Grandpa, times have changed.

At this moment, Yuan, who was lying in Yinling's arms, had his eyes closed, his face was pale, and there was no trace of life force in his body, just like a corpse that had been dead for a long time.

In fact, if his current state were to occur in an ordinary person, it would be no different from true 'death'.

The power of the Void plunged his consciousness into eternal silence, and even his essence was partially eroded by the 'Ritual of Seeking Truth by Refining the Origin from Chaos' of the Taiyi Realm.

A lonely heart and a crippled body.

That is, in the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

If he were outside, he would even be unable to control his broken body due to the perpetual annihilation of his consciousness, causing his essence to continuously leak away.

It will be extremely difficult to recover from that point on.

"Me?" Huo asked, looking at Yuan.

Xu Xing shook his head slightly:

"I'll do it."

After saying that, he raised his right hand, and his fingertips lit up with a bright red light, dazzling and radiant.

Under the red light, sound, light, smell, and everything else seemed to be cut into countless tiny parts.

"You, what are you going to do?!"

As Yinling looked at the red light shining from Xu Xing's fingertip, she felt as if the world before her eyes had suddenly been cut into countless tiny fragments.

The Jieyan Instrument, which had just been integrated into the body, hummed and vibrated, as if it were about to be separated and cut off.

The eerie feeling sent chills down her spine.

"Of course, we need to wake Yuan up."

Buzz~!

A clear, melodious sword cry seemed to resound throughout!

Just like when he directly abducted Yuan and Yinling from the Chaos Sea, a line of crimson light flashed from Xu Xing's fingertips and slashed directly at the heavily injured and silent Yuan!

Seeing this, Yinling was startled and tried to stop it.

However, the speed of that crimson blade far exceeded her reaction time. By the time it landed on Yuan, she had just bent down to shield him.

"host……!"

Instantly, a red light, like a burning torch, blazed and pulsed around Yuan's body.

Eradicate everything, sever everything!
Yuan's mind had originally fallen into eternal silence, but as the red light flickered, this negative state was directly cut off and annihilated.

Under Yinling's blank gaze, Yuan's pale face gradually regained its color, and the previously imperceptible aura began to rise little by little.

It was as if a pile of ashes that had long since burned out was now sparking a few more embers.

Finally, a semi-transparent, illusory figure, identical to Yuan, slowly stood up, glanced around, and looked around with a look of confusion in its eyes.

here it is……

But the moment his gaze fell upon the bewilderment, he was jolted awake.

Suddenly jolted awake from his dazed state, he was so frightened that he staggered back two steps, and even his semi-transparent, illusory soul trembled.

"Fuck!"

Confused: "..."

I put so much effort into designing the script for you and even rescued you from the Taiyi Realm, and this is the reaction you get when you wake up and see me?

"There's no need to be so excited about a long-awaited reunion," Huo said with a smile.

"I……!"

I'd be a fool not to be excited.

Seeing you the moment I open my eyes is no different from seeing a ghost.

wrong!

What are ghosts anyway!
You're way scarier than a ghost!
It took Yuan half a second to finally regain his composure and notice Yinling beside him and the 'himself' in her arms, as well as...

"We meet again." Xu Xing paused here, "No, for you now, it should be our first meeting."

He had no memory of that sliver of his soul.

"Where is this? And who are you...?"

In fact, Yuan already had a vague idea of ​​the answer in his mind, but he still wanted to confirm it again.

"Welcome back to the Tai Xuan Realm, fellow countryman."

it is as expected……

After glancing at Yinling and giving her a reassuring look, Yuan took a deep breath and looked at Xu Xing.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

His memory was still stuck in the Taiyi Realm.

I only remember that my last shred of consciousness was seized by the Holy Lord of the Taiyi Realm, and just as I was about to fall into silence, there seemed to be some movement coming from outside the Taiyi Realm.

"This matter is a bit complicated." After a pause, Xu Xing smiled and said, "But there's nothing urgent right now, so I can explain it to you slowly."

At this point, he glanced at Huo again.

"However, before that, Fellow Daoist Huo, I'm afraid I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

The person has now been brought back.

Fellow Daoist Huo put so much effort into arranging the script, only to have it 'hijacked' by himself in the end...

Let him chat with Yuan for a bit first.

"You were able to escape from the Taiyi Realm this time thanks to Fellow Daoist Huo."

After saying that, Xu Xing waved his hand.

