Chapter 22

"In the core of the universe, the realms of Immortals and Demons coexist, like the yin and yang of the Taiji, moving in a cycle. Beneath these two realms lies the Earthly Immortal Realm, and beyond that, the vast and boundless human world, which expands endlessly, making the universe even vaster."

Li Tiejue gently fanned the yin-yang fan in his hand, as if demonstrating the vast and infinite universe.

Li Tiejue began to recount the legend of the Seven Realms, which took place after the Daoist Ancestor Hongjun merged with the Heavenly Dao and re-established the rules of the universe, creating a new world.

Zhu Lingwu had never heard of these stories before. In his original world, this mythological history was either deliberately hidden or simply lost, and the mythological era directly transitioned to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and the Investiture of the Gods, with the history after the Great Tribulation of the Witches and Demons disappearing.

Zhu Lingwu became interested in these stories after hearing Li Tiejue's introduction and specifically asked to hear them.

Although these were artistic renditions of storytelling, Zhu Lingwu could still gain a general understanding of the mythological history of this world, where cultivators existed.

This also related to the ultimate goal of the cultivators in this world, the secret of ascending to the Immortal Realm.

Otherwise, people always talked about ascending to the Immortal Realm, but no one knew where it was or what it was like.

After listening to Li Tiejue's story, Zhu Lingwu learned that the legendary Immortal Realm was actually created by the Daoist Ancestor Hongjun before he became a saint, by separating his benevolent aspect and fusing it with a fragment of the primordial chaos.

There was also a Demon Realm, created by separating his malevolent aspect and fusing it with another fragment of the primordial chaos.

The Immortal and Demon Realms naturally formed a yin-yang pattern above the original Earthly Immortal Realm, moving in a cycle according to the rules of the Heavenly Dao.

These two realms were also the core of the universe after the Daoist Ancestor Hongjun merged with the Heavenly Dao, like the core of a planet, using gravity to firmly attract the surrounding human world, which spiraled like a galaxy, to the outside of the core.

"However, since ancient times, the Immortal and Demon races have been in constant conflict, making the vast human world a battlefield for their struggles. When the Immortals are strong, people worship the Immortals; when the Demons are powerful, people believe in the Demons. The outstanding individuals among humans either cultivate to become Immortals or Demons, and when their cultivation is complete, they can ascend to the Immortal or Demon Realms, achieving the bodies of Immortals or Demons. This was originally the rule set by the Daoist Ancestor."

Li Tiejue paused to catch his breath, wiped his forehead with a towel from the table, and then continued.

"But, after all, the Immortal and Demon races are the legacies of the Daoist Ancestor's benevolent and malevolent aspects before he became a saint, sharing the same roots. They are like the palm and the back of the hand, both flesh of the same body, and they naturally balance the universe. If one side were to disappear, the universe would collapse! To prevent the Immortal and Demon Realms from directly confronting each other and causing excessive conflict, the Daoist Ancestor allowed the ancient Witch God to merge and fuse a fragment of the primordial chaos to create a Divine Realm between the Immortal and Demon Realms, serving as a buffer."

Li Tiejue made a collapsing gesture with one hand while fanning the yin-yang fan with the other, creating a humorous effect.

He then shook his tall paper hat and continued, "According to the Daoist Ancestor's original plan, with the establishment of the Divine, Immortal, Demon, and Human Realms, the universe would be stabilized!"

"Gentlemen and ladies, you already know that the ancient Witch God was formed from the essence of Pangu's blood, and had some connection with the Daoist Ancestor, being of the same lineage as Pangu. Therefore, the Daoist Ancestor allowed the establishment of the Divine Realm, considering this connection."

"However, the Daoist Ancestor did not expect that by loosening his grip, three more realms would be added to the universe, and their origins are quite significant."

Li Tiejue paused dramatically, looked around the Tian Tang Pavilion teahouse, and then continued in a peculiar tone.

"The first of these realms is the Spirit Realm, created by the ancient Demon Emperors Shun and Taiyi, specifically for the demons to ascend, so that they would not be oppressed by the Immortals and Demons in the Immortal and Demon Realms, becoming their mounts or livestock."

