Chapter 1

One of the five major immortal realms in the Immortal World is the Rakshasa Immortal Realm, a realm predominantly inhabited by independent cultivators.

Maple Spirit Star is just a very ordinary planet among the many planets in the Rakshasa Immortal Realm.

A magnificent mountain range, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles, coils around Maple Spirit Star like a reclining dragon. To the east of the mountain range lies a vast valley, lush with trees and incredibly spacious.

On both sides of the valley, peaks rise in layers, stretching endlessly like graceful fairies, old men with staffs, monkeys offering peaches, and wild horses breaking free from their reins, towering and majestic, each in its unique form. The peaks are often shrouded in mist, with vast clouds of smoke.

Following the valley, a spiritual spring flows down the mountain, gathering into a tranquil lake in the valley. A gentle breeze stirs, causing ripples to spread across the water, forming clusters of small waves.

Behind the tranquil lake stands a refined complex of buildings. Above the main gate hangs a plaque inscribed with "Lingtian Manor." The entire manor is built with white jade walls and glazed tiles, with palaces and pavilions adorned with curved eaves and jade corners. Exotic flowers and rare trees are scattered around, filling the air with a fragrant aroma, making one feel refreshed and at ease.

Immortal Lord Lingtian discovered this valley a thousand years ago while passing by Maple Spirit Star and built this manor. For nearly a thousand years, he has been cultivating within the manor, rarely leaving. Immortal Lord Lingtian ascended to the Immortal World only five thousand years ago, yet his cultivation has already reached the peak of the late-stage Immortal Lord, a level that others would find difficult to achieve even after hundreds of thousands of years. He is widely recognized as a cultivation genius in the Rakshasa Immortal Realm, and there are even rumors that he possesses the strength to challenge an early-stage Immortal Emperor.

For nearly a thousand years, due to the awe-inspiring reputation of Immortal Lord Lingtian, Maple Spirit Star has remained peaceful. Acts of robbery, murder, and treasure theft, which are common on other planets inhabited by independent cultivators, are extremely rare on Maple Spirit Star. This has attracted many low-level, unaffiliated cultivators to gather on Maple Spirit Star, creating a harmonious atmosphere, though not exactly prosperous.

However, today, Maple Spirit Star seems to be anything but peaceful.

In the back garden of Lingtian Manor, Immortal Lord Lingtian was bidding farewell to his friends, Immortal Lords Jinzhuo, Zhiheng, Deping, and Shenghua, after a drinking session: "Brothers, I will soon enter seclusion. If I am fortunate enough to break through the bottleneck and advance to the Immortal Emperor stage, I will send you a message to celebrate!"

Immortal Lord Lingtian bowed to the four of them and turned to lead them out of the manor.

At the moment Immortal Lord Lingtian turned, a man in a brocade robe, with a broad forehead and a golden wine gourd at his waist, suddenly changed his expression. He quickly exchanged glances with the three others, and a crimson snake-shaped longsword appeared in his hand. He formed a sword seal, and the snake-shaped sword shot silently and swiftly towards Immortal Lord Lingtian's back.

In the instant he turned, Immortal Lord Lingtian seemed to sense something amiss, and a strong sense of danger surged in his heart. With a thought, his protective armor appeared on his body.

However, it was too late. Before Immortal Lord Lingtian could channel his immortal energy to activate the armor, he felt a sudden impact on his back. The protective armor was breached, but fortunately, as a high-grade immortal artifact, it still managed to block most of the snake-shaped sword's attack. The sword pierced through the armor but did not reach his dantian.

Struck by the full force of the brocade-robed man's attack, Immortal Lord Lingtian's body flew hundreds of feet, creating a deep crater in the ground.

"Spit!" He spat out a mouthful of blood, hastily summoned his life-bound treasure, the Yuxu Sword, and flew into the air. He saw Immortal Lords Jinzhuo and the others surrounding him, their faces filled with murderous intent, making the atmosphere chillingly cold.

Immortal Lord Lingtian's gaze was fixed on the man in the brocade robe, his face filled with disbelief. He asked in a deep voice, "Brother Jinzhuo, why are you doing this?"