Everyone except Yuan's body was directly transferred to a reception room in the inner sect of the Sword Sect.

He walked to the chair at the head of the table and sat down, then gestured for the others to sit down as well.

deep:"……"

Can we skip this process?

He still harbors resentment from what he experienced back then.

But since things have already come to this point...

He could only appease Yinling and get her to sit down first, then looked at Huo sitting opposite him.

"What guidance do you have, Senior?"

"There's no need for such formalities between us," Huo said casually.

"..."

Let's not be so 'ambiguous'; it's better if we keep a polite distance from each other.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Huo didn't dwell on the topic any longer.
"At the last moment, did you regret the choice you made in the Taiyi Realm?"

"..." Yuan remained silent for a while.

She didn't urge him, and just quietly watched him.

After a long while, Yuan Shen took a deep breath:

"Yes, I did regret it at the last minute."

Because of his momentary negligence, Wanzhu and Mingyu, who came looking for him, perished.

How could he not regret it?!

Even though he now suspects, because of Yinling, that the events that happened in the Taiyi Realm are likely fake, he is still apprehensive.

"Are Wanzhu and Mingyu alright? What happened in the Taiyi Realm..." Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"It was all a 'script' I designed for you. It was all fake, and they're all fine," Huo said frankly.

He had experienced it firsthand and understood what that feeling was like, so naturally he wouldn't hide it.

From beginning to end, he never intended to harm Yuan.

In some ways, he even greatly admired Yuan.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to so much trouble.

"Actually, I used to have those naive ideas of yours too."

"..."

Yuan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly had a subtle change in expression upon hearing this.

Perhaps it's due to his limited knowledge; he really couldn't see that...

"At that time, I also thought that my personal thoughts had nothing to do with other people, and even if I was wrong, I would take responsibility myself and never run away."

"But I later realized that some things can't be resolved simply by not running away from them."

"I don't want you to end up like I did back then, regretting it only when it's too late."

At this point, Huo couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"By the way, I remember you once said that the most important thing for a person is to make peace with themselves."

"I don't think I can do it."

He took a deep breath and said earnestly.

"Although this is just a script I designed for you, I still hope that you can remember everything that happened in the Taiyi Realm, and think more about the people around you before making a decision."

Yuan's expression grew increasingly complicated.

What Huo said at this moment completely overturned his previous understanding of the person 'Huo'.

"I've learned a lot," Yuan said solemnly.

"Hmm." Huo clearly had no intention of staying any longer. "You should recuperate at the Sword Sect from now on. I will come to see you again when you have recovered enough."

Upon hearing this, Yuan almost lost his composure. Actually...

No need!

There's really no need for someone as senior and accomplished as you to waste so much time on me.

However, before he could say anything, Huo had already stood up and disappeared.

"..."

He felt somewhat helpless, but still turned his attention to Xu Xing.

His fellow townsman, one of the most powerful beings in the Tai Xuan Realm, his influence is felt in every aspect of this world.

If he wanted to go back, it would be a thousand times easier for him than for me.

But for some reason, he chose to stay in the Tai Xuan Realm.

Before I explain the ins and outs of this incident, let me first explain why you traveled to the Tai Xuan Realm.

Yuan was startled.

Own……

What was the reason for my transmigration to the Tai Xuan Realm?
……

……

The next morning.

The morning light pierced through the sparse clouds and shone through the window onto a sacred herb.

The verdant leaves, shimmering with spiritual light and adorned with a few drops of spiritual dew, refracted rays of rainbow light.

Yinling carried a pot of spiritual liquid to the potted spiritual plant.

As the spiritual liquid was poured out, the spiritual light emanating from the entire herb grew even brighter.

After a while, she put down the showerhead, turned around and looked at Yuan, who was sitting motionless at the table, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes.

The Lord has been sitting like this all night...

"Lord?"

Yinling, who hadn't disturbed them all night, finally couldn't help but call out in concern.

Yuan paused.

He took a deep breath, rubbed his temples, and turned around to look at her with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about some things."

"That's good." Yinling was relieved.

She didn't think that the Sword Ancestor was a bad person...

Not only was he a very gentle person who saved the Lord, but he was also a fellow countryman of the Lord.

How could someone like that be a bad person?
"As for you, are you adjusting well to the re-integration of the Boundary Evolution Instrument?"

"It feels great!"

Over the decades, she has almost gotten used to the feeling of spirituality slipping away.

