After returning to the Undead Kingdom, Chen Xu did not linger and Teleport directly to the Scourge Lands of the Akhan Dynasty. Then, he Teleport again to Daxia City No. 1.
Liu Yisi, who was currently negotiating with representatives from other countries, sensed Chen Xu's aura, paused the meeting, and ran out.
"Is the mission over there finished? You came back so quickly. Uh, this outfit... is it that thing young people like to play nowadays, Cos- Cosplay?"
"No, no, this is my mission attire. I came back too suddenly and forgot to change." As he spoke, Chen Xu retreated back into the Undead Kingdom to change his clothes. He used his mental strength to cut his hair back to a short style before returning to City No. 1. He then continued, "My part is done. The rest depends on her."
Liu Yisi did not quite understand, but he did not intend to press for details. Instead, he changed the subject. "You should retract your skeleton army when you can. I took a look yesterday, and those members of the Fallen Council in the back feel a bit off." He then pointed toward the conference hall behind him. "With the current territory, even with representatives from all the countries on Blue Star here, we cannot swallow it all. We can probably only handle about half."
This did not come as a surprise to Chen Xu. After all, the frequency of dungeon invasions on Blue Star was gradually increasing, and more professionals were needed locally to handle them.
"Are there no representatives from Akhan?"
"No. The people of the Akhan Dynasty have been acting very mysteriously lately. Look at that envoy who was in City No. 1 before; he has disappeared now. He only left behind a magic projection to handle simple issues."
Akhan not sending anyone was indeed unexpected to Chen Xu. After all, anything that could be developed on Akhan's own territory had long since been exhausted over the years. The Scourge Lands, a treasure trove where danger and opportunity coexisted, should logically be a primary focus for the Akhan Dynasty.
However, Chen Xu was in no mood to guess the Akhan Dynasty's thoughts at the moment. Since they were not coming and Blue Star could not occupy so much territory—and with those terrifying legendary creatures like the members of the Fallen Council lurking deeper inside—Chen Xu sent a message to Xuan Chu, telling him to retract the skeleton army back to the Undead Kingdom after finishing the cleanup work.
After a brief farewell to Liu Yisi, he returned to Daxia through the dungeon entrance. With a few Teleports, he arrived at the Daxia Military Academy Dungeon Preparation Base.
Entering the meeting room, he found no one there. He stopped a passing staff member.
"Hello, may I ask where Teacher Xia Qiming's office is?"
The person looked up at Chen Xu. Although he was an unfamiliar face, since he had permission to enter the military base, he was likely not an outsider. "Director Xia is in Reception Room No. 1. He has several important guests today."
"Director Xia? Important guests?" Chen Xu had not expected Xia Qiming to hold the position of director as well, which piqued his interest. After asking for the directions, he walked quickly toward the room.
He soon found Reception Room No. 1. Just as Chen Xu was about to knock, an unfamiliar voice came from inside. "Little friend Chen, come in."
Chen Xu searched his memory and confirmed he had never heard this voice before. He pushed open the door and walked in. Three people were sitting inside: Xia Qiming, Wu Xiqiu, and a young man wearing a pale yellow daoist robe. The man had long hair, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes, and he looked at Chen Xu with a smile.
"Teacher Xia, who is this?" Chen Xu looked toward Xia Qiming.
"This is Senior Ye Bufan. He is currently the highest-ranking cultivator in Daxia, or rather, on all of Blue Star."
"Hahaha, Director Xia overpraises me. I am but a mere Soul Transformation stage cultivator. On the other hand, little friend Chen, at such a young age, you forced that one accompanied by the moon to summon the descent of the Moon God. Your future is truly limitless."
Hearing that Ye Bufan actually knew about his exploits in the Immortal Island world, Chen Xu could not help but ask curiously, "Senior Ye, how do you know about these things?"
Ye Bufan pointed to the empty seat to his right, gesturing for Chen Xu to come over.
Chen Xu walked over and discovered a strange field around Ye Bufan. As soon as he stepped in, the familiar feeling of being rejected by the world hit him again. Repulsive force surged from all directions, trying to push Chen Xu out.
