Chapter 609: The New

"Did that elder come to this world because of your great enemy?"

"Yes, because of Him." Xu Xing replied bluntly, "More precisely, because of His kind."

"Like the Beast God Clan?"

"There are similarities."

The Beast God Clan was the enemy race of the human race in the Earth Immortal Realm; the Cang Clan was the enemy race of the human race in the Xuan Realm.

And both had once been the absolute rulers of the cosmos for a time.

As for the differences:

Although the Beast God Clan dominated the Earth Immortal Realm for a hundred thousand years, that occurred only after Beast God An overcame Xi and was assimilated by Hun Tian Yi, becoming Hun Tian Yi Immortal.

Before that, the Beast God Clan and the human race were both dominant races in the Earth Immortal Realm.

But the Cang Clan…

Since their birth, they have been the sole ruling race of the Xuan Realm!

"As for more related matters, they are not something you should know yet."

This is not something you should know.

Xu Xing expressed it in a relatively gentle way.

"Any other questions?"

"..." Xi Li paused, then slightly shook her head, "None."

Some answers she sought did not need to be asked—she had already understood them from the earlier conversation.

As for the rest…

Since she had decided to ascend, it was better to witness them herself—only then would the answers hold true meaning.

Hearing this, Xu Xing said no more.

Just as he had appeared, he vanished again without warning.

Xi Li froze, a flicker of astonishment passing through her eyes.

In truth, besides asking a few questions, she had wanted to say something else…

The elder left too abruptly.

And though she had witnessed the entire scene, she had not noticed at all how the elder departed.

It had been the same when she first met the elder.

Nearly two thousand years have passed; she had thought their gap might have narrowed.

But now, even though she had become one of the topmost Reversing Void cultivators in the Earth Immortal Realm, the distance between her and the elder remained immeasurable…

With a helpless smile, Xi Li turned back to gaze into the distance; the rainbow refracted by ice crystals reflected in her ice-blue, clear eyes.

"I never expected to meet the elder under such circumstances…"

Though many years had passed, legends of the "Master Jianzu" still circulated throughout the Earth Immortal Realm.

Many knew that it was a being called the "Master Jianzu" who appeared in the Earth Immortal Realm and brought hope to its human race.

The "Jie Fa Bi Tiangong," which played a decisive role during the human race's period of concealment, continued to exert immense influence even during the subsequent war.

Yet there was one thing about the Master Jianzu that only she knew.

"Xu Xing…"

That was the Master Jianzu's true name.

When she and her brother were cornered by a Beast God Clan hunting party, the elder rescued them from those pursuers.

At that time, he had said his name was "Xu Xing."

She had assumed it was common knowledge, only later realizing everyone knew only his honorific title.

When compiling the chronicles of the Earth Immortal Realm, she had hesitated for a time, but ultimately chose not to reveal it.

Even she herself did not know why…

Xi Li gazed across the entire Cold Moon Jiangong, her thoughts drifting farther and farther away.

Perhaps it was because she had seen again the one who once gave her hope,

from the time when she and her brother had barely enough to eat, fleeing for their lives every day,

to the hardships she endured after beginning cultivation, the difficulties she had overcome along the way.

Scenes from the past kept rising before her eyes.

Two thousand years of memories condensed into a quiet sigh in her heart.

Compared to the vast majority of people in this world, she had already been fortunate…

"Immortal Realm…" Xi Li whispered softly.

What kind of world was it?

…

…

The next morning.

Though the pale gray of the distant sky had not yet fully faded, a streak of light like a flaming meteor pierced the heavens.

Soon after, several more beams of light trailing fiery tails converged from all directions, joining the first to head toward a rift valley.

Though the night's darkness had not yet vanished and dawn's light remained faint,

on both sides of the rift valley's entrance stood rows of Cold Moon Jiangong disciples clad in blue-and-white martial attire.

Because their path leaned toward "Yin," their swirling magic power resonated, coating the ground and vegetation around the rift with a thin layer of frost.

Beyond that, no other decorations were present.

This was not because the Cold Moon Jiangong undervalued this event.

Rather...

Who told the Palace Master to suddenly move up the date of ascension?

They had clearly still been at the discussion stage, but yesterday she suddenly announced she would ascend the very next day…

Half a day's time — even if they forced it, all they could throw together were some token decorations, and it would be a huge drain of effort.

So they simply skipped all this formalism.

Moreover, cultivators pursue the Dao of Heaven and Earth; as the saying goes, cultivation is nothing more than clarity, stillness, and naturalness — not doing any extra decorations perfectly aligns with the true meaning of cultivation!

Exactly!

That's right!

The Cold Moon Jiangong members flanking both sides of the rift's entrance kept consoling themselves with these thoughts, watching those few streaks of flowing light cutting across the sky.

Very soon, the one that looked like a blazing meteor arrived near the rift first.

Boom—!

The firelight struck the ground, rolling waves of heat surged out in all directions, and the thin layer of frost around the rift's entrance instantly melted.

Misty vapor rose, and the coolness of the early morning was swept away in an instant!

The newcomer wore a long gown of gold and white, its hem very long.

Now, as she stepped out from the drifting embers, the hem slowly fell from the air, like a swaying golden flame.

It was Fu Mu.