Chapter 155: After Merging with the Dao

After a startled cry, that sliver of Yuan's soul began to disintegrate immediately.

It seemed he had triggered a defense mechanism left behind long ago.

Xu Xing raised his hand and sent forth a wisp of spiritual light; the disintegration halted instantly, and even began to repair itself, soon becoming denser than ever before.

Yuan: "..."

Fuck! The true immortals of this Xuan Realm are fucking insane! "Yuan, though we've had little contact, I've helped you escape Huo's entanglement—how do you explain this reaction?" Xiang Yuanjun said.

If the Dao Brother saw your reaction, he'd probably think I bullied you two in the past.

"Forgive me, Elder Xiang Yuanjun!" Yuan could only smile bitterly. "I simply didn't expect you to be here too."

His mind was in utter chaos.

His earlier urge to boast to a fellow countryman vanished completely.

Various suspicions flashed through his mind.

Could it be... that the mechanism I left behind was broken? If it's Elder Xiang Yuanjun, maybe it's not impossible after all! He turned to look at Xu Xing.

"May I ask who this is...?"

Had it not been for this incident, he would have assumed this was his fellow countryman—but now he wasn't so sure.

"Xu Xing," Xu Xing explained. "If nothing unexpected happens, we two should count as fellow countrymen."

Yuan's soul-body froze in surprise.

Wait—you're really my fellow countryman?! Then if Elder Xiang Yuanjun is here, could she also...

"Elder Xiang Yuanjun is not."

Xu Xing's words left him silent again.

"..."

Wait, bro! We're two transmigrants meeting—and you bring a local, a true immortal, to sit beside us? Isn't that a bit off? "The east wind at night blooms a thousand trees of flowers," Yuan suddenly said.

"More wind blows them down, stars like rain," Xu Xing replied offhandedly, then couldn't help grumbling, "Hey, you didn't major in Chinese language, did you?"

"No, I just like reading random books in my spare time."

Hmm...

Xu Xing's remark made Yuan more certain this man was indeed his fellow countryman.

"So you're the Xiang Jianzong's Xiang Jianzong?"

"Yes."

Yuan fell into deep thought again.

Sure enough, his deduction was correct—the Xiang Jianzong's Xiang Jianzong was his fellow countryman.

"Then I won't disturb the Dao Brother further," Xiang Yuanjun rose.

Her curiosity was satisfied; if she stayed longer, she might delay the Dao Brother's affairs.

"Go slowly."

"Mm."

With a slight nod, Xiang Yuanjun vanished instantly.

These ordinary words, when heard by Yuan, rang like thunder booming.

Little... sister?

Elder Xiang Yuanjun used such a humble self-reference—and called my fellow countryman "Dao Brother"?!!

Is this really the same Elder Xiang Yuanjun I once struggled just to meet?

He froze solid, and it took him a long time to recover.

Holy shit!

I must be dreaming today! When Xu Xing turned back, he said numbly, "I just realized you're even more badass than I imagined."

"Hmm... probably."

"You're not even modest..."

But remembering Xiang Yuanjun's behavior, his fellow countryman seemed right. "Tell me," Xu Xing asked, "what was the purpose of leaving this sliver of soul?"

Yuan's main body no longer resides in the Xuan Realm; this is merely a fragment he severed.

"Purpose..." Yuan sighed.

"It's simple really—I wanted to meet you, my fellow countryman, to tell you the method I developed to return home, or leave something behind for any future transmigrants who might come."

"Also, to ask you a few questions and satisfy my own curiosity."

"I know most things about the Xuan Realm, but records about immortals, the Cang Clan, and the ancient era are extremely scarce."

The more he probed ancient history, the more curious he became.

"Aren't you on good terms with the founders of many sects? Didn't you ask them?"

Like Gu Mo—he knew.

"I'm actually not close with many sect founders; only Master Zhang of the Drunken Immortal Sect and Master Gu of the Great Desert Xiang Jianzong would sit down and talk about such things with me," Yuan said helplessly.

As for other sects and powers, the ones I knew best were mostly sect masters and Grand Elders—they knew little.

"With Master Gu, I'd only just become familiar with him when he entered seclusion."

"Master Zhang of the Drunken Immortal Sect was relaxed—I planned to chat with him over drinks, but one sip of wine knocked me out, and I never saw him again before I left."

During the latter half of my stay in the Xuan Realm, I mostly focused on researching how to break through the veil and return home—I had no energy left to pursue ancient mysteries.

So before leaving, I left behind this sliver of soul.

"Your main body won't get answers."

"Doesn't matter—I just want to satisfy my curiosity."

"Fine," Xu Xing nodded. "Ask then. I have a few questions for you too."

「…」 Yuan fell into thought.

He seemed to be considering which question to ask first.

After a moment, he spoke slowly: "What is going on with the current cultivation system?"

This was his first question.

"Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Jin Dan, Nascent Soul… You didn't create the human cultivation system of the Xuan Realm, did you?"

To say you had nothing to do with it? He wouldn't believe it even if he were killed! "Not quite. We merely refined the cultivation system along the path laid by our predecessors; we were not its originator."

"At the very least, you named them!"

"Mm." Xu Xing did not deny it. "That suggestion was indeed mine."

"Soul Transformation, Return to Void, Union with Dao, Penetrate Xuan, Penetrate Truth…" As he recited these, Yuan paused. "Why, after Union with Dao, isn't it Tribulation Crossing and Great Ascension?"

"Tribulation Crossing? After Union with Dao, there is no calamity—how could there be a 'crossing' of tribulation?" Xu Xing shook his head slightly. "Moreover, these last three realms were, in ancient times, the Cang Clan's description of 'Near Ancestors.'"

"Near Ancestors?"

"The ancestor of the Cang Clan is equal to an Immortal. You should have already met one of them."

These three realms were also called by the Cang Clan the Three Near-Ancestor Realms; when translated into human terms, they are the Three Near-Immortal Realms.

"You mean that idiot Ancient Ancestor who keeps muttering 'Heaven created all things to nourish mankind'?" Yuan seemed to recall some unpleasant memories.

When he was in the Return to Void realm, he had been haunted by that Ancient; he only escaped thanks to Huo driving it away.

But ever since then, Huo had been clinging to him.

"Yes, that idiot." Xu Xing laughed. "That idiot controls the past, so he's always causing trouble on the Central Continent—but I slashed him with a sword not long ago, so he's probably not feeling too well."

"Cool." Yuan praised him in a modern way.

"If I'd known you were this awesome, I'd have gone straight to the Xiang Jianzong to join you."

Sigh~ People comparing themselves to others drive you mad—he'd been haunted first by that idiot Ancient Ancestor, then by Huo.

Yet this fellow villager was so awesome that even Xiang Yuanjun addressed him as 'Brother Dao'…

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(End of chapter)