487: Chapter 487 Bowing in Admission of Mistakes

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this half-month, the Nine Provinces Continent was surprisingly peaceful.

There were no incursions by the Yao Race, no Sect infighting, and even the duels between Loose Cultivators, which were common in the past, were much rarer. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something.

The Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate remained missing. The Cultivators outside the mountain that day had witnessed the entire mountain gate vanish into thin air. Once the news spread, it attracted countless people to investigate. Some said that Sect Master Chen had taken the entire Sect to achieve Ascension; others said they had set up a heaven-defying formation to hide their tracks. Opinions varied, and no one could agree.

No one knew the truth.

Inside the Mustard Seed World, the entire Dao Seeking Sect had spent a full fifty years.

Fifty years.

For a Mortal, it was a lifetime. For a Cultivator, it was enough time to be reborn.

The Primordial Silence Heaven Seal hung above the Mustard Seed World, its silver screen of light flowing day and night. Under a time flow rate one hundred times faster than the outside, for every quarter-hour that passed in the outside world, more than two hours passed inside.

In fact, it had only taken ten years for Mu Wanqing and the others to successively reach the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, becoming Celestial Venerables capable of shaking the Nine Provinces.

Even Qi Yue and the others had reached the Peak of the Mahayana Stage.

They were only a step away from a Breakthrough.

Nine Disciples, nine Tribulation Transcendence experts.

The Luck of the Dao Seeking Sect had reached its Peak at this moment.

Half a month later.

Chen Xuan stood before the main hall of the Dao Seeking Sect, with his nine Disciples lined up on either side.

He scanned them and nodded.

"Let's go."

The Jade Hairpin flew from his hair and gave a gentle tremor. The entire mountain gate reappeared between heaven and earth; clouds surged, and the halls were imposing, looking even more magnificent than they had half a month ago.

The few Cultivators outside the mountain who had been keeping watch for half a month were given a huge fright.

"It... it appeared again?"

"I told you they didn't ascend!"

"Look at that mountain gate, isn't it taller than before?"

"Nonsense, how much taller can it get in half a month? Your eyes are playing tricks on you."

...

Heavenly Demon Mountain.

The summit was shrouded in mist, and ten figures gathered out of thin air.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable stood at the very front, her black gauze dress rustling in the mountain wind.

Beside her stood the Heaven-Shaking Monkey Venerable, his figure as burly as a mountain, his arms hanging past his knees, his entire body covered in golden fur, and his monkey eyes flashing with sharp light. The White Bone Demon Venerable was snow-white all over, with a slender skeleton and two ghostly green flames flickering in his eye sockets.

The Nightmare Demon Venerable was toying with a braid, looking somewhat bored.

There were also nine other Demon Venerables, including the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Venerable, the Dragon Venerable, and the Heaven-Peng Demon Venerable—a total of ten experts in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

Such a sight would be enough to make any Mahayana Stage Cultivator's soul tremble with fear.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable looked into the distance: "They are here."

As her voice fell, a white light appeared on the horizon.

The white light drew closer and brighter, finally transforming into a massive flying boat that hovered above Heavenly Demon Mountain.

The flying boat was snow-white, and the characters "Wendao" were carved into its hull, the strokes as sharp as swords.

This was a flying boat Chen Xuan had purchased after his Disciples' cultivation bases had improved; it could be considered a unique existence throughout the entire Nine Provinces Continent. Chen Xuan stood with his hands behind his back at the prow, his white robes billowing. Behind him, the nine Disciples were lined up in order, their Aura astonishing.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable's pupils constricted slightly; these people before her were not intentionally hiding their cultivation bases.

Thus, she could tell at a glance that there were nine Tribulation Transcendence experts.

And they were not rookies who had just stepped into the Tribulation Transcendence Realm; each person's Qi was steady and heavy, clearly having honed themselves in this Realm for quite some time.

"How is this possible?"

