Xiao Nan was born in the Northern Territory and, after thirty years, as a tenfold cultivator, was sent by the sect to experience the mortal world. Since then, he had never left the mortal world.
Compared to the cultivation world outside, he preferred the life here, enjoying the feeling of being respected from above. Here, Xiao Nan, only at the tenth level of Qi cultivation, was revered as an immortal, ruling a country. Even the emperor had to show him respect. His words were sometimes more effective than the laws of the Empire.
Originally, Xiao Nan wanted to live a peaceful life and establish a large family, to stand on equal footing with the royal family.
However, these thoughts were all shattered when the Chu Empire invaded.
In the mortal world, there were countless countries, and almost every kingdom had one or more cultivators behind the scenes. The Chu Empire also had a cultivator, whose level of cultivation surpassed Xiao Nan, reaching the eleventh level of Qi cultivation.
Survival of the fittest!
The strong would naturally swallow the weak.
The cultivator from the Chu Empire, after several confrontations with Xiao Nan, gauged his strength and thereafter manipulated the Chu Emperor, initiating the war to assimilate the Zhao Kingdom.
The geographical location of the Kingdom of Chu is much better than that of the Kingdom of Zhao, and its population is far more abundant. When the two armies battled, the Kingdom of Zhao suffered a massive defeat, with large swathes of its territory falling to the enemy. Meanwhile, Xiaonan, the guardian of the Kingdom of Zhao, was firmly constrained by a cultivator from behind the Kingdom of Chu, making it impossible for him to turn the situation around.
As a result, the Kingdom of Zhao suffered one defeat after another, with nearly two-thirds of its territory falling into enemy hands. In order to preserve the remaining territory, Xiaonan appeared for the first time in front of the people of Zhao, issuing martial law in the capacity of an immortal. He closed off all the cities bordering the Chu army, with Ningshan City, the most important strategic location, under his personal control.
He believed that the enemy would not dare to confront him. In the Qi Refining realm, the difference in cultivation levels cannot be easily measured. In this realm, sometimes the gap between levels can be supplemented by magical treasures and divine abilities. Although Xiaonan did not possess high-grade magical treasures, he knew a miraculous mantra that could instantly boost his cultivation to the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining. With this mantra, after abandoning everything, Xiaonan could definitely engage in a mutually destructive battle with the cultivator from the Kingdom of Chu who was at the initial stage of the eleventh level of Qi Refining.
Of course, as powerful as this mantra was, the price of using it was too heavy. Otherwise, Xiaonan, with his character, would have used his divine abilities to repel the opponent long ago. Indeed, after he took charge of Ningshan City, the Kingdom of Chu's offensive noticeably stalled, and the effect of the martial law became apparent as many of the Chu kingdom's spies were turned away from the city. Surprisingly, some martial artists gathered to cause trouble, and Xiaonan naturally would not sit idly by. He lifted his hand, and with elemental energy enveloping the crossbows on the city wall, he hurled them at the swordsman below.
As the crossbows descended, they created a gust of wind in the air, indicating their strength. However, Xue Pan's expression changed slightly, but he was surprised but not panicking. His sword techniques were derived from the calligraphy of Dingyan, containing a subtle hint of the brushwork left between the lines.
His long sword flashed, and in an instant, Xue Pan thrust thirteen times. With each thrust, he would step back slightly, causing the stones of the crossbows to weaken. By the time he executed the thirteenth thrust, the elemental energy contained within the crossbows had completely dissipated. Bereft of the support within, the crossbows slammed to the ground and turned into a pile of scrap wood.
"Hmm?" On the city tower, Xiaonan walked slowly to the top of the city wall, gazing at Xue Pan below in amazement. He could not imagine that his attack had been blocked by a martial artist. Although it was just a simple use of elemental energy, it was still elemental energy after all. The use of elemental energy and internal energy were two completely different forces, just as elemental energy and immortal elemental energy were, fundamentally not at the same level. Xue Pan had used his internal energy to counter Xiaonan's elemental energy, naturally caught his attention.
