Chapter 469

On the road to becoming an immortal, there is a mysterious pass, and within the mysterious pass hides a ten-thousand-mile mountain.

How many seekers of immortality throughout the ages have worshiped this mysterious pass to refine the Jin Dan.

In front of the Ancestor Hall, in the empty tree in the courtyard, that man appeared openly before everyone under the pressure of the three great Celestial Masters. Time passed leisurely, as if it had not left a trace on his face.

His appearance seemed to have stopped at around forty years old, yet his deep eyes hid the vastness of time and the vicissitudes of the years.

Gazes came one after another, falling upon him.

For the vast majority of people, this face was truly too unfamiliar.

Only the older generation, upon seeing this man, had their expressions change as if by thunder, almost unable to control themselves.

More than sixty years; this man had been away from the Xu family for more than sixty years.

No one would have thought that he would actually have a day to return.

"Xu Xuanguan!"

Xu Jinzhao looked at the person who arrived, his pupils narrowing into a line, his voice carrying a complex and indescribable emotion.

"Brother Guanzi!?"

Beside him, Xu Jinshi looked at the person who arrived, his squinted eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Has the Third Branch fallen to this point?" Xu Xuanguan stood in the courtyard, whispering leisurely, his calm gaze falling on Xu Xuanxiao.

At this moment, Xu Xuanxiao was filled with mixed feelings.

He hadn't seen this younger brother for sixty years.

"You finally returned after all," Xu Xuanxiao sighed.

"I returned, but not because of the Xu family," Xu Xuanguan said in a low, firm voice, his gaze shifting to Zhang Fan.

"Senior, we meet again." Zhang Fan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

Meeting again this time, he was no longer as ignorant as last time, knowing many secrets.

Xu Xuanguan, born into the Xu family's Third Branch, is Xu Xuanxiao's younger brother and Xu Wenjun's second older brother.

According to seniority, Zhang Fan should call him Second Great-uncle.

Besides this, Xu Xuanguan is also one of the nine founding members of the Coffin-Lifting Society, ranked sixth.

"Inner Dan is already formed; with such talent, your grandparents can smile in the netherworld," Xu Xuanguan looked at Zhang Fan, showing approval.

"Senior..." Zhang Fan's heart surged, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Xu Xuanguan raising his hand.

"In terms of blood, you should call me Great-uncle; in terms of sentiment, I have a sworn brotherhood with your grandfather."

"Come with me."

"Xu Xuanguan, what do you think this place is?"

Just at this moment, Xu Chengtian shouted, and this patriarch of the Second Branch finally couldn't help but speak.

"You left the Xu family for more than sixty years; do you think you can come and go as you please?"

"Hmm? Xu Chengtian, even a thing like you can refine into a Celestial Master? I remember that the most promising person in your Second Branch back then was Xu Chengfa..."

Xu Xuanguan changed the subject, unable to help but show a faint smile.

"He died long ago, died more than twenty years ago, at the hands of the Master of the Yuan Palace of the Wu Wei Sect," Xu Chengtian said coldly.

"No wonder; he died, and the fortune of the Second Branch fell upon you. With your aptitude, stepping into the Great Realm of Celestial Master is already quite a stretch."

Xu Xuanguan said indifferently: "Even so, you still dare to put on airs in front of me?"

Boom—

As soon as the soft voice fell, an invisible fluctuation slowly dissolved.

The giant stone shell in the center of the main courtyard trembled violently, and the murals on the surrounding stone walls seemed to come alive; the angry vast ocean, the crashing waves, seemed to want to jump out from the stone walls and submerge this Xu family, this Jinmen.

Such a phenomenon was not human power, but seemed natural, drawing from the water veins of the world, with ten thousand miles of mysterious passes and nine layers.

Xu Chengtian's expression changed drastically, feeling unprecedented pressure.

As far as his eyes could see, heaven and earth were vast, and it seemed only that man remained; rivers seemed to surround his body, and that phenomenon actually made his mind tense.

"So many years have passed, his cultivation has actually reached this point!?" A voice seemed to be echoing in Xu Chengtian's heart.

Xu Xuanxiao looked on, also filled with mixed feelings.

"Xuanguan, did you return today just to show off?"

Just at this moment, Xu Jinzhao's voice rang out.

The voice was like a spring breeze bathing in rain, slowly dissolving, and immediately, the terrifying phenomenon dissipated like clouds.

