Chapter 1642: Empty Dream of the Rejuvenation World

Like an angler suddenly reeling in his rod.

At the end of the thin line, an immense force instantly surged forth.

“Everyone, stand firm!”

Amidst Xingfu’s low shout, the entire Guangwu Star Sea was pulled by this force, forcibly tearing away from its original possibility.

It shot away, following the direction of the thin line!

As soon as they entered the Mountains and Seas, the pervasive Dao Annihilation arrived in an instant. Compared to what they had experienced under the protection of possibility, this was truly a surging tide!

In an instant, the peripheral regions of the Guangwu Star Sea were completely swallowed. The immortals had long anticipated this and paid it no mind. Gathered within the Immortal Embankment, they nervously stared at the several Heavenly Pillars inside the dam.

Turbulent waves surged, ceaselessly striking the Immortal Embankment. Hundreds of Heavenly Pillars all trembled, affecting the hearts of the immortals. Fortunately, with the blessing of numerous immortal treasures, the Immortal Embankment’s stability was unprecedented. It ultimately withstood the pressure of the external Dao Annihilation, allowing the external Dao Annihilation to erode without yielding. The Immortal Embankment remained steadfast.

Seeing this, the Guangwu immortals finally breathed a sigh of relief and erupted in cheers.

“Do not be careless. There is still a long time until we reach our destination,” Xingfu, as the leader of the immortals, reminded them in a deep voice. He then arranged for the immortals to monitor the Immortal Embankment’s condition in shifts. The others, meanwhile, collectively observed the Mountains and Seas and exchanged insights on cultivation!

Although their journey to the Realm of Creation and Destruction was by the other party's invitation, the Guangwu immortals knew that the treatment they would receive in the future would be directly proportional to their own strength. Being in the midst of a journey through the Mountains and Seas was generally a condition for cultivation that only Transcendent experts could achieve. It was truly an unmissable opportunity! Therefore, all the immortals wholeheartedly immersed themselves in cultivation and comprehension. They also helped each other, sharing and exchanging their insights without reservation, hoping for mutual progress.

Time flowed unnoticed within the Mountains and Seas. With the guidance of Immortal Mingdao, the Guangwu Star Sea’s speed of traversal was not slow. After three more True Immortals of the Nameless Realm joined them, they finally reached their destination.

The dragging force of the thin line also seemed to reach its peak at the last moment. Just as they had been dragged out of their original possibility, they were now roughly thrust into this new, unknown place.

After a flash of distorted and colorful light, outside the Immortal Embankment, the aura of Dao Annihilation had vanished. In its place was an immense vitality that the immortals had not felt for a very long time! If the vitality in Shuoxing and Guangwu was like scattered candlelight, then the vitality emanating from their surroundings at this moment was like the bright moon in the sky. They were completely incomparable!

Having stayed in the primal land of depleted vitality for so long, the Guangwu immortals were all stunned when they suddenly arrived here, somewhat disbelieving. In their brief stupor, some True Immortals couldn’t help but shed tears on the spot.

“Wait! The aura here…”

“Why is it so familiar?”

“Are we dreaming?”

Soon after, a True Immortal finally reacted, exclaiming. This caused a great stir.

“Am I seeing things? Isn’t this the Celestial Realm’s Sky Cang Star Domain?”

“This is where I started! I’ve looked back at it in my memories countless days and nights. How could I be wrong!”

“Could it be that we’ve returned to the time before the primal destruction?”

The immortals discussed amongst themselves, looking at Xingfu with great surprise and doubt, awaiting his reply. Although everyone had seen Immortal Mingdao’s invitation, only Xingfu had truly seen the Realm of Creation and Destruction beforehand and knew its specific circumstances.

Xingfu smiled slightly as he watched the immortals’ mixed reactions of surprise and joy, and began to explain.

“Everyone, you are not mistaken! What Immortal Mingdao said about a second home perfectly suited for us is precisely the Celestial Realm we were once intimately familiar with!”

Xingfu slowly recounted how the Realm of Creation and Destruction had been imaginatively reconstructed from memories. The immortals were even more astonished.

“Creating something out of nothing—what kind of divine ability is this?”

“Now that you mention it, I do notice something. The scenery is largely consistent with the Sky Cang Star Domain, but the overall quantity and quality of living beings are still lacking. Most notably, there’s no aura of a Star Domain Administrator Immortal Minister, nor of the formidable True Immortals under their command.”

“It is indeed somewhat imperfect. But isn’t that just right? With our addition, perhaps we can truly restore the Celestial Realm!”

