The First Immortal of Destiny

Within the Jade Verdant Cave, the process of countless immortals and mortals dying and transforming into insects is traceable.

First, the elderly, sick, and disabled among the mortals, then the young and strong men and women, followed by cultivators of the Body Tempering Realm, and soon after the Qi Gathering Realm cultivators, Spirit Sea Realm cultivators...

As for those who follow the path of cultivation, it is expected; once they embark on the immortal path, they are prepared to face numerous catastrophes.

But what heinous crimes have the worldly mortals within the Jade Verdant Cave committed to suffer such cruel and inhumane torture? They only wished for peaceful days, but now they die alongside family and friends in mutation.

Faces once vibrant and full of hope for the future turn to terror and despair, tears streaming, wailing incessantly!

Even Shen Mo, whose Path Heart is steadfast, is overwhelmed with immense sorrow, pain, regret, and anger seeing millions of humans and immortals perish so brutally before him!

For a moment, his aura fluctuates violently, with the risk of his Path Heart shattering and his cultivation level receding.

"Immortal Master, save me, save my parents..."

Several miles away, a girl of six or seven with pigtails kneels on the ground, crying and bowing towards Shen Mo.

Awakened by the girl’s cries, Shen Mo instantly steadies his Path Heart, and his aura returns to stability.

Then, he transforms into a Three-headed Six-armed form, continuously casting mighty palm strikes towards mortals and cultivators yet to mutate... The Seven Constellations of the Northern Black Tortoise, Wall Water Badger, capable of forming a copper-wall defense against the evil insects; Eastern Azure Dragon Stars, Heart Moon Fox, keeping one clear-minded and suppressing heart demons; Northern Black Tortoise Seven Constellations, Earth Bat, possessing the ability to counter poison, dispel miasma, and eradicate plague!

Yet, Shen Mo’s methods only slow down the mutation process, unable to completely stop it.

Forced by circumstances, he gives a Class VI Exorcism Pill to the pigtail girl, aiding her with mana in refining the pill’s power and suppressing its poison, lest it kills her due to its high potency.

The Exorcism Pill, jointly researched and refined by Shen Mo and Zhao Lingyin, specifically targets the traits of the Thousands Insects Evil Corpse, specially designed to suppress the corruptive twisting forces, particularly effective against mutation into insects;

The pigtail girl, saved by Shen Mo’s pill, ultimately survives, while her parents turn into two piles of evil insects before her.

Through Shen Mo’s [Method Eye Candle Wisp] examination, he discovers the girl’s soul is unusual, possibly a reincarnation of an immortal path powerhouse, allowing her, young and fragile, to endure the mutation forces longer than ordinary cultivators.

As for others within the Jade Verdant Cave, their fate was less fortunate;

They could only die amidst pain and despair, their bursting blood mist and flesh continuously twisting and mutating, transforming into countless evil insects.

Merely a few breaths.

The scene within Shen Mo’s gaze is overwhelmed by ugly insects, not a single living person in sight!

Numerous evil insects secrete a foul stench and mucus, capable of corroding even soil and rock, dissipating into the void, with the spatial barrier also deteriorating, hastening the Jade Verdant Cave’s integration into the Outer Realm.

After a moment, the spatial barrier continues to collapse, and the entire Jade Verdant Cave falls; large spatial rifts appear, through which the silhouette of Mingpeng and his demons can be vaguely seen!

Near the mirror platform, evil insects swarm into the replica mirror like tides.

Simultaneously, similar changes occur within the Mirror Realm.

Single cultivators and mortals die tragically, their flesh and soul turning into evil insects, and the spatial treasure brought into the Mirror Realm collapses under the erosion of mortals-turned-insects, followed by endless evil insects emerging, beginning to corrode the Taihua Mirror, this immortal-level magical artifact!

Instantly, the replica mirrors within the Jade Verdant Cave, indeed all mirror treasures throughout Five Dragon Mountain and the Corpse Mountain Range, dim and lose their supernatural luster.

Evidently, the Taihua Mirror now faces perilous circumstances!

"Qing... Qingyun, fellow daoist..."

Due to the vast upheaval, Jade Verdant Cave’s master, Cheng Qianbao, suddenly calls out in bewilderment; Shen Mo follows the voice and sees his aura changing drastically, his dao body quickly expanding.

Cheng Qianbao, as a middle-stage Divine Bridge Realm cultivator, faces the slowest mutation process; aside from him, only Lv Xiangtai remains alive with a deathly pale face!

Immediately, Shen Mo enhances Cheng Qianbao with several palm strikes, then feeds him an Exorcism Pill, halting his mutation process.

"Thank you, fellow daoist..." Cheng Qianbao murmurs, his lips quivering.

He tightly closes his eyes, unwilling to behold the tragedy within the Jade Verdant Cave, yet beneath his eyelids flows two trails of bright red tears.

Even Shen Mo nearly had his Path Heart collapse witnessing such a tragedy; what more the master of the Jade Verdant Cave whose inner sorrow and despair is incomprehensible to outsiders!

"Clang!"

Shen Mo embraces the pigtail girl, wielding his sword to slay a swarm of evil insects charging at him, hurriedly asking, "Even if a True Immortal appeared, I haven’t sensed any celestial power descending. Moreover, neither I nor Lv Xiangtai has any abnormalities; the root of calamity must have been laid long ago! Cheng, fellow daoist, have you noticed anything strange within the cave?"

At present, the matter is settled.

No matter how painful or unwilling, billions of deceased immortals and mortals cannot be brought back.

What’s crucial now is uncovering the cause to prevent such tragedies from recurring elsewhere!

Cheng Qianbao remains silent for a moment, suddenly opening his eyes, blood pooling within, creating a somewhat grim expression.

"I remember, about a month ago, after Lv Xiangtai and others left the Jade Verdant Cave, it rained heavily within the cave."

"The rainwater was somewhat murky, with a faint foul scent. After probing with spells, I didn’t find anything unusual and assumed it was due to seasonal weather changes, so I didn’t take it seriously."

"Thinking now... that was when the calamity root was planted!"

Upon hearing, Shen Mo nods, his mind swiftly piecing together the sequence of events.

A month ago, the Formless Realm demon Mingpeng encircling the Jade Verdant Cave somehow infiltrated the powers of the Hallow Venerable, with Lu Xiangtai the only one unaffected due to leaving early for external aid; from that period onward, the fate of billions within the Jade Verdant Cave—mortals and cultivators alike—was sealed!

Such grand moves could not originate from Mingpeng alone; it was evidently the Demon True Immortal Hallow Venerable exerting his influence in secrecy.

Hallow Venerable’s target was not Shen Mo nor any righteous forces’ Formless Realm experts within the Corpse Mountain Range, but aimed at the Taihua Mirror, this immortal-level magical instrument!

Under normal circumstances, despite demons and monsters disguising well, once led into the Mirror Realm by mirror light, they’d swiftly be slain by the Taihua Mirror’s Artifact Spirit; yet to save the billions within the Jade Verdant Cave, the Taihua Mirror had to actively draw large numbers of mortals and cultivators into the Mirror Realm, providing Hallow Venerable a chance!

He sacrificed billions of creatures within the Jade Verdant Cave to pollute, restrict, and potentially completely destroy the Taihua Mirror.