Chapter 279: The Scheme of Xuan

Today, the human race's power far surpasses that of the Cang race.

Even if the Cang race were at its peak, with all Four Ancestors still alive, they would face nothing but annihilation before today's humans.

Not to mention that today's humans have already begun vying for leverage, preparing to eradicate the Cang race entirely.

Under these circumstances, Xuan has made no further moves beyond the single thread of essence it once lent when welcoming Ying Tian back.

Gu's mind churned with thoughts, and the atmosphere grew ever more oppressive.

Numerous Cang race celestial generals followed behind Him, each silently speculating about this matter.

Inside the Hall of Ages, the floor resembled a profound and mysterious star-river; every step taken stirred faint ripples, like pebbles dropped into a lake.

Arriving at the main hall, at the very top stood a solemn, heavy black Wang Zuo, its armrests inlaid with two seven-colored pearls.

Gu ascended the steps and sat upon the Wang Zuo, then closed his eyes in quiet contemplation.

On His mighty divine form, the seven-colored radiance slowly dimmed, revealing numerous grotesque Dao wounds, making His figure appear hunched and diminished.

Thin streams of energy gathered from all directions, beginning to heal the wounds upon His divine form.

But the effect was minimal.

The combined strike of thirteen human True Immortals was not something so simple.

If He had not yet merged with the Past Domain…

No!

Even at the moment He first merged with the Past Domain, that combined strike would have severely wounded Him—perhaps even plunged Him into permanent silence.

Seeing Gu close his eyes to recover, the celestial generals all respectfully withdrew, returning to their own cultivation.

It is also tragic: the Cang race's starting point was simply too high, far surpassing all other races.

Yet precisely because of this, they found it exceedingly difficult to cross that final step.

Whether it is the human "Immortal" or the Cang "Ancestor," both are, at their core, beings that defy logic and overturn the rules.

The Cang race, blessed by Heaven, possesses the highest possible starting point permitted by the Dao rules of the Tai Xuan Tian, and thus at this final, most critical step, they are weighed down by it.

They cannot even borrow insight from the human method of ascending to "True Immortal."

Because the Cang race has no such thing as an "Immortal Gate"!

Soon, only Gu remained alone upon the Wang Zuo, endless threads of seven-colored energy flowing continuously, as if never ceasing.

Thus, an unknown amount of time passed…

Crack!

The sound of a sharp snap jolted Gu awake from his healing meditation.

There, on the right armrest, the seven-colored pearl had split open with a grotesque fissure!

"Has it really come to this…?" His voice carried a hint of disbelief.

At the same moment, outside the Hall—"Gu Tai Xuan Tian."

A grotesque crack tore straight across the entire sky, as if slicing the whole "Gu Tai Xuan Tian" in two.

Within the crack lay profound darkness, yet faint crimson glows flickered—like "Heaven's Sorrow," an inverted, endless abyss—seemingly ready to spew forth a terrifying entity that would devour all heaven and earth.

Below the sky, the vast majority of the Cang race stared upward, eyes filled with fury; a tiny fraction, however, wore expressions of terror, trembling uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the grotesque crack did not last long. As a visible ripple spread outward, the fissure began to heal, eventually restoring the sky to its former pristine, azure clarity.

Inside the Hall of Ages.

Gu gently caressed the seven-colored pearl; the crack had vanished, restored to perfect wholeness.

His glass-like seven-colored eyes revealed no emotion.

The next instant, as if making a decision, His mighty divine form blazed once more with seven-colored radiance.

Hum!

This time, the radiance was blinding—like a tidal wave, it completely engulfed and submerged the entire hall.

Boom—

Outside, ten thousand miles of azure sky were instantly choked by dark clouds; grotesque Lei She writhed wildly, and torrential rain, driven by furious winds, poured down in an instant.

Countless Cang race members looked up in bewilderment, then turned with worry toward the Hall of Ages standing firm amid the storm.

Ancestor… what has happened?

Inside the hall.

The seven-colored radiance had faded; Gu's aura had weakened considerably, making the Dao wounds appear even more grotesque.

Before Him floated a semi-transparent figure—seemingly real yet illusory, neither void nor substance, constantly shifting shape.

"Go."

A soft whisper, laden with infinite exhaustion.

The semi-transparent figure stirred, then glowed with seven-colored light, resembling a miniature version of "Gu."

Without a sound, it vanished.

…………

All beings in the Tai Xuan Tian now knew that the four cardinal star-regions stretched boundlessly.

Yet within the Past Domain, which should have encompassed all…

Beyond the few stars surrounding the Central Continent, most star-regions were utter void—even "void" itself was an empty, meaningless concept.

Yet one seven-colored streak of light pierced through this lonely, absolute void, racing toward the distance.

Its speed was unimaginable, yet even as it moved, it began to slowly dissipate, as if worn away by friction.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The seven-colored streak had shrunk to a tiny "dot," like a speck of dust, ready to vanish at any moment.

