The Tristar Crescent Abode

“Whoosh~~~”

The torn-open void channel shimmered with distorted, colorful light. Within it, the white-robed Immortal Jun, Ji Ning, Whitewater Hound, and Qingqing swiftly traveled.

“Hm?” Ji Ning’s eyes widened in surprise. Beside him, Uncle White and Qingqing were also stunned into silence.

The colors surrounding the void channel constantly shifted. At one moment it was a fiery red, like a tunnel of flame; the next, it turned a watery blue, like a passage through the sea. They had been flying through this channel for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and they were still moving.

“Brother Jiang,” Ji Ning hastily asked, “Why are we in this void channel for so long? Does tearing through the void to reach another location normally take this much time?”

“No,” the white-robed Immortal Jun replied with a shake of his head. “Ordinarily, to leave the Grand Xia world, one only needs to tear through space to reach the endless void outside the world, then perform a Greater Teleportation to easily arrive at any destination. But our destination today is our master’s ‘Tristar Crescent Abode’—the most mysterious place in the Three Realms. Ordinary methods cannot reach our master’s residence at all.”

“Oh.” Ji Ning nodded slightly.

“It is not I who am maintaining this void channel now, but our master is guiding us,” Immortal Jun explained. “We follow this channel directly to the Tristar Crescent Abode.”

“How much longer?” Ji Ning stared at the surrounding channel, which had now turned completely pitch-black.

The dark, twisting passage extended before them, causing even Ji Ning to feel a faint chill in his heart.

He had a feeling that if he were to be swept into that distorted space, he would be crushed to death.

“Soon, very soon,” Immortal Jun said with a smile.

As his words fell—

Swish!

A hazy world appeared at the end of the void channel. The white-robed Immortal Jun, Ji Ning, and the others flew directly into it.

“We’re here!” Immortal Jun stood in mid-air, a hint of pride in his smile as he swept his gaze across the hazy surroundings.

“Is this… the Tristar Crescent Abode?” Ji Ning looked down. Below him was an endless world, filled with cities and towns. From a single glance, it was clearly an extremely vast realm.

Immortal Jun said, “This is the cave-fortress world opened up by our master. In terms of size, it is not much different from that Grand Xia world.”

“Comparable to the Grand Xia?” Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Qingqing all nodded to themselves.

Ji Ning asked, “Did the Patriarch personally create this world? Legend has it that the truly powerful figures of the Three Realms can open up some smaller worlds, like those spanning tens of thousands of li. But a world as vast as the Grand Xia, can that also be created?”

“Haha… that Primordial World was formed by Pangu’s separation of Heaven and Earth. It is unfathomably larger than any of these major worlds,” Immortal Jun said with a dismissive laugh. “Although our master cannot match Pangu, creating a cave-fortress world comparable to the Grand Xia is still within his power.”

“This cave-world is completely isolated from the outside world.”

“It has its own cycle of reincarnation within it. This world has its own small-scale Netherworld Kingdom, where the souls of the dead can also be reborn within this same world,” Immortal Jun explained with a smile. “This cave-world is essentially a smaller ‘Primordial Pangu World,’ completely free from the control of the Three Realms. Even other Daofathers simply cannot enter.”

Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Qingqing were all secretly shaken.

Free from the control of the Three Realms…

Its own cycle of reincarnation…

A Daofather, truly a Daofather!

“Mount Innerheart is at the very center of this cave-world,” Immortal Jun said, pointing into the distance above. “It’s right over there.”

Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Qingqing all raised their heads to look.

Indeed, in the distance, they could vaguely make out a mountain peak floating in mid-air.

“Let’s go.”

Immortal Jun immediately led Ji Ning and the others flying towards it. The floating mountain grew closer and closer, and they could even see some immortal cranes and beasts moving about within it.

“Swish.” Immortal Jun, Ji Ning, and the others flew into the mountain peak and landed on a mountain path.

