With the Three Realms tide approaching, countless eyes were fixed on this singular opportunity. Before that moment arrived, not a single misstep could be tolerated.
"Xu Ying, I shall tolerate you for now."
The Imperial Monarch's aura gradually settled as he murmured, "Over forty thousand years ago, I discovered that the Great Daos of heaven and earth from an ancient era were reviving within Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain upon Wangxiang Platform, so I left behind the Purple Nether Saber to suppress them. With that treasure, I severed the Great Daos there. Now, more than forty thousand years later, I expected Bai Yuchuan's journey would claim that merit for himself. I never imagined he would run into you."
His gaze turned profound, peering down toward the spacetime of the lower realm.
The Immortal Realm was a higher plane, yet it was currently drawing closer to the mortal realm. The myriad heavens and worlds of the mortal realm clustered together, resembling flotsam adrift upon an ocean, while the resplendent starry sky stretched around them like seawater.
"Forty-eight thousand years ago, you were the one who awakened the Great Daos of heaven and earth within Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain, weren't you?"
The Imperial Monarch thought in silence, *Now you make your comeback, ruining my plans on Jade Capital Mountain. Could it be that you have recovered your past memories?* His expression shifted slightly, and he lapsed into a prolonged silence.
He could never permit Xu Ying to regain his memories and stage a resurgence from Wangxiang Platform.
Meanwhile, Perfected Jade Pot, Young Master Yuchuan, and the others had fled beyond the Diamond Snare's range and were fleeing panic-stricken across Wangxiang Platform. Suddenly, Perfected Jade Pot came to his senses. "Wait, something is wrong! If Xu Ying truly wanted to kill us, why didn't he unleash that broken sword? That broken sword was capable of cleaving even the Imperial Monarch's Purple Nether Saber! If he had simply invoked that blade, none of us could have escaped alive!"
Xuankong and Xuantian also realized the truth. Xuankong said, "It isn't that he didn't want to kill us—he couldn't! That broken sword isn't here, nor is it under his command!"
Wu Sansi and Young Master Yuchuan realized it at the same moment. Young Master Yuchuan ground his teeth. "Senior Brother Sansi, let us fight our way back! First we will lay out the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Array, then invoke the Purple Nether Saber to butcher that serpent, and finally finish off Xu Ying!"
Wu Sansi voiced his agreement. However, God Kings Xuanxing and Xuanchen looked toward Xuantian and Xuankong with deep wariness.
Perfected Jade Pot chuckled. "Young Master Yuchuan, that heinous villain Xu Ying has committed endless evils. Why don't we set aside our differences for now, eliminate him first, and only then settle our grievances? What do you say?"
Young Master Yuchuan replied, "Very well, it's a promise!"
Just as they prepared to double back, Young Master Yuchuan felt a sudden stirring in his mind. A Golden Seal-Script Immortal Talisman flew from between his brows, and from within it came the Imperial Monarch's voice: "Yuchuan, the matter on Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain is beyond salvage. There is no need to return."
Young Master Yuchuan hurriedly bowed and kowtowed. "This disciple has failed the Old Ancestor's expectations!"
The Imperial Monarch's voice echoed from the talisman: "This matter is not your fault; it was my oversight. Back then, Xu Ying was my most formidable adversary. Sending you to deal with him was indeed underestimating him. You failed to sever the Great Dao within the Seven Treasures Palace, and now that it has revived, going back would only be throwing your life away."
Not far off, Perfected Jade Pot heard this and his heart skipped a beat. Immediately abandoning any thought of returning, he exchanged glances with the two God Kings and prepared to slip away unnoticed.
Young Master Yuchuan glanced in their direction and said, "Imperial Monarch, our party was ambushed by Immortal Jade Pot from the Immortal Realm, which threw us into disarray and allowed Xu Ying to take advantage of the opening."
From within the talisman, the Imperial Monarch chuckled softly. "Yuanjun and I are rivals, yet we maintain friction without rupture; in private, we are actually close acquaintances. Perfected Jade Pot is a favorite before Yuanjun. If he dies at my hands, Yuanjun will certainly hold a grudge against me. So... make sure it's done cleanly."
Perfected Jade Pot's hair stood on end. Without another word, he immediately tore through the void to flee!
God Kings Xuankong and Xuantian likewise bolted madly toward the edge of Wangxiang Platform, daring not linger for even an instant.
Young Master Yuchuan raised the half of the Purple Nether Saber. Bristling with murderous intent, he led his followers in pursuit. Even as a broken blade, the saber light burst forth and forced Perfected Jade Pot back out of the void!
"Do not let them get away!" Wu Sansi roared, leading the two God Kings in hot pursuit.
***
Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain.
"The one who lived here was called Void Sovereign Dao Lord? Just who was this Supreme Wuji Void Sovereign Great Dao Lord?"
Xu Ying stepped into the Xuandu Seven Treasures Palace, and more memories flooded his mind like an incoming tide.
They were memories of his first lifetime, most of which took place here...
Back then, in order to establish the six great other shores and gather their ambient qi to concoct immortal medicine, he had arrived at this place.
