Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

Upon entering the seventh floor of the Star Tower, the scene before Yu Changsheng's eyes suddenly collapsed.

He was no longer surrounded by tower walls, but by an endless, flowing, silvery-white river—the River of Time materialized before his eyes. The water was not a liquid, but a torrent woven from countless fragments of light and shadow, each fragment a fleeting moment of the past or future: he saw Chen Xueqing's resolute grip on the Star Key as the Xuan Tian Sword Sect's gates were breached; he saw the moment Mo Yu's remnant soul awakened when he first obtained the Burial Abyss Black Sword; he even saw a fragment of the distant future—the collapse of the Starry Sky Palace, the Void Sovereign breaking free from its seal…

But these fragments are rapidly passing away, overlapping, and distorting, with truth and falsehood, past and future entangled in a confusing mess.

"Anchor to the truth of this moment." The voice of the trial's will echoed in the river of time, "If you lose your way in the river of time, your soul will be eternally banished."

Yu Changsheng took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in the void. The Starry Night Dao Embryo slowly rotated in his dantian, and the ice-blue light on the star base expanded in all directions, gradually transforming into a miniature starry sky projection—this was the nascent small world he had just comprehended in the fourth layer of chaotic evolution. Although the starry sky was small, it contained his complete understanding of the operation of time, space, and energy.

“The river of time may seem chaotic, but it actually has its nodes.” Yu Changsheng closed his eyes and sensed, “Every real moment is the only stable anchor point on the timeline.”

The Devouring Void Runes trembled within his meridians. Originally, these runes could only devour spatial rifts, but under the erosion of the River of Time, Yu Changsheng suddenly realized: time and space are one; the void can be devoured, and time can also be anchored.

He activated the "Return to the Void: Source Pivot," and the emerald-gold Daoist energy flowed through the core of his Dao embryo. This cultivation method, imprinted on him by Chen Xueqing, now revealed a deeper mystery—not only a guiding mechanism for energy, but also a method for anchoring existence itself.

"Based on my Dao Embryo, anchored by my will." Yu Changsheng opened his eyes, his gaze a mixture of starlight and sword intent. "This moment is unique and cannot be altered."

The miniature starry sky expanding from the star base began to rotate counterclockwise, opposite to the flow of the river of time. This was not a confrontation, but a resonance—Yu Changsheng wanted to find the point where the two flows reached a delicate balance, and that was "this moment".

Fragments of time scraped across his soul like blades. He saw scenes he had never experienced before:
Scene 1: Thirty thousand years ago, when the Starry Sky Forgers opened the ancient path, three powerful beings clad in star-patterned robes wove this passage through the void, using galaxies as threads and star fragments as materials. As the final array pattern was completed, the forger—his face blurred but his aura as vast as the universe—said to his companions: "This path can lead to all realms, but it may also lead to countless calamities. Three inns and nine towers must be established, awaiting a destined inheritor to carry on our lineage and maintain the balance of the void."

Scene Two: The instant the Soul-Severing Corridor was torn apart. The colossal claw of the Void Ruler extended from an indescribable dimension, the power of annihilation spreading like a plague, the Stardust Chains shattering, and countless remnants of spirits mutating amidst screams. The guardians of the End of the Stars Inn sacrificed themselves one after another, burning their divine souls to reinforce the seal. The last Stardust Guardian entrusted his remnant soul to the core of the formation, vowing, "As long as the Inn stands, the soul stands."

Scene Three: A Possible Future. Chen Xueqing fully inherits the legacy of the Starry Sky Forger, reconnecting to the ancient path with the Star Key. However, the Void Sovereign also senses the coordinates and breaks the seal prematurely. Elder Qingyi, to protect everyone's evacuation, self-destructs with the Purifying Lotus to buy time. The moment the lotus withers…

"No!" Yu Changsheng's soul trembled violently.

Those images were so real, so real, that the cracks in his Dao Embryo widened again—not cracks in his physical body, but a shaking of the very foundation of his being. If the future was destined to be this way, what was the point of all his struggles at this moment?

"It's fake." A familiar voice echoed in his mind.

It was Mo Yu. Though his remnant soul slumbered, the essence of his sword intent had merged with Yu Changsheng's. The voice was not words, but a thought conveyed by sword intent: "The river of time only reveals possibilities. With every choice you make, the future collapses and reassembles. Anchoring yourself to this moment is anchoring yourself to the future you choose to believe in."

Yu Changsheng suddenly understood.

Yes, the reason the river of time showed those images was precisely to shake his resolve. If he believed that the future was destined to be tragic, his Dao embryo would disintegrate within the cognition of "fate"; if he only believed in the present moment, then the future would be created by the present moment.

“I choose to believe…” Yu Changsheng looked at Chen Xueqing’s figure among the fragments, “We will walk out of the ancient path together, revitalize the Xuantian Sword Sect, and seal the Void Ruler.”

It's not blind optimism, but an inevitability based on the determination made at this moment.

