Chapter 0

Laughter echoed in the vast desert, suppressing the howling sound of sandstorms.

A rainbow of light pierced the dawn, and in that instant, the rolling, sprawling dark clouds that stretched for hundreds, even thousands of miles, gradually dissipated.

"Junior Brother Sun..."

At the summit of Wangquan Mountain, within the vast Taiji Dojo, a female cultivator sat cross-legged, embracing yin and yang, her gaze fixed on the distant void. She seemed to see the rainbow of light above the far western desert.

Her eyes were as calm as autumn waters. The little playmate who once shyly played with her had now ascended.

She sighed softly, with envy and blessing:

"Have a good journey... I wonder, will you be able to see Master?"

In the past two hundred years, she, Yan Kaiyu, Zhang Hao Hao, Liu Ming, and others had traveled almost the entire world, searching for traces of their master, time and time again.

Now, the only place they had not been was beyond the Heavenly Gate.

The Heavenly Gate...

"Junior Brother Sun, truly free and unrestrained."

A low whisper sounded, and in the sunlight, a figure appeared in the dojo like a ghost, with long hair draped over his shoulders, unbound and without a crown.

His wide sleeves fluttered, like a wandering scholar from the common folk.

"After all, Master liked him the most."

The female cultivator whispered.

She recalled when they first met, the shy little boy with a determined expression.

Master led him, riding a horse to the Xia Yi Sect, imposing his might upon the heroes, displaying peerless grace.

"Junior Sister, are you thinking about Master again?"

The middle-aged Taoist retracted his gaze, looked at his junior sister, and sighed softly.

Now, there was almost nothing in the world that he could not do, but sadly, Master had truly disappeared without a trace.

"Senior Brother, are you going down the mountain?"

The female cultivator composed herself and looked at the compass held in the Taoist's hand. That compass was left by their master, to carry the 'divine intent'.

It was the 'Key to the Samsara Secret Realm'.

"Yes."

The middle-aged Taoist nodded, his expression somewhat lost: "Uncle-Master Han's life is ending within three days. I must go and see him one last time..."

Human life has its end, whether emperors, generals, or grandmasters of a generation.

"That day has finally come."

The female cultivator shook her head and said nothing more, urging her senior brother to leave quickly.

The latter nodded and was about to leave when she called out to him again.

"What is your chance of success with forcing it?"

The female cultivator asked.

The middle-aged Taoist stroked his long beard and pondered slightly: "Fifty-fifty."

"Trying once or twice is good..."

The female cultivator's expression softened slightly.

"Junior Sister, wait a few days. Senior Brother will be back soon."

The Taoist put away the compass, and his figure was like wind and smoke. In a flash, he had disappeared from the summit of Wangquan Mountain.

......

Heaven and earth are never unchanging. All man-made things eventually wear down.

After more than two hundred years of wind and rain, even the 'Fengdu City', known as the most majestic city in the world, had left behind more traces.

Several renovations could not completely hide them.

On the towering city walls, squads of soldiers stood solemnly, gripping their swords, their expressions serious.

On the city wall steps, an old man led a small child slowly towards the city wall. Behind them was a Taoist with half-white and half-black hair.

All three were silent, and they remained silent even after reaching the tower on the city wall.

"In a blink of an eye, more than two hundred years have passed. Today, may be the last time we meet, master and disciple."

The old man coughed lightly.

He was very old, so old that his meridians were withering, and his blood was beginning to emit a decaying aura.

In the face of the true end, internal force and true qi seemed to have lost their ability to resist.

"There are still ways."

Huangfu raised his head, half-black and half-white hair hanging over the corners of his eyes, obscuring the darkness in his eyes:

"Master should know. The reason why King Chuanlun is immortal is not because he is so remarkable, but because the Founder changed his 'Maha Transformation Wheel Technique'..."

The immortality of King Chuanlun surprised many people, but it was not a secret to Wangquan Taoism.

The reason why King Chuanlun could be reborn was that his divine intent was indeed complete, his talent was extremely high, and he had inherited the 'Maha Transformation Wheel Technique' from the Chuanlun Temple.

But the most important thing was the plan of that Wangquan Taoist...

"When I was very young, my master, your Founder, took me as a disciple. At that time, he was also very old, and his martial arts were far inferior to yours and mine..."

Han Changgong looked down at Fengdu City under the sea of clouds, and a slightly turbid light flashed in his eyes, filled with memories.

As people aged, they seemed to cherish the past.

Or rather, they cherished the life they had lived and all the people and things they had seen in that life.

Huangfu listened quietly, even though he had heard these words more than once.

"At that time, I was wondering, what was my master, such an open-minded and calm person, afraid of...

Now, I finally know that he was afraid of death, afraid of disappearing between heaven and earth."

Han Changgong spoke very slowly, and he was a little out of breath, as if his qi and blood had declined to the limit.

"Master, stop talking." Huangfu was a little worried and stepped forward to support him.

"If I don't say it before I die, I won't have a chance after death."

Han Changgong released the child he was holding, and amidst the latter's worry, he sat down cross-legged, his expression calm, his voice fluctuating:

"My life has not been in vain. I have lived longer than Yi Xiu, so why ask for more..."

