Chapter 1

The Xuan Realm, Central Continent, Sword Province.

Today is an auspicious day for seclusion, emerging from seclusion into the world, refining talismans, and cultivating magic.

In the sky, colored streaks of light moved back and forth within the designated flight lanes for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Each streak represented a cultivator of at least Mid-Foundation Establishment, capable of flying via artifact.

Though this era could mass-produce large passenger magical devices, most cultivators still preferred the ancient method of flying on weapons, with sword cultivators being the most numerous—hence this sword flight lane was born.

Originally, it was just an ordinary day.

But soon, a dull gray-white light suddenly burst into the regulated zone from outside.

Its speed was extremely fast, far exceeding Foundation Establishment levels.

The dim gray aura it emitted seemed to conceal its presence.

It had flown against the flow among countless white streaks for a long time, yet not a single cultivator noticed.

Until it passed the toll checkpoint of the cultivator highway.

The large-scale spiritual energy detection system suddenly reacted.

Didi-di!

The frantic alert sound jolted the lane administrator, who had been napping in his recliner, into a sudden leap.

"What the hell!"

The technical effect from Ling Yin Fang was this good—it struck straight into your soul.

It sharpened your mind, guaranteed to wake you up, no matter how deep you slept!

He quickly glanced at the screen beside him.

"Damn it! Speeding and going the wrong way—who the fuck has the balls to be this arrogant?!"

He immediately grabbed the identity badge on the desk and pinned it to his chest.

【Name: Zhang Xiu】

【Cultivation: Mid-Golden Core】

【Employee ID: 9527】

He pushed open the door and formed a hand seal with two fingers.

A dark red, ancient longsword flew out from its wall-mounted scabbard.

Zhang Xiu stepped onto the blade's surface and casually shut the door.

With the gradual maturation of spiritual repulsion technology, toll checkpoints could now remain suspended at sufficient height at low cost.

Hum~ Start at gear five!

Instantly, the burst of spiritual pressure whipped up a gust of wind where he stood.

A red streak pierced the sky, chasing after the gray-white light.

"Who the fuck is speeding and going the wrong way—do you want to die?!"

"If I catch you, I'll beat the shit out of you, you little brat!"

Zhang Xiu chased after it while cursing nonstop.

But half a minute later, watching the gray-white swordlight vanish from his spiritual energy detector, Zhang Xiu fell silent.

He was moving at a standard Mid-Golden Core speed! Logically, he was a full major realm higher—how could he not even see a shadow? What the hell?! He chased longer, still saw not a single hair.

Clearly, this person was no mere Golden Core.

Which big boss lost control and came to mess with Foundation Establishment flight lanes? Don't they fear getting caught?

And yet he just had to be the one to run into it. "..."

Zhang Xiu stopped chasing and pulled out his communicator.

He reported the incident to his superior.

The reply came instantly: his superior told him to return, and someone else would be dispatched to pursue.

And they added that the police had already been notified.

Phew~ It probably wasn't his problem anymore.

Zhang Xiu stared at the screen a while longer before stepping back onto his sword and returning.

…………

Meanwhile, inside the gray-white cultivation light.

Xu Xing maintained the Concealment Technique, frowning as he observed the individual Foundation Establishment cultivators flying past him.

Why did it feel like the entire world had changed since he emerged from seclusion?

These outfits… resembled his life before he crossed over.

The more he looked, the more confused he became—could it be that during his seclusion, the two worlds had merged? Or had there been a technological explosion? He tore his gaze away from a young girl riding a sword, wearing denim shorts and exposing her pale legs.

Something unimaginable had definitely happened in this world! Before his seclusion, such attire would never have appeared in broad daylight.

Hmm… unless you counted the Hehuan Sect.

"Sword cultivator ahead! You're speeding! Pull over and stop for inspection! Show your sword flight permit!" A rough voice came from behind.

Huh?!

This familiar déjà vu… plus the Ling Yin Fang sound technique.

Xu Xing paused, turned his head to glance back.

He saw a black flying shuttle artifact approaching him, carrying a bearded middle-aged man.

When did Ling Yin Fang start hiring men?! But his Nascent Soul cultivation…

At his age, that was still impressive.

Should he stop? After a brief hesitation, Xu Xing slightly increased his magic power output.

Hum~ the gray-white sword light flared violently, its speed instantly increasing by several orders of magnitude; surging air waves churned, even catching the attention of nearby Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Fuck!

Who the hell is that?

The uncle on the flying shuttle, watching the feedback data on his spiritual energy detector, suddenly stopped.

He simply watched the sword light vanish into the horizon, yet dared not pursue it further.

A Void Return realm grand elder! Which ancient elder just emerged from seclusion—and I just ran into him!

Only those above the Void Return realm would routinely enter seclusion for centuries, even millennia.

Having missed the great reform era, they completely don't understand the rules of this new age.

May the Holy Emperor protect us—please let this ancient elder not be from the demonic path!

While praying inwardly, he pulled out a talisman.

The Void-Dashing Transmission Talisman! Extremely precious, usable only for matters of utmost importance.

He engraved the situation here into it with his spiritual sense, then released the talisman.

In a flash of spiritual light, the talisman vanished.

Next, he needed to calm down these nearby Foundation Establishment cultivators, then arrange their evacuation.

If that had truly been a demonic Void Return realm grand elder, this wouldn't be a joke.

…………

On the other side, Xu Xing had arrived above a city.

Skyscrapers stood shoulder to shoulder.

Many vehicles resembling "cars" moved back and forth along wide, flat roads.

Yet they were powered by a mixture of electricity and spiritual power.

What is this? Modernized cultivation? This familiar yet alien scene left him dazed.

What exactly happened during my seclusion these years?

After observing for a while, Xu Xing landed by the roadside and removed the gray spiritual light masking his aura.

Simultaneously, his black narrow-sleeved long robe automatically transformed into an ordinary white shirt and casual pants.

Wait, this road surface seems…

He crouched down and reached out to touch it.

It was made of crushed spirit stones drained of spiritual energy.

And buried deep underground was a core array foundation, its vast spiritual power nearly equaling the total magic power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Xu Xing lifted his head, his spiritual sense spreading to cover the entire city.

A total of three hundred and sixty-five array foundations, interconnected and interwoven, forming an immensely vast, exquisitely crafted array capable of covering the whole city.

When fully activated, its destructive power even surpassed that of an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator.

"Good."

The array's structure was extraordinarily ingenious; even by Xu Xing's standards, he could find few flaws.

But if faced with an array master of profound skill…

He retracted his spiritual sense, stood up, and walked straight into the city.

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(End of chapter)