The Vastness of the Great Profound Realm

"Dao Brother, you aren't going to let her participate too, are you?"

Huo looked up toward the second floor, in the direction of Chi Jiuyu's bedroom.

"Of course not."

"That is for the best."

If Chi Jiuyu were really allowed to participate, the juniors might as well stop playing; they might as well just stand there obediently and wait for her to give them a beating.

Some of these Immortal Sect disciples had come to Mystic Sword City by chance, while others were lucky individuals who had stumbled upon opportunities. What could they possibly use to fight her?

"You are fostering these juniors, Dao Brother, but it shouldn't just be a simple matter of competing with me."

Based on Xu Xing's understanding of Huo, he wouldn't be so bored as to do that.

"Nothing escapes you, Dao Brother." He smiled. "A certain old, immortal Cang Race member was coveting the Creation Dao Foundation of our human race, so I devised a scheme and found him a fake foundation."

Xu Xing paused. "That is truly ignorant."

"He must have died early; otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an unwise move." Huo also felt that the old immortal was incredibly stupid. "By borrowing his power, I helped that junior shatter the fake foundation, giving him the possibility of advancing further."

"Your calculations, Dao Friend, surely go far beyond that."

"Indeed. Although a sliver of his consciousness was extinguished, his bloodline still remains. That junior carries the fortune of the Cang Race within a human body; he can be like a Son of Destiny, encountering constant miracles."

"But there is a price. If that junior is bewitched by the bloodline, he will no longer be of the human race." Xu Xing shook his head slightly.

"Everything has a price. If it truly comes to that... I will simply kill him."

Huo's tone remained gentle, yet his words were chilling.

"Your methods remain as extreme as ever, Dao Friend."

"The path of cultivation is long, and we are fighting at every moment. My creation is not so easily obtained."

The creation I bestow, you cannot refuse, and you cannot afford to lose.

It was precisely because of this extreme style of conduct that he was revered by the world as the Ancestor of the Demonic Path.

The Ancestor of the Demonic Path—Huo!

Xu Xing stopped talking about that and instead asked, "During the time I was in seclusion, what was the number of high-level cultivators?"

"Nearly three million at the Void Return stage, with ninety percent having left the Central Continent to enter the starry sky. However, the most important Dao Integration stage practitioners total fewer than sixty thousand; ten thousand remain to guard the Central Continent, and the rest have also entered the starry sky."

Nearly three million at Void Return, yet fewer than sixty thousand at the more important Dao Integration... As for those above Dao Integration, there were even fewer.

"Too few."

The laws of the Central Continent are strict, and the magical powers and combat strength that cultivators can exert are limited.

Once they enter the starry sky and lose that suppression, the magical powers and methods of a cultivator soar. Even a Spirit Transmutation cultivator can pluck stars and grasp the moon, but...

It is still not enough!

Although the Great Profound Realm is a world that hasn't been born for very long, it is incredibly vast.

Taking the Central Continent as the core, the world is divided into four star domains.

The Northern Star Domain alone spans hundreds of millions of light-years and encompasses hundreds of thousands of star systems.

Even a smaller star system has tens of billions of stars, while larger ones contain hundreds of billions or even trillions of stars.

The number of planets is even greater, and even if only a tiny fraction possess spiritual energy and are suitable for living beings to survive, it remains a terrifyingly large number.

Three million Void Return cultivators and fewer than fifty thousand Dao Integration practitioners are no different than throwing a handful of sand into the ocean when it comes to this vast starry sky.

Pluck stars and grasp the moon?

A single star system has at least tens of billions of stars; how many can you grasp?

"Indeed, it is too few." Huo sighed. "It is a pity that the Demon Race no longer has any at the Dao Integration stage."

That was true; the great demons above the Dao Integration stage in the Great Profound Realm had been wiped out by Huo long ago.

He had even refined those great demons and gifted them to human cultivators as opportunities, eventually managing to pile up many Void Return cultivators and several at the Dao Integration stage.