"Gentlemen and ladies, you know that the ancient Demon race was a major race in the primordial chaos, equal to the ancient Witch race. In ancient times, the Witch race ruled the earth, and the Demon race ruled the sky. After the Great Tribulation of the Witches and Demons, the primordial chaos was shattered. Since the Witch race had a Divine Realm, the Daoist Ancestor could not favor one over the other and leave the descendants of the Demon race without a place to go. This would disrupt the rules of the Heavenly Dao he re-established. Therefore, a Spirit Realm was created next to the Divine Realm, adding more variables to the conflict between the Immortals and Demons."

Li Tiejue paused again and continued, "Another realm is the Netherworld, which was created in the ancient times when the universe was not yet stable. The ancient Witch Goddess Hou Tu, seeing that the souls of the ancient beings had nowhere to go after death and wandered in the universe, merged with a mass of Pangu's turbid blood to create the Six Paths of Reincarnation, forming a separate world."

"After that, the souls of the ancient beings could enter the Netherworld and be reborn through the Six Paths of Reincarnation. This realm was formed before the Daoist Ancestor merged with the Heavenly Dao and received the merit of the Heavenly Dao. However, after the Daoist Ancestor re-established the rules of the universe, he allowed beings to reincarnate on their own, so they no longer needed to go to the Netherworld. But since the Netherworld was already established and protected by merit, the Daoist Ancestor could not easily erase it. Therefore, the Netherworld became an independent realm. It is said that there are two gates of reincarnation in this realm, allowing people to directly enter the Immortal or Demon Realms and be reborn as Immortal spirits or Demon embryos."

Li Tiejue smiled slyly, as his storytelling was a mix of truth and fiction, and the audience could judge the authenticity for themselves.

"The last realm, hehe, is a bit of a cheat. In the ancient primordial chaos, two beings formed from innate spiritual treasures joined the Daoist Ancestor's teachings at the Purple Dawn Palace and achieved the foundation of sainthood, founding the Western Religion."

"Seeing that the Daoist Ancestor allowed the Divine, Spirit, and Netherworld Realms to exist between the Immortal and Demon Realms, they merged their innate spiritual treasures to create the Western Paradise, claiming it was to provide a place for the beings of their Western Religion to reside."

"Gentlemen and ladies, isn't this cheating? But the Daoist Ancestor, after checking the rules of the Heavenly Dao, found that the number nine was significant, and he took one for himself, leaving a variable. The remaining seven realms fit the rules, so he had to tacitly allow their cheating. So, gentlemen and ladies, when the time is right, you should act, and sometimes, things need to be achieved through a bit of cheating."

Li Tiejue then added a few humorous lines, causing the audience in the Tian Tang Pavilion to burst into laughter, and thus concluded the story of the Seven Realms.

After finishing the story of the Seven Realms, Li Tiejue explained the state of the vast human world beyond the core six realms.

It was said that many of these human worlds were created by ancient deities, and with the passage of time, the human world had become boundless.

Outside the core realms of Immortals, Demons, Gods, Demons, Ghosts, and Buddhas, new powerful beings often transformed into human worlds, studying the rules of the universe and seeking the true essence of the Dao, continuing to explore the Heavenly Dao.

The creation of these new human worlds made the human world even more vast, and the existing human worlds gradually moved away from the core of the universe.

"Hehe, the human world is divided into the Great Thousand Worlds, the Middle Thousand Worlds, and the Small Thousand Worlds. Our world, like ripples in water, surrounds the six core realms! As for where our Yuanheng World is located, whether it is in the Great Thousand Worlds, the Middle Thousand Worlds, or the Small Thousand Worlds, I don't know. I'm just a storyteller, bang!"

"The sound of the wooden clapper, gentlemen and ladies, this is the end of my story. I'll go rest now. If you are still interested, you can listen to my less talented disciples tell some short stories to entertain you!"

Li Tiejue finished his story and walked down from the storytelling platform, holding his yin-yang fan.

Telling a story was not easy for him. To keep the storytelling fresh, even the same story needed different humorous elements each time, so he had to prepare well for each performance, and the rest was improvisation.

As Li Tiejue went to rest in the back of the teahouse, his less talented disciples, dressed in strange costumes, went up to the platform and began telling short stories, mostly based on fresh news from all over, which were quite entertaining.

Zhu Lingwu was not very interested in these stories, but Li Tiejue's story had left him with much to ponder...