Grandpa, times have changed.

Not long after, Xu Xing and Yuan left the 'Free Trade Zone' and returned to the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Although Yuan had used some excuses to stay in the Sword Sect.

But that doesn't mean the 'excuse' is false.

He was preparing to try to have 'God' return to his 'body' so that he could recover further.

"Actually, given your current condition, you can rest for a while before trying to unite your body and spirit. They can send an avatar to accompany you."

Xu Xing said this in front of the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Yuan's 'spirit' has not yet recovered to its optimal state, so attempting to unite body and spirit now carries a certain probability of failure.

"It's just a try. Even if it fails, it won't take up too much time," Yuan explained.

And they separated themselves to accompany Mingyu and Wanzhu, etc...

Then comes the problem.

Who should the original body follow, and who should the incarnation follow?
He wouldn't create a problem for himself for no reason.

As for both sides having their avatars accompany them back...

What's the difference between that and the current situation?
"I'll take you to meet Fellow Daoist Hongzun when I have time," Xu Xing suddenly said.

Ok?
What does this mean?
wrong!

Legend has it that the True Immortal Ancestor Hongzun of the Taixuan Realm had many Daoist companions, and in his memory, he was a True Immortal with the demeanor of the Yellow Emperor...

Yuan, realizing what had happened, was speechless.

Of all the people he knew, those with ties to his fellow villagers included Senior Yuanjun, Wanzhu's master, and Senior Sword Master.

How dare someone from his hometown criticize him?
and……

"Forget it, I think I offended Senior Hongzun before."

"Oh?"

Did Yuan offend Hong Zun?
I've never heard him mention it!
"How to say?"

“Actually, it’s nothing much…” Yuan paused, then added, “It’s even a bit melodramatic.”

"Tell me more about it, and I'll see if I can go and talk to him about it."

Although Hongzun is a bit cunning, he is actually quite easygoing, which shouldn't be the case, right?
And it's 'melodramatic'...

To be honest, he was quite curious.

"..."

Yuan thought about it for a moment, then spoke up.

Although so many years have passed, he doesn't care as much anymore, but it would be best if it could be resolved.

"As you know, I met Wanzhu not long after I arrived in the Tai Xuan Realm..."

Ning Wanzhu lost both her parents shortly after birth.

Fortunately, he was accepted into the Lingyin Pavilion and, through his own efforts, surpassed his peers in the Lingyin Pavilion, eventually being accepted into Ning Ruo's sect.

As a direct disciple of a true immortal, she achieved the Dao Integration Realm at a young age and was once a renowned 'fairy' with many suitors.

Among these suitors was a man with an extremely powerful background, Hong Zun's son, Hong Sheng.

At first, Hong Sheng didn't take Yuan seriously.

After all, Yuan, who had transmigrated to the Tai Xuan Realm, was already over twenty years old and hadn't even reached the Qi Refining stage yet.

At that time, Hong Sheng was already in the late stage of the Returning to Emptiness realm, and was a top genius among the six major immortal sects, second only to Ning Wanzhu.

However, after Yuan came into contact with cultivation, he gradually revealed his exaggerated talent, and because of a series of experiences, his feelings for Ning Wanzhu also deepened day by day.

Hong Sheng finally took Yuan seriously.

And during the time when Yuan joined Tingyulou, he approached him.

Of course, Hong Sheng did not make a move. He simply said that he was not worthy of Ning Wanzhu and made a promise to him that they would have a match after he had reached the peak of the Void Returning Realm.

Yuan refused outright, and his casual retorts nearly broke Hong Sheng's composure.

Later, the two met a few more times.

Hong Sheng initially disdained to make a move, but Yuan was able to exchange a couple of blows with him, and then the two were evenly matched.

To be honest, if it was Ning Wanzhu at the beginning, then it was purely driven by a competitive spirit later on.

Ultimately, Yuan became the youngest Dao Integration Realm cultivator in the history of the Tai Xuan Realm.

At that time, Hong Sheng, who was still stuck at the peak of the Returning to Emptiness stage, was unwilling to accept defeat and came to challenge Yuan to a duel. As a result, he was seriously injured by Yuan with a casual finger. In the end, it was Hong Zun who personally came out to take him away.

"He said a little bit of... well... not very nice things. That guy seemed to get really angry. He was even coughing up blood when Senior Hongzun took him away."

He found the experience quite melodramatic.

"So it was that kid Hongsheng." Xu Xing chuckled.

Hong Sheng, I've met this kid a few times, he's very ambitious.

However, he is somewhat impetuous.

He's a bit like a brainless spoiled brat who looks down on everyone.

Of course, his nature is still good.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so easily swayed by Yuan's few words, and wouldn't have chosen to leave while holding her anger.