The immortals discussed heatedly; they had never been so excited since the destruction of the Celestial Realm.

Xingfu, however, did not participate, instead continuously scanning his surroundings, attempting to find traces of Immortal Mingdao. Logically, since Immortal Mingdao had guided them here, he should appear now that they had arrived. But he was nowhere to be seen. As newcomers, Xingfu dared not venture rashly. He could only restrain the immortals and wait patiently where they were.

Time passed, until three years later in the Sky Cang Star Domain. Only then did someone finally arrive, tardily.

“Jiu Xuan?” Someone recognized the arrival and exclaimed on the spot. “Didn’t you die in the Dao Annihilation back then? You’ve actually come back to life?”

As if he had long anticipated the immortals’ reactions, Jiu Xuan smiled slightly: “The former me did indeed perish in the Dao Annihilation. But the current me was created from the memories of you Honored Ones, and I have no memory of that death.”

Jiu Xuan’s words undoubtedly confirmed Xingfu’s account of the Realm of Creation and Destruction, causing a commotion.

“All who come to the Realm of Creation and Destruction are settled according to their original origins. This is our former homeland. It’s like a single stream, but within the Realm of Creation and Destruction, such imaginative reconstructions of possibilities are countless, like myriad rivers flowing together!” Jiu Xuan said proudly. “However, for certain reasons, it’s not convenient to give you a tour. Of course, if your strength reaches transcendence, or if you make outstanding contributions to imaginative manifestation, you might be received by the Honored Ones and glimpse the true face of the Realm of Creation and Destruction.”

Their experiences after arriving in the Realm of Creation and Destruction were different from what the Guangwu immortals had imagined. There was no exclusion, nor was there warm hospitality. They were merely settled in their original homeland, with a somewhat ‘fend for yourselves’ feel to it. Especially after simply finishing his explanation, Jiu Xuan left in a hurry, as if he had urgent matters to attend to.

Seeing the somewhat disappointed expressions of the immortals, Xingfu had to speak up to encourage them: “Everyone, do not be disheartened! Haven’t we already achieved our goal? We’ve escaped the troubles of Dao Annihilation and gained a new home where we can settle down safely. Everything will proceed as planned! Fellow Daoist Jiu Xuan also said that there’s no compulsion to contribute to imaginative manifestation; just let nature take its course. Of course, if capable individuals voluntarily make contributions, that’s even better.”

Only then did the immortals feel somewhat relieved. “It’s just that we didn’t even get to meet Immortal Mingdao; it’s still a bit disappointing,” the immortals murmured. After all, they had all come here because of Immortal Mingdao’s invitation, but now he had yet to appear, naturally causing a psychological disparity.

Those who were unwilling to give up immediately began to study the method of imaginative manifestation that Jiu Xuan had mentioned before his departure. Imaginative manifestation required a yellow crystal reflecting this realm as a medium. The power of the yellow crystal radiated to all possibilities of imaginative manifestation, omnipresent. However, outsiders could hardly detect it; only through special methods could it be sensed.

The method was quite simple. The immortals spontaneously circulated their energy and looked up. Indeed, they caught sight of the yellow crystal, like a great sun. It emitted a warm and hazy light, reflecting countless beings within the possibilities.

“Everything we see is born from this? Truly incredible.”

“Immerse your mind within it, and past memories will surface in your mind…”

The immortals, following Jiu Xuan’s instructions, began to attempt the reconstruction. Xingfu, however, was extremely cautious and chose to observe for the time being.

No conspiracy as imagined occurred. After completing one imaginative recollection, the immortals only felt a little listless, with no other abnormal conditions. They recovered as before after resting for a while. As if addicted, they immediately plunged into the next imaginative construction.

“I understand now. Imaginative reconstruction is like myriad immortals painting together! After all, everyone’s memories are different, and the Celestial Realm scenes in their memories naturally have discrepancies. And this yellow crystal can record and compare all our imaginative memories. The parts that are exactly identical can then serve as the foundation for imaginative manifestation!”

Having survived the great calamity of the Celestial Realm’s destruction until now, none of the Guangwu immortals were dull-witted. They quickly grasped the basic principles of imaginative manifestation. They became even more excited. After all, to personally wield the miraculous brush that recreated their homeland was truly an honor.

With everyone doing so, Xingfu naturally couldn’t just stand by and watch. He immersed his spiritual consciousness into the yellow crystal in the sky, recalling all the details of the Celestial Realm from back then. There was no need to consider how to construct the imaginative manifestation; the warm light of the yellow crystal would guide everything. Naturally, like water flowing into a channel, a picture of the past sprang vividly to life.

