Chapter 560: The Doubts Surrounding How

Actually, when she started learning talisman-making and realized her progress was excellent, Chi Jiuyu wanted to report it to Bie Xuening and show off a little.

But she thought it would be better if her master asked first, then she could reveal it herself, so she kept it bottled up.

Hehe!

Her master indeed asked.

Shoujia Jianzun: "Fine. When you get back, I'll improve your meals / smile"

Niti: "(;)!!"

Niti: "Then never mind… / afraid"

Niti: "Alright master, I'll eat first, then message you after!"

Shoujia Jianzun: "/smile"

Niti: "Master, this emoji's meaning isn't really friendly…"

Shoujia Jianzun: "I know."

Niti: "..."

After scaring Niti, Bie Xuening exited the chat interface with Chi Jiuyu and prepared to send a message to her other disciple.

But just then, she suddenly paused, lifting her eyes toward the entrance of the bamboo grove.

There walked in a woman with white gauze over her eyes, her figure light and graceful; her pale fingers gently brushed against the verdant bamboo stalks, and as she drew nearer, she raised her hand to catch a bamboo leaf drifting down on the wind.

Her soft aura blended perfectly with the quiet bamboo grove, yet this harmonious, beautiful scene did not cause Bie Xuening's gaze to linger.

She merely looked past her, frowned, then put down her phone.

Xiang Yuanjun's gaze lingered briefly on the bamboo hut, then quickly returned to Bie Xuening, a faint curve forming at her lips:

"This place is exactly as it was back then."

As she spoke, she stepped forward and sat on another bamboo chair beside the pond.

Seeing that she truly came alone…

"Where's my younger brother?"

When they left, my younger brother and she were together—why is she here alone now?

"Xiao Ke has something to ask him; he'll come shortly."

After explaining, Xiang Yuanjun looked toward the pond before her.

Because of the fish food Bie Xuening had just scattered, the previously listless fish now scrambled desperately, splashing water everywhere.

"The fish you're raising… seem rather hungry." She casually tossed in another handful of fish food, curious, "How often do you feed them?"

"Whenever I remember." Bie Xuening replied coolly.

"You're not raising fish at all…" Xiang Yuanjun shook her head slightly.

You're clearly abusing them!

After that remark, she dropped the subject and turned her gaze to Bie Xuening's back:

"I remember there should've been a lake in that direction."

Once, her tribe suffered disaster and was utterly destroyed.

At the critical moment, Dao Brother's master arrived with Dao Brother and Jianzun to rescue them, preserving only a few sparks of life.

Afterward, with nowhere else to go, she stayed for a while.

So upon arriving here, she immediately recognized that every detail had been arranged by Jianzun according to the original environment.

Nostalgic.

"There is one, but it's unnecessary."

Yet the reason she arranged the mountainside this way was merely to preserve a memory—why insist on exact replication in every detail?

Even if it resembled it closely, it's no longer the past.

Still, speaking of that lake back then…

"You really loved sneaking out to the lake at night."

At that time, Xiang Yuanjun's tribe had been annihilated, and she had just come to understand the cruel truth of the world, lost in confusion.

Added to that, Xiang Yuanjun's personality back then was actually quite awkward.

So she often wandered to the lake at night to sit and stare blankly; sometimes, while sitting, she would suddenly burst into tears…

Even now a famed True Immortal of Cause and Effect, she had once been nothing more than a simple little girl.

Xiang Yuanjun froze, then blurted out:

"How do you know?!"

"Why wouldn't I know?"

Bie Xuening, rare as it was, no longer wore a stern face, but looked at her with a faint smile.

"..."

Seeing her like this, Xiang Yuanjun felt uncertain.

What happened back then…

How much did Jianzun really know?!

"And Dao Brother… he probably doesn't know, right?" Xiang Yuanjun probed.

"He knows."

"?!"

Seeing her reaction, Bie Xuening was quite satisfied.

What happened back then…

Come to think of it, it was amusing—originally, Bie Xuening had disliked Xiang Yuanjun intensely for having bullied her younger brother.

But Xu Xing and Bie Xuening's master and Xiang Yuanjun's tribal leader were close friends.

Hong Zun fared better, quickly growing stronger after a series of upheavals.

So after recovering from his injuries, he resolutely chose to travel the continent, seeking ways to strengthen himself.

And Xiang Yuanjun remained behind.

Their master feared she might suffer psychological damage, so he arranged for Xu Xing and Bie Xuening to watch over her, to prevent any mishaps.

"Back then, my junior brother and I watched over you every night, afraid you might give up."

It was during this time that she discovered Xiang Yuanjun secretly hiding by the river at night, crying…

At first, she had even felt a touch of schadenfreude.

