[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starlight-professional":3,"chapter-starlight-professional-starlight-professional-chapter-558":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starlight Professional",{"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},2309218,4512,"Chapter 558: The Dao Sovereign Abdicates","starlight-professional-chapter-558",558,"\u003Cp>\"It seems the Dao Sovereign has firmly decided to make the ultimate leap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing felt deeply moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To transcend beyond the Fifteenth Realm of Eternity, one must first relinquish the Great Dao they forged, entrusting it to a Dao Lord to govern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is called 'Filling the Dao!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao Lord of Xuanyao was chosen by the Dao Sovereign as the embodiment of this reduction to attain emptiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet rumors suggest the Dao Lord of Xuanyao had previously been reluctant—no one knows why he changed his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'After all, it’s just coercion and temptation… Though the Dao Lord inherited the Immortal Dao, he remains merely a Dao Lord, burdened with countless karmic ties… But at least the power of the Dao Court is real.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once the Dao Sovereign succeeds in transcending, the Dao Lord of Xuanyao will surely secure his position.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Moreover, ordinary Fourteenth Realm Dao Lords or Dao Lords may never ascend to the Fifteenth Realm… For those with no hope on their path, they might even be grateful beyond words…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless thoughts flashed through Fang Xing’s mind, then he spoke: 'This is indeed a major matter… But while we’re not ants in this True Immortal Realm, we’re certainly not high-ranking either. As long as we carefully weather this period and avoid being caught in the crossfire… Who sits on the Dao Court throne hardly concerns us, does it?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alas, if only we could simply avoid it—the Dao Lord of Xuanyao has ordered all our guards to report to the Dao Court to serve as ceremonial troops…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bi Xia Xianzi sighed bitterly: 'To other immortals, this is an supreme honor. Not just any Dao Court army can serve as ceremonial guard and witness at such a moment…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I don’t want to go—too close. If something goes wrong, I might get splattered with blood.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Alas… After decades of arduous cultivation, I ascended to immortality, only to find myself one of the Heavenly Soldiers, destined to become cannon fodder when some eternal being who forged the Heavenly Demon or Demon Dao stirs chaos?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing sighed inwardly: 'No way to refuse?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Military orders are as solid as mountains. The 'Fengluo Immortal' in charge has decreed—even if you’re possessed or dead, you must die at the Dao Court!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bi Xia Xianzi replied with a bitter smile: 'Otherwise… I wouldn’t want to wade into this mess either…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing exhaled a long breath: 'Still, when soldiers come, meet them with generals; when water rises, block it with earth.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Xia Universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ashes’ Secret Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing held a replica of the Grand Void Stone and entered his consciousness into a grand hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the center of the hall sat a stunning white-haired woman, cross-legged, speaking eloquently: 'Today’s insight concerns the Dao of Balance… Some say the Stone Pillar legacies are the Natural Dao—this is partly right, partly wrong. The concept of Nature can be vast, far beyond ordinary forests and lakes. Some include agriculture and civilization, yet that’s still insufficient. True Nature encompasses all things in the universe, everything…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the Ice Emperor Katherine giving a lecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the years, the Starlight Civilization’s Law Lords have pooled their wisdom, and even Dao Lords and Eternal beings from beyond have offered counsel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The study of the ten Stone Pillar legacies has gradually deepened, yet they still frequently hit dead ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Balance… is not equilibrium, but the opposition of Dao to Dao—the sum of all action and reaction.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Katherine continued her lecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing nodded repeatedly as he listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had attended many lectures and even given some himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet among them, Katherine’s were the best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Too bad they’re still superficial… And those ten—no, nine—fragmented legacies? No one can comprehend them.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Even the Starlight Civilization, the Insect Civilization, and the Alien Beast Civilization have tried—none can remove the fragmented legacies from the Secret Realm.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing’s heart tightened—he knew he could take the broken horn only because the Celestial Gate’s mighty ones allowed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And apparently, because his cultivation avatar took one fragment, the difficulty of comprehending the remaining fragments has grown even greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps even turned into a massive pit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'A place of turmoil—best to leave.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He went to a rest area and took a glass of juice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The juice’s ingredients were extremely precious; in the real world, even a Law Lord would wince at the cost—but in the virtual universe, it was freely available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting a moment, a Law Lord wearing a bull-horned helmet approached: 'Fang Xing, are you leaving?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Yes… the next ship.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing sipped slowly: 'I grasp things too slowly, and besides… the Natural Dao doesn’t align with my path.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Hmm, leaving is fine—Lord Chi Xing has already departed.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bull-horned helmeted Law Lord said: 'But the Natural Dao overlaps with Disaster and Frost—those two won’t leave. Well then… farewell, my friend.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Haha, let’s chat again in the Grand Void Universe once you’re out.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This network was like a 'local area network'—it couldn’t connect to the outer Grand Void Universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that each fragmented legacy had found its owner, the Ashes’ Secret Realm had passed its most dangerous phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, any Law Lord of Third Rank could now travel alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, for safety’s sake, Fang Xing planned to leave with the main force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'After I leave, I’ll return to New Lanting to close myself off in seclusion…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'This mission has been counted by the Starlight Civilization as my third mandatory task completed—I’ll have three hundred years of ease ahead.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'As for my cultivation avatar… I’ll take it one step at a time. After all, I can pull him over anytime—he should be fine on his own.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The True Immortal Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'My main body left the Secret Realm and returned to New Lanting without incident.