Chapter 618: The Realm of Earth Immortals and the Realm of Seeking the Abyss

However, understanding this did not lead Xuan to abandon the idea of helping 'Heaven' return from its silence, nor had it ever considered slowing down His revival.

After all, the Cang race ultimately relies on 'Heaven' to maintain 'Heaven's Favor'.

On the other hand, this would also serve well in restraining the several True Immortals who hold back the human race.

Yet the events within Ancient Taixuan Heaven made Xuan realize He must be kept in check!

After a pause, Xuan spoke slowly:

"Arrange it so that all who have reached Union with the Dao leave here as soon as possible—I will meet them and guide them to the outside world."

After this incident, Ancient Taixuan Heaven is no longer safe.

Better to transfer the Cang race above Union with the Dao ahead of time to the far side of the starry void, letting them adapt early to the war between the two races.

Moreover, a change of environment might even grant them new insights into the method of 'Building the Heavenly Pass'.

"..."

Gu fell silent for a while, then slowly nodded.

"Alright."

For now, there was nothing else to do but follow Xuan’s advice.

Xuan was about to say more when he suddenly paused.

His purple eyes reflected an infinite, profound cosmic space, where a twisted, shifting shadow constantly writhed.

It was the front line of the starry battlefield.

Soon, a flicker of confusion passed through His eyes.

Gu also noticed Xuan’s unusual demeanor and grew puzzled.

"What’s wrong?"

"..."

Xuan gave Him a cold glance.

"Nothing."

He turned and walked away without another word.

According to that human Immortal’s words—

'Heaven' appeared in Ancient Taixuan Heaven merely to find an opportunity when He was not paying attention, so He could meet Gu.

It sounded like a rumor fabricated by the human race to sow discord; logically, He should not believe it.

But if it were Gu...

Never mind.

The deed was already done; He had no desire to say anything further over such matters.

Better to spend that time on matters of real importance!

Gu sat high upon His throne, watching Xuan walk out through the breach in the hall—He had truly wanted to ask what had happened...

But in the end, He held back, watching silently as Xuan vanished from the world after leaving the hall.

I hope...

It’s not something bad.

With a quiet sigh, Gu gently stroked the seven-colored orbs on either armrest.

Thin strands of seven-colored divine radiance trembled, flowing toward the breach at the hall’s front, slowly filling it—the gaping wound across the hall began to heal at a visible pace...

Through the closing breach, Gu gazed upward.

There, in the washed-blue sky, a faint red line was etched—so thin that unless observed closely, its shape was nearly invisible.

Rooted in the world, impossible to remove.

Soon, the breach in the hall was fully sealed.

Gu rose from His black throne, transforming into a thread of seven-colored divine radiance, vanishing from within the hall.

The Sword Ancestor’s strike not only severed countless possibilities within Ancient Taixuan Heaven, fixing it as singular and unchanging.

It also affected, to some degree, His method of observing the present from the 'past,' since Ancient Taixuan Heaven was itself part of the 'past.'

He must quickly mend this flaw, so He may continue searching the central continent of the present for suitable humans.

More action invites more mistakes—better to do what He excels at...

The Sword Ancestor and others seem to have a 'Ascension Plan.'

Selecting suitable humans from outside the realm, using special means to grant them recognition from Taixuan Realm, allowing them to achieve Union with the Dao within Taixuan Realm, thereby increasing the 'world weight' held by the human race.

The humans of Taixuan Realm are irrelevant.

But those ascended from outside the realm may not hold deep allegiance to the humans of Taixuan Realm.

There should be room for manipulation here.

In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed since Xu Xing planted his anchor in Ancient Taixuan Heaven.

During this time, the 'Immortal Sect Special Recruitment' officially ended.

Ye Zhiwei, the Creation Foundation Establishment, did not receive the highest rating in the final 'Three Dharma Gates,' but her overall score was decisively superior.

In the end, she chose to join the Sword-Bearing Hall as a probationary disciple.

Gu Wangjun, who also participated in the 'Immortal Sect Special Recruitment' and possessed the external aid of 'Ring Grandpa' Leng Rou, failed his assessment midway but finally broke through to Qi Refining Ninth Layer upon returning to Yuyao Star.

Though insignificant among the many participants of the 'Immortal Sect Special Recruitment.'

Yet in Yuyao Star, this was already remarkable—Gu Wangjun even became a role model for many young cultivators on the star.

Commonly called 'that other person’s child.'

His outstanding performance earned him application opportunities from both the 'Pure Moon' and 'Seeking Truth' factions.

If possible, he wished to join both...

But the rivalry between the two was obvious to anyone—choosing one meant rejecting the other.

After careful deliberation and consulting Leng Rou’s opinion, Gu Wangjun ultimately applied to 'Pure Moon,' which offered fewer resources but far more lenient restrictions.

On another front.

The mission of the second batch of Ascension Envoys was nearing its end.

Among them, Xiao Fan was the first to complete his mission and choose to settle his evaluation.

His ascension task was to exorcise ghosts and banish deities, then restore the transcendent order according to his true heart.

Yet after learning the details, he adopted a far simpler, more brutal method:

Destroy the ghosts, slay the gods!

He single-handedly eradicated all restrictions imposed by the Divine Path upon cultivators.

He also wiped out every ghost, deity, demon, and monster in the world—only human cultivators escaped unscathed.

Xiao Fan thus restored the twisted world through absolute, ruthless force!

One might say he had plowed the entire world clean.

Due to his extreme methods, his mission evaluation was not high.

He completed three tasks, yet saw only the words 'Follow Your True Heart'—how could his evaluation be high?

Still, Huo himself was quite satisfied...

Then came Zhang Yunlu, Zhao Ruohan, Lin Changsheng, and others—all found their own solutions and completed their respective tasks.

Their evaluations varied in quality, but all were better than Xiao Fan’s.

Yuanzhen Realm, Cosmic Sea.

Seated calmly atop a great universe, Xu Xing gazed beyond the world.

After a while, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward a distant great universe.

Fa Realm Great Universe.

A life-bearing planet in its frontier star system.

It was a planet with transcendent power, yet extremely barren.

Its strongest being was no more than Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and no transcendent individual had yet emerged capable of leaving the surface to wander the cosmos.

According to the celestial body evaluation system established by the Saint Lords and Dao Lords, applicable within Fa Realm and surrounding great universes, this planet barely qualified as a 'Ninth-Rank' wasteland star—the lowest tier among transcendent celestial bodies.

Xu Xing watched the planet with interest—more precisely, he gazed at one specific location on it.

It was a bustling, vibrant Fucheng.

Officially under the jurisdiction of the Daqi Dynasty, but its actual control had long since fallen entirely into the hands of Xuanling Sect.

Inside the Fucheng, in a teahouse.

By the window.

A young man in gray robes, holding a yellow-skinned gourd, his hair disheveled, looked helplessly across from him.

"Little brother, come on—just come with me to see Master. I’ve completed my task; you won’t have to keep bothering me, right?"