Inside the Seven Treasures Palace stood an ancient tree reduced to a mere stump, fractured and decayed, its severed edges ragged and uneven. He had taken up residence inside that very stump, dwelling there for well over a decade.
During those ten-plus years, he sat withered and motionless, letting the years flow and time slip past, never departing, never even rising to his feet!
Xu Ying stood beside his remembered self, watching the young man of unwavering Dao heart—that had been him in those ancient days.
His Dao heart back then had been even firmer and more resilient than it was now. Once he set his sights on a goal, he would never waver, swearing never to rest until it was achieved!
He sought to fulfill a grand vow: a vow to bring blessings to countless people, to the common folk and all living beings, so that every person could cultivate the methods of immortality, every person could obtain immortal medicine, and every person could attain longevity and clarity just like an immortal.
When that day came, how would the mortal realm differ from the Immortal Realm?
He called this method *Nuo*, for it was difficult (*nan*) for mortals to achieve longevity, thus giving birth to *Nuo*. The Nuo method was the path to long life!
By that point, he had already completed the immortal palaces and furnaces for five secret depository other shores. Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain was the final ground of his enlightenment. Once he completed this comprehension, he would forge a Xuandu Jade Capital Palace to refine the immortal medicine of the six secrets for the people of the world.
Xu Ying looked at the slightly older version of himself and found that he bore a striking resemblance to his father—that private tutor who had taught classes in Xujiaping, intensely devoted and meticulous when pondering the Great Daos of heaven and earth.
His resolute demeanor resembled his father's, and his heart was pure and benevolent, maintaining an unblemished Dao heart.
Looking at the past self in his memories, Xu Ying knew his present Dao heart was not as steadfast as it had been in his first life, his nature no longer as purely kind, nor his Dao heart as innocent.
*I am gradually recovering the memories of my first life, and my Dao heart is steadily maturing, but perhaps the innocence and kindness my first self possessed will never return,* he mused silently.
He treasured this memory, much like something he had once owned but could never keep again.
In the memory, imprints of various Great Daos of heaven and earth manifested one by one around him. Diverse sounds of the Dao echoed in his ears, and countless insights arrived in rapid succession.
It was here that he had comprehended the method to forge the Xuandu Jade Capital Palace, crafting the immortal palace and situating it upon the Jade Capital other shore.
However, those insights belonged to the Dao methods and divine powers of an ancient era, not those of the present age.
Over a decade's worth of memories revived, and by the time Xu Ying stepped fully into the palace, he had already reviewed them in their entirety.
In the sixteenth year, his first self achieved enlightenment, stirring the ancient Daos all around into resonance and entering an exceedingly profound and miraculous state.
When that enlightenment concluded, he stood up from the dead stump. Just as he prepared to leave, a tender green sprout pushed forth from the decayed wood.
Imprints of the Great Dao drifting through the world gathered like butterflies, drawn toward the sprout, floating in and occasionally merging into it.
Each time an imprint entered, the sprout grew a little larger.
Seeing this, the first-life Xu Ying smiled, turned, and walked away.
Xu Ying watched his past self walk straight toward him and pass through his body. The vision of memory faded, and what greeted his eyes was an ancient, weathered tree, luxuriant and verdant, rising from the dead stump to live out a second life!
This was an ancient tree formed from the Great Daos of heaven and earth. It possessed eight thick branches like coiled dragons, stretching in all directions to pierce the firmament.
The veins of its leaves were clearly defined, tracing Dao runes that radiated brilliance!
This was a tree of the Great Dao!
Xu Ying had a sudden epiphany. *The thing the Imperial Monarch's Purple Nether Saber meant to fell was none other than this Dao tree in the Seven Treasures Palace! To cut down this tree, the Imperial Monarch nurtured his blade for over forty thousand years, lacking only Bai Yuchuan's final push to topple it completely!*
He walked beneath the tree and gently stroked its trunk. The Dao light radiating from the tree grew increasingly bright, and the sounds of the Dao deepened, brimming with infinite profundity.
Xu Ying sat beneath the tree. Immersed in those luminous rays, he slipped unconsciously into a wondrous state of enlightenment.
Forty-eight thousand years ago, his decade and more of perseverance had allowed the dead wood to greet spring and gain new life.
Today, as he sat beneath it, the ancient tree drew upon the Great Daos of heaven and earth it had compiled over those forty-eight thousand years to lend him a hand, guiding him into even deeper comprehension.
This serendipitous encounter was truly a karmic cycle of give and take, cause and effect, exquisite and profound beyond measure.
The big bell and Jin Buyi also entered the palace. Seeing Xu Ying deep in contemplation and sensing the bottomless wonders beneath the Dao tree, they joined him, listening and attempting to comprehend.
Yuan Qi and Jin Buyi stared at each other blankly, while the big bell spun in dizzy confusion.
Before long, they gave up entirely. The big bell said, "Why bother trying to comprehend all this? Once Ah Ying figures it out, we'll just have him explain it and copy his answers." Yuan Qi and Jin Buyi nodded vigorously in agreement.
