I'm waiting for reinforcements, what are you waiting for

The Immortal Realm.

In a certain lost fragment of ancient history.

Two towering figures stood facing each other, their vast Dao resonance filling every corner of space-time, splitting the heavens and earth in two!

The figure on the left, bathed in majestic violet light, had forty-nine primordial Dao runes swirling around its form, condensing into a flawless Tai Chi Yin-Yang diagram that isolated all external influence!

Yet, judging by its forced retreat, it was clearly at an absolute disadvantage, struggling desperately to resist the encroaching golden radiance from its opponent!

Judging by the unique mark between its brows, this violet figure was none other than Cui Changsheng!

The figure on the right, emanating dazzling golden light, advanced relentlessly. One hundred and eight primordial Dao runes orbited its form, weaving into a colossal net that continuously tightened, attempting to refine and absorb Cui Changsheng!

If nothing unexpected occurred, the master of this golden figure was undoubtedly the one who had elicited Cui Changsheng’s startled exclamation—Chi Tian!

"Stop struggling. It’s pointless."

"I never intended to make a move against you, but you insisted on overstepping your bounds—not only daring to covet my Dao but even revealing such a well-hidden front to me. How could I possibly let that slide?"

"Rest assured, since I’ve inherited this karma from you, I’ll naturally extend a hand to the juniors you’ve nurtured."

"I promise you this: if you willingly offer yourself as a sacrifice, after overthrowing the Wuji Heavenly Court, your descendants of the Ziwei lineage will be admitted into the core ranks of my Golden Scale Heavenly Court. The exceptional among them will govern territories, while the mediocre will still receive preferential treatment."

"If you insist on resisting to the bitter end, so be it. Refining you is only a matter of time. But once you’re gone, your Ziwei descendants will suffer dearly!"

"The choice is yours to make."

Chi Tian whispered like a devil, his will vibrating incessantly to dismantle Cui Changsheng’s mental defenses.

Yet Cui Changsheng remained silent, holding firm.

He had already prepared an escape route. Hidden within the Illusory Star Grotto-Heaven was the Celestial Robe Stele, which contained his true life essence. Even if he were refined here, he could still return!

What was there to fear?

As long as Chi Tian couldn’t refine him in a short time, once the master of the Illusory Star Grotto-Heaven sensed his peril and traced the scent to this lost fragment of history—who would be the one to suffer then?

Truth be told, this lost fragment of history was so well-hidden that even Wuji, the reigning Immortal Emperor, remained oblivious to it. It was the perfect stronghold for the Ziwei faction in the Immortal Realm!

If not for this, he would have fled long ago—how could Chi Tian have trapped him here?

Now, he was waiting for reinforcements. But what was Chi Tian waiting for?

Flying Star Continent.

Sacred Void Sect Ruins, within the Sacred Void Secret Realm.

Chen Hao lay peacefully on a fragrant meadow, his body radiating an eerie glow. Wherever the light touched, colors faded before disintegrating into motes of dust!

This was a manifestation of his flesh autonomously operating the Dao of Ecological Bubbles—taking his own body as a seed, transforming each cell into a mobile ecosystem that evolved by devouring and assimilating other lifeforms!

To put it plainly, this was an alternative evolutionary system that had completely deviated from—even transcended—the framework of orthodox Dao!

Across the myriad realms, countless heroes had innovated and pioneered new cultivation systems, but all were built upon the foundation of orthodox Dao. Their essence remained inextricably linked to it, merely converging through different paths.

But what about these alternative evolutionary systems derived from the Flying Star Heavenly Dao?

They were akin to leaping out of the orthodox Dao’s domain, then sitting atop it to strip its sinews and bones!

In simpler terms, the Flying Star Heavenly Dao had climbed ashore, no longer struggling in the vast ocean of orthodox Dao—instead, it was now fishing from that very ocean to fill its belly!

