Chapter 656

But looking closely, it seemed to have nothing special about it, smaller even than a single speck of dust between heaven and earth.

He sat there, yet it was as if there were nothing at all; he was the embodiment of the void.

It was as if an endless barrier stood between them.

It was like a high-dimensional being, high above, looking down upon all living things.

This is Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao.

With no mind for the void, the true self is the void, attaining the innate void Yang Spirit, merging with the myriad transformations, and standing above the omnipresent Great Dao, manifesting hundreds of millions of incarnations.

From this point on, one officially begins to tread the path of chasing the end of the Dao, and even transcending the limits of the Dao.

Form and spirit are both perfected, merging with the truth of the Dao.

It can be said that cultivators before Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao are merely seeking immortality, but after stepping into Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao...

They seek only the Dao.

Everyone was unconsciously drawn to Jiang Yan; not only Theresa and the others, but even the Shushan people, who were still at the stages of Refining Essence into Qi and Refining Qi into Spirit, were all captivated by that ultimate manifestation of life.

Their minds were drawn in.

Unable to extricate themselves.

That was the most perfect form of life, displaying the ancient simplicity of the Dao in every aspect.

If you think he is unreachable, he is unreachable; if you think he is as subtle as dust, he is truly as subtle as dust.

This externalization of a life form is no longer confined to definitions and evaluations in the human sense.

Just as a two-dimensional creature like an ant cannot evaluate the form of a three-dimensional creature like a human.

Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao can no longer be considered human; if one were to use another term, perhaps it could be called a Human Immortal.

After a long while, everyone finally managed to pull their minds back; Kiana and the others did not dare to look at Jiang Yan too much, instead looking at Zhongli and the others to the side.

Suddenly, Kiana felt a warmth in her eyes.

Sitting on the prayer mats beside Jiang Yan were three people, and on the other side sat a fiery red elven woman.

The aura of these four people was indescribable; looking at them was like ants looking up at the starry sky.

But what Kiana cared about most, and what shocked Mei, was...

The woman beside Jiang Yan looked almost exactly like her.

Her face was cold, her aura as bone-chilling as ice, yet it also appeared as violent as thunder.

Her formless sword intent expanded and contracted, seemingly not yet well-contained.

Everyone who saw it felt as if they were facing a sword that reached the heavens.

Kiana wanted to cheer, but in this atmosphere, she didn't quite dare; she could only suppress her excitement and stare fixedly at Ei.

Bronya, however, looked around at the others, imagining that the Shushan Sect Leader and the various Peak Masters would be elderly, decrepit figures.

After all, she had heard from Himeko that the youngest of the Peak Masters had lived for thousands of years.

Yet, this group of handsome men and beautiful women...

There really wasn't a single old person in Shushan!

Suddenly, Bronya felt Jiang Yan's gaze turn toward her, and with a smile at the corner of his mouth, he said softly:

"Cultivators have long lives; a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years pass in a flash. Age is not something cultivators concern themselves with."

"In terms you can understand from the technological side, cultivation is essentially the pursuit of a perfect life upgrade."

"The state of being aged is a negative state in the common sense; unless a cultivator is willing to maintain an aged appearance, they generally will not show signs of old age."

"Moreover, in common terms, I am not yet at the stage of having white hair and a withered face."

Everyone was stunned for a moment and turned to look at Bronya, whose face changed, and she lowered her head, looking somewhat pale.

It was just a thought that had flashed through her mind.

Was even that captured?

"Sorry..."

Jiang Yan smiled helplessly and said softly:

"The harvest from this breakthrough was huge, and I haven't stabilized my realm yet. I did not intend to pry into your thoughts."

"It's just that right now, there is autonomous feedback under my unstable realm at every moment."

"I myself would not casually pry into everyone's inner thoughts."

As he spoke, a trace of embarrassment flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes, and he quietly glanced at Ningguang and the others.

He really hadn't expected that his Shushan disciples would all be thinking about becoming rebellious disciples who want to overthrow their master.

Even those who looked generous and dignified were thinking things more perverted than the last...

This was also the reason why Jiang Yan had never been willing to pry into his disciples' thoughts before; it was just too embarrassing...

But this time, he had taken the Nine-Turn Golden Pill and, after crossing the tribulation, reached the late stage of Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao in one go.

Now his realm was somewhat unstable, and many of his methods were spreading unconsciously.

Not to mention this small space, he could hear the inner voices of most of the living beings in the Shushan world clearly at this moment.

If it weren't for his consciousness and sea of consciousness being terrifyingly strong, he would have been driven mad.

He would have to find time to stabilize his realm quickly.

Otherwise, while walking, he might hear a Shushan disciple pondering how to get him into bed.

That would be too embarrassing.

Bronya felt increasingly flustered, forcing herself not to think wildly.

Otto also had complicated feelings; for someone like him, his inner thoughts were the most important thing.

Now that they were being casually flipped through, it was truly too terrifying.

But right now, he could only forcibly dispel his many thoughts.

No wonder they say to try not to have close contact with high-level cultivators; not only is your life not under your own control, but even your consciousness could be casually modified.

Ningguang and the others seemed to have thought of something, their faces turning red, and they hurriedly dispelled their thoughts.

Lisa, on the other hand, thought of something even more stimulating, and even began to imagine scenes, looking at Jiang Yan with a smile.

The latter looked at Lisa with annoyance.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

"Alright, since everyone is here, I will announce a few things."

Jiang Yan straightened his expression slightly, looked around at everyone, and said softly:

"First, I have reached the late stage of Refining the Void and Combining with the Dao, and the Immortal Ascension Tribulation is right before my eyes. Although I don't know if one can still ascend after the Day of Dharma Destruction."

"But we still need to prepare early."

"From this day on, Sect Leader's direct disciple Klee is officially confirmed as the successor to the Sect Leader. If I ascend to the Immortal World in the future, all matters of Shushan will be managed by Klee."

"Due to Klee's young age, the various Peak Masters and Elders need to take extra care to ensure the normal operation of Shushan."

"Before I ascend, I will leave behind the Immortal Invitation Platform. If there are important matters, Klee can be sent to the Immortal World, and I will naturally know."

The first thing was a bombshell right from the start; Jiang Yan wasn't far from becoming an immortal, which should have been good news.

But...

Everyone really couldn't be happy.

Without Jiang Yan managing Shushan, everyone really had no confidence.

"Master..."

Klee stared at Jiang Yan with teary eyes; the latter rubbed Klee's head and set her aside.

"No need to be sad. Whether I can ascend is one thing, and even if Master really ascends, Klee can do it in the future too."

"When Klee goes to the Immortal World, you will see that Master has already rebuilt a safe cultivation environment for you."

Klee gave a muffled "um" and didn't say anything more.

She really wasn't in the mood.

"Second."

Jiang Yan sighed in his heart and continued:

"Peak Master Zhongli has officially crossed the tribulation in the Xuanming World and broken through to the early stage of Refining Spirit and Returning to the Void. From this day on, he will shed the title of acting and officially be promoted to the position of Peak Master of Dragon Head Peak."

Zhongli took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed to Jiang Yan.

"Thank you, Sect Leader. Zhongli will certainly not fail the Sect Leader or the high expectations of Shushan."

After the words fell, the many disciples bowed and said:

"Congratulations to Peak Master Zhongli for his great progress in cultivation. The heavens are vast, and our Dao flourishes day by day!"