Chapter 444: Guidance

Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Guidance

Xuan Yuan's eyes were filled with hostility as countless phantoms coalesced around him. Each phantom contained the image of the same woman. Zhong Shan knew these were Xuan Yuan's memories.

With each new phantom, Xuan Yuan seemed to suffer more. The valley filled with these phantoms, each one representing a piece of Xuan Yuan's past with his wife. The more phantoms appeared, the more exhausted Xuan Yuan became, his clothes drenched in sweat.

With a slight stomp of his foot, the red pool beneath him suddenly emitted a dazzling red light, illuminating the entire valley. Xuan Yuan closed his eyes slightly. The phantoms began to disappear as the red light touched them, erasing each memory as if sealing them away.

Once the red light bathed the entire valley, it slowly receded back into the pool. All the phantoms vanished, except for one—a woman biting her lip with a single tear rolling down from her right eye. This lone phantom resisted, not erased nor sealed.

From a distance, Xuan Yuan seemed to sense this tear.

"Roar~~~~~~~!"

Xuan Yuan let out another agonizing howl, sending endless beams of white light into the sky. The powerful aura forced Zhong Shan to retreat further from the mountain peak.

Too strong. This aura was terrifying.

The strongest in the Empyrean Realm?

As Zhong Shan watched, the phantoms that had been erased by the red light began to reappear in the valley, sprouting like mushrooms after rain.

"Failed again!" Qinghong shook her head.

"Such hardship!" Zhihuo lamented.

"Hmm, take this token. You can stay in any of the valleys. I will go to seek an audience with the Supreme!" Qinghong said.

"Alright."

Qinghong flew away, leaving Zhong Shan and Zhihuo to continue observing the valley.

"This is truly beyond human endurance. Such hardship, if it were me, I would be exhausted after five attempts!" Zhihuo shook his head.

"It's impossible for you. He is held back by that last phantom, that memory too deep. This single tear holds more weight than a thousand words. It has rooted itself in his heart. It is a memory and a taboo. If anyone dares to touch it, he would fight with everything he has, even the Nirvana Fire Pool can't seal it," Zhong Shan said.

Zhong Shan thought of his own taboos. When Kui'er died, wasn't he the same? Perhaps only he could understand Xuan Yuan's heart.

"But this is too terrifying. According to Qinghong, he's been doing this for over ten years. Anyone else would have died from exhaustion by now!" Zhihuo said.

"Because he is not like others!" Zhong Shan said solemnly.

Zhong Shan and Zhihuo continued to watch Xuan Yuan. Indeed, Xuan Yuan possessed a willpower beyond ordinary people. Each time he failed, he tried again, despite his soul being torn apart. He refused to give up.

Zhong Shan watched for two days. Xuan Yuan attempted six times each day, relentlessly. His extraordinary willpower was evident.

At that moment, Zhong Shan began to understand Xuan Yuan's intention through his persistence. He could also empathize with his feelings.

Under the terrifying roar, a crack appeared in the sky—a real crack, not an atmospheric disturbance, but a fissure in the fabric of space itself.

A horrifying spatial rift, as if tearing the heavens and earth apart.

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of thunderous sounds followed, causing the rift to expand, pushing open wider and wider.

Suddenly, Zhong Shan recalled a similar scene from not long ago during the Great Annihilation Event in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, when the Buddha descended with a sacred treasure. The sky had cracked then too, but there had been endless white light. Now, there was only darkness within the spatial rift.

"Hiss~~~~~~"

The rift seemed to tear through the sky, yet after the tear, the sky remained unchanged. It was as if nothing had happened, yet everything had changed. It was as though the sky itself was different now.

Puzzled, Zhong Shan looked down at the valley.

In the valley, Xuan Yuan stood quietly, his eyes slowly opening. As they did, the plants in the valley began to grow wildly, flowers blossoming rapidly, and the entire valley became vibrant with life. An overwhelming sense of vitality spread out, making even Zhong Shan feel a wave of comfort.

"Heavenly, Heavenly, Heavenly Realm!" Zhihuo exclaimed in astonishment.

The Heavenly Realm? Xuan Yuan had broken through? Reached the Heavenly Realm? The final stage of the mortal realm?

At the same time, a massive golden cloud appeared above Xuan Yuan's head—exactly like the merit cloud Zhong Shan had seen in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

It was as if Heaven itself was rewarding Xuan Yuan with a vast amount of heavenly merit.

Xuan Yuan looked up at the cloud, took a deep breath, and with a wave of his hand, sent the entire cloud of merit rushing towards Zhong Shan.

"Thank you, friend, for your guidance. This merit is yours," Xuan Yuan said calmly.

The vast heavenly merit surged towards Zhong Shan. He had no reason to refuse, especially as it was something he desperately needed.

Without waiting for Zhong Shan, the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail in his Niwan Palace instinctively opened its mouth wide, ready to devour the merit.

"Hah-wu~~~~~~"

The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail gleefully consumed the enormous amount of merit, extremely excited and joyous. Heavenly merit! When had Zhong Shan ever received so much merit before?

Zhong Shan quickly sat down cross-legged, preparing to let the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail frantically refine the merit.

Meanwhile, under the powerful celestial phenomenon on Phoenix Island, countless phoenixes flew towards the southwest corner. More and more phoenixes, increasingly powerful ones, rushed to the southwest, realizing that Xuan Yuan had broken through!

"Congratulations to Xuan Yuan, friend, on claiming a piece of Heaven!" A supremely gentle voice echoed from Tianlang Island.

Though the voice was soft, it resounded across the entire island, unmatched in its vastness and power.