At that moment, two bright lights flashed from within Chen Xu, transforming into two dragon souls. They flew into the field as if dragging out an unknown entity and gave it a thorough beating. The repulsive force vanished instantly.
Ye Bufan gestured again for Chen Xu to sit down, then pointed to a mirror on the table. "This is a sub-mirror of the Tianxin Mirror. Back then, I went to Tianxin Island to exchange pointers with those successors of the Path of Heaven's Heart. This was a prize, a testament to our 'friendship.'"
Although Ye Bufan said this with a smile, Chen Xu felt that the word friendship was not so friendly. For this Senior Ye to dare go to Tianxin Island for a challenge and seemingly emerge as the winner, he was indeed extraordinary.
Looking at the Tianxin Mirror, Chen Xu found that what the mirror surface reflected was actually the situation on the Tianxin Island arena.
"It is the same mirror from when the assessment started!" Chen Xu realized.
"Yes. The original Tianxin Mirror can reflect any place in the Immortal Island world, but this is a sub-mirror; it can only reflect the content they are broadcasting."
By now, the two dragon souls seemed to have finished their battle and returned to Chen Xu's body.
Just as he was about to ask a question, Ye Bufan spoke first. "That was the favor of the World Will, or rather, Destiny Points. You were placed under a decree by that Moon God; in the Immortal Island world, you are now a blacklisted entity. Since this Tianxin Mirror is formed from the source of the Immortal Island world, it naturally rejected you.
But this is not the Immortal Island world. When it tried to move against you, the World Will naturally would not let it go."
"It won't cause any damage to the mirror, will it?" Chen Xu was somewhat worried about breaking Senior Ye's property.
"It does not matter. Usually, its tiny bit of sentience does not dare show its head. It only dared to target you because it saw your low strength."
So it was an entity that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Chen Xu's worries vanished instantly.
Looking into the mirror, Chang Shu was no longer in her form as the Bright Moon Fairy with her celestial raiment and heavenly ribbon. The mist around Shen Mengqi had also dissipated. It seemed a result had already been reached.
"Is their fight over?"
He had only been back in the Undead Kingdom and spoken a few words to Liu Yisi in Akhan before coming here. He had not expected the result to be decided so quickly. According to Chen Xu's own estimation, if the other party did not directly use their authority to ban and kick him, he could have played with that Chang Shu for half a day.
"Yes, it is over," Ye Bufan nodded.
"Who won?" Although it was a pity he missed Shen Mengqi's battle—she had always been in a support role before—he wondered if she, like Chang Shu, also had a transformation form.
"Win? If you look at it from the perspective of the Tianxin Assessment, then Chang Shu won. If you look at it from other aspects, both of them won."
"Huh?"
Ye Bufan's words left Chen Xu completely bewildered.
Seeing Chen Xu's confused expression, Ye Bufan continued, "For some people, the result is more important, but for others, the process is what matters. For instance, little friend Chen, do you not have any thoughts after this battle?"
"Yes, I certainly do," Chen Xu nodded in strong agreement.
This was the first time Chen Xu had encountered a playstyle that directly invoked world power to forcibly exile someone. It was too shameless.
He had come back this time specifically to find Xia Qiming and apply for some tools. That Rune-energy Stone mine in the Undead Kingdom could no longer be left idle; it had to be mined quickly and converted into strength. He also wanted to ask the people from the Heavenly Crafts Academy to look at that old factory to see if there was any chance of repairing and using it.
"While the Path of Heaven's Heart is good, it does not suit us. When little Wu and the others were dropping hints and guiding that girl, I did not stop them. Because I saw the shadow of an old friend in that girl." A beautiful figure flashed through Ye Bufan's mind. That was also a free-spirited madwoman for whom all methods were possible.
"Geniuses are stubborn. If they do not walk the path themselves, relying only on the words of others will leave them unwilling and regretful, making it hard for their state of mind to reach perfection. It is better to go with the flow and give her a push." Speaking of this, he suddenly turned to Chen Xu. "Fortunately, this boat of mine carried two people."
...
On a certain peak of Tianxin Island, the young daoist boy stood with the chamberlain of the Sifang Chamber of Commerce.
