449: Cangwu Patriarch

Cangwu Forbidden Ground.

Amidst the lingering morning mist, a seemingly ordinary thatched hut stood silently in the depths of the Forbidden Ground.

And in front of the hut, a group of figures appeared at this moment.

The four leaders consisted of old, middle-aged, and young individuals, three of whom were Xu Yuan, Cang Song, and Cang Bai.

The person in the center was an old man holding a duster. He wore simple clothes, and his cloudy eyes revealed traces of the River of Time. This old man was none other than the Revered Master of Cang Song and Cang Bai—Old Ancestor Cangwu.

Behind him followed twelve aged figures, all exuding the aura of the Half-step Dao Lord Realm. These were the Grand Elders of Cangwu Dao Academy.

The thatched hut before them was the former residence of Ancestor Cangwu. Who would have thought that a dignified Immortal Giant would live in such a place?

On the thatched roof, a few unknown wild grasses swayed in the wind, their edges shimmering with a faint golden glow—a trace of being imbued with Dao rhyme for ten thousand years.

One could see that the mottled earthen walls were covered in moss, each rammed earth block imbued with the weight of time, and faintly visible were the Dao lines carved by Ancestor Cangwu using his finger as a pen.

“Creak—”

Just then, the door opened, and the entire thatched hut suddenly rippled like water. The bronze wind chimes hanging on the lintel moved without wind, emitting an ethereal and distant sound.

A trace of recollection flashed in Old Ancestor Cangwu's cloudy eyes. He tremblingly extended his hand, which resembled a withered tree, and a green jade token appeared in his palm.

The moment the token resonated with the thatched hut, the thatch hanging from the eaves suddenly grew wildly, interweaving in the Void Realm to depict a scene from the past.

In front of the thatched hut, a kind-faced Daoist was sweeping fallen leaves with a broom.

With each sweep, a Dao-containing trajectory appeared on the ground.

Suddenly, the Daoist looked up, his gaze like lightning piercing through time and space, meeting the eyes of Old Ancestor Cangwu in the present!

“Revered Master!”

Old Ancestor Cangwu's hunched back suddenly straightened, then quickly bent even deeper.

His hand, covered in age spots, pressed against the earthen wall. The wall plaster flaked off, revealing a crystalline, jade-like wall beneath—it was the legendary Xi soil!

Who would have thought that Old Ancestor Cangwu would address Ancestor Cangwu as Revered Master?

However, the group showed no change, as if they had known all along.

Just one day prior, Xu Yuan had already learned Old Ancestor Cangwu's identity. Like Yue Yu, he was the Spirit of a chaotic spiritual treasure. The chaotic spiritual treasure currently residing in Cangwu Dao Academy was Old Ancestor Cangwu's true form.

However, this secret was only known to the core high-ranking members of Cangwu Dao Academy.

“Go in.”

Old Ancestor Cangwu said in a hoarse voice.

This time, they intended to summon Ancestor Cangwu back from a distant place, and this location was necessary for the ritual.

Because this place was the most familiar to Ancestor Cangwu, and where the Dao rhyme he left behind was most concentrated. At that time, they could use the Grand Summoning Array to allow Xu Yuan, through the Origin connection of the Sacred Eye, to locate Ancestor Cangwu.

Everyone wasted no time and began to mobilize.

Cang Bai, accompanied by the twelve Grand Elders, began repairing the Grand Summoning Array. As the Dao Academy's current top Dao Array Revered Master, although still some distance from becoming an Immortal Dao Array Revered Master, he was capable of repairing the previously left behind Grand Summoning Array.

This repair took an entire year, during which Cangwu Dao Academy invested a large amount of array Materials.

At this moment, a thousand miles from the thatched hut.

Runes moved like Dragons and snakes, and billions of array patterns intertwined to form a grand Dao net spanning ancient and modern times.

The twelve white-haired Grand Elders sat in eight directions, meditating in the Void Realm, their bodies burning with Lifespan fire, chanting:

“With our Bloodline as the guide, with the Dao Academy's Luck as the bridge—”

“Respectfully invite Ancestral Master… to return across the River of Time!”

Inside the thatched hut, Old Ancestor Cangwu and the two others sat in a 'pin' formation.

