One of the armored guardsmen smiled bitterly. “It seems that there are problems with the relay station near the homeworld. The warp portal might have gone too long without maintenance and therefore developed malfunctions—accidents could happen if we carry out superlong-distance teleportation right now.”


  As he spoke, he turned toward the immortals who were about to return to their homeworld and said, “Therefore, I suggest that everyone makes stops elsewhere before returning to the homeworld, so that even if there really were defects with the relay station near the homeworld, everyone could protect themselves with their own specialty.”


  The many True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals nodded.

  Days later, several Golden Immortals arrived once more with a group of True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals in tow.

  They had just returned from the celestial battlefield, but they appeared happy even if their immortal armor was still caked in blood, and started to engage in lively conversations when they saw each other. One rather short elderly immortal who was carrying an immortal sword over his shoulder even smiled. “We’ve been fighting on the celestial battlefield for more than two thousand years…… I wonder what has become of the Dao traditions we left behind in the homeworld now.”


  Beside him, a middle-aged looking Golden Immortal teased, “There were so few of you left back then in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect…… your legacy might have been cut off after two thousand years.”


  Furious, the short immortal barked, “Go away, Zhou Li. The Ten Thousand Swords Sect would survive even if your Taixu Sect falls apart.”


  Not at all angered, the one named Zhou Li laughed evenly. “The Taixu Sect has such a strong background. How would the Ten Thousand Swords Sect even compare?”


  As the two appeared ready to fight, the Golden Immortal Chief General quickly said, “Don’t worry, gentlemen. Everyone knows how things are in the homeworld: several blessed grounds and grotto heavens remain secluded, just as many immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators are hidden. Meanwhile, Spirit Qi is drying up in the mortal realm and new elites would hardly be born, while the Star Map keeps the outer space sealed and limits the arrival of foreign champions. That is why beings that could threaten everyone’s legacies would not exist.”


  “Anyone, come and lead our brothers and sisters to rest at the guesthouses. When all the candidates finally arrive, we could activate the warp portal and send our brothers and sisters back to the homeworld.”


  Soon, more than twenty days had passed. As veins of immortal light landed in the vast ancient city, the immortals who were returning to the homeworld quickly gathered—there was a total of 208 immortals, sixteen of whom were Golden Immortals and seventy were True immortals, while the rest were all Heavenly Immortals.

  A mystic craft flew in from the distance then, and hovered up in thin air.

  An elder holding a fly-whisk and wearing Daoist robes stood upon the deck.

  The many warriors and immortals below promptly kowtowed and greeted sonorously, “Salutations, Emperor Qingxuan.”


  The Immortal Emperor Qiangxuan’s full title was the Taiyi of Salvation, the Divinely Venerable Qingxuan and the High Emperor of the Nine Suns. He is a disciple of the Holy Ones and one of the twelve Golden Immortals of Kunlun, and he also went by the title of the ‘True Habitant of Taiyi’. He wieleded the innate treasure ‘the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud’ and was a truly powerful individual.

  Waving the fly-whisk in his hand, he smiled and said, “At ease. Stand up.”


  “Aside from continuing the Dao tradition, everyone would have to be aware of the Hundred Race Alliances’ invasion when you return to the homeworld. Though many of their elites had become casualties in the celestial battlegrounds over the years, they would reforge their alliance once more to invade their home planet.”


  Down below, the short elder of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect appeared puzzled and asked, “Elder, the homeworld is barren and falls short compared to the systems near the celestial battlefield. Why would the Hundred Races keep targeting it?”


  The True Habitant of Taiyi smiled. “Barren…… if our homeworld really was barren, would it have birthed six Holy Ones and the many Superior Beings?”


  “Legend has it that the homeworld holds great providence that allows everyone to reach transcendence. Is that true?” someone asked then.

  The True Habitant of Taiyi shook his head and explained, “Why wouldn’t the Six Holy Ones claim such grand providence? If there would be one more Holy One who rises among our ranks, the situation at the celestial battlefield would naturally be reversed. Would we even have to remain in this stalemate?”


