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

Lingxiao Headquarters, Operations Command Center

On the huge holographic projection screen, the map of southern Xinjiang is updating battlefield data in real time.

"Qiongqi has been severely injured by the Empress and is fleeing into the depths of the Blackwater Swamp!"

"The three Golden Core elders of Taiqing Temple have set up the Three Talents Demon-Locking Formation to cooperate with the Empress in the pursuit!"

"The demon army has been routed, and three peak Golden Core stage demons have been slain!"

The voices of the operations staff rose and fell, filled with barely suppressed excitement.

.........

Qingcheng Mountain, at dusk

The setting sun painted the mountains golden red, and the lights of the distant town had already lit up.

Today is the 15th day of the lunar calendar, and there is a night market at the foot of the mountain.

"Senior brother!"

Lu Yao ran out of the Taoist temple, changed into a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and styled her hair into two buns, with a white jade hairpin inserted in her hair.

That was a "tribute" sent by Taiqingzi the day before yesterday, said to be carved from a thousand-year-old warm jade treasured in the temple.

"The night market is opening! You promised to take me to eat candied hawthorns!"

She tugged at Chen Xuan's sleeve, her eyes sparkling.

Chen Xuan let her pull him along, casually took a copper coin from his sleeve, and flicked it into a beggar's broken bowl by the roadside: "Let's go."

"My senior brother is the best!"

As the two were descending the mountain, they encountered several hikers.

One of the young men, wearing glasses, was holding a camera and wanted to photograph the sunset over Qingcheng Mountain, but his companion stopped him, saying, "Don't take pictures of that Taoist temple. I heard that a hermit lives there and doesn't like to be disturbed."

"What kind of master is he? He's just a Taoist priest."

The young people didn't take it seriously.

His companion lowered his voice: "What do you know? My second uncle works at Lingxiao Temple. He said that the one in this Taoist temple... is someone even the Empress has to address as 'Master'."

The young man's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the camera.

Chen Xuan seemed not to hear, and led Lu Yao through the mountain gate and into the gradually bustling street.

Night markets, a vibrant and bustling scene.

Lanterns hung on both sides of the bluestone path, and the shouts of vendors rose and fell.

Children crowded around the sugar painting stall, where an elderly man blowing sugar figures swiftly sculpted dragons and phoenixes.

The sizzling oil in the fryer frying stinky tofu, the spicy and savory aroma mixed with the charcoal smoke from grilled skewers, creates a unique and lively atmosphere in the mortal world.

Lu Yao held a candied hawthorn in her left hand and a sesame cake in her right, her mouth full of sugar crumbs.

"Senior brother, you should eat too!"

She held the sesame cake to Chen Xuan's lips.

Chen Xuan took a small bite and glanced at the crowd.

There are quite a few practitioners in the night market.

There was an old Taoist priest selling talismans who was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Next to him was a blind fortune teller who actually had the third eye. There was also a woman selling roasted chestnuts with a faint sword aura flowing in her palm, who should be an outer disciple of some sword sect.

Hidden away in the city.

He sat down at the dessert stall and ordered two bowls of osmanthus dumplings.

The proprietress was a plump middle-aged woman who was quick and efficient. She cooked the glutinous rice balls until they were soft and sticky, and the sweet soup was refreshingly sweet.

Lu Yao was eating happily when she suddenly looked up and said, "Senior brother, you said last time that you drew a line between the human world and the mortal world on Tianmen Mountain and guarded it for three hundred years."

"And what about three hundred years from now? Where will you be?"

The spoon gently touched the rim of the bowl.

Chen Xuan put down his bowl and looked at the lights in the distance.

The hustle and bustle of the night market suddenly seemed distant, as if separated by an invisible barrier.

"Three hundred years later..."

His voice was very soft, "The Heavenly Wind Immortal Dynasty is stable, the demon races in all directions dare not cross the line, and there is peace in the human world. I think that's about enough."

Lu Yao noticed the change in her senior brother's emotions and asked softly, "And then you left?"

"Um."

Chen Xuan looked at the reflection of the swaying sugar water in the bowl and thought, "The path of cultivation is like rowing against the current."

"I've been stuck in the Floating Life Realm for a hundred years, and I still can't reach the threshold of the next realm."

"While human fortune can aid in spiritual practice, it can also become a shackle."

"Having guarded this land for three hundred years, I am so deeply bound to it that it has become a mental obstacle."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Wu Minghuang persuaded me to stay. She said that Tianfeng can live without the Immortal Dynasty, but it cannot live without you, sir."

The night market was bustling with activity, and children chased and laughed near the dessert stalls.

