The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"Is this...the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

Among the nearly one hundred experts at the pinnacle of their power, one of them let out a startled exclamation filled with emotion.

Chu Xiu looked over upon hearing the voice and saw a man dressed in battle-damaged armor stained with blood, suggesting that he had experienced a major battle before becoming a puppet.

The style of the armor looked quite familiar to Chu Xiu.

It appears to be identical to the armor of the Great Zhou Emperor displayed in the Taiji Hall of the Imperial City.

Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

A hint of surprise flashed in Chu Xiu's eyes as he invited the person who had spoken to come closer.

"May I ask your honorable name, senior?"

The man exuded a regal air as he bowed and smiled, saying, "I am Murong Yuan. If this Great Zhou is the Zhou of the Murong clan... then I should be the founding emperor of this Great Zhou."

"It really is His Majesty the Great Ancestor!"

Chu Xiu laughed and quickly returned the greeting with clasped hands, saying, "Chu Xiu, the Champion Marquis of the Great Zhou, greets His Majesty the Great Ancestor!"

Murong Yuan quickly stepped aside to avoid Chu Xiu's bow.

He felt unworthy to receive the rites from Chu Xiu, the ruler of this world.

Murong Yuan knew that Chu Xiu's bow was an acknowledgment of his status as the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but what was a mere founding emperor of a country compared to the Lord of Heaven and Earth...

"Lord Chu, you are too kind... If it weren't for you, how would I have had the chance to witness such a prosperous Zhou Dynasty in my lifetime!"

Looking down at the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Murong Yuan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and excitement.

Chu Xiu glanced around at the assembled experts at the pinnacle of their abilities; there were only ten of them who were from the human race of the continent.

The rest were either overseas humans, northern demons, or scaled people who had long since left the demon race and lived in seclusion overseas.

When they saw that Murong Yuan was able to return to his hometown, they looked at Chu Xiu with envy and longing, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Chu Xiu said helplessly, "Don't worry, everyone. Once this matter is settled, you will all be free."

Hearing Chu Xiu's words, everyone felt a little relieved.

However, the longing for home and the past in his eyes was hard to conceal.

Among the crowd, Ling Su, dressed in a black dress, stood out.

She hesitated several times before speaking, which Chu Xiu noticed.

With a thought, Chu Xiu waved his hand to the side, creating several void rifts.

The next moment, Tu Shanling, Tu Shanwan, and Atai, who had received Chu Xiu's cross-border divine thought transmission, each emerged from the void rift.

"Ling Su!"

Tu Shanwan, with her sharp eyes, spotted her best friend in the crowd and rushed towards Ling Su.

"Wan'er!"

Ling Su exclaimed in surprise, embraced Tu Shan Wan, and wept with joy.

Atai, a member of the Titan Ape clan, found one of his own kind in the crowd. The two put their arms around each other's shoulders, and as fellow countrymen, they were moved to tears.

Tu Shanling gracefully approached Chu Xiu, her eyes filled with tenderness as she gazed at him.

Chu Xiu kept his word and brought her mother back safely.

At this moment, Tu Shanling's heart had already fallen for Chu Xiu; she had fallen in love at first sight and was captivated upon seeing him again.

Chu Xiu felt a little uneasy under Tu Shanling's gaze and was at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, someone came to his rescue.

"My dear Chu!"

A familiar voice called out, and Chu Xiu looked up in response.

It turned out that Murong Si, along with Liu Feibai, the Pavilion Master of the Immortal Martial Pavilion, and the various Hall Masters of the Offering Hall, including Murong Nantian, Nangong Yijian, Gai Wushuang, and Dugu Shiwu, had all come here together.

Liu Feibai had already noticed that nearly a hundred experts at the pinnacle of power had appeared in the skies above the capital of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

However, the sheer number of people involved made him hesitant to act rashly.

They had no choice but to use telepathy to gather all of the Great Zhou's top combat forces here, in preparation for the impending upheaval.

Until the sharp-eyed Murong Si spotted Chu Xiu's figure in the crowd.

"Your Majesty, come and see who this is!"

Chu Xiu smiled and invited Murong Yuan to stand before Murong Si and Murong Nantian.

"This is... His Majesty the Great Ancestor of the Zhou Dynasty!"

"Emperor Taizu!"

Murong Si and Murong Nantian exclaimed in unison and rushed to Murong Yuan's side to greet him.

Chu Xiu frowned; he had actually sensed the aura of the Limitless Realm emanating from Murong Si.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Liu Feibai.

as predicted!

Now, Liu Feibai is just like an ordinary old man with no trace of cultivation, who was able to come here to meet us only by relying on a flying magic weapon.

"Senior Liu..."

Chu Xiu came to Liu Feibai and told him in detail about how the previous Lord of Heaven and Earth had entrusted him with the will of Heaven and Earth, as well as the background and origin of the Wuxiang Sword Scripture.

Liu Feibai stroked his white beard and smiled, "Back then, the moment I obtained the Wuxiang Sword Manual, I already knew everything you knew. It was that Venerable One who told me this personally."

"The moment I saw you at the Immortal Martial Pavilion that day, I knew that the future master of the Formless Sword Scripture would only be you, not me, who was already old and frail..."

"Why would the senior bestow his entire cultivation upon His Majesty?"

Chu Xiu couldn't help but ask a question.

Reaching the pinnacle of cultivation is the lifelong aspiration of every cultivator in this world.

Losing one's cultivation and becoming an ordinary person is a huge loss that is beyond the mental capacity of an ordinary cultivator.

Moreover, this is especially true for an elderly cultivator like Liu Feibai, whose physical body has long since decayed.

Once you lose your cultivation, it means your death is not far off...

"This is related to the agreement between His Majesty and me from many years ago. My lord, there is no need to worry. I have lived long enough. I have no regrets in this life as I have been able to reach the end and see the successor inherit His will!"

Liu Feibai patted Chu Xiu on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

The moment he touched Chu Xiu, Chu Xiu knew that Chu Xiu only had five years left to live.

Only five years...

Even though Chu Xiu was the master of heaven and earth, he could not make an elderly cultivator who had lost his life's cultivation return to his original realm peacefully.

This is not within the scope of power held by someone like Chu Xiu, who is a successor to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, similar to the ruler of a country. Perhaps only the one who created this world could achieve this.

The best he could do was to barely extend Liu Feibai's life by another hundred years, during which time Liu could live out his old age in peace without the worry of illness.

But after a hundred years, its body will wither away like rotten wood, with no possibility of reviving...

Chu Xiu clenched his fists silently. He hadn't expected that even as the master of this world, he would still have so much lack of freedom...

In this world, no one can tell him how to become the true master of this world, possessing the power and might of a creator...

Perhaps only those in the upper realms... are capable of doing this!

The perceptive Tu Shanling sensed Chu Xiu's emotions and silently approached him. She raised her hands, cupped his clenched fists in her palms, and softly comforted him:

“My mother said that the lower realm is just a small world, and the laws of heaven and earth are not complete.”

"But the Upper Realm—the Celestial Realm—is truly one of the many worlds!"

"There, those who master the laws of life can revive the dead and heal the wounded with a wave of their hand. Helping people return to their peak realm or extend their lifespan is such an easy thing that it is not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's eyes lit up, and he looked at Tu Shanling, who was nestled beside him, with hopeful eyes, and asked, "Is this true?"

Tu Shanling smiled gently: "Of course it's true, I... would never lie to you!"

Chu Xiu let out a long sigh, looked up at the sky, and gazed at the blue star far away in the heavens.

Once this matter is settled, it will be time to put the trip to the Upper Realm on the agenda!