Chapter 484: More 'Heavenly Dao' Than the 'Heavenly Dao' Itself

Perfect Golden Core, a full minor realm higher than Zhang Yunlu's current cultivation.

But since he is Huo's disciple...

... that's only natural.

Ba Zun: "Progress is fast, but Huo's methods of teaching disciples are still a bit extreme."

Ba Zun: "In my view, that junior's temperament has grown somewhat gloomy and shadowed now. If he keeps cultivating like this, I'm afraid it won't bode well for the tribulation of merging with the Dao."

But after all, this was a matter between master and disciple, and he couldn't very well interfere rashly.

Besides, perhaps Huo had other arrangements in mind?

After all these years, this fellow who wandered about everywhere had finally taken on a disciple — surely he couldn't be completely unconcerned, could he?

Ba Zun: "Forget it, forget it, let's not bring this up /shrug"

The matter Huo had entrusted him to inquire about had already been asked.

Later he would tell him truthfully, and when the second batch of Ascension Envoys departed, he would simply include that disciple of his among them.

Emm...

Speaking of which, wasn't there still a group chat?

Why didn't he ask there?

Could it be that he discovered something...?

It shouldn't come to that!

Ba Zun: "Oh right, since the Xian Sect Grand Competition has ended, that little Bie Xuening of yours should have already gone into closed-door cultivation, right?"

Master Jianzu: "Mm, she just left /sigh"

Xiang Yuanjun: "Once she goes this time, we don't know how many years will pass before we can meet again."

How much time did the Immortal-Gate Knocking actually require?

No one could say for certain on this point.

The group fell silent for quite a while.

Master Mei Zu: "Speaking of which, now that the Grand Competition is over, when will you come visit me again, Dao Brother?"

Master Mei Zu: "/shy"

Master Jianzun: "/punch you to death"

Master Mei Zu: "/little yellow duck clutches chest and collapses"

Master Jianzun: "You f***ing *!"

Xiang Yuanjun: "..."

Master Mei Zu: "We are all people of quality, we mustn't use foul language /adjusts glasses"

Master Jianzun: "Who's using foul language? It's you with your low quality thinking dirty thoughts"

Master Jianzun: "/points finger"

That's right, what Bie Xuening sent was the * symbol.

Master Mei Zu: "/me and my little yellow duck are both stunned"

Master Jianzun: "Stolen picture *"

The little yellow duck was clearly her exclusive emoji — it was all thanks to this shameless one who stole the picture every day!

The Xiang Jianzong's Grand Hall.

Having lurked in the group chat for a while, Xu Xing exited the Group Chat Realm interface and put away his phone.

Raising his head to look ahead, a sphere the size of a thumb suddenly appeared before him, countless streams of light and shadow flowing within it.

It was the Profound Manifestation Realm!

The world's crystalline barrier system, capable of withstanding the erosion of Primordial Chaos aura, could not block his gaze at all—the light from his pupils pierced through, reflecting every scene within the realm that contained 'past and future.'

Because the influence left by Xuan had been exorcised, and the 'Mu Ling' Dao lineage had been extracted, causing the original 'Heavenly Orbit Spirit-Drawing System' to collapse.

Without a doubt, the impact on all living beings within the realm was enormous.

First and foremost were the Sandazheng Sect led by the Tian Ling Sect, as well as great demonic sects like the Blood Vajra Monastery and the Blazing Prison Mo Sect.

After all, the vast majority of those Return-to-Void cultivators whose realms had plummeted were wiped out by Mu Yong, who had obtained the Water-Commanding Divine Throne.

It was still the same saying.

Though education could dissolve evil deeds, Mu Yong acknowledged he didn't have that kind of ability, so he simply used the most straightforward method.

However, perhaps because he still had reservations about this batch of contestants, he spared Sheng Qingqing's life, merely sealing her cultivation with divine power...

Anyway, opportunities were plentiful; there was no need to take risks for now.

After that, Mu Yong used thunderous means to suppress all dissent within the Tian Ling Sect...

Actually... it was easy to say, but the resistance he encountered was in fact very limited.

The few who had been completely brainwashed had realms hovering only around Qi Refining, and their resistance was utterly meaningless.

Just like that, in only half a day's time, he had successfully taken over the entire Tian Ling Sect.

At a single word, none dared disobey!

The Tian Ling Sect was officially renamed the 'Water-Commanding Divine Court,' abolishing the old Sprout-Leaf-Fruit system and instead establishing an entirely new 'Merit and Contribution' system based on the information he had obtained from the Water-Commanding Origin Emperor Seal.

Through acts that benefited the world — relieving the distressed, aiding the suffering, saving the people, punishing evil and promoting good — one earned contributions to exchange for cultivation resources.

Those of both virtue and merit could even ascend to the Divine Throne of Longevity and wield the authority of the Water attribute.

Of course, this 'Divine Throne' was merely the bait he had thrown out.

The twists and turns of this divine Dao system were things he himself hadn't yet figured out — how could he possibly lightly bestow Divine Thrones upon others!

