Chapter 104: Thousands of Kalpas, Hundred Million Longevities—Senior Guangcheng

"I'm not! I didn't! Don't spout nonsense!"

Fengxi instantly lost his composure, rebuking sternly.

"Yuchen, don't frame me!"

"I, Fengxi, am utterly loyal to Lord Houtu—how could I rebel?!"

He enunciated each word clearly, pausing between each.

On such a matter of right and wrong, there is no room for ambiguity.

——Fengxi would absolutely never rebel!

"I say this only to be true to my conscience." He wore a solemn, grave expression: "A man of integrity stands in the world and ought to have no shame before heaven and earth, before his conscience, before his own heart."

"If one has the ability to repay a benefactor's kindness, why not do so?"

"I owe myself an explanation!"

"Besides, if I wanted to rebel, what would be the point of settling scores? That would just be asking for trouble." Fengxi frowned at Yuchen: "Your logic makes no sense."

"That's true." Yuchen nodded. "No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like the type to invite trouble."

Fengxi's face fell long and long: "What does that have to do with inviting trouble? Clearly I possess virtue and integrity— the Ancestral Wu does not fail me, and I do not fail the Ancestral Wu."

"Heh..."

Yuchen chuckled, said nothing more, and lightly shifted the topic: "It's rare to get a chance to travel the Suiyue Changhe—such a fine opportunity; don't you want to leave some mark there?"

"A mark?" Fengxi was baffled. "What kind of mark?"

"The Shijian Changhe here is profoundly mysterious, connecting all spatiotemporal dimensions." Yuchen said: "In theory, it can reach any era."

"Do you still remember that being from before?"

He spoke slowly: "What do you think—how did he cultivate such a vast, boundless cosmos, magnificent and peerless?"

"Moreover, at the moment of proving the Dao, his peak leap—ten million avatars leaping forth together, becoming the nutrients for his own attainment of the Dao..."

"You mean..." Fengxi suddenly understood: "That being achieved those astonishing feats by leveraging the convenience of the Shijian Changhe."

"Exactly." Yuchen gave a slight nod: "I don't know what fortune he obtained, or which Great Luo's breeze he borrowed, that let him set foot in the Suiyue Changhe."

"He slashes out avatars, then sneaks into world after world, madly farming Trumpets."

"Those Trumpets have no rights; they strive to gather material resources for the Tuba's true form, collecting the brilliant wisdom of myriad civilizations, comprehending the evolution of different cosmic laws—even though the ordering of those worlds' laws is far less profound than the fundamental Honghuang."

"But sometimes, things aren't better the higher the rank—rather, the better the fit." At that moment Yuchen possessed a lofty, far-seeing perspective, evaluating cultivation with effortless ease: "Step by step, climbing upward, one can reach the very peak."

"If I follow his steps, can I also attain the Great Luo?" Fengxi couldn't help but admit his heart was stirred.

"That's the theory." Yuchen nodded, then suddenly laughed: "But it's not absolute."

"Otherwise, wouldn't every living thing surviving in the Suiyue Changhe be a Great Luo in the making?" He pointed at the vast Suiyue River: "Moreover, there are those who diligently cultivate the Zhou Light Dao as Supreme Ultimates, or who have pursued the Supreme Ultimate to its utmost sublime level, verifying their singular path to Buddhahood within the Suiyue Changhe… they can risk being hunted while maneuvering in the Shijian Changhe."

"But in the end, how many can actually break through that heavenly moat?"

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"

Yuchen uttered the word "difficult" three times in a row.

Even a being like him, seemingly a certain heavenly will's Trumpet, judges it thus—showing just how arduous the path to the Dao truly is!

"If it's hard, it's hard; having hope is a good thing." Fengxi took it in stride: "Alright, you mentioned hunting—what's that about, and where does the danger come from?"

"The danger of being hunted naturally comes from the native beings of the Suiyue Changhe." Yuchen said: "Don't let their current friendliness fool you—they keep their distance because they can't afford to provoke us."

"If our strength were a bit lacking? Heh… then we'd be in big trouble."

"Every being's birth is inseparably tied to its world." Yuchen's voice was soft and lingering: "Flesh and soul alike follow that world's Dao in its evolution; they are the very embodiment of that world's lawful ordering."

"Any transmigrator is a considerable tonic for cultivators of Supreme Ultimate level and worlds of that stature—second only to slashing out an avatar and journeying to the corresponding realm."

Fengxi clicked his tongue.

He ought to feel fortunate—good thing he's of Wu Clan descent.

Otherwise, who knows which step might go wrong, turning him into a feast for a Supreme Ultimate powerhouse.

Not only is there danger at the destination, but even the act of transmigrating isn't very safe.

Not only are there natural disasters, but also man-made calamities!

Hunted and chased by the beings of the Suiyue Changhe!

Yuchen seemed to see through Fengxi's present thoughts, giving a faint chuckle: "What do you think?"

"We may have been conscripted by the Ancestral Wu, but we are lawful transmigrators, walking the proper path."

"Those who enter illegally are just stowaways—of course they must bear the risk!"

"That's the difference between having or lacking heavenly mandate behind you."

"So, for now, with a Great Wu leading us to roam the Suiyue Changhe, driving off and deterring hunters—do what you want, and do it quickly… otherwise, if you miss this chance, finding another opportunity later won't be so easy."

"Thanks for the guidance." Fengxi thanked him sincerely, but Yuchen waved a hand, saying nonchalantly, "It's nothing much—this can only speed up your accumulation; whether you can attain the Dao still depends on your own talent."

"Even if I can't attain the Great Luo, it's no big deal." Fengxi was broad-minded: "At the very least, I can become immensely strong in the Supreme Ultimate realm… when a great war erupts later, I'll have the power to protect myself."

"I came to this world with but one fundamental aim: merely to survive."

As he spoke, he began to act.

He dabbed a speck of spray, formed a willed-evolution avatar, imprinted an achievement mark upon it, then plunged into the Suiyue Changhe, attempting to smuggle himself through spacetime, to cross worlds.

Yet at this step, Fengxi encountered tremendous resistance.

It was as if some supreme regulation from the dark depths was suppressing him, making it hard to break through and truly enter that world.

Just think about it and it becomes clear.

If just anyone could casually slip into another spacetime, wouldn't everything descend into chaos?

The beings of the Suiyue Changhe stage a grand play of invading and conquering the Myriad Heavens… and that's not funny at all!

"You can't just brute-force it like that… otherwise you'd have to spend thousands or tens of thousands of years before you could enter a world."

The onlooker Xiling, seeing Fengxi strive for a long while yet still unable to gain entry, shook his head and offered advice: "In there, you need to master a few little tricks."

That is a rule loophole that the Great Luo Heavenly Wills deliberately dug out for their own convenience…

You do this and that, then that and that…

She revealed each and every secret in detail—how to evade the suppression of the supreme rules, how to shield against the world's consciousness… Every step was a backdoor left by the administrator.

Fengxi went through the back door, and he was enjoying himself immensely.

It didn't take much time before his willful avatar charged into a vast world!

However, Fengxi wasn't very happy.

Because, his connection with the avatar was far too weak!

How weak is it?

He couldn't even receive information from there, nor send anything over… only a simple sense of life and death, knowing that side was still alive.

That's all.

"Your strength is too weak." Yuchun got straight to the point: "You and your avatar are separated by the River of Time… just how vast and distant a spatiotemporal scale does this involve?"

"Your current realm simply cannot handle the signal attenuation problem within."

"What should we do?" Fengxi frowned.

"Wait… wait until your avatar over there boosts its strength." Yuchun pondered briefly, "Then, when the two sides resonate, we might be able to bypass the restriction and exchange information."

"It's hard." Fengxi let out a faint sigh, "I can feel that my Trumpet, although it successfully smuggled over, shielding the perception of the world's consciousness to avoid retaliation… but it also has a time limit."

"One yuanhui is 129,600 years!"

"After a yuanhui, the world's consciousness will seek out and destroy it like a virus, turning it into calamity and annihilating it… almost a ten-deaths-no-life situation!"

"Such a thing is basically casting a wide net to catch more fish." Xiling didn't think much of it, "You don't have the Great Luo's endless, eternal, self-sufficient spacetime essence; the Myriad Heavens' spacetime-point avatars are merely a passive skill."

"When one's realm is too weak, actively creating hundreds or thousands of avatars, even if just one makes it through the tribulation, it's not a loss!"

"They will become your anchor later, providing the sole reference and aid for you to step into the peak of Taiyi and verify your own existence!"

"That's right." Fengxi nodded, his emotions flaring up again with fervor, "It's basically borrowing the Great Wu's wind—zero-cost trade; aside from the consumption of will and soul, any gain is a gain."

"I still don't believe it—if I throw out one or two thousand avatars, could it be that not even a single Trumpet can make it through?"

He immediately perked up his spirits and began the hard work of casting the net.

Until Mu piloted the warship and charged out of the River of Time at that moment.

Fengxi scattered a total of 1,750 avatars.

They upheld the main body's will, aiming to carve out a domain in the new world!

"1,750 avatars, each facing a calamity with a time limit of 129,600 years… when the calamity expires, how many will survive?"

1,750 calamities!

As he left the River of Time, Fengxi looked back and left his greatest blessing.

"Please, by all means, don't let the whole army be wiped out; at least leave me a safety net…"

…

Kunlun Mountain has arrived.

Charging out of the River of Time, what appeared before the myriad Wu was the most majestic and expansive Kunlun mountain range.

This place is boundlessly vast, with endless mountains and valleys, its heavenly treasures and earthly riches beyond description; it is one of the two supreme pure lands in all of Honghuang.

Countless beings inhabit it, the Dao lineage spreads everywhere, inheriting the ideological will of the Great Luo of this land.

Among them, two lineages predominate.

One is the Xuanmen led jointly by the Three Pure Ones.

One is the female immortal deity camp commanded by the Golden Mother.

Both are far from ordinary; neither is a pushover.

The forces they control are all colossal entities that have broken free of regional limits and spread throughout Honghuang!

Upon arriving here, Mu also became much more cautious; he no longer sails his boat leisurely through the River of Time or roams the void as before, but instead flies silently through the heavens to show respect.

The Great Wu is like this, and the leaders of these two forces also dare not be careless.

Face is given mutually.

After all, they do have some power, but to compare them with the Wu Clan's super colossus…

Better not.

Moments later, Fengxi, gazing into the distance from the immortal vessel, saw two streaks of immortal light flash and appear before him in an instant.

First, it is a spirit beast conduit: a nine-headed tiger-bodied human-faced divine beast, with a solemn and imposing expression, its eyes wide open as if constantly glaring angrily, awe-inspiring in all directions.

Its whole body radiates a dazzling light, immensely powerful and terrifying… in Fengxi's spiritual perception, it is absolutely not inferior to the beings who had achieved the Dao before succeeding in the River of Time!

What's more frightening is that within its body lies a kind of great terror lurking, which could erupt at any moment.

The other is a being appearing in human form, wearing wide robes and large sleeves, possessing an ethereal, otherworldly aura.

He stands in the void, as if making the world lose its color; only he remains transcendent and alone, sitting and watching the myriad phenomena of the mortal realm rise and fall, his eyes clear and bright, possessing both childlike purity and an enlightened clarity that mirrors heaven and earth, making all things manifest.

Fengxi stared and stared, but in the end he had to regretfully withdraw his gaze.

This person, one cannot discern any depth or shallowness about him.

Because he sometimes seems as weak as a novice who has just attained Taiyi, and sometimes as mighty as an abyss-like sea, his depth unknowable.

Just as he was sizing them up, the two beings that had appeared before the warship spoke.

"Kai Ming respectfully obeys the Queen Mother's command, coming specially to guide the esteemed guests of the Wu Clan." The tiger-bodied human-faced divine beast spoke in a low, solemn and courteous tone.

"I, Guang Chengzi, obeying my master's orders, invite the esteemed guests of the Wu Clan for a meeting…" The refined, jade-like young man of extraordinary bearing said, "My master, uncles, and elders have long been awaiting you."

Fengxi glanced sideways—

Guang Chengzi!

A famous person!

In the Chan Sect, the one tasked with ringing the bell…… This is not to say its status is low; on the contrary, its status is absolutely high!

Compared to when Fengxi served as charioteer for Di Jiang Zu Wu back then, it is even more simple, right in the heart of heaven!

Summoning the four directions, representing the will of Yuanshi Tianzun, leading the entire sect!

The lineage of the Three Pure Ones has sent forth such a person to receive them; this shows their sincerity.

「You two, too polite. 」 Mu smiled, 「It's just that you've given me a rather big problem…… It seems not good to go anywhere first. 」

Kaiming and Guangcheng exchanged a silent glance.

「Since it's like this, I'll trouble you a bit……」 the Grand Wu's form blurred for a moment, and when it became clear again, it had split into two.

He shook his hand and threw out another warship, lining it up with the original, 「Female witches, come aboard this ship; I'll take you to see the Queen Mother of the West to make contact. 」

「Male witches stay put; I'll go visit the Daoist friends of the Three Pure Ones. 」

Mu issued orders and quickly finished adjustments.

By this time, the Grand Wu again looked at the two beings sent on a mission, 「Please, lead the way ahead. 」

「As you command! 」

…

Kunlun Mountain, the Daoist sanctuary of the Three Pure Ones.

This place is no longer Fengxi's first visit.

However, compared to back then when he only had Golden Immortal cultivation and many places were just a blur, this time he sees things very clearly.

Of course, perhaps this is also because he has delved deeper into this Daoist sanctuary.

After all, back then, even as a charioteer, he could only catch a distant glimpse of the three Heavenly Lords who came to greet the two great ancestor witches, Di Jiang Zu Wu and Houtu.

How unlike now?

He walked openly and properly into the hall, watching the Grand Wu exchange pleasantries with the three Heavenly Lords.

After the pleasantries, Mu went straight to the point.

「We, the Wu Clan, have sent students here to study…… Please, the Three Pure Ones, look after them well. 」

「That is proper. 」 the Virtuous Heavenly Lord, speaking for his two younger brothers, chatted easily with the Grand Wu, 「Friends, rest assured; here with us, there will be no mistake. 」

「Excellent! 」 Mu clapped his hands lightly, then continued, 「In order to strengthen our bilateral cooperation, the Wu Clan proposes to establish a permanent diplomatic mission here, and to set up a large-scale hub for mutual resource exchange……」

The Grand Wu expounded in an accessible yet thorough manner on the strengths and weaknesses of both the Wu Clan and the Three Pure Ones camps, emphasizing the necessity, inevitability, and mutual benefit of their cooperation, and how greatly significant it is for the flourishing development of cultivation civilization in the Honghuang world.

The Virtuous Heavenly Lord expressed approval and agreement, confirming that this cooperation is a small step for each side, but a great leap for the entire Honghuang world.

During this process, Yuanshi Tianzun gave a thumbs-up, and the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Lord also gave a thumbs-up.

——Fengxi stared agape, his jaw nearly dropping.

「As expected……」

「These mighty beings, not a single one is easy to deal with……」

「Although just spoken casually, every word carries great righteousness……」

Fengxi deeply realized…… In this era, there is still much for him to learn.

「In that case, I'll trouble the three of you. 」

At the end of the talk, Mu rose, clasped his hands in salute, 「Regarding the site selection for the diplomatic mission's construction, the promotion of trade and commerce…… please, the Three Pure Ones, look after these matters. 」

「That is proper. 」 the Virtuous Heavenly Lord returned the salute, 「As for the talented ones of the Wu Clan, as long as they do not behave improperly, we will naturally not let them be bullied. 」

「Good. 」 Mu smiled faintly, 「I still have tasks arranged by the clan; I shouldn't linger, so I'll take my leave. 」

「Wait a moment. 」

The three Heavenly Lords emerged together, seeing him out of the Daoist sanctuary.

At the same time, Guangchengzi reappeared, 「Master has already arranged lodging for everyone…… Please follow me. 」

「Then I'll trouble you, Daoist friend. 」

As the leader, Fengxi stepped forward and began conversing with him.

「It's not really a matter of trouble or not……」 Guangchengzi shook his head with a light laugh, 「After all, you all have come here with a mission of study…… In that sense, we are fellow disciples. 」

「Since we are fellow disciples, why bother with so much fuss? 」

「You don't need to be so formal…… Just treat this place as your own home. 」

Hearing those words, Fengxi fell silent.

He turned his head to look at his companions behind him, and a deep sigh rose from his heart.

「Friend, which of your eyes saw them as being formal? 」

「These people, swaying big and loose, carefree and casual…… Is this treating this place as their own home? 」

「They haven't even considered themselves outsiders at all! 」

「Look at Yuchen! 」

Perhaps it was Fengxi's gaze too lethal; Yuchen, who had just plucked a fruit from an apricot tree and was chewing it, met his gaze and asked puzzledly, 「What's wrong? Is something the matter? 」

「Oh, nothing. 」 Fengxi's eye twitched, 「Take your time eating…… If it's tasty, eat more. 」

「All right. 」 Yuchen nodded calmly and really continued eating.

「Cough cough! 」

In the end, even the usually solemn Qingxuan couldn't bear it any longer, gave a dry cough twice, and transmitted a mental message saying something.

Only then did Yuchen honestly pause his action.

…

「This is the place where you will temporarily reside during your studies. 」

Guangchengzi led the Wu Clan's 「talented ones」 to a boundless, endlessly magnificent hall before them——the lodging benefits are beyond praise.

Compared to Fengxi's doghouse in the Wu Clan, it's literally heaven versus earth.

But that's also normal.

After all, we can't demand that the standardized military camp housing provided for billions of little witches be the same as the Three Pure Ones' tradition of selecting and teaching disciples.

"Sorry to trouble you, Dao friend."

Fengxi said with a squinting smile.

"No need to be polite." Guang Chengzi shook his head. "If you have no other requests, I'll take my leave first."

"Uh… we do have some requests." Fengxi rubbed his hands. "Dao friend, you see…"

"We who came to study are transfer students, right?"

"That's right." Guang Chengzi nodded.

"Since we're transfer students, wanting to catch up isn't easy… After all, we can't possibly waste the Three Heavenly Lords' precious time by having them give us private lessons, right?"

"So…" Guang Chengzi fell into thought.

"So, I wonder if we could have some of the lecture materials from the three teachers before, for us to… preview?"

"Let us understand the three teachers' teaching methods, lecture content, and research directions…"

"That's simple." Guang Chengzi agreed. "I've been following my master and two uncles/aunts since early on; I attended every lecture and took careful notes."

"Later I'll bring this set of notes over for you to study."

"Thank you, Dao friend." Fengxi said solemnly. "I'll repay you with equivalent cultivation experience… Although my cultivation isn't comparable to yours, being of the Wu Clan, I still have some insight."

"No need for that…" Guang Chengzi shook his head.

"The Dao cannot be lightly transmitted; how can I let you, Dao friend, pay for nothing?" Fengxi insisted.

"Since you, Dao friend, insist, then let it be so." Guang Chengzi did not decline. "However, if you find any parts of my lecture notes unclear or incomprehensible… Although the three teachers have no time to give private lessons, I can still help answer one or two."

"Many thanks…" Fengxi said. "Then I'll trouble you, Senior Guang Cheng, then!"

……

In just a few words, Fengxi and Guang Chengzi became acquainted.

From the mouth of this disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, he learned much.

Later, Guang Chengzi also took him around twice to familiarize him with the layout of the place.

Incidentally, he also met some disciples of the Chan Sect and some disciples of the Jie Sect.

Meanwhile, as Fengxi was carrying out his social work, something he didn't know about was happening somewhere.

"I'm here." someone said.

"You shouldn't have come." A solemn, lofty deity stood with hands behind his back and spoke faintly.

"But I still came."

"This makes things difficult for me." The deity turned, his sword-brows and starry eyes. "All my life I've been down-to-earth, never cheating."

"That's not right!"

He raised his head; his face was unmistakably Yuchen's: "I'm a genius!"

"Can being a genius be called cheating?"

"Hurry up… It's tough to get by in the Wu Clan these days!"

"Cheaters run rampant; if I don't have a breakthrough or two, I won't feel at ease!"

……

Lingbao Tianzun covered his face.

PS: I fell asleep while updating yesterday, so this is the missing chapter combined with today's…… Sorry sorry.

(End of chapter)