Chapter 1000

**Void Refinement by White Light**

Chen Mobai reached out and condensed a drop of spiritual liquid with the Yi Wood Divine Thunder. It fell onto the soil, and soon the violets revived.

Seeing this scene, Shi Wanyu smiled. She was easily content; merely spending time like this made her feel happy.

Days passed, and Chen Mobai, unusually, put cultivation second, dedicating his time to accompanying Shi Wanyu. The couple enjoyed flowers together, reminisced about weeding, and planned what to eat when their daughter next visited. Two years of such ordinary yet fulfilling days passed in the blink of an eye.

That day finally arrived.

That day, Chen Mobai was watering a light purple flower in the courtyard when his movements suddenly froze. He turned to see Shi Wanyu, seated in a lounge chair, her last spark of life beginning to fade. She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something. Chen Mobai immediately went to her side and took her strengthless hand.

"It's truly wonderful, having you by my side at the end..." After receiving Chen Mobai's vital energy infusion, Shi Wanyu, as if experiencing a final burst of energy, smiled and uttered these words.

"Mom..." At that moment, Chen Xiaohei, having received Chen Mobai's telepathic message, rushed from the kitchen to Shi Wanyu's side. For the past year, Chen Mobai had rearranged Chen Xiaohei's work so she could join him in accompanying Shi Wanyu through her final days.

"Daughter, after I'm gone, you must listen carefully to your father..." Shi Wanyu's other hand was held by Chen Xiaohei, and she began to ramble. Tears streamed down Chen Xiaohei's face as she choked back sobs and nodded repeatedly.

"I have one last question for you?" Shi Wanyu turned to look at Chen Mobai, but her voice was very faint, clearly at the very end of her life. Chen Mobai immediately leaned his ear close to her. After hearing her question, he nodded without hesitation and said two words: "Loved you!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Wanyu closed her eyes with a peaceful smile. She felt as if she had entered a beautiful dream, dreaming of herself and Chen Mobai in their youth. As their gazes met on the train and they exchanged a smile, Shi Wanyu took her last breath.

Chen Xiaohei cried loudly, throwing herself into Shi Wanyu's embrace. Chen Mobai, however, did not cry, because Shi Wanyu disliked any negative emotions from him. After they married, she lived entirely for their family, and when Chen Mobai was down, she would become even more anxious. Realizing this, Chen Mobai had always appeared confident and smiling in front of her. Even so, the sorrow welling up from his heart still made Chen Mobai close his eyes, preventing his negative emotions from appearing before Shi Wanyu.

Shi Wanyu had asked him at the end if he had loved her in this life. In her view, Chen Mobai married her because of their daughter, Chen Xiaohei. This was true at first, but over decades of living together, Chen Mobai had grown accustomed to her presence as his wife. Humans are not mere plants; how could they be without feelings? Chen Mobai was certain that he now loved her.

After Chen Xiaohei's emotions stabilized, Chen Mobai began to arrange Shi Wanyu's funeral. During her life, she had said she wanted to return to Yumu City after her death to be buried with her parents. Chen Mobai naturally fulfilled her wish. He and his daughter buried Shi Wanyu and then planted a garden around her grave. All the flowers and plants in the garden were ones Shi Wanyu had loved most during her life. After Chen Mobai planted the last violet, he personally carved the inscription on the tombstone. Nearby, besides Chen Xiaohei, Wang Xinying, who had received the news, also rushed over.

After offering incense, Chen Xiaohei wanted to stay in Yumu City for a while. She stayed in the flower shop where she and her mother had lived when she was a child. Chen Mobai naturally accommodated her; as it was his daughter's saddest time, he stayed with her in Yumu City. He possessed the Great Void Teleportation, so if anything happened at the True Dharma Hall, he could return at any time.

Deep in the cosmos, in a dark and profound starfield, Yu Baiguang, seated atop the Spirit Venerable's true form, suddenly seemed to sense something and turned her head towards the direction of Dizang Star.

"What's wrong?" The Spirit Venerable's golden-haired, golden-eyed Roc primordial spirit saw her unusual behavior and couldn't help but ask.

"I think I'm about to reach the Void Refinement stage!" Yu Baiguang said this, then closed her eyes. Her entire being, like a sword wiped clean of dust, erupted with a brilliant, star-like radiance.

When she was in the Immortal Sect, she had used the "Reduction to Emptiness" method to transfer all her karmic ties to Shi Wanyu. And at the moment Shi Wanyu's lifespan ended and she died, Yu Baiguang sensed that the thin layer of bottleneck she had left suddenly shattered. Her aura became profound and vast. The Forgetful Sword flew out, landing on her lap, and boundless sword energy surged. The crisp ringing of the sword began to synchronize with the deep, boundless cosmic void around her.