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Hongzun won't get angry over such a small matter."

what?
He beat the man's son so badly in front of his father, and even made the son vomit blood from anger.

These are all minor issues?
"Between peers... no, you can't even be considered his peer!"

Yuan's experiences were so legendary that many people compared him to the older generation of Dongzhen and Tongxuan masters.

“You won against him fair and square, without using any tricks, and it was Hong Sheng who started the trouble first.”

Hongzun isn't that petty.

"What happened after that? Did that kid Hongsheng ever contact you again?"

"I did try to contact him once, but he said he was going into seclusion and would come back to test his skills against me after he had achieved the Dao Integration Cultivation..."

Unfortunately, even after advancing to the Tongxuan realm and achieving the Dongzhen realm, there was still no news of Hongsheng emerging from seclusion.

This is what it means to be in harmony with the Tao.

Some people waste thousands of years without achieving anything, while others can achieve it in a single thought.

"No rush. If he's still not satisfied after he comes out of seclusion, just beat him up again."

"..."

As they spoke, the two entered the Sword Ancestor's Hall and arrived at the room where Yuan Dongzhen's body was kept.

The room was brightly lit, and there were no superfluous decorations.

A flat stone platform is located in the center of the room, and on it is Yuan's 'body'.

His face was still pale and his vital energy was low, but at least he had a glimmer of life and was slowly recovering. He was no longer in a state of being incomplete, damaged, and constantly deteriorating.

“Although your ‘spirit’ has recovered a lot, it is still quite different from your ‘body’,” Xu Xing said in a deep voice. “Even if you can successfully unite your body and spirit, your subsequent actions will be very inconvenient.”

Yuan nodded:
"clear."

Without further hesitation, he transformed into a ray of light and disappeared into the space between his eyebrows.

hum~
A thin layer of spiritual light suddenly appeared on the previously motionless 'body'.

The body, which originally had low energy, now carries a sense of harmony and completeness.

A visible distortion spread outwards.

However, it was the spatial tide that was spontaneously generated by the Dao that Yuan led after his body and spirit merged.

In other parts of the central continent, spatial tides could even affect an entire province.

In the starry sky, this spatial tide can even affect an entire galaxy cluster.

If it were in the Chaos Sea, it would be even more incredible.

The spatial tides triggered by the Dao led by Dongzhen are enough to shake all realms.

Of course, under the special rules of the Sword Ancestor's Hall, all of this only formed a negligible ripple around Yuan before quickly dissipating and disappearing into nothingness.

Soon, the many strange phenomena dissipated, and as the spiritual light dimmed, the sense of 'harmony' and 'completeness' emanating from the 'body' also disappeared.

Call ~
A soft exhalation sound was heard.

Yuan's eyelids trembled slightly, and this continued for a while before he finally opened his eyes.

First the fingers, then the forearm, and then the entire arm.

He was like a patient who had been bedridden for a long time and had just woken up; every joint seemed stiff, and even the slightest movement was incredibly difficult. It took Yuan a while to finally get up from the stone platform.

After sitting up a little straighter, he let out a soft breath and frowned.

"It really feels awkward."

He felt like an ordinary person recovering from a serious illness, wearing a heavy suit of armor.

Moreover, each thought needs a certain delay before it can be reflected in the body and cause corresponding actions.

"It's already quite good to succeed on the first try."

Xu Xing observed his condition for a while, then flicked his finger.

hum~
An invisible blade of light flashed out and hovered in front of the abyss.

"This sword energy can help you control your body more easily, but you've been relying on external objects too much lately. Whether you want to use it or not is up to you."

After saying that, Xu Xing lowered his hand.

"If we don't need it now, we'll keep it. In the future, when we encounter beings that surpass the Cave True level, we won't be helpless."

"You can adjust it yourself from now on."

I'll come see you later.

Xu Xing then turned and left, leaving Yuan alone sitting on the stone platform.

Feeling the invisible sharpness emanating from the very thing right in front of him, Yuan's expression was somewhat complicated.

The legendary 'Treasure-Giving Immortal'...

Sure enough.

Unfortunately, when I first arrived in the Tai Xuan Realm, my fellow villager happened to be in seclusion.

Otherwise, if I had latched onto his coattails, I wouldn't have had to be so anxious during the initial period.

……

……

On the other side, Xu Xing arrived at the location where the core of the Immortal Network was stored.

Beep beep beep~!

A beep sounds.

Upon opening it, I found that the message came from the 'gang leader group'.

Overlord: "The Abyss has been found. What are your plans next, Brother Dao? @Sword Ancestor"

Danzu: "If I'm not mistaken, Brother Dao probably wants to use the opportunity of Yuan's return to get the Righteous Path Alliance involved in the 'Ascension Plan' as well."