Xingfu stared at his creation. A moment later, countless overlaps seemed to appear above and below the painting. All these paintings depicted the same scene, yet all had subtle differences. Flashes of light swept through, and these paintings began to be compressed and merged. All the repetitive lines within the paintings were retained, while their individual “differences” were erased. Ultimately, only a few strokes from Xingfu’s grand masterpiece remained. They transformed into an inconspicuous speck of light and flew into the yellow crystal above.

As that wisp of light was absorbed, a trace of power within Xingfu’s body also seemed to be extracted. Carefully pondering the disappeared portion, Xingfu found that it was neither immortal power, physical strength, nor divine soul. Instead, it was an indescribable, elusive source of power intimately related to imaginative manifestation.

“It seems the Realm of Creation and Destruction truly harbors no malice. Instead, it is genuinely striving to restore possibilities that vanished in the past. Of course, this is just a preliminary conclusion.”

Within the Realm of Creation and Destruction, there was no concrete quantification of contributions. Even if one engaged in imaginative construction repeatedly, there would be no extra rewards. It was entirely driven by one’s own passion.

Most True Immortals lost their motivation after several attempts, becoming disheartened. They contentedly found a place to settle in the already recreated Celestial Realm star domain and merely cultivated on their own. Only a very small number, tirelessly, contributed their imaginative power every so often. Not for anything else, only hoping to contribute to the restoration of their homeland.

Xingfu was also among them. Days passed by. From the moment they arrived, Jiu Xuan and the other inhabitants of the Realm of Creation and Destruction had not appeared again. Gradually, everyone slowly almost forgot about them. They also almost subconsciously recognized this place as their former Celestial Realm homeland. Only the True Immortals who occasionally engaged in imaginative construction would remember the true nature of this place.

The yellow crystal in the sky seemed unchanged for ten thousand years. The Guangwu immortals’ tireless imaginative constructions had no discernible effect on it either.

After more than six hundred imaginative reconstructions, Xingfu stared at the countless images presented before him, and a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart. Those “shared” images, constructed together by the immortals of the Realm of Creation and Destruction, were the blueprint for the recreated Celestial Realm here. Although this Celestial Realm created from the blueprint was extremely similar to the homeland in their memories, Xingfu, however, always felt that there was some fundamental difference between the two. This sense of incongruity had lingered in Xingfu’s heart ever since the moment they arrived in the Realm of Creation and Destruction. As time passed, it not only didn’t fade, but grew stronger.

“What exactly is wrong?”

Xingfu frowned deeply. Disregarding his own mental weariness, he proceeded with another imaginative construction. The result was the same. The process of imaginative construction was smooth, but as countless images were overlapped and compressed, transforming into specks of light that flew into the yellow crystal, that sense of disharmony once again surged into Xingfu’s mind.

“Again!” Xingfu was somewhat unwilling to give up. With each imaginative reconstruction, Xingfu’s essence, qi, and spirit seemed to be slowly drained. His True Immortal body even became gaunt. But Xingfu’s eyes grew brighter. There was no hint of fatigue, only an unstoppable excitement, as if he had glimpsed some great secret.

“So that’s it. The Celestial Realm in our memories truly has subtle differences from the Celestial Realm that once actually existed within the Mountains and Seas! How did the Celestial Realm perish and disappear? It was due to the erosion of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation! Dao Annihilation devoured it whole, and the Celestial Realm ceased to exist. It even permanently took away our ability to remember…”

Xingfu once again performed an imaginative construction. Recalling every minute detail, and guided by the yellow crystal, he formed a magnificent painting of the Celestial Realm.

But… the painting itself was incomplete. As if an invisible hand had once brushed across the painting, erasing certain details.

“These vanished parts are…”

“The traces left by Dao Annihilation.”

Xingfu reached out, slowly caressing the anomalous parts of the painting that he sensed. It was as if he had personally touched Dao Annihilation.

At this very moment, the yellow crystal in the sky suddenly erupted with an incomparably brilliant radiance, so bright that it overshadowed all other scenes within this possibility. But apart from Xingfu, all other beings were oblivious to it. Endless light descended, enveloping Xingfu’s entire body. Under the warm embrace, it seemed to be taking him elsewhere. With a faint premonition in his heart, Xingfu did not resist. The yellow radiance engulfed him.

When he opened his eyes again, eight figures were seated in a circle around him.

“The Five Honored Ones of the Same Tribulation, and Immortal Mingdao!”

Xingfu inexplicably knew the identities of two of the figures.