Seeing this, the Spirit Venerable's face showed surprise. It had not expected Yu Baiguang's talent to be so exceptional, entering the Void Refinement process so quickly. "But this is too rushed," it thought. The Spirit Venerable showed a pained expression. It took out the star core, which had not been used much, and transformed it into an endless torrent of pure spiritual energy, which poured over Yu Baiguang and the Forgetful Sword. The Spirit Venerable's true form, which had been traveling through the cosmos, now stopped, intending to wait for Yu Baiguang to complete her breakthrough.

"I hope she succeeds!" The Spirit Venerable gazed at Yu Baiguang, whose eyes were closed, her breathing and the ringing of the sword synchronizing with the workings of the boundless void, and murmured to itself. In the Immortal Sect, there had also been a few exceptionally talented individuals who reached this stage, such as Zhang Daosun, Ancestor Zhongli, and its master, Ancestor Longchuo. Unfortunately, they all failed. Reaching the Void Refinement stage is one thing; successfully completing it is another.

Yu Baiguang stroked the Forgetful Sword on her lap, and the last trace of distracting thoughts in her mind dissipated. At this moment, her sword broke free from all constraints, her cultivation instantly reaching an unprecedented height. She had finally taken the step into Void Refinement.

Where Yu Baiguang sat on the Spirit Venerable's true form, it was as if a deep black hole had formed, swallowing all the vast spiritual energy flowing from the star core. In addition, all kinds of light, energy, and more from the cosmic void were also absorbed by her through the Forgetful Sword. Around her, a sea of light formed due to the high concentration of energy, like a small starfield, slowly lifting her upwards. Streaks of light formed sword trajectories, bursting forth from the Forgetful Sword on her lap, piercing into various parts of the dark void, as if conversing with the universe and resonating with the Great Dao.

As time passed, Yu Baiguang's body gradually became transparent, and the surrounding void began to twist. The Spirit Venerable noticed that her primordial spirit seemed to have vanished from her physical body, transcending reality and entering the Great Dao, and couldn't help but show concern. This was the most difficult moment. If she couldn't maintain the clarity of her will within the Great Dao, not only would her Void Refinement fail, but her essence, energy, and spirit would also become assimilated into the heavens and earth.

At this moment, Yu Baiguang felt as if her consciousness had become a cosmic void. She could perceive the trajectory of every ray of light, the pulsation of every star. "Is this Void Refinement?" Yu Baiguang was very confused, because the Immortal Sect had no inheritance for the Void Refinement realm. What she knew about Void Refinement came only from the Spirit Venerable's oral accounts and the Immortal Sect's Seven Heavenly Books. However, her comprehension outside of the sword was ordinary, and she had not fully grasped all Seven Heavenly Books.

Under these circumstances, Yu Baiguang sensed that her primordial spirit, resting on the Forgetful Sword, began to gradually empty itself. Besides distracting thoughts, she felt that her attachments, memories, emotions, and so on, were also beginning to dissipate, as if she were becoming a truly empty, perfectly clear sword! "Is this how Sword Dao Void Refinement is supposed to be?" Yu Baiguang felt doubtful, but she instinctively sensed that this was wrong. If everything became empty, what would be the point of her reaching Void Refinement? Would she still be herself?

Realizing this, Yu Baiguang began to halt her assimilation into the Dao. The eight styles of the Immortal Sect Sword Art, deep within her mind, began to flash repeatedly. She had achieved Divine Transformation through the Way of the Sword, and her foundation was this Immortal Sect Sword Art. However, because Zhang Daosun did not succeed in Void Refinement, he only passed down eight sword diagrams. He was unable to depict the ninth sword diagram related to the Void Refinement level. But since a predecessor could create it, and it was related to the sword, Yu Baiguang believed she could also comprehend it. Within the Void Refinement realm, she thoroughly comprehended and integrated all the sword intents within the eight styles of the Immortal Sect Sword Art. And when all twenty-four sword intents reached perfection, a corner of the ninth sword diagram, which Zhang Daosun had not passed down, was deduced by Yu Baiguang.

On the Spirit Venerable's true form, Yu Baiguang, who had been gradually transforming into light and merging with the void, suddenly had her features and body become clear again. And the star core above her head was shattered in that instant. A vast energy, which even made the Spirit Venerable change countenance, poured down onto Yu Baiguang's head. However, Yu Baiguang simply opened her mouth and swallowed all the energy of this star core into her body. Subsequently, a cosmic, void-resonating ripple, centered on Yu Baiguang, spread in all directions.