Chen Xuan seemed to be standing in another time and space: "I sat on the top of Tianmen Mountain for three days and three nights, watching the sun and moon revolve and the sea of ​​clouds churn."

"I finally figured it out."

"To break through to the next realm, one must sever all ties with the mortal world."

So I left.

"Where did you go?"

"have no idea."

Chen Xuan shook his head, "I sealed my cultivation, transformed into a mortal, and traveled the world."

"I have been to the northern desert to see the vast yellow sand, to the East China Sea to watch the tides rise and fall, and also lived with wild people in the miasma forests of southern Xinjiang for three years."

"This departure will last for two hundred years."

Lu Yao listened intently: "During those two hundred years, did you find a way to break through to the next realm?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a long time.

After the Floating Life Realm, comes the Hundred Realms Realm.

The light from the night market lanterns fell on his profile, creating a play of light and shadow.

"Found it."

His voice carried a faint sense of melancholy, "But the price was... when I returned, the Heavenly Wind Immortal Dynasty had already perished."

A couple walked by the dessert stall, laughing and joking.

Chen Xuan looked at the faint golden mark on his wrist. It was the heart-to-heart contract that Wu Minghuang had made with her heart's blood back then, and now only a faint trace remained.

"She waited for me for three hundred years, but I didn't return. I wasn't there when she died."

........

........

Lingxiao Headquarters, late at night.

The joy of the day was completely washed away, and a sense of desolation filled the air.

Wang Mingyuan, Ye Li, Lin Xiaoman, and the three high-ranking members of Lingxiao watched in silence.

The screen shows the capital of Tianfeng Empire eight hundred years ago.

The era of Kendo has lasted for eight hundred years.

The imperial capital, "Phoenix City," stands majestically like a mountain, with city walls hundreds of feet high, engraved with defensive array patterns.

The city was filled with towering buildings, wide streets, peaceful homes, and cultivators flying through the air on their swords. This was the most prosperous era of the Heavenly Wind Immortal Dynasty.

Deep within the imperial palace lies the Lingxiao Palace.

Wu Minghuang sat on the dragon throne, no longer the girl who followed behind Chen Xiang.

She wore a nine-phoenix crown and a crimson-gold robe. Her face was still stunningly beautiful, but her brows held the majesty and weariness of three hundred years of imperial reign.

Your Highness, civil and military officials stand on both sides.

"Your Majesty, the demon race in the Northern Territory has reinforced its troops by another 300,000, personally led by the 'Heavenly Demon' Zhu Jiuyin."

The Minister of War stepped forward, his voice heavy, "Report from the front: the Zhenbei Army has suffered more than half its casualties, and the Left General has been killed in battle."

The imperial court was silent.

Zhu Jiuyin, an ancient demon clan powerhouse, has reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and is said to be only half a step away from entering the Void Refinement stage.

Three hundred years ago, when Prime Minister Chen drew the line between the human and the mortal realms, this old demon watched from afar but dared not cross the boundary.

Now that Chen Xiang has been gone for two hundred years, it can no longer hold back.

"The demon races from the Western Desert, the South China Sea, and the Eastern Wilderness are invading simultaneously."

The Prime Minister's white beard trembled. "The four great demon clans have joined forces, mobilizing over a million troops, including more than a hundred Nascent Soul demons and seventeen Divine Transformation demon kings... Your Majesty, this is a war of annihilation."

After listening calmly, Wu Minghuang only asked, "How about the evacuation of the people?"

"As Your Majesty has decreed, the array was activated three days ago, and thirty million people were taken into the small world within it."

The Minister of Works said, "But the battle formation can only hold for three months at most. If we cannot repel the enemy after three months..."

"Three months is enough."

Wu Minghuang stood up.

Her crimson robes fluttered without wind as she descended the jade steps, her imperial aura increasing with each step.

When he arrived at the palace gate, his cultivation level had forcibly risen from the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm to the late-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"His Majesty!"

The old prime minister exclaimed in alarm, "You've forcibly increased your cultivation by burning the nation's fortune; this will shorten your lifespan!"

"When the country is about to perish, what use is lifespan?"

Wu Minghuang pushed open the palace door, and sunlight poured in.

She turned around and glanced at the "Imperial Tutor's Seat" that had been vacant for three hundred years.

The rosewood chair was spotless, as if its owner had only temporarily left.

"Issue my decree."

The voice echoed throughout the capital: "All cultivators above the Golden Core stage shall accompany me on this expedition. Those below the Golden Core stage shall remain to guard the Map of Mountains and Rivers, ensuring the continuation of my people's bloodline."

She paused, then added softly, in a voice only she could hear:

"Sir, Minghuang cannot hold out this time."