Deep ravines spread across the land.
The ground in the Luoyan and Lueying prefecture was forcibly pressed down several meters.
With just two fingers, the Immortal Ancestor had unleashed a terrifying force!
Yet, as the massive fingers descended upon him, Mr. Bai remained unfazed.
Instead, a long-awaited look of relief and satisfaction appeared on his face.
His motion of extracting the white mist barrier momentarily paused, causing the originally surging mist to abruptly freeze.
Then…
Swish!
Like countless beams of light, the brilliance illuminated the dim, eerily purple sky.
Formed by devouring mist, compressed in an instant!
Even from high above, it radiated an aura that made cultivators’ hearts tremble.
Blinding white light surged toward the descending fingers.
A deafening, world-shaking roar resounded through the heavens and the earth.
The sound was so overwhelming that it turned into utter silence for the cultivators who heard it.
Moments later, cultivators across the two provinces realized blood was trickling from their ears.
Covering their ears in shock, they were filled with terror.
Crack… Crunch…
Though blocked by the Devouring Mist Net, the force of the two fingers did not halt.
After merely a brief pause, they continued pressing downward.
Although the white mist was being rapidly consumed, Mr. Bai continuously extracted more from the barrier to replenish it.
For a time, the battle reached an eerie stalemate.
Cultivators with sharp insight could tell—
The Immortal Ancestor was not using his full strength.
For some reason, he seemed to be holding back.
Across the Xuanhuang Realm, the white mist was being drawn by Mr. Bai to resist the attack.
Gradually, cultivators across the various provinces began noticing a strange phenomenon.
The thick, lingering mist that had shrouded the world for tens of thousands of years… was dissipating.
Their once-limited vision was becoming clearer and more expansive.
With that clarity, they caught glimpses of the strange occurrences happening in Luoyan and Lueying provinces.
Standing tall upon the land, gazing over the entirety of Xuanhuang,
Mr. Bai, realizing the mist was receding, revealed an imperceptible smile.
Then, raising his head toward the looming fingers, his expression grew solemn.
In the next moment—
Clouds churned throughout the Xuanhuang Realm.
The world’s spiritual energy, as if suddenly thrown into chaos, erupted uncontrollably.
At an unimaginable speed, ignoring distances spanning dozens—if not hundreds—of provinces,
it converged upon Mr. Bai in an instant.
His already towering figure expanded several times over.
He now occupied nearly half the sky, making him visible from every corner of the Xuanhuang Realm.
“Apologies.”
“But for now, Xuanhuang… is my world.”
Mr. Bai spoke calmly to the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor above.
Then, he grasped the raging white mist surging from across the world—
And slashed upward.
The boundless white mist instantly solidified.
It transformed into a celestial blade, splitting heaven and earth!
As if countless suns had risen simultaneously, the radiance of the White Mist Celestial Blade illuminated the entire Xuanhuang Realm!
All living beings instinctively shut their eyes.
There was no earth-shaking explosion.
When they reopened their eyes—
The two fingers of the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor had vanished.
Across the sky of Xuanhuang, an amber-like crystalline barrier had unknowingly formed.
Fragile, yet unyielding.
Beyond the golden crystal, colossal shadows loomed and shifted.
This magnificent and surreal sight had never before appeared in the history of the Xuanhuang Realm.
It captured the minds of all cultivators.
“Alright. We can finally have some peace.”
“Now, let’s begin the lesson.”
Mr. Bai gazed down at the countless beings of the Xuanhuang Realm, smiling as he spoke.
“In the past, the Heavenly Sovereign’s method was:
‘To borrow the wonders of heaven and earth to establish the Dao Foundation.’”
“Now, I too have a method.”
“Without relying on external objects, one must see their own heart, illuminate their true nature, and discern their own being.”
“It is called: ‘Establishing the Foundation by Oneself.’”
“Although humans are mortal beings, they are born from heaven and earth, embodying the mysteries of yin and yang and the transformations of creation.”
…
Mr. Bai spoke every word with unwavering confidence.
The countless beings of the Xuanhuang Realm listened, utterly captivated.
Yet, his actions seemed to have completely provoked the wrath of the Immortal Ancestor.
The yellow crystalline barrier enveloping the entire Xuanhuang Realm suddenly trembled under a violent impact.
It was as if countless bolts of thunder erupted across the sky.
The previously unbreakable amber-like crystal now showed a faint crack.
Mr. Bai, however, remained completely unfazed, continuing his teachings without pause.
His voice seemed to possess a special power, capable of calming the hearts and minds of all who heard it.
Even as the deafening rumbles continued to echo from the heavens, they failed to distract the people, who remained entirely focused on Mr. Bai’s lecture.
After thoroughly imparting the “Establishing Foundation by Oneself Method” to the beings of the Xuanhuang Realm, Mr. Bai did not stop.
He went on to expound upon the path one must take after achieving this foundation.
The so-called:
“Primordial Golden Core”
“Fleshly Nascent Soul”
“Mind-Manifested Soul Transformation”
Mr. Bai also candidly admitted that these concepts were only his hastily deduced theories.
They might not be perfect and could contain numerous flaws.
Moreover, this path currently only reached the Soul Transformation realm.
As for the higher levels of cultivation under this new system—one that did not rely on external forces—practitioners would have to explore them on their own.
Despite Mr. Bai’s selfless teaching, the fact remained that his path was completely at odds with the Immortal Ancestor’s doctrines.
The reactions of cultivators across the world varied.
Some were skeptical, some were overwhelmed with excitement, some were deep in contemplation, and some harbored ambitious thoughts…
The myriad attitudes of the people were all different.
Yet Mr. Bai paid them no mind.
After he had finished imparting all his knowledge, he fell silent.
His figure returned to its original size as he looked up at the amber crystal barrier, which was now on the verge of shattering completely.
Faced with the inevitable retaliation of the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor,
Mr. Bai’s face showed no fear.
He remained calm, waiting in silence.
At that moment…
He suddenly sensed a figure rapidly approaching him.
The figure was somewhat aged, trembling slightly, yet overflowing with emotion.
“Mr. Bai…”
The old man flew toward him, unable to suppress the emotions in his voice.
His appearance bore a striking resemblance to Mr. Bai, except that his face was covered in wrinkles, evidence of countless years of hardship.
On his back, he carried a black coffin, adding an eerie aura to his presence.
If Li Fan or Xiao Qing had been there,
they would have immediately recognized this elder as none other than Xu Ke, from many years ago.
Reuniting with the reborn Mr. Bai after all these years should have filled him with immense joy.
And yet…
At the very moment he saw Mr. Bai,
his expression froze in confusion.
Then, an overwhelming sense of disappointment took over his face.
“You are not Mr. Bai…”
Xu Ke muttered in a daze.
“Mr. Bai” looked at the elderly man before him, who resembled himself almost exactly, and gently patted his shoulder.
“Indeed, I am not him.”
“The dead are gone—someone who has truly perished cannot simply be resurrected so easily.”
“I am merely a mark, an imprint he left behind in this world.”
“In the words of cultivators like you—”
“I am what you would call… the ‘Soul of Heaven and Earth.’”