The Incense Fire Divine Path, has too many constraints.
As a former Incense Spirit, Chu Zheng understood this all too well. In the end, it was the Heretic Path, differing too much from the orthodox cultivation path.
If the Incense Fire Divine Path were truly useful, he wouldn't have severed the path back then.
For Qi Cultivators, the deeper one's cultivation, the more the so-called Incense Fire Divine Path becomes a shackle, bringing nothing but trouble.
If not for the Chaos Sea serving as a barrier and isolation, Chu Zheng would not have chosen this path back then.
"About everything regarding Zheng Chu... Let me think where to begin..."
The eyes of the Sun-Eroding Cry slightly scattered, he pondered for a moment before speaking:
"Zheng Chu is not a person of this world but from the previous epoch, from the era before the heavens were opened. Few should know this."
After speaking, he raised his eyes to look at Chu Zheng. This secret, if heard by ordinary people, would likely leave them dumbfounded.
Chu Zheng's brow slightly furrowed as he pursued further, "Now the people of the Great Universe know about it, from the mouth of Fu Pinglan from the Martial Hall. Say something useful."
Seeing his reaction, Sun-Eroding Cry was momentarily disappointed, then continued:
"Zheng Chu was born in the Near Immortal Realm. His Qi-refining Technique had never appeared before, so he quickly gained a certain reputation..."
"Zheng Chu is actually also from the Near Immortal Realm?!"
Chu Zheng was taken aback; he hadn't anticipated that Zheng Chu was also born in what is now the Cangyun Realm.
"That's right, he and Xue Qing ventured out from the Near Immortal Realm together. I took notice of him because of Xue Qing."
Sun-Eroding Cry let out a breath, organized his thoughts a bit, and continued:
"Xue Qing is the most outstanding in Martial Path talent that I've seen since cultivating in Martial Arts, and her Dao heart is extremely firm. Upon first meeting, I knew she would have great achievements in the future..."
Musing for a moment, Sun-Eroding Cry seemed slightly emotional: "She is almost born for the Martial Path, mastering all techniques. Combat Techniques and Secret Techniques that ordinary people take centuries or millennia to study, she could comprehend between morning and evening. She was never distracted by external matters during her cultivation. Thus, at the tender age of ninety-seven, she became a Martial Saint, almost comparable to a 'Son of Destiny' bearing Heaven's Fortune."
"When she was a hundred, I wanted to take her as a disciple, but she declined. At the time, she said she pursued the Martial Path without needing a human master, for Heaven and Earth naturally contain their Dao, and she did not wish to tread the path of predecessors, so I gave up. Later, I only took Jun Huang as a disciple."
"During that time, Zheng Chu also demonstrated astonishing potential, becoming a Heavenly Immortal at less than a hundred years old, already acquainted with Yun Tianji then."
Sun-Eroding Cry slightly paused, glancing at Chu Zheng:
"Since you accepted a portion of Xumi Sheng's memory, you must have met Yun Tianji. It was Yun Tianji who tended to Xumi Sheng's body back then."
Upon hearing this, the image of that young boy immediately surfaced in Chu Zheng's mind. In the year Xumi Sheng died, Yun Tianji was still just a child.
"When Zheng Chu first rose to fame, various Ancient Clans extended olive branches to him, promised him great treatment, hoping to bring him into their clans. But in the end, they all failed, and due to various reasons, each held grudges against Zheng Chu, causing unrest to surge."
"The trigger for it all was the Heaven Burial Palace."
"Heaven Burial Palace?"
Hearing this name, Chu Zheng became a bit energized: "What kind of place is that?"
In the memory moments ago, Xue Qing also mentioned the Heaven Burial Palace.
"It's rumored that the Heaven Burial Palace is where the Master of Heavenly Fortune is buried, containing the universe within, with many strange places. Within it, there's a certain chance to gain the favor of Heavenly Fortune."
"At that time, the division of Heavenly Fortune was not as stable as now; it was in the hands of various Ancient Clans' members, rather than divided by cultivation. If an Ancient Ancestor passed away, their Heavenly Fortune wouldn't necessarily be inherited by clan members; it might scatter and merge into the various paths."
"Within the Heaven Burial Palace are many dispersed Heavenly Fortunes. Those who train there might reap substantial benefits, even becoming a 'Son of Destiny.'"
"In my era, a Son of Destiny was called 'Son of Heaven,' referring to one who already bore half the Heavenly Fortune without entering the Ancestral Realm, a favored child of Fortune. As long as they did not perish halfway, reaching the Ancestral Realm was assured."
"How is that possible?"
Chu Zheng was greatly puzzled: "The Ancestral Realm can hardly bear half of Heavenly Fortune for long, wouldn't so much Heavenly Fortune before entering the Ancestral Realm invite disaster?"
Sun-Eroding Cry was slightly stunned, ethereal:
"What you call disasters and the tribulation of Qi Cultivators, if I'm correct, only appeared after Zheng Chu seized Heavenly Fortune."
Chu Zheng was stunned, surprised: "Didn't the Qi Cultivators of the Primordial Era face this tribulation?"
"At least not before Zheng Chu became an Ancestor."
Sun-Eroding Cry shook his head: "Under Xue Qing's warnings, he had lived in peace for a period. After becoming a Golden Immortal, he secluded himself for tens of thousands of years at the Martial Arts Ancestral Court, until he became a Primordial Golden Immortal, without any misfortune. There was no Chaos Sea back then, your so-called incarnation through tribulation did not exist, and Heavenly Fortune remained in the hands of various Ancient Ancestors, without being leaked out, nor had they any tribulation."
"Not just them, even I myself, when I killed Xumi Sheng, bore more than half of Heavenly Fortune, but any more would have been too much for me."
This revelation really shocked Chu Zheng.
Originally, he thought the troubled fate of Qi Cultivators was due to their cultivation skills. But now it seems, it was not so. It was because Zheng Chu caused too much trouble, triggering the backlash of Heavenly Fortune.