For example, the Elder Celestial Master of Sword King City might also ask this question: Are there immortals in this world? After all, he is a Land Immortal at the Grotto Heaven Realm, yet he does not dare claim that it is the end of cultivation. He too might doubt whether there are realms beyond the Grotto Heaven, and that realm, perhaps, is the realm of the immortals, at least to us, that is what immortals are."

Gu Zhan nodded and said, "I think what you said makes sense. Just now, before the Dragon King passed away, he told me that over fifty years ago, he had seen an immortal descend to the world and take away a dragon. I don’t know if it’s because he was too obsessed, and was somewhat unclear-minded before death."

"An immortal strokes my head, knotting my hair to grant longevity!"

Nangong Weiyang sighed, saying, "Perhaps, the Dragon King truly encountered an incredible opportunity fifty years ago. My mentor used to say in his lifetime, that the Dragon King Mo Jingzhou had unparalleled talent,

Originally at twenty-something years old, the Dragon King was quite ordinary, having only a small reputation in the martial world, completely incomparable to the prodigies of my mentor’s generation. Yet, without any background, the Dragon King became one of the leaders of that generation and remained illustrious to this day."

Gu Zhan said solemnly, "Do you think the Dragon King might really have encountered an immortal?"

"It’s hard to say, but surely there was a significant opportunity," Nangong Weiyang said, "Ordinary people with talent and potential do succeed, but without background and resources, their ceilings are quite low.

Yet, the Dragon King Mo Jingzhou broke this rule. He rose from lower-class families to become a giant figure. Throughout several centuries, only he in the entire Yunxi achieved such accomplishments. Moreover, it wasn’t until he was nearly thirty that he began to stand out, without ever having a patron,

Also, his talent was generally acknowledged as quite average. When he began to stand out in the martial world in his youth, experts from various factions, including Sword King City, were inclined to induct him into their entry level, yet in the end, they all felt his talent was mediocre and let it slip."

Gu Zhan furrowed his brow and said, "Could it be that there really is a blessing from an immortal?"

Nangong Weiyang shook his head and said, "Who knows?"

Gu Zhan was silent for a moment and asked, "By the way, I heard Sword One has awakened. Where is he?"

Nangong Weiyang turned his wheelchair, saying, "Inside the room, his situation is a bit troublesome. Technically, he’s awake, but... my lord, why don’t you go in and have a look!"

Gu Zhan followed Nangong Weiyang into the room.

As soon as he entered the room, Gu Zhan felt a piercing coldness seep into his bones.

He was somewhat surprised,

given his current physique, even being in a realm of ice wouldn’t make him feel a hint of cold, yet he felt this chill in the room.

He looked in the direction of the aura,

and saw Sword One standing still in the corner.

The demonic qi on him seemed to be gone, but the aura he emitted felt eerie and sinister. His pupils were no longer blood-red, but devoid of emotion, unlike previously with aggressive bloodlust, yet there was also no human emotion.

Nangong Weiyang extended his hand,

Sword One’s eyes flashed with a strange light for a brief moment, yet it quickly returned to indifference. He slowly reached out his hand, holding Nangong Weiyang’s hand.

Nangong Weiyang said, "His demon nature is suppressed, but he has become like this now, without emotion, unable to speak. He does whatever I tell him, like a puppet without thought."

"Sword One," Gu Zhan called.

Sword One did not respond.

"It’s no use," Nangong Weiyang said, "Apart from me, he seems unable to hear anyone and does not respond at all. It seems like he has lost his thoughts."

Gu Zhan furrowed his brows and said, "What did the physician say?"

Nangong Weiyang replied, "The physician found everything normal, and his injuries have healed, but his demon nature hasn’t been eliminated, only suppressed. No, to be precise, he has restrained it. There is no True Essence in his body but has transformed entirely into demonic qi."

"True Essence transformed into demonic qi?" Gu Zhan was somewhat astonished, then said, "Tell him not to resist, I want to investigate."

Nangong Weiyang immediately instructed Sword One.

Sword One stood still, tilting his head slightly as if contemplating Nangong Weiyang’s words. After a while, he slowly extended his hand.

Gu Zhan placed his two fingers on Sword One’s pulse,

and soon, his Divine Sense detected Sword One’s Dantian,

astonishingly, there was indeed no True Essence,

but instead strands of demonic qi, yet strangely, the demonic qi was still able to support Sword One’s realm and cultivation, even more tyrannical and pure than any True Essence Gu Zhan had ever seen.

Even his True Essence was not as pure as the energy of the demonic qi within Sword One.

Gu Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "This demonic qi is unlike the common demonic qi we know. Typical demonic qi, like Sword One’s before, affects a person’s intellect, causing violent emotions, similar to the eruption when burning one’s blood essence.

But this demonic qi of Sword One’s is different, it’s more like a high-quality True Essence. The power of us Martial Artists mainly comes from the activation of True Essence. True Essence is a form of energy, and the purer the energy, the greater the power it can unleash, and this demonic qi of Sword One is an energy vastly surpassing True Essence."

Nangong Weiyang furrowed his brow and said, "If that’s the case, then why can’t Sword One regain his senses?"

Gu Zhan thought for a while and replied, "The birth of this kind of demonic qi is the same as an ordinary person becoming a Fallen Demon, first affecting the intellect, destroying a person’s sanity, becoming crazy and violently unruly, without rationality; only then can enough demonic qi be generated to transform True Essence, altering the Dantian."