The star-studded base suddenly froze! The rotation of the miniature starry sky and the river of time reached perfect balance. Countless fragments were still flowing, but where Yu Changsheng stood, time stood still—not still, but anchored at this single, real point.

The Devouring Void Runes trembled violently, their 108 runes transforming into black hole vortexes, but instead of devouring, they "fixed" it. They firmly pinned down the temporal structure within a three-zhang radius around Yu Changsheng, preventing any interference from the past or future from intruding into this area.

The river of time began to flow backward and recombine. Those false and unsettling fragments vanished one by one, leaving only the purest essence of time flowing around Yu Changsheng. He felt that his perception of time had never been so clear: a breath was broken down into three thousand moments, and each moment could be infinitely subdivided; he could see every time point of the energy cycle within his Dao Embryo, and could predict the precise moment when the Star Ember Fire Core would burn next.

"Anchoring successful." The voice of the Trial Will carried a hint of approval. "You took forty-seven breaths, ranking third among all challengers of the seventh level of the Star Tower."

Yu Changsheng slowly rose. He remained seated in the void, but a futon formed from condensed starlight appeared beneath him—this was the "anchor point of this moment" acknowledged by the river of time, now a tangible gift. The futon appeared simple, yet it contained a trace of the laws of time, which would greatly facilitate his future understanding of the Dao of Time and Space.

The seventh level of space began to transform. The river of time receded, and the tower walls reappeared, but the inscriptions on the walls were no longer star array patterns, but flowing time runes. With each glance, Yu Changsheng felt his divine soul's understanding of time deepen.

A stone platform rises from the center of the tower, upon which floats a silvery-white crystal, shaped like a teardrop, with a galaxy rotating inside.

"Time-Space Calamity Seal." The Trial Will describes it as follows: "The Starry Sky Forger extracts the essence of the River of Time and refines it. It can temporarily reverse local time three times, or accelerate time a hundredfold for the duration of an incense stick. Use with caution, as reversing time and space will result in karmic backlash."

Yu Changsheng solemnly put it away. This Calamity Seal was definitely a life-saving artifact, but as the will stated, reversing time would inevitably involve cause and effect, and it should not be used lightly unless in a desperate situation.

At this moment, the tremors outside the tower intensified.

"The Void Beasts have corroded the three outer layers of defense at the End of the Night Post Station." The Trial Will spoke urgently, "You must pass through the eighth and ninth layers within half a quarter of an hour to activate the Starry Sky Sealing Array. Otherwise, if the post station falls, everyone will perish."

Yu Changsheng's eyes sharpened as he looked at the stairs leading to the eighth floor.

The stairs were no longer physical, but a curtain of light. Eight large characters were projected onto the light curtain:

"The Tribulations of All Beings: Seeing All Beings, Understanding One's Own Path."

Upon stepping into the light curtain, the scene before Yu Changsheng's eyes changed drastically once again.

There were no enemies, no trials or obstacles; he seemed to be in a boundless, transparent space. Countless lights and shadows flowed within the space, each a "cross-section of life"—a projection of the memories and emotions of beings that had existed, were existing, or might exist on the Ancient Starfall Path.

He witnessed the life of an ordinary demonic cultivator from the Yin Sha Sect: born into a poor village, with low spiritual roots, he joined the demonic sect to survive, struggling daily in battle and fear, and finally finding release when he was slain by the Xing Ji Sword at Chu Chen Post Station. He also witnessed an ordinary disciple of the Xuan Tian Sword Sect: after three years of diligent cultivation, he secretly loved his senior sister but dared not confess, and when the mountain-protecting formation broke, he shielded his junior sister with his own body, his last thought before his soul was extinguished was "Junior sister, run quickly."

He saw the appearance of the Star Remains before it was twisted: a star traveler who had strayed into the ancient road, lost in the Soul-Severing Corridor for a thousand years in search of the legendary Star Palace, and was eventually corrupted by the void turbulence, turning into a monster that only knew how to devour, but still retained a trace of the obsession to "go home".

He even saw the "memory fragments" of the Void Beast: born from a void rift, driven by instinct to devour all energy, without any concept of good or evil, its only purpose in existence was to "eat," but when it was sealed by the Star Forger 30,000 years ago, it felt "pain" and "anger" for the first time.

The images of all living beings flooded into Yu Changsheng's consciousness like a tidal wave.

This is not an attack, but an indoctrination. The test of the eighth level is not a battle, but "understanding"—understanding that every being on the ancient path, regardless of friend or foe, strength or weakness, or form, has its origin, experience, obsession, and suffering.

"See all living beings, and understand your own path." The voice of the Trial Will softened considerably. "The path of the Star Forger is not for supremacy, but for balance. To maintain balance, one must know why all living beings have come to this, why they fight each other, and why they kill each other."

Yu Changsheng's Dao Embryo began to tremble violently.

