Chapter 580: The Choice of the Dao Union Threshold

Immediately, Xu Xing’s gaze swept across the entire Earth Immortal Realm, examining each of the Return to Void cultivators born after the alteration of time flow.

Solely considering the Return to Void realm, without regard to Dao Union.

Aside from a tiny few, each of their foundations could be called “solid.”

They were utterly unlike the watered-down Return to Void cultivators of the former Xuanxiang Realm.

Yet, precisely because their time flow had been altered, they had virtually no chance of advancing to Dao Union in the short term.

Dao Union is a uniquely peculiar “realm.”

Cultivators at this level are all masters of countless laws, bearing myriad Dao principles within their bodies.

They reshape heaven and earth as if it were trivial, possessing the power to shatter emptiness even on the indestructible, eternal Central Continent.

These are what are known as “Great Beings!”

The barrier to becoming a Great Being is exceedingly difficult.

Only beings who have endured prolonged time’s erosion and possess sufficient depth of life scale can merge with Dao, master countless laws, and achieve Great Being status!

Five hundred years in the Taixuan Realm!

This is the time required to achieve Dao Union!

Whether Xi Li or the other Return to Void cultivators within the Earth Immortal Realm, apart from Fu Mu and Jing Yao, all their cultivation occurred within the Earth Immortal Realm after its time flow was altered.

Naturally, their own life scales are “false.”

In other words, they cannot yet bear the weight of Dao Union.

In contrast, Xi Yun is entirely different.

He was a unique individual born from the fusion of “Xi” and “Xi Yun.”

Who is Xi?

The undisputed number one human of the Earth Immortal Realm.

One of the pioneers of cultivation, the first and only human in the Earth Immortal Realm to reach the Peak of Dongzhen!

He once clashed with the Beast God An, and even in defeat, he used the “anchor” planted by Heaven’s Will to burn away his own impurities, preserving a trace of Dao essence to protect humanity.

Broadly speaking, among the Dongzhen cultivators of the Taixuan Realm, few surpassed him.

Such a figure’s lingering Dao essence was naturally extraordinary.

It enabled Xi Yun to leap two realms and achieve Tongxuan.

Even the faint afterglow of Dao essence left behind after Heaven’s Will pierced him with a single finger was enough for Xi Yun to far outpace others, granting him a sliver of possibility for Dao Union despite the distorted time flow.

Of course, if Xi Yun were to advance to Dao Union solely through the lingering afterglow of Xi’s Dao essence, his future cultivation would be vastly more difficult than that of other cultivators.

Xi Yun himself had begun to sense this, which was why he lingered at the threshold of Dao Union, hesitating.

“A gentle reminder—let us see how he chooses…”

Advancing to Dao Union now would make further progress far more difficult later.

But to abandon such an opportunity to reach Dao Union would require immense resolve and courage.

Cultivation is not a game.

He reached this point because of the lingering Dao essence of Xi; to abandon it now and start over would entail no less hardship.

He might never regain this height again.

In a certain sense, the risk of “rejecting” is even greater than that of “accepting!”

The choice rests entirely with him.

At once, Xu Xing’s gaze left the Earth Immortal Realm and continued gazing into the distance.

Simultaneously, the sword-intent spiritual body seated deep within the Earth Immortal Realm quietly rose and walked toward the manifest world.

…

…

Earth Immortal Realm, Qianyang Dao Palace.

At the deepest heart of the Dao Palace, the secluded cultivation chamber of its master, crimson-gold energy flowed endlessly.

There floated silently a fiery sphere radiating boundless light and heat, resembling a blazing sun.

It was the artifact formed from Xi’s Dao essence manifesting, once housed in humanity’s sacred heritage site.

Though stripped of its Dao essence, it remained an extraordinary treasure, immensely beneficial to cultivators of Yang-affiliated Dao lines.

One hundred and thirteen years ago.

Facing humanity’s growing strength, the Beast God clan feigned surrender, fracturing humanity into two factions.

