Chapter 416: How Steady Can Steadiness Possibly Be?

The "Celestial Orb Soul-Extraction System" established by Xuan in this world fundamentally draws upon the cultivation of practitioners at all realms, combined with the "Shepherd of Souls" Dao lineage he left behind, subtly transforming all sentient beings within the realm into Cang beings.

But clearly, his expectations did not succeed.

In a world limited to the Return to Void level, the inherent constraints of its energy level made the subtle transformation utterly incapable of fully altering its inhabitants.

Even at the peak of Return to Void, one could only become this peculiar existence—neither human nor Cang, suspended between the two races.

Increasing investment might make it possible, but that would also raise the risk of discovery…

Not worth the cost.

After all, Xuan's primary goal was still to silently plant "anchor points."

In the end, Xuan did not abandon this plan, but instead forged His own avatar within the Xiang Phase Realm into the "Xiang Phase Celestial Orb," accumulating the power of all life to assemble a transformation ritual called the "Cang Transformation Ceremony."

If it succeeds, naturally best; if not… no real loss.

"How does your younger brother intend to handle it?" Bie Xuening asked.

Though merely a casual move left by Xuan, it is a matter they must resolve.

"In the world where we previously stayed, Xiang Yuanjun once transmitted a True Law; with minor modifications, it should resolve the situation in this world."

"Are you referring to the 'Great Yin Soul-Washing and Divine Transformation True Law'?"

"Yes." Xu Xing nodded slightly. "Though its conditions are numerous, for Xiang Yuanjun, making adjustments should not be difficult."

He could modify it himself, but Xiang Yuanjun is more skilled in this area, and the modified result would be superior.

…" Bie Xuening fell silent for a moment, gazing at the frozen everything within the Xiang Phase Realm. "Even if we transmit the solution, many in this realm will still refuse to cultivate it."

The "Shepherd of Souls" Dao lineage is so swift and convenient—siphoning the cultivation of all life to nourish oneself.

Breathing and circulating Qi, refining magic power through relentless daily toil—how could that compare to the speed of plundering others' cultivation?

Just as in the current Xiang Phase Realm, legends of ancient cultivators still linger, yet modern cultivators scoff at them, dismissing them as "archaic" paths, mere "dust" to be swept into the rolling river of history.

"Transmit the method and explain its advantages and dangers. If they still refuse to cultivate, there is nothing we can do."

Good words cannot persuade a doomed soul.

To refuse being a proper human and insist on becoming half-Cang…

Such a threat, none among them would choose to leave it unaddressed.

True Immortals have never been "good people" in any universal sense.

"Still, the best outcome would be for the human race of this realm to resolve it themselves—we merely nudge things along."

If even that fails, we can consider other methods.

"Then we follow your younger brother's advice." Bie Xuening said no more on the matter.

"The ascended cultivator has arrived at the Xiang Jianzong."

Xu Xing glanced in one direction: "I know."

He noticed upon returning.

"I will go meet him later."

"Mm."

…

…

Afterward, Xu Xing discussed procedural matters with his senior sister and also chatted with several fellow Daoists in the group.

He had originally planned to divide the Xiang Phase Realm into zones and establish several training grounds of varying levels, but Hong Zun said he had a better method…

Very well.

Then I'll pay a visit to the Tai Shang Dao Sect to see what his method is.

As they left the Sword Lord's Hall, the sun sank westward, the sky ablaze with crimson clouds—it was already dusk.

Standing before the Sword Lord's Hall, Xu Xing gazed into the distance, standing still for a long while before departing.

Meanwhile.

The top floor of the Xiang Jianzong's Law Transmission Tower.

A place housing countless hand-written records of Union with the Dao insights and related introductions to the Union with the Dao Realm.

Compared to the other floors, its environment is exceptionally unique.

Around it swirls dense, billowing white mist, with no sense of up, down, left, right, or boundary.

Even the divine sense of a Return to Void cultivator is completely suppressed here, unable to extend even a fraction.

Yet strangely, those within this space can perceive with absolute clarity their current location and the precise direction of the insight records or Union with the Dao texts they seek.

Li Ming was also here.

White mist coalesced beneath him into a cloud platform; Li Ming sat upon it, holding a jade book.

On the jade pages, intricately carved at the edges, shimmered countless flickering golden threads, winding and slithering to form different runes, shifting billions of times with every instant.

At the Union with the Dao Realm, little can be recorded on paper; most is ineffable, understood only through intuition.

For Li Ming, everything about the Union with the Dao Realm was "unknown."

After receiving permission and gaining access to the tower's top floor, he began with the simplest, most easily recorded introductions to the Union with the Dao Realm.

