the Immortal Realm. Given your youth, that breakthrough is only a matter of time.”

“Yes, Fellow Daoist Liang is right. Since you are still so young, why not focus on cultivation? When your strength grows, everything will come naturally,” Wan Jiqing said.

But Zhang Jiaohua could not wait. He had too many ties in the Mortal Realm he could not let go of. How long would it take to reach the Unity stage? Decades, perhaps centuries. For cultivators with long lifespans, a hundred years was like a passing moment, but for mortals in the Mortal Realm, that was an entire lifetime. Zhang Jiaohua did not want to return one day only to find that everything had already changed, and everyone he cared for was gone.

Seeing that they could not persuade Zhang Jiaohua, Wan Jiqing and Liang Dengheng had no choice but to change the subject.

“Actually, there is another way to reopen the passage between the Immortal and Mortal Realms. That is to build up power. If a sect could cultivate thousands or even tens of thousands of Void Return-level cultivators, then sweeping through the Immortal Beast Mountains and reactivating the teleportation array would not be difficult,” Wan Jiqing suggested.

Liang Dengheng added: “Yes, indeed. And there are other possibilities. Wasn’t Fellow Daoist Zhang a scientist in the Mortal Realm? You could use science to overcome the immortal beasts!”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. The methods they mentioned were not impossible. In this Abandoned Land, most cultivators were talentless failures, so cultivating a large number of Void Return experts would be extremely difficult. But if he armed a group of cultivators with a scientific system, raising them to Void Return-level strength might not be impossible.

“If you truly have such a plan, Fellow Daoist Zhang, I can help you spread the word and recruit large numbers of cultivators. In this Abandoned Land, you could establish your Meishan Sect. Once your sect’s strength is enough to sweep through the Immortal Beast Mountains, our three sects can join forces to break through the mountains. We need to cross the Immortal Mountains to escape the Abandoned Land and enter the Central Continent of the Immortal Realm. And you, Fellow Daoist Zhang, could open the passage between the Immortal and Mortal Realms, allowing Mortal Realm cultivators to enter smoothly. What do you think?” Wan Jiqing asked.

“Good! Let’s do it. But I only want young cultivators,” Zhang Jiaohua said firmly. He did not want those with no potential left. What he needed were young people with strong learning ability. He could quickly teach them the scientific system and have them start from scratch cultivating his own methods. In this way, they could grow their cultivation rapidly. As long as he had a large group who could reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, with the aid of science, he was confident he could help them reach Void Return-level strength.

It was said the Abandoned Land had hundreds of millions of inhabitants, with cultivators numbering in the millions. Building a sect with hundreds of thousands, or even a million members, would not be easy, but it was not impossible—perhaps even easier than it had been on Earth.

Of course, Zhang Jiaohua could not create such a massive sect overnight. Even a few tens of thousands was impossible at first. His initial plan was to recruit a few hundred to a few thousand disciples and train them as the core of his sect. Once the sect took shape, he would then steadily expand. Zhang Jiaohua carefully made a detailed plan.