"Unfortunately, it was just a little short of destroying your dantian!" Immortal Lord Jinzhuo's eyes flashed with a cold light, his face becoming even more sinister. He said in a deep voice, "Ye Lingtian, even if you escaped that sword, you won't leave here alive today! If you know what's good for you, hand over the Divine Temple Map. In consideration of our past friendship, I might spare your life. Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

The Divine Temple Map! The trouble stemmed from that incomplete Divine Temple Map!

Seeing the greedy looks in their eyes, Ye Lingtian felt a mix of confusion and anger. He had ascended to the Immortal World five thousand years ago, spending most of his time cultivating, with few friends. The four men before him were his only close friends in the Immortal World.

But he never expected that these men, whom he respected deeply and trusted with his life, would try to kill him for an incomplete Divine Temple Map!

He couldn't understand why his friends, whom he treated as brothers, would try to harm him!

Ye Lingtian's face turned ashen, his eyes flashing with anger, and a powerful aura began to emanate from him, his fighting spirit rising.

He glanced coldly at the four men and said with disdain, "Jinzhuo, the Divine Temple Map is indeed in my possession, but I will never hand it over to you! Do you think you four can do anything to me?"

Immortal Lord Jinzhuo, intimidated by Ye Lingtian's sharp gaze, showed a hint of fear in his eyes but quickly regained his composure, his face turning sinister again. "Ye Lingtian, perhaps we couldn't do anything to you normally, but today, you won't escape! Don't believe me? Try channeling your immortal energy!"

Seeing Immortal Lord Jinzhuo's sinister smile, Ye Lingtian sensed something was wrong. He hurriedly tried to activate his golden core, but to his shock, he could only extract about forty percent of his immortal energy.

After several attempts, he shouted at Immortal Lord Jinzhuo, "Jinzhuo, what have you done?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" The four Immortal Lords laughed. "Ye Lingtian, don't hold out hope. Let me make it clear for you—it's the Juemai Grass!"

Juemai Grass? Ye Lingtian quickly recalled the records about this herb.

Suddenly, his face changed. Juemai Grass is one of the ten most miraculous herbs in the Immortal World. Its root juice is colorless and odorless, non-toxic, and is the main ingredient in the healing elixir, Biyou Pill.

Although Juemai Grass itself is non-toxic, when its root juice is mixed with alcohol, it can effectively seal up to sixty percent of one's immortal energy. Unless one consumes the flower of the Han You Grass, there is no cure within three days.

However, this herb is extremely rare, growing in the toxic and deadly Beihu Swamp, a mysterious place where even Immortal Emperors rarely survive. It has been extinct in the Immortal World for tens of thousands of years.

"Ye Lingtian, do you still want to resist? Hand over the Divine Temple Map, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, you will be utterly destroyed!" Seeing Ye Lingtian's sudden change in expression, Immortal Lord Jinzhuo felt more confident about obtaining the map.

Hand over the map? If it were just any ordinary Divine Temple Map, Ye Lingtian wouldn't care, especially since this one was incomplete. But the four characters "Tianyuan Divine Temple" on the map made him believe it was likely a temple left by his master after his demise. How could he hand over his master's legacy to others?

A way out? Is there even a way out now? If there is, the only way is to break through the encirclement and escape! With this thought, Ye Lingtian's expression became serious, his body radiating a fierce aura, and his eyes filled with a strong killing intent.

He scanned the surroundings and decided to target the weakest among the four, Immortal Lord Shenghua, aiming for a one-hit kill to break through the encirclement!

Just as Ye Lingtian was secretly gathering his immortal energy to strike Immortal Lord Shenghua, the cunning Immortal Lord Jinzhuo seemed to sense something amiss and shouted to the others, "Form the array!"

Immortal Lords Zhiheng, Deping, and Shenghua quickly spread out, and Immortal Lord Jinzhuo shouted, "Chaos without limits, the four elements of the universe, activate!" It was the "Four Elements Immortal Slaying Array."

Instantly, the sky darkened, and the world seemed to tremble. The once bright sky turned pitch black.

