Little Jade Capital Sect, suspended among the heavens.
The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire and his wife had been here for over ten days. This city in the sky resembled a true paradise, filled with sights rarely glimpsed in the mortal world.
"Has the Preceptor grown accustomed to living here these past few days?" A white-robed elder approached, smiling as he asked.
The Imperial Preceptor’s body trembled and he let out a long breath. "The Great Ruins."
Master Qingyou laughed, "Preceptor, there is no need to hurry. I invited you here as a guest, but have yet to tell you the origins of Little Jade Capital Sect."
The Imperial Preceptor asked with curiosity, "I would be glad to hear the details."
Master Qingyou led the Preceptor and his wife along a rainbow bridge, carved of seven-colored jade and spanning the sky. Standing upon it was like walking atop a rainbow. At the bridge’s center, the view of Little Jade Capital Sect was different from below: mountains floated in the sky, arranged like a natural formation, with palaces atop each peak that seemed fit for immortals.
"The origins of Little Jade Capital Sect are far older than the Preceptor might imagine."
The Preceptor’s wife couldn’t help but ask, "Elder, what is Little Jade Capital Sect really? Is it good or evil? What do you truly think of us? We’ve been here for days, just touring and observing. Isn’t it time you told us your real intentions?"
"The Pioneer Era?"
The Imperial Preceptor truly had never heard of the Pioneer Era, and asked curiously, "Which nation was the Pioneer Era? Everpeace never had an emperor by that name."
"The Pioneer Era is not Everpeace. It was a land called the Pioneer Realm."
Little Jade Capital Sect is just such a place—cold, quiet, and empty.
The Imperial Preceptor’s body trembled slightly, and he exhaled a heavy breath. "The Great Ruins."
Master Qingyou led the couple across the rainbow bridge toward a floating immortal mountain, explaining unhurriedly, "Pioneer Era is the Daoist term; Buddhists call it the Emptiness Era. In Buddhism, it’s the fourth epoch—formation, abiding, destruction, emptiness. We Daoists call it the Pioneer Age. Now that Everpeace has risen, we in Little Jade Capital Sect call it the Everpeace Age. During the Pioneer Era, the Great Ruins flourished. The disaster that destroyed the Pioneer Realm—we call it the Pioneer Cataclysm. And before the Pioneer Cataclysm, there were three other cataclysms."
The Preceptor’s wife’s eyes flashed. "Elder, you call Everpeace the Everpeace Age. If Everpeace falls, will you call it the Everpeace Cataclysm?"
"Madam is perceptive."
Master Qingyou smiled and pointed into the distance, where a jade mountain floated in midair. Several Daoists were constructing a palace there. "That palace will store the history of the Everpeace Age. When Everpeace falls, we’ll compile the records of the Everpeace Cataclysm for future generations to study."
The Preceptor’s wife could not help but ask, "Elder, what exactly is Little Jade Capital Sect? Is it good or evil? What do you really think of us? We’ve been here some time now, and you’ve only let us tour and observe. Isn’t it time you told us your true intentions?"
"We in Little Jade Capital Sect have no intentions. We simply wish to observe the Preceptor, observe the reforms, and record what we find useful for future generations."
Master Qingyou smiled, "We call ourselves immortals, not gods. We do not wish to interfere with the workings of the mortal world."
The Imperial Preceptor asked, "How do you distinguish between immortals and gods?"
Master Qingyou replied, "Immortals are human; gods are not."
The Imperial Preceptor pondered this. "So you mean, humans cannot become gods—only immortals?"
Master Qingyou smiled, "Preceptor, when you cultivated to the Divine Bridge Realm, what did you see upon that bridge?"
The Imperial Preceptor did not answer. The Divine Bridge Realm is the seventh and highest realm, the stage of breaking through the Divine Bridge Treasury.
"The Divine Bridge Treasury is a bridge to the realm of gods, but every person's bridge is broken and cannot reach the other shore. Preceptor, you are no exception, are you?"
Master Qingyou said, "The immortals of Little Jade Capital Sect are no exception. We have examined countless Divine Bridge Treasuries, and every bridge is broken. Standing on a broken bridge, unable to reach the far shore, we cannot become gods. In terms of cultivation, we are equal to gods, but our realm is severed."
The Imperial Preceptor nodded, "Many years ago, I discovered this problem and agonized over it, searching through ancient texts but found no solution. Does Little Jade Capital Sect have any records of reconnecting the broken bridge?"
"We do."
Master Qingyou led them into the palace atop the jade mountain. "But even Little Jade Capital Sect cannot achieve it. Unable to become gods, we pursue becoming immortals. That’s why we old ones reside here. Though we call ourselves immortals, when our time comes, our souls still return to the Yellow Springs, and we cannot escape death. We simply seek tranquility. Preceptor, Madam, this way please."
The Imperial Preceptor and his wife followed him into the mountain palace. The jade towers and crystal pavilions had the ethereal air of an immortal abode, yet felt cold and deserted—no sign of life anywhere.
Such is Little Jade Capital Sect—a place of cold tranquility.
Master Qingyou led them through long corridors and round gates deep into the palace. "Yet, in the Pioneer Era, there were people who reconnected the broken Divine Bridge. They built a glorious god-dynasty, which was later utterly destroyed. The site of that dynasty is now the Great Ruins."
The Imperial Preceptor grew excited. "Some reconnected the Divine Bridge? Then they could become gods?"
Master Qingyou nodded with a smile. "But now, such people are rare. They are called the god-abandoned citizens."
The Imperial Preceptor was stunned. "You mean the castaways in the Great Ruins?"
"No. The castaways in the Great Ruins almost never possess a complete Divine Bridge Treasury. The immortals of Little Jade Capital Sect have checked."
Master Qingyou opened a door and led them inside. "Everpeace once received a divine oracle forbidding the castaways of the Great Ruins from leaving. In truth, the oracle was not to guard against those castaways, but against the survivors living in Carefree Haven within the Great Ruins. Their Divine Bridges are complete—the oracle was meant to guard against them."
This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!