  Pausing, the True Habitant of Taiyi then said, “The Hundred Races cannot claim any advantage in the celestial battlefield, and they would therefore want nothing more than to regain some dignity by targeting our homeworld. Even so, it is not as if there was no preparations against contingencies maintained at the homeworld. If the Hundred Races prove unstoppable when all of you returned to the homeworld, you may seek help from the grotto-heavens.”


  “Alright, activate the warp portal. Send our brothers and sisters back to the homeworld!”


  At the True Habitant of Taiyi’s command, the warp portal shone. Hence, the many Golden Immortals, True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals all stepped within.

  Oom!

  As the light of the warp portal flashed, the 208 immortals disappeared from the portal.

  By the time everyone left, the True Habitant of Taiyi breathed a long sigh and looked out into the distance.

  His gaze was so piercing that it seemed to penetrate outer space just then.

  Was there providence on the homeworld?

  Of course not.

  If there was a transcendent providence that allowed human to reach Holiness, the Six Holy Ones would have claimed it already……

  Even so, the homeworld held a key to destiny.

  After all, the True Habitant of Taiyi’s own Master mentioned that in the future, there may yet be another Holy One to be born in the homeworld.

  ***

  Meanwhile, back on Earth, beside a great mountain with incredible scenery in the Hua Nation, Jiang He was wearing shades and sitting crossed legged as he leaned into his couch, while Hu Mei massaged his shoulders.

  Sora and Boa Hancock were in front of him, with one holding a plate of fruits and the other a plate of grilled skewers, taking turns to feed Jiang He.

  After several mouthfuls, Jiang He could not help smiling, “These grapes are quite tasty…… did you get them from a mountain?”


  Sora nodded and replied, “There’s a vineyard at the foot of the mountain, and it must have belonged to a farming household that used to stay there.”


  “Interesting…… it’s already February, but there are still grapes growing? Those grapevines must have mutated to some extent.”


  Jiang He stood up and took out a bottle of Origin Fluid for a few sips, before turning to Dumbo, who was flipping grill skewers on the ground. “Go dig up some of those grapevines, Dumbo. We’ll plant them in the farm so that we could have fresh fruits whenever we want.”


  “Alright.”


  Dumbo answered, and passed the skewers to Eldest Brother while it stood on two legs, swaggering as it headed to the other side of the mountain.

  With its baggy pants and a stride that ignored all else, it did look quite imposing as it walked.

  However, Jiang He stared from its back and could not help complaining, “That dog has gotten fatter lately……”


  At present, it had been a month since Jiang He become immortal.

  This was a rare leisurely month for Jiang He.

  He would manage his farm and play around with his ladies every day, stroll around the city with Wang Siyu, or go on trips with his maids, pets and grandkids. At the same time, he would look for seeds of mutated plants for his farm to earn Farm Points with.

  Of course, he was also eating Thunder Dao Fruits every day.

  He forced himself to eat them even if he had gotten sick of it.

  Jiang He was really putting everything on the line to improve his cultivation, which was why it was fortunate that his results were outstanding. For example, after Jiang He ate the last Thunder Dao Fruit yesterday, he had condensed his forty-eighth Heavenly Immortal Dao and ascended as a full-fledged Heavenly Immortal.

  Under most circumstances, condensing thirty-six Heavenly Immortal Dao, with each being condensed to its limits, meant ascension up to True Immortal. However, though Jiang He had condensed forty-eight to its limits as well, he was not about to ascend.

  The first reason was that he had heard of a prodigy who had condensed seventy-two, or perhaps up to 108 Heavenly Immortal Dao before ascending. As such, even if Jiang He could not condense 108 Heavenly Immortal Dao, surely he could manage seventy-two, could he not?

  Secondly, Jiang He did not have any cultivation manuals to follow up on subsequent cultivations.

  There were only eight folds to the Three Thousand Calamities, the highest of which only reached full-fledged Heavenly Immortal.

  “Hmmm……”


  “I almost forgot about needing to create an awesