Chapter 307

Borrow your identity as an outsider from another realm?

What… does this mean?

No sooner had the thought arisen than Cheng Yu felt his magic power spontaneously surging out of control.

Vast magic power flowed and turned—not only within his body, but also gushing forth from every part of his surroundings, like countless threads winding and hooking, drifting unpredictably.

A cultivator of the Return to Void realm possesses a spirit soul attuned to the numinous, shapeless and formless, with methods utterly beyond ordinary understanding, transcending all worldly things.

Within this Three Realms, one can merge body and spirit, coalescing into form or dispersing into rainbow-like energy.

If not restrained by another Return to Void entity, a single thought can observe the entirety of the floating world, roaming the myriad universes.

Truly, creation is numinous, body and spirit reshaped at will.

Yet now, Cheng Yu felt utterly powerless, his spirit beyond his command.

Even his own thoughts could barely maintain a single thread of clarity.

Within his mind-sea, runes glowed brilliantly, drawing down immeasurable light from infinite heights, flowing over his entire body.

The Light of Great Freedom! The Light of Great Liberation! As if kindled from the primordial, revealing all truths of the world!

Merely one glance, and he sank into it, unable to extricate himself, unable to suppress a surge of boundless joy.

That fragile thread of clarity seemed on the verge of collapse, ready to be lost at any moment.

All these transformations took less than a blink in the external world.

The sword cultivator had just halted the monk's action, but before either could speak, both felt a chill crawl up their spines.

Looking down, they saw the Demon Lord Cheng Yu motionless, one hand raised as if attempting something.

Thin, brilliant strands of magic power extended from his body, dense and countless, appearing chaotic but in truth ordered precisely, forming a wondrous array of endless interweaving possibilities.

The Demon Lord Cheng Yu's form was concealed within it, like a spider continuously spinning silk, or a silkworm weaving its own cocoon.

What… is this? Both the sword cultivator and the monk instinctively sensed something was terribly wrong.

The next instant, the Demon Lord Cheng Yu within the countless magic threads slowly lifted his head, gazing at them with calm indifference, his violet jade eyes utterly cold.

Boom! His spirit soul felt as if struck by a massive hammer! Followed immediately by his physical body, spirit soul, magic power, spiritual perception—even his very "existence"—all screamed warnings, urging them to flee at once!

But before they could react, violet mist rolled in from above, from all directions, from every conceivable angle, and a majestic voice echoed in their ears: "The Dao began as me, the primordial ancestor of all realms."

Within the rolling violet mist, a pair of eyes opened, merging with the Demon Lord Cheng Yu's purple gaze.

No!

Buzz buzz buzz~!

The sword's chime rang clear, carrying unmatched murderous intent, slicing through a sliver of azure sky and descending.

It began as a single thread, yet in an instant expanded and stretched, blazing brilliantly, like the Milky Way inverted, heavenly light crashing to earth.

Within the blazing swordlight, a tiny speck—no larger than a mote of dust—yet wielding far greater power than the earlier Buddha palm imprint—now surged forth; they no longer cared if they harmed the surroundings or damaged their own cultivation.

They knew only that the Demon Lord's current state was grotesquely unnatural—he must not be allowed to continue!

Crack!

Cracks appeared in the void, revealing bottomless, profound darkness.

The air exploded with thunderous reports; the hall collapsed, building after building shattered into ruins under the impact.

The Mortal Realm, already sparse in spiritual energy, far more fragile than the Impure Realm or Tai Xuan Tian, finally could not withstand the force of their full-power strikes and shattered apart.

Yet, facing the swordlight and the Buddha palm imprint, "Cheng Yu" showed not the slightest change in expression.

Two slender strands of magic power extended from the dense network, winding upward, gently touching the swordlight and the Buddha palm imprint.

Hū~ The wind ceased, the waves calmed.

Whether the blazing swordlight, like an inverted Milky Way, or the tiny Buddha palm imprint, no larger than a speck of dust—all dissolved the instant the magic threads made contact.

It felt as if the most vital support component of a precision instrument had been removed and destroyed.

Everything reverted to its most primal spiritual energy, like a gentle, ceaseless rain, drizzling over the vast Jingcheng.

"Cheng Yu" watched impassively as the two aura trails fled into the distance, then slowly raised his hand.

But in the next instant, the dense network of magic threads around him changed strangely.

Xiong Xiong!

Brilliant flames entwined upward, boundless and endless, instantly igniting every single magic thread—it was Cheng Yu himself, using his last shred of clarity, instinctively activating the "Refine Spirit into Flame" technique he had learned long ago in Tai Xuan Realm! The Refining Spirit Flame existed in reality, yet was not confined to it.

The brilliantly glowing purple runes in his mind-sea, along with the immeasurable light they drew down, began to burn.

His entire body seemed to twist uncontrollably, striving to become a formless, intangible shadow.

"Refining Spirit Flame!" The luminous light illuminating his mind-sea slowly faded; the trembling thread of clarity, under the flame's glow, gradually stabilized…

He regained some capacity for thought, but upon realizing he had used the "Refining Spirit Flame" technique, an ocean of regret surged within him.

This "Refining Spirit Flame" technique was something he had obtained many years ago from the supreme Tai Xuan Realm.

Yet after all he had done since, he felt unworthy of this peerless profound art, so he sealed it away and never used it again.