"Grandpa Fan, why did they stop fighting? The innate true qi brought by their birth visions should be enough to sustain their duel for a long time, right?"
The chamberlain raised his hand and stroked the boy's head.
"Little Mo Yan, you must know that everyone is different, and the same goes for birth visions. Your Mountain and Sea Vision provides far more true qi than theirs."
"Moreover, the Path of Heaven's Heart is not the only way. Shen Mengqi's arrival here was merely to witness the Path."
"Witness the Path? Like that madman Ye Bufan my father mentioned?" The boy looked up at Chamberlain Fan.
Thirty years ago, a Soul Transformation stage cultivator of unknown origin arrived above Tianxin Island. He set up several loudspeakers that constantly broadcasted: "Ye Bufan the sword cultivator has come to witness the Path, please grant me your guidance."
He disturbed the peace of Tianxin Island so much that they sent a successor of the Path of Heaven's Heart, also at the Soul Transformation stage, to duel him. Unexpectedly, the successor could not even last three moves before being defeated.
The specific details of what happened later were unknown, as the people of Tianxin Island remained tight-lipped about it. According to the rumors the boy had gathered from various sources, it was said that a successor of the Path of Heaven's Heart from several generations ago at the Body Integration stage had to intervene to stop the battle. When the boy first heard this rumor, it gave him quite a fright. From Soul Transformation to Body Integration, there was still the Void Refinement stage in between.
"Hoho, there are so many people in the world, but people like Ye Bufan are a rare few. Witnessing the Path does not necessarily require acting like such a madman."
Chamberlain Fan paused for a moment before continuing, "In ancient times, Daoist Tianxin attained enlightenment on Tianxin Island and preached the methods of cultivation to the world. Later, he chose disciples and passed down his own Path of Heaven's Heart."
"Heaven's Heart, Heaven's Heart... Heaven and Earth are heartless; the myriad phenomena of the world have existed since antiquity. Those of the Path of Heaven's Heart merge their path with the heavens, acting on behalf of heaven and receiving divine aid from the heavens. Thus, through the ages, successors of the Path of Heaven's Heart have mostly been those born with divine sanctity."
"However, there are ten thousand paths of law, and the Path of Heaven's Heart is not the only supreme one. The Shuanghua Sect in the north, the Xuanhuo Sect in the south, and the Bihai Sect in the east have all forged another path."
Chamberlain Fan fell silent again. Having heard only half, the boy's curiosity was itching. "Grandpa Fan, what happened next? What path did they forge?"
"Haha!" Chamberlain Fan suddenly laughed out loud. "The path they forged is not easy for them to summarize. However, to distinguish it from the Path of Heaven's Heart, they call it the Path of the Human Heart."
"The Path of the Human Heart?"
"Yes. Humans are supreme, replacing the heart of heaven with the heart of man, determining heavenly majesty with human strength, and commanding the laws of the Dao with human will. Only I am supreme."
"Wow, that sounds so powerful! It feels much stronger than the Path of Heaven's Heart."
Seeing that the boy had developed different ideas, Chamberlain Fan hurriedly said to avoid future trouble, "Although the Path of the Human Heart sounds glorious, the Path of Heaven's Heart merges one's path with the heavens and gains the longevity of heaven. Their lifespan is more than three times that of those on the Path of the Human Heart."
"Then why did you leave Tianxin Island, Grandpa Fan? Was it because you saw how powerful the Path of the Human Heart was and switched your cultivation?" The boy asked the question he had been most curious about for a long time.
Hearing this, Chamberlain Fan shook his head. He subconsciously pulled out his tobacco pipe, wanting to take a puff, but then remembered the boy was beside him and put it away again.
"All people in this world are seekers of the Path, but how many can truly prove their Path? In all these years, only the four patriarchs of the four great sects have succeeded."
Seeing that the boy was still full of confusion, Chamberlain Fan spoke again, "Little Mo Yan, whether it is the Path of Heaven's Heart or the Path of the Human Heart, which is stronger or weaker is a matter only those who have proven their Path are qualified to judge. We common folk can only seek and explore within the Path."
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