Now, having grasped the general nature of the Union with the Dao Realm, he turned to the Union with the Dao insights that could only be carried by specially crafted jade books.

As the most elite prodigy of the Fuliu Realm, his innate talent was unquestionable.

Yet even so, while studying this simplest of Union with the Dao insights, he had to painstakingly ponder each word and phrase, contemplate slowly, and occasionally pause to rest.

"Huh~"

Closing the jade book, Li Ming exhaled softly, rubbing his temples, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

"Union with the Dao…"

This truly is an unimaginable realm.

The more he understood, the more he felt his own insignificance; to call oneself a mayfly in the face of heaven and earth was no exaggeration.

Since ascending to the Return to Void realm, how many years had it been since he last felt this way…

And if Union with the Dao Realm is already like this, what of the realms beyond?

Even Li Ming, who had spent decades managing the survival of humanity in his realm and balancing yin and yang, his temperament far beyond ordinary mortals, could not help but feel a flicker of longing.

But soon, he suppressed the restlessness in his heart and closed his eyes to meditate.

"Avoid arrogance, avoid impatience; strive in cultivation."

According to Senior Du and the several ancient texts recording matters of the Union with the Dao Realm, the Xiang Jianzong's Transmission Tower held one thousand three hundred and twenty-seven scrolls of Union with the Dao insights.

Some others were too vast even for specially crafted jade books, so they were stored within the Heritage Hall.

In his view, the various divine arts, sword techniques, insights, miscellaneous records, and cultivation scriptures within the Xiang Jianzong's Transmission Tower were as countless as stars.

But Senior Du told him that if one spoke of the vastness and breadth of divine arts and cultivation scriptures, the Supreme Dao Sect's Ten Thousand Methods Tower stood first.

It was simply unimaginable.

Moreover, Senior Du had taken him to meet Senior Cheng, his future sect leader.

He had explained to him the matter of joining the Supreme Dao Sect.

Once Senior Du and the sect leader had settled the matters concerning the Xian Sect Grand Competition, he would accompany the sect leader to the Supreme Dao Sect and formally become a disciple!

During this time, all he needed to do was diligence in cultivation…

Soon, Li Ming's fatigue had lessened somewhat, and he opened his eyes again, about to open the jade book and continue reading, when he noticed a figure standing before him.

He was startled!

"Senior Xiang Jianzong." He rose at once to bow.

"Don't bother; just sit." Xu Xing waved his hand to stop him.

Then he sat down himself.

The surrounding white mist gathered and coalesced into a chair: "How is it? Have you decided?"

"Disciple intends to join the Supreme Dao Sect," Li Ming replied quickly.

"Good. Once you join the Supreme Dao Sect, you'll be able to participate in certain matters later."

Certain matters later?

Li Ming's heart stirred slightly, but he did not press further on this; instead, he asked about something else.

"May I ask, Senior, how is humanity faring in the Fuliu Realm now?"

This was the thing he had worried about most since arriving in the Xuan Realm.

"Humanity in the Fuliu Realm is thriving; rest assured," Xu Xing smiled. "When the third Return to Void disciple is born and takes your place, that young one may ascend here."

!

"By then, you may already have emerged from your Union with the Dao seclusion."

Is that so…

"Union with the Dao is no task to be accomplished overnight; disciple fears it will take considerable time."

"Believe in yourself. Have you heard of Yuan? He took little time to achieve Union with the Dao."

"How could disciple compare with Holy Emperor Yuan?" Li Ming smiled bitterly.

In the Fuliu Realm, he had believed his talent was top-tier.

But after arriving in the Xuan Realm, he finally understood what "countless geniuses of the world" truly meant.

A Soul Transformation cultivator at twenty-two…

He had never dreamed of anything so absurd—yet it had truly happened in the Xuan Realm.

And then there was Holy Emperor Yuan, who reached Return to Void at two hundred thirty-seven, Union with the Dao at six hundred, and then ascended to the Void Truth Realm at an unimaginable speed thereafter.

Though he did not reach Soul Transformation so early, he was the youngest in history to achieve Return to Void, Union with the Dao, Penetration of the Profound, and Void Truth.

The title "most brilliant person in a thousand years" carried not a drop of falsehood.

Some cultivators spend over a thousand years in seclusion to advance from Return to Void to Union with the Dao—yet Holy Emperor Yuan had already gone from Qi Condensation to Void Truth?

It was absurd beyond absurdity!

"Disciple only seeks to succeed in Union with the Dao."

Xu Xing shook his head slightly and changed the subject: "How is the nascent Heaven Core progressing?"

