Retreat to realize the truth, everything withers

The Withered Leaf Undead swept across the heavens and earth, signaling the arrival of an era where the great world withered into silence.

Xiao Fan witnessed this scene while in the process of bringing back his women.

He had seen this same scenario in previous eras; now it was simply playing out once more, with no significant difference.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Fan brought his women directly to the Source Divine Tree and opened up several Great Worlds using the tree's main trunk as a base point.

He allowed each of his women to be the Dominator of one Great World.

Furthermore, being close to the Divine Tree meant the Dao Rhyme emanating from it would provide them with immense benefits.

He first brought over the women from the Ocean of Saintly Intent within his body, one by one, and then returned to the various Immortal Realms to fetch the remaining people.

Seeing Xiao Fan come for her, Su Yiyun left with him without asking any questions; after all, this man never lied to her.

Xiao Fan also saw his little sister Yuhong. She was still as innocent and sweet as ever, forever the agile and beautiful image in Xiao Fan's memories.

However, the cold and aloof temperament of a powerful expert was slowly manifesting in her, which momentarily captivated Xiao Fan.

He quite hoped Yuhong could maintain that look, but the moment she saw Xiao Fan, she couldn't maintain her aura and reverted to the appearance of a weak little sister.

It was her nature.

Regarding Xia Huaxuan, Xiao Fan felt some guilt, as he hadn't been able to withstand the pressure of the Xiao Black Mist.

Nevertheless, he still brought her back and opened a Great World for her near the Divine Tree, making her the Dominator of a Realm.

This served as a way to give himself some closure.

Then there was Jiang Lan Zhi, his primary woman in title, Xiao Fan's irreplaceable fiancée, and the Dao Companion who had truly met his parents.

After some thought, Xiao Fan decided to keep her by his side.

Not within the Ocean of Saintly Intent, but physically accompanying him, so she could also look after Xiao Fang while he was in secluded Cultivation.

As for Xin Xi and Yu Yue, he also kept them by his side.

There was little to be said about this, as the two were originally his maidservants, though their relationship was now much more intimate.

He also kept Revered Master Qing Yu by his side, as Xiao Fan couldn't bear to see her neglected.

Dragon Ningbing was so pure she was almost too cute; she was perfect for playing with Xiao Fang, and since Xiao Fan liked her very much, he kept her by his side as well.

The people who appeared afterward included Chen Miaoli, Ling'er, Luo Ruyan, Xiao Qing, and others; Xiao Fan took care of every detail for them.

Although they couldn't be kept right by his side, they were each given an independent Great World.

Furthermore, Xiao Fan took care of these people's existing relationships one by one, ensuring that the connections behind them would be safe from the crisis of the era.

Xiao Fang followed him as he traveled back and forth, meeting every one of his companions.

Initially, Xiao Fang didn't care much.

But when she counted them, there were over twenty people.

Xiao Fang said weakly, "Daddy, you're on good terms with so many pretty sisters, can you take care of them all?"

"Do you need Xiao Fang to open twenty separate timelines for you? That way, you won't have to worry about running out of time."

Xiao Fan was somewhat speechless. Has your ability become this strong already?

After thinking for a bit, Xiao Fan said, "The way things are now is quite good."

Xiao Fang nodded as if she half-understood and said:

"If Daddy needs it, remember to call Xiao Fang. Xiao Fang will help Daddy solve his problems."

Xiao Fan picked her up, pinched her little face, and nodded seriously, saying, "I will definitely tell you when I need Xiao Fang's help."

To avoid any estrangement or jealousy among Jiang Lan Zhi and the others, Xiao Fan specifically gathered Jiang Lan Zhi, Xin Xi, Yu Yue, Revered Master Qing Yu, and Ning Bing to explain the situation.

These few all understood Xiao Fan's meaning.

Especially Xin Xi, Yu Yue, and Ning Bing; they were already well-acquainted and naturally centered around Xiao Fan, so they were naturally obedient to him.

They had no objections.

Although Jiang Lan Zhi and Qing Yu hadn't reached that level of absolute obedience, they were still very compliant.

As long as Xiao Fan was willing to whisper a few more sweet words in their ears, their hearts would soften, and they would listen to him in everything.

More communication could eliminate obstacles and allow this large family to live together in harmony.

Watching the scene of his large family in harmony, Xiao Fan felt his life was exceptionally free and comfortable.

He seemed to have few pursuits left.

Now there was only one last thing to do: reach Transcendence and Freedom once more, fuse it with the cultivation of his past life, and promote himself to the final Saintly Way Realm.

He called Jiang Lan Zhi and the others over and told them he was going into secluded meditation, and it was uncertain how long it would take for him to emerge.

It might be a hundred years, a thousand, ten thousand, or even an entire epoch.

It was hard to say.

Hearing that she wouldn't see Xiao Fan for so long, Xiao Fang's heart tightened.

"Daddy, Xiao Fang can help you shorten the time, just like last time."

Xiao Fan picked her up, rubbed her little head, and said, "I'm afraid it won't work this time."

Xiao Fang was a bit disappointed and gave a weak "oh."

"When Daddy comes out, he'll play with Xiao Fang, okay?"

"Mm, Xiao Fang will be good and listen."

Seeing Xiao Fan going into seclusion for so long, Qing Yu thought something was wrong, but when she was told he was going to charge for the Transcendence and Freedom Saint Realm, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Qing Yu: "How much certainty do you have?"

"It's hard to say, but if Revered Master Qing Yu hopes for my early return, I definitely have absolute certainty."

Qing Yu rolled her eyes at him but still urged him to Cultivate carefully, not to be impatient, and to avoid errors caused by inner fire.

Jiang Lan Zhi held Xiao Fan, her pretty face buried in his chest.

"No matter when you return, I will wait for you."

Xin Xi, Yu Yue, and Ning Bing also said their goodbyes one by one. Xiao Fan no longer lingered and walked along the main trunk of the Divine Tree until he reached the Foundation of the Divine Tree.

Though called a Foundation, it was actually a boundless, endless, and vast astral river.

Unlike ordinary astral rivers, this one had no life; it was filled with hazy Chaos Qi, making it an impossible dream for ordinary creatures to even approach.

Xiao Fan, however, walked into it with familiar ease and sat down to Cultivate.

At this stage, only this environment could satisfy his Cultivation.

With the cultivation insights from his past life, Xiao Fan quickly entered the state.

He breathed in the divine rhyme, began to strip away the Primitive Qi scattered throughout heaven and earth, and continuously refined it to condense his true self.

This was the preparation before transcendence; one must first find the self before discussing Transcendence and Freedom.

Luck was long and continuous within the Chaos. Xiao Fan constantly absorbed Luck, to the point of forgetting time... During the period of Xiao Fan's Cultivation, the Spiritual Qi and Immortal Qi of the world completely withered.

Coupled with the outbreak of the Withered Leaf Undead, which harassed the creatures of the myriad worlds, life in the universe began to fade.

In less than ten thousand years, the silhouettes of the Withered Leaf Undead appeared throughout the entire universe.

The original number of living beings plummeted to seventy percent of its former self.

This was seventy percent of the population of the entire universe, not just a single Great World.

It was no exaggeration to call it an era where all things withered.

At the very beginning, when the Withered Leaf Undead descended, the ancient forces spread across the various Immortal Realms remained still, choosing to lie low.

Once the undead had cleared out all those irrelevant people, these dormant forces began to move, wiping out the undead.

In the process, they brought the territories occupied by the undead under their own banners.

It was a logical progression.

The undead originated from the Divine Tree itself, so their natural talent went without saying.

However, they had existed for too short a time and lacked Foundation; they had talent but not enough time to strengthen themselves.

Except for a small portion of naturally powerful Withered Leaf Undead, the vast majority were weak existences.

For the pre-existing forces, eliminating them was as easy as turning a hand. They hadn't acted before simply because they wanted to use their hands to eliminate the redundant ants of the world.

Nothing more.

Furthermore, the undead slaughtered without restraint. Once they had killed enough people and accumulated enough hatred,

emerging at that time to act on behalf of heaven would bring both fame and fortune.

In this process, people were needed to fill the death toll, creating an atmosphere where the Withered Leaf Undead were the world-destroying villains.

The result of this process was the annihilation of weak clans and the destruction of most Withered Leaf Undead.

This was the world after the silence.

Powerful forces were able to expand.

The small portion of naturally powerful Withered Leaf Undead formed their own faction, becoming a new race.

The landscape of living beings in the universe was thus changed.

The law of the jungle is the eternal truth of the world.

However, none of the forces that remained were pushovers.

Those Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortals all wanted to become Saints. Especially with the Saintly Positions vacant, they didn't need to worry about facing a Saint when ascending, making the difficulty of becoming a Saint significantly lower.

But correspondingly, the competition among peers became even more intense.

As long as these people wanted to become Saints, the mutual conquest would not stop.

While in seclusion, Xiao Fan occasionally sent out a sliver of Saintly Sense to watch the changes in the heavens, the feeling of shifting sands and changing seas unfolding before his eyes.

Countless people died, countless were born, in a continuous cycle of Reincarnation... Xiao Fang originally wanted to wait for Xiao Fan to come out so he could see her first thing, giving him a big surprise.

She stepped on the character for "King" on the White Tiger Star Lord's head and waited quietly for thousands of years, gradually losing her patience.

Children love to play; that she could sit still for so long was already a miracle.

"Little Tiger, let's go out and play."

The White Tiger Star Lord was startled. It was a mess outside right now; what was there to play with?

"Little Revered Master, we should still tell the mistresses. If they agree, I'll take you out."

Xiao Fang pulled a long face, looking immature yet not lacking Divine Might.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"If I tell the pretty sisters I'm sneaking out, they definitely won't let me go."

"Follow me, and don't say a word."

Xiao Fang tugged at its tiger whiskers and led the White Tiger Star Lord away from the Divine Tree's Domain, entering the myriad worlds of the universe.