Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

……

The courtyard was rather ordinary, with only a stone pool, a few magnolia trees, and a few irregularly shaped rocks as decoration. It was not large, and could only house a small family of a dozen or so people at most.

However, it was kept quite clean; after walking on the stone path for a long time, I did not see any trash or broken branches and leaves.

After walking along the stone path and stepping onto the wooden corridor, you will arrive at the back courtyard, where you will see a house standing alone in the center of the courtyard.

The young man beside him stopped and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, my master is in the room."

Having said that, he stepped back smoothly.

This person knew she was the Empress of the Tian Zhao Kingdom and outwardly showed her respect, but deep down he clearly believed that her master was superior—Xi Heng noticed this.

This piqued her interest, and she moved forward to push open the door.

In the room before me, there was a wooden table, two cushions, and a pot of tea.

The tea poured into the cup, with a few wisps of warm white steam rising from it.

An elderly man with white hair was sitting upright at the small table. He was dressed in a coarse blue robe that resembled that of a commoner. His face was ruddy, his features were neat and clean, and his demeanor and appearance were those of a typical Taoist priest.

Xi Heng observed the man's physique and bone structure and could tell that he was at least a hundred years old. However, the man's body was full of energy. If one ignored his white hair, he might be mistaken for a man in his forties or fifties.

"Your health regimen is quite impressive," she remarked after entering.

"Your Majesty's praise is too kind," the other party said with a smile.

"I have not returned to Great Zhao for over a hundred years. I had originally glimpsed the weakening of the nation's fortunes when observing the celestial phenomena, and I thought it wouldn't last long. But Your Majesty, such a chivalrous and heroic figure, has descended to earth and saved the crumbling country. I truly admire you."

"Not back for over a hundred years?" Xi Heng only noticed these few words: "Where did you come from?"

"Please have a seat and some tea."

The girl readily agreed, and picked up a cup of tea with her right hand to drink it.

Fang then slowly said, "It must be that you came from beyond this realm."

"Outside this realm?" Xi Heng narrowed his eyes.

"In my youth, I found a connection with the immortals and was led by an immortal to another realm... But a year ago, the outer realm suffered a great calamity and was nearly destroyed. I had no choice but to ask my master for help to return home and find a quiet place to spend the rest of my life."

"The outer realm? Where?" she immediately asked.

Xi Heng has been searching for immortals for over a decade, but at most he can only find one or two traces of immortals. Now, however, traces of immortals and information about the external realms have spontaneously come to him.

Even with her excellent mental fortitude, she still felt a little agitated.

"Your Majesty may have heard of my name," the old man said. "My name is Shao Xi, and that realm is the Pure Fire Realm."

Shaoxi, Jinghuo.

Because of these two words, Xi Heng felt as if he had returned to the time when the Dark Heavenly Sect was first established more than ten years ago.

When I entered the Jinshicheng branch of the Jingming Sect, the first sculpture I saw in the altar was 'Shaoxi'.

This person was the first leader of the Jingming Sect.

It is said that Qiqi received divine inspiration and thus ascended to heaven to become an immortal... It seems that this is not entirely false.

Seeing Xi Heng's reaction, the other party nodded and said, "I have also heard about Your Majesty's search for immortality. It is a pity that the Pure Fire Realm is almost destroyed now, and cultivators have all become puppets of resentful fire. Otherwise, I could have led Your Majesty to set foot in the realm of immortal cultivation."

"..." Xi Heng remained silent for a moment, sorting through the large amount of information that suddenly appeared in his mind.

After two or three minutes, he coughed lightly twice and asked:

Do you have a flying boat?

"Your Majesty knows about flying boats?" Shao Xi was slightly surprised, then replied, "My master once left me a flying boat, but because of this trip across the boundary back to Great Zhao, the flying boat is now damaged. I don't know if it can still be used—if I force it, it might break down halfway and fall into the boundless void."

"Can it be repaired?"

“If there were another flying boat, it should be possible.” The other party nodded, but hesitated after a moment: “But even if it is repaired, we can no longer go to the Pure Fire Realm, and there are no other road signs in the vicinity.”

"It's alright." Xi Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

After spending more than a decade in the mortal world, she finally saw hope in cultivating immortality.

Before he could even feel pleased, the old man suddenly said, "Your Majesty, after all that talk, I also have a request to make."

"What is it? Just say it." Xi Heng was quite generous.