Of course, precisely because this system existed outside orthodox Dao, it was nearly impossible for beings within its influence to cultivate it.

It was like fish being temporarily pulled out of water to flop around—they couldn’t stay dehydrated forever, or they’d suffocate.

Thus, only certain "mutated fish" could be selected for experimentation, and only after confirming the viability of the path could it be popularized.

And Chen Hao—whose genes had collapsed and restructured due to an accidental loophole, his body overrun by infinitely proliferating cancer cells, achieving a grotesque form of immortality—was the perfect test subject!

He was like a blank sheet of paper, ready to be scribbled on. His hyperactive cancer cells granted him immense error tolerance. As long as energy supply was sufficient, his maximized vitality essentially rendered him unkillable!

Cultivation deviations were trivial to him. Even catastrophic flaws—rejection or systemic collapse—could be forcibly digested!

He was practically superhuman!

And what of Chen Yi?

Chen Yi was also a freak of nature, but he had long since carved his own twisted path—like a blank sheet now turned into a riotously colorful black canvas.

If he experimented with the Flying Star Heavenly Dao’s alternative systems, his own ideas would assimilate and rewrite them, turning them into personalized mechanisms or traits.

Thus, Chen Yi could only dabble in these systems, never truly popularizing his interpretations. After all... climbing ashore was one thing, but ascending to the heavens was another. The two couldn’t be conflated.

"Master... Master, no more... I can’t take it..."

"My good disciple, you’re doing splendidly. You’ve already mastered the basics of the Ecological Bubble Dao and gained deep insight into the Entropic Spirit Reverse Evolution System. Now it’s time to attempt merging the two!"

"No, Master! I feel like I’m about to explode! Master, please—are you even listening? I’m in agony, I... ohhh~~"

Within Chen Hao’s consciousness sea.

His highly malleable soul had become Chen Yi’s plaything, twisted and molded at will. While being force-fed vast amounts of theoretical knowledge, he endured excruciating soul tempering—burned by fire, frozen by water, planted into soil, grown into a tree-man, chopped by an axe, then burned and frozen again...

Though agonizing, there was no denying that Chen Hao’s soul grew increasingly resilient and powerful under such extreme refinement!

Of course, there was a downside: the relentless torment had left his psyche somewhat unhinged.

"AHHH!!!"

"I’ve had enough! You old monster, I’m your disciple! How could you do this to me? Just you wait—I’ll pay back every ounce of suffering today, sooner or later I’ll—"

"Excellent, such fighting spirit! It seems you can endure even more!"

"Wrong! I was out of my mind! Master, no, please don’t—ohhh ohhh... Huh? Master, why’d you stop?"

Chen Hao’s pain vanished instantly as his swollen soul gradually returned to normal.

He peered suspiciously at his master, who had abruptly frozen above him, and muttered under his breath: "Master? What’s wrong? Can’t keep up? I could still go on, you know..."

Chen Yi: "......"

After a pause, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he said, "First, practice the Dao of Ecological Capsules and strive to integrate the newly instilled Entropic Spirit Reversion system into it. Your master has some matters to attend to, but I’ll check on your progress when I return. If you fail to meet the standard, you know what awaits you!"

With that, his figure abruptly dissipated.

At the same time, in the real world, Chen Yi’s one-star avatar also reverted into a Chaos Prism Pearl, joining the other two as they hung around Chen Hao’s neck. This alleviated the pressure imposed by the orthodox Great Dao’s reflection, allowing this closed-door disciple to cultivate his unorthodox Evolutionary Path without restraint.

A moment later.

Chen Hao slowly awoke, only to find his master long gone and the Chaos Prism Pearls mysteriously draped around his neck. He couldn’t help but question his life choices.

"Hey, wait—old man, you didn’t even leave a standard! How am I supposed to know if I’ve met your expectations?"

"Damn it, you crafty old bastard—you’re forcing me to train like my life depends on it!!!"