The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

"Did you use some powerful supernatural abilities? Did it take a long time?"

Chen Xuan gently shook his head and put down his teacup.

"A lot of people?"

A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips, a smile devoid of sarcasm, but containing only a pure disregard for the concept of "quantity." "Before the line I draw, number makes no difference."

He reached out and casually plucked a leaf from the peach tree, holding it between his fingers.

"Supernatural powers?"

He looked at the emerald green leaves at his fingertips. "We don't need to deal with them."

Lu Yao held her breath, staring intently at her senior brother, waiting for him to continue.

Chen Xuan's gaze turned to the distance again, his eyes becoming somewhat distant, and his voice seemed to carry a hint of the frost and snow of three thousand years ago:

"The first one to cross the line was a mid-Nascent Soul elder from the Myriad Laws Heavenly Palace, known as the 'Thunderfire Venerable'."

"He cultivates the path of thunder and fire, has a violent temper, is confident in his profound cultivation, and is protected by the sect's treasure, the 'Thunder and Fire Mirror.' He believes that my line is nothing but a bluff and wants to break it with thunderous means to intimidate the world."

"He carried immense thunder and lightning, transforming into a hundred-foot-tall giant of thunder and fire, and stepped across the golden thread in one stride."

The peach leaf between Chen Xuan's fingers trembled slightly.

"Then he died."

"How did he die?" Lu Yao asked instinctively.

"Spontaneous combustion of lightning."

Chen Xuan said calmly, "The moment he crossed the line, the Thunderfire True Essence within his body, the Thunderfire Mirror he summoned, the Dharma Form he manifested..."

"At the same moment, all the power related to 'Thunder and Fire' and under his control devoured him."

"It was burned to ashes from the inside out. Even the nascent soul couldn't escape."

Lu Yao gasped. Died by absorbing her own power in reverse?

This...this is even more terrifying than a direct kill!

It's more like a punishment from the rules themselves!

"The second to cross the line were two Nascent Soul stage elders from the Five Elements Sect who were proficient in combined attack techniques and cultivated the 'Water and Earth Harmony' technique."

"Seeing that Venerable Lei Huo died mysteriously, they dared not be careless. They joined forces to use the 'Mysterious Nether Heavy Water Realm' to freeze the space with boundless heavy water and mysterious cold air, and forcibly 'submerge' the line I drew."

A tiny, almost imperceptible drop of dew condensed on the edge of the peach leaf between Chen Xuan's fingers.

"Then, they died too."

"The Xuanming Heavy Water poured in, freezing them along with their magical treasures and Dharma forms, then shattering them and transforming them into the purest water and earth elemental energy, which nourished the earth veins of Tianmen Mountain."

Chen Xuan's tone remained calm, "They tried to suppress me with their water and soil, so I made them return to their water and soil."

Lu Yao's palms were sweating as she listened. This was no longer a battle; this was the absolute power of words! It was an absolute crushing defeat at the level of rules!

"The third one to cross the line was a late-stage Nascent Soul sword cultivator from the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect, whose Daoist name was 'Breaking Cloud Sword Lord'."

"He was a famous master at the time, with a sword intent soaring to the clouds, and was said to be able to pierce through nine layers of clouds with a single sword."

"He was cautious and did not cross the line directly. Instead, he stood a thousand miles away from the line and remotely controlled his natal flying sword 'Breaking Clouds', which transformed into a ten-thousand-foot sword rainbow."

"Trying to sever that golden thread remotely, or to kill me."

The peach leaf between Chen Xuan's fingers seemed to have a faint light flowing across its veins.

"His sword is fast, sharp, and his sword intent is pure enough."

"and then?"

Lu Yao asked nervously.

"Then,"

Chen Xuan flicked his fingertip, and the peach leaf drifted down. "His sword broke on its own three feet before it touched the golden thread."

"It wasn't that it was broken by a shot; the outcome of 'breaking' was already predetermined the moment it took off."

"Just as snow melts in spring and leaves fall in autumn, it is the natural order."

Chen Xuan looked at the falling leaves, "When the sword broke, the wisp of his natal sword spirit that he had entrusted to the sword was also annihilated."