Even when Xiao Yu had nearly killed him, leaving him grievously wounded and on the brink of death, he had never used it!

His life had been base—he had compromised too many times, with too many people, too many things, even with himself.

But this one thing!

Was the one boundary he would never, could never cross.

Yet today…

Before the regret could fade, a voice—slightly surprised, ancient, weathered, as if observing an intriguing little insect—suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Hmm?"

From the infinite heights, the colossal figure seated at the origin of transcendence seemed to divert a sliver of attention toward him.

Distance meant nothing before it.

"Transforming into a shadow, refining spirit into flame…" A whisper echoed in his ear. Buzz! The runes, already dimmed by the Refining Spirit Flame, instantly regained their former brilliant glow—and the blazing Refining Spirit Flame vanished in an instant.

Cheng Yu felt a wave of despair.

He finally realized now—realized that all previous events had been mere casual arrangements, and only at this moment had true attention been cast down.

Bright light as flame, body as furnace, his very self was constantly changing, as if being forged into an artifact, aiming to refine him into a single—

Anchor of the Return-to-Source Dao!

…

…

Outside Jingcheng.

A streak of pure light slashed across the sky; Zhao Yueqing was fleeing for her life, burning through her magic power without restraint, all to escape just a little faster.

She silently cursed her luck.

She had hidden herself in the Mortal Realm's Jingcheng—and still ended up encountering this!

What terrible luck!

Ever since the two Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators arrived in Jingcheng, she had sensed something was wrong.

Then the Emperor inexplicably became the Demon Sovereign, and all the strange phenomena that followed made her heart tremble.

Not only had he transformed into something like a spider, but he had effortlessly shattered the combined assault of two Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators.

But what unsettled her most was that calm, indifferent gaze…

Especially after seeing those two Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators unleash an attack and immediately turn and flee, she dared not pretend to be a stone any longer, gambling that she wouldn't be noticed.

"May the Great Ancestor Seeing Hong Zun protect me, may the Ancestor Xiang Yuanjun protect me, may the Sword Ancestor protect me…"

Zhao Yueqing wanted to cry but had no tears, praying inwardly as she transformed into a beam of light and fled into the distance.

Even though she had already escaped far away, the oppressive, terrifying aura behind her still prickled like thorns against her back, granting her not a shred of safety.

She silently resolved: after returning, she would thoroughly research a new, more "reliable" hiding method!

………

Before all the strange events occurred in Jingcheng.

Tai Xuan Tian, entrance to the Ascension Sacred Valley.

Chen Yan, accompanied by the old Taoist, returned here once more.

After verifying his cultivation progress, he successfully passed through the pale golden light barrier and entered the valley.

This scene was directly observed and transmitted back by surveillance eyes and monitoring artifacts deployed by major sects of Tai Xuan Tian and various cultivators on pilgrimage.

The news quickly reached the vast majority of high-level cultivators in Tai Xuan Tian and Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators from the Tai Xuan Realm, who no longer hesitated and rushed toward the Ascension Platform.

Inside the valley, though the distance could have been crossed in an instant, Chen Yan walked step by step toward the Ascension Platform.

"Huh~"

Exhaling deeply, Chen Yan looked upward.

As a Returning-to-Emptiness body cultivator with absolute control over his own body, his body trembled slightly.

Ascension!

Ascension was right before him—even he could not suppress the excitement in his heart.

Step! He stepped onto the staircase swirling with star-river patterns, walking step by step toward the summit.

In the unseen depths, at Xu Xing's side, a cautious, hesitant intention hovered—seemingly eager to please but uncertain.

The World Will of the Three Heaven Realm.

Compared to the talisman Realm's Hun Tian Yi, which offered its throne like a beggar throwing away free coins, It was far more "shy."

But Xu Xing paid no attention to It, nor to Chen Yan, who was ascending the Ascension Platform.

Xu Xing's expression grew grave; the next instant, he rose and vanished outright.

The World Will of the Three Heaven Realm panicked; its懊恼意念 spread instantly.

But.

Even as Xu Xing's Sword Intent Spirit departed, the Ascension Platform still activated as Chen Yan reached the summit.

At the instant Chen Yan reached the summit!

Whether in the Impure Realm, the Mortal Realm, or Tai Xuan Tian, all living beings saw a jade scroll slowly unfurling from the heavens, revealing golden inscriptions of profound mystery upon it.

Accompanying it came a vast voice, echoing through heaven and earth, audible to every single being within the realm.

"Chen Yan of the Three Heaven Realm, cultivated for eight hundred and ninety-five years, attained the Returning-to-Emptiness realm."

"Accumulated three thousand external merits, his Dao fruit perfected."

"His achievement rivals creation; he has attained the Dao and ascended."

Countless beings lifted their eyes to gaze upward—even the pilgrims from the Tai Xuan Realm, upon seeing this, suddenly understood.

The jade scroll manifested all phenomena within the realm, visible to all; the grand, resonant voice echoed throughout the entire Three Heaven Realm.

Countless sacred golden lights rained down, directly dyeing the clouds and mists of the realm a brilliant gold.

Amid solemn, reverent chanting, flowers rained from the heavens and golden lotuses surged from the earth.

"Returning-to-Emptiness is not the end; the Immortal Path remains open. May future seekers strive on."

All of this was identical to the ascension in the talisman Realm! (End of Chapter)