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao Court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing stood guard in his standard True Immortal armor, expression stern and unyielding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby stood Bi Xia Xianzi and Luo Yun Zhenxian, just like him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I feel more like one of the hundred thousand background troops now…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I wonder if a monkey will storm the gates during the Dao Sovereign’s succession ceremony?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing idly mused. Not long ago, his Dao Court army received orders and arrived at the Dao Court headquarters via the Immortal Realm teleportation array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place was indeed majestic and boundless, with purple qi flowing eastward for thirty thousand li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao Court’s architecture was exquisitely beautiful: cloud-top palaces, undersea dragon palaces, seasonal divine halls, incense-shrine temples… everything imaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, even true dragons and heavenly phoenixes pulled chariots in and out of palaces and caverns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet none of this had anything to do with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Fang Xing and the others were merely lowly guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they would stand guard until the succession ceremony ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As True Immortals, standing here for decades meant nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the ceremony, great rewards awaited them—they were now the new Dao Sovereign’s personal troops, destined for promotion and lavish gifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, the uncertainty—never knowing when danger might strike—made Fang Xing deeply uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please… Your Majesty… collect _(!)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiu jiu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, they heard another chorus of phoenix cries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking out, they saw nineteen True Immortal-perfected phoenixes pulling a chariot woven entirely from colorful flowers, trailing five-colored tassels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'It’s Dao Lord Qiushui!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice reached Fang Xing’s ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up and saw Bi Xia Xianzi staring straight ahead, eyes downcast, as if she hadn’t been the one whispering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing understood—on such a grand occasion, all Dao Lords under the Dao Court’s thirty-three Immortal Realms would come in person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze followed the phoenix chariot as it landed, and from it stepped a being whose eyes were like autumn waters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was wrapped in a halo of pure light, radiating an ancient, unchanging aura, with a ring of autumn waters at her outermost edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That autumn water was crystal-clear, yet piercingly cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely glancing at it made him instinctively lower his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'So strong… similar to the Ten Thousand Swords Dao Lord…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Indeed—they’re all Fourteenth Realm Dao Lords or Dao Lords.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'There are dozens of such Dao Lords in the Dao Court alone… and beyond the Immortal Realms lie the Demon Realms and the Beast Realms…'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing quickly steadied his mind, yet within him, a conviction grew firmer: 'One day, I will catch up.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time flew by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seventy-seven days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dao Court held the Dao Sovereign’s succession ceremony as scheduled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing, Bi Xia Xianzi, and the others had no right to enter and observe—they still stood guard at a celestial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dang dang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the sound of bronze bells rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bells’ tones were ethereal and solemn…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening for a while, Fang Xing felt his True Immortal body purified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his golden and silver dantian energies didn’t advance, they became inexplicably purer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the konghou, the longqin, the jade xiao—various instruments played together. Even Fang Xing and the other True Immortals at the outermost edge gained unexpected benefits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the thirty-thousand-li purple qi above the Dao Court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the mark of the Dao Court, and likewise represents the Dao Sovereign!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, that streak of purple qi began to undulate slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Old Dao Sovereign is about to make the ultimate leap…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To transcend, one must first reduce and seek emptiness, severing one’s own threads… For a Dao Sovereign, the Dao Court is the greatest karmic bond.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that it is severed, even if a few strands remain, it is no longer a major issue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After resolving these ties, comes the pull of transcendence… One must beforehand condense the traits of transcendence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing had heard of this: the Dao Sovereign had already condensed a single strand of ‘Hongmeng Purple Qi,’ which should be superior to transcendence bloodline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before all eyes, the purple qi boiled and rose steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty thousand li!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sixty thousand li!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ninety thousand li!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the purple qi, a faint, ancient face emerged, striving to ‘ascend!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Transcendence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this… transcendence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing and the ceremonial guards bowed in solemn reverence as they watched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the purple qi neared the hundred-thousand-li mark, a thin voice echoed across heaven and earth:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, the Demon Sovereign, come to see my fellow Daoist on his way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was shrill, piercing… as if it had split into countless worms, trying to burrow into Fang Xing’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What… what is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing instantly felt his cultivation energy freeze; not even a thread of spacetime law could be summoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to see again the giant at the entrance of the Ashen Secret Realm—this daze jolted him awake: “It’s the lingering ripple of Eternal Attack…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Xing looked ahead and saw the Bi Xia Immortal growing ears atop her head, her body covered in scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Terrifying conflict erupted within her, causing her to explode instantly—her Nascent Soul mutated into a half-human, half-demon form, frantically dissolving…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is… the Heavenly Demon Transformation!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1839,"2026-06-20T11:03:22.760Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","54c20bd476085045d5fd50e414fa0a2cafc97e3373935f31d4dab8544f201635","starlight-professional-chapter-559","starlight-professional-chapter-557",726,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarlight-professional-cover.jpg"]