Chapter 382: Has the Foundation of Heaven Been Built?

At the front desk, Chi Jiuyu paused mid-check-in, turning to look behind her.

The Yu Ling Interstellar Hotel had soundproofing installed in most areas, but not here.

She had heard every word those two spoke.

She elbowed Zhang Yunlu beside her: "Did you hear that? Those two seem to be from the same planet we're headed to for our mission."

"Mm."

Zhang Yunlu nodded slightly; though the Nascent Soul had tried to conceal it, the technique was too crude, so she'd caught much of it.

"Looks like they're hiding from us."

"Definitely not good people," Chi Jiuyu muttered. "We'll check their records when we retrieve them later."

Yu Ling Interstellar Hotel had regulations: once inside, it was best not to use surveillance or scrying techniques.

What a shame.

Otherwise, a single glance with Tai Xuan's Breaking Illusion Golden Eyes—even if it couldn't reveal what he'd done—could tell whether he was good or evil.

After all, this was under the Sword Sect's jurisdiction; if something like this came up, you had to intervene.

"Let's go check in. I saw on the Spirit Net that the main branch's rooms are much better than the branches."

"Alright."

Even if there really was something, it wouldn't be easy to act here in the Yu Ling Interstellar Hotel…

Wait!

Why are we back to this "take action" business again!?

But the two women didn't notice.

At the second-floor staircase entrance, a figure stood beside the railing, watching them.

It was Xu Xing.

He had no intention of hiding himself; he was about to speak and greet them, but suddenly paused, as if sensing something.

Then his gaze turned upward.

In an instant, his eyes pierced through the layers of the Yu Ling Interstellar Hotel, spanning vast distances, landing upon the frontline star battlefield.

A gray "flood" surged relentlessly, like colossal waves crashing against a dam.

They were Dao Soldier demon beasts, radiating a terrifying aura, ridden by human cultivators who had been brainwashed and defected to Gu.

Beyond them, countless, nearly infinite biological weapons surged from across the starry void.

Several Cang Clan Heavenly Generals, radiating immense aura, followed the Dao Soldier demon beasts, attacking the human defenders on the frontline.

The human side quickly detected the anomaly.

Star Domain Wardens from the Gedaxian Sect and the Righteous Alliance surged forth to confront the Cang Clan Heavenly Generals.

Tong Xuan targeted the Dao Soldier demon beasts.

As for He Dao, they avoided the fiercest central battlefield, clearing the biological weapons instead.

At first glance, it seemed ordinary—just larger in scale.

But he quickly noticed something odd.

"Not a single Dong Zhen limit…"

Xu Xing withdrew his gaze, pondering inwardly.

There was no doubt: the sudden surge of Dao Soldier demon beasts and those biological weapons were Xuan's doing.

But the absence of Dong Zhen limits among the attacking Cang Clan Heavenly Generals further confirmed his earlier hypothesis.

Xuan, having seized Hun Tian Yi, was indeed seeking to grant some Cang Clan Heavenly Generals the ability to cross that threshold.

"The most likely candidates have already been erased…"

The three Heavenly Generals he'd killed before weren't random picks—they were carefully chosen, among the most likely of all current Heavenly Generals to reach the "Knock Through the Immortal Pass" stage.

But… that didn't mean those three were the absolute best among all Cang Clan Heavenly Generals.

"The Past Realm."

The ones with the greatest chance of crossing that threshold were surely sent by Xuan into the Past Realm.

"Hun Tian Yi… could it be in the same state as the Beast God Realm's Tian Yi Xian?"

Given prior precedent, Xu Xing immediately thought of it.

The Dong Zhen Beast God had been tricked by Hun Tian Yi; though it ultimately entangled for a hundred thousand years, its own ontological rank had risen during that time to rival that of an "Immortal."

This was evident from the fact that even after separating from Hun Tian Yi, it still wielded the Dao of "Darkness."

"Clever thinking."

Xu Xing frowned slightly.

The Tian Yi of Tai Xuan Realm was far stronger than that of the Beast God Realm—no doubt about it—so even a fraction of it should achieve the same effect as the Beast God Realm's Tian Yi.

Moreover, the Tian Yi of Tai Xuan Realm itself had been extracted and sealed by them.

And the "Heaven," the avatar of Tian Yi's will that had become Cang Clan, had been driven into silence during that decisive battle—so now even the lingering threat of its influence was gone.

Even so, this was a new level; even if it lacked the many hazards of "Tian Yi Xian," how could it succeed easily?

As his thoughts shifted, Xu Xing's form vanished from the staircase entrance.

But since this involved the levels of "Immortal" and "Ancestor," he must remain extra cautious.

…………

The Past Realm, Gu Tai Xuan Heaven.

The azure sky was clear, dotted with wisps of mist, sunlight spilling across all directions.

If viewed from above, the beauty of heaven and earth filled the sight—perhaps due to recent upheavals, the Cang Clan who once sat upon the clouds, laughing and feasting, had vanished.

The sky now held only luxurious carriages, drawn by phoenixes, auspicious qilins, Cang dragons, and flying serpents, racing past in whistles; young Cang Clan still reveled in pleasure, active in every indulgent locale.

In the grand, majestic hall at the center, seemingly forged from infinite ages.

