Chapter 308: Take You Home

A golden lotus staircase ascended from the altar within the valley, stretching upward into the clouds.

At the valley's mouth, the old Taoist looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with envy.

Chen Yan stood atop the ascension altar, his heart surging with emotion.

But just as he, brimming with excitement, prepared to step onto the golden lotus staircase.

Boom!

The staircase collapsed, golden lotuses scattering and drifting down.

Above, the clouds churned and swirled like a vortex, pouring forth boundless guiding light that coalesced into a grand celestial gate.

The light from the vortex fell upon the secluded valley where the altar stood, illuminating the entire valley with clarity.

Chen Yan was stunned, but soon felt an irresistible invisible force seize him and lift him upward.

Like a person grabbing a cat by the nape of its neck and hoisting it up.

His form shot upward at great speed toward the grand celestial gate formed by the guiding light.

The Impure Realm, the Mortal Realm, Tai Xuan Tian…

All sentient beings, whether cultivated or not, saw this scene with perfect clarity.

They saw the first ascender of the Three Realms being drawn away by the guiding light.

Huh? So this is how it's done?

Then why did the golden lotus staircase appear just now? Chen Yan, bathed in the guiding light, unable to move, felt utterly flustered.

With the altar's power, he could now easily see all beings within the realm—all creatures watching him.

"…"

If one ascended step by step along the staircase, opening the celestial gate with dignity, it would be glorious, majestic, awe-inspiring.

But now, it felt as if he'd been snatched up by the nape like a cat, powerless, exposed before so many eyes…

It was terribly embarrassing.

Chen Yan felt like a clown on a theater stage, displaying his most absurd side to the entire world—not just one person, but everyone!

'It's fine. Many would give anything for this chance and still fail.'

He could only comfort himself with this thought, trying to appear calm and composed.

But in truth, it was exactly so.

Except for a handful of cultivators among the practitioners, most in the Three Realms gazed at him with envy.

The Three Realms' World Will had now reacted—sun and moon encircling, starry heavens as curtain—various wonders erupted continuously.

I must have hesitated too long just now! The Three Realms' World Will thought.

Thus, under the spectacle of these wonders, this ascension finally had some dignity.

Soon, Chen Yan reached the threshold of the guiding celestial gate.

At that moment, a spiritual light shot out from the ascension altar and soared into the high heavens of the Three Realms.

Hum~ Golden auspicious clouds manifested seven-colored radiance; dharma tones echoed as a hazy rainbow mist descended.

Drizzling softly, nourishing all things.

In that instant, all phenomena across the Three Realms, the three layers of the world, overflowed with joy.

The ascender's departure rewards the world—this had always been the established rule, necessary to sustain the virtuous cycle.

Quickly, the guiding celestial gate opened and, without pause, swallowed Chen Yan whole.

The hazy, world-nourishing mist ceased; all wonders vanished.

"…"

No transition, no process—simply vanished into thin air.

The beings of the Three Realms felt a lingering emptiness, but the practitioners from Tai Xuan Tian sensed something amiss.

How to put it—this ascension…

Whether it was an illusion or not, it felt rushed, hurried, almost desperate.

…

…

In the Mortal Realm, the capital of the Songyun Dynasty, Jingcheng.

Before the Baohua Hall in the imperial palace, Cheng Yu had already vanished, leaving only a palm-sized, shimmering jewel connected to countless threads of magic power—dense, orderly threads extending over dozens of meters.

Two of these magic power threads vanished into the void, their ends binding the sword cultivator and the monk, who had fled far away.

Though they were the realm's pinnacle, Void-Refining cultivators, they could do nothing against the slender threads binding them—completely stripped of resistance, forced to be dragged away.

The two Void-Refiners were captured, yet Zhao Yueqing, the Tai Xuan Tian practitioner, remained unharmed.

For this scheme of Tai Xuan, He needed only one common trait among the people of the Three Realms—one shared with the Master Jianzu—

Not the people of the Not the Tai Xuan Realm, but the people from beyond the realm!

The sword cultivator and the monk's faces turned ashen; if one looked closely, the crystal-clear magic threads pierced their foreheads, pinning their soul cores.

Both hung their heads until the golden scripture and jade slip slowly unfurled from the sky, when they reluctantly lifted their gaze to look afar.

In a daze, it seemed as if boundless guiding light was coming for them—but in the next blink, they realized it was only their delusion.

Ascension…

It truly happened! Understanding what had just transpired, their hearts churned—envy and resentment intertwined.

But when they heard the words, "Void-Refining is not complete; the Immortal Path remains open—may future seekers strive," they felt an unexpected sense of relief.

The satisfaction of knowing a path ahead? Or the release of seeing all things as trivial before death?

They did not know.

Until Chen Yan was hastily snatched away by the ascension light… the sword cultivator sighed softly and closed his eyes.