In Yumu City, Chen Mobai, who was wiping Shi Wanyu's tombstone, suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation. The Crown of Heaven and Earth's Myriad Beings had appeared above his head at some unknown time. A previously non-existent thread suddenly appeared and brightened at that moment. He followed the thread with his gaze and found that it extended beyond the infinitely distant sky. Chen Mobai couldn't help but use the Great Void Teleportation, following this thread and leaving the Sky Curtain Grand Array.

He also had many karmic ties beyond Dizang Star, for example, Yan Xinjie and others from the Ascension Sect. And a thread that could cause him such palpitation, could it be that someone in the Ascension Sect had achieved Divine Transformation? If so, before the next pioneering war, Qi Yuheng and Shuixian would need to take action to eliminate the Divine Transformation cultivators of the Ascension Sect. But within the Tianyang Star System, only Dizang Star possessed the spiritual energy capable of allowing Nascent Soul cultivators to achieve Divine Transformation. If the Ascension Sect had new Divine Transformation cultivators, how did they manage it?

Just as Chen Mobai was inwardly bewildered, a flash of Divine Transformation spiritual light suddenly appeared beside him. It was Qi Yuheng. Qian Xing, before entering seclusion, had entrusted the Sky Curtain Earth Network Grand Array to him, and he sensed Chen Mobai's departure immediately.

"What happened?" Qi Yuheng saw Chen Mobai's solemn expression and couldn't help but ask.

"You know I've cultivated the 'Celestial Blessing' realm of the Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram. Just now, it must have been a warning from the Heavenly Heart, causing this palpitation..." Chen Mobai voiced his conjecture, and Qi Yuheng was also greatly surprised upon hearing it. If the Ascension Sect truly had a Divine Transformation cultivator, it would indeed be troublesome for the Immortal Sect.

"I'll go with you to see..." Qi Yuheng, concerned that Chen Mobai might not be a match for a Divine Transformation cultivator, said this, and simultaneously called Shuixian, instructing her to stay and guard Dizang Star during this period.

"Thank you!" Chen Mobai thanked Qi Yuheng, then followed the guiding thread that had suddenly lit up on the Crown of Heaven and Earth's Myriad Beings. But they flew far beyond Dizang Star without finding any trace. Just as Chen Mobai thought he had guessed wrong, the thread suddenly shone with an unprecedented brilliant light, and then instantly vanished.

"What happened?" Qi Yuheng saw Chen Mobai stop and asked.

"The Heavenly Heart warning disappeared. Perhaps someone from the Ascension Sect failed their Divine Transformation," Chen Mobai rubbed his chest, and after feeling the palpitation disappear, he said with a strange expression. Because there were so many threads on the Crown of Heaven and Earth's Myriad Beings, and they were already linked with the Fruit of Dao Laws, Chen Mobai usually didn't pay much attention to them. But a thread appearing and then vanishing suddenly, as it did today, was a first.

"After we go back, have the Heaven-Mending Group investigate. If someone from the Ascension Sect truly achieved Divine Transformation, the commotion would be significant, and there would definitely be clues," Qi Yuheng spoke as he and Chen Mobai returned to Dizang Star.

"Yes, I'll arrange it. Thank you for your trouble this time." Although Qi Yuheng had achieved Divine Transformation, he was still young and had always maintained a friendly relationship with Chen Mobai. Upon hearing Chen Mobai's words, he shook his head nonchalantly. Perhaps in the future, after all familiar people have aged and passed away, Qi Yuheng might become reclusive like Qian Xing or Bai Guang, or even develop an eccentric personality.

After they returned to Dizang Star, Shuixian immediately appeared before them.

"We still can't let our guard down. Let's find an opportunity to eliminate all those Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ascension Sect," Shuixian offered a suggestion after hearing the reason for their outing.

"Alright, but they are hidden across the cosmos, and almost all of them have cultivated the God-Swallowing Art, with many divine seeds. If we are to strike at them, we must finish it in one go and capture them all at once." Chen Mobai had long wanted to act against the Ascension Sect, after all, Yang Jing and Kong Feichen had both fallen into their hands. Unfortunately, the intelligence gathered by the Immortal Sect's spies was limited, and they had never found the true location of the Ascension Sect Master and his followers.

"We can make them reveal themselves," Shuixian, however, said this.

"Oh, how do you mean?" Chen Mobai and Qi Yuheng both looked at it.

"Purple Cloud Palace!" Shuixian opened its mouth, revealing a set of jagged white teeth, and spoke three words.

