Chapter 724: Transcendence

"The karmic ties of the True Immortal Realm... have been fully resolved."

At the very moment the Demon Sovereign died.

In the Great Xia Universe, Fang Xing’s original body, nestled within layers of void, suddenly felt several more of his karmic threads severed.

At this moment, he had reached the critical threshold of forced ascension.

The only thing still binding him was his connection to the "True Martial Dao."

"Other eternal beings all scramble to find someone to fill their Dao... yet I rely on this greatest karmic bond—the Dao Lord—to barely avoid transcendence... truly, it’s the reverse of heaven’s will..."

Fang Xing let out a light laugh.

At this moment, a single thought from him could prove his Dao and transcend eternity.

Yet he forcibly held back, turning his gaze toward the Eternal Mark of the Qingyuan Great Realm.

Qingyuan Great Realm.

Fang Xing looked at Panggu Wu.

"The moment of transcendence is now!"

Panggu Wu let out a low roar, his form instantly turning ethereal, as if already forgotten by the world.

This was the extreme of "reducing to achieve emptiness"—his karmic ties to the river of time and space had become negligible.

In Fang Xing’s view, the process of an eternal being’s transcendence was merely a tug-of-war.

The pulling force was the "transcendence trait"; as long as it was strong enough, even the heaviest karmic chains dragging at one’s heels could be violently snapped, proving the Dao through sheer force.

The resisting force, naturally, came from various karmic ties and one’s own Dao—hence the need to reduce and achieve emptiness, minimizing resistance.

Panggu Wu had long found his "filler," severed his karmic bonds, and deferred his promises until after transcendence; thus, his karmic ties were now minuscule.

Moreover, he had hidden within a mysterious space, untouched by karma, having not acted for an extended period.

His practice of "reducing to achieve emptiness" had reached a certain limit.

That is, the resisting force was so slight that even a very low level of pulling force would suffice for transcendence!

The "transcendence bloodline" was that pulling force!

"Transcend! Transcend! Transcend!"

At this moment, a river of time and space—indescribable in nature—wound around Panggu Wu, as if he were a fish in the river, striving to swim ashore!

Not only to swim ashore, but to grow wings and transform into the Ying Dragon!

Whoosh!

The river of time and space descended!

An indescribable force continuously washed over Panggu Wu, like a waterfall, pushing him deeper into the river.

But fortunately, his karmic threads were extremely faint, so this "resistance" was not great.

Even so, Panggu Wu still felt each step to be arduous.

At this moment, the purple patterns on his body began to glow with strange radiance, emitting a hint of Dao rhythm that transcended all things.

—Transcendence Bloodline!

Even a low-grade transcendence trait carried a pulling force!

Like a rope from the shore, giving the fish a chance to gain leverage.

Roar! Roar!

Beside Fang Xing’s ears, it seemed a hoarse beastly roar echoed.

He looked out, using the Gate of All Realms, his gaze seemingly transcending beyond the river of time and space.

There, he saw a creature with white fur, four hooves, and massive black horns suddenly manifest from the "Unspeakable Place" into reality!

"A transcendent? Alive?"

"No... the source of this transcendence bloodline is already dead, so... is this merely its lingering shadow or imprint within the river of time and space?"

"How could such a powerful transcendent have perished?"

?

Various thoughts flashed through Fang Xing’s mind.

As he pondered, the four-hoofed, black-horned creature surged forward, seemingly merging with Panggu Wu.

"Aaah!"

Panggu Wu let out a deafening roar, his jet-black hair splitting like lightning, radiating terrifying power.

He seemed fused with the transcendent’s imprint—his entire body covered in white fur, a small black horn emerging on his forehead.

"Is this... overreliance on the transcendence bloodline causing latent flaws to erupt prematurely?"

Fang Xing fell into thought, yet made no move.

For he saw determination in Panggu Wu’s eyes.

The man remained conscious—perhaps this was the price one must pay to harness the "transcendence bloodline."

Moreover, most eternal beings cared little for their appearance.

To achieve transcendence, they were willing to sacrifice everything—what were mere looks?

Boom!

After merging with the strange beast, Panggu Wu’s form shot upward, beginning his "ascension!"

Or rather—the fish leapt clear out of the water, onto the shore!

The entire Qingyuan Great Realm trembled as a white pillar of light surged into the heavens.

The unique aura of a transcendent—the radiance that transcended all things—awoke every eternal being who had been sleeping or sealed away.

"That... is the radiance of transcendence? I’ve slept for countless ten thousand years, yet still cannot make that final leap... who is it?"

An ancient being let out a jealous, resentful roar.

"It’s Panggu Wu! He trained an eternal disciple and passed on his entire Dao to him..."