But later, seeing Xiang Yuanjun train diligently every day, she gradually began to feel sorry for her…

Come to think of it, the rift between my junior brother and Xiang Yuanjun gradually dissolved during this period—and it was I who initiated it…

Thinking of this, the faint smile on Bie Xuening's lips suddenly vanished.

I must've eaten too much back then, and my brain got swollen from it!

Xiang Yuanjun opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin.

She felt she was having a terrible day—she had merely come to the Xiang Jianzong as agreed, only to be exposed in Ji Yue's presence about her old secret feelings, and now she'd learned this piece of news too…

At that moment, a voice came from the entrance to the bamboo grove.

"Senior sister, Xiang Yuanjun."

There stood Xu Xing, who had somehow arrived at the entrance to the bamboo grove.

But after taking a few steps, he paused.

emm…

Why did it feel like both his senior sister and Xiang Yuanjun looked off?

Had they just argued?

It shouldn't have been that serious.

The thought flickered and vanished from his mind; he continued walking in, then asked casually:

"What were you two just talking about?"

Talking about…?

"Nothing. Just some past matters," Bie Xuening said coolly.

Xiang Yuanjun immediately added: "By the way, Xiao Ke just came to see Brother Dao for…?"

"Nothing much—just asking about the third batch of Ascension Envoys."

Seeing that neither seemed inclined to mention what they'd just discussed, Xu Xing simply went along with the change of topic.

Good—about the "World," he had something to say as well.

Arriving at the pond's edge, only two bamboo chairs sat beside it.

"Brother Dao, wouldn't you like to sit with me?" Xiang Yuanjun shifted slightly to one side.

"…No need."

Xu Xing took out his own bamboo chair and sat down by the pond.

"There's something I think I should tell you both."

Hm?

"While selecting the world for the third batch of Ascension Envoys, I noticed certain characteristics of the 'World.'"

Characteristics of the "World"?

Xu Xing continued:

"The 'World Will,' or the higher-level 'Hun Tian Yi,' is fundamentally bound to the World itself and cannot easily detach."

"It can interfere with the World only indirectly."

"Only when the World is damaged and its rules destabilized can it bypass the World itself and directly intervene within." During this time, he had observed countless worlds within the Chaos Sea while selecting the third batch of Ascension Envoys.

Yet no matter their strength or type, all worlds were like this—

Under stable conditions, the World Will or Hun Tian Yi could never directly interfere with the World!

Bie Xuening frowned slightly: "Heaven?"

"So Brother Dao means… the Xuan Realm once experienced rule destabilization?" Xiang Yuanjun added.

"Perhaps, but I cannot be certain."

The Xuan Realm has existed since time immemorial, transcending all things, unyielding and indestructible.

It encompasses all laws of the myriad heavens and radiates into countless, infinite worlds.

Ordinary worlds struggle to sustain even one He-Dao; even the strongest Earth Immortal Realm can barely accommodate one True Immortal.

But the Xuan Realm effortlessly holds over a dozen True Immortals—and has not even reached its limit. Its internal time flow nearly matches the main timeline of the Chaos Sea.

Moreover, during the war against the Cang Clan, we True Immortals and the Cang Clan's Ancestor unleashed our full power, shattering a small portion of the Central Continent.

Yet it caused not the slightest damage to the Xuan Realm itself.

And though the "Tai" died and became a vast starry region, that region is fundamentally part of the Xuan Realm—so how could there be any damage?

What kind of being could possibly destabilize the rules of such a Xuan Realm?

But if not this, how could "Heaven" have been born as the Cang Clan's Ancestor?

"Is the Earth Immortal Realm the same?"

Xiang Yuanjun's gaze fixed on a direction, as if piercing through the World and the boundless Chaos Sea to gaze upon the colossal world floating atop the endless Chaos Sea, constantly swallowing and exhaling boundless chaos.

In the Earth Immortal Realm, its Hun Tian Yi had also seized the essence of the Beast God and become the "Heavenly Immortal," had it not?

"Yes."

Previously, it was precisely because of the appearance of the 'Heavenly Will Immortal' of the Earth Immortal Realm that he mistakenly believed that as long as 'Heavenly Will harbors selfish intentions,' it could directly interfere within the realm.

In reality, that was not the case.

The situation of the Earth Immortal Realm was extremely special; it was originally two worlds whose energy levels had reached the limit of Tongxuan, which by chance collided into each other.

The result was not only that they did not perish, but instead merged and intertwined, leaping in one stroke past the hard-to-surmount upper limit of energy level, ultimately giving rise to the present-day Earth Immortal Realm.

The Heavenly Will of the Earth Immortal Realm also seized the gap during this period, planting anchor points on the cultivators within the realm and arranging a series of contingency measures.

Originally, the past years of the Earth Immortal Realm had been obscured by the Heavenly Will Immortal.

However, as the Heavenly Will Immortal perished, the influence it left behind gradually dissipated.

