Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

"Seiwa."

"exist."

"I hereby issue an order to the capital: from this day forward, all shrines to the immortals shall be converted into temples to the immortals, and all who worship them may cultivate immortal seeds and practice the 'Health Preservation Technique'."

Chen Qinghe was taken aback. "Sir, what are you going to do...?"

"Now that the only passage between the two realms has been severed, there will probably be no more immortals in the world."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped out of the ancestral hall.

Behind him, the immortal statue that had stood for thousands of years had its crack between its brows gradually widening, spreading across its entire body like a spider web.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the statue turned to dust, which drifted away with the wind.

Hundreds of memorial tablets inside the hall were also shattered, and the remnants of souls sealed within them were released, turning into specks of firefly light that rose to the top of the hall before finally dissipating into the air.

Chen Qinghe, deeply moved by the scene before him, bowed deeply.

When he straightened up, Ye Xuan had already walked far away. The boy hurriedly chased after him, his steps light and swift.

"My lord, wasn't the message to the capital sent?"

Seeing Ye Xuan stride out of the city, Chen Qinghe was filled with confusion.

"The current emperor, Li Chong, is currently in Shuitian Village. If we capture him, everything will be fine."

Since the great battle in the capital, he first broke through the city gates, destroyed the formations, and finally severed the interdimensional passage of the ancestral hall. Now that his cultivation has reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, Ye Xuan vaguely feels that a breakthrough is imminent...

So he grabbed Chen Qinghe and, relying on his perfect cultivation and Taoist robes, flew through the air all the way to Shuitian Village.

Before sunset, the two had covered a thousand miles and could see the outline of the distant mountains behind them.

Upon reaching the summit, the lake surface shimmered with the golden-red afterglow of the setting sun. The willow tree stood quietly, its white blossoms shimmering with a warm, bluish-white luster in the twilight.

Dozens of corpses lay scattered along the lakeside, all of them guardians of the ancestral hall and royal soldiers. The willow saplings that had split open on the chests of the corpses were withered and blackened, clearly having long been drained of their nutrients by the immortal willows.

The five surviving royal retainers and the remaining soldiers knelt three zhang away from the willow tree, their faces deathly pale.

Li Chong stood alone between the willow trees and the lakeside, making him quite conspicuous.

He still clutched the white jade bottle in his hand, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly, but the king's eyes no longer held their former sharpness, only emptiness remained.

Ye Xuan landed gracefully, followed closely by Chen Qinghe. The kneeling crowd heard the footsteps and looked up in alarm.

Upon recognizing the visitor, the worshippers from Shuitian Village immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying:

"Lord Immortal Lord!"

Those who served as worshippers and soldiers of the dynasty trembled all over, some even pressing their foreheads tightly against the soil, afraid to utter a sound.

Li Chong slowly turned around, looked at Ye Xuan, and then at the Daoist robe on Ye Xuan's body that seemed to resonate faintly with the aura of the immortal willow. Suddenly, he twitched the corner of his mouth, a smile that was both like a laugh and a cry.

"Presumably, everything in the capital... has been destroyed by your hand."

Ye Xuan nodded, "Without the arrival of the immortals, the dynasty's fortune will dissipate."

Hearing every word clearly, Li Chong slowly closed his eyes. The jade bottle in his hand clattered to the ground, and the spiritual liquid spilled into the soil, instantly stirring up subtle ripples of spiritual energy, which were then swallowed up by the abundant vitality of the lakeside.

"My life's work has turned into a joke."

He murmured to himself, his gaze returning to the willow tree not far away.

"This tree...is it the true way of Heaven?"

Ye Xuan did not answer, but walked forward. When he arrived under the shade of the willow tree, which had grown to over thirty meters tall, he sighed:

"The Way of Heaven?"

He looked up at the horizon. Although the willow trees were growing strong, they were not yet reaching the sky. But just because they were not yet there now did not mean they would not be in the future.

Ye Xuan walked back to Li Chong, looking down at this dying king, a flash of white light appearing at his fingertips.

Li Chong stared at that familiar yet deadly white light, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes was completely extinguished.

He had witnessed the divine power of this white light countless times and knew he was powerless against the young man before him. He said:

"Defeated by the hand of Heaven, I have nothing to say."

He did not beg for mercy, nor did he struggle any further; he simply closed his eyes slowly, as if awaiting his predetermined fate.

