414: advent

"Pay attention to your image."

A deep, authoritative voice fell into Zhou Xiutong's mind.

Zhou Xiutong gave an embarrassed smile.

With a Nascent Soul Venerable personally making a move, even with her dragon emperor set, she probably wouldn't be able to withstand a single palm strike from the Venerable.

At this point, what image did she still care about?

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Zhou Xiutong grumbled inwardly, but still respectfully agreed.

"Fellow Daoist He, we shall meet again another day."

An ethereal voice from above the Nine Heavens reached True Lord Herun's solemn ears.

True Lord Herun's expression eased slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Mo."

True Lord Herun had already recognized this as Mo Xuan's voice, and cupped his hands in greeting.

The hundred-zhang-tall divine altar suspended above the Xuanqing Sect dimmed, and the aura from beyond the Nine Heavens vanished.

True Lord Qingmu's face was still filled with lingering shock and doubt.

He looked towards True Lord Herun and Zhou Xiutong.

The sense of impending doom, like an apocalypse, had only lasted for an instant before disappearing.

And there was that ethereal aura emanating from the divine altar.

Could it be that in a Domain he could not comprehend, two Venerables had already exchanged blows?

"That Venerable from the Blazing Fire Alliance was probably just startled away by Old Ancestor's aura."

Zhou Xiutong shook her head.

"Indeed."

He Run nodded.

However, although the crisis was resolved, True Lord Herun's doubts did not diminish.

His expression remained extremely solemn.

There truly was a Nascent Soul Venerable within the Blazing Fire Alliance, but he had never revealed his true form.

And after the Bath of Fire Dao established the Blazing Fire Alliance and essentially gained control of the Nancang Domain,

the True Lords among them rarely showed themselves.

Basically, only Cultivators from the various forces that later joined the Bath of Fire Dao were active.

Like the Hundred Flowers Valley.

Therefore, he and a few Fellow Daoists were able to hold out until now.

"What scheme lies within..."

True Lord Herun was puzzled.

Zhou Xiutong was even more clueless.

She had only just begun to understand the situation.

She was far from truly grasping it.

Nor could she explain the reasons behind it.

The divine altar high in the sky dimmed.

Zhou Xiutong knew that Old Ancestor had already left.

However, she still could not relax.

"If the Bath of Fire Dao's ideology wasn't incompatible with ours, we wouldn't be resisting this overwhelming tide."

True Lord Qingmu calmed down, his tone filled with emotion.

The Bath of Fire Dao preached rebirth through destruction, seeking to ignite raging sacred flames, change the heavens and earth, acting in an extreme and radical manner, yet it widely garnered support.

This ideology clashed with the Xuanqing Sect, which was why the current situation had arisen.

Zhou Xiutong nodded.

She had encountered the Bath of Fire Dao once before.

At that time, those two Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Bath of Fire Dao had wanted to recruit her into the Bath of Fire Dao to become a Dao Child.

But she had refused them.

She never expected that the Bath of Fire Dao, which used to be mentioned alongside the Heart-Devouring Sect, could reach such a level, even having a Venerable as support.

It truly exceeded her expectations.

"Revered Master, Junior Martial Uncle, in a few months, it will be the day of the Two Realms' Convergence."

"Thinking too much at this point is useless; making preparations is the best strategy."

Zhou Xiutong said to True Lord Herun and the other person.

She knew the exact time of the Two Realms' Convergence.

She just didn't know where in the World the Venerables would connect the two realms.

But it was always good to be prepared.

At the peak of Suqing Peak.

The three did not converse for too long.

True Lord Herun obtained the Xuanqing Treasure Record and prepared to comprehend this Soul Transformation method.

Although time was already running out.

He certainly couldn't hope for a Breakthrough before the Two Realms' Convergence.

But if he could increase his strength even slightly, that would be excellent.

Zhou Xiutong did not leave; she recovered her magical power on Suqing Peak, her expression vigilant.

She guarded against another attack from the Bath of Fire Dao.

She was also afraid that the unknown Venerable would return.

Although the probability was very small, she still had to be on guard.

True Lord Qingmu descended from Suqing Peak and left.

He informed Yuefu and the three True Lords of the Jiang Family about what had just happened.

So that the three of them would be prepared.

However, he did not mention Mo Xuan's matter.

The three True Lords also did not ask further questions.

But their hearts became even more cautious and solemn.

After all, that was a Venerable.

"I never expected to escape safely from a Venerable's hands..."

As they thought about it, a strange emotion echoed in the hearts of the three True Lords.

"This matter must be recorded in the Sect's Legacy major events."

The Jiang Family True Lord's thoughts drifted... After this day.

Within Qingzhou, it became quiet.

The Blazing Fire Alliance laid low and did not invade again.

The Blazing Fire Alliance was powerful, and had a Venerable presiding over it.

None of the True Lords had any intention of taking the initiative to attack.

They each consolidated their forces, striving to maintain peace.

Time flowed by.

Above the Xuanqing Sect.

Beside the hundred-zhang-sized divine altar floating there.

A purple-haired girl sat cross-legged in the air.

Beside her, occasional streaks of purple lightning flashed.

The Disciples of the Xuanqing Sect from Zhou Xiutong's generation had now recognized this person as their Junior Martial Uncle who had been missing for many years.

However, looking at the aura emanating from the purple-haired girl in the air now,

they probably didn't even have the qualifications to stand beside that figure.

A large group of male Cultivators who had kept themselves pure and had not formed Dao Companionships once again felt dejected and sad.

They could only, as they did back then, hide in the shadows and quietly watch that figure.

The girl who shone as brightly as lightning in the sky.

Among the crowd.

A Cultivator in his twenties, wearing a Jiang Family identity token, looked up at that figure, lost in thought.

In Jiang Hao's heart, a graceful figure quietly merged with the purple figure sitting cross-legged in the air.

"Is that you...?"

Emotions flickered in Jiang Hao's eyes, appearing to be relief, sorrow, and joy.

Yet, these myriad emotions were unseen by others.

After an unknown period of time.

Jiang Hao sighed wistfully.

He turned and left.

He still hadn't fulfilled the resolve he had made back then.

He was not harder than the treasure hammer in that figure's hand; on the contrary, the gap might have become insurmountable.

This meant that he would never be qualified to express his feelings in this lifetime.

"This is good too..."

Jiang Hao, walking away, thought to himself.

To be able to see her one more time and confirm her well-being was already enough.

As for anything else, he would no longer covet too much.

He still had a more important mission.

He was a Genius Disciple of the Jiang Family, bearing the heavy responsibility of the Jiang Family.

He still needed to strive forward.

However, his goal was no longer solely because of that graceful figure in his heart.

High in the sky.

Beside the hundred-zhang-tall five-story divine altar.

The purple-haired girl opened her eyes and looked down, seeing a desolate figure walking away.

"Is that him?"

Some images flashed through Zhou Xiutong's mind.

However, she did not make any other movements; a moment later, she closed her eyes again, continuing to cultivate the Xuanqing Treasure Record... Cultivation knows no years.

In the blink of an eye.

Several months had already passed.

On this day.

Xuanming Realm.

In the depths of the desolate land of the Sword Domain.

A white-robed figure stepped out from the Void Realm.

A tianji disk in his hand glowed, quietly calculating.

An illusory shadow appeared in the sky, and what it showed seemed to come from another world.

A moment later.

The white-robed figure stopped, sat cross-legged, and the tianji disk floated quietly before his chest.

At the same time.

In the Cangyuan River of the Azure Dragon Domain, a Giant Black Beast swam, disappearing into the Void Realm.