Upon the solemn black Wang Zuo, Gu sat in silent meditation, streams of seven-colored divine radiance rising and surging into the grotesque, terrifying wound upon His chest, wearing down the terrifying sword light within—a curse like a bone-deep ulcer.

Often, tens of thousands of seven-colored divine radiance beams were needed to erode only the faintest sliver of it; yet that single sliver, no larger than a thumb, remained stubbornly intact.

This was the sword strike from the Master Jianzu, delivered two years ago when He was in Xuan Jian City.

It had been only one strike—after so long, it should have vanished entirely—but the return of "Heaven" to the Alliance of the Righteous caused His wound to worsen.

The treacherous thirteen Immortals of the human race lured Him back into the mortal realm and jointly inflicted a grievous blow, compounded later by the transcendent who came from beyond the realms…

Thus, the sword light that should have been fully eradicated still lingers.

It is heartbreaking: ever since the Master Jianzu emerged from seclusion and their eyes met, He has remained wounded, never healing.

Not a single word, not a single syllable, not a single detail is wrong!

After an unknown length of time, the sword light within the wound was finally worn down by another sliver.

The rising seven-colored divine radiance grew denser; Gu slowly opened His eyes, His seven-colored, lustrous gaze fixed beyond the hall, as if the radiance within stirred in response.

He saw the Cang clan, who had followed Him since ancient times, standing guard outside the hall, all above the Union with the Dao Realm.

Each bore expressions of deep anxiety, as if mourning the future of the Cang clan.

Yet among the younger Cang born within this Gu Tai Xuan Tian, some indulged in pleasure, while others labored diligently in cultivation.

To prevent the Master Jianzu and other human True Immortals from discovering this "Gu Tai Xuan Tian," even the younger Cang did not know that the human race was their great enemy.

Just as the human race, to shield their youth from His corruption, kept all below the Union with the Dao Realm ignorant of the Cang clan.

In former days, the Cang had never needed such precautions…

"Sigh~"

Each time He recalled the past, He regretted His foolish defiance against Tai.

Back then, they were certain their tier was beyond the reach of any mortal's postnatal effort—yet after the Master Jianzu became an Immortal, they comforted themselves, for He had never harshly targeted the Cang in His early days.

They told themselves: the Master Jianzu was merely an exception.

Ultimately, because of the Master Jianzu's desperate, life-or-death posture, and their own cowardly pursuit of self-preservation, the Cang clan fell into its current state…

With a long sigh within, His gaze swept over every young Cang within Gu Tai Xuan Tian.

If the human True Immortals ever found this place, there was no doubt: those lost in indulgence would be abandoned.

Even if some among them had given up, unable to ascend to the Union with the Dao Realm.

He raised His hand and lightly pressed upon the wound that refused to heal.

Instantly, the rising seven-colored divine radiance within the hall surged toward Him, flooding entirely into His wound.

In less than a breath, all seven-colored divine radiance vanished—leaving the hall utterly empty!

And He descended from the Wang Zuo, taking only a few steps before vanishing into thin air, the void rippling faintly around Him.

…

…

In a strange space, boundless purple qi churned, filling every corner.

Like tides rising and falling, figures sat immersed within, their qi thick and vast.

As Xu Xing had seen across the starry void, each was a Cang clan Heavenly General of the Dong Zhen tier.

As the dominant race of ancient Tai Xuan Realm, though they suffered catastrophic losses in the ancient final battle, the remaining Dong Zhen still rivaled the current human race in number.

After all, it takes a thousand years to produce one Fan Xu, and ten thousand years to achieve Union with the Dao.

Though "ten thousand years" is an exaggeration.

Yet the Union with the Dao Realm is indeed exceedingly difficult to cross; ordinary cultivators who seek it often close themselves away for a thousand years or more—let alone attaining Dong Zhen, which reveals the world's true essence.

As for Yuan… who achieved Dong Zhen and glimpsed the world's true essence in merely a thousand years…

Could Yuan be called an "ordinary cultivator"?!!

According to His observations, Yuan's talent and brilliance were only slightly inferior to the Thirteen True Immortals of Tai Xuan.

His ability to establish the Alliance of the Righteous was due largely to the talent and brilliance he displayed!

Gu stood amid boundless purple qi, recalling the events of His first encounter with Yuan.

Suddenly!

A strange vibration surged outward, even the churning purple qi freezing solid in place!

Here it comes.

Gu's heart steadied; His gaze pierced through layers of purple qi toward the depths.

There stood a Cang, with hair like silk, flowing purple, a purple crystal adorning His brow.

Skin as Bai Xi as porcelain, delicate enough to be pierced by a breath; His face, flawless and exquisite as all Cang, like a goddess descending from the Nine Heavens—sacred, untouchable.

One of the Heavenly Generals beneath the Xuan Seat—Zi Jian.

Within Her, a strange vibration brewed, encompassing the vastness of the Dao, the totality of the cosmos.

All methods, all paths contained within, transcending all things, standing apart from ordinary norms, condensed into a single point of Chaos.

Has She formed the Heavenly Barrier?

Could Xuan's method truly work?

Before Gu could react, Zi Jian slowly opened Her eyes amid the boundless purple qi.

The boundless indifference in Her gaze sent a shiver of dread even through Gu.

No!

Something has gone wrong?! (End of Chapter)