Xu Chengtian caught his breath, looking at Xu Xuanguan with a hint of shock in his eyes.

"Xu Jinzhao, among the disciples of the same clan back then, you were not the most stunning, just standard and steady; who could have imagined that the Xu family would end up in your hands in the end." Xu Xuanguan's expression remained unchanged, sighing leisurely.

He looked at this older brother from the First Branch of the same clan, his tone slow, without the previous anger, as if they were reminiscing.

"The Way of Heaven diminishes the surplus to supplement the deficiency. Since ancient times, Heaven has always favored the weak and disliked the strong; being clever in youth is not a good thing," Xu Jinzhao said in a low, firm voice.

"Only by being a bit foolish can one go far."

As he spoke, Xu Jinzhao looked at Zhang Fan intentionally or unintentionally.

"Back then, Zhang Tiansheng was too clever; going too far is as bad as not going far enough, leading to a fatal disaster."

"Xu Jinzhao, you are not foolish; after all, you are someone who has seen the last Celestial Master," Xu Xuanguan said suddenly.

"The last Celestial Master, Zhang Taixu?" Zhang Fan's heart stirred.

"Back then, he praised you for having inner beauty, saying your future achievements would be limitless and you would surely expand the Xu Ancestor's Dharma lineage," Xu Xuanguan sighed.

This was a past event.

When Xu Jinzhao was young, he once practiced on Mount Zhongnan for a period of time.

At that time, he was still young, the great calamity of the Daoist sects was not far off, and Zhang Taixu passed through Chang'an, closing himself off for three years on Mount Nanwang near Mount Zhongnan.

Through a twist of fate, it was during this time that Xu Jinzhao saw this last Celestial Master.

"You truly lived up to expectations; with such fate, do you still want to kill them all?"

Xu Xuanguan changed the subject, his pupils suddenly appearing sharp.

"He is still young; not only can he not represent the Zhang family, he cannot even represent the Southern Zhang family," Xu Jinzhao said indifferently.

"A joke."

Xu Xuanguan said coldly: "You probably don't know that before the great calamity of the Southern Zhang family, Zhang Laoer had already left a last will, right?"

"What last will?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Xu Jinzhao, but Xu Xuanxiao, Xu Chengtian, and others pricked up their ears.

"If any descendant of his lineage in the future takes 'Fan' as their name, they shall be the Master of the Southern Zhang family!"

Boom—

Before the words fell, a terrifying phenomenon rushed into the sky, and everyone's soul-aspects fell into a boundless outer scene.

Heaven and earth were chaotic, and that vast, long river attacked again, as if falling from the nine heavens, penetrating the ancient and modern years, pressing down on Zhang Fan.

"Before the Ancestor's seat, who can pass the line of the Heavenly Pass?"

Xu Xuanguan stood motionless, his robes fluttering, the sound like thunder.

Suddenly, he waved his hand, and a sword Qi crisscrossed; the wind stopped, and the leaves on the tree fell leisurely.

That sword Qi rose leisurely, extremely slowly, yet in everyone's eyes, that sword Qi grew longer and deeper, as if a line between heaven and earth, as if the sun and moon were distinct.

Boom—

The next moment, the vast, long river falling from the sky was actually torn apart by that line of sword Qi; countless waves were surging, and every wave hid a different sword intent, but upon contacting that line of sword Qi, they all dissolved into it, becoming a part of that sword Qi.

Boom—

Almost in the blink of an eye, that vast river was swallowed by that line of sword Qi, empty and silent, ghostly and illusory, leaving only that sword Qi rising, changing unpredictably, disappearing into the vast void, as if it existed and yet did not.

"Flood Dragon-Slashing Method!?"

Xu Jinzhao's voice echoed in everyone's ears, carrying deep solemnity.

That man stood there, his sword without any flashiness, even appearing plain and unremarkable.

But it was this sword that broke his Dao and destroyed his Dharma.

"He obtained the Ancestor's true intent!?" Xu Chengtian clenched his fists, his intense pupils filled with deep wariness.

There are thousands of Daos, but they all lead to the same destination, and there is only one final result.

Ordinary people cultivate the Dao, merely looking at the moon in the well and flowers in the water; although there are various appearances, they are false, not true.

But that man, he seemed to have truly glimpsed the realm of the Ancestor back then.

That one sword obtained the true intent.

"He is the number one expert of the Xu family!"