Near the end of the Great Plague Era, the vast majority of mortals were forced by cultivators to migrate into various grotto-heavens and pocket worlds.
Soon after, however, the restriction that immortal arts could not be cultivated together grew increasingly severe. Cultivators ultimately failed to escape the fate of slaughtering one another. Immortal sects crumbled, plunging the civilization of immortal cultivation into a long, dark age.
As the saying goes, when one falls, another rises.
The number of cultivators dropped drastically, pushing them to the brink of extinction. Yet mortals sprang up once more across the world, like resilient weeds bursting with life.
As for the origins of these newly emerged mortals, some claimed they were stragglers who had slipped through the net during the Great Migration. Others said they were the descendants left behind by cultivators. Still others maintained that mortals in the pocket worlds had broken through the blockade of the Immortal Severing Formation and returned.
Regardless of the truth, as cultivators gradually faded from the earth, the mortals of the Xuanhuang Realm began to thrive in the cracks between eras.
Appearing alongside these mortals was the Xuanhuang Mind-Clearing Incantation.
Much like an untraceable folk song or ancient legend, it spread by word of mouth until nearly every human population knew of this method to shake off the effects of the immortal-mortal miasma and step back onto the path of cultivation.
Present-day cultivators speculated that this was likely the handiwork of Heavenly Venerable Dongji, that mysterious figure from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
After all, the Purifying Spirit Pool, which possessed the same ability to dispel the immortal-mortal miasma, was also created by Heavenly Venerable Dongji. It was entirely possible that the Xuanhuang Mind-Clearing Incantation had been his preliminary attempt before successfully constructing the pool.
Yet Li Fan, having already uncovered the incantation's true nature, knew that this possibility was exceedingly slim.
Heavenly Venerable Dongji, the nominal leader of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, had appeared only a handful of times in the Alliance's earliest recorded history before disappearing completely without a trace.
Rather than assuming he was a True Immortal, Li Fan thought it was far more likely that, like himself, the Venerable had discovered the secret of the Xuanhuang Mind-Clearing Incantation.
Inspired by it, he had subsequently created the Purifying Spirit Pool.
*Could the disappearance of Heavenly Venerable Dongji also be related to the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation?* The thought could not help but surface in Li Fan's mind.
Yet when Li Fan tried to search for information on Heavenly Venerable Dongji, he met the same result as before—an almost total void, with no further records to be found.
This was glaringly inconsistent with the status of a leader of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
*The more one thinks about it, the more terrifying it becomes.*
Deciding not to probe deeper for now, Li Fan shifted his attention back to contemplating the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation.
Half a month later, Li Fan once again summoned everyone to the Administration Hall.
They had assumed Li Fan had some momentous news to announce, only to learn that he was entering secluded cultivation yet again.
"Didn't he just come out of seclusion not long ago? Going in again already? Do ancient cultivators really train this diligently?"
"The Secret Emissary doesn't lack contribution points and can maintain the Spirit Enlightenment state indefinitely. Cultivating like that is practically a pleasure. If I were in his shoes, I could do it too."
"A rumor circulated earlier saying our lord has already restored his cultivation to the Nascent Soul realm. Don't tell me he's about to break through to Soul Formation now?"
Amidst the chatter and speculation of the crowd, only He Zhenghao appeared lost in thought.
*It seems the Secret Emissary is preparing for the arrival of the anima of Heaven and Earth.*
He cast a casual glance sideways at Zhou Qing'ang.
When the Secret Emissary announced his seclusion, Zhou Qing'ang's expression hadn't changed in the slightest—clear proof that he had known about it in advance.
At the very beginning, He Zhenghao had been the one most trusted by the Secret Emissary. Regrettably, a momentary lapse into greed had allowed this brat to steal that trust away.
At the thought, a wave of discomfort welled up in He Zhenghao's chest.
His eyes darted, and an idea sprang into his mind.
He sent a voice transmission to Zhou Qing'ang: "Daoist Zhou, how has your cultivation been progressing lately?"
Zhou Qing'ang looked with slight surprise at He Zhenghao, who had initiated the conversation out of nowhere. After a moment's thought, he saw right through the man's little scheme.
Sneering inward, Zhou Qing'ang played along with He Zhenghao's lead. "Heh, Brother He jokes. You know as well as I that the Secret Emissary pays no heed to administrative affairs, leaving trivial and major matters alike for us to handle. We previously had Gao Yuan to help share the burden, but not long ago he took leave and went out, making things even busier.
"Just handling administrative work every day eats up most of my time. Where would I find the peace of mind to cultivate?"
He Zhenghao put on a deeply empathetic look, sighed, and nodded in agreement.
Before long, however, he shifted the topic.
"I have a few words of advice, though I wonder if you would be willing to hear them, Daoist?"
Zhou Qing'ang paused for a second before quickly saying, "Brother He, please speak."
He Zhenghao assumed a serious expression. "It is certainly commendable that you do your utmost to relieve the Secret Emissary's burdens.
"However..."
He Zhenghao spoke with earnest gravity: "To forge iron, one must be strong oneself! No matter how much favor you enjoy with our lord, your strength is ultimately only at the Golden Core realm—and the weakest early Golden Core stage at that. In a small place like the Congyun Sea, you can still keep your subordinates in line. But as our lord continues to recover his cultivation and his realm climbs higher and higher, his retinue will inevitably be packed with Nascent Soul and Soul Formation experts. If you remain stuck in place, how will you command their respect when the time comes?"
Hearing this, Zhou Qing'ang's expression shifted slightly.
He opened his mouth as if to refute it, but soon sank into deep thought.
Seeing this, He Zhenghao felt secretly smug.
*Gao Yuan's line of reasoning really is useful. If not for my steadfast Dao heart, I might almost have been persuaded by him back then,* He Zhenghao thought to himself.
After a long silence, Zhou Qing'ang seemed to reach a conclusion, his face tinged with bitterness.
"What you say makes sense, Daoist. But I truly cannot pull myself away; I have no peace of mind to cultivate," he said, looking at He Zhenghao.
He Zhenghao's spirits lifted. "Why not follow Gao Yuan's example, Daoist Zhou? There must be immense opportunities within the Chaoyuan Sect ruins. If you could seize one, advancing by at least a minor sub-stage is practically guaranteed. Even breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm is not out of the question."
Zhou Qing'ang hesitated, seeming on the verge of speaking.
He Zhenghao cut in first: "I know what you're worried about—aren't you just afraid of neglecting official duties? Don't worry, I'm here! Since I've already taken on an extra workload, one more won't make a difference!"
A suspicious look crossed Zhou Qing'ang's face. "If that's the case, Daoist He, why don't you go yourself? Since when have you been so considerate of your colleagues?"
He Zhenghao feigned displeasure. "What kind of talk is that? Back then, the Secret Emissary reminded me that among the few of us, unity must come first. What is a brief period of hard work on my part if it helps my two brothers raise their cultivation?
"You must realize that as the Secret Emissary's cultivation grows higher, more and more people will follow him in the future. We are natural allies; helping you is helping myself."
He Zhenghao paused, observed Zhou Qing'ang's expression, and continued, "Besides, I have recently had some insights and might not be far from breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm. Even without lucky encounters, I'm confident I can advance within ten years!
"Why not fulfill someone else's wishes along the way?"
Chapter 640