Chapter 162: The First Step Completed

Compared to the noise outside, the grand hall was eerily quiet, the sound-dampening arrays carved into its walls flickering with dim, erratic light.

Yuan walked among the display stands, each showcasing various artifacts, occasionally pausing to read the text projected beside them.

Liu Yu followed closely behind him, his demeanor respectful.

As the first Dao-Union cultivator to discover Yuan, he had been assigned to accompany Yuan on a tour of the current Alliance of the Righteous Path.

He was also responsible for conveying Yuan's intentions.

After the previous meeting, no one doubted his identity anymore.

"My lord, the First Founder, someone will arrive shortly to remove all the exhibits here."

"No need." Yuan waved his hand. "Leave everything as it is. Don't change a thing."

He was merely a fragment of his spiritual soul; it would dissipate soon, and he wouldn't remain in the Alliance of the Righteous Path—no need for grand displays.

Liu Yu's expression shifted slightly: "But Your Excellency…"

"It's settled. Say no more."

"Yes!"

Since the First Founder himself had spoken, Liu Yu had no grounds to object further.

But if the First Founder didn't move back…

Was it because he found the renovations too drastic and uncomfortable, and planned to rebuild? Or did he never intend to settle in the underwater city at all?

Liu Yu's thoughts churned, speculating endlessly.

Yet Yuan observed the artifacts on display with keen interest.

Honestly, seeing his own residence turned into a tourist attraction was rather amusing.

But soon, he arrived before the display stand holding the mask of the Master of Tingyu Pavilion.

Inside the glass case, the mask under bright lights revealed every intricate detail.

Seeing that familiar mask, he halted, memories of past events rising in his mind, his heart stirred with complex emotion.

"Should we send word to Lady Mingyu? She's still on the Starry Frontlines." Liu Yu asked cautiously.

Since the First Founder vanished, Lady Mingyu had gone to the Starry Front and never returned.

"…No need."

After all, she was different from Sister Wan Zhu—Mingyu was forceful and decisive, while he was now merely a fragment of his spiritual soul.

Meeting again would only deepen the sorrow.

And if his memory served him right, when he left the Xuan Realm, he had taken that mask and half of the hairpin Sister Wan Zhu had given him.

The latter had come from a casual conversation between them.

He had mentioned his homeland, saying that in ancient times, women would split their hairpins in two, giving one half to the other and keeping the other, to reunite them upon their next meeting.

What eases parting? A tortoiseshell hairpin behind the ear.

It had been a passing remark—he never thought she'd remember it.

…Would he ever truly return to the Xuan Realm again?

"Sigh~" Yuan let out a quiet breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. "Let's go."

He passed through the front hall and wandered through other areas.

He found every place meticulously maintained, just as it had been when he left—almost no change at all.

Finally, he climbed the long staircase and reached the secret chamber beneath the hall—the place that had once held his greatest wish after arriving in this world.

"Greetings, First Founder." The two Dao-Union cultivators guarding the entrance rose and bowed respectfully.

"No need for formalities."

"Please wait a moment." One guard pressed a button on the wall.

Boom—!

The dusty stone door rose with a rumbling roar, revealing the passage within.

Yuan gave a slight nod and stepped inside.

As his fellow villager had said, the underground chamber he had specially built had been completely stripped bare—even the green jade slab he had hidden behind had been dug up…

Indeed, upon entering, he found it utterly empty.

Aside from the books on the shelves, a wooden crate filled with odds and ends, and a small celestial globe, everything else had been removed. "..."

Though he had expected it, seeing this still left him with a sense of helplessness.

But he didn't dwell on it—such things were inevitable.

He casually picked up a few books, flipped through them briefly, then left the underground chamber without lingering further.

After all, it was empty—staying longer would only waste time.

…

…

After leaving the underground chamber.

Yuan appeared briefly before the hall, just enough to let those waiting in the square outside not have come for nothing.

Whoosh! In an instant, a deafening roar nearly drowned out all else.

Many screamed at the top of their lungs.

This fanatical display left Yuan himself momentarily stunned.

Wait—he'd only been gone a few decades; had his popularity really grown this much? At that moment, Jiang Yujiu, hidden among the crowd, quietly slipped away from her grandmother, turned on her phone, typed the title 【The Holy Emperor Yuan Returns】, carefully aimed the camera at Yuan standing before the hall, and started streaming.

She simply couldn't resist the torrent of traffic.

True enough, barely had the stream begun when a dense flood of comments scrolled past—far more intense than last time in Xuan Sword City.

Among them were jealous remarks from junior and senior sisters, but they were drowned beneath the tidal wave of comments.

However, just over ten minutes later, a face that bore some resemblance to hers suddenly appeared before the camera, right while Jiang Yujiu was happily riding the wave of traffic.

"Grandma?!!"

That's right — the one who appeared was none other than Jiang Yuqi.

Seeing that something was off, Jiang Yujiu hurriedly explained, "I'm just doing a normal livestream, look — I'm even dressed like this!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuqi looked her thoroughly bundled-up granddaughter up and down.

In the end, she didn't make too much of a fuss.

"Don't go causing trouble."

"Mm-mm! Don't worry, don't worry!"

…………

Meanwhile, Xiang Yuanjun and Xu Xing had just come out of the amusement park.

Perhaps because of Yuan's appearance, the vast amusement park was already nearly empty.

Xu Xing had originally wanted to head back to that stall where you could make your own cotton candy and spin up a few more, only to find it had already packed up early.

Only a note was left stuck in its original spot.

【Gone to see the Holy Sovereign, my lord — closing up early today】

That's right — the stall owner had also run off to see Yuan.

"Yuan's reputation really is something," Xu Xing said with a smile.

This was already the seventh such sight they had come across.

Xiang Yuanjun gave a slight nod. "After all, over these thousand years, his experiences have indeed been rather legendary."

The most dazzling figure of the millennium — not an exaggeration.

"The stir was a bit big, but this first step can be considered done."

Taking Gu's departure at Yuan's side as the turning point, the righteous alliance's morale had been severed; now that Yuan had returned, the righteous alliance naturally had a catalyst to rekindle that morale.

Although things had gone even more smoothly than expected, Xu Xing did not let his guard down because of it.

"Still, Gu didn't stir up trouble in the middle — we need to stay cautious."

Earlier, Gu had briefly met Yuan face-to-face, reflected some of Yuan's past, and then vanished without a trace.

Moreover, it had not intervened in what happened afterward.

It seemed not to care whether the morale it had severed was reconnected.

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