Replacing the Heavenly Path

The vast expanse of time does not pause for insignificant individuals.

Xu Zhen failed to find Chen Xia and could not enter the domain. She secluded herself outside the closed domain for 300 years, until she finally received a brief summons from the Fuyao Immortal Sect:

"The Sect Master has passed away. Return immediately."

She had no choice but to reluctantly leave the outskirts of the domain and hurry back to the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

Currently, Great Sage Chen Xi was in charge of the Fuyao Immortal Sect. Though no major incidents had occurred, some underlying issues were beginning to surface.

Some elders did not submit to Great Sage Chen Xi and Xu Zhen's faction, and wanted to leave the Fuyao Immortal Sect to start anew elsewhere.

Great Sage Chen Xi naturally would not allow this. How could they simply leave after reaping the benefits of the Fuyao Immortal Sect? At the very least, they should return the advantages they had gained before departing.

So Great Sage Chen Xi declared in front of all the cultivators of the Fuyao Immortal Sect:

"You may leave first, but you must return to the Fuyao Immortal Sect all the benefits you gained on your cultivation path. Otherwise, you can only leave with a reduced cultivation level."

Great Sage Chen Xi's words were extremely domineering, and no one in the Fuyao Immortal Sect dared to refute her. Though they didn't voice their objections, they were certainly dissatisfied in their hearts and acted in passive-aggressive ways.

Great Sage Chen Xi thus decided to summon Xu Zhen back to devise a plan together and determine the fate of these cultivators.

Xu Zhen now held a significant position in the entire Immortal Realm.

Firstly, she was a Saint in her own right.

Secondly, she was the revitalizing force of the Fuyao Immortal Sect, with the potential to challenge for a Great Emperor position.

Thirdly, she was favored by Wu Xi Great Emperor, with a true Great Emperor supporting her.

As such, she could be considered the second-in-command of the current Fuyao Immortal Sect.

With Great Sage Chen Xi as the leader and Xu Zhen as her deputy, the two of them had complete control over the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect.

Naturally, the elders of the Fuyao Immortal Sect who disliked them wanted to leave, to avoid future conflicts and mistreatment.

Some time later.

When Xu Zhen returned from the Star Gate, a great purge began in the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect. Her first words were imperiously spoken:

"If you wish to leave, you may, but only as an individual. All other possessions must remain behind, otherwise even your person won't be able to leave."

After she finished speaking, she immediately had Great Sage Chen Xi use the Great Way of Chenxi to envelop the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect, monitoring all the cultivators within.

It was truly a great cleansing of the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

A Heaven Mending Realm elder didn't believe it and tried to hide half of his possessions in a small world, covering it with a divine ability that obscured divination, intending to leave the Fuyao Immortal Sect this way.

He was immediately detected.

Xu Zhen personally took action, killing this elder within five breaths, violently destroying his small world and purging all the possessions within. She held the elder's corpse in one hand, standing at the zenith of the sky, with blood still dripping from the body. Her expression was cold as she spoke sternly to all the cultivators of the Fuyao Immortal Sect:

"Anyone who hides private possessions and attempts to escape will be executed without mercy!"

Her temperament was unlike the gentler Great Sage Chen Xi; she would truly kill.

From then on, no one in the Fuyao Immortal Sect dared to mention leaving. Even the elders who truly wished to depart left alone, empty-handed, just as they had first entered the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

The atmosphere in the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect became very oppressive, filled with a murderous aura.

Xu Zhen maintained a cold expression, showing no kindness to anyone.

Hitting a wall with the domain had already left her with a belly full of anger. Now, with Chen Xia's fate unknown, she had to rush back to deal with this mess in the Fuyao Immortal Sect. How could her mood be good?

Great Sage Chen Xi saw her unhappiness and often tried to comfort her:

"It's alright. I've heard about the domain situation. Nothing major has happened in the entire plane, it's just closed off. It should be the plane's self-repair process. It will be fine after some time."

"I hope so," Xu Zhen replied helplessly. She didn't actually care much about the domain itself, as long as Chen Xia wasn't dead.