Li Ming's expression turned solemn: "The Supreme Void Manifesting World Contemplation Method you imparted is indeed profound, Senior. Using it to nurture the Heaven Core has yielded extraordinary results—and I have even gained insight into a Five Elements divine art."

He immediately withdrew a five-colored jade slip; its five hues rotated and resonated, embodying the principle of Five Elements generating one another, wondrous and creative.

"Good," Xu Xing glanced at it. "Keep it safe. You'll need it in the Supreme Dao Sect."

A prodigy who rose from the trials of a single realm, outshining countless beings, could never be ordinary.

Hearing this, Li Ming froze.

"You won't need it in the Xiang Jianzong—this divine art doesn't suit sword cultivators."

With that, Xu Xing rose and vanished without warning.

Only a calm voice echoed through the air:

"Before leaving the Xiang Jianzong, remember to visit the Heritage Hall."

"…"

Heritage Hall?

…………

One day later.

Xu Xing established a node of the Xuan Realm Network within the Xiang Jianzong and assisted Ning Ruo in testing it.

The result: all functions operated without anomaly.

After confirming this, he visited several other major Xian Sects: Jishi Valley, Shenji Lianbao Pavilion, Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect, Hehuan Sect...

Though he could have explained everything without going in person, some fellow cultivators he hadn't seen in a long time—he decided to visit them himself.

This took another full day, leaving only Taishang Daozong unnotified.

Xu himself always kept his word.

Dawn.

Night had not yet fully faded; faint starlight shimmered in the remnants.

Before the Xiang Jianzong's gate, dewdrops of Bai Shuang clung to leaves along both sides of the road, and their breaths were clearly visible.

"Fuu! Fuu!"

Chi Jiu Yu stood by the roadside, exhaling streams of white vapor through the gap where her grown-up front teeth had not yet emerged.

Zhao Ruohan beside her imitated her, exhaling as if in competition.

Not far from them, the head of Taishang Daozong, Cheng Junming, was instructing Li Ming on matters to observe upon returning to the sect—rules, discipline, and the like.

Catching sight of the two standing by the road exhaling like fish, his eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

Only a few days ago, his little uncle had been infected and turned abstract—what if the Ancestors saw this and gave him trouble when he returned?

And besides, that shameless Du Ruoheng was constantly troubled over being a disciple of the Xiang Jianzong—would he end up like that too?

With these thoughts stirring, Cheng Junming still went through every instruction he needed to give Li Ming.

"Do you have any unresolved questions?" he asked gently.

This was crucial to improving Taishang Daozong's culture!

We cultivators should strive for the peaks, fear no hardship or peril—why embrace this unorthodox "cautious cultivation" trend?

"Respectful Master, your disciple understands everything clearly."

"Don't be nervous; life within the sect is still quite easy to adapt to," Cheng Junming comforted him, then paused and added, "Of course, there are some minor issues within the current sect—you must absolutely not learn from them."

He wasn't actually worried Li Ming would be led astray.

After all, this was the Great Priest of the Fuliu Realm's human race—who had shouldered the survival of an entire species, standing alone against countless alien races without a single step back.

Had the Ancestors not strictly forbidden revealing details of "Ascension," he would have publicly promoted Li Ming's deeds.

Just look at how ashamed those young disciples practicing "cautious cultivation" should feel.

Sigh~

What a pity.

"Your disciple understands."

He was well aware that Taishang Daozong's disciples were cautious and meticulous.

Compared to Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect's body cultivators...

Cough! Cough!

In his view, it was still right for cultivators to be cautious.

When he once served as Great Priest of the human race, wasn't he himself careful, never daring to slacken?

Moreover, after this period of observation, he found many exaggerations on the Spirit Net—nothing could be fully trusted.

Even if they were a bit too cautious, how absurd could it possibly be?

Back in Fuliu Realm, he once encountered an alien Mid-Spirit Transformation cultivator who disguised himself as an early-stage one, had crafted three illusory bodies to confuse perception, and used only a false name in daily life.

Could Taishang Daozong's disciples possibly be more cautious than that alien Mid-Spirit Transformation cultivator?

"By the way, Master, your disciple was fortunate enough to gain the Xiang Jianzong's favor and received a method for nurturing a Dantian, along with a nascent Dantian form."

Li Ming took out the jade slip.

"During the nurturing of the Dantian, your disciple attained a divine technique, but the Xiang Jianzong said it was unsuitable for sword cultivators."

Not only Cheng Junming, but the two exhaling by the roadside also stopped and turned toward the jade slip. (End of Chapter)