"Several months ago, on my way back to the Chonghai Realm after breaking through the passage between the two worlds with my flying boat, I inadvertently attracted a trace of resentment from the Fire Domain."

"What is resentful fire?" the girl asked, puzzled.

“A trace of resentment won’t have much of an impact. At most, it will only attract the attention of some demons. I have been slaying demons and monsters for the past few months and have already eliminated this influence. However…” The old man hesitated for a moment after saying this.

"explain."

"However, within the Heavenly Zhao Kingdom, there is also a vengeful entity, much like a raging fire. This entity may have already come into contact with the raging fire, potentially causing a great calamity through its connection..." His voice weakened slightly.

"This is indeed my fault. I only ask Your Majesty to use the full strength of the nation to search for this vengeful entity and eliminate it before it causes a great disaster."

"..." Xi Heng sighed, rubbing his forehead.

The physical manifestation of resentment—isn't that Zhao Qianqiu?

...............................

Volume 1: Chapter 156, The Final Fate of the Great Zhao Dynasty

"The vengeful spirits you speak of are also those I intend to slay on this journey," Xi Heng said directly, without keeping anyone in suspense.

She had no interest in playing any tricks or making too many elaborations.

Even if this visitor from outer space didn't mention the vengeful ghosts, she would still clear out the many threats in the Tianzhao Kingdom before obtaining the flying boat to travel to other realms.

The biggest enemy to be eliminated is naturally the vengeful ghost that has taken over Zhao Qianqiu's body.

"Your Majesty also wishes to slay vengeful spirits?" The white-haired old man before him asked with some surprise.

"What? It won't work?" Xi Heng chuckled softly.

"To be honest... it's not that I look down on Your Majesty, but with the strength of an ordinary martial artist, it's utterly impossible to harm the vengeful spirit in the slightest." The other party shook his head.

"It's best for us cultivators to do the work of slaying demons and eliminating evil spirits."

How can the power of an ordinary martial artist be compared to the power of a cultivator?

"Even the pinnacle of ordinary martial arts, the realm known as 'Transformation of Strength,' is difficult to compare with cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining," Shao Xi stroked his white beard and said slowly.

"So, can someone at the Transformation Realm surpass someone at the early stage of Qi Refining?" She silently compared the combat power systems of martial artists and cultivators.

“Cultivators who have just entered the Qi Refining stage are not good at actual combat and find it difficult to fight against ordinary martial artists who are skilled in combat. However, if they can skillfully use their spells, they may be able to defeat their enemies.” The other party said, “Cultivators have a variety of spells that can be used in many ways. Martial artists can resist one of them, but it is difficult to resist them all.”

Xi Heng pondered for a moment.

The fire and blood magic she currently possesses, if fully unleashed with sufficient spiritual energy, can pose a slight threat to martial artists at the Transformation Realm.

It contains a protective shield that can easily block two or three strikes from ordinary neutralizing force.

After activating the shield, if you can hit the target a few more times with offensive spells, you can defeat an ordinary martial artist who has reached the Transformation Realm.

Furthermore, for cultivators, obtaining spells through Qi cultivation is only the first stage, much like a martial artist entering the realm of internal strength.

With just the skill of entering the internal energy stage, one can threaten even a master of transforming internal energy who has honed their skills for decades... The methods of cultivating internal energy by cultivators truly surpass those of ordinary martial arts.

However... this comparison between cultivators and martial artists doesn't apply to her.

"Then, may I ask what level of cultivation you have now, sir?" she asked.

"I am of ordinary talent, and it took me more than a hundred years of cultivation to barely reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage." Although he said "ordinary," his tone did not hide his confidence, and he stroked his beard and chuckled as he spoke.

It seems to be at the Foundation Establishment stage, which is already considered quite strong among cultivators.

“Mid-Foundation Establishment…” Xi Heng didn’t have much of a concept of this kind of realm division. He only vaguely remembered that the demons he encountered on the island at sea were transformed from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After transforming into a demon, it loses its mind and its strength naturally weakens significantly. It loses its magic and only retains its physical attributes.

She didn't know the true strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, today is a good day to test the waters.

"May I reveal a little of my strength?" Following martial etiquette, she gave the other party a heads-up.

"Please." The old man extended his hand, seemingly unconcerned.

Xi Heng then gently placed the teacup back on the table.

The bottom of the cup clinked against the wooden table, and the girl closed her eyes, calming herself down.

The next instant, the Sword Heart Domain erupted and spread, its sharp aura covering the entire house.