It was not a conflict, but a resonance. The Star Base sensed the yearning for the starry sky among all living beings; the Annihilation Sword Pattern sensed the struggles and resentment of countless deaths; the Star Ember Fire Core burned with the burning passion of all living beings' obsessions; the Devouring Void Rune devoured those broken regrets; the Chaos Emperor's Blood surged with the cry of life's instinct; and the Emerald Gold Dao Rhyme attempted to reconcile all these contradictions.

With so many emotions, so many memories, and so many causes and effects flooding in at the same time, an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would have their soul overwhelmed in an instant, becoming a "container of all living beings" who has lost their self.

But Yu Changsheng had already undergone the trial of self-examination. His Dao heart was clear: to strive for the way of balance, one must not only fight for a sliver of life, but also protect those one cares about, and balance all forces and circumstances.

“I don’t need to become one of the masses.” Yu Changsheng sat down cross-legged, letting the images of the masses wash over him. “I only need to see them, understand them, and then… walk my own path.”

He neither resists the incorporation of any light or shadow, nor clings to the preservation of any memory. The myriad forms of life are like water flowing over a rock, leaving traces, yet unable to settle the stone.

In this process, Yu Changsheng's understanding of "Tao" deepened rapidly:
Swordsmanship: In the past, his sword was only used to kill enemies and protect himself. Now he understands that the sword can also carry the wishes of all living beings. The sword intent of annihilation can not only destroy, but also bring liberation to those souls struggling in pain—for example, when slaying the spirits of the dead, it is actually giving them eternal peace.

The Way of the Stars: The creators of the starry sky opened ancient paths not to monopolize opportunities, but to pave a possible path connecting all realms for all living beings. The essence of the power of the stars is "connection" and "guidance".

The Way of Guardians: Why did Elder Qingyi sacrifice her own essence to protect everyone? Why was Elder Jianchen willing to lead his disciples to cover the retreat? Why did Chen Xueqing burn her spiritual body to activate the inheritance? Because guarding is not a responsibility, but a choice—a choice to preserve a glimmer of warmth for humanity in the merciless void and time.

Under the influence of the various forms of sentient beings, the six powers of the Dao embryo began to truly merge.

The Star Base is no longer just a cold starry sky, but has the warmth of a "home" - the mountain gate of the Xuantian Sword Sect, the post station of the Starfall Ancient Road, and even the place of return that every life cherishes.

The sword runes of annihilation are no longer just runes of destruction, but have gained an arc of "compassion"—the sword is drawn not to kill, but to stop killing; annihilation is not the end, but the beginning of new life.

The Star Ember Core burns more steadily because its fuel is no longer just spiritual energy, but also the "light" that those obsessively hold onto—even the humblest life has a moment worth burning for.

The Void Devouring Rune learns not only to devour, but also to "encompass"—the void can contain all things, and should also be able to contain the joys and sorrows of all beings.

As the Chaos Emperor's blood flowed, Yu Changsheng felt an ancient resonance deep within his bloodline: an emperor is not one who reigns over all living beings, but one who guides them to establish order within chaos.

The emerald-gold Daoist aura permeated everything, weaving the six forces into an invisible net—a net that did not trap anyone, but quietly supported each fallen soul.

After an unknown amount of time, the images of all living beings gradually faded away.

In the transparent space, only Yu Changsheng remained, along with the eight paintings that had materialized before him:
First painting: Struggle - A young boy wielding a wooden sword fights a hungry wolf, his eyes shining with an indomitable light.

The second image: Guardian – A monk stands with his back against the door, behind him a crying child.

The third image: Balance – a scale with two ends, one for personal gain and the other for the common good, and the person holding the scale strives to keep both ends from touching the ground.

Fourth image: Tranquility – An old man passes away peacefully, his physical body turns to dust, and his soul ascends into the starry sky, without sorrow or joy.

Fifth image: Devouring - A void rift swallows stars, yet at the edge of the rift, a new nebula, never before seen, blooms.

The sixth image: Derivation—From chaos, heaven and earth were created, the pure and the impure were separated, and all things sprouted.

Seventh image: Time - A person anchored in the river at this moment, with the past and future unfolding like wings.

The eighth image: All Beings – Countless lights and shadows intertwine, eventually converging into a star map: each star is a life, and in the flow of galaxies, there is a natural balance.

The eight paintings were successively incorporated into Yu Changsheng's brow.

He did not gain new power, but he obtained something more precious than power—the Dao Realm. His cultivation level at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm remained unchanged, but his understanding of the essence of the Great Dao was already comparable to that of a Void Refinement cultivator.

"The calamity of all beings has passed." The Trial Will sighed, "In the past thirty thousand years, you are the second person who has not been lost in the appearance of all beings, but instead has transformed all appearances into resources for your own path."

Yu Changsheng stood up and bowed to the void: "Thank you for your kindness, senior."

"Go to the ninth level immediately," his will urged. "The monstrous beast has broken through five layers of defense. Qingyi, Jianchen, and the others are using the Soul-Burning Sword Formation to stall for time; they can only hold out for a hundred breaths at most." (End of Chapter)