Chapter 521: The First Dao-Attained One of the Tai Xuan Realm

At a glance, she seemed to tread lightly upon the "net."

This was a "calamity" capable of eroding the world, yet it could only powerless swirl around her.

Who is this…?

Yin Zhihe stared fixedly at that figure.

The longer her gaze lingered, the more a different sensation arose.

She realized that the figure was not standing upon the "net," but rather held every single "thread" of it in her hands.

Or rather, the entire "net" had been born from that figure's single thought.

Soon, as she instinctively struggled, countless images surged into her mind.

A vast stream of information battered her soul, slowing her thoughts to a crawl.

The images before her kept appearing: Ji Shi Valley, her master, her junior sisters, senior brothers, senior sisters, the confusion she faced while seeking the meaning of cultivation…

Until she received guidance from the Ancient Ancestor, awakened from her confusion, and stepped onto the true path…

The disbelief on her junior sister's face when she was killed by her own hand, her master's furious strike upon learning she had walked the true path…

Then her journey to the far side of the starry heavens, meeting many kindred "Dao companions"…

After years of cultivation, she reached the peak of Returning to Emptiness but made no further progress—until the Profound Ancestor took pity on her, and under the protection of many righteous Cang clan members, she successfully returned to the Four Directions Star Region and traveled all the way beyond the Central Continent…

During the return jump, her cultivation advanced, and Union with the Dao was within reach!

Every single event of her past life, every experience she had endured, now surged forth—all crystal clear before her eyes!

Of course!

Hadn't she just been in the return jump?

She… had been discovered!

Only now did she finally realize.

The instant she grasped this, the overwhelming stream of information that had battered her soul vanished entirely, and Yin Zhihe's thoughts resumed their smooth flow.

Then she glared fiercely at that figure, her eyes filled with venom:

"Ancient elder of the human race!"

The hatred in her voice could never be washed away, even by all the waters of the world.

Every thread here is a manifestation of her karmic residue—that's why the more she struggled, the tighter the bonds became.

This person can only be the ancient elder of the human race!

But why?

The Profound Ancestor had completely buried her past—how could this ancient elder of the human race still find her karmic traces?!

"Looking back upon your past, still no stirring within you?"

Seeing Yin Zhihe's eyes filled with venom, Xiang Yuanjun sighed gently.

"Hmph! How noble of you to say that—do you think this ancient elder will spare me?!"

"No." Xiang Yuanjun said calmly.

Her bloodline had been completely transformed; her body and soul were now those of the Cang clan. She had committed such mass slaughter in the past—how could she possibly be spared?

"Hahahaha! You ancient elder are surprisingly honest." Yin Zhihe gritted her teeth, silently communicating with Xuan, "Kill me if you must—stop your preaching!"

Xiang Yuanjun said nothing more, only gazed at her calmly.

Seeing this, Yin Zhihe had intended to mock further, but when her gaze met the white veil covering the figure's eyes, her heart suddenly chilled.

Uncontrollable panic surged forth.

Yin Zhihe realized: she was not looking at her—she was looking through her, toward a deeper, farther, more ethereal existence.

"Xuan, are you still not showing yourself now?"

The calm words made her tremble inside.

Discovered—this ancient elder of the human race had discovered… Xuan's…

Before her thought could finish, her mind froze utterly.

Her entire body was bound fast upon the "net" woven from karma and calamity, motionless—even the lingering venom in her eyes had not yet faded when they were covered by a deep, profound violet aura.

Unlike the color of Dao weapons or诡兽, this violet aura was ineffably mysterious, as if the very manifestation of the Dao, with all principles of law born within it.

The violet aura was elusive and unfathomable; at first only a thread rose, but in the blink of an eye, it filled the ten directions and encompassed all existence.

"At this point, does it matter whether I appear or not?"

With a soft sigh, the rolling violet aura drew inward.

Finally forming a sublime, incomprehensible being—as if embodying all the profound truths of the world.

Boundless radiant light illuminated this utterly empty void; the karmic threads woven into the net trembled continuously, even Xiang Yuanjun's heavy, profound calamity around her shook in response.

"I should have realized long ago that you all have been cultivating the Central Continent until…"

Zzzz~!

A clear, resonant sword cry cut off what He was about to say.

A single thread of swordlight slashed forth from an unfathomable place, like the first fire of dawn piercing endless night.

A mighty, unrivaled fist imprint followed, a colossal hammer striking, flames of chaos forged within an ancient cauldron rising, a hand woven with myriad laws seizing downward.

Crimson robes fluttered, a finger as white as jade struck down, guarded by "Dao" and "Principle."

The fingertip plucked a lute string, its clear, ringing notes echoing endlessly.

A single thread of pure, flawless swordlight, wrapped in a chilling killing intent that extinguished Qi and annihilated spirits, pierced straight toward the origin.

Xuan: "..."

Feeling the doubts in her soul being continuously severed yet reborn, He was finally at a loss for words.

How many years have passed—and still, these human cultivators remain just like this.

Aah~

Even as He sighed softly within His heart.

A manifestation formed from that primordial essence shattered completely under the combined strike of the Immortals!

In the end, only a faint, almost imperceptible strand of purple qi drifted away, falling into a hand that had reached out from nowhere.

A figure appeared without warning, holding in hand a longsword entirely crimson in hue.

It was Xu Xing!

Lightly landing beside Xiang Yuanjun, Xu Xing opened his palm, gazing at the impossibly faint strand of purple qi within.

"We meet again, Xuan."

"..." The purple qi fell silent for a moment. "I finally understand how you were wounded the last time."

These human True Immortals... "They're somewhat different." Xu Xing chuckled lightly, then said seriously, "Last time, all thirteen of us were present. Didn't He tell you?"

"..."

Another silence followed.

"Karma forms threads; calamity weaves a net... but this is merely the framework. You all must have participated."

If you still don't understand now, you might as well just wait to die.

"Correct." Xu Xing made no denial.

After going through immense hardship to drive the Cang race out of the Central Continent, how could they not have prepared for a counterattack?

The far side of the starry heavens, occupied with sealing Hun Tian Yi, was too distant to reach—but the Central Continent, now the human race's stronghold, had long been fortified beyond penetration.

Over these years, Xiang Yuanjun traveled the entire Central Continent, dissolving his own calamity while using karma as the core and calamity as the framework, aided by the combined power of every True Immortal on the continent, constructing an impenetrable defense.

Any Cang race member, or any human whose bloodline had been altered, attempting to enter the Central Continent from outside would be detected instantly.

Only high-level cultivators stationed at the front lines, of Tongxuan rank or higher, knew of this.

Precisely because of this, even though they knew a traitorous human had infiltrated, the high-level cultivators of Tongxuan rank and above paid it little mind.

Compared to the Central Continent, they placed greater emphasis on defending the starry heavens.

After all, the Central Continent could never fall—but the starry heavens were different.

"When we fell out of Tai Xuan Realm, you must have passed through the Central Continent. Didn't you notice?"

"... I had no spare strength."

Understanding the full context, Xuan did not withhold his answer.

At that time, though He had orchestrated the expulsion of Xu Xing and the others and breached the Central Continent, He truly had not a single ounce of spare strength left.

Hun Tian Yi's weight made its removal difficult enough; add to that the resistance of human True Immortals.

Thus, the moment He entered the Central Continent, He headed straight for the location of 'Hun Tian Yi'—how could He dare waste even an instant observing?

"I see."

Xu Xing nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Yin Zhihe, bound within the net of karma and calamity.

She had regained consciousness, but her thoughts remained stuck in the past, unaware of what had transpired.

"Gu's deception was indeed masterful, but since she's about to die, why not tell her the truth?"

"A lowly Cang race youth on the verge of death—what difference does it make whether she knows or not?"

"You truly believe she is Cang?"

"Body and soul alike—she is."

Indeed, Yin Zhihe was moved to tears by this calm statement.

"Though you, the Original Ancestor, recognize her, there are surely few among the Cang race who think as you do," Xiang Yuanjun said, shaking his head slightly.

Xuan cared nothing for the past—but such a traitor who abandoned his own race and altered his bloodline...

How could such a one be accepted by those proud, haughty Cang?

"It doesn't matter. If I recognize her, that is enough." After a pause, Xuan added, "Moreover, I am not the Original Ancestor of the Cang race."

Xiang Yuanjun froze:

"Hm?"

"It was Gu," Xu Xing blurted out.

"Correct."

If He had existed before Gu, then Gu's dominion over 'the Past' could not have been complete.

Thus, in the distant Primordial Era, Gu was the first to attain Dao in Tai Xuan Realm.

"Hard to imagine."

As the first to attain Dao in Tai Xuan Realm, Gu's every action was truly...

"Hah."

Xuan said no more, chuckled softly, and the faint strand of purple qi in his palm vanished.

Though this attempt failed, it confirmed that the combined power of the Immortals now covered the Central Continent—no stealthy infiltration possible.

Thus, some of His plans would need revision.

As Xuan's one strand of primordial essence was utterly annihilated.

Xu Xing finally turned his full attention to Yin Zhihe.

One glance, and all her thoughts were laid bare before Xu Xing.

Environmentalist?

Selfish humans, selfless Cang?

And there is the one who willingly transformed into the starry sky to benefit all living beings—the "Tai"…

Xu Xing: "…"

He was so "willing."

It seems that even after all these years, even though Tai is long dead, Gu's resentment toward Him has not faded.

"Before you die, I'll give you a cultivation technique."

As Xu Xing spoke, Yin Zhihe's mind suddenly filled with a technique—tears streaming down her face—

The Pastoral Spirit, Nourish Myself Scripture!

As a former prodigy of the Ji Shi Valley, who had learned countless methods across the other side of the starry sky and reached the Return to Void realm, Yin Zhihe's discernment far surpassed that of the early Qi Condensation Xiao Fan.

Merely skimming through it once, she understood its true meaning.

Pastoralize the spirits of all beings, offer them to nourish oneself!

And… this is a Cang Clan technique; other races cannot cultivate it.

Cang Clan…

Pastoralize the spirits of all beings?

"Hmph!" Yin Zhihe glared coldly at Xu Xing. "Hypocritical, despicable old immortal."

He actually fabricated such a technique to frame the selfless Cang Clan. (End of Chapter)