"By the way, Wu Xi Great Emperor came by a few days ago. He wanted to see you, but you were in seclusion, so he just left a message..." At this point, Great Sage Chen Xi's expression became hesitant.

"What is it?" Xu Zhen frowned and asked.

Great Sage Chen Xi took a light breath and continued:

"Wu Xi Great Emperor suggested that the Fuyao Immortal Sect close its doors for 6,000 years, and only emerge when there's a quasi-emperor in the sect."

"Why?" Xu Zhen asked again.

Great Sage Chen Xi raised her gaze, looking towards the far reaches of the universe, and spoke:

"You've been away for a long time, so you might be out of touch with the news. In the past few thousand years, a planar war has begun. It involves six planes, with a total of seven Great Emperors participating, and this number is still increasing."

"Major planes will certainly join the war later, such as the Divine Realm, Celestial Realm, and so on. So the Immortal Realm will naturally have to fight as well, but the Fuyao Immortal Sect doesn't have the qualifications to participate."

"What the Fuyao Immortal Sect needs to do now is to focus on stability. We should only emerge when you become a quasi-emperor, or even a Great Emperor. Only then will we have the foundation to compete for supremacy."

Xu Zhen furrowed her brows, her expression solemn as she pondered the pros and cons. Suddenly, she looked up and asked:

"Must we close the sect for 6,000 years?"

"Not necessarily, but you definitely need to become a quasi-emperor," Great Sage Chen Xi replied.

"Very well!" Xu Zhen nodded, her eyes filled with heroic spirit. Standing between heaven and earth, she looked like an empress as she spoke firmly and with determination:

"I will become a quasi-emperor."

This was her promise to the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

Great Sage Chen Xi's gaze became misty, and for a moment, she seemed to see the young girl who had just arrived at the Fuyao Immortal Sect 30,000 years ago.

Back then, Xu Zhen had seemed somewhat frail, always asking before doing anything, afraid of making mistakes or offending others.

At that time, Xu Zhen wore white dresses and had an ethereal, immortal-like aura, truly resembling a celestial maiden.

But at the pinnacle of cultivation, there are few celestial maidens.

Most are female heroes like this.

"Yes," Great Sage Chen Xi smiled gently and nodded to her.

"You will become a quasi-emperor..."

"And more."

A thousand years passed in the domain.

The most significant event that occurred was Wang Yangzi's return to the paths of alchemy and swordsmanship, essentially restarting his cultivation.

The effects of his cultivation were exceptionally good, as if favored by the Heavenly Dao. While not progressing by leaps and bounds, it was at least smooth sailing. If he continued cultivating like this, he should be able to return to being a Saint of Two Ways.

Wu Saint watched from the side, full of envy, and remarked more than once:

"The current Heavenly Dao of the domain is essentially Chen Xia, so you're benefiting from that connection. It's like being a rat in the soup, a shit-stirring stick in the excrement."

"Can't you think of something nice to say?" Wang Yangzi rolled his eyes.

"I was mainly going for rhyme," Wu Saint chuckled, then wondered aloud: "My relationship with Chen Xia isn't bad either. Why doesn't he look after me a bit and let me become a Great Emperor?"

"You dare to dream, don't you?" Wang Yangzi shook his head and asked:

"How much longer until Chen Xia fully merges with the domain?"

Wu Saint frowned, his expression becoming serious as he shook his head and said:

"It's hard to say. We only know that they've already unified, but the awakening date still needs to be extended. Moreover, based on our speculations, Chen Xia seems to have other plans."

"What do you mean?" Wang Yangzi inquired further.

"It seems he doesn't want to merge with the domain, but rather directly control it, making the domain a part of his own small world. And he succeeded, which means..."

Wu Saint's tone became grave as he continued:

"He already controls at least one other plane!"

If one were to speculate further, the implications would be so vast that even Wu Saint dared not voice them.

Chen Xia now had at least two planes under his control. So what about beyond that? Three, four... a hundred, a thousand...

Wouldn't that mean he could replace the Heavenly Dao itself?!