"Once a person reaches a point where they have no control over themselves, they don't have many choices left.
We cultivators at the Void Refinement realm fought against the people behind the scenes, and we lost.
We had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and make the optimal choice. At the very least, I am alive now."
Looking at Yun Hongcai's withered and aged face, Heavenly Venerable Jiande and Fairy Tinglan both frowned.
They hadn't known that so many things had happened in Shadowfell Prefecture over the past few centuries.
"The two of you, stand guard for me."
Yun Hongcai sat cross-legged and smiled.
"Let the matters of the past scatter with the wind; those who should live must still live. The people of the Azure Cloud Li Clan will eventually let things go.
The Dusheng Nunnery has been destroyed, and Nun Dairou will also lay down her grudges. A millennium from now, as long as we are still alive, that will be enough."
Heavenly Venerable Jiande and Fairy Tinglan nodded slightly, saying no more.
Now that Nun Dairou was demanding their lives like a madwoman, they immediately erected a grand array in this mountain.
Fortunately, the entirety of Shadowfell Prefecture was currently embroiled in war. The chaotic spiritual energy of heaven and earth colliding everywhere truly made this an excellent place for a breakthrough.
A full seven days passed.
In the mountain, withered trees could be seen experiencing a second spring, exceptionally tranquil.
The Buddhist runes belonging to the Dusheng Nunnery were spreading out in all directions from where Yun Hongcai was cultivating.
Wherever the Buddhist runes reached, the faith power of all living beings—originally stolen from the Dusheng Nunnery—transformed into golden light and landed on the ground.
Unexpectedly, phantom silhouettes crawled out, roaring as they lunged toward Yun Hongcai.
It looked extremely similar to the scene when Dharma Master Hongzhen broke through.
The phantom of an ancient and unadorned grand door floated in front of Yun Hongcai.
This door was as pure white as jade, with an emerald-green luster flowing within, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
It was clearly a Dao Gate of Daoist techniques, yet amidst the highly incongruous Buddhist runes and the Buddhist Dharma summoning the crawling faith power of all living beings, it unexpectedly extended densely packed jade hands, forcibly drawing those souls into the gate.
It appeared bizarre, yet it was filled with a certain aesthetic beauty.
"The Boss's method has always been to 'steal the heavens'."
Fairy Tinglan smiled.
"I remember back when we roamed the world together; whatever we wanted, the Boss could always bring it back.
It's just that over the years, the paths of using Spiritual power to absorb the spiritual energy of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and the Dao of the lives of living beings, have already been trodden by others."
"With the Boss here, once he breaks through to the Body Integration realm, he can also help the two of us find our Dao paths." Heavenly Venerable Jiande was overjoyed.
"The three of us will carve out our old reputation in this chaotic world!"
The Azure Cloud Li Clan, the Dusheng Nunnery—they no longer put any of them in their eyes.
Right now, while still at the Void Refinement realm, they dared to snatch a Body Integration opportunity.
Once all three of them reached the Body Integration realm, the world would be so vast that there would be nowhere they couldn't go.
While the two were rejoicing, they completely failed to notice a single red leaf falling into the mountain.
...
Yun Hongcai looked at the Dao Gate before him, his expression agitated with excitement.
On the jade-colored grand door, the emerald jade was crystal clear.
That was the spiritual energy he had extracted from the heavenly materials and earthly treasures accumulated bit by bit through the efforts of the Yun Clan's descendants, relying on the Spiritual power he had saved up for thirty thousand years.
Besides that, this grand door also contained the bloodlines of the Yun Clan's descendants, the spiritual energy of the common people, and even the Spiritual power of the various metal, wood, water, fire, and earth elements.
"Attempt after attempt, seeking a breakthrough time after time..."
Yun Hongcai's eyes brimmed with hot tears. No one knew how difficult his Dao path had been.
He, Yun Hongcai, was originally a world-rare genius. Breaking through to the Void Refinement realm had been a journey of effortlessly overcoming all obstacles.
In this life, he had attempted to break through to the Body Integration realm twice.
Whether it was the laws of "Spiritual Methods of Heaven and Earth" or "Bloodlines of Living Beings," he had reached the very end, even pushing open the Dao Gate.
That was why he had such a magnificent Dao Gate within his Soul Sea.
But heaven did not grant man's wishes. In both breakthroughs, he fell behind others. Pushing open the Dao Gate resulted in nothing.
Up until now, with his lifespan nearing its end, he had no choice but to take a desperate risk and steal the Dao of others.
Now... he saw it.
"Creak—"
The human figures formed by the faith power of countless living beings climbed onto the jade door.
Relying on his originally accumulated Spiritual power, the Dao Gate pushed open a crack.
A path filled with Buddhist runes was right before his eyes!
At the end of the path, a Buddha was waiting for him!
"It works! Dharma Master Hongzhen's Buddhist Dao works!"
But right at this moment, Yun Hongcai narrowed his eyes, which were brimming with killing intent.
"Azure Cloud Li Clan, why are you so unwilling to let me go?!! Do you really want me to go to your Azure Cloud Prefecture and teach you how to accept your fate?!!"
The reviving vegetation in the mountain swayed under the blowing of a fierce wind.
"Who goes there?!!"
Fairy Tinglan let out a sharp shout, having already levitated into the air alongside Heavenly Venerable Jiande.
The red silk ribbons and long sleeves of Fairy Tinglan's garments extended infinitely, sheltering the entire mountain within them.
Under the gloomy sky of Shadowfell Prefecture caused by the battles in all directions, it appeared full of aesthetic beauty.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Heavenly Venerable Jiande's heaven-supporting iron staff continuously spiraled in the sky, growing larger.
As for he himself, he had already blended into the air. On the giant staff, pairs of iron eyes suddenly opened, blinking continuously.
From all directions, human figures could be seen approaching.
It was precisely the members of the Azure Cloud Li Clan in Shadowfell Prefecture!
"You..."
Fairy Tinglan gnashed her teeth. "How did you find our location?"
She had clearly exhausted all her methods; not even Nun Dairou could find their tracks. Yet the Azure Cloud Li Clan had simply found their way here!
The expressions of these Li family members were calm, and they didn't say a word.
Their robes snapped loudly in the air. They just stared quietly, as if admiring struggling prey.