Ye Xuan twitched his fingertips slightly, and the white light shot out, landing on Li Chong's brow and slowly disappearing into it.

A cooling sensation enters the body and quickly spreads throughout the body's meridians, reaching the Huangting point...

After a few breaths, he could clearly feel something in his dantian, which should be the immortal seed, but the seed in his body did not sprout.

Li Chong suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief and astonishment.

"Those who establish their foundation receive the Immortal Seed, and each breakthrough in their minor realms will nourish them and greatly benefit them."

Ye Xuan spoke calmly, his back turned, and continued:

"The immortals have perished, and the dynasty's fortune has dissipated."

You are no longer the king, but merely Li Chong; your life or death holds no meaning for me.

He paused briefly, then guided a wisp of spiritual energy from heaven and earth into Li Chong's body with his fingertips, and personally performed a health-preserving exercise for him.

"This is the 'Health Preservation Technique.' You, and all those who have served the royal family, can go to the temple to make offerings, seek the seed of immortality, and practice the technique, just like ordinary people."

Li Chong shuddered, opened his mouth, but could not utter a sound.

On the one hand, he experienced a wonderful feeling from this health-preserving exercise, with his meridians flowing freely throughout his body, as if he had been enlightened and awakened.

On the other hand, he understood perfectly the meaning behind Ye Xuan's words.

What does it mean that "everyone can go to temples to make offerings, pray for immortal seeds, and practice cultivation techniques, just like ordinary people"?

He spent half his life pursuing power and immortality, sparing no expense for it, only to end up with nothing.

And now, what he had sought all his life was being promised to everyone, including him, the loser, in such a casual way by the "Heavenly Immortal Venerable" before him.

Li Chong felt this was a great irony and a disgrace.

His legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees. The radiant look he had just had vanished, replaced by a look of utter dejection.

The worshippers and soldiers nearby, seeing this, began to discuss amongst themselves.

"Did you hear what the Immortal Venerable and our King said?"

"I heard you clearly! It said 'to impart immortal techniques'..."

"..."

Ye Xuan stopped looking at him and turned to face the huge fairy willow. At this moment, as dusk deepened, the bluish-white luster flowing around the fairy willow became more and more warm and bright, reflecting the golden and red afterglow on the lake surface, exuding a magnificent yet tranquil vitality.

He felt the spiritual power of his Foundation Establishment Perfection stage surging within him, resonating strongly with the aura of the Immortal Willow.

"A breakthrough is imminent..."

Ye Xuan knew that the area above Shuitian Village was near Liuxian Dongting, and that the capital city had a lineage of immortals. If he wanted to break through, he would definitely need to choose another auspicious place.

He summoned Chen Qinghe and said:

"You have been with me on this training trip for several days now, so it's time to see the results."

Ye Xuan pointed to the calm lake in front of him, and Chen Qinghe immediately understood and jumped into the lake.

The boy swam quickly to the bottom of the lake and saw the big fish guarding the pearl in the center of the lake again, the same big fish that had previously thwarted him.

This time, although Chen Qinghe's cultivation level did not improve much, only reaching the third level of Qi Refining, he learned the Health Preservation Technique and gained a deeper understanding of the other two "Immortal Techniques".

Faced with the large fish rushing towards him, he was no longer as flustered as before; he was confident.

He released his spiritual power, parted the water in front of him, and dodged the collision of the big fish. At the same time, a flame gradually emanated from Chen Qinghe's hand.

He used the same strategy as before: he enveloped the flames with spiritual energy and waited for the big fish to come to him...

At the lakeside, Ye Xuan suddenly withdrew his perception from the bottom of the lake. The next moment, water splashed everywhere, and a figure rushed out.

"grown ups!"

Chen Qinghe leaped out of the lake, holding the large fish by its tail fin in one hand and a dazzling pearl in the other.

Just as he was about to jump to the lakeside, he released the large fish back into the lake and brought the precious pearl before the immortal.

Ye Xuan was quite satisfied with the pearl in the boy's hand. He channeled the spiritual energy within it into Chen Qinghe and consolidated his cultivation, which allowed him to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"Thanks……"

Ye Xuan nodded slightly, stopping the young man in front of him, and led him to Xian Liu, finally saying:

"Xianliu will continue to take root in Shuitian Village in the future, so you should cultivate diligently and not be negligent."