As the Grand Elders chanted, myriad array Dao runes gathered. The array Dao power first surged into the three individuals' bodies, then transformed into the purest power, flowing towards Xu Yuan in the very center.

Boom—

Xu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. The aura of the Sacred Eye's Origin transformed into a brilliant pillar of light that shot into the sky, piercing through the spatial-temporal barrier and directly into the ethereal River of Time!

At this moment!

At the infinitely distant end of time and space, a lonely skeleton suddenly stirred, radiating boundless azure light that permeated this heaven and earth, shaking the entire River of Time.

This skeleton, clad in tattered green robes, was covered in an aura of decay, yet its spine remained straight, unyielding like an ancient Cang Song that would rather break than bend.

Beneath his feet was swirling Chaos mist; behind him were countless fragmented pieces of time and space.

Because the place he was in was a place of exile that even Immortal Overlords were unwilling to touch, and he had been sitting there for tens of thousands of epochs.

He slowly raised his head.

A familiar aura, spanning countless ages, piercing through time and space, gently wrapped around his fingertip.

“Sacred Eye aura…” A hoarse voice sounded, a slight smile on his lips, “Finally… I've waited for you.”

Looking in the direction of this familiar aura, he took a step.

Rumble—

In an instant, he followed this wisp of aura, traversing countless Chaos mists, breaking through numerous strange barriers, and finally appeared before a majestic long river.

Suddenly, the entire long river trembled!

Countless spatial-temporal waves surged, and the light and shadow of past and present flashed and intertwined beside him.

There was the heroic spirit of a young man wielding a sword across the world, the domineering presence of suppressing the eight directions at his Peak, and the isolation and unwillingness of being exiled… But all these light and shadows were shattered by him!

“How many years has it been? This humble Daoist can finally return to Cangwu!”

The skeleton said with an excited expression. Following that familiar aura, he advanced step by step, and a illusory path of summoning appeared beneath his feet.

With each step, a portion of the decaying Qi on his body faded; with each passing moment, some flesh and blood appeared on the skeleton.

By the time he reached the middle of the long river, he had already recovered his Peak appearance.

This was an old man with a benevolent face, his brows holding a gentle, unchanging smile of ten thousand years.

His hair and beard were white, yet he did not appear aged or decayed. Instead, he was like an ancient tree encountering spring, exuding endless Life. His simple green robe swayed gently in the wind, and on its hems were embroidered several profound leaf vein patterns that seemed to flow slowly as if alive.

What was most shocking was the faintly visible Innate Wood Dao behind him!

The verdant Dao Divine Chains, like ancient vines, entwined behind him to form the phantom of a towering Divine Tree. As its branches and leaves spread, it seemed to support a world. The tree's shadow swayed, and every leaf flowed with the purest Life Dao rhyme.

In the present, Cangwu Forbidden Ground.

The Grand Summoning Array trembled violently, and at the same time, a vortex appeared in the sky, and the aura of the River of Time permeated the air.

“Revered Master… is coming back!”

Old Ancestor Cangwu trembled with excitement at this sight.

Before his words finished—

Crack!

The Void Realm above the altar suddenly split open, and an illusory long river surged forth, with countless spatial-temporal fragments mixed within its waves.

And at the end of the long river, a figure was flowing downstream, becoming clearer and clearer!

As the figure approached, a terrifying aura permeated the Canglan Dao Domain, and even the surrounding Dao Domains felt it.

Boundless azure light illuminated all heavens, shining upon the current era and manifesting auspicious phenomena.

Countless beings trembled, not understanding what terrifying existence had been born.

“This is the aura of an Immortal Overlord!”

“That direction is Cangwu Dao Academy. It is said that in recent days, Cangwu Dao Academy has been preparing to summon Ancestor Cangwu back. Could this aura be his?”

“Hiss~, how can Cangwu Dao Academy's Luck be so Heaven-Defying? First, there's the peerless True King Xu Yuan, and now the Ancestral Master has made a Breakthrough to Immortal Overlord and returned from a distant place. This…”

When this aura was revealed, even the Immortal Giants were awakened. After learning the cause and effect, they couldn't help but marvel at Cangwu Dao Academy's fortune.