“I’ve heard many disciples of the academy spend hundreds of years there and still haven’t seen you once. Aren’t you the same,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
“I’ve always been managing things from the shadows. I simply don’t enjoy showing my face,” the woman in the white dress replied.
“So what’s next?” Xu Zimo asked. “The seven lineages, three of their ancestors have already been slain by us. The remaining four can’t stir up much trouble.”
“You’ve surprised me somewhat,” the woman in the white dress said after giving Xu Zimo a long look up and down. “I had expected a bitter fight, but your presence has broken some of the balance. You carry many secrets.”
“What, are you that curious?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Although you’re the Holy Son of the True Martial Sacred Ground, your strength is not something that sect alone could have nurtured.”
Fixing her gaze firmly on Xu Zimo, she asked, “What is your True Fate?”
“Do you know, the beginning of love often starts with a woman being curious about a man?” Xu Zimo laughed.
“That’s not an answer,” the woman chuckled lightly.
“Actually, I had already arrived when you were fighting Mo Tianming. But the Nine-Star Alignment covered everything, and I only caught a vague shadow. From start to finish in that battle, you never once used your True Fate. What are you hiding?”
“I kindly help your Heavenly Dao Academy, and this is how you repay me, with suspicion?” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“Well then, if you don’t want to say, I won’t force it,” the woman replied calmly.
“These imperial lineages, I've never truly cared about them. Unless they choose to fight to the death and throw in their entire power, they can’t cause much damage. They know that themselves. So their goal this time was plunder, not destruction of the academy. What worries me now is that Sky Blue Demon Roc.”
“The Merciful Voyage Sacred Ground, the Crescent Imperium, and the Dark Heaven Sacred Ground, three major ancestors of theirs have been killed. I’m afraid they didn’t expect that,” Xu Zimo said. “When the word spreads, we’ll just say you killed them. Don’t drag me into it.”
“You’re afraid?” The woman narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled at him.
“Mm, afraid,” Xu Zimo nodded without hesitation.
In truth, he wasn’t really afraid of these imperial lineages, only annoyed by the hassle. Even if he exterminated them all, he’d gain nothing and only waste time.
Hearing his straightforward answer, the woman in the white dress was momentarily stunned. The sarcastic retort she had prepared was swallowed back down.
Geniuses, powerful cultivators, they all value their reputation immensely. Yet clearly, this world has never lacked for shameless people.
“I’m going to see the Sky Blue Demon Roc. Do you want to come?” she asked.
“Among the academy’s ten sages, none of them have broken into Nirvana Void?” Xu Zimo asked.
“You think Nirvana Void is like cabbages, easily grown? It’s not that simple,” she replied. “To put it bluntly, out of millions of Zenith Immortals, not even one may break through.”
“Are you just indirectly praising yourself?” Xu Zimo asked. After all, she had already stepped into half-step Nirvana Void, and might not be far from crossing that final step.
“Seems like you know nothing of Nirvana Void,” she said, glancing at him.
“How so?” Xu Zimo asked.
“First, how much do you know of the Immortal Path? Do you understand the difference between Immortals and God Meridian cultivators?” she asked.
“I’m not walking the Immortal Path in the future. I’ve never studied those books,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“Let me put it this way, everything below the God Meridian, including it, relies on borrowing the power of heaven and earth. But once you ascend into the Immortal Path, you begin to comprehend your own Nomological Truth,” she explained.
“The so-called Nomological Truth, or True Meaning, is the primordial state of this world’s laws.”
“Nomological Truth…” Xu Zimo muttered.
“From Arcane Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Immortal Sovereign, Undying Immortal, to Zenith Immortal, these five stages of Immortal Ascension are simply progressively deeper understandings of Nomological Truths,” she continued. “And to break the barrier of Immortal Ascension and enter Nirvana Void requires two steps.”
“What two steps?” Xu Zimo asked.
“First step, the Nomological Truth transforms into Primal Daos. Nirvana Void cultivators can comprehend the Primal Daos of Heaven and Earth. Their words shape reality, their will mirrors heaven and earth. The second step is to undergo the baptism of heavenly tribulation,” she said. “The process of cultivation is a process of transcendence, of breaking shackles one by one. You must have heard that breaking through twelve meridian gates grants immortality and eternal transcendence. But transcendence means not only transcending yourself, but also transcending this world. Heaven and earth do not allow beings they cannot control. So once your cultivation reaches a certain level, every step forward will trigger tribulation. Survive it, and you are reborn. Fail, and at worst you die, at best you remain stuck for life.”
“Then what exactly is half-step Nirvana Void?” Xu Zimo asked again.
“As I said, Nirvana Void requires two steps. I’ve already completed the first, Nomological Truth into Primal Daos. But I’ve yet to endure heavenly tribulation, so I’m only half a step there,” she explained. “These matters, far yet near for you. But remember, Nomological Truths or Primal Daos, they don’t appear out of nothing. They’ve always existed within this world. We simply lacked the strength to sense them. The stronger you grow, the clearer they become. Our Primordial Heartlands is only a Major World. Primal Daos are concealed here and hard to comprehend. In Particle Worlds, it’s even worse, not only Primal Daos, even Nomological Truth is difficult to grasp. That’s why many who enter the Path of Immortality choose to ascend to the Outer Heavens. The Outer Heavens belong to a much greater world, with stronger capacity, its Primal Daos openly manifest. The chances of breaking into Nirvana Void are much higher. That’s why most of our Primordial Heartlands’ top cultivators, eight or nine out of ten, choose to ascend. For someone like Ancestor White Tiger, who remained here yet still comprehended Primal Daos and endured tribulation, that’s rarer than one in tens of thousands.”
“I see,” Xu Zimo murmured.
“So you understand now. The fact that none of the ten sages broke into Nirvana Void isn’t strange at all,” the woman said.
“How about we make a trade? From what I know, your True Martial Sacred Ground’s Sky Shroud War God has already broken into Nirvana Void. If he were to help, that Sky Blue Demon Roc wouldn’t be a problem.”
“What would I get in return?” Xu Zimo asked.
“What do you want?” she asked in return.