After Xu Xing returned to the Tai Xuan Realm and re-dispatched his sword-intent spirit body, assisting the Earth Immortal Realm's recovery while reviewing its past years, he only then discovered this point.

"……"

The three fell into silence.

If it really was like this……

Unless the Tai Xuan Realm truly was different, otherwise……

In exactly which period did 'Heaven' find the chance to descend and incarnate as the ancestor of the Cang race?

……

……

Another ten-odd days later.

Exactly one month had passed since the first batch of Ascension Envoys began executing their missions.

Apart from Gao Wuwang, who had just finished splitting the 'United Unified Consciousness Body' and was still forging bodies for the differentiated consciousness sub-bodies, the other Ascension Envoys had all completed their first mission.

Now, they were all thinking of ways to increase the settlement rewards for their second and third missions.

The best performer was Xiao Yu of the Taishang Dao Sect.

After purifying the World Will, because most of the Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators in that world had been killed off by him, the process of transmitting the Dharma went very smoothly.

After all, the cultivation system in the mission world he was in was influenced by the World Will, and every kind of inheritance carried enormous side effects.

Now that the 'True Dharma' had been transmitted down, apart from a small number of perverts who had been deeply influenced by their inheritances and had given free rein to their selves, the other cultivators who were striving to curb the side effects naturally could not refuse.

Next came Qi Ling of the Divine Mechanism Treasure Refining Pavilion, Lin Xingyue of the Longxiang Qingtianzong, Lin Ziyue of the Hehuan Sect, Zhou Kongming of the Xiang Jianzong, and finally Chen Xuanqing of the Ling Yin Fang.

This kind of mission, which was not a simple contest of combat power and divine abilities, was after all different from a pure competition when carried out.

And at this moment.

The time had also just arrived at the day before the second batch of Ascension Envoys set out to execute their missions.

At the same time, it was also the day the third batch of Ascension Envoys was loaded into the personal interface of the Tai Xuan Immortal Net.

Taishang Dao Sect.

On a lofty island, within an elegant little courtyard.

Chi Jiuyu pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard, her gaze looking somewhat vacant, so much so that she nearly missed her footing and tumbled.

After great difficulty reaching the stone table, she sat down and poured herself a cup of water, only then calming down.

Her mind stirred slightly, and she once again summoned her personal interface.

【Tai Xuan Immortal Net (Test Version)】

【Name: Chi Jiuyu】

【Age: 23】

【Realm: Early Soul Transformation】

【Profession: Sword Cultivator】

【Affiliation: Xiang Jianzong】

【Foundational Art: "Slaying-Destruction Sword Canon" (Supreme)】

【Divine Abilities, Arts, Swordsmanship: Grand Void Sword Dashing · Minor Mastery (Supreme), Grand Void False-Breaking Golden Pupils · Minor Mastery (Supreme), Slaying-Destruction Dharma Aspect (Supreme)……】

【Permission: Ascension Envoy · Type III (Not Yet Activated)】

【Auxiliary Module: None】

【Ascension Points: 0】

Personal interface……

"Hehe!"

Two days ago, when someone came to notify her, she still hadn't quite reacted; she hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise to be waiting for her!

Actually, she had long missed the feeling of cheating during the Xian Sect Grand Competition.

She could even fight Returning-to-Emptiness cultivators a bit!

"I wonder if this time it's still the same as last time……"

She still quite liked that thing called the Scales of Time!

As for being arranged in the third batch of Ascension Envoys……

She didn't really mind.

After all, she had only just reached Soul Transformation, it wasn't any particularly high realm, so not being in the first batch was normal.

However, in the third batch of Ascension Envoys there was actually no Little Zhao, only Little Ye……

Sigh~

As Little Zhao's good friend, she sincerely felt it was a pity for her.

Knock knock!

The sudden knocking interrupted Chi Jiuyu's lamentations.

She put away her personal interface, then called out toward the outside:

"Come right in, the door isn't locked!"

At this hour, the only one who could possibly come over was Little Zhao.

Sigh~

But according to this session's regulations, she couldn't reveal the news to anyone other than the Ascension Envoy...

Then how should she face her?

And so, the moment Zhao Ruohan pushed the door open and walked in, she found Chi Jiuyu looking at her with an expression that was both guilty and smug.

It made her hesitate to step forward for a moment.

Zhao Ruohan: "..."

So Chi Jiuyu actually knows how to feel guilty?

"You're here, Little Zhao!" Chi Jiuyu greeted her warmly.

"..."

Zhao Ruohan was silent for a second, turned around to close the door, then walked forward.

"You seem pretty happy today?"

"Huh?!"

Chi Jiuyu started, and to keep Little Zhao from spotting any flaw, immediately forced her expression to stay straight.

"Am I? I don't think so!"

"Yes, you are." (End of Chapter)