"I know. I just want to tell him that he managed to make the True Immortal Palace surrender, avoiding a war, preventing countless families from being torn apart, and lives from being destroyed. For that reason alone..."
Xuan Yue spoke softly, "I don’t hate him anymore."
Xue Ying didn’t speak; she just held his hand tightly, standing quietly by his side.
After a moment of deep thought, as if feeling that all these were already meaningless, Xuan Yue chuckled wryly, "Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s all in the past, we need not dwell on it, but should look forward to the future."
"Right, looking forward to the future."
Xue Ying nodded her head.
The two exchanged a smile, hand in hand they walked together, blending into the soft morning sunlight to the accompaniment of the lively voices of the disciples.
Xuan Yue might or might not know.
Thousands of miles away from him, or rather, from Lingxiao Palace, a figure was observing him through a study of the True Spirit Realm.
Or rather, his spiritual fluctuations.
Since Gu Jinlai himself hoped for Qiantian to give birth to more Heavenly Masters to counter a possible onslaught from the Demon Realm in the form of Demon Spirits, the Cheng Guangjiu Refinement Method had been largely disseminated over the years.
Though not everyone knew of it, it was not difficult for those with status and positions to acquire it.
And, as the Sky Extreme Sword Master—whose combat strength was no less than that of a Void Immortal—Venerable Xuan Tian was no exception.
With the aid of the Cheng Guangjiu Refinement Method, and a mysterious force that seemed to be "bestowed" from the heavens, he had now reached the Third Step of Heavenly Monarch, peering into the True Spirit Realm.
Moreover, he had even gained some special secret techniques by working backward from that mysterious "bestowed" force.
It was for this reason he was able to "see" the existence of Xuan Yue through the perspective of the True Spirit Realm.
"No need to dwell on the past, but to look forward to the future."
Venerable Xuan Tian muttered to himself.
There was an unusual envy in his eyes.
Envy for Xuan Yue’s life.
In just a moment, he had forcefully crushed this envious mindset.
That was not the life he wanted.
Lingering in comfort only erodes one’s fighting spirit and vigor until, when real danger arrives, even if one reacts and makes an effort, it would still be like an insignificant ant being mercilessly crushed to death.
By then, any effort...
Just like how he could have become a Deva with a bit of effort before turning twenty-five, but due to his overly comfortable environment he only reached the Hugging Pill Realm after more than a decade of cultivation; thus, he could only watch as the Frost Sword Sect was destroyed, his master, juniors, and sisters, all killed by Wu Tiandi...
Even now, he often recalls that nightmare, which keeps him awake at night.
Such an event, he would never allow to happen a second time.
Right now, he was facing a new crisis.
Venerable Xuan Tian felt his Heavenly Master Realm, which had unreasonably swift improvements...
He took out an ancient scroll that was somewhat tattered; it was a special sacrificial method.
The object of the sacrifice was the True Spirit of a Heavenly Monarch.
And the ultimate aim of this sacrificial method...
Was to summon the Twin Star Lord.
"Only a creator can oppose another creator."
Venerable Xuan Tian smoothed out the ancient scroll.
He was about to use his True Spirit, which had advanced largely due to the force of the Libra Star Lord, as an offering for the Twin Star Lord, wondering...
If that Libra Star Lord could reclaim this offering?
"Devour me, come and devour me," said Venerable Xuan Tian, his eyes gleaming with cruelty and madness. "If you can’t consume me... then I will consume you!"
In the Profound Immortal Realm.
Gu Jinlai did not immediately return to the Creation Gate, but went straight to the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect.
Over the years, Zhao Xi had sent three groups of people to the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect; two had lost contact, but one was still in communication.
The last time he used the Void Projection Technique to communicate with Zhao Xi, he learned from Zhao Xi that the True Immortal had secured a place in the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, and had transmitted a message to him through a special method.
Given that the Creation Gate was now on the right track and would inevitably make a move against the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect located in Xuanjin Dao after unifying the Flame River Dao, he planned to contact this True Immortal to see if he could provide any assistance when the time comes.
If he could be of great use, perhaps the Creation Gate could act against the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect before dealing with the Heavenly Fire Sect.
That way, Zhao Xi could immediately focus on collecting Spirit Crystals, bringing the Transforming Spirit Heavenly Dao to Perfection, thereby minimizing the variables that might arise during the wars between the Immortal Country and the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, or the Demon Realm.
"Zhao Xi sent Immortal Qiu Yu, who can be trusted without doubt for being chosen for such a pivotal task. This True Immortal was adopted by Zhao Xi four hundred years ago, has been by his side since, and after four hundred years of hard cultivation, now possesses the strength of a top True Immortal," reflected Gu Jinlai as he rode on a dragon-blood treasure horse. He had already entered the territory of the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, and was not far from the mountain range where the sect was located.
The strength he displayed was that of Returning to Void, which was just right.
The Primordial Spirit Realm was too weak.
And the Mahayana Realm drew too much attention.
After all, even for the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, the master of Xuanjin Dao, Mahayana Saints are still at the Inner Sect Disciple level.
"Compared to the Creation Gate, the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect is clearly much stronger; according to memories from Immortal Sui Mu, there are six Heavenly Immortals in the sect, but...this number may not be entirely accurate. As for the True Immortals...there are as many as eighty-one, and the number of Void Immortals even exceeds a thousand."