The storm passed, and all was calm again.
The days passed, one by one.
Hidden away in a forgotten corner, with no Divinity Transformation masters threatening him, Lü Zhong could finally cultivate in peace. Every day, he either took Pills to refine his Qi, striving to bring his Magical Power to Perfection as soon as possible, or he delved into his Magic Skills, studying the profound mysteries of the Purple Sky Thunder Skill.
In his rare moments of leisure, he would also spend time with his family, cherishing their precious company.
Yet as his cultivation grew, so did his sensitivity to the pain of separation and death.
Dark hair at dawn, white as snow by dusk.
It was the perfect description.
Lü Zhong still clearly remembered his great-grandson, who had just been born in what felt like the blink of an eye. Yet by the time he next emerged from seclusion to see him again, the child was already a decrepit old man, or had long since turned to dust.
And so, gradually, Lü Zhong stopped paying mind to his more distant relatives.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, three hundred years had passed.
He had finally achieved Cultivation Perfection!
...
Another Lantern Festival had arrived.
The family gathered at the Waterside Pavilion.
Many people attended. Not only Yu Feng’Er and Shuini, but also his son and daughter, Tianwen and Jiuge. All of Lü Zhong’s living descendants, down to his grandsons and great-grandsons, had also been invited.
Of course, not many were qualified to sit at Lü Zhong’s table.
Well into the feast, after several rounds of drinks,
"I’m preparing to go out and find a place to break through to the Divinity Transformation Realm!" Lü Zhong, whose cultivation was already at the Quasi-Deification Realm, suddenly announced.
Upon hearing this, Yu Feng’Er went stiff, the smile freezing on her face.
Shuini lowered her head in silence.
The others reacted much the same.
The once-cheerful banquet fell silent, as if someone had suddenly pressed a stop button. All eyes turned toward the Waterside Pavilion, landing on the young man in black robes.
Yu Feng’Er was silent for a long moment before she forced a faint smile.
"Th-then when will that be?"
"Tomorrow," Lü Zhong said, his gaze sweeping over everyone in a decisive tone.
At his words, Yu Feng’Er’s eyes instantly misted over.
She knew all too well that the barrier to the Divinity Transformation Realm was insurmountably high, having defeated countless heroes throughout history.
Once he left, there was no telling if he would live or die.
This could very well be their final farewell.
"Pfft, this is a good thing! Why the long faces? How many people wish they could attempt to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm but don’t even qualify?" Shuini stepped in to break the heavy atmosphere. She then turned to Lü Zhong, her eyes crinkling with a smile, and raised her cup. "If it were anyone else, I’d say their chances are slim. But you? It’s a different story. You’ll definitely succeed... Come, drink up!"
"Yes, I will succeed," Lü Zhong replied with a faint smile.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers..." Yu Feng’Er choked out.
...
「Before dawn.」
Lü Zhong rose from the bed.
He glanced back at Yu Feng’Er. She was sleeping soundly, only the sound of her soft breathing filled the air.
Her sleeping profile, eyes closed, was just as it had been when he first saw her at the trading post a thousand years ago. There was more he wanted to say, but he could only bury the words deep in his heart.
’There isn’t much time left.’
’If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to attempt Divinity Transformation.’
’But time and tide wait for no man.’
It was only just before the Lantern Festival that an Incarnation he’d sent out discovered the truth: the Immortal Sect had never given up. To find their great enemy, Lü Zhong, they had resolved to perform the "Heavenly Cave and Earthly Passage Searching Technique," no matter the cost.
It was an incredibly powerful Search Spell.
Judging by the cost required, Lü Zhong had no doubt of its effectiveness.
He sighed internally. The Immortal Sect was as powerful as ever. Hundreds of thousands of years ruling Central Earth had allowed them to accumulate an unimaginably deep foundation. Repeated, unexpected lessons had cemented their code of conduct; once they identified a mortal enemy, they would act decisively.
They would rather pay a great price than allow a potential disaster to fester.
Of course, there was another factor driving this.
Cangmingzi had suddenly become active, urgently preparing for his Ascension. It was his actions that had caused the situation to escalate so quickly. As the most ancient of the Central Earth Divinity Transformation masters, verifiable records alone proved he had already lived for ten thousand years.
Lü Zhong didn’t understand why Cangmingzi was still so fixated on Ascension, even after the Nai River disaster had been resolved.
’The only thing I know for sure is that I’m in deep trouble this time!’
Before leaving the room, Lü Zhong took one last look at Yu Feng’Er. Seeing her face turned toward him, a faint smile touched his lips. He then resolutely stepped over the threshold, his pace not slowing in the slightest at the sound of sobbing. He passed through the main gate, striding past Shuini and the others who stood on either side to see him off, and walked out of the Mountain and River Map.
With a wave of his hand, he drew the Mountain and River Map into his body.
Though this path was fraught with peril, it was not without a chance of survival.
The Celestial Dao was as merciful as ever; achieving Divinity Transformation was his only hope of survival.
But before that, he had to survive long enough for the Celestial Tribulation to descend. It was said that once the Nine-Nine Celestial Tribulation began, the Celestial Dao would restore a person to a state of Perfection, even if they were on their last breath.
’I hope so!’
Lü Zhong walked out of the Wilderness Cave Mansion.
The golden light of dawn washed over him, draping him in a celestial golden cloak. He took a deep breath and flew toward his chosen spot for Crossing the Tribulation.
...
「Meanwhile.」
The former Western Sect Land—the Burial Dao Plateau.
This place was originally the mountain gate of the Mysterious Dao Sect, located on a Tier Five Spirit Vein, a place that could be called a genuine Blessed Land. However, after the Hei Ming Daoist ascended here, it became a gloomy Ghost Realm. Even when the sun was at its brightest, it could not pierce the heavy, dark clouds shrouding the area.
Later, a pseudo-saint of the Ghost Dao sacrificed hundreds of millions of living beings here in an attempt to achieve transcendence.
Unfortunately, he failed at the final hurdle and was slain by a Divinity Transformation master.
The death of the pseudo-saint transformed the land once more, turning it into something akin to the Yellow Springs Ghost Prison.
Yet in this very place, a grand ceremony was about to begin. As immortal music began to play, the cultivators chosen as the sacrifice for the spell, though deeply unwilling, had no choice but to submit to the might of the Immortal Sect and obediently take their designated positions.