459: Chapter 459 The Millennium of Puyun's Immortal Decline

Li Fan fast-forwarded through the visions.

Currently, five hundred years had passed since Puyun the Immortal stepped into the Realm Master Level.

During these five hundred years, Puyun the Immortal watched as his former fellow Daoists began to surpass him one by one. His state of mind fluctuated wildly, and he even began to doubt himself.

Because throughout his journey, aside from some initial setbacks, he had basically been the leader among his peers. It had been a long time since he felt the sensation of being left behind.

Consequently, Puyun the Immortal began a period of secluded cultivation, traveling to various sacred lands in the universe to seek opportunities, hoping to take a step further and enter the Immortal Realm.

However, during this process, things did not go smoothly.

Not only was his progress extremely slow,

but during a treasure hunt in a dangerous land, he encountered an attack from a peak Realm Master Level Starry Sky Giant Beast. He was left with a nearly irreparable root cause of illness, and his cultivation level fell directly from the Realm Master Level to the peak of the Domain Lord level.

This undoubtedly made Puyun the Immortal's already wavering Dao heart even more unstable.

Subsequently,

due to the fall in his cultivation level and various negative rumors—such as claims that he could no longer cultivate, could never return to the Realm Master Level, and that his path of cultivation was severed—

these rumors indirectly led to Puyun the Immortal's original fiefdom being seized, and he lost most of his industries.

At the same time, many Realm Master Level friends and major powers who were previously on good terms with him cut off contact one after another.

Even his old brothers and friends who had accompanied him since his humble beginnings began to look at him with a different light.

Of course, they weren't like those shallow acquaintances who would kick a man while he was down. Instead, they offered words of guidance and encouragement, showing great concern. After all, their ability to reach the starry sky and achieve their current success was inseparable from Puyun the Immortal's help.

The only difference was that now, there was a hint of caution in their eyes.

They were still very good to Puyun the Immortal, and he was still their life-and-death friend; they were just worried about hurting his self-esteem.

Puyun the Immortal could see this as well. But even though he knew these brothers and old friends meant well, the caution in their eyes transformed into a look of pity in his own.

He found this somewhat unacceptable.

This succession of blows made his Dao heart increasingly unstable.

However, he swore in his heart that he would definitely return to the Realm Master Level!

And yet,

reality was not ideal.

After multiple failed attempts to cultivate and break through to the Realm Master Level, his Dao heart finally shattered completely.

Following that, he began to give up on himself.

He stopped cultivating and no longer wished to see his brothers and old friends. He even ignored the industries under his name, leaving them all to his wife and two sons to manage.

He began to wander through the pleasure quarters and wine shops of major star sectors, living in a daze every day. Most of the time he woke up, he was with the vagrants on the streets, looking extremely haggard.

Watching this scene, Li Fan couldn't help but sigh.

Puyun the Immortal, who had once risen all the way, crushing all kinds of geniuses to reach the Realm Master Level in high spirits, had actually ended up like this.

It seemed that Puyun the Immortal's path to immortality was indeed quite bumpy!

He continued watching.

Ever since Puyun the Immortal descended into decadence,

some of the industries under his command were now controlled by his wife and two sons.

To be more precise, it was almost entirely his wife who controlled them. His two sons were currently in the period of laying the foundation for their cultivation, and most of their time was spent on it.

Puyun the Immortal's wife was named Xia Ningshuang. The two met at the Martial Arts University, later became close and fell in love, walking together until now.

Xia Ningshuang was a petite, lively, and quirky daughter of a wealthy family. Paired with Puyun the Immortal's personality as a quiet 'dull gourd' and a poor boy, they often seemed like an odd match.

However, the relationship between the two was very good.

Even as they entered the starry sky and Puyun the Immortal's strength grew, with most of his focus on cultivation, their feelings remained the same.

The only difference was that the time they spent together was no longer as much.

As Puyun the Immortal progressed, she was also progressing.

She didn't have the same cultivation talent as Puyun the Immortal, so she focused on helping him manage his industries, learning a vast amount of economic knowledge and various skills, and she became more composed.

Over these years,

it must be said that Xia Ningshuang's growth was immense; she was already a very good virtuous helper. The only thing that remained unchanged was that she still deeply loved Puyun the Immortal.

Now,

watching Puyun the Immortal fall into such decadence, her heart was also twisted with pain.

And even more despairing was that she was powerless to stop it.

Although she had tried to comfort and encourage Puyun the Immortal more than once, wanting him to pull himself together, it was completely useless. Puyun the Immortal wouldn't listen at all, and sometimes even spoke harshly to her.

But even so, she did not lose heart. She still firmly believed that Puyun the Immortal would definitely pull himself together again. So while managing the industries for him, she still went to find him from time to time to talk about family matters and offer words of encouragement.

In a flash,

a hundred years passed.

The industries under Puyun the Immortal were now teetering on the brink of collapse.

This wasn't because Xia Ningshuang managed them poorly, but because Puyun the Immortal had been missing for too long.

There was no helping it; the universe was just that cruel.

Although Puyun the Immortal had fallen to the ninth level of the Domain Lord level, he was still considered a local powerhouse in the universe.

When Puyun the Immortal was around, those partner companies and competing enterprises would more or less be wary of his strength.

But now, he had been gone for too long—so long that it seemed he didn't care about these industries anymore.

This naturally allowed others to harbor ill intentions.

As a result, Xia Ningshuang was under immense pressure, even to the point of mental and physical exhaustion.

Even with the help of the two sons and Puyun the Immortal's old friends, they were still unable to improve the situation of the industries.

There was no other way.

Without absolute strength to hold the fort, all operations were in vain, because there was simply no right to an equal dialogue.

Regarding this situation, the only thing that could be done was to get Puyun the Immortal to return, even if he just showed his face.

But unfortunately,

Puyun the Immortal had cut off all contact with them.

They could no longer contact him.

...

Time flowed on, and a thousand years passed.

All told, Puyun the Immortal had been wandering through various star sectors for over one thousand two hundred years.

As a Domain Lord level cultivator, his lifespan was extremely long. Even though over one thousand two hundred years had passed, his appearance hadn't changed much, though his face showed more signs of the elements.

And during these twelve hundred years, he could be said to have been completely in a daze, to the point where the passage of time in his eyes was entirely distorted.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

On this day, he carried a wine flask, swaying as he walked down the main street of a city on a remote planet.

Looking at the heavy traffic before him, he actually felt a bit dazed.

Because this place looked remarkably like the planet where he had risen from humble beginnings.

Both the technology and the cultivation status of the people here were relatively weak.

As he walked,

a voice suddenly thundered in his ears.

"Class 7 of the Third Year, Fang Hua, E-rank Talent!"