“Follow this path all the way to the top. That is where our master teaches his disciples,” Immortal Jun said. Ji Ning followed, walking upward with him.

The path was rugged, but thankfully there were stone steps laid out in layers.

After walking only a short distance, Immortal Jun turned off the main path and followed a well-trodden trail deeper into the forest. “Ji Ning, first come with me to meet your senior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother?” Ji Ning’s heart was full of confusion, but he obediently followed Immortal Jun deeper into the woods.

“The senior apprentice-brother was the first to follow our master. You must not be discourteous,” Immortal Jun said.

“Understood.”

Ji Ning nodded.

Ji Ning’s ears twitched as he faintly heard a sound.

“One swing, two swings, three and four. Five swings, six swings, seven and eight. Nine swings, ten swings… fall down for me!” Following these loud words, there was a crack, then a rumble… Immortal Jun and Ji Ning quickened their pace. As they drew near, they saw a large tree topple to the ground. Through the gaps in the forest, Ji Ning could vaguely make out a woodcutter, dressed in straw sandals, cloth clothes, and a straw hat. His skin was dark and rough, and he looked extremely ordinary.

Immortal Jun walked over. “Senior apprentice-brother Wen.”

“The senior apprentice-brother?” Ji Ning was stunned.

A woodcutter?

The senior apprentice-brother?

This woodcutter was completely ordinary, dressed in common clothes. Ji Ning’s eyesight was now quite sharp, yet no matter how closely he looked, the worn-out straw sandals and cloth clothes appeared to be exactly that—worn-out straw sandals and cloth clothes, not magic treasures.

And more importantly… no matter how he looked at this woodcutter, there was not a hint of pressure, not a trace of aura. Ji Ning could not even sense any threat at all. From any angle, this woodcutter was a mortal!

“Huff.” The woodcutter rested his axe on his shoulder, straightened his back, and turned his head, laughing. “Haha, it’s Jun. What brings you to my place?”

“I was ordered by our master to go to the Grand Xia world to fetch our junior apprentice-brother. Now that I’ve returned, I thought I’d first bring the junior apprentice-brother to meet you, senior apprentice-brother,” said Immortal Jun.

“Junior apprentice-brother?” The woodcutter looked at Ji Ning, studying him carefully. His gaze was ordinary, without any penetrating power.

“He is named Ji Ning, our junior apprentice-brother. He is currently at the Wanxiang Adept level,” said Immortal Jun. “Ji Ning, pay your respects to your senior apprentice-brother.”

“Your disciple Ji Ning pays respects to senior apprentice-brother.” Ji Ning bowed with reverence.

The woodcutter smiled. “I’m just a woodcutter. But for you to be sent by our master at such a young age shows that he values you. Our master has a very good temper. However, you must work hard and not let him down.”

“Yes,” Ji Ning nodded.

“Alright, go on. Jun, take Ji Ning to see our master,” said the woodcutter.

“Alright.” Immortal Jun immediately led Ji Ning away.

When they were back on the mountain path, Ji Ning couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, “The senior apprentice-brother can’t truly be a mortal, can he?”

He could clearly sense the extraordinary nature of figures like Lu Dongbin and the Grand Xia Emperor. Of course, it was possible that those people simply didn’t bother to hide their auras. But this woodcutter… no matter how Ji Ning observed him, he couldn’t detect the slightest trace of cultivation at all. The woodcutter even had calluses on his hands and a few white hairs on his head.

“Of course he’s not a mortal,” Immortal Jun said. “Under our master’s tutelage, from the Primordial Era to the present, there have been many disciples, including quite a few Pure Yang True Immortals and Empyrean Gods. But when it comes to raw power, the senior apprentice-brother is the undisputed number one. He is far stronger than the rest of us.”

“The undisputed number one?” Ji Ning was shocked.