They wandered around the Xuandu Jade Capital Palace, but it was completely bare, offering little of interest.
"The name says Seven Treasures, but which seven treasures are they? Where are the treasures?" Yuan Qi asked in confusion. "Did someone plunder all our treasures?"
Jin Buyi took flight, gazing down from high above at the two Xuandu Jade Capital Mountains. Aside from the stump outside the gates and the one inside the palace, there were six other unimaginably ancient tree stumps scattered across Jade Capital Mountain—eight stumps in total.
Yet aside from the one inside the palace, the other seven were withered and ruined, completely devoid of vitality.
He descended, about to share his discovery with Yuan Qi and the big bell, when he suddenly forgot Yuan Qi's name. Hurriedly pulling out his small notebook to flip through it, he finally said, "Niu Yuanqi, there are seven more stumps on this mountain. Could the Seven Treasures have something to do with them?"
Yuan Qi chuckled. "There are four more stumps—wait, eight stumps in total, so it naturally has nothing to do with seven treasures. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the Seven Treasures Palace; it would be the Eight Treasures Palace. Most likely, the treasures here were taken by someone else long ago. Lord Jin, Ah Ying said you were cultivating inside the sun. Is that true?"
The big bell also drifted closer and asked, "Is it fun inside the sun?"
Jin Buyi said, "I was indeed cultivating inside the sun, but it isn't fun at all. It's haunted. Especially in recent years, the hauntings have grown worse and worse."
Yuan Qi and the big bell were astonished. How could the sun be haunted?
Jin Buyi's tiny Primordial Spirit quietly slipped out his little notebook to review his recorded eerie encounters, while his true body explained, "Inside the sun, there are many colossal multi-decked ships, far larger than my own body, bound by iron chains and filled with skeletons. They look like an ancient armada. When I first went there, I seemed to spot unrotted corpses that even twitched slightly. But for several years, nothing went wrong. It was only last year that those fleshy corpses opened their eyes."
The big bell chimed with a shudder, its voice trembling: "And then?"
Jin Buyi said, "Then they started wandering about the ships, crashing into things as if they had no heads. A few months later, something awakened inside the sun. It seized the chains from deep within the sun's interior and dragged the ships along. Revived things even attacked the palace where I was cultivating. I fought them for a long time. Later on, that Sun Palace became haunted—someone kept whispering in my ear, yet I could never find them. Weary of the disturbance, I decided to return to Yuanshou to take a look."
Yuan Qi was amazed and pondered, "Haunted inside the sun? Could it be that the Great Daos of an ancient era are reviving?"
The big bell said, "It doesn't sound like ancient Daos reviving; it sounds like a genuine haunting! Or perhaps some ancient hoard is surfacing!"
Yuan Qi grew excited and suggested, "Ah Ying is immersed in comprehension, and who knows when he'll wake up. Why don't we go to the sun with Lord Jin and see what's happening there?"
The big bell hurried to object: "Ah Ying is cultivating here. How can we leave him without protection?"
Yuan Qi laughed. "Lord Insect has been perched on Ah Ying's shoulder the entire time. With it there, Ah Ying's safety is guaranteed!"
The big bell hesitated a moment, then agreed: "We'll go and return quickly."
Jin Buyi extended his sharp talons, clutching the little snake in one and the big bell in the other. Spreading his wings, he transformed into a streak of fiery light, soon bursting through Wangxiang Platform and tearing away through the void.
Yuan Qi called out a reminder: "Lord Jin, don't forget we're your friends, not prey you caught for dinner!"
Jin Buyi chuckled. "My memory is far better than it used to be; I definitely won't forget." Even as he spoke, the tiny Primordial Spirit popped out behind his head, holding a brush in its claw to diligently jot the note down in the little booklet.
Inside the Seven Treasures Palace, Xu Ying comprehended more and more wondrous truths from the Seven Treasures Tree. Gradually, his body resonated and merged with the Great Dao within the tree, drawing forth even more wandering imprints from heaven and earth. On his shoulder, the immortal insect looked out at the ocean of Dao light and heard the booming sounds of the Dao. In a flurry, it fluttered its wings and flew up to look around.
Xu Ying had helped unlock its intellect, so it was no longer a muddled, ignorant insect; by now, it understood a great deal...
Flying to a high vantage point, the insect looked down and saw that the withered stump inside the palace had somehow sprouted fresh branches.
Across the two Xuandu Jade Capital Mountains, the other decayed and dead stumps were likewise sprouting tender green shoots, growing rapidly within the Dao light!
The immortal insect quietly slipped outside, landed on a fresh shoot outside the palace gate, opened its mouth, and took a bite of the tender Dao tree sprout, feasting with relish.
At that moment, an immaculate hand reached out. Gripping it firmly between two fingers, the hand caught the immortal insect. The insect flew into a rage, struggling furiously with savage ferocity.
A voice chuckled and said, "Once this tree is carved, beneath it lies the Great Luo Heaven. I have eight such Dao trees, their canopy covering the eight minor Great Luos of the eight directions. If you go and eat them up, wouldn't that be outrageous?"
Chapter 405