She is Jianxiu

Chapter 1439, Section Seven: All Fate is in My Own Hands

"Through..."

After pondering these two words for a moment, Jinwu's face revealed a look of understanding, and he slowly said, "These two words are indeed used cleverly. That's right, you are not a person of this world. Now that you have come to this world, it is because you have been summoned by me."

Zhao Chun nodded slightly, then said, "In that case, I am not from this realm either. I just don't know which realm I was born in."

These words prompted Jinwu to shake his head in denial. He then called her to stand up and led her forward, saying, "No, I only said that you are not from this world, but I never said that you are not a natural being born in this world. Zhao Chun, come with me."

After saying this, he waved his sleeve, and the misty clouds in front of him suddenly dispersed. As the two walked forward side by side, the scenery in front of them suddenly opened up, revealing a scene of uncertain light and dim, with dappled light spots.

"This must be..."

Zhao Chun looked around and saw countless lights scattered like stars throughout the universe. Some were as bright as the sun, their mere radiance illuminating their surroundings, while many dimmer stars clung to them. Apart from these, most stars appeared dim, occasionally emitting a faint, barely noticeable glimmer before fading away again.

Once they passed these stars, what lay before them was an extremely magnificent and pitch-black place.

This deep, seemingly endless cave entrance is round in the middle and tapered at both ends. Its outline is defined by a red rainbow that extends to the left and right, almost stretching across the entire universe.

Apart from the exceptionally bright stars, the closer one gets to this dark opening, the fainter the starlight becomes. Looking east and west, one can then perceive that all the stars in the heavens are within a celestial river, one end invisible and the other connecting to the depths of the opening.

The Golden Crow stretched out its long arm and placed its fingertips on the cave entrance, explaining, "That place is called Guixu by the people of the heavens."

It is said that all the realms within this universe are always flowing forward in an ever-flowing river. Because this river flows ceaselessly, time for all things never stops. Therefore, the ultimate fate of all realms within this universe is to be swallowed up by the Void. If we consider these infinite realms as a drop of pure water, then the Void is the place where all the waters of the world converge.

"The Ruins of Return is the place where all things end. Once the celestial realm is swallowed by it, it also signifies the end of this world." The Golden Crow's gaze had already drifted far into the distance, even beyond the entrance to the Ruins of Return, landing somewhere unknown. His tone held a newfound solemnity and awe as he said, "However, where all things have an end, there must also be a beginning. If there is anything that is constant and unchanging, it is only—"

"Boundary Origin".

She explained that the Origin of the Realm does not dissolve with the end of the present world. After falling into the Void, only the beings within the realm and everything that arose from them will cease to exist. Once all of these are completely eliminated, the Origin of the Realm will return to its original state, the formless and intangible primordial world.

After remaining in this state for a period of time, a brand new generation will follow with the birth of new life.

"Therefore, for the origin of the world, falling into the Ruins is just the change of one lifetime, but for us, it is a world-shattering catastrophe."

With a solemn expression, Jinwu spoke frankly: "In truth, this realm should have been at its peak, but the Celestial Race of that time, seeing the overwhelming power of the Daoist cultivators, had no choice but to perish together with them, resulting in the shattering of the realm's source and the collapse of the heavens and earth, which is why this realm is what it is today. For this reason, your sect leader Huang Tingyu originally intended to forcibly refine the realm's source to stabilize the realm. Unfortunately, this did not succeed, so he had no choice but to let me and Yuechan swallow half of the realm's source, which then transformed into the sun and moon to balance yin and yang."

"However, if we, who have devoured the source of the world, were to harbor such thoughts, no Dao cultivator in the world could stop us. Huang Tingyu was prepared, so he instructed his disciple to prioritize the Dao cultivators of the human race and to show no mercy when it was time to suppress them."

Upon hearing this, a complex expression appeared in Jinwu's eyes. Perhaps Huang Tingyu was too cold and ruthless to her and Yuechan, but for the cultivators of the world, this was a meritorious deed that had to be done for generations to come.

It is also said that not long after, Huang Tingyu died, and from then on, only three people knew the whereabouts of Jieyuan.

One of them is Chen Hengge, the Taiyi Golden Immortal who has been the head of the Zhaoyan Sect for three generations.

Secondly, there is Zhou Guanyi, the head of the Zhou Yuan Array Sect.

The third was Xiao Xianyun, the Taiyuan Ancestor and disciple of Zhou Guanyi. It was Zhou Guanyi who first proposed that the Boundary Source was a necessary thing for stabilizing the world. Even if it was stored in the belly of a demon, it should be controlled by Taoist cultivators. Rather than being controlled by the demon, it would be better to set up a magic array to make the two demons submit and avoid being harmed by them in the future.

At that time, Chen Hengge was able to suppress the two demons, but her personal disciple Chu Yunkai was still young, and most of the other cultivators were not even half as strong as her. If she could stay for a long time, that would be fine, but once she ascended and left, she would no longer be allowed to interfere in the affairs of this world. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons of Zhou Guanyi's words, Chen Hengge personally presided over the formation, and before ascending, he also founded the Ten Thousand Swords Alliance, leaving behind a natal magic sword for future generations.