She focused her mind and did not unleash any sword energy to damage the room.

Even so, it was as if something in the air had shattered, leaving dozens of faint or obvious white marks.

A sharp aura then erupted like a gust of wind, causing the old man's white hair and beard to ripple.

The opponent frowned and became more cautious. While focusing their gaze, they also instantly used their spiritual energy to create a shield for protection.

The two appear to be evenly matched in strength.

Xi Heng pressed down with his five fingers, and the white streaks in the air immediately gathered around the old man.

The newly formed spiritual energy shield cracked due to the sudden, sharp sword energy.

The standoff finally ended when she gradually used up 70% of her strength, causing the spiritual energy shield around her to crack and nearly collapse.

The sword energy disappeared, and Elder Shaoxi dispersed his spiritual energy shield, exhaling a breath.

"So, is it possible to compare with a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" the girl asked calmly, noticing the other's slightly disheveled appearance.

“…Yes.” The white-haired old man’s eyes showed even more respect.

They no longer only respected Xi Heng's status and actions, but also acknowledged her formidable strength.

"I've heard rumors circulating in the martial arts world that His Majesty has already achieved a level of martial arts beyond the Transformation Realm. I originally thought it was just exaggerated gossip, believing that the Transformation Realm was the limit of mortal skill. But now it seems that's not the case..." the other person sighed.

"Above the Transformation Realm, he is comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"Can I compare to you?" Xi Heng asked again.

"Perhaps..." The other party spoke vaguely, without actually revealing their strength.

Martial artists often conceal their true strength, something Xi Heng was already used to.

I only thought that the power he just displayed was already close to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. If he used all his strength and added the Dragon Transformation Technique, his strength might be able to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment.

“If the spiritual energy in this world were abundant, I would be confident that I could surpass Your Majesty.” Shao Xi praised, following the mood: “But now that the spiritual energy in the world has been dispersed, it is difficult to distinguish who is stronger and who is weaker.”

"Oh……"

After a while, because the other party mentioned the word "spiritual energy," Xi Heng asked again: "Speaking of which, doesn't the spiritual energy in this world spontaneously dissipate? What kind of magic did you use to retain it in your body?"

On this point, the other party did not hide anything: "It is not a magic technique, but rather a method of gathering spiritual energy into a vortex and locking it within the body... This requires a strong control technique and cannot be achieved without reaching the Foundation Establishment stage... If Your Majesty wishes to cultivate, this method cannot be used."

Xi Heng asked curiously, "If a Qi cultivator leaves the Spirit Locking Array without the method of creating a spiritual energy vortex and falls to the mortal world, will he lose all his spiritual energy and return to being a mortal?"

"So Your Majesty also knows about the Spirit-Locking Array... That's true." The other party sighed softly.

"There is no spiritual energy to replenish this world. Even Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators will only have their foundation left once their spiritual energy is exhausted, and they will no longer be able to use any spells."

"Judging from this, martial artists seem to have a more comfortable and carefree life in the mortal world," Elder Shaoxi flattered.

After Xi Heng nodded, he changed the subject: "Speaking of which, could you take out the flying boat for a look?"

“Since Your Majesty desires this item, it is of little use to me now. I may simply bestow it upon Your Majesty.” Seeing that she did not conceal her thoughts, the other party spoke just as frankly: “I only hope that Your Majesty will agree to do your utmost to find the physical form of the resentment and work with me to destroy it… This is truly a concern of mine.”

"can."

With permission, the old man slowly got up and took out a Bagua compass shaped like a compass from a cabinet that resembled a wardrobe.

However, it does not indicate the cardinal directions; instead, it records Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the concepts of heaven, earth, wind, and thunder.

It has a magnetic spoon on it, but it does not point in the north or south direction. Instead, it rotates rapidly and continuously from the Bagua plate.

"What is this?" the girl asked, tilting her head.

"This is required for the art of observing qi. My skills are not yet proficient, and I still need to use such external objects to perform the art," Shaoxi explained.

"Using this method, we should be able to find the place where all the resentment in the world is concentrated. Your Majesty can then send a large army there, and we should be able to find the physical manifestation of that resentment."

The old man placed the Bagua plate on the table, then made a finger gesture, changing it repeatedly in the air.

Clusters of azure spiritual energy emanated from his body, identical in color to the azure spirit stones of the Blazing Spirit Heavenly Law.

The old man pinched his fingers with one hand and drew talismans in the air with the other while chanting incantations.