"Panggu Wu?!"

"Transcendence... transcendence..."

Countless divine thoughts intertwined, yet could do nothing but watch in envy and jealousy as a transcendent was born.

"Master, may your journey be peaceful."

Watching Panggu Wu’s form gradually fade into ethereality, Fang Xing knew—Panggu Wu had succeeded!

He had successfully ascended to the Sixteenth Realm, becoming a "Transcendent!"

A being who transcended all!

Even when the river of time and space reached its end, the transcendent remained immortal!

"I truly wonder... what kind of realm is that?"

Within the mysterious space.

Gazing at the empty void, Fang Xing felt a pang of melancholy.

"When you ascend to it yourself, you’ll understand."

A deep voice rang out—it was Panggu Wu.

"Huh?"

Fang Xing turned and saw an ordinary middle-aged man standing before him, arms crossed behind his back.

Yet he had not sensed the man’s presence at all just moments before!

Even if this was not his true body, merely an avatar of his Eternal Mark, this was terrifying.

"Master... you’ve returned?"

Fang Xing bowed slightly.

For transcendent beings... time is an illusion. I have already transcended for countless years, even refined the transcendence bloodline within me, completely eliminating its dangers, then returned to this exact moment...

Panggu Wu smiled: "To you, it seems as if I transcended and returned in the next instant."

"So... time is distorted?"

Fang Xing pondered: "What exactly is the Unspeakable Place like?"

"The Unspeakable Place..." Panggu Wu’s lips curved in a smile:

"Master, what are you saying?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Fang Xing’s face, then turned to shock.

"The Unspeakable Place—for us transcendent beings—is simply that... but for those who have not transcended, the river of time and space erases all information—language, text, imagery, even thoughts..."

Panggu Wu said: "So... do you understand?"

Fang Xing nodded—he understood, roughly.

The existence of transcendent beings, and the Unspeakable Place itself, might bring catastrophic damage to the river of time and space.

Hence, the river of time and space actively sealed certain information?

Although fifteenth-realm eternal beings could already send their thoughts deep into the primordial sources of All-Realm worlds,

Even ten thousand such All-Realm worlds combined could not match the power of a single river of time and space!

They were not even in the same league.

"Then... what does transcendence look like?"

Fang Xing asked.

"Hah... after transcendence, you realize how little you’ve ever seen. This river of time and space is far too narrow, too confined for us... if not to see you, I wouldn’t have projected myself here."

Panggu Wu smiled: "You carry heavy karmic ties. I wait for your conditions."

"Master, can you see the karmic ties on me? And the classifications of transcendent beings?" Fang Xing asked curiously.

"There are some things I can't tell you—even if I speak them, you won't hear them..."

Pan Guwu smiled: "This river of time and space will reach its end in roughly two hundred trillion cosmic years... You have only this much time to transcend."

"Only... this much?"

Fang Xing widened his eyes.

"Heh... to one who has transcended, the lifespan of a mere river of time and space means nothing."

Pan Guwu glanced at the strange distortions of space-time around him: "Enough for today. I hope you transcend—become my fellow Daoist..."

His form instantly grew ethereal, then vanished.

Within the space, Fang Xing stared at the direction where Pan Guwu had departed, silent for a long while.

Then... his form collapsed at once, turning into a single eternal mark that dissolved entirely.

The Great Xia Universe.

"Two hundred trillion cosmic years? Is that the lifespan of this river of time and space?"

"I don't know whether the river of time and space I inhabit is in its early, middle..."

"...or final stage of evolution."

Fang Xing, enveloped layer upon layer by the Gates of All Realms, sank into thought.

To transcend—he could do so right now.

"But... what good is transcendence?"

"Having only one teacher, Pan Guwu, isn't exactly a convincing example."

"I've only just unified the Great Xia Universe and become the man behind the Lord of the True Immortal Court... I should enjoy myself properly."

"At least enjoy a hundred trillion years first..."

Fang Xing rubbed his chin, wearing a faintly nostalgic smile.

Even if he must ascend eventually, he would certainly hold out until he had no choice.

Because the unknown often means risk!

"And... during this time, I might as well plunder every transcendence legacy in this river of time and space!"

Fang Xing made his decision.

He would go plunder those transcendence legacies—not to gather any transcendence traits.

At his current state, gathering another transcendence trait would force him to transcend.

What he wanted was still his old plan.

"My attribute panel... is too powerful. Even among transcenders, it must carry immense karmic weight..."

"Owing one such colossal karmic debt means I'll be crushed to dust—but owing debts to a host of transcenders? That's another matter entirely..."

"Even if I'm wrong, it doesn't really matter..."