Splash~!

A rolling purple qi, encompassing all transcendent potential, profound and incomprehensible, as if revealing all cosmic mysteries, suddenly burst in, weaving into a giant hand that seized the speck of light and dragged it away!

Thus, after escaping that extreme void, the purple qi-formed hand, clutching the seven-colored speck, landed upon a dao platform—more precisely, before a certain figure.

The figure was no larger than an ordinary human, seated upon a purple dao dais, its face blurred and indistinct.

The only striking feature was its eyes—not the seven-colored lustrous hue typical of the Cang race, but a pair of purple pupils, utterly indifferent.

Xuan!

This was its true form!

As the purple qi retracted, the seven-colored speck settled before Xuan, transforming into a phantom, translucent figure, seemingly ready to vanish at any moment.

"Gu, why do you seek me?"

A calm voice spread out, utterly devoid of inflection.

"I was betrayed and Suffered Heavy by the human immortals," Gu recounted its ordeal.

Xuan said nothing, continuing to gaze at it with cold indifference.

"The humans have drawn in outsiders from beyond, and somehow, they've made the Tai Xuan Realm recognize those outsiders."

Hearing this, Xuan finally gave a slight nod: "It is Hun Tian Yi. They thought of it too."

Too?

Gu hesitated, suddenly uncertain.

!. Read

"It must be the Supreme Sword of Annihilation from the Sword Sovereign, erasing the immortal sealed by Hun Tian Yi—but I do not know how they granted the outsiders their aura."

Hm?

"You knew Hun Tian Yi had this effect?"

"Of course I know," Xuan replied coldly. "And their realization of this was within my expectations."

It was only a matter of time.

"Then your response is…?"

"I have my own considerations. When the time is right, you will know."

Those violet-jade eyes gazed calmly at it, their meaning piercing Gu's pride deeply.

"So that is why you… regarding Tian's return…"

"Tian cannot be trusted," Xuan cut it off directly. "Perhaps even as you meticulously plan to welcome it back, it is already negotiating with the Master Jianzu, ready to side with the humans."

"The Master Jianzu and the other human immortals extracted and sealed it…"

"So you are foolish."

"…"

The phantom seven-colored figure trembled, its radiance flickering unsteadily.

"Tian is the embodiment of Hun Tian Yi. How could its thoughts align with mortal beings like us?" Xuan continued speaking to itself, utterly unconcerned with Gu's pride.

"Of course, the Master Jianzu would not agree, nor would the human immortals—so I intervened once. If it succeeds, it will have no other choice."

"If it fails, I have methods for failure as well."

Hearing this, Gu's flickering radiance steadied once more.

"Methods?"

"I said: when the time comes, you will know."

Gu: "…"

Xuan's gaze—its look of "you fool, knowing this would ruin everything"—was unbearable.

But perhaps remembering to spare its pride, Xuan offered one explanation.

"The Master Jianzu is not of this realm."

Hm?!

What does that matter?

Before Gu could grasp it, a surge of purple qi enveloped it and sent it back.

The last thing it heard was:

"Focus on sowing discord among the humans. Do not make any further moves."

After sending it away, Xuan turned its gaze toward the distance.

The barriers of the world were as nothing to it; it saw the boundless chaotic sea, countless worlds, and infinite sword-light flares rising in response.

"Transform me into the Dao's source…"

The Master Jianzu had finally reached this step.

With a soft sigh, Xuan rose slowly from the dao dais.

Such a simple motion caused all around—time, space, spiritual energy—to elevate and transcend!

One by one, Void-Return phase biological weapons emerged from the rolling purple qi, countless and roaring, charging toward the front-line star battlefield.

With each step forward, the very center of the world seemed to shift with its movement.

The Dao it upholds is too "heavy"—the origin of all transcendence, the source of all cosmic mysteries. Taking the next step is impossibly difficult.

To it, whether Tian returns is utterly irrelevant—after all…

In ancient times, if not for "Tian," how could things have reached this point, nearly beyond redemption?

Of course, whether Tian returns is unimportant—but the "Hun Tian Yi" sealed by human true immortals is of vital importance.

Arriving at the edge of the dao platform, it looked down and saw countless Cang beings, their aura vast as oceans, shaking star-seas, seated in meditation. Each possessed a Qi of Complete Dongzhen, surpassing the former Huang Qi in essence, just one step short of the human cultivators who had knocked on the Immortal Gate.

They were all Xuan's heavenly generals.

Soon, Xuan withdrew its gaze.

The Master Jianzu, though not of this realm, had already attained True Immortality and had taken the next step even before me.

Therefore, this opportunity can come only once!

"Xiang Yuanjun, Sword Sovereign, Spirit Ancestor, Hong Zun, Huo..."

One by one, the names of human True Immortals drifted far from His lips.

"Whether success is achieved depends on this one chance." (End of Chapter)