Han Changgong's heart was peaceful as he looked down at the merchants coming and going inside and outside the city.

He had spent ninety percent of his life in this city, and it was fulfilling for this city to see him off.

"Hmm?"

At a certain moment, Huangfu raised his eyebrows, and countless images seemed to flow in his eyes like a waterfall.

It seemed that he also saw what was happening in the far western desert.

Sun En, had he really reached this step?

"I thought Mu Qingliu would take this step, but I didn't expect it to be Sun En."

Han Changgong seemed to have seen it too, his expression a little complicated: "The younger generation is to be feared!"

He would not care about being surpassed by later generations, but that was, after all, the Heavenly Gate. After the Wangquan Taoist had taken away the Heavenly God Weapon, until now.

Sun En was the second person to shatter the void and ascend to the Heavenly Gate.

The first was Yan Kuangtu.

Precisely because he was infinitely close to this step, Han Changgong knew how difficult this step was, how difficult it was to cross.

"Mu Qingliu was born too well. The sword inheritance of Mu Qingfeng, the great opportunity of the Extremely Demonic Heaven-Slaying Sword Master, having one of the two would be a great fortune, but having both is not as pure as Sun En."

Huangfu saw more clearly than Han Changgong.

"Perhaps."

Han Changgong didn't have much energy to think about other things. He nodded, but saw the middle-aged Taoist coming with the crowd on the official road in the distance.

His brow furrowed:

"Nephew-Master Zhang?"

His brow furrowed, and his tone was a bit aloof.

"He really is a stubborn old man..."

Zhang Hao was helpless.

Just as he was about to say something, he heard a muffled sound. He looked up and saw Huangfu just retracting his palm.

"When people get old, they easily get stuck in their ways. You can't persuade him."

"...Senior Brother Huangfu has good methods." Zhang Hao put down his hands, saving himself from offending Uncle-Master Han. He certainly had no objections.

"I don't have much time left either. I'll apologize then. Master should be able to figure it out."

Huangfu looked at his palm.

Master, you hit me for hundreds of years. I'll return a slap.

That's not too much, is it?

......

Inside and outside the Hanlong Inn, a group of martial artists looked at the red light that pierced through the air, pulling a scorching air wave, their expressions changing for a moment, somewhat dazed.

So, he left?

The expected war had not even started and had already ended?

"That's it?"

Immediately, some martial artists shook their heads in disappointment, feeling as if their excitement had just begun when they were doused with cold water.

They felt it was somewhat anticlimactic.

"You underestimate Grandmaster Sun and can't understand what this scene represents at all."

Seeing that many martial artists were losing interest, an old man tapped his pipe and sneered:

"Throughout history, those who shattered the void and ascended to the Heavenly Gate either had a Heavenly God Weapon in hand or had to fight against a great enemy, burning everything, betting their lives on that glimmer of inspiration!

Even the Demon Lord back then had to invite the world to fight, and finally, with the help of Wangquan's Founder, he was able to break through the Heavenly Gate and leave..."

Speaking to this point, the old man stopped talking.

It was not good to slander predecessors after all. Although the Six Prison Demon Sect had disappeared, it still had hidden inheritances.

"You mean..."

Someone woke up and was shocked: "This Grandmaster Sun, could it be..."

"This, I didn't say it."

The old man glanced at a few people and drifted away. With a few flashes, he had disappeared into the yellow sand.

Leaving behind a group of martial artists, some disappointed, some shaking their heads and sighing, and some who heard the old man's words, deep in thought.

However, for a moment, no one dispersed, but the voices became more and more noisy, with various discussions rampant.

"Alright, little brats, all of you scatter!"

A cold shout exploded, like a cold current whistling, enveloping the inside and outside, more fierce than a sandstorm:

"What, do you have to wait for us to die a few times before you're satisfied?!"

The many martial artists outside the Hanlong Inn changed their expressions upon hearing this sentence, and dared not stay any longer, retreating one after another.

"The martial world is vast, farewell everyone!

In the third floor, a disheveled-haired monk snorted coldly, picked up his precept blade, and with a flash, disappeared into the Hanlong Inn.

Experts like him were unwilling to be watched by others even when fighting with others.

They came here for the road ahead, for the Heavenly Gate, not to be amused by these useless desserts.

"Great Monk is still so violent."

A Taoist smiled lightly, also bidding farewell.

Now that Sun En had left, they had no intention of staying, and they would not fight for others' amusement.

In just a moment, the martial artists outside the Hanlong Inn had not yet dispersed, and the third floor was empty, leaving only Fan Zimin slowly tasting the wine and dishes.

After a long while, when he was full, and there was no one inside or outside,

he rolled up his sleeves and shouted, "Someone, bring paper and pen!"

"Coming!"

The waiters waiting outside hurriedly brought paper and pen.

Fan Zimin flicked his long hair, dabbed the pen with ink, and after a moment of contemplation, he began to write quickly:

In the two hundred and twenty-second year of Wangquan, on the second day of the second month, a generation of Heaven's Chosen, Sun En, followed the footsteps of Wangquan's Taoist to the desert wind and sand...

Later, he shattered the void at Hanlong Inn... Only then did we know the influence of Wangquan's Taoist on later generations has reached such a degree.

——Recorded by Fan Zimin.