46, Transforming into a Rainbow

Compared to an ordinary world, Holy Venerable Huang Tian naturally preferred to go to a world that possessed extraordinary powers; in such a world, the path forward for cultivation would be much clearer.

Even if the world's system did not follow the path of immortal cultivation, but rather magic, battle qi, gu arts, or the like, it could still serve as a reference, which would be of immense benefit to him in carving out his own path.

"However, even if this world lacks a path of cultivation, it is still worth a visit. After all, a brand-new world represents brand-new ideas for technological development and novel cultural philosophies..."

Observing the vast multitude and drawing inferences from them is always the best way to improve one's cognition and strengthen oneself.

Moreover, he could clearly sense that the space-time barrier connecting to this new world was not solid; he could entirely break through into the realm with his consciousness.

Since that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.

He immediately attempted to split off a wisp of consciousness, however...

"As expected, it won't work."

Huang Tian frowned, realizing that he could not split off a second wisp of consciousness. If he wanted to travel to that realm, he had to withdraw the consciousness he had in the Late Han Dynasty World.

"No wonder I saw myself 'breaking through the tribulation and ascending' in the River of Time; I did not choose to stay forever."

He realized this instantly, and without further hesitation, his consciousness returned to the Late Han Dynasty World in an instant.

"Summon Zhang Jiao."

Outside the palace chamber, Huang Tian's voice came through clearly. The maidservant guarding outside acknowledged the order and immediately set off for Deyang Hall to call for Zhang Jiao.

At that time, Zhang Jiao was in Deyang Hall discussing state affairs with the others. Upon hearing the summons, he immediately set aside all matters and rushed over. The others saw this and had no objections; instead, they felt envious—

The Holy Venerable had bestowed Daoist arts upon ten people, but Zhang Jiao was the only one he truly recognized as a personal disciple; the other nine were at most merely registered names.

Regarding the envy of the others, Zhang Jiao felt not a shred of self-satisfaction; instead, his heart felt somewhat heavy.

He remembered the words his Master had spoken when he descended into the world: "When the tribulation is broken and the merit is complete, I shall ascend and depart."

Now, the world was unified, the flames of war were extinguished, and everyone had their own fields and homes. At the Science Institute, they were still constantly improving technologies for iron smelting, fertilizing fields, and weaving. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the human world was about to welcome a golden age, an unprecedented golden age!

All of this was created by his Master!

And as the golden age approached, his Master's merit would naturally be complete, so...

"Could it be that Master is going to ascend and leave?"

As he walked with hurried steps, the sense of unease in Zhang Jiao's heart grew increasingly intense.

Finally, arriving before a palace chamber, he took a deep breath and spoke: "Master, Zhang Jiao requests an audience."

The door opened without the wind, and he took another deep breath, summoned his courage, and stepped into the room, his feet feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

"Master!"

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

There was no speech for a time. After a long while, a faint sigh echoed in the room.

Zhang Jiao's heart immediately fell into chaos, knowing his premonition had been correct. His forehead pressed against the floor, his voice somewhat choked.

"The Dao Court has just been established, the world has only just been unified, and the myriad people are not yet prosperous. Can you not stay for a few more days, to see the prosperity of the human world before you depart?"

"The time has come."

Huang Tian did not say more; the more he said, the more it would hurt others.

"Come closer, and lift your head."

Zhang Jiao crawled forward on his knees until he reached Huang Tian. He lifted his head, and his body suddenly stiffened as a slender finger tapped his brow, and a surge of knowledge flooded into his mind.

"Before I ascend, I bestow upon you nine Golden Elixir methods, three hundred Dao Foundation methods, and a thousand Qi-gathering methods, along with the initial understanding of the four paths of alchemy, artifacts, talismans, and formations. I hope you will cultivate diligently, so that one day you may attain the immortal fruit and we shall meet again in Sovereign Yellow Primordial Realm..."

When Zhang Jiao awoke from his hazy state, only an ethereal voice echoed in his ears. He hurriedly looked up, only to see Huang Tian's figure appearing as if blown away by the wind, transforming into a wisp of golden smoke that flew into the dark void.

"Master!!"

Zhang Jiao's eyes reddened, and he bowed to the ground, "Respectfully sending off Master to return to the Immortal Heaven!"

In the second year of the Dao Court, in the twelfth month, heavy snow filled the sky. Holy Venerable Huang Tian's merit was complete; he transformed into a rainbow and ascended, unheard of for a thousand years...

The wisp of consciousness that had been split off crossed the endless void and returned to his physical body. A feeling of fullness and naturalness washed over him. Before Huang Tian could steady his mind, the spiritual energy within his body suddenly surged and boiled.

The next instant.

"Fourth Level of Qi Refining!"

