Once again at the Burial Path Great Plain, Lan Xiaobu was intimately familiar with its Burial Path charm. He instinctively activated the Longevity Dao Art, allowing the plain’s nirvana-like charm to strip away the mottled laws within his Longevity Great Dao.
Initially, Lan Xiaobu considered finding a cave to serve as a retreat, where he could focus on purging the mottled laws and then prove his immortality. But as he grew accustomed to refining his dao while wandering, he began to perfect his Longevity Great Dao through this constant movement, simulating and refining it.
At this moment, Lan Xiaobu questioned why proving the Immortal Realm required a secluded cave. Others sought stable environments to comprehend their dao, but his Longevity Great Dao was unique to him. If his dao was singular, why follow the conventional path?
His path to immortality would be proven through ceaseless wandering!
With the Cause-and-Effect Sage gone from the Burial Path Great Plain, no longer exchanging Cause-and-Effect Dao Scrolls, the place felt even more desolate. Traveling billions of miles, he sometimes saw no one.
Lan Xiaobu roamed relentlessly, burying the mottled laws of his dao, refining new Longevity laws, and seeking true immortality.
One day, one year, ten years, a century…
Daxun Island
This was the dojo of Yi Dun Sage Cheng Qinghan, one of the closest to a Creation Sage’s dojo in the Immortal Land. Alongside Wan Dao River, Daxun Island stood out. Though Wan Dao River was now history, Cheng Qinghan’s status hadn’t diminished after Wan Dao Sage Heavy Sword Shan’s death—it had risen.
Rumors claimed Cheng Qinghan would be the next Creation Sage, and he was preparing to prove it.
Daxun Island’s clear dao laws and abundant vitality attracted countless fish and birds to its periphery. Among them, tens of thousands moved within fixed ranges—fish in the surrounding waters, birds among the auxiliary islands.
Clad in brown, Kong Yangshan stood like a lifeless rock on a barren islet at Daxun Island’s edge.
For a century, he hadn’t moved an inch. Yet he knew everything happening around the island. The schools of fish and flocks of birds carried traces of his dao intent.
He was certain of his hunch: Mo Wuji’s next stop would be Daxun Island to kill Cheng Qinghan.
Why did Mo Wuji kill Wan Dao Sage? Because Wan Dao killed his friend Fu Xing. Few knew Fu Xing had a beloved, Xia Yu Fairy Ji Zhuer.
After Fu Xing’s death, Ji Zhuer was taken by Yi Dun Sage Cheng Qinghan—a fact few knew, but Kong Yangshan had seen clearly.
He believed Mo Wuji would learn this because Ji Zhuer, aware of Mo Wuji’s bond with Fu Xing, would find a way to inform him.
Previously, Mo Wuji likely hesitated due to Cheng Qinghan’s strength. But after killing Wan Dao Sage, would he fear Cheng Qinghan? As for whether Ji Zhuer could contact Mo Wuji, Kong Yangshan didn’t doubt it. Mo Wuji and Fu Xing were close friends; he’d have Ji Zhuer’s communication charm. Even in hiding, Mo Wuji would’ve left a way for Ji Zhuer to reach him.
Yet, after a century, Mo Wuji hadn’t appeared. Kong Yangshan began to question his judgment. Logically, Mo Wuji should’ve come right after killing Wan Dao Sage, but he hadn’t.
Did Mo Wuji not know Ji Zhuer was taken by Cheng Qinghan? That seemed unlikely.
Mo Wuji truly didn’t know about Ji Zhuer. After killing Wan Dao Sage, he secluded himself for decades, integrating the Life-and-Death Wheel into the Time Wheel. Now, he planned something bold.
Kong Yangshan couldn’t imagine Mo Wuji targeting a Creation Sage.
Mo Wuji’s next target was Creation Sage Ying Dao, a vile figure. Known for mirroring any cultivator’s dao, Ying Dao, after becoming a Creation Sage, followed the Immortal Sage, committing heinous acts. Wan Dao Sage alone couldn’t have killed Fu Xing, who was already at the Derivative Realm. Ying Dao’s dao domain restrained Fu Xing’s sage domain, enabling Heavy Sword Shan to deliver the fatal blow.
Ying Dao had four eyes? Mo Wuji would test if he could mirror his Mortal Dao.
Though unaware of how Ying Dao mirrored others’ daos, Mo Wuji, creator of the Mortal Dao, had walked this path, even severing his world to reforge the Mortal Realm. He speculated Ying Dao could mirror universal laws equal to or below his own, but not higher.
Mo Wuji didn’t believe Ying Dao could mirror his Mortal Dao, despite possibly inferior cultivation.
Guanyun, Ying Dao’s dojo, differed from other Creation Sages’. He built no holy city, but its proximity to Guanyun made it safe for rogue cultivators. Over time, a spontaneous market formed—Guanyun Market.
Though unofficial, Guanyun Market rivaled formal holy cities in bustle. Its key advantage? No restrictions on divine sense. Anyone could extend their divine sense or expand their cave abode freely.
Large-scale battles were rare, but covert ambushes, assassinations, and betrayals were common. Otherwise, it’d be even livelier.
Mo Wuji wasn’t there for the market. He was headed to Guanyun, passing through.
To kill Ying Dao, he needed to envelop Guanyun’s dojo in void array patterns, ready to destroy it when the time came.
“Brother Mo?” A sudden transmission reached Mo Wuji’s ears.
Though only at the Creation Dao Sage Realm, Mo Wuji’s Mortal Dao was his own. Even without focus, he instantly recognized the sender.
A thin, dark cultivator entered his divine sense. Mo Wuji identified it as a disguise via the Heavenly Gang Transformation—a female cultivator, not male.
Few in the Immortal Land knew Heavenly Gang Transformation. Mo Wuji had heard it was an ancient divine ability from another cosmic plane, its practitioners taken by that plane’s ancestor.
He knew it, using it now for disguise. After mastering it, he’d gifted the Heavenly Gang Transformation scroll.
This cultivator not only used the technique but carried traces of his Mortal Dao laws, meaning their Heavenly Gang Transformation stemmed from him. In the Immortal Land, he’d taught it to one person: Fu Xing.
Fu Xing was dead, yet this woman knew the technique. She was likely tied to Fu Xing—his partner, Ji Zhuer.
Though not Ji Zhuer, Mo Wuji transmitted, “Follow me.”
The woman swiftly packed her stall and trailed Mo Wuji out of Guanyun Market.
Half an hour later, Mo Wuji stopped. “You recognized my Heavenly Gang Transformation disguise, and you’re using it too, inherited from me. You must be connected to Xia Yu Fairy, right?”
The woman bowed. “Yes, Brother Mo. I’m Qing Xiang, junior sister to Fairy Ji Zhuer. After she was taken, she sent me a message. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know where you were. Years ago, I heard you killed Wan Dao Sage to avenge Brother Fu Xing. I knew you’d come for Four-Eyes. I’ve waited here for you.”
She’d lingered nearly a century just to find him. Mo Wuji admired her resolve but focused on Ji Zhuer.
He knew Ji Zhuer was Fu Xing’s partner but lacked her communication bead. He hadn’t known she was taken.
“Who took Ji Zhuer?” Mo Wuji’s tone carried a hint of killing intent. He owed Fu Xing. If he couldn’t protect Fu Xing’s partner, how could he face him?
“Yi Dun Sage Cheng Qinghan of Daxun Island,” Qing Xiang said, clenching her fists.