Deep in the cosmos.

Yu Baiguang opened her eyes. She grasped the Forgetful Sword on her lap and swung a sword strike into the void. As this sword strike was unleashed, the void immediately cracked open into a fissure extending for an unknown number of meters. From within the cracked void fissure, torrents of extremely pure spiritual energy began to ceaselessly gush forth, as if her sword strike had opened a bag full of spiritual energy. This was the Void Refinement divine ability she had comprehended. With a single sword strike, she penetrated the core of a very distant planet, transferring its spiritual energy through this fissure to her location.

When she was undergoing Void Refinement, her primordial spirit resonated with the void. All the planets with spiritual energy in this starfield appeared in her mind. With the spiritual energy from these planets, she could not only consolidate her Void Refinement realm but also take a good rest, and perhaps even enable the Spirit Venerable to gather enough energy for its own breakthrough.

"After your Void Refinement, it seems we won't have to worry about insufficient spiritual energy anymore," the Spirit Venerable, seeing the vast spiritual energy gushing from the void sword mark, couldn't help but exclaim.

"I've only just entered Void Refinement. The range of starfields I can resonate with and perceive is currently limited. If I can go further, and directly refine the void into spiritual energy, then there will be no more worries," Yu Baiguang gently shook her head.

"It's already excellent. If both of us reach Void Refinement, we can certainly reach the end and enter the Purple Cloud Galaxy." The Spirit Venerable, however, was full of confidence. Compared to other cultivators from the Immortal Sect who had left Dizang Star, their current situation was unprecedentedly good.

"I hope so," Yu Baiguang said this, and with a yearning for the Purple Cloud Galaxy, she couldn't help but glance back in the direction of Dizang Star. When she was just undergoing Void Refinement, she almost failed. But suddenly, a thread appeared from the void, connecting to her Forgetful Sword, and as she held her sword, she was pulled out of the process of assimilation into the Dao. After she performed the "Reduction to Emptiness," only Shi Wanyu's thread remained. She naturally understood whose thread it was.

At this moment, Yu Baiguang suddenly wanted to return to the Immortal Sect for a visit. However, she was very aware that she was now extremely far from Dizang Star, and even after reaching Void Refinement, it was almost impossible to return, unless she could exchange for another realm gate within the Purple Cloud Galaxy.

"Let's go!" At this moment, the Spirit Venerable's voice resonated in her ear. Yu Baiguang nodded gently and pointed in the direction of the closest spiritual energy-rich planet she had sensed during her Void Refinement. The Spirit Venerable's true form transformed into a torrent, carrying her as it flew forward through the cosmos.

Dizang Star.

Qi Yuheng and Shuixian planned to use the Purple Cloud Palace to lure the Ascension Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators, and Chen Mobai naturally fully cooperated. Calculating from the time the Immortal Sect's Twin Saints last slew the True Yang Abbot, there were still sixty-six years until the Purple Cloud Palace descended from the cosmos to Dizang Star. The Ascension Sect would certainly have calculated this point as well. However, the Immortal Sect could make some noise first. If they could lure them out early, that would be best. If not, killing them after sixty-six years would be fine too. The pioneering war would certainly not have started by then.

"By the way, I heard your wife passed away. My condolences!" As they parted ways, Qi Yuheng walked up to Chen Mobai, patted his shoulder, and offered words of comfort. Shuixian, standing nearby, also nodded to Chen Mobai.

"Thank you." Chen Mobai forced a smile. They all knew that Shi Wanyu was the reincarnation of Ancestor Baiguang. And Qi Yuheng and Shuixian, as the Immortal Sect's new Divine Transformation cultivators, had both learned about the "Reduction to Emptiness" method from Qian Xing, and naturally understood the truth behind Chen Mobai and Shi Wanyu's relationship. However, they also knew that Chen Mobai and Shi Wanyu shared true love.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Mobai returned to the True Dharma Hall. He informed Hua Zijing and Zhuang Jialan of the True Dharma Hall's tasks, instructing them to cooperate with the Purple Cloud Palace matter while also remembering to gather intelligence on the Ascension Sect. In these years of peace for the Immortal Sect, the True Dharma Hall didn't have too many affairs, so Chen Mobai easily finished all his accumulated official duties before the end of the day. After greeting his two secretaries, Chen Mobai used Great Void Teleportation to return to Yumu City.

Dinner was already prepared by Chen Xiaohei. After the father and daughter finished eating, Wang Xinying came to visit.

"You go rest first. Your Aunt Wang and I have some things to discuss," Chen Mobai said to Chen Xiaohei, then went with Wang Xinying to the living room.

