Chapter 710 - 24: The Old Daoist Who Survived the End of Dharma Era, Severing the Shackles

"Here, three catties of cabbage. That'll be four hundred seventy thousand."

"That expensive?" Beside them, Qing He and Qing Ping, who looked to be about ten years old, stared with wide eyes. The former said angrily,

"Last week it was only a hundred thousand a catty! Why did the price go up again?"

The stunningly beautiful little girl rolled her eyes prettily and grumbled,

"Hey, little brother, what are you talking about? It's not like you don't know the situation. Money is becoming more and more worthless... I could say that when I was a kid, this stuff only cost a few bucks!"

Qing He's eyes widened as he argued,

"No, let me tell you..."

"That's enough."

Lu Xuan, shrouded in mist, gently interrupted. He slowly reached out his hand toward the little girl's cheek. As he moved, the mist of Chaos flowed, profound and deep.

But the nearby passersby were oblivious to the scene. In their eyes, all that stood there was an old Daoist. What mist of Chaos?

SLAP!

The girl was quite fiery. She slapped Lu Xuan's hand away, her eyes wide as she planted her hands on her hips.

"Hey, old man! Just because you can't afford the vegetables, you're going to be a pervert? At your age..."

Lu Xuan chuckled and simply asked,

"Little girl, what's your name?"

This girl, who carried the faint scent of peaches and was clearly a reincarnation of Xiaoyan, pouted.

"Why should I tell you my name? Pervert! I'm not selling to you anymore!"

She pushed her vegetable cart away, huffing and puffing, seeming a little flustered.

'She's just a little girl, after all.'

Lu Xuan watched her retreating figure, finally sighed, and did nothing more. He bought some cabbage from another stall, then led Qing He and Qing Ping back to Kongtong Mountain.

On the way up the mountain, Qing He couldn't help but ask,

"Senior Brother Qing Xuan, you seem to... know that girl?"

"I suppose so..."

Lu Xuan patted Qing He on the head, then patted the stoic-faced Qing Ping, and slowly came to a halt before the main gate of Guangcheng Palace.

He turned, his gaze fixed on the vast sky. His eyes pierced the river of stars, seeing the first wisp of the Spiritual Qi tide rising from the Cosmic Edge Wilderness.

Lu Xuan glanced to the side and said,

"Starting today, you will cultivate with me."

"Cultivate?"

Qing He and Qing Ping looked around in confusion. The former was about to ask another question when he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the horizon.

On the horizon, a mushroom cloud was slowly rising.

This seemed to be only the beginning.

One after another, mushroom clouds rose up all across the Ancestor Star. Great fireballs blazed as tens of thousands of super-weapons detonated on the same day!

"War... It's war..."

Qing He spoke in a daze, listening to the sounds of panic and crying. His eyes, seared by the immense light, began to stream with tears involuntarily.

He saw a missile falling, saw a fireball expanding in the distance...

The countless people on Kongtong Mountain despaired.

The next second, an old woman murmured in a daze, staring at the figure who had stepped into the air. As the expanding fireball neared Kongtong Mountain—or rather, as it neared that old Daoist—it was extinguished...

"A god..."

Countless tourists prostrated themselves, while Qing He and Qing Ping felt as if they were trapped in a dream.

The little vegetable seller, who had also survived, muttered in a daze,

"That old pervert is actually an Immortal... So Immortals really do exist."

The Immortal looked down and once again asked softly,

"Little girl, what's your name?"

"My name is..."

A past life of Xiaoyan answered subconsciously,

"My name is Tao Ling."

"A good name."

[2056 A.D., the final year of the old calendar. The Third World War breaks out. The entire globe is pacified by nuclear fire.]

[The following year, Year 1 of the New Calendar. The Ancestor Star expands, and its vegetation grows rampantly.]

[Year 74 of the New Calendar. Various ruins from Ancient Times emerge, and the age of cultivation officially begins.]

[Year 100 of the New Calendar. The Valkyrie Tao Ling appears out of nowhere, suppresses all opposition, establishes the Federation, and unifies the world.]

[Year 300 of the New Calendar. The Demon Race from the stars invades. The Great Wall defense line is formally established.]

[Year 307 of the New Calendar. The Martial God Tao Ling establishes Majestic City behind the Starry Great Wall.]

[Year 700 of the New Calendar. After taking Yan Huang as her disciple, the Martial God Tao Ling dies in battle at the Great Wall. The Ancestor Star grieves. Every family wears mourning clothes, every household hangs white silk. The sounds of weeping and sighing are unending for a hundred days.]

[In the same year, the Super Conglomerate Ao Tao is founded, beginning the era of conglomerates.]

[Year 709 of the New Calendar. Yan Huang, the Martial God's surviving disciple, establishes Longque Technology.]

Time flew.