Nine faces she had never seen before—this meant that all nine of them came from a single Sect. Could the Dao Seeking Sect truly be this terrifying?

Chen Xuan leapt down from the flying boat and landed on the mountaintop. The nine Disciples followed closely behind, landing and lining up in a row.

"Fellow Daoist, you have waited a long time."

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable collected her thoughts, a charming smile returning to her face: "Not long. Only half a month."

Chen Xuan did not respond, simply raising his hand in a gesture of invitation:

"Let us begin."

Following the three-day battle, the solitary Peak of Heavenly Demon Mountain collapsed, and the Dao Seeking Sect won all nine matches with overwhelming force. The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable stood at the front, the charm on her face long gone, replaced by a deathly pallor.

Chen Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at her: "Fellow Daoist, what say you?"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable was silent for a long time, then sighed softly and took a Black Jade Fragment from her sleeve, handing it to Chen Xuan.

"I accept the loss!"

Chen Xuan took the fragment; it felt cool to the touch. In his palm, this fragment fused with the other seven on its own, emitting a low humming sound. The black light grew brighter and brighter, finally transforming into a black ball of light the size of a fist, hovering in his palm.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable stared at the ball of light in Chen Xuan's hand, silent for a long time.

"How big... is this world?"

Chen Xuan replied calmly, "It is no different from the mountains and rivers beneath our feet, Fellow Daoist, you may rest assured."

"Are we truly not just birds in a cage or fish in a pond in your hands, Fellow Daoist?"

"I, Chen Xuan, can take a heavenly dao oath here!"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

"Ten thousand years have passed; it is time for it to end."

A moment later, the Nine-Tailed Demon Venerable took a deep breath, turned to Chen Xuan, bowed, and paid her respects deeply.

"The entire Yao Race—ten Tribulation Transcendence experts, thirty-two Mahayana experts, thirty-six thousand Nascent Soul experts, and a million Yao kin—are willing to enter this world."

Chen Xuan lifted the ball of light and gently sent it forth.

The ball of light flew toward the sky, growing larger and higher, finally transforming into a massive portal standing above Heavenly Demon Mountain. The Yao Race of the entire Demon Race Continent began to surge into it like raindrops falling in reverse.

Until the portal slowly closed, turned into a white light, and vanished into the horizon.

Chen Xuan turned around and looked at his nine Disciples.

"Let's go, it's time to go home."

The nine Disciples stood at the prow, silently looking into the distance.

Chen Xuan stood with his hands behind his back at the front, his white robes billowing and his long hair flying.

Behind him, the Nine Provinces Continent spread out under the sunlight, mountains, rivers, cities, and passes all coming into view.

Next, it would only take time and perseverance; when his nine Disciples became renowned throughout the Nine Provinces Continent, the Dao Seeking Sect would be deeply rooted in people's hearts. Chen Xuan would then naturally become the master of this world.

The End!

[(Facepalm) I must first apologize to the brothers and sisters who have followed this story to this point.]

[This book has truly fallen apart. I know it myself.]

[Looking back at the earlier chapters and then at the later ones, the style is completely different. The early stage was a brainless face-slapping style, writing whatever felt satisfying. In the Middle Stage, I wanted to add some logic and depth, but ended up failing on both counts. I dug a bunch of holes but filled very few.]

[By the time I reached one million words, I didn't even know what I was writing anymore.]

[But I don't regret it.]

[After all, this is my first million-word book. Starting from zero, grinding it out chapter by chapter. I didn't know how to write an outline, so I just forced it. I didn't know how to control the pacing, so I just wrote blindly. The style isn't consistent? That's for sure, because my own understanding was changing.]

[Fortunately, there is one thing—writing until today, my understanding of the craft of writing has indeed changed from when I started.]

[For the next book, I will honestly write the outline first.]

[For the next book, I won't let you feel like you're reading a different book halfway through.]

[For the next book, if I dig a hole, I will fill it.]

[Thank you for accompanying this immature author until now.]

[Really, thank you. (Bowing)]