Chapter 51: Ancient Cultivators

These tasks were already described in the Trial Jade Slip, so Qiu Han wasn’t surprised. After leaving the forest, he was just preparing to cast a flight spell to glide at low altitude towards the Misty Swamp when, quite suddenly, a voice echoed within his mind.

“At last, I have awakened. This time, I slept far too long. Hmm... Where is this?”

Qiu Han, poised to take flight, staggered abruptly, nearly stumbling to the ground. The voice had come so unexpectedly, tinged with a wild arrogance that sent a cold sweat coursing down his back.

“Who is it? Who’s speaking to me? Why lurk in hiding—are you afraid to show yourself?”

Although startled, Qiu Han quickly regained his composure, keeping his expression calm as he replied in a low voice.

“Ahem... Well, I am not the one in hiding. It’s just that you, little one, are too dull to sense me. Enough—let me spell it out for you: I am within your body.”

The voice echoed again within his mind, as if it hadn’t spoken for ages. It was a little stiff, yet still clear.

“Within my body? Elder, please do not jest with me.”

Qiu Han used his spiritual sense to carefully examine his entire body, finding nothing amiss, and asked again.

“To be precise,” the voice replied, now tinged with age and sorrow rather than arrogance, “I reside in the space within your sea of consciousness, inside the Celestial Extreme Compass. You may communicate with me using your spiritual sense.”

“The Celestial Extreme Compass... Elder, do you mean that mysterious disc? So, it is named the Celestial Extreme Compass.”

Following the prompt, Qiu Han attempted to transmit his thoughts as a voice into the mysterious disc within his mind.

“The name Celestial Extreme Compass was what I chose after obtaining it. As for its true origins, not even I know.”

After entering the space within the mysterious disc with his spiritual sense, Qiu Han saw a man appearing to be around forty, with long black hair cascading to his shoulders and unremarkable features. Yet, there was an air of unfathomable depth about him.

But as Qiu Han gazed upon him, he exclaimed in shock, “You—you... Elder, are you a man or a ghost? Why is there only a soul, with no body?”

His voice trembled, for the sight of the middle-aged man in the mysterious disc’s space seemed to unveil something profoundly terrifying.

“Alas, it’s a long story. Little one, first tell me—where are we, what era is this, and what is your name?”

“I am Qiu Han,” he replied truthfully despite his doubts. “We are now within the Ten Thousand Mountains. As for the era... this is the thirty-fourth year of the Wu Kingdom.”

“Thirty-fourth year of Wu Kingdom... Then tell me, how long has it been since the ancient war between the Jiuli tribe and Yanhuang at Zhuolu?”

“The War of Zhuolu, ah... Elder, from what I have read in books, nearly a hundred thousand years have passed since that ancient war.”

Qiu Han answered with respect. He could not guess the origin or cultivation level of the man in the disc, but since the man had not yet shown any hostility, Qiu Han remained wary but dared not offend him. He revealed everything he knew, as these details were neither secret nor important.

“A hundred thousand years... So, I have slept for tens of thousands of years yet again...”

The man within the mysterious disc muttered, his voice now suffused with age, loneliness, and desolation, like a self-dialogue that gradually dwindled into silence, as if he had once more sunk into oblivion.

“Elder... Elder? Are you alright?”

Qiu Han’s voice was hurried, unsettled by the sudden, unnerving quiet.

“I am fine... I know you have many questions. Do not worry—even if you don’t ask, I will tell you everything.”

The middle-aged man, now a soul within the mysterious disc, spoke again.

“I am from the Gathering Star of the Kunxu Realm in ancient times. I cultivated the Dao for three thousand years, and at my peak, my cultivation reached the Fifth Nirvana of Void-Breaking. After attaining this realm, I hit a bottleneck and remained at this stage for three thousand years more, ever unable to find a way to break through.”

He paused, then continued, “Later, I left my sect to travel the world, seeking an opportunity to break my cultivation limit. I swore never to return unless I succeeded. During my wanderings, I discovered this Celestial Extreme Compass at a mysterious ruin. With my insight, I knew at a glance that it was extraordinary, but I could not unravel its mysteries in a short time.”

Glancing, perhaps deliberately, at the stunned Qiu Han, the man went on, “Just as I was preparing to bring it back to my sect for further study, I received word from within my sect. A rival sect, allied with two others, had launched an assault on my home.”

“At the moment of life and death for my sect, I rushed back with all haste. But upon my return, the gates had already fallen; the elders and disciples were nearly all dead. In fury, I sought out five elders from the enemy sects whose cultivation matched mine and fought them. In the end, I slew three of the five with my greatest techniques, but I was gravely wounded myself. Thanks to the protection of my sect’s grand elder—my master—I escaped the encirclement, but my master was slain by the enemy elders.”

“While fleeing, the two survivors among my enemies pursued me. In the end, I self-detonated, gravely injuring them—one died, one was maimed. But I also lost my physical body and nascent soul, surviving as only a remnant spirit. I fled to the Star of Earthly Spirits, and by chance, entered the space within this mysterious disc, where I have slept and awakened countless times until now.”

Having recounted his distant past, the man sighed deeply as he looked at Qiu Han. After a moment of shock, Qiu Han gradually composed himself, striving for calm as he asked, “So, as you say, Elder, you found this mysterious disc in a ruin. Its true origins may be impossible to uncover. But I do have some other questions—if you would be so kind as to answer them.”

Qiu Han bowed respectfully to the middle-aged man.

“Go ahead—what would you like to know?”

“Then, if you’ll forgive my impertinence—at first, I thought you were a senior at the Nascent Soul stage. But from your words, your peak cultivation was the Fifth Nirvana of Void-Breaking. What is that realm, and how does it compare to the Nascent Soul stage?”