The heartland of the Great Tang.
There is a mountain named Five Immortals.
It is shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, with colorful clouds filling the sky.
The mountain is lush with vegetation and stays green throughout the four seasons.
Even the most delicate peach and plum trees bloom here without ever fading.
Speaking of the origins of Five Immortals Mountain, there is quite a bit to chew on.
Let us turn back the clock hundreds of thousands of years.
At that time, this region was not yet called the Great Tang.
There wasn't even a proper Dynasty.
There were only some primitive tribes scattered across the wilderness.
This mountain was not called Five Immortals Mountain either.
It was just a nameless hilltop.
On the ridge stood a simple sacrificial altar, and what was worshipped there were not proper gods or Buddhas, but several clay statues only half a person tall.
They were haphazardly molded by the tribes at the foot of the mountain to pray for favorable weather and protection from venomous insects and wild beasts.
Only when a family suffered a calamity would they bring some grain and come here to kowtow.
But since these clay statues were just casually made, how could they attract the protection of a True God?
Instead, they attracted five beasts.
How difficult is it for ordinary beasts to gain spiritual awareness?
Only by possessing a Bloodline or obtaining a stroke of luck would they have a chance.
However, the path of incense happened to be a shortcut.
Although the mental power of Mortals is as weak as fireflies, when gathered into a river, it still allowed those five beasts to gain spiritual awareness in their confusion.
Once the Five Venoms gained spiritual awareness, they became even more aggressive.
They began to manifest miracles, summoning wind and rain, dispelling plagues, and even protecting the local peace.
Of course, the prerequisite for all this was that the offerings must not stop and the incense must not be broken.
Gradually.
The five beasts shed their demonic bodies, donned human skins, and put on Daoist robes.
They called themselves Immortal Masters, receiving the three prostrations and nine kowtows of thousands of believers and enjoying the nourishment of flourishing incense day and night.
Their Realms also improved rapidly.
Having received ten thousand years of incense and the offerings of the Human Race.
Logically, this was a massive amount of Karma.
When drinking water, one should not forget those who dug the well.
But in this world, it is often the Zhongshan wolf who becomes arrogant once they achieve success.
As their strength grew, the The Five True Persons gradually forgot what they originally were.
Standing atop the clouds, they looked down upon the Mortals busy as ants beneath their feet.
A feeling of disgust grew in their hearts.
Later on.
The Human Race gradually grew stronger, building cities, establishing Dynasties, and producing Martial Artists.
These Five Immortals finally crossed that threshold, and with the help of incense, they luckily found a path to some Dao Lineage and entered the Denglou Realm.
At this stage.
The meager incense of the Mortal world had become tasteless to them.
Thus.
Five Immortals Mountain sealed its gates.
They no longer manifested miracles or concerned themselves with the suffering of the Mortal world.
They even felt that there was a distinction between Immortals and Mortals, and as Immortal Masters, they should not have too much involvement with the mundane world... Two streaks of light broke through the clouds and mist, landing at the foot of the mountain.
The light faded, revealing two figures, one tall and one short.
Five Immortals Mountain had an iron rule.
Except for the The Five True Persons, everyone else, regardless of their Realm or which lineage they belonged to.
Upon arriving at the foot of Five Immortals Mountain, they all had to obediently withdraw their Divine Abilities and climb up step by step.
The short Daoist brushed the dew from his sleeves, glanced at the tall man beside him, and cupped his hands.
"So it is Senior Brother Zhao of the Yellow Immortal lineage."
The tall man addressed as Senior Brother Zhao returned the gesture, but his expression was solemn as he looked toward the cloud-shrouded peak.
"Junior Brother Liu must have also rushed back after receiving news from the sect, right?"
Junior Brother Liu nodded.
He had just found a good piece of heart material and planned to wait for it to fully mature before using it to temper his Primordial Spirit.
Unexpectedly, he was forcibly summoned back halfway through, making him feel somewhat displeased.
"Senior Brother Zhao, you often serve near the Immortal Masters and are well-informed. Do you know what exactly happened?"
Hearing this.
Senior Brother Zhao remained silent for a moment, looking around.
Seeing no one around, he finally sighed.
"What else could it be? Our The Five True Persons stumbled and suffered a great loss in the Great Tang this time."
"Suffered a loss?"
Junior Brother Liu's eyebrows shot up, the fat on his face trembling in disbelief.
"Senior Brother, do not joke. Within the Great Tang, who could make our Five Immortals Mountain suffer... Could it be that a Dao Lineage from the outside has invaded?"
Senior Brother Zhao sneered and pointed toward the north.
"If it were people from other Dao Lineages, we would just accept the defeat... but unfortunately, this time it happened in Chang'an of the Great Tang."
"The Great Tang?" Junior Brother Liu was stunned for a long while. "The Li Clan?"
"Yes."
"How is that possible?!"
Junior Brother Liu was completely bewildered and stammered, "The Great Tang has been declining generation after generation. In recent years, they can't even produce a single Tower-Ascending Martial Immortals... Moreover, if the Great Tang truly had such depth, they would have driven us Five Immortals out long ago. How could they tolerate us lingering here?"
Senior Brother Zhao shook his head with a complex expression.
"I also find it absurd, but I inquired for news on my way back and heard that the Li Clan has produced an extraordinary Prodigy who single-handedly repelled the The Five True Persons..."
"Furthermore, the Physical Bodies of the The Five True Persons were completely destroyed, and only their Primordial Spirits escaped back."
Hearing the words "Physical Bodies completely destroyed," Junior Brother Liu's body trembled even more.
He gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Just how high was the cultivation of the The Five True Persons?
For all of their Physical Bodies to be destroyed.
Senior Brother Zhao continued, "So this time we were called back for no other reason... the The Five True Persons have spoken; we are to strike with our full force."
"We will march into Chang'an, slaughter the city, destroy the nation, and leave not even a dog or chicken alive."
At this point, Senior Brother Zhao's voice paused.
His gaze was somewhat dazed, as if he were remembering something from the distant past.
"Slaughtering a city..."
"Speaking of which, I only came to the mountain at the end of the previous Dynasty. Counting the days, I lived in that region for over five hundred years."
"Although it's old history from hundreds of years ago, after all... it is the homeland that raised me."
"Now that I have to personally turn it into a land of death, I feel somewhat uneasy in my heart."
He spoke nonchalantly, his tone expressing not so much pity.
But rather a kind of condescending sentiment.
Like a wealthy man who has made it big, watching the slum he once lived in about to be consumed by fire, and casually remarked that it was a pity.
Beside him, Junior Brother Liu gave a strange laugh. "Senior Brother Zhao, you are being too attached to appearances."
"What homeland? What fellow countrymen?"
"From the moment we stepped onto this Five Immortals Mountain, we were no longer humans."
Senior Brother Zhao didn't understand. "Not humans... then what are we?"
"We are Immortals."
Senior Brother Zhao was slightly stunned.
Then, the faint trace of sentiment on his face vanished. "You are right... I was being sentimental."