The Thunder Spirit’s gaze was grave. He spoke in a low rumble, “If the Immortal Sovereign seeks to restore his cultivation, he requires primal essence. Rather than consume the cultivators of the Luo Tian Starfield, accompany me to the Rain Immortal Realm’s allied star systems. There, dwell more practitioners of profound power, enough, I believe, to restore you to your former glory!”

“This reason… it suffices not,” the Clearwater Immortal declared calmly.

“After your sealing, Immortal Sovereign, the Immortal Realms faced a cataclysm, shattering all four Great Realms. Do you not wish to know the cause? Within the Rain Immortal Realm’s Alliance of Cultivators, rumors speak of surviving immortals. If you accompany me, all may be revealed.”

Clearwater’s eyes narrowed in contemplation. After a long silence, he said, “Still, it suffices not.”

“In my youth, I served as an elder within that very alliance. There exists a scroll, said to have fallen from the heavens after the realms crumbled. Upon it clings a faint aura of ancient celestial domains. To this day, none have managed to unlock its secrets. Yet legend claims it holds the true secret behind the realms’ demise! Surely, this is connected to the upheaval you suffered. The coincidence is too great! Less than a century after you slaughtered immortals, the realms fell! I cannot believe there is no link!”

“Clearwater,” the Thunder Spirit’s voice rose, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. “We are not enemies! If these reasons still hold no sway, then, alas, we must clash. I can no longer hold back the full might of this Celestial Treasure!” The forty-nine fragmented continents orbiting him halted their spin, and from within pulsed a terrifying energy.

Clearwater regarded him with icy disdain, his eyes gleaming with crimson light. A chilling aura began to spread. The Thunder Spirit felt a sinking feeling. He had done all he could. For millennia, he had pored over ancient texts, piecing together the events that led to this day, forging a plan to gain enlightenment, seek allies, and above all, avoid the refining of the immortal realm.

But alas, he had not foreseen this outcome.

“Should you speak falsely,” Clearwater said, his voice a low rumble, “I will detonate the Realms of Extremity!” From the crimson mountain that was his right eye, a bolt of lightning erupted, obliterating the ice crystals surrounding the Thunder Spirit. The lightning flew directly towards one of the fragments that encircled him.

One by one, forty-nine crimson bolts, each embodying the power of a Realm of Extremity, shot from Clearwater’s eye, imbuing each fragment with their essence.

The Celestial Treasure pulsed with a frigid aura, its occasional crimson flashes hinting at the devastating power within.

“Fear not, Immortal Sovereign! I speak only the truth!” The Thunder Spirit laughed, forming a hand seal and thrusting forward. The forty-nine fragments began to whirl, creating a colossal vortex of darkness in the sky.

“Come, Immortal Sovereign, first, meet with the other Daoists of the Luo Tian Starfield. Then, we shall open a path to the allied star systems!” With these words, the Thunder Spirit stepped towards the vortex.

Without hesitation, Clearwater followed.

At that moment, a young cultivator watching this event from afar gritted his teeth and cried out, “Senior, now that the Celestial Treasure is complete, I beseech you to return my Thunder Beast!”

The Thunder Spirit paused, turning to regard the cultivator. “The Thunder Beast is still needed for a time. After the passageway opens, and we have traveled to the allied star systems, I shall return it. You are one with whom I have an affinity, and should you manage to leave this Thunder Immortal Realm and reach the Thunder Immortal Palace within a year, bearing my token, then I shall grant you another boon, allowing you to accompany us!”

He tapped his storage pouch, and a three-inch long violet-gold horn shot forth, heading straight for the young cultivator.

The Thunder Spirit then turned and stepped into the vortex, Clearwater following close behind. Before disappearing completely, Clearwater glanced back at the young cultivator, a strange light in his eyes. He sent a telepathic message before vanishing into the swirling darkness.

In an instant, the vortex collapsed. Only the young cultivator remained in the desolate void.

“Within you, Sovereign can sense a familiar aura… You have learned the Summon the Winds spell. You are also Sovereign’s teacher’s descendant. Contemplate well, for that spell is one of my teacher’s six great powers. Do not let it fade into obscurity in your hands!”

Clutching the violet-gold horn, the young cultivator remained silent, Clearwater’s telepathic words echoing in his mind. After a long moment, he glanced at the horn, stowed it within his pouch, and sped away.

Within the Thunder Immortal Realm, the sudden absence of the forty-nine fragments accelerated its collapse. The howling winds, like the wails of tormented spirits, echoed throughout the realm, shaking the very soul and chilling the heart.

The young cultivator, unable to merge with the fabric of the realm, could only cautiously navigate the spatial rifts, lost and bewildered.

“The gates to the Immortal Realm are closed. How am I to escape? And that Clearwater Immortal… did he sense that I once possessed a Realm of Extremity?”

As he dodged another spatial rift, a sudden realization struck him like a thunderbolt. He remembered a phrase the merchant, Shen Gonghu, had spoken when he first described the Thunder Immortal Realm.

“I must find Shen Gonghu!” The cultivator closed his eyes, focusing on the faint connection to Shen Gonghu’s Dao soul within his own. After a moment, he changed direction and flew towards his prey.

Meanwhile, Shen Gonghu was flying desperately through the void. Though the gates to the Immortal Realm were destroyed, he knew of another place to escape.

The Thunder Immortal Palace had established a teleportation array within the Thunder Immortal Realm. It was through this array that the emissaries of the palace could enter without having to pass through the Immortal Gates.

However, the teleportation array was heavily restricted. Not only could it only transport a few individuals at a time, but it was strictly forbidden for anyone besides the palace emissaries to use it. Anyone who trespassed, even by accident, was executed without mercy. This policy had been enforced since the array’s inception.

The prestige of the Thunder Immortal Palace was not to be trifled with. Moreover, his relationship with the palace had soured. That was why he had initially chosen the Immortal Gates.

But with the gates destroyed and the realm rapidly collapsing, Shen Gonghu had no choice but to seek the Thunder Immortal Palace.

“I wonder where the Sovereign is?” Shen Gonghu wondered silently. He still believed his master would not be defeated.