「New Calendar, Year 6806, September.」

'The fated moment is approaching...'

In Guangcheng Palace, on Ancient Kongtong Mountain, Lu Xuan slowly opened his eyes. His mind trembled uncontrollably as he sensed the fated moment in the unseen world drawing ever closer.

At first, he didn't know what this moment was, but after looking at the calendar, he suddenly understood.

Lu Xuan searched through his dusty, ancient memories and finally discovered that he himself had been born in April of 6807.

'Another six months.'

"Qing He, Qing Ping."

"Senior Brother, we are here."

Lu Xuan rose gracefully and began by admonishing,

"Qing He, you need to speed up your cultivation. After all these years, you're still stuck at the Earth Immortal realm... Look at your junior brother Qing Ping, he's already a True Immortal!"

Qing He gave an embarrassed laugh and didn't dare to reply. Beside him, the usually taciturn Qing Ping spoke in his typical daze,

"If Xiaoling were still alive, she would have entered the Immortal realm long ago. The Old Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain wouldn't be the number one person in the world."

Qing He's mood suddenly darkened, but Lu Xuan just smiled gently.

"I have long since sent her on to her reincarnation. Today, I'm going to see her... I will be going down the mountain for a while. You two guard the gates."

Qing He and Qing Ping were both stunned. 'Down the mountain??'

'Senior Brother is actually going down the mountain??'

'Ever since the New Calendar began, even when Xiaoling died, Senior Brother never once left the mountain...'

Lu Xuan didn't explain further. He calmly walked out of the Guangcheng Daoist Palace, feeling the cool autumn breeze, and stepped into the drizzling rain before disappearing into the clouds.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before a delivery room, his form illusory. Not even the now-famous chairman of Longque Technology noticed him.

"Chairman Yan, your wife... her injuries are too severe. Her soul has shattered, and she has already passed away... We can only try to save the child in her womb."

"I understand."

Yan Huang nodded silently, staggered to the window, and stared blankly outside.

It was clearly autumn, and just a moment ago it was still drizzling. But now, for some reason, it had changed to a heavy snow.

The heavy snow fell thick and fast, blanketing the churning river outside the window. The cold was chilling to the bone.

"The baby's been born."

A gentle voice sounded from behind Yan Huang. He quickly turned and took the infant from the newcomer's arms.

The baby girl didn't cry or make a fuss. She carried a faint scent of peaches and her dark, glistening eyes were wide open.

"Have you thought of a name?" the doctor holding the baby girl asked softly.

Yan Huang was in low spirits and answered blankly,

"I don't know."

The doctor smiled.

"Today is in autumn, yet a great snow has sealed the river. Why not call her Jiang Xue... Yan Jiangxue. What do you think?"

'Yan Jiangxue?'

Yan Huang mulled over the name bitterly. He subconsciously looked up, only to be stunned.

The person standing before him was no doctor. It was clearly a Daoist, shrouded in a mist of Chaos and seemingly wearing a Daoist Robe!

His expression changed, his heart filled with dread. He shouted sharply,

"Who are you?!"

"Just a passerby."

The Daoist smiled.

"Yan Jiangxue, it really is a very nice name..."

As he spoke, the Daoist reached out and gently caressed the baby girl's cheek. Yan Huang's expression changed. He tried to lash out but was horrified to find himself frozen in place, his Heaven-Reaching Cultivation utterly suppressed!

'How is this possible?!'

'The Immortals cannot enter the mortal world, and among the current True Immortals and Grand Grades, who could possibly possess such power?'

'Is... is this truly a power a Grand Grade can possess?'

Yan Huang's throat bobbed, but he could only watch as the Daoist stroked his daughter's cheek, seemed to sigh, and then vanished without a trace.

He felt a sense of relief, but amid his terror, he subconsciously muttered to himself,

"Yan Jiangxue..."

"Let's go with that name."

「Six months later.」

「New Calendar, Year 6807, April.」

The Daoist ascended to the highest heavens and casually reached into the [Origin], pulling out a Blood and Tears Clay Figure.

He pondered for a long time before finally making up his mind.

"Today is the day I sever my shackles."

Lu Xuan looked at the little clay figure and sighed softly,

"I gift my name to you. You shall be called Lu Xuan... From now on, you are Lu Xuan, and I am Qing Xuan."

It was as if his words were a Celestial Decree, setting down the most fundamental of rules. The moment he finished speaking, the Daoist closed his eyes, and his will, like a knife, severed everything.

He was no longer Lu Xuan.

'If he was no longer Lu Xuan, how could he still be the avatar of Taiyi?'

"From this day forward, until my [Enlightenment], I am only Qing Xuan."

The Daoist muttered to himself. This was his second intervention, and it added another grievous injury. Yet, his whole body felt lighter. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, his shackles shattered. He himself was sublimated, welcoming a great transformation!