However, even more people died because of it.

Those who could not withstand the demonization, died!

Those who lost their original intent, died!

It was from that time on that Huo became the Ancestor of the Demonic Path.

"We shall continue to wait; time has no meaning for people like us," Xu Xing said indifferently.

"It seems that is all we can do." Huo laughed as well.

The Dao Integration stage is special; even for them, it is difficult to cultivate someone to that level.

For now, it is better to look forward to seeing which is stronger: the junior who accepted his opportunity, or the junior who received guidance from Dao Brother.

"Do you know of a person named Saint Emperor Abyss, Dao Friend?" Xu Xing asked again.

"Yuan, is it?" Huo's tone carried a hint of amusement. "A very interesting person. I have dealt with him quite a few times."

Xu Xing remained silent, mourning for his fellow countryman in his heart. Without equivalent strength, dealing with Huo was certainly no good thing.

"Given his uniqueness, there was a possibility he could have become a peer like us, but what a pity..."

Huo deliberately dragged out the silence, waiting for Xu Xing to ask first.

Yet, after a long while, Xu Xing still did not open his mouth.

Huo: "..."

You know, being like this is very boring, right?

"According to my observations, he is not a person of the Great Profound Realm."

Huo's words caused a ripple in Xu Xing's heart.

As expected, Yuan, the one suspected to be a fellow countryman, was also a transmigrator, and he hadn't managed to hide it from Huo.

It was just unclear if his hometown was the same as his own.

"So, his disappearance has something to do with you?"

Finally, you asked. I thought you had forgotten how to speak!

"It has nothing to do with me. Although he is not from the Great Profound Realm, he is human after all. As for the reason for his disappearance, I am also unaware."

"He was actually able to hide from you?"

"Indeed, it was truly remarkable." Huo sighed with some emotion. "However, I do have a guess."

"Oh?"

"Since he is not from the Great Profound Realm, Yuan... perhaps he went back?"

Went back?

"If Dao Brother wishes to know more details, you might as well take a trip to the Spirit Sound Workshop. After all, the last place Yuan went before he vanished was there."

[Enemy Slain: Qi Refining Ninth Layer Sword Cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique Perfection, Purple Enclosure Qi Observation Method Perfection]

[Time Taken: Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds]

The phantom of the sword cultivator fell backward, half his head sheared off; on his blurred face, a wisp of purple energy gradually dimmed.

Victory!

Zhang Yunlu's lips curled slightly upward, the fierce light in her eyes dissipating, and she could no longer hold herself up, falling backward as wisps of gray mist drifted in from all sides to repair the terrifying wounds on her body.

[Trial Concluded]

[The trial enemy will be replaced with a Foundation Establishment Realm sword cultivator; please begin the Harvesting and Refining Method practice]

The golden text slowly vanished, and a medicinal pill dropped, falling into her mouth.

The pill melted the moment it touched her tongue, turning into a sweet, clear liquid. Her exhausted spiritual energy recovered rapidly and, as usual, increased by a fraction.

Pure spiritual energy filled her dantian, giving her the feeling that she could not advance any further.

She had reached her limit!

In just a few short days, she had advanced from the eighth layer of Qi Refining to the ninth, and even reached perfection.

If this were in the past, she would surely be overjoyed...

Well, actually, she was still quite happy.

This was, after all, cultivation she had piled up with her own life.

The next moment, her consciousness withdrew from the gray space and returned to reality.

Outside.

Lying on the bed, Zhang Yunlu opened her eyes, slowly sat up, and looked to the side.

She saw slivers of sunlight filtering into the room through the gaps in the curtains.

It was already morning.

"Harvesting and Refining Method practice... and a Foundation Establishment Realm opponent."

She had finally reached this step!

This should mean she hadn't let down the senior's expectations, right?

She got up, left the bedroom, and came outside, taking a casual glance at Zhang Xiu's bedroom.

No one was there.

Her older brother seemed quite busy lately; she rarely saw him.

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