Seeing this, Xu Xing nodded slightly.

"It makes sense."

Mu Yong choosing this path surprised him not at all.

After all, although the 'Heavenly Orbit Soul Extraction System' had collapsed, its effects could not be erased overnight.

As the saying goes, 'The world changes easily, but human nature is hard to alter'—this is precisely what it means.

Moreover, even Mu Yong's actions alone had already left former Heavenly Spirit Sect disciples struggling to comprehend.

Open up cultivation resources, stop draining cultivators' progress daily, and now you want to help the suffering and punish evil while promoting good?

Didn't someone kick him in the head with a donkey?

Many who had been exploited, who were mere 'consumables,' now faced a situation benefiting them, yet their hearts held more mockery than joy.

Some even secretly thought Mu Yong was the greatest fool on earth.

Fortunately, Mu Yong himself didn't care much.

In his 'past-life memories,' he had once built a sizable force to study the Heavenly Orbit, so he had long anticipated this.

He knew clearly that the overwhelming majority of people were 'common folk' who wanted to rise above others; pure idealists were exceedingly rare.

So, compared to these…

Mu Yong cared more about how much merit he had gained and how much evil he had purged.

Merit. Evil.

These two mattered most—they determined whether the Divine Position would remain on him.

Yet what pained him was that all this upheaval—changing systems, altering doctrines—

Had increased his merit considerably, yet only reduced his evil by a fraction…

And it was still reducing by fractions of fractions?!

How many years or decades would it take to fully purge these seven points of evil?

"Merit is hard to gain; evil is even harder to erase… you've got your work cut out for you."

Xu Xing watched the behavior of the Divine Position holders and let out a faint laugh.

Not just Mu Yong—except for the Divine Position holder in the mortal realm of Xuanxiang Realm, the other temporary Divine Position holders were in the same situation.

This was only the beginning.

Later, they would realize that not only was evil hard to erase, but merit was no easier to obtain.

"This should gradually turn the world around."

Though their minds still clung to old ways, the Divine Dao's restrictions forced them to focus on increasing merit to stabilize their Divine Positions.

In essence, it was still the same old 'bribery' tactic.

If merit is insufficient and evil unerased, the Divine Position will slip away!

Xu Xing raised his hand and took the quietly hovering Xuanxiang Realm before him.

He stared into it for a long while, then clenched his five fingers and gently tossed it forward.

A visible ripple stirred the void; the tossed Xuanxiang Realm sank into it and vanished.

Outside the Tai Xuan Realm, the Vast Chaos Sea.

A pellet-sized sphere fell from the highest heights, its size swelling as it plummeted.

Soon, it crashed into the Chaos Sea, stirring vast waves of chaos.

Finally, the sphere settled motionless within the 'force' of a Realm at the Return-to-Void energy level.

Not long after the Xuanxiang Realm successfully landed in the Chaos Sea,

A crystal-clear, perfectly round, peculiar world rolled through the chaotic qi and drew near the Xuanxiang Realm.

The Three Heaven Realm!

Previously, the Dan Ancestor had refined it once to retrieve the trial participants, and that very opportunity granted it the ability to traverse Chaos.

…………

Tai Xuan Realm, Central Continent.

Nighttime, Xiang Jianzong Inner Sect, Sect Master's Office.

As the door opened soundlessly, a figure stepped in.

The lights turned on automatically—the visitor was none other than Du Ruoheng, the Xiang Jianzong Sect Master, who had just finished handling the Grand Xian Sect Competition's affairs!

He walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window, stopped, and gazed into the distance.

Lanterns glowed like a river of stars; streams of swordlight crisscrossed, magical devices patrolled back and forth, and they even caught a few drunken sword-fliers…

╮（﹀_﹀）╭

This always happened after every Grand Xian Sect Competition—nothing unusual.

Usually gamblers who drank to drown their losses or celebrate wins; some were competitors themselves…

Cough!

Back to the topic.

As the largest Xian Sect in the Tai Xuan Realm, the Xiang Jianzong governed an immense territory.

Naturally, its Sect Master was buried in affairs daily, busier than… well, you know.

There were already enough tasks; now there were matters beyond the world too…

Though merging with the Dao won't kill you outright, you can't use it like this!

Du Ruoheng grumbled to himself for a while, then left the window and sat down in the chair behind his desk.

He pulled from his drawer several chunks of metal, gleaming with cold light, extremely hard yet brittle.

He placed them into a specially made bag, gripped it tightly, then suddenly exerted force.

Crack~!

Crack~!

Amid the crisp sounds, he felt that the fatigue accumulated over the day from his seven thousand Sword Intent spiritual bodies had all been soothed.

This was one of his personal little hobbies.

Half a minute later.

"Hoo~"

Letting out a satisfied breath, he tossed the bag, which now contained only some iron filings, back into the drawer.

Done!

Time to go check on that world.

Sitting up slightly straighter, Du Ruoheng said in a deep voice: "Activate the Grand Mystic Immortal Net!"

His voice echoed in the spacious room.

Very quickly, a cold mechanical voice replied to him.

