Somewhere in the void, upon the Shattered Star Belt encircling White Star.
Chaotic Void Ancestor stood upon a golden lotus dais. He had been silently gazing at the White Star before him without moving, but at this moment, as if sensing something, he took out an emerald-green talisman.
The light upon it had originally shone brightly, as if proclaiming vigorous life, but now it suddenly dimmed, like withering grass and trees, and never recovered thereafter.
He said gravely, "It seems Fellow Daoist Yan has been found."
On another golden lotus dais not far away, a daoist standing there spoke. "When Fellow Daoist Yan entered the Inner Layer, the Azure Spirit Heavenly Branch concealed him. For Celestial Xia to find him, they must have used the Clear-Heaven Star Compass. Though we have suffered a loss, we have also gained something."
Chaotic Void Ancestor said, "This time, the two fellow daoists who accompanied him were withdrawn. At least the losses were not too great."
Yet the daoist shook his head. "Cultivation is not easy for our kind. Even after becoming a Mystic Venerable, one must undergo centuries or millennia of bitter cultivation to amass profound attainments. In this respect, we are greatly inferior to the profound cultivators raised up by Celestial Xia. They do not fear losses, but we cannot compare."
After a slight pause, he added, "Fellow Daoist Chaotic Void, if Upper Firmament Heaven were also to employ Profound Methods, might we thereby reverse our present decline?"
Chaotic Void Ancestor slowly said, "Profound Methods have only been advanced for a little over three hundred years, yet the Celestial Xia Court is already largely divided between the Profound and Mystic paths. Who knows what will happen in the future? If Upper Firmament Heaven uses this method, I fear we too will follow