Chapter 496: A Hundred Setbacks, Yet Unbroken—Only Then Can One Be Invincible Under Heaven

The night is vast and dark, the bright moon shines clear and white.

A gentle wind brushes the mountain ridge, flowing light illuminates the great river.

Under the endless sky, Xu Zuwang’s robe fluttered in the wind as he gazed at the heavens above, the earth below, and the boundless landscape.

“The moon that shone back then still shines today, once illuminating the return of colorful clouds… Yet now, gazing upon this landscape, my heart is utterly changed,” Xu Zuwang murmured softly, lost in thought.

“Hmm!?”

Ming Shenshou heard this, his heart stirred, and a strange expression flickered across his face.

The Master of the Heavenly Realm, united with Heaven and Earth, his state shifts with his mind, his thoughts unswayed by emotion—especially at Xu Zuwang’s cultivation level, such thoughts should not arise.

Thus, this does not seem auspicious.

“Lord of the Yuan Palace, your calamity…” Ming Shenshou hesitated, words unspoken.

He knew the Lord of the Yuan Palace’s calamity was no ordinary one—greater than Nian Mr.’s, greater than the Nine Dharma Calamity, surpassing them all. Was this state of his a sign he had not yet escaped it?

“If I have already escaped calamity, what calamity remains?” Xu Zuwang shook his head softly.

“I merely sigh—having walked this path, calamity follows calamity. When will I ever see the end?”

“Even dazzling figures like San Shi Daoren and Li Changsheng have long since sunk like rivers at dusk, their paths vanished, gods and immortals unseen in heaven and earth.”

A sigh fell, like the sorrow of ancient autumn waters, instantly infecting heaven and earth.

Ming Shenshou remained silent.

The Lord of Jianggong did not know this was both the sorrow of all cultivators and the confusion of all who seek eternal life.

Pure Yang, Pure Yang—how many seekers of immortality through the ages, yet how few attain Pure Yang!?

Even if one attains the Pure Yang Ultimate Realm, the distance to the rank of gods and immortals remains as mountains apart from distant waters.

“Let’s go—we still have many to meet.” Xu Zuwang changed the subject, suddenly murmuring.

The emotions, the thoughts, even the words just spoken—seemed forgotten in an instant, like scattered starlight dissolving into the eternal cosmos.

“Who are we going to see?” Ming Shenshou asked instinctively.

“Who is the current Lord of the Xuan Palace?”

“Jiang Yunxian!” Ming Shenshou replied solemnly.

“This young girl has decent talent; when she trained on Zhenwu Mountain, she was among the top tier. But she still lacks the qualification to sit that seat.” Xu Zuwang said coolly.

“Her lineage has grown too close to the Zhang family,” Ming Shenshou said gravely.

The position of Lord of the Xuan Palace once belonged to Li Yi’s father, Li Cunsi.

He had known Zhang Lingzong since youth and was intimately tied to the Southern Zhangs—so when Li Linglong bore the Great Position of Ren Xiao, and Zhang Lingzong sought to cultivate the Three Corpses to Command Fate and seize the sect lordship, the Xuan Palace lineage supported him.

Precisely because of this, the Jianggong and Tai Sui factions within Wuwei Sect had always disliked the Xuan Palace lineage, even secretly cultivating a prodigy.

“Where is Nian Mr.?” Xu Zuwang suddenly asked.

Ming Shenshou’s heart stirred, his lips parted, and he uttered three words: “Hemingshan.”

“Let’s go—first to Hemingshan, to meet our deputy sect lord.”

Saying this, Xu Zuwang turned and walked away, into the boundless night.

“By the way, send out a message—spread it across the world.”

“What message?”

“Wuwei Sect has a new sect lord.”

“What?”

A shocked question rose from the dark night, laced with disbelief and daze.

“A hundred setbacks, yet unbroken—that is how one becomes invincible under heaven!”

Xu Zuwang’s voice rang out again, like a pebble sinking into a lake, stirring countless ripples, gradually fading with his figure into the hazy expanse of heaven and earth.

…

Three days later.

A silver-white aircraft landed at Beijing International Airport.

Wang Tianwang exited the airport, boarded a black car, and under cover of night, headed straight to a courtyard on the outskirts of Beijing.

The courtyard nestled against mountains and water, its style ancient and worn—seen from afar, it resembled an old ancestral hall hidden within the fengshui of the Yan Mountains.

“Grandfather…”

The car stopped outside the courtyard; two young people, a man and a woman, supported Wang Tianwang as they stepped out.

“Don’t follow me—wait outside,” Wang Tianwang instructed, then walked into the courtyard without looking back.

The two young people exchanged glances, staring at Wang Tianwang’s back, curiosity in their eyes.

They knew this courtyard was a sacred site of the Wang family; no one but Wang Tianwang was ever allowed inside. The vast grounds had no cleaners, littered with fallen leaves.

As among the brightest young talents of the Pure Yang Wang family, they were deeply curious—what secrets lay hidden within this courtyard?

Yet they also knew: anyone who dared spy would be touching Wang Tianwang’s forbidden scale—not only would they be expelled from the clan, but survival itself was uncertain.

Thinking of this, the two young people obediently waited outside, not daring to cross the line.

Wang Tianwang entered the gate, passed through halls and courtyards, and arrived at the deepest part of the main house.

Inside the dim room, incense curled, a single spark flickered like a star. As he entered, the faint glow revealed a figure seated cross-legged in the corner.

“You’ve returned.”

At that moment, an ancient voice echoed through the dim room.

“Mm.” Wang Tianwang nodded.

“You’re injured!?”

Suddenly, the ancient voice spoke again, tinged with surprise.

“I took some wounds—probably need half a year to fully heal,” Wang Tianwang said gravely.

“You’ve assimilated a fragment of the Life Root; the Wang family’s [Life and Death Illuminating Chapter] is already perfected, your entire skeletal structure is engraved with the [Dragon Tiger Great Heavenly Divine Chapter]. With such cultivation, few in the world could have wounded you this severely.”

The ancient voice spoke slowly, revealing Wang Tianwang’s true foundation.

“This journey of yours must have been extremely perilous—the one you faced, I likely know, perhaps even fought before.”

“Correct.”

Wang Tianwang nodded, speaking gravely: “The Lord of the Yuan Palace.”

“Xu Zuwang!?”

The ancient voice murmured the name, paused briefly, then continued: “He vanished for so many years—so he has escaped his great calamity.”

“He’s stronger than before. Kong Chan Daoren was wounded worse than I am—he probably won’t live two years.” Wang Tianwang said gravely.

“Immortals are made from mortals—yet mortals lack the resolve. This is his calamity…”

“Ah, Zhou Kongchan’s path has reached its end.”

“Old friends fade like fallen leaves in the wind…”

The ancient voice sighed—a sound of sorrow, of remembrance.

“You…”

Wang Tianwang had barely begun speaking when the ancient voice cut him off again.

“Back then, even with Zhang Huadi, I failed to kill him—now, it’s even less possible. He is inherently unkillable.”

“Unkillable!?” Wang Tianwang froze.

“Tell Jiang Your Majesty the full story of this journey—he will decide what to do.”

The ancient voice gave no further words, only instruction.

“One more thing.”

Wang Tianwang stood still, hesitating, words unspoken.

“What?”