One faction, led by elder Return to Void cultivators such as Xi Li, Fu Mu, and Jing Yao, rejected surrender and insisted on continuing the war.

The other faction consisted of a few newer Return to Void cultivators, including Xi Yun.

They had not experienced the distant past and believed the casualties between the two races were already too great; they favored halting the war to recover.

Moreover, the collapse of the Dao Shi lineage left by the Avatar of Xuan had left Xi Yun heartbroken, and he himself no longer wished to fight.

Initially, the two sides held differing opinions but could still negotiate calmly.

Yet, under the Beast God clan’s provocation, friction grew between them, eventually erupting into open warfare.

In that battle, humanity’s sacred heritage site was shattered.

Xi Yun seized the artifact formed from Xi’s Dao essence, broke away from humanity’s original system, and founded the Qianyang Dao Palace.

The Beast God clan took advantage of humanity’s chaos to launch an attack, resulting in one Return to Void’s death, seven severely wounded, and countless lower-level cultivators lost.

Humanity in the Earth Immortal Realm suffered catastrophic losses.

This caused the long-overdue final battle to drag on for over a century…

Within the fiery sphere.

Flames surged endlessly within, streams of crimson-gold fire swirling from all directions, shimmering with radiant hues…

Upon the uppermost platform, a strange dais of interwoven flames and swirling firewaves rose.

Within it seemed to contain a thousand true flames and myriad sparks of fire.

Upon the dais sat a solitary figure.

He wore a golden-white cultivation robe embroidered with crimson-gold divine flame sigils.

Long hair fell over his shoulders, his eyebrows sharp as swords, his eyes bright as stars, a vivid crimson-gold vertical mark glowing clearly on his forehead.

Countless streams of fire circled him, as if guarding him.

From afar, he resembled the Lord of Flame, the Great Emperor of Ten Thousand Fires—unbearable to gaze upon directly.

He was none other than the master of the Qianyang Dao Palace, the current number one human of the Earth Immortal Realm—

Xi Yun!

At this moment, he held a jade book in his palm, his fingertips brushing over golden characters.

“Dao Union…”

Feeling the faint, hazy boundary, Xi Yun sighed softly within.

Closing the jade book, six bold characters appeared upon its surface—

The Dao Shi Xuanwei True Scripture

His eyes revealed a complex mixture of emotion.

Since gaining consciousness and beginning cultivation, he had never faced great setbacks.

Compared to others, his progress was not only faster—he had never encountered a true bottleneck.

Yet along this path, he carried two great regrets.

The first was one hundred and thirteen years ago, when his differing views with fellow cultivators led to humanity’s internal chaos.

Even after the final battle, when he stood alone against seven Beast God clan Return to Void cultivators, slaying four and nearly dying himself,

His guilt had not faded a single bit.

As for the other…

It was “Shi.”

His most cherished disciple, whose Dao heart was crystal-clear, whose talent was peerless in the world!

He had created the profound Dao Shi lineage while still young.

He knew when to advance and when to retreat, understood his true heart.

Without exaggeration, he surpassed Xi Yun himself in his prime!

Back then, Xi Yun had truly regarded him as his own son.

When he heard of Shi’s death, his heart was pierced like a knife.

Yet…

The Dao Shi lineage he founded later became a dagger thrust into humanity’s back, and Xi Yun himself had once nearly died.

He still could not forget that fleeting glimpse.

The figure seated at the infinite apex, as if the origin of all transcendence.

“Shi… is everything truly false…?”

Xi Yun’s heart was filled with bitter anguish.

When the Dao Shi lineage faltered, he had investigated Shi’s origins.

But he found nothing.

He did not want to, nor could he believe that all those past things were lies…

But at this very moment!

Huhu~

The flame waves guarding his sides suddenly surged, and a figure slowly emerged from the endless crimson-gold true flame ahead.

“Who?!!”

A warning stirred in his heart; all thoughts snapped into focus as he stared fixedly ahead, golden light flickering in his eyes.