"His foundation was damaged, his cultivation level dropped to the Golden Core stage, and his Dao heart shattered. He passed away shortly after returning home."

Lu Yao was speechless.

Across a thousand miles, he severed his natal sword, destroyed its spirit, crippled his cultivation, and shattered his Dao heart... What kind of unfathomable and divine means is this?!

"Later, several more groups arrived."

Chen Xuan summarized, his tone as if he were counting how many birds had flown over the peach tree that day.

"Anyone who tries to trap me will suffer a backlash from the formation, and their soul will be annihilated."

"Anyone who attempts to bombard the enemy remotely with their secret treasure will have their treasure self-destructed, and their owner will suffer the consequences."

"Some command demons and monsters to test the waters, but the moment they cross the line, they are reduced to ashes and turn against their masters..."

He paused, then looked at Lu Yao: "After that, not many people dared to cross the line easily."

"At most, they might hurl insults or provoke others online, or just watch from afar."

"Then... what about those Nascent Soul stage elders? Didn't they make a move?"

Lu Yao finally remembered the most crucial question.

Chen Xuan remained silent for a moment, a hint of utter indifference flashing in his eyes.

"It's out."

He simply said, "Three have arrived. One is in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and two are in the middle stage."

"They crossed the line too?" Lu Yaoxin's heart jumped to her throat.

"No.

Chen Xuan shook his head. "They are very cautious. They stay far away and use their divine sense to spy on me. They even try to erode and distort the rules I have drawn with their own Dao Domain."

"And the result?"

The result is that,

Chen Xuan picked up his teacup and took another sip. "Their Dao Domain disintegrated and dissipated on its own when it approached the golden thread."

"When their divine senses touched the rules of the golden thread, it was as if they had hit an impenetrable wall, and the force rebounded, causing them to suffer a minor loss."

He put down his teacup, and his tone finally showed a very subtle change, as if he was feeling a little bored.

"They tried a few times, but found they couldn't break through that line or see through me, so they left in the end."

gone?

Lu Yao's mouth dropped open.

Three Nascent Soul stage masters joined forces to test him, but found they couldn't overcome a single line or see through a single person, so they left.

This is completely different from the earth-shattering, star-falling war I imagined!

"that's all?"

Lu Yao was still somewhat incredulous. "They didn't try any other methods? They didn't send any more people? No..."

"They think killing the Nascent Soul cultivator was a test, an accident."

Chen Xuan interrupted her, his voice returning to its usual calm, "The Nascent Soul stage cultivators failed to achieve their goal, so they know that once I've drawn this line, no one can break it."

"Sending more people is just sending them to their deaths."

"Unless they are willing to risk the fate of their entire sect and fight me to the death."

He looked at Lu Yao, his gaze clear and calm: "But back then, they didn't dare, nor did they need to."

"The Tianfeng Dynasty is just one of many 'granaries' for them, not an indispensable one."

"It's not worth it to make an enemy of someone whose depths are unknown and who may come from an even more ancient and terrifying being, just for a granary."

"so,"

Chen Xuan summarized, "Kill them until they dare not cross the line, kill them until they are wary, kill them until they feel the price is too high, and they will naturally hold the line."

He spoke of it casually.

It was like the "Tianmen Mountain Guarding the National Gate" incident, which shook the ancient cultivation world, laid the foundation for the rise of the Tianfeng Immortal Dynasty, and was talked about and speculated about by countless people in later generations.

It was just a simple little thing, like dealing with a few unruly mosquitoes.

Lu Yao stared blankly at her senior brother's calm profile, then looked at the powerful text and illustrations on the e-reader screen.

Suddenly, I felt that words and imagination seemed so pale and powerless in the face of my senior's plain narration.

True strength, perhaps, is like this.

No need for earth-shattering events, no need for rivers of blood.

Just draw a line there.

Anyone who crosses the line shall die.

that is it.

As the sun completely sank behind the mountains, the last rays of light disappeared, and twilight descended.

Tranquility returns beneath the peach tree.

Only in Lu Yao's heart did her admiration and curiosity for her senior brother grow wildly, like weeds.

How many more such ordinary yet shocking stories are hidden in my senior brother's past?

And what new "line" will my senior brother draw now in this era of spiritual revival?

she does not know.

But she was incredibly excited.