【Secondary-level authority detected】

【Identity confirmed — Xiang Jianzong Sect Master Du Ruoheng】

"Visualized operation," Du Ruoheng said again.

Hum~

A pale blue semi-transparent screen appeared before him.

【Name: Du Ruoheng (Xiang Jianzong Sect Master)】

【Currently accessible world: Mystic Phase Realm】

【Authority: Real-time projection of conditions within the realm, adjustment of difficulty for obtaining Divine Way merit, adjustment of difficulty for dissolving Divine Way demerits, adjustment of Divine Seat authority, adjustment of world rules (minor), alteration of cultivation constants……】

Compared to the contestants' personal panels during the Grand Competition, the authority panel before him was somewhat different.

Especially the authority column — it listed densely packed several hundred items, and each item, when clicked, would reveal hundreds or thousands of sub-items.

From the difficulty of autonomous cultivation by beings within the realm, to the various rules of the world itself…… it encompassed virtually everything about the Mystic Phase Realm.

In other words, through the Grand Mystic Immortal Net, he could monitor and adjust everything in the Mystic Phase Realm in real time.

For example, under the cultivation constants item, there was a sub-item called 'Adjustment of Difficulty for Inhaling Fire-Attribute Spiritual Qi'.

To give an example: originally, within the Mystic Phase Realm, the constant for cultivators inhaling fire-attribute spiritual qi was '1', but he changed it to '2'.

Then the cultivation difficulty for all fire-attribute cultivators within the Mystic Phase Realm would instantly skyrocket to a level where entering the Dao was nearly impossible.

In a certain sense, this was even more 'Heavenly Dao' than a world's 'Heavenly Dao' itself.

After all, the thing called 'Heavenly Dao' merely exists objectively, and has no autonomous consciousness……

"How interesting……"

Although the Mystic Phase Realm itself was only a world of the Return-to-Void energy level, such fine-grained operation was something even those at the Dao-Unification level could not accomplish.

It would probably require cultivators at the Tongxuan level to barely manage it……

But even Tongxuan could only perform fine-grained adjustments on single or a few rules.

Something like this, touching upon every aspect of a world, encompassing all things without harming the world itself — it absolutely required someone at the 'Penetrating the True' Cave-True Realm!

His thoughts racing, Du Ruoheng immediately said: "Connect consciousness."

He had already realized that, by carefully observing the principles within, it might help his future cultivation!

See, didn't I say so!

The ancestors were far-sighted; every move they made had its profound meaning — how could they possibly treat them purely as 'workhorses'?

【Activating Tongxuan-level power network……】

【Consciousness projection generating……】

As the text on the panel gradually appeared, the wisp of mind Du Ruoheng had voluntarily released was drawn by a force from the unseen, drifting toward the outside of the realm.

Less than one microsecond.

The various scenes within the Mystic Phase Realm had already presented themselves before that wisp of mind he had released

……

……

Just as Du Ruoheng was attempting to activate the authority functions of the Grand Mystic Immortal Net.

On the other side, the Xiang Jianzong's Outer Gate.

More precisely, the Xiang Jianzong Outer Gate cafeteria.

Beside a magical artifact shuttle, Ye Zhiwei and Nangong Ruo were helping the dazed Zhao Ruohan into the shuttle and seating her properly.

Only then did they turn to look at Zhang Yunlu and the other two not far away.

"We'll handle things here. No problems on your end, right?"

Zhang Yunlu glanced at Chi Jiuyu beside her, who was waving her arms and repeatedly shouting 'I'm not drunk'.

"Ye Shijie, Master is here."

"Master!"

Chi Jiuyu instantly snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight.

But her center of gravity was clearly somewhat unsteady, and she fell straight forward just like that.

Fortunately, she and Lin Xuanxuan were quick-eyed and quick-handed, reaching out to catch her.

Only then did Zhang Yunlu turn back to look at Ye Zhiwei and Nangong Ruo: "No problem."

"……"

That doesn't look like 'no problem'……

"Well then… we'll head off first. Contact us anytime if anything comes up."

This is the Xiang Jianzong after all, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Ye Zhiwei put away the phone that was still recording and stepped into the flying shuttle.

Soon, the flying shuttle started up and shot toward the dormitory the Xiang Jianzong's inner gate had arranged for the contestants.

Watching the flying shuttle go off into the distance, Lin Xuanxuan steadied Chi Jiuyu and helped her stand firm.

"Little Zhang, should we wait for another one?"

There are so many people right now, and Ye Shijie Jiuyu has been handing out drinks here the whole time…

Ahem!

"No need." Zhang Yunlu shook her head slightly. "I'll just take Ye Shijie up directly."

"But carrying people on a sword is illegal, isn't it?"

"It's fine, I have a commercial license for carrying passengers on a sword."

"?" Lin Xuanxuan was stunned. "Why did you even take that thing?"

"While I was recovering from injuries after a mission, I had nothing to do, so I took it."

Lin Xuanxuan: "…"

Does that even make sense? (End of chapter)