Ascension of The Unholy Immortal

Deep within the Heavenly Yin Cliff, two men sat across from each other, a quiet game of chess between them.

"The Yang half is too cautious," Shin Xuan said, frowning at the board.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Yong Zhi replied with a light chuckle, moving a piece forward.

"You've met him before—and even helped him. Of course you'd say that." Shin Xuan cast him a sideways glance.

Yong Zhi shrugged. "Only by treading carefully and avoiding calamity can one reach the peak. Isn't that what the path to Immortality demands?"

Shin Xuan's frown deepened. "I disagree. Cultivation is a rebellion against the heavens. Playing it safe leads only to stagnation. Opportunities are forged in risk."

"Opportunities?" Yong Zhi's gaze sharpened. "You were planning to help him?"

Shin Xuan's eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I was. But he missed the opportunity. Or perhaps... he refused it."

"Why him?" Yong Zhi asked quietly. "Why not the other one?"

"Aren't they the same person?"

"Same person?" Shin Xuan sneered. "Not at all."

Yong Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Then what are they?"

Shin Xuan leaned back, his voice calm but certain. "Two halves born of the same soul—but walking different roads. The Immortal. The Devil. They mirror each other, but they are not the same."

"And yet... the scripture says they must return to one."

Shin Xuan's eyes flickered with a strange light. "Yes. But only one will remain."

Yong Zhi grew quiet. "You believe the Yang half will prevail."

"I don't believe it," Shin Xuan said slowly. " I am just calculating the possibilities."

"Possibilities?"

Shin Xuan didn't answer. Instead, he picked up a black piece—Yin—and placed it in the center of the board.

The air around them trembled slightly.

Yong Zhi's eyes lingered on the black piece now resting at the board's heart.

"Why so?"

Shin Xuan exhaled slowly, his gaze distant. "Because the world favors order. Heaven fears chaos. The Yang upholds the balance. The Devil … threatens to undo it."

"But isn't that the point of the Scripture?" Yong Zhi looked confused. "To defy Heaven's order? To walk the path without restrictions?"

A bitter smile tugged at Shin Xuan's lips. "It is. But intentions alone do not dictate outcomes. The Heavenly Order is not so easily overturned. It tolerates rebellion only so long as it serves its greater balance."

He moved another piece—this time a white one—placing it with careful precision near the Yin.

"But what if the Yin wins?" Yong Zhi eyes flickered with interest. "What if this time… the Devil doesn't just survive, but ascends?"

Shin Xuan's fingers paused mid-air, just above the chessboard.

"It's impossible, actually… The Yin half always hesitates in the end. It always chooses fusion."

Heaven Severing Mortal Unity Scripture—an ancient scripture from the distant epochs, dating back hundreds of millions of years—was neither secret nor rare in the Upper Domain. In truth, it had once been widely known.

Throughout the long river of time, many had cultivated it successfully. But after the dawn of the current epoch, it was lost to the world.

Fragments surfaced later—two of them survived the collapse. One was called the True Blood Anathema Sutra, and the other, the Heaven-Mirror Sutra. Many generations of powerful experts attempted to reconstruct the complete scripture, but that endeavor proved far more difficult than expected.

Until one day, someone succeeded. He cultivated it to completion and revealed the ancient scripture anew.

In the Upper Domain, that tale became a matter of common lore. Even the one who achieved it became a figure of renown. Yet here, deep within Heavenly Yin Cliff, none of that mattered. The two men discussed the scripture as though unveiling it for the first time.

"So then… what are the chances?" Yong Zhi's gaze flickered with a glint of curiosity.

"Ninety-nine percent," Shin Xuan replied without pause. "Fusion is the dominant outcome."

Yong Zhi frowned, visibly confused. "But you just said the Yang half has the greater advantage. How can the final result still be fusion?"

Shin Xuan merely smiled and sipped his tea, offering no answer.

A shadow passed over Yong Zhi's face. A thought struck him. "You're not serious… are you?"

Shin Xuan exhaled lightly, but said nothing.

"Is the information really that valuable?"

"It depends," Shin Xuan said, his voice even. "Depends on who's asking."

Yong Zhi clicked his tongue and muttered a curse under his breath. "Black-hearted old fox."

After a moment of silence, he pulled out a storage pouch and pushed it to the other end of the chessboard.

Shin Xuan received it with a mild smile. A flicker of immortal sense scanned its contents.

"Only one hundred low-grade immortal stones?" he said, eyes gleaming with disappointment.

Yong Zhi's brow twitched. "Only? Hmph! I doubt you even have forty."

"Not all of us planned our reincarnation ahead of time like you did." Shin Xuan shook his head with feigned bitterness.

"Tsk. Didn't you say earlier that real cultivators abandon caution and take risks?"

Shin Xuan's mouth twitched, but he let the jab pass in silence.

"There's a record," he said after a pause, "of only one cultivator who managed to achieve Yang devouring Yin. He's rather well-known. I'm sure you've heard of him."

Yong Zhi's expression sharpened. "Only one?"

Shin Xuan gave him a peculiar look. "After fusion, the resulting soul can break through bottlenecks—sometimes even two realms beyond what it was before separation. But the soul loses its fate-defying characteristics. It becomes... ordinary."

Yong Zhi nodded. He was familiar with this consequence.

"But in the case of devouring?" Shin Xuan asked with a knowing smile.

Yong Zhi's eyes narrowed. "The soul retains its fate-defying characteristics?"

Shin Xuan nodded. "Not only that—it strengthens it."

Yong Zhi scowled. "That's not what I paid for."

Clearing his throat, Shin Xuan leaned in. "You've heard of the Primordial Sun True Lord, haven't you?"

Yong Zhi froze. "You mean he cultivated it? And achieved Yang devouring Yin?"

Shin Xuan smiled, eyes distant with reverence. "Yes. Long before the Immortal Flourishing Era—back in the Golden Era itself."