[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ancestor-the-times-have-changed":3,"chapter-ancestor-the-times-have-changed-ancestor-the-times-have-changed-chapter-620":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ancestor, the Times Have Changed",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2299942,4498,"Chapter 620","ancestor-the-times-have-changed-chapter-620",620,"\u003Cp>Two more days passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the mission deadline had arrived, many second-wave Ascension Envoys who had not yet settled their tasks were forcibly settled by the Taixuan Immortal Network and recalled from their mission worlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No surprise there—most of them were from the Taishang Dao Sect, and their mission completion rates were far from impressive…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was nothing to be done about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normal cultivators plan three steps ahead with every step they take, but those Taishang Dao Sect \"Gou Dao\" practitioners...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even to take one step, they must first build a road!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only because this Ascension Mission was special did they take on such tasks, which normally require completing set objectives within a strict deadline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon, the sunlight was perfect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Inner Sect of the Sword Sect, the Sword Ancestor Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A figure slowly emerged from within the hall, walking all the way to the outer steps, where she finally halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mountain breeze brushed from afar, gently stirring a few strands of hair hanging before her forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wore a simple, fitted black cultivation robe, radiating ancient elegance, her long hair tied into a high ponytail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her skin was pale and luminous, her neck slender, her features refined, appearing efficient and sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Zhang Yunlu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Years of relentless trials at the edge of life and death had stripped her of some youthful naivety, replacing it with calm composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing into the distance, she felt a sense of having lived a lifetime away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though only three months had passed in the Taixuan Realm, for her it had been three full years in that alien world!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, she finally calmed her thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After carefully noting the direction of Chi Jiuyu’s dwelling, she retrieved her phone from her storage ring, glanced at it, and began walking down the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had settled her mission that morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the Ascension Hall, she washed up, tidied herself, steadied her mindset, and changed into the third-generation Sword Sect uniform she had worn when she first became a disciple, preparing to visit her Master and explain her situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was always how it had been after returning from missions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time was different—she had barely stepped out the door when she found herself directly in the Sword Ancestor Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first she was confused, but after her uncle explained, she learned her Master had entered seclusion recently and no one knew when he would emerge…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, her uncle said this time the seclusion wouldn’t last long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For an Immortal like her uncle, what exactly did he mean by “not long”…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That remained unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As her phone screen lit up, a series of ding-dong notification sounds followed one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most were pop-up ads promoting products; next came messages from her older brother Zhang Xiu, her friend Lin Xuanxuan, and Nangong Ruo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the principal of the Third Middle School of Xuanjian City had messaged, asking if she had time to return for the school anniversary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The message had been sent over a month ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yunlu opened it and found the so-called “school anniversary” was still over a month away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calculating the time, there was a three-month gap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three months in advance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This message was sent far too early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring at the message, Zhang Yunlu didn’t know how to reply—so much could happen in a month…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she decided not to reply for now and turned to other messages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First was Zhang Xiu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucky Xiao Zhang: “Don’t worry, big brother, I’m fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucky Xiao Zhang: “I was just on a mission and couldn’t receive messages.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sending those two messages, Zhang Yunlu waited, but received no reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t think much of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, she was a cultivator—perhaps he was in meditation or on another mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not being able to contact someone for months was perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She then turned to other messages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First were Lin Xuanxuan and Nangong Ruo—their messages were from long ago, and they hadn’t sent anything since.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If her guess was right, they must have been assigned as third-wave Ascension Envoys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, a few of Lin Xuanxuan’s messages made her pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just Want to Eat and Not Die: “Xiao Zhang, I’ve got a secret to tell you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just Want to Eat and Not Die: “When you get back, check out the top student of this year’s ‘Immortal Sect Special Recruitment.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just Want to Eat and Not Die: “She’s the younger sister of Jiuyu’s good friend, named Ye Zhiwei.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just Want to Eat and Not Die: “Jiuyu even vouched that she learned the ‘Heavenly Net Sword Scripture.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just Want to Eat and Not Die: “By the way, the Qingling Yanqi Pills you asked me to refine are done—come pick them up…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that came a long string of messages, mostly complaints about the first-wave Ascension Envoys after reading their mission progress reports.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The younger sister of Jiuyu’s good friend?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yunlu frowned slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered Jiuyu had a good friend named Ye Zhiwei, who seemed connected to that guy who had cried after losing to Jiuyu in the ‘Immortal Sect Grand Competition.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come to think of it, if not for the old chat records still being there and the avatar unchanged…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wouldn’t have recognized “Just Want to Eat and Not Die” as her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did Xuanxuan suddenly change her nickname?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this new one doesn’t suit her at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spends her days studying alchemy, carving out time to cultivate and practice divine arts…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that counts as “just eating and waiting to die,”…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then hardly any cultivator isn’t just eating and waiting to die!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since the person wasn’t here, she suppressed her curiosity and exited the chat interface, continuing down the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Zhiwei…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Xuanxuan mentioned her, and she studied the ‘Heavenly Net Sword Scripture’ under Jiuyu’s guarantee, she might as well go take a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, she had nothing else to do now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some time, the Sword Sect’s Outer Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yunlu looked up at the seven divine aurora leaderboards descending from the Inner Sect continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Foundation Establishment leaderboard, the top spot now bore a new name—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Ye Zhiwei\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realm: Foundation Establishment, Early Stage\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank: 2\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, only two cultivators in the Sword Sect had achieved Creation Foundation Establishment, so Ye Zhiwei had immediately ranked second upon entering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether one had attained enlightenment or achieved Creation Foundation Establishment made a colossal difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yunlu herself knew this well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She then glanced at the other leaderboards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the ‘Immortal Sect Grand Competition,’ she had reached Golden Core completion and climbed to fourth place on the Golden Core leaderboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she had merely “settled” for a while longer, she might have had a chance to challenge for first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Ascension Mission came suddenly—she was gone for three years, and of course her name no longer appeared on the Golden Core leaderboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, near the bottom of the Nascent Soul leaderboard, her name appeared clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Zhang Yunlu\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realm: Nascent Soul, Mid-Stage\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank: 91\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not bad!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she spent three years on the mission world, she never slackened in her own cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, during the mission, she absorbed the unique features of that world’s transcendent system and further refined her own cultivation framework.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, she shattered the Nascent Soul barrier and achieved the highest-grade Nascent Soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a prodigy of her level in the Immortal Sect, the journey from Foundation Establishment to Soul Transformation is a period of explosive growth—only at Soul Transformation does progress begin to slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True, that world was one where transcendence faded, but she carried her own resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And precisely because of that world’s peculiar conditions, its cultivators displayed extraordinary ingenuity in the subtle control and application of power.\u003C\u002Fp>",1306,"2026-06-20T06:44:15.330Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","93aa43c8d345b26dacf237865d3f3f62b9ba874be93e8fcd7e4e992a594ab96b","ancestor-the-times-have-changed-chapter-621","ancestor-the-times-have-changed-chapter-619",648,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fancestor-the-times-have-changed-cover.jpg"]