Now that I have regained my 'physical foundation', not only has my spirituality become more stable, but the part that I lost has also been gradually restored. Of course, it feels great!
"That's good. Tell me if you feel anything is wrong."

After all, I've been away from the Boundary Evolution Instrument for so long, there might be some 'aftereffects', so I still need to be more careful.

"Uh-huh!"

Seeing that Yinling showed no unusual behavior, Yuan turned around and leaned back.

With his eyes closed, he recalled what Xu Xing had told him last night.

Regarding the part about 'human race and Cang race', the villager directly returned the sliver of his soul's memory to him.

Then there's the part about this incident.

According to the villagers, Wanzhu and Mingyu took the initiative to take on the task of building the Immortal Network connection node in the Chaos Sea in order to find him.

It was during this process that they discovered the existence of the Taiyi Realm.

Afterwards, they borrowed a wisp of doubt from Huo and condensed it into a 'Doubt Avatar' to travel to the Taiyi Realm.

Meanwhile, Huo himself was secretly following behind.

Whether his slightest conscious thought escaped or all that he experienced in the Taiyi Realm was an arrangement of Delusion.

During this time, Huo also captured Xu, who had wanted to refine the Taiyi Realm back then.

That person is now imprisoned in the Dark Prison of the Sword Sect's Law Enforcement Hall...

'Thank goodness.' He secretly rejoiced.

After hearing Huo's confession yesterday, he thought that Wanzhu and Mingyu from Taiyi Realm were also Huo in disguise!

It's nothing really...

But I still feel a little bit uncomfortable about it.

Fortunately not!

Finally, the truth about how I traveled to the Tai Xuan Realm was revealed.

To be honest, when he built the 'Homecoming' laboratory to find the way home, he also tried to investigate the truth about his time travel, but he found nothing.

At the time, I thought my 'time travel' was hiding some amazing conspiracy.

The result was merely a fleeting thought of a fellow villager during his seclusion...

'But even a single thought from the Sword Ancestor must be a remarkable reason for transmigrating, right?'

Yuan lightly tapped his brow and stood up.

Yinling noticed this scene and looked over.

"You can wander around the Sword Sect by yourself. I'll be back later."

That's right, he plans to see Xu Xing again.

Last night, Xu Xing simply explained the ins and outs of the incident and the truth about his time travel to him, and then let him think about it on his own, while also comforting Yin Ling.

One night...

He thought a lot.

Many questions have been answered, and he has made decisions on some matters. It's time to meet him again.

Yinling blinked.

"I see."

Seeing this, Yuan walked to the door, preparing to go out to the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Ding dong~!

The doorbell rang before he could.

Yuan paused, a guess forming in his mind.

Upon opening the door, they saw that the person who had entered was indeed Xu Xing.

Besides him, there was also a little girl who seemed a bit quirky.

Chi Jiuyu.

In that sliver of memory, her existence was present, though rather abstract...

Why did she come along too?
"She happened to come to my place to ask some questions about cultivation, and when she learned that I was planning to see you, she said she wanted to come along," Xu Xing explained casually.

Chi Jiuyu accepted a mission and was to depart in three days.

Before leaving, he decided to solidify his knowledge of talismans.

Because Bie Xuening was unparalleled in the way of killing and wielding the sword, but that was all she could do, she ran to the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Xu Xing thought it would be a good opportunity for her to keep Yinling company, so he brought her along.

Anyway, she can't hear what she shouldn't hear.

"Hello, I am Chi Jiuyu, the personal disciple of the Sword Master, and the nephew of my martial uncle. I met you at Lingyin Pavilion last time. I wonder if you still remember me."

The number one genius in all the heavens and myriad realms...

In front of Yuan, the number one person in a thousand years, she didn't have much confidence to say that title.

pressure……

Yuan paused for a moment, then said, "Of course I remember, Jiu Yu."

"Yes, yes!"

Soon, the two entered the house.

"So, what's your thought? What are your plans for the future?" Xu Xing asked directly.

Chi Jiuyu, who was following behind, quietly pricked up her ears to eavesdrop, only to find that she could not hear anything at all.

Ok!

Just as I expected!

Yuan remained calm and composed.

What are your plans next...?

After a night of contemplation, he had found the answer to this question.

"I will return to the Righteous Alliance after Wanzhu and Mingyu return and I have recovered somewhat."

"What about going home?" Xu Xing glanced out the window. "Personally, I hope you can go back."

Hmm? (End of Chapter)