Grandpa, times have changed.

"Fellow villager, long time no see."

Near a park outside the Sword Sect, Yuan met Xu Xing.

"Yes, it's been a long time."

Ning Wanzhu and Ming Yu did not go with Yuan, but instead went to see Li Ke.

He walked over to Xu Xing and stood beside him.

"How have you been these past few years?" Xu Xing asked.

"It's alright," Yuan said with a smile. "I've encountered some unpleasant things, but overall it's been going smoothly."

He looked towards a corner of the park, at the fallen leaves scattered on the ground.

"I just didn't expect that this day would come so soon."

I originally thought it would take many years.

After all, the 'Ascension Plan' is not a plan that can be achieved in the short term.

"I didn't expect this either," Xu Xing sighed softly.

He obtained the original intent of the 'principle' of the Great and directly saw the path to the source of the Dao, which was something he had never expected.

But soon, he laughed again:

"So, what are your thoughts?"

“Nervous, aren’t you?” Yuan smiled wryly. “When I returned to the Tai Xuan Realm before, I felt that I was ready, but now that the moment has come, I am a little uncertain.”

Returning to the Void is merely an insignificant embellishment; only upon reaching the Dao Integration stage can one be considered to be truly involved. Even those who have attained the Profound Realm are nothing more than slightly larger ants...

Even a true immortal cannot guarantee their survival.

Faced with a war in which the outcome is known, but the specific outcome is unknown.

He couldn't even make any decisions or guarantee anything, let alone say he wasn't nervous...

That's fake.

He hasn't even found his hometown yet!
"..." Xu Xing was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "How about I give you a choice?"

"Ok?"

choose?

Before Yuan could speak, he explained:
"This battle is destined to be difficult, so I plan to create a timeline based on the Tai Xuan Realm, and use this method to send everyone below the Returning Void Realm out of the Tai Xuan Realm."

"In their perception, nothing around them will change, and they won't even realize that they have left the Tai Xuan Realm."

"We'll bring them back once everything has settled down and the blockade of the Tai Xuan Realm is lifted."

Through timelines...

Sending everyone below the Void Return realm out of the Tai Xuan Realm?!

Yuan paused, and before he could react, everything in front of him began to blur...

wrong!

It's not blurry!

It's misaligned!

Every inch of this park, the entire Sword Sect, the Central Continent, and even the four star regions surrounded by the sword-light walls, showed a shadow that overlapped with the true Tai Xuan Realm.

Just like the other side of the Tai Xuan Realm, the Shadow Tai Xuan Realm and the Real Tai Xuan Realm overlap and intertwine, seemingly one, but upon closer inspection, it can be found that the two are clearly distinct.

Xu Xing himself stands in the Realm of the Great Mystery.

Of the countless sword cultivators in the vast Sword Sect, only a very few, like him, stand at the level of the True Tai Xuan Realm.

The vast majority of the rest, all those below the Void Return realm, operate on another level that has already separated from the true Tai Xuan realm.

"To them, it was simply the sudden disappearance of cultivators at the Void Returning stage and above."

Xu Xing continued.

His gaze illuminated the vast territory of the Central Continent.

All living beings are like ants, yet at this moment they are simply and brutally divided into two parts.

Returning to Emptiness, and below Returning to Emptiness.

"Nothing will change except for this."

"So you're telling me about the choices you're giving me..."

"I don't know how long the final battle will last. If it takes too long, the situation in the timeline will definitely become chaotic."

Xu Xing looked at him.

"But if there were someone with sufficient reputation and cultivation to take charge of the overall situation..."

He didn't continue, but Yuan already understood what he meant.

"..." After a long silence, "So you want me to leave the Tai Xuan Realm along with the timeline and wait for everything to end?"

"Yes."

"why?"

"Because you are the Holy Emperor who has ushered in a new era, you have the ability and the prestige."

Call ~
A gentle breeze blew, causing a few fallen leaves to drift between the two of them.

"Of course, I don't deny that I had my own selfish reasons in this."

"In case the battle drags on, and if something happens to me in this final battle, I hope..."

Xu Xing paused for a while before continuing.

"I hope you can go back to my hometown and find my parents..."

"If you have any concerns, I can have Ning Wanzhu and Ming Yu enter the timeline with you to leave the Tai Xuan Realm. In my name, no one will object."

"I will take responsibility for your share."

Indeed.

This is very unfair; it's unfair to everyone in the world.

But he still wanted to be selfish just this once before the final battle.

"..."

This time, Yuan remained silent for an even longer period.

"It sounds great, but I can't."

He slowly shook his head.

"I can't just leave like this, and I don't want to run away at a time like this, and Wanzhu and Mingyu wouldn't agree to it either."

It's been almost two thousand years...

What he couldn't bear to part with was not just Wanzhu and Mingyu.

If the Tai Xuan Realm remains safe and sound, he can leave.

