"Brother, you wouldn't let her take part too, would you?"
Huo looked up toward the second floor, where Chi Jiuyu's bedroom was.
"Of course not."
"Good."
If Chi Jiuyu really took part, those youngsters might as well give up playing and obediently wait for her to beat them all up.
Some were Immortal Sect disciples who had come to Mystic Sword City through a twist of fate, while others were lucky enough to have stumbled upon an opportunity. How could they possibly hope to compete with her?
"Fellow Daoist, you're supporting the younger generation. Surely it's not just to compete with me."
Based on Xu Xing's understanding of Huo, he wouldn't do something so pointless.
"Nothing gets past you, Brother." Huo smiled. "There's an old Cang Race immortal coveting the Human Race's Creation Dao Foundation. I set things up a little and found him a fake Dao Foundation."
Xu Xing paused. "He really doesn't know what he's doing."
"He must have died a long time ago, or he wouldn't have made such a foolish move." Huo also thought the old immortal was an idiot. "With his power, I helped that youngster shatter the fake Dao Foundation, giving him the chance to advance further."
"Your scheme must go much further than that."
"Indeed. Though that wisp of intelligence has been destroyed, the bloodline still remains. That youngster bears the Cang Race's fortune in a human body and can have one lucky encounter after another, like a child of destiny."
"But there's a price. If that youngster is bewitched by the bloodline, he'll no longer be part of the Human Race." Xu Xing shook his head slightly.
"Everything comes at a price. If it really comes to that... I'll just kill him."
Huo's tone remained gentle, but his words sent a chill through the listener.
"Your methods are still as extreme as ever, Fellow Daoist."
"The path of cultivation is long, and every moment is a struggle. How could the fortune I grant be so easy to obtain?"
The fortune I give you is not something you can refuse, nor can you afford to lose.
It was precisely this extreme way of doing things that had earned him the title of Ancestor of the Demonic Path.
Ancestor of the Demonic Path—Huo!
Xu Xing said no more and instead asked, "While I was in seclusion, how many high-level cultivators were there?"
"Nearly three million Void Return cultivators. Nine-tenths of them left the Central Continent and entered the Starry Sky. But there are fewer than sixty thousand Dao Integration cultivators, the most important of all. Ten thousand remain in the Central Continent, and the rest have also entered the Starry Sky."
Nearly three million Void Return cultivators, but fewer than sixty thousand Dao Integration cultivators, even more important... As for those above Dao Integration, there were fewer still.
"Too few."
The laws of the Central Continent were strict, limiting the divine powers and combat strength cultivators could bring to bear.
But once they entered the Starry Sky, they were no longer suppressed, and their full range of divine powers surged. Even a Spirit Transformation cultivator could pluck stars and seize moons, but...
It still wasn't enough!
Though the Great Profound Realm was not a particularly old world, it was vast beyond measure.
With the Central Continent as its core, the world was divided into four star regions.
The Northern Star Region alone stretched across hundreds of millions of light-years and encompassed hundreds of thousands of star systems.
Even the smaller star systems had hundreds of billions of stars, while the larger ones had trillions.
There were even more planets. Though only a tiny fraction had spiritual energy and could support life,
the sheer scale still made for a terrifying number.
Three million Void Return cultivators and fewer than fifty thousand Dao Integration cultivators were like a handful of sand tossed into the sea, compared with this boundless Starry Sky.
Pluck stars and seize moons?
A single star system had at least hundreds of billions of stars. How many could you possibly take?
"Indeed, too few." Huo sighed. "It's a pity the Demon Race no longer has any Dao Integration cultivators."
That was right. The great demons above Dao Integration in the Great Profound Realm had all been slaughtered by Huo long ago.
He had even refined those great demons and turned them into opportunities for Human Race cultivators. In the end, he had actually managed to raise many Void Return cultivators and several Dao Integration cultivators.
But even more people had died as a result.
Those who couldn't withstand demonization died!
Those who lost themselves died!
That was when Huo became the Ancestor of the Demonic Path.
"Then we'll just keep waiting. Time means nothing to us." Xu Xing spoke indifferently.
"It seems that's all we can do." Huo smiled as well.
Dao Integration cultivators were special. Even they would find it difficult to force one into existence.
For now, they might as well look forward to seeing which youngster would prove stronger: the one who had received his opportunity or the one guided by Brother Dao.
"Fellow Daoist, do you know anything about Saint Emperor Abyss?" Xu Xing asked.
"Abyss?" Huo's voice held a hint of amusement. "He's an interesting person. I've crossed paths with him quite a few times."
Xu Xing fell silent, mourning his fellow countryman in his heart. Without comparable strength, dealing with Huo was no good thing.
"Given how unusual he is, perhaps he could have become our fellow Daoist. What a pity..."
Huo deliberately trailed off, hoping Xu Xing would ask first.
But even after quite a while, Xu Xing still didn't say a word.
Huo: "..."
You know, this really isn't much fun.
"From what I've observed, he wasn't from the Great Profound Realm."
Huo's words stirred something in Xu Xing's heart.
Sure enough, Abyss, who seemed to be a fellow countryman, was also a transmigrator, and Huo hadn't failed to see through him.
It was just unclear whether they came from the same homeworld.
"So his disappearance had something to do with you?"
Finally, you asked. I thought you'd stopped talking!
"It had nothing to do with me. Though he wasn't from the Great Profound Realm, he was still part of the Human Race. As for why he disappeared, I don't know either."
"He managed to hide it from you?"
"Yes, he really was remarkable." Huo sounded somewhat moved. "But I do have a theory."
"Hmm?"
"Since he wasn't from the Great Profound Realm, perhaps Abyss... went back?"
Went back?
"If you want to know more, Brother Dao, why not visit the Spirit Sound Workshop? After all, that was the last place Abyss went before he disappeared."
[Enemy slain · Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique perfected, Purple Enclosure Qi Observation Method perfected]
[Time taken: five minutes and twenty-seven seconds]
The sword cultivator's phantom fell backward, half its head sliced away. The purple qi in its indistinct face gradually dimmed.
She had won!
The corners of Zhang Yunlu's lips lifted. The fierce light faded from her eyes, and she could no longer hold herself up. She fell backward as wisps of gray mist drifted in from every direction, mending her terrible injuries.
[This trial has ended]
[Your trial enemy will now be replaced by a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator. Please begin cultivating the Harvesting and Refining Method.]
The golden words slowly vanished. A pill dropped into her mouth.
The pill melted as soon as it entered, turning into a sweet, clear liquid. Her depleted spiritual energy recovered rapidly and, as usual, grew a little stronger.
Pure spiritual energy filled her dantian, giving her the sense that she could advance no 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 had even reached its peak.
In the past, she would have been overjoyed...
Well, she was pretty happy now, too.
She had built this cultivation with her life!
The next moment, her consciousness withdrew from the hazy gray space and returned to reality.
Outside.
Zhang Yunlu opened her eyes on the bed and slowly sat up, looking to one side.
Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains.
It was already morning.
"Cultivating the Harvesting and Refining Method... and a Foundation Establishment opponent."
She had finally made it to this stage!
She hoped she hadn't let Senior down.
She got out of bed and left her room, glancing into Zhang Xiu's bedroom along the way.
No one was there.
Her big brother seemed pretty busy lately. She hardly saw him anymore.
Before you continue