"Immortal, that person is Xue Pan, the second-ranked One Sword Severing Soul on the Rivers and Lakes Heavenly Insight List!" A vice general quickly came over and respectfully reported.
"The Heavenly Insight List?" Xiaonan raised an eyebrow. He had heard about this ranking in the rivers and lakes, but he had never really cared about it. In his view, even the strongest person on the Heavenly Insight List ultimately belonged to the category of mortals, and their use of power was still internal energy. However, seeing Xue Pan's swordsmanship, he suddenly became interested in the Heavenly Insight List.
"These people are indispensable talents for our Kingdom of Zhao..." Xiaonan said, then stood on the city tower and exhaled deeply. The breath transformed into a centipede in mid-air and flew down. Elemental energy transformation was the most commonly used method of combat for cultivators in the Qi Refining realm. If we include the previous life of Dingyan, there is also the use of talismans, but since Dingyan's rebirth, he had not seen anyone using talismans, and he was even judged to have had access to ancient ruins because he used them by Hua Jiu of the Transforming God Sect.
Seeing this, Xue Pan displayed a hint of surprise, while the people below let out a cry of shock. Many may not see the means of an immortal in their lifetime.
"Sever Sword Technique!" Xue Pan lightly tapped the ground with his foot. He leaped into the air, taking advantage of its repeated force to fly to a height of about a dozen feet. He then switched from a thrust to a slash, instantly cutting that martial arts move into several segments. Then, he spun in mid-air and landed back in place.
"How could you, a mortal, sever my immortal's Elemental Transformation Technique? Submit to me!" Xiaonan pointed at Xue Pan. The elemental energy transformed centipede immediately entwined around Xue Pan.
But just as the centipede was about to touch Xue Pan's body, Dingyan, who had been standing in the crowd without taking action, stepped forward and stood in front of Xue Pan. He reached out his left hand and grabbed the elemental energy-transformed centipede. Without any visible energy fluctuations, Dingyan's left hand easily caught the elemental energy-transformed centipede, then he crushed it with a squeeze, causing the centipede to burst into a mass of elemental energy, dissipating into the air.
"Immortal!!" Xiaonan on the city tower saw this and his face changed. It was absolutely impossible for a Qi Refining cultivator to easily counter another Qi Refining cultivator. The only explanation was an immortal! Only a being who had transcended the mortal tribulation and had already achieved the status of an immortal could effortlessly dissolve the Elemental Transformation Technique of a Qi Refining cultivator.
"How can there be an immortal in the mortal world?!"
Xiaonan, without thinking, directly turned and fled into the distance. Immortals were definitely not something Qi Refining cultivators could contend with!
The soldiers, who had been shocked by Xiaonan's abilities, were left dumbfounded by the scene. An immortal, fleeing?!
Meanwhile, upon seeing Dingyan, Xue Pan's eyes lit up with excitement, and he stepped forward a few paces, calling out, "Master!"
Dingyan stood beneath the city gate, his green robe fluttering in the wind, and his jaw's beard swaying. It was as if he hadn't even heard Xue Pan's voice. He gazed at the city tower. The reason he suddenly took action was that he remembered something and had to ask these mortals who were dumbfounded.
That was the Great Yan Mountain!
Laozu Xing had once said that the mysterious skull had been picked up at the Great Yan Mountain.
"Uncle, are you a deity?!" Ding Chen was stunned.
Dingyan paid no attention to Ding Chen, staring at Xiaonan, not pausing for a moment. He swept his sleeves, gathered the still stunned Ding Chen, and turned into a stream of light, disappearing in the direction Xiaonan had fled.
"If you take another step, when I catch you, I won't ask you any more questions. I will directly refine your soul and scatter your consciousness." Dingyan's voice resounded clearly in Xiaonan's mind.
Upon hearing this, Xiaonan broke into a cold sweat.