"Oh no!" Ye Lingtian was terrified, his face turning pale. He hadn't expected Jinzhuo and the others to be so well-prepared, and for the first time, he felt a sense of impending death.

The "Four Elements Immortal Slaying Array" is said to be a later imitation of the ancient "Immortal Slaying Array." Within the array, any attack is met with the combined defense of the four, and any attack is also the combined strength of the four. Although its power is only a fraction of the original "Immortal Slaying Array," it is nearly impossible to break through without knowledge of array techniques.

Although his master, Tianyuan Divine Emperor, had left Ye Lingtian a scroll on array techniques, Ye Lingtian had spent most of his time in both the cultivation world and the Immortal World on improving his cultivation, and had never studied array techniques.

Even if he could extract one hundred percent of his immortal energy, he would still be at a disadvantage in the "Four Elements Immortal Slaying Array."

"Ye Lingtian, this is your last chance. Hand over the Divine Temple Map, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, you will be utterly destroyed!" Immortal Lord Jinzhuo seemed very confident in the "Four Elements Immortal Slaying Array."

"Daydreaming!" Although he was in a desperate situation, Ye Lingtian refused to hand over his master's legacy.

He leaped up, and a sword beam shot towards Immortal Lord Shenghua with unparalleled momentum. However, the four men were clearly prepared for Ye Lingtian's attack, and four sword beams instantly shattered his sword qi.

"Hmph! You refuse the easy way out!" Immortal Lord Jinzhuo snarled, commanding the others to fully activate the array. Immortal swords flew in all directions, and four swords simultaneously attacked Ye Lingtian.

"Shh!" Another sword struck, and Ye Lingtian, now covered in blood, had already lost count of how many times he had been hit. His high-grade immortal armor was shattered, and if the attacks continued, he would bleed to death even if the four men stopped.

"Is this the will of heaven? No! I cannot die like this. If I must die, I will take a few with me." Looking up at the sky, Ye Lingtian's eyes were filled with sorrow and determination, mixed with boundless anger and unwillingness: "Master, I am unworthy, unable to avenge you!"

Once his resolve was made, no one could suppress him. His golden core spun wildly, and his dantian swelled and compressed repeatedly, his long robe billowing with the rising aura.

"Bad! He's going to self-destruct, retreat quickly!" Immortal Lord Jinzhuo was the first to notice Ye Lingtian's abnormal state and was terrified.

"Want to run? Too late! Ha ha, if I die, you all die with me!"

"Boom!" A massive explosion shook the heavens and earth. The self-destruction of a late-stage Immortal Lord was incredibly powerful, turning the entire manor into ruins, and within a radius of several dozen miles, nothing remained.

Before they could retreat far enough, Immortal Lords Deping and Shenghua, both at the mid-stage Immortal Lord level, were instantly obliterated by the explosion, their bodies and souls completely destroyed.

Immortal Lord Zhiheng, who had managed to retreat a bit faster, was left in a state close to death, covered in blood, with his left arm and both legs blown off, and his soul severely damaged. It would take him hundreds or even thousands of years to recover, even if he were saved.

Immortal Lord Jinzhuo, who had retreated early and had a higher cultivation level, only suffered minor injuries. After the explosion subsided, he flew to the center of the blast, waved his hand, and the storage rings and treasures of Ye Lingtian, Immortal Lords Deping, and Shenghua appeared in his hand.

Carefully examining the storage rings left by Ye Lingtian, Immortal Lord Jinzhuo found only some immortal crystals, ordinary herbs, and refining materials, but no Divine Temple Map.

Could Ye Lingtian have another storage treasure that was overlooked? Immortal Lord Jinzhuo released his divine sense and searched the explosion site several times, but found nothing.

"How can this be? Why isn't the Divine Temple Map here?" Immortal Lord Jinzhuo frowned, looking frustrated.

Suddenly, he sensed several powerful auras approaching the valley, likely drawn by the explosion. He quickly swept up Immortal Lord Zhiheng and left the valley.

No one noticed that at the moment of Ye Lingtian's self-destruction, the powerful explosion had torn a small rift in space. At that moment, a small, gray-black bead quickly flashed into the rift and disappeared...