To the True Immortals of Tai Xuan, there was little difference between the members of the Righteous Path Alliance and the disciples within their sects.

We are all human, and there are so many masters of profound understanding, profound knowledge, and the Dao...

It would be a waste not to let them contribute to the 'Ascension Project'.

The Immortal Sect itself...

At the very least, these Tai Xuan True Immortals wanted to play along with the Righteous Path Alliance.

However, the situation in the Righteous Alliance is too complicated. Some people in the alliance are very resistant to the Immortal Sect, believing that accepting the Immortal Sect's goodwill means becoming its subordinate.

Given the current situation, it's not yet time to 'unite all forces,' so there's no need to resort to harsh measures.

For all these reasons, it was deliberately kept hidden.

On the one hand, there are no true immortals within the alliance, and revealing this to them too early might actually alert Gu.

Although Gu was rather stupid.

But His power was disgusting.

What has happened will always become the 'past', and once it becomes the 'past', it falls under His authority.

If Gu knew about this before the Immortal Network was stable, He would definitely try to interfere.

On the other hand...

There's a saying that goes, "What you can't have is always the best."

If you don't include those people in the Righteous Alliance, they'll rack their brains to try and get involved.

Sword Ancestor: "Indeed, Yuan's return is a very good opportunity."

Sword Ancestor: "/thumbs up"

Danzu: "/Low-key"

Sword Ancestor: "Next, after Yuan recovers somewhat and we return to the Righteous Path Alliance to handle things, I will send the Ascension Platform Central Hub there."

Hongzun: "If we do this, a very small number of people in the alliance might think that Sword Ancestor wants to interfere with the righteous alliance /smirk"

For example, that old guy who founded the Wanfa Dao Sect.

The reason for choosing such a name when establishing the sect was to compete with the Supreme Dao Sect.

She had pursued Dieyu even earlier, and even went up to him to provoke him!
He couldn't stand it any longer, so he called his fellow Daoist and the Overlord, and on a dark and windy night, they put a sack over the old man's neck and gave him a good beating.

Looking back now, it's truly heartbreaking.

They were young and impetuous at one time too!

Sword Ancestor: "Let them think what they want."

Sword Ancestor: "As long as the Righteous Alliance as a whole can accept it, the opinions of a few individuals are not important."

Sword Ancestor: "Moreover, after experiencing the convenience of the Tai Xuan Immortal Network, they probably wouldn't want to refuse it."

Chen Shang had previously wanted to ask Chen Yuanlin for an opportunity to become an Ascension Envoy.

After all, Chen Yuanlin left too hastily, and his foundation was somewhat unstable.

Traveling to other worlds and experiencing different spiritual practices can enrich his knowledge and help him solidify his foundation.

But I've always been too embarrassed to ask.

Overlord: "But it depends on whether Yuan can stabilize the situation."

If Yuan goes back but fails to regain control of the narrative...

The involvement of the Immortal Sect, fueled by the pronouncements of certain individuals, is bound to cause some unnecessary trouble.

Although it's not unsolvable.

But that defeats the original purpose. They wanted a smooth transition and to avoid any trouble, which is why they chose to take it slow.

The times are good now, and nobody wants to disrupt them.

Sword Ancestor: "That's alright, I trust Yuan."

Sword Ancestor: "What he had to do back then was much more difficult than this, but he still managed to do it, didn't he?"

Meizu: "/Little Yellow Duck Spinning Around"

Meizu: "/Sprinkling flowers"

Meizu: "Speaking of which, it seems that he did some things back then by taking advantage of Brother Dao's 'power'."

Danzu: "Indeed, for a time I even genuinely believed that it was you, Daoist brother, who was behind everything."

Hongzun: "+1"

Overlord: "I did hear him admit that everything he did was just taking advantage of the situation, but I don't really believe it."

Overlord: "Only later did I realize he did it on purpose / complex expression"

Although my fellow Daoist has gone into seclusion.

But with such high cultivation levels, who knows if he secretly slipped out?

After all, his idea of ​​changing the landscape of the Tai Xuan Realm had evolved into an obsession.

Danzu: "It's normal, you don't need to worry about it at all."

Ok?
This guy changed his ways today, and I even comforted him?
wrong!

Overlord: "What the hell do you mean?!"

Meizu: "Speaking of which, you should know that Yuan is deliberately using Daoist Brother's influence."

Meizu: "Why didn't you come forward to clarify, @SwordMaster?"

Unlike them, the Sword Master, who shares the same master as Daoist Brother, must know the truth.

Sword Master: "Everything he did was exactly what my junior brother had always wanted to achieve, so why should I stop him?" (End of Chapter)