“Yes. It’s just that he has never left this Tristar Crescent Abode cave-world since the Primordial World was shattered,” Immortal Jun said. “So very few in the Three Realms even know of his existence.”

Ji Ning felt a surge of awe.

The Primordial World was shattered, and then the Three Thousand Major Worlds and the countless Minor Worlds were born. Just how long had it been since the birth of the Three Thousand Major Worlds until now? And this senior apprentice-brother had the patience to never venture out into the Three Realms. Generally speaking, the more powerful a cultivator was, the more they enjoyed traveling through the many regions of the Three Realms. After all, every single Minor World had its own unique character and splendor.

Take Lu Dongbin, for example. He roamed the mortal world, leaving his legacies in countless worlds.

Many powerful figures were famous throughout the Three Realms.

Yet the senior apprentice-brother had not left since the Primordial World shattered?

“What is the senior apprentice-brother’s name?” Ji Ning asked.

“Woodcutter,” Jun replied.

“I mean his true name, or his Daoist title?” Ji Ning pressed.

“Whether it’s his true name or his Daoist title, I only know the senior apprentice-brother is called ‘Woodcutter’,” Jun said with a shake of his head. “I know nothing else. When you study the Dao on the mountain, you can train in the forests. Perhaps if the senior apprentice-brother sees you, he might give you some pointers.”

Ji Ning nodded.

The senior apprentice-brother beneath Patriarch Subhuti was such a mysterious figure. Ji Ning couldn’t help but grow curious.

Soon, Immortal Jun led Ji Ning to the mountain gate.

Beside the mountain gate was a large boulder, upon which five large characters were carved: Tristar Crescent Abode.

At the mountain gate itself stood two young Daoists in green robes. These two youths were, by any standard, monstrously talented beings who could be considered world-shaking geniuses elsewhere. But on Mount Innerheart, they were merely average, and being able to stand guard at the gate was already a great joy for them.

“Patriarch.”

“Patriarch.” The two Daoists bowed respectfully to Immortal Jun. After all, Jun was a Pure Yang True Immortal; his status was incredibly lofty.

“Mm.”

Immortal Jun nodded, then led Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Qingqing directly through the gate. The two Daoists naturally did not block their way.

As they walked along.

The scenery within the Tristar Crescent Abode was exquisite. All manner of immortal cranes and beasts could be seen everywhere, every single one of them hiding their auras. But even with their auras suppressed, Ji Ning could still sense a powerful feeling of threat from them, clearly indicating their immense strength.

The atmosphere within the Tristar Crescent Abode was extremely serene. None of the immortal cranes, beasts, or great demons showed even a trace of savage murderousness. They all seemed incredibly docile.

“When the Patriarch teaches his disciples, he cares nothing for their background. Thus, besides the human race, there are also many members of the fiend race, the demon race, and even Fiendgods who come here to study the Dao,” Immortal Jun explained with a smile. “The Patriarch has one absolute rule: on this Mount Innerheart, all disciples are forbidden from fighting. If any disciple dares to raise a hand against another, the Patriarch will immediately intervene to suppress them and directly scatter their souls into nothingness!”

“No matter who it is, even if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to raise a hand against my own disciples or grand-disciples. If I did, the master would directly kill me,” Immortal Jun said. “This is an iron law. No one is allowed to break it.”

Ji Ning nodded.

No wonder the atmosphere was so peaceful. It was because fighting was absolutely forbidden. With the Patriarch right here on the mountain, who would dare to cause trouble?

As they walked, they constantly heard various forms of address such as “Patriarch,” “Grandmaster,” “Senior Uncle,” “Senior Grandmaster.” It was clear that Immortal Jun held a very high status.

“The master is inside,” Immortal Jun said, pointing to a simple Daoist temple ahead. Two young Daoists stood at its entrance.

“Senior Uncle, the Patriarch has already instructed that there is no need for an announcement. You may bring Ji Ning directly in,” one of the Daoists said with a smile.