After Zhen Changyuan finished speaking, she took out a jade box and handed it to Lan Xiaobu, “Junior Brother Xiaobu, this jade box contains an Eternal Life Talisman. Keep it. If you encounter danger in the future, it could save your life.”
“Isn’t the Eternal Life Talisman a consumable?” Lan Xiaobu asked in surprise.
Zhen Changyuan smiled faintly, “Under the vast cosmos, ninety-nine percent of talismans, even those born of heaven and earth, are consumable. The Eternal Life Talisman is no exception. Each talisman can be used three times. After each use, it must be nurtured by chaos and requires ten thousand years before it can be used again. It hasn’t been ten thousand years since I escaped the Land of Eternal Life, but I believe by the time you reach there, this talisman should be ready for its second use.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t take the talisman. Instead, he said, “Senior Sister Zhen, I won’t need this talisman. You should keep it for yourself.”
Zhen Changyuan said urgently, “As long as I don’t run into that Huang Buzi, I won’t be in danger. Even if I return to the Land of Eternal Life, it’ll be my second time there, and it won’t draw the attention of powerhouses. But you—once you step into the Land of Eternal Life, you’ll be noticed immediately. So, I won’t need this talisman, but you will.”
Lan Xiaobu laughed heartily, “Since I’m going to the Land of Eternal Life, I won’t be coming back here anytime soon, nor will I flee back here. My home, my family, and my friends are all here. If I escaped back here, those bastards would surely cause my plane to collapse. If someone wants to hunt me, Lan Xiaobu, I’ll naturally fight back and kill them. There’s no reasoning to it—those who seek my life will pay with theirs, simple as that.”
Zhen Changyuan was stunned for a moment. Then she thought of that genius youth who’d been hunted. His cosmic world had saved many lives—when he was being pursued, did those Creation powerhouses also destroy his world?
She didn’t know the details; her cultivation was limited. In this plane, she might stand at the pinnacle of power, but in the Land of Eternal Life, she was just an utterly ordinary Creation Path cultivator.
Seeing Zhen Changyuan lost in thought, Lan Xiaobu continued, “I think that young man hunted by Creation powerhouses must have shared my mindset. If coming back only brings disaster, it’s better to stay in the Land of Eternal Life and root out those hunting you one by one.”
Zhen Changyuan gave Lan Xiaobu a deep look. After a long pause, she said, “Perhaps you’re right. If there’s anything I can help you with, just say it.”
Lan Xiaobu asked, “Senior Sister Zhen, have you ever heard of the Karma Saint Kong Jia?”
“You want to prove the Karma Great Path?” Zhen Changyuan immediately understood Lan Xiaobu’s intent from his question.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, “Indeed. Once I prove the Karma Path, I can seek the road to eternal life.”
Initially, Lan Xiaobu hadn’t cared much about proving the Karma Path, but after proving the Destiny Path, he felt it was essential. To survive in this vast cosmos, one inevitably accrued various karmic ties. To shed them, he first needed to prove the Karma Great Path.
“I’ve heard of him. To me, he’d be considered a junior. After I went to the Land of Eternal Life, I heard no more of him,” Zhen Changyuan replied.
Lan Xiaobu understood. It seemed the information he’d gotten from Zhen Ti was true—Karma Saint Kong Jia had gone to the Heavenly Street and crossed the Divine Gate. Whether the Divine Gate led to the Land of Eternal Life remained unclear.
“Senior Sister Zhen, I’m off to find the Seven Realms Stone. Let’s meet again in the future,” Lan Xiaobu said. He didn’t want to waste more time. He needed to locate the Seven Realms Stone quickly, then continue seeking news of Kong Jia. If there was truly no trace of Kong Jia, it likely meant he’d gone to the Land of Eternal Life.
“Alright, I need to restore my Great Path too. My foundation has taken quite a hit over the years. When you find the Seven Realms Stone, send me a message, and I’ll come find you,” Zhen Changyuan nodded. She knew Lan Xiaobu’s strength was extraordinary and that he didn’t need her help in this plane.
…
After parting with Zhen Changyuan, Lan Xiaobu stopped after just two days. Before him was a hidden natural void array.
Without the realm flag pointing to this spot, he might have passed by without ever noticing its existence.
But once he’d found the location, the rest was no issue for Lan Xiaobu. He didn’t even bother summoning his Longevity Halberd; with a lift of his hand, he tore apart the natural array.
