Chapter 888: Xuanhuang Savior

Xuan Tianwang, who had returned after a failed ascension, caused a huge stir in the Xuanhuang Realm. He ignored countless inquiries from cultivators. After all, the matter was too shocking; if word got out, the cultivation world, already despairing, might instantly plunge into an apocalypse. Secluding himself, Xuan Tianwang assessed his gains from the experience and pondered the meaning behind the Faceless True Immortal's words.

Meanwhile, the Xuanhuang Realm gradually returned to peace after a period of uproar. With the collapse and disappearance of the ascension channel, the impact of the Immortal Realm's catastrophe on the lower realms also seemed to gradually fade away.

About a year later, Xuan Tianwang suddenly noticed a slight shift in the Xuanhuang Realm's spatial coordinates. The magnitude of the change was extremely small. Had he not been constantly vigilant and given his rapid progress in power after being baptized by immortal spiritual energy, he might have overlooked it. However, a prepared Xuan Tianwang would never ignore such a detail.

Another three years passed. By constantly monitoring the changes in the coordinates, Xuan Tianwang finally confirmed that the entire Xuanhuang Realm was drifting towards a specific direction in the endless void. What shocked him even more was that it wasn't just the Xuanhuang Realm; all other cultivation realms he could observe and contact were doing the same. The conclusion was obvious: something in the endless void was pulling all the cultivation realms towards it! Then he recalled the words of the Faceless True Immortal: "Hurry and escape, any slower and it will be too late." Xuan Tianwang was instantly filled with dread.

It is unknown whether, in that moment, Xuan Tianwang considered escaping alone. However, as the most talented cultivator in the Xuanhuang Realm at that time, he could not bear to watch his homeland slowly head towards destruction. Thus, Xuan Tianwang ultimately made a noble decision: he would try to escape with the entire Xuanhuang Realm. Even though he was already a Half-Immortal at the time, attempting to move an entire world was pure fantasy, not to mention overcoming that terrifying gravitational pull.

But Xuan Tianwang did not give up. After poring over the ancient texts he had plundered from immortals, the erudite Xuan Tianwang combined them with his own knowledge and devised a magnificent, unparalleled formation, which he named the "Star-Crossing Grand Formation."

According to Xuan Tianwang's calculations, to counteract the mysterious pull in the endless void, the Xuanhuang Realm's own resources would be utterly insufficient. Even if the realm were completely hollowed out, it would be impossible to escape that terrifying, unimaginable force. Therefore, one of the functions of the Star-Crossing Grand Formation was to locate and capture grotto-heavens and minor worlds in the surrounding void, initiating wars between realms. This allowed for the plundering of resources to replenish their own, while also creating a "linked-ships" effect, slowing the Xuanhuang Realm's acceleration towards the pulling force. It was a multifaceted strategy.

However, building such a grand formation alone was beyond his capabilities. It required gathering and coordinating the vast majority of the Xuanhuang Realm's power to complete its construction. As for publicly revealing the true situation and calling for unity, Xuan Tianwang had indeed considered this. But after observing the general character of the Xuanhuang Realm's cultivators, he decisively abandoned the idea. If, at that moment, the cultivators learned of the crisis facing the Xuanhuang Realm, the vast majority of them would choose to flee immediately. Those who would choose to stay and help Xuan Tianwang save the realm would be fewer than one in a hundred. Yet, the construction of the Star-Crossing Grand Formation required the strength of these very cultivators. Therefore, Xuan Tianwang decided to first unify the Xuanhuang Realm to better coordinate its power.

He was already a once-in-a-millennium genius, and now he was the Xuanhuang Realm's only Half-Immortal. Moreover, he possessed numerous immortal cultivation techniques inherited from the ascension channel. Achieving this was not particularly difficult for him. And everything unfolded as he expected. After persuading twelve equally gifted top cultivators to become his allies, Xuan Tianwang swiftly crushed all resistance within a few years. With him at its head and twelve Dharma Kings as its core, the Xuan Tian Sect was established, imposing its might over the Xuanhuang Realm. All beings in Xuanhuang submitted.

The Star-Crossing Grand Formation was also constructed with unprecedented efficiency. It began successfully capturing and conquering other worlds, and the rate of spatial coordinate drift was gradually slowing down. Everything seemed to be progressing in a positive direction. Xuan Tianwang seemed to envision a bright future for the Xuanhuang Realm, free from disaster.

However, the arrival of an uninvited guest completely disrupted his plans. The moment that purple energy appeared in the Xuanhuang Realm, Xuan Tianwang vaguely discerned the newcomer's true nature: an incomplete Half-Immortal body, not fully purified, and fragmented immortal spiritual energy. It must be a cultivator like himself, who had escaped the collapse of the ascension channel. Xuan Tianwang was naturally wary of the arrival of this equally matched opponent. However, the opponent claimed they were merely passing through, intending to stay for a short while before departing. A conflict between two Half-Immortals would inevitably inflict irreparable damage upon the Xuanhuang Realm. After much deliberation, Xuan Tianwang ultimately decided not to act. He never imagined that this decision would lay the groundwork for future misfortune.

During a period when the Star-Crossing Grand Formation had just captured another world and Xuan Tianwang was personally leading an expedition, the one who called himself Grandmaster Tiandu surprisingly lured many native Xuanhuang Realm cultivators into his cultivation grounds, imparting numerous cultivation techniques, secret arts, and divine abilities. Upon his victorious return, Xuan Tianwang instantly understood the opponent's intentions: he wanted these cultivators to destabilize the Xuan Tian Sect's rule, incite rebellion among them, and then, once both sides were weakened, swoop in and reap the benefits. His ultimate goal was the immortal spiritual energy within Xuan Tianwang.

How could Xuan Tianwang allow his opponent to succeed? He immediately stormed into Tiandu and confronted Grandmaster Tiandu directly. Although Xuan Tianwang sustained minor injuries, his opponent's injuries were far more severe, and from then on, Grandmaster Tiandu behaved himself. However, since the opponent refused to leave, Xuan Tianwang had no good way to force him. Fearing that the opponent might resort to desperate measures, Xuan Tianwang simply chose to ignore him.

In this battle, he also subtly gained something. By extracting some immortal spiritual energy from his opponent, he might be able to directly reshape a True Immortal body in the lower realm. At that point, infusing the power of a True Immortal could significantly reduce the resources required to activate the Star-Crossing Grand Formation. The Xuanhuang Realm would then quickly and completely escape its perilous situation.

But Xuan Tianwang still underestimated the baseness of some cultivators, or perhaps he underestimated Grandmaster Tiandu's ability to sway people. At a crucial moment when everything was poised to improve, those cultivators who had originally entered Tiandu united and launched a surprise attack on the Xuan Tian Sect. From that point on, the history of the Xuanhuang Realm took a completely different trajectory.

Recalling the events of those years, the young man's expression became distant. He looked up, as if he could see the terrifying entity that attracted and devoured everything.

"Thousands of years have passed," he murmured, "is it already so close?"

(End of Chapter)