His eyes revealed a look of both joy and surprise. The joy was naturally because he had broken through; although it was only a small breakthrough in realm, it was enough to be pleasing. The surprise was that the reason he had suddenly broken through was because that wisp of consciousness had actually brought back a trace of spiritual essence!

Blue Star and the Late Han Dynasty World were separated by who knew how many universes and dimensions; naturally, it was impossible to bring back his physical cultivation, but the spiritual essence cultivated in the Late Han Dynasty World could be brought back. Although there was a significant loss due to crossing realms, it was still sufficient.

"On Blue Star, I am essentially recultivating, and my progress is extremely fast, with almost no bottlenecks. Now that I have received the spiritual essence brought back from across the realms, my cultivation is advancing like a rocket!"

Calming the joy in his heart, Huang Tian's gaze returned to the new world.

"Since I can't tell if there is extraordinary power there just by looking, I will simply travel over..."

Huang Tian's mind stirred, and a wisp of consciousness flew from his body, escaping into the dark void, following the golden thread toward the new world.

Crackle~

A crisp sound rang out as the invisible barrier of space-time was breached by his consciousness. Before his eyes, space and time interlaced at a speed surpassing thought, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

A long while passed.

Huang Tian blinked, his gaze resting on the antique canopy of the bed above him. Beside him knelt a young girl with her hair in double buns, weeping softly.

So, I have become that Fourth Young Master? He understood instantly.

The next moment.

BOOM—

A massive influx of information flooded Huang Tian's mind, though it posed no burden to him; in mere moments, he had digested all the memories of the original body.

This world was known as the Five Directions World, with a history spanning over ten thousand years. Due to its vast territory and complex terrain, no unified dynasty had ever emerged throughout its long history.

Five nations vied for supremacy across the land. The place where he currently resided was Kunyun Prefecture, located in Qin Province, one of the twenty-three provinces of Great Gan.

The current King of Gan was a man of great talent and bold strategy. Having worked diligently for thirty years, he had brought prosperity to the nation and strength to its people, subtly elevating Great Gan to the position of the foremost among the five nations, earning him immense prestige.

This was the height of the imperial court.

As for the distance of the jianghu, there were sects that dominated various regions of Great Gan, such as the State Protector Temple, Cloud Sky Temple, Mystic Pivot Sect, Wind Cloud Dragon Tiger Pavilion, and Heavenly Sword Villa. Furthermore, there were the five lineages of the Demonic Path, whose influence spread across all nations, feared by everyone.

As for more specific details, the original body knew little, as he had spent his life confined to the manor and rarely ventured out.

Beyond the grand trends of the world, the rest of the memories were those intimately related to the original body.

However, after Huang Tian finished reviewing these memories, even with his temperament, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Because... it was simply too melodramatic!

The original body's mother had been a maid in the Huang Manor of the prefecture city. She had caught the eye of the master of the house, Huang Xunjiu, while he was in a drunken stupor, and after a night of intimacy, she had conceived a child.

Huang Xunjiu believed that a maid's pregnancy would ruin his reputation and demanded she abort the child, but he was stopped by the old matriarch, who was still alive at the time.

Ten months later, the maid gave birth to "Huang Tian," the original body. She had hoped to rise in status through her son, but unfortunately, the old matriarch passed away from illness just days later. Huang Xunjiu vented his anger on the mother and son. With the old matriarch no longer there to restrain her, the mistress, He Yunrou, gradually reduced their provisions, and a few years later, the maid died of melancholy.

"Huang Tian" was moved to a remote courtyard in the east wing. Over the years, under the instruction of the mistress He Yunrou, his monthly allowance, clothing, charcoal, and grain were increasingly withheld. She also restricted him from practicing martial arts under the pretext that he lacked talent, forcing him to focus solely on literary studies.

If that were all, it might have been bearable, but among He Yunrou's four sons, all except for the youngest, who was only eight, were absolute oddities.

The eldest son, Huang Qian, was twenty-five and had already reached the Seventh Rank of the martial path. He was often praised by Huang Xunjiu as having the "potential of a grandmaster," and was always arrogant and conceited.

The second son, Huang Rui, and the third son, Huang Jian, were bullies who picked on the weak. Seeing the original body constantly avoiding conflict, they frequently tormented him, often insulting him as the "lowly spawn of a maid." The original body had actually endured it all in silence, allowing them to beat and scold him, which had caused him to harbor long-standing resentment and grow increasingly frail—a sight that made Huang Tian shake his head in disbelief.

In short, this was a chaotic and dysfunctional family.

The father, Huang Xunjiu, had no sense of the past.

The mistress, He Yunrou, was anything but gentle.

The eldest brother, Huang Qian, was anything but humble.

The second brother, Huang Rui, was anything but wise.

The third brother, Huang Jian, was anything but robust.

What a nest of "talents" this is...

Huang Tian felt a retort stuck in his throat, unable to be voiced, lingering there for a long time.