But knowing that the most crucial moment had arrived, how could he leave and let down those who had always believed in him?
“You’ll die,” Xu Xing said seriously.

"So be it if I die," Yuan suddenly laughed.

"If I really die, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, my fellow villager, to take care of my parents."

"If we both die, we can just have your junior nephew or Yuan Lin go back in our place."

He acted with remarkable ease.

"I'm sorry," Xu Xing said.

"Fellow villager, this is no fun."

……

……

evening.

In front of the Sword Master's Hall, the distant horizon was dyed a brilliant golden-red, as if plated with a layer of molten gold, exceptionally dazzling.

Bie Xuening gazed into the distance, her expression calm.

In front of her, on the mountain steps leading down the mountain, Chi Jiuyu rested her chin on her hand, looking bored, with a lollipop in her mouth.

She already knew that she would be leaving the Tai Xuan Realm along with the vast majority of people, so she came to beg her master to let her stay.

But after pleading all afternoon, the master still wouldn't budge...

next second.

"Junior brother."

The sound from behind made her pause.

She suddenly stood up and looked back, only to see that Xu Xing had somehow appeared beside Bie Xuening.

"Uncle-Master!"

She ran over immediately.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xing asked her with a smile.

“I want to stay, to stay in the Tai Xuan Realm,” she said earnestly.

Xu Xing paused, but still smiled:

"Be a good boy and listen to me, you won't be of much use if you stay."

"Why don't you go with them? The situation in the timeline might be very chaotic then. With your current supernatural powers, that's where you'll be on your stage."

"And didn't you want to become the sect leader?"

"This is a good opportunity to get some exercise."

The most powerful cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage in the seven major immortal sects almost all received such instructions.

Chi Jiuyu's current supernatural abilities can be considered the greatest in the history of the Nascent Soul stage, even surpassing his own when he was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

That's why she's even more important to that timeline than anyone else.

"But……"

“Nine Fishing,” Xu Xing said helplessly.

"This time it's no joke. If you stay, to put it bluntly, you won't even be considered cannon fodder."

"If something unexpected happens, even your martial uncle can't protect you, do you understand?"

Chi Jiuyu lowered her eyes.

"I……"

"Shut up!" Bie Xuening said coldly.

"What time do you think it is now?"

"For your worthless determination? Or for that meaningless courage, you're going to stay and become cannon fodder?"

"You'll die!"

"Your senior brothers and sisters, me, and even your uncles!"

"If we all die, you and the rest of us will be the Sword Sect, understand?"

Chi Jiuyu raised her head and stared blankly at her.

Actually, she was just trying to say 'I understand'...

But upon hearing her master's words, she suddenly felt extremely distressed.

"No, it can't be..."

Master, you are so powerful, and your Uncle is invincible. How could you possibly die!

She wanted to say that, but the words seemed stuck in her throat, and she couldn't get them out.

"Of course, this is the worst-case scenario."

Bie Xuening's calm words made Chi Jiuyu pause, and his emotions became somewhat disjointed.

"The reason we decided to fight is because your martial uncle has become even more powerful."

"The worst-case scenario has a very small probability of happening; the more likely scenario is that we will all be fine."

"So, go and be your acting sect leader with peace of mind."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Jiuyu felt a blur before his eyes.

What appeared before their eyes was no longer the Sword Ancestor's Hall, but a majestic mountain, with a mountain staircase rising straight up and disappearing into the golden clouds.

"..."

Own……

Was it brought down?

After gazing at the mountaintop for a long time, she turned around and walked back in a daze.

The crimson tinge at the corner of his eye hadn't faded, and it wasn't until he'd walked quite a distance that he belatedly realized what was happening.

wrong.

Master just seemed to say...

Should I become the acting sect leader of the Sword Sect?

……

……

In front of the Sword Master's Hall.

Bie Xue gazed at Chi Jiuyu as he walked away into the distance and sighed softly.

This traitor...

Hopefully she can figure it out.

Thinking about it, she turned around and looked at Xu Xing.

"What did Yuan say?"

Xu Xing shook his head slightly: "He also intends to stay. Humans are not plants or trees; he also has things he wants to protect. So, at this last moment, he doesn't want to run away."

“Then you…” Bie Xuening hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

Since her master passed away, no one in the world has understood her junior brother better than her.

My junior's initial wish was actually very simple.

Protect the people around you, find a way home, and return to your parents.

"Let Jiu Yu and Yun Lu go, in case something unexpected happens."

"Ah."

"Senior sister."

"Ok?"

Before she could react, she felt a tightness around her waist; it was Xu Xing, who was standing beside her, suddenly hugging her.

"It has been 273,517 years."

This is the time he arrived in the Tai Xuan Realm.

"..."

Bie Xuening's system is malfunctioning.

Although she and her junior brother were from the same sect and cultivated together, they experienced hundreds of thousands of years of trials and tribulations.

But they haven't done such intimate things since they got older.

"Thankfully, you've always been by my side." (End of Chapter)