Zhao Chun had a general understanding of what happened after that, but only after Jin Wu told her in detail did she realize that it was Xiao Xianyun who personally denounced his master, which led to the destruction of the Zhou Yuan Array Sect.

"This was all told to her by Chen Hengge himself, including the matter of refining the Heaven and Earth Furnace. Xiao Xianyun also told her everything without reservation. If there is any reason for this, it can only be summed up in two words—"

"The retreat."

"The Heaven and Earth Furnace is a backup plan prepared by Xiao Xianyun for the Xuanmen Daoist cultivators. As for you, Zhao Chun, you are a turning point left by Chen Hengge for this realm." Jinwu turned slightly to the side so that another figure could be revealed next to her.

"Zhao Chun, before you depart, I have something to tell you." Feng Shi frowned, his expression unusually hurried, as if he had just finished his work and rushed here. "This concerns the foundation of our sect and the survival of the world, so I must make things clear to you. The ascension of us Dao cultivators refers to severing the connection between our true selves and the celestial realm, thereby breaking free from the mortal world and leaping out of the endless river of the universe, no longer bound by time and rules. In this way, even if the mortal world ends, those who have ascended will not be affected. This is the freedom that Dao cultivators seek."

But this is by no means true eternity!

Feng Shi spoke almost in rapid succession, without pausing, "The Sword Immortal, the Fifth Sect Leader, Master Cui himself, and even the patriarch of the Taiyuan Dao Sect, have been searching for a way to save this realm since their ascension. However, since they are now on the shore and no longer in the river, they can no longer intervene in the mortal world. Therefore, they can only use the power of the Golden Crow to convey messages and guidance to us. It was also through Huan Yuan's traces that we finally found a realm that touched upon eternity."

"Only by becoming the master of the realm can one achieve eternity in this world."

"This should have been another path for cultivators at the Origin Realm besides ascension, but the Sword Immortal once said that all those born into this world will eventually transcend it. Only those anomalies from the past or future can exist within the river while simultaneously transcending the present world. Zhao Chun, you are that anomaly. The world you originally existed in may be the past of this realm, or it may be the future of this realm. But ultimately, you and I are both people of this realm."

“Therefore, I implore you to go to the realm where Huan Yuan once lived and find the true eternal law.” Feng Shi lowered his voice, almost sighing, “It was only because we forced you to come to this world that you were born. Therefore, the cause and effect of this world should have nothing to do with you. We are sending you away today. If you can obtain the law and return, then this world can survive. If not, you can use this to avoid the decline of this world. We have no intention of blaming you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chun remained silent for a long time, not answering Feng Shijing's request. Instead, she unexpectedly changed the subject and asked, "Master, is she related to Senior Jinwu?"

Thinking back on her journey, it's clear she's been guided at every turn, never straying from her path. From her senior sister Liu Xuan of the Lingzhen Sect, to the goddess Qingzhi who guided her to the upper realm, and then to her master Haiqing, known as Zhenyang, it seems she has an inextricable connection with the Golden Crow. What might have seemed accidental before is now clearly not the case.

She had once seen a picture in Hengxu's hands, which showed that the primordial spirit of the Golden Crow resided in its pupils. One of them was obtained by her and transformed into the magic sword Changjin, while the other transformed into a human body. If the two were separated, they would naturally converge in the darkness. Hengxu had suspected that the person was her, but Zhao Chun did not think so.

“Indeed, that is true,” Jinwu said frankly, his eyes slightly narrowed. “I am a pair of innate souls. Back then, Zhou Guanyi, in order to weaken my strength, did not hesitate to take away one of my eyes, and even wanted to use it to understand supernatural powers and control yin and yang. Unfortunately, she died not long after, and that pair of eyes was obtained by several demon ancestors who guarded the divine corpse in the abyss. As for me, I let this pair of primordial spirits go out, originally so that when the time was right, I could be reincarnated as a human in this three thousand worlds, thereby finding a way to break the great formation and achieve a way to save myself.”

"Unfortunately, my primordial spirit escaped my control. One fell into a small world and lost contact with me. Although the other successfully reincarnated, Cui You saw through his scheme and took him in to raise while he was still young. However, he only saw that Hai Qing was born with extraordinary abilities and that he was probably destined for greatness. He did not know that Hai Qing was the reincarnation of my primordial spirit."

"After that, Chen Hengge entrusted me with the method to save the world, saying that if this world were to perish, then I would also cease to exist... Liu Xuan's wisp of remnant soul was taken from Hai Qing's body after Feng Shijing received my guidance."

As she spoke, she scrutinized Zhao Chun's expression, wondering if he was surprised, furious, or sullen.

Zhao Chun listened calmly, and finally chuckled softly, saying, "So this is how my life began."

She looked at the two people before her, one with a furrowed brow, the other composed and unhurried. They had paved the way and moved their own piece from elsewhere, placing it there with a clear conscience. Zhao Chun, a soul that should have died long ago in the mortal world, should have been grateful for this mercy that gave her a new life, but she only felt relieved.

It's as if a road has finally come to an end, and the power to decide where to go next has finally returned to our own hands.

She said lightly, "I agree, but not for anyone else, but for myself. I will leave this place, and the day I return will be the day I am completely in control of myself."