After finishing the task and dealing with the wrap-up, Ding Yun didn't leave immediately. Instead, she took the three children back to the villa where they had lived for many years.
Then, she laid things out somewhat sternly:
"You should know that times have changed. Our abilities are somewhat out of sync with this technological age. Ordinary people might fear us and revere us as gods now, but in a few more years, as technology develops to a certain extent, they might want to study us.
Therefore, I've decided to conceal my identity and roam the world.
I'll change my identity every few years and travel the world.
There's no eternal banquet. For ordinary parents, accompanying their children for fifty years is already considered a long time. It would be quite troublesome for me to roam the world with you, or for you to roam the world with me. So, let's part ways here. Do as you please, but I hope that without my supervision, you will still maintain your normal mindset and not engage in unnecessary killing due to your cultivation.
I know you all have good mental states and are peaceful now, but I hope it remains so even after hundreds of years.
There's no need to say more.
This is the fortune I've accumulated over the years; divide it among yourselves. Let this be our final farewell!"
Ding Yun didn't want to lie to them, but it was difficult to tell the whole truth, so she could only express herself in such an ambiguous way. After speaking, she divided the collection she had accumulated over the years and not yet used into three roughly equal portions.
She let them pick whatever they wanted.
The three portions were of similar value, so it was considered fair.
As for her three children, although they were slightly surprised, they were no longer three or four-year-olds.
They were all in their early fifties this year.
While they couldn't fully understand Ding Yun's emotions at the moment, they could certainly understand her words. They had even imagined their futures and were not entirely unable to accept separation. After a brief attempt to persuade her, they accepted the situation, each taking a storage ring to receive their share.
Ding Yun then nodded with a smile and vanished in a flash of light, leaving with a decisiveness that caught everyone by surprise.
"Then let's part ways too!"
"That's fine. But do we need to completely cut ties after this? How about we meet up every ten to twenty years to catch up and maintain our relationships?"
"No need. Haven't we seen enough of each other for decades?"
"Mother is right. As cultivators who can achieve longevity, we should be able to endure loneliness. Our descendants can meet up, but we don't need to.
After all, a few decades or centuries won't change things much."
"Alright, let's consider it a complete separation!"
…
Having completely conquered a plane, Ding Yun didn't waste any time. She soon abandoned her current body, her soul transforming into a light, and entered a new plane.
Then, following the same path and experience from the previous world,
She continued her "River God Encounter" routine.
She could generally conquer a large-scale cultivation plane within sixty years, a single cycle. Sometimes, with good luck and a faster pace, she could even finish in fifty years.
The only difference was that as time went on, Ding Yun's plans became more perfect and loophole-free. First, she never forgot about the issue of low to mid-level demonic beasts.
Later, after an experience in a plane with a vast and desolate land, the problem of wandering souls was also incorporated into her plan. After a few worlds, Ding Yun's "River God Encounter" plan proceeded without any more errors or issues, and she could always conclude it swiftly.
The only hidden danger was that in recent years, the number of ascended immortals showing symptoms of the "Five Decays of Heaven and Man" in the Immortal Realm had been too high, causing significant grumbling among many lower-tier immortals.
However, because the deceased had too low cultivation bases,
They didn't attract the attention of high-level Immortal Venerables or Emperors.
So, this hidden danger was manageable for the time being and hadn't led to in-depth investigation by high-level immortals in the upper realm. However, if anyone unfortunate enough to have the ability to directly contact an Immortal Emperor reported the matter, it would likely be impossible to keep it secret.
After all, Immortal Emperors had the ability to directly view the river of time in lower realms and understand past events.
How could the "River God Encounter" plan remain hidden?
One day, as Ding Yun had just completed the conquest of her ninth plane and was in the inter-plane sea, not yet having entered a new one, her mother contacted her:
"Ayun, the recent occurrences of many ascended immortals from the same world, who ascended almost simultaneously, encountering the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and perishing, are related to you, aren't they?"
Although this was a question,
It carried a tone of certainty.
"It is related to me. Have I been exposed?
That can't be right. Those newly ascended immortals should be the lowest tier in the Immortal Realm. Even if they died a bit more frequently and concentrated, it shouldn't cause too much controversy, nor should it attract the attention of Immortal Emperors or Venerables?"
Ding Yun, of course, was aware that the fact that those immortals died within a short period due to the Five Decays of Heaven and Man seemed a bit strange, but she couldn't prevent those people from ascending, could she?
The most crucial point was that if she prevented all cultivators from ascending and kept their cultivation below the immortal level, it would take an extremely long time. The continuous presence of spiritual energy in their original worlds would inevitably slow down the depletion of spiritual energy and spiritual veins. None of this was conducive to her goal of ushering a cultivation plane into its era of decline.
Therefore, even with the hidden danger of a large number of cultivators ascending and then dying, Ding Yun had decided to take the gamble.
But she hadn't expected that after only nine planes,
Her own mother would come looking for her.
"You haven't been exposed. It's just that many people are privately gossiping, thinking that their ascension worlds might have problems. But the Immortal Realm itself is already in chaos, so no one is delving too deeply into these matters.
I only saw that you obtained the concept-level River God and, based on my understanding of you, I guessed that this matter might be related to you. However, I don't understand why you are still in the mortal realm and haven't come to the Immortal Realm yet.
Don't just focus on conquering the mortal realms!
The main core should be to take control of the Immortal Realm!
You can have your subordinates conquer the mortal realms for you?"
Su Yunxiao comforted Ding Yun, then directly asked her questions. She had already established countless technological mega-cities in the Immortal Realm and had been looking forward to cooperating with her daughter. But to her surprise, her daughter hadn't even come to the Immortal Realm yet.
Naturally, she had to ask for an explanation and urge her along.
"Wait a minute, Mom, how did you do it?
I feel like the path I'm taking is a bit off, different from yours. What's going on?"
Ding Yun's mind also started to work things out at this moment.
She quickly pressed for an explanation.
"I directly brought out the mechanical life factory and chose a plane as a base. I mass-produced mechanical life, using them to rapidly sever spiritual veins in various parts of the plane while also eradicating cultivators and demons in famous mountains and rivers.
Then, I injected gene potions and brain expansion potions into all young mortals, and even implanted smart chips to impart knowledge, forcing rapid growth.
Within one generation,
They can easily be elevated to a Level 3 civilization.
The mechanical life governs those mortals, and I mainly manage the mechanical life. Then, as long as I continuously open inter-plane passages for them, they can help me rapidly conquer other planes and continue this forced growth. Currently, the mechanical life I possess can conquer hundreds of planes simultaneously.
And I've secured a significant territory in the Immortal Realm as well.
They all still think I'm a master artifact refiner."
Su Yunxiao said, observing Ding Yun's expression. Seeing that Ding Yun's complexion was not good and very displeased, she guessed that her daughter had likely been blinded by the concept-level River God golden finger she had chosen, getting stuck in a corner by the necessity of using a golden finger, and her intelligence had plummeted.
There were clearly many simple and direct methods to conquer and occupy those planes, even by brute force.
Now, she didn't know what strange turns she had taken.
Her progress was so slow.
Her progress in the previous task of exploring the universe had been quite smooth, and her intelligence and cognitive abilities were all online.