As the array ripped open, an extremely narrow small world appeared before him. Or rather, it wasn’t a small world but an independent void space, no more than a hundred zhang in radius. Within this space stood a realm flag inscribed with “Four Realms Stone.”
It looked like he could grab it with a simple reach, but Lan Xiaobu didn’t act. He felt things weren’t that straightforward.
Using his divine sense to inspect the surroundings, he noticed three void grooves around the flag. He immediately took out the One Realms Stone, Two Realms Stone, and Three Realms Stone flags and inserted them into the grooves. Instantly, he felt the spatial rules shift dramatically, bearing no resemblance to what they’d been before.
Sure enough, Lan Xiaobu saw that the Four Realms Stone flag’s position had changed. Had he reached for it earlier, it might have vanished into the void.
This time, Lan Xiaobu extended his hand and effortlessly swept the Four Realms Stone flag into his own world.
He retrieved the other three flags, thinking to himself that it hadn’t been easy. Though collecting the Four Realms Stone flag was simple, finding it had taken considerable time.
Next, he could search for the Five Realms Stone flag.
With prior experience, locating the Five Realms Stone flag was much easier for Lan Xiaobu. He took out the four flags, quickly determining the position of the Five Realms Stone flag. It didn’t seem far from here.
Lan Xiaobu etched the spatial principles of the Five Realms Stone flag’s location into a crystal ball, then used teleportation techniques to follow it. After half a month, he stopped outside a life-bearing planet.
The fifth Seven Realms Stone flag was on this planet, seemingly having drifted over from the Seven Realms Desert.
Standing outside this life-bearing planet, Lan Xiaobu marvelled inwardly. This planet was even larger than several Great Void Stars combined. Compared to it, the Great Wilderness Divine Realm was insignificant. Any sect on this planet capable of reaching star-level status likely had considerable strength.
There was no void plaza outside this planet. As Lan Xiaobu landed on the protective array surrounding it, he suddenly sensed something amiss.
This was undoubtedly a planet with complete rules and abundant life, yet he felt a terrifying aura of imminent extinction and destruction. The planet’s fortune seemed to be stripped away, everything bound and restrained…
Lan Xiaobu frowned, his expression turning cold. He despised trash like the Great Cosmos Saint who casually destroyed life-bearing planets. Clearly, someone was refining this planet.
No, that wasn’t right. After his divine sense fully penetrated the planet’s surface, Lan Xiaobu understood. No one was refining it—it was bound by a terrifying Great Path principle designed to strip away all its vitality and fortune, forcing it to self-destruct.
Destroying the planet was one thing, but using the most powerful binding principles to trap it, preventing any life from escaping? That was utter annihilation.
Who would do something so harmful without benefit? Without hesitation, Lan Xiaobu summoned his Longevity Halberd. No matter who was responsible, he wouldn’t stand by.
With a single strike from the Longevity Halberd, a killing aura surpassing that of an ordinary Creation Path cultivator slammed into the binding principles encasing the planet.
Boom! The charm of the Great Path shattered, and a powerful backlash surged back, nearly making Lan Xiaobu spit blood. Yet the binding principles only trembled slightly under his attack.
In that moment, Lan Xiaobu realised that the one intent on destroying this planet wasn’t some ordinary Ninth-Turn Saint but a true eternal saint. From his senses, this eternal saint hadn’t even come in person—it was acting across billions of planes.
To destroy a planet and trap its lifeforms from billions of planes away—this could only be a Creation Realm powerhouse.
Lan Xiaobu sucked in a cold breath. He didn’t know how this planet had offended a Creation Realm expert, given they resided in the Land of Eternal Life. Regardless, he wouldn’t allow this to happen. The Longevity Halberd transformed into a tearing, murderous Great Path principle and struck again, this time unleashing the Halberd Path divine ability, Palace Sound Kill.
The explosive halberd sound detonated in the void, crashing into the binding principles holding the planet.
One note of Yang Pass, a heart-wrenching tune; palace music rose, the long halberd slashed across ninety thousand miles!
Boom! The binding principles were torn apart by this strike, and the planet seemed liberated, its vitality and fortune rushing back.
Yet Lan Xiaobu paused. He sensed an utterly ordinary Mortal Great Path within the planet—like an average person seeking the Dao, unremarkable yet somehow familiar and natural.
He was friends with Guan Huan and knew she cultivated the Mortal Path, but her Mortal Path seemed different from the one here.