The Great Monk softly chanted a Buddha's name and fell silent.

At this moment, the two who had watched the entire Ascension process were dragged by the magic power threads into the imperial palace.

Before the Baohe Hall, the magic power threads had completely covered everything, stretching endlessly across the sky and earth, lightly dancing like rivers of stars flowing beneath the sea.

From afar, it looked like a glowing ocean, continuously surging outward.

Just as the two believed they would die there, from the deepest part of the "ocean of magic power threads," a hand suddenly reached out and seized the luminous jewel.

In an instant, all the magic power threads vanished.

The sword cultivator and the Great Monk, who had closed their eyes awaiting death, suddenly felt their bodies grow light, falling toward the ground; the stagnant magic power revived, and their pinned souls regained freedom.

At the very moment their bodies were about to touch the ground!

Both halted their descent and instinctively opened their eyes to look forward.

There, where the Demon Lord Cheng Yu had stood before the Baohe Hall, a figure stood silently, holding in hand a purple-glowing jewel.

Though his physical form appeared unimposing to the naked eye, he seemed to fill the entire cosmos, so vast that heaven and earth could not contain him.

The Great Monk was still stunned when he heard a "thud" beside him; turning his head, he saw the sword cultivator had knelt, forehead pressed to the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Huh? Why did he just kneel? "Li Xiao of the Three Heaven Realms, pays homage to the Master Jianzu." His voice trembled as well.

Excitement, joy, unease, fear…

All these emotions spilled out uncontrollably in that single cry.

Li Xiao's heart quivered.

He too was a sword cultivator; during that moment when boundless swordlight surged and intertwined, he had gained much—how could he not recognize it?

The Great Monk stared in disbelief, gazing up at the figure holding the luminous pearl, and within him arose the same title—Master Jianzu.

The Primordial Ancestor of All Sword Dao! Xu Xing looked at the purple-glowing jewel in his hand, sighed softly, then raised his eyes to the two.

"The hidden threat in this realm has been removed by me; you need not worry."

Hidden threat?

Removed? Did he mean what had just happened? The Great Monk froze, slow to comprehend, but soon gathered courage and asked:

"May I ask, Immortal, was the Demon Lord's strange behavior connected to the Immortal Realm?"

"In a sense, yes."

So it truly was connected to the Immortal Realm!

But why, if the Master Jianzu had just stopped this disaster, did he show not the slightest joy? Before he could even ponder this, the Immortal's voice came again: "This matter is grave—it may cause unrest for some time. As the pinnacle of this realm's human race, you must protect humanity diligently."

"We humbly obey the Master Jianzu's command!" cried Li Xiao urgently.

…………

Beast God Realm.

At the Ascension Platform, where the principles of existence are beyond mortal reach.

After the Threefold Transformation Method's transparent forms merged their qi and completed the Scripture of Dao's Primordial Anchor, a thread of purple qi drifted over and landed before Xu Xing, taking the form of a figure of ordinary human size.

Xuan finally ceased concealment and appeared before Xu Xing.

One was an incarnation, the other a sword-intent spiritual body.

Yet this was still the first time since the end of the ancient war that Xuan and Xu Xing had faced each other directly.

"Long time no see, Master Jianzu—or rather… Xu Xing."

His tone was calm and light, less indifferent than usual, as if greeting an old friend long unseen.

Even Gu had never received such treatment from Him.

Xu Xing nodded slightly and replied, "Long time no see, Xuan."

"My scheme is now complete. Do you have any questions?"

"Will you tell me?"

"I will answer all you ask," Xuan said frankly. "And I wish to see what strategy you will devise."

Xu Xing chuckled softly: "It seems I've been overly cautious."

Between them, there was no tension.

After all, what mattered was the Tai Xuan Realm—here in the Beast God Realm, this was not his true body, and there was no need to determine victory or defeat.

"Previously, when Gu schemed to bring Tian back, you did not use your full strength?" Xu Xing asked.

"Correct." Xuan did not deny it.

"After all, you and I both know well what manner of being the Tai Xuan Realm's Hun Tian Yi is."

Too bad He realized this too late.

"If I'm not mistaken, during that brief moment of clarity, He tried to persuade you by offering 'alignment with humanity' as leverage."

"Indeed, that did happen."

Hearing Xu Xing confirm it, Xuan, though he had suspected, could not help but sigh.

"As I thought."

Looking at the sighing Xuan, Xu Xing asked: "What is your purpose in arranging this scheme across the boundless worlds?"

Both knew as clearly as mirrors—this question was merely to confirm what they already suspected.

In the Beast God Realm, a purple-glowing, starlike Dao Anchor rose into the heavens, illuminating all directions; its light pierced through the world and extended infinitely upward.

"Your mission is complete," Xuan said calmly, gazing at Xu Xing. "I merely wish to send you home." (End of Chapter)