"Brother, these are the results from these past years." Wang Xinying handed Chen Mobai a storage drive. The latter took it and directly copied all its contents using his Heavenly Calculus Pearl. This was, naturally, the research on degrading primordial turbid yin energy into Earthly Fiend energy.

After Wang Xinying formed her Core, Chen Mobai arranged for her to return to Danxia City in glory, specifically to oversee this matter. The research was quite difficult at first, as it was an unprecedented topic. In the first three years of the Righteous-Demonic War, Chen Mobai occasionally returned to the Immortal Sect to inquire about the progress. Later, as there were no breakthroughs, and with the fierce advance of the Wild Sea Demonic Tribes, he put the matter out of his mind.

However, the Immortal Sect still had many talents. With Zhuang Jialan's help, some of the top experts from the Heaven-Mending Academy were secretly assigned to Wang Xinying, under the pretext of a confidential project by the True Dharma Hall's military department. These experts were the authorities in the Immortal Sect, second only to Grandmaster Yuanxu, in the artificial synthesis of Earthly Fiend energy. With their participation, the first Azure Wood Fiend was finally conquered four years ago. With the first successful example, the second and third successful cases began to appear consecutively. To this day, Wang Xinying's team has completed the degradation and synthesis methods for twenty-seven types of Earthly Fiend energy.

"You've done very well, thank you for your hard work," Chen Mobai nodded with joy after reading it.

"Brother, at the current pace, it will take about five more years to complete the degradation and synthesis methods for all seventy-two types of Earthly Fiend energy. However, in our rush to achieve results, Sister Zhuang and I attracted the attention of two other energy giant companies..." After delivering the good news, Wang Xinying spoke of her concerns. In the Immortal Sect, there were only a few top experts in the field of energy, and most of them were from the Heaven-Mending Academy. Although they had the backing of the True Dharma Hall and the military department, the two major energy companies that virtually monopolized most of the Immortal Sect's energy also had the support of the Immortal Affairs Hall.

When the Immortal Affairs Hall learned that so many experts had been seconded by the True Dharma Hall without knowing the reason, they immediately found it strange. Theoretically, the True Dharma Hall was also under the jurisdiction of the Immortal Affairs Hall. So, Ying Guanghua specifically asked Lan Haitian to investigate this matter. However, Lan Haitian also knew that if the True Dharma Hall was involved, Chen Mobai was surely the mastermind, so he didn't exert much effort. He merely notified Hua Zijing and the others to write a report and submit it to the Immortal Affairs Hall, then effectively passed the buck to the Heaven-Mending Academy, leaving Grandmaster Yuanxu to handle the matter.

Although Wang Xinying was based in Danxia City, many officials there were from the Heaven-Mending Academy, so much of the research content was, after being accessed, sent to Yuanxu. Fortunately, she had kept the crucial core content very well, and it had not been leaked. But with Yuanxu's wisdom, even with this outer layer of content, it was likely that he would uncover the truth given enough time.

"I've already heard about this from Jialan. Don't worry, in the Immortal Sect now, everyone has to give me face," After hearing Wang Xinying's concerns, Chen Mobai nodded gently, indicating that everything was under control and she shouldn't worry.

After the brother and sister finished their conversation, Chen Mobai personally saw Wang Xinying out. "Oh, by the way, Brother, I gave a portion of the orders to Xuanshuang Company. This company's technical capabilities are quite good; they successfully experimented with three degradation and synthesis plans for Earthly Fiend energy," As she was leaving, Wang Xinying remembered something else and said it cautiously. She was truly dedicated to her work.

Chen Mobai was momentarily stunned after hearing this. He naturally knew whose Xuanshuang Company was. Speaking of which, how long had it been since he last saw Yan Bingxuan? "If Xuanshuang Company can handle it, you can give them more orders," Chen Mobai hesitated for a moment, then gave an instruction. After all, he owed Yan Bingxuan quite a bit. He was able to form his Nascent Soul largely thanks to her assistance. Wang Xinying immediately nodded upon hearing this.

Five more years passed quickly. Chen Mobai and Chen Xiaohei had both emerged from the pain of Shi Wanyu's passing. In the third year, the father and daughter returned to the Wangwu Grotto-Heaven, though they still returned to Yumu City to sweep the grave every year. And during these five years, the Immortal Sect remained in an era of peace and prosperity. Only Grandmaster Yuanxu discovered the existence of primordial turbid yin energy and called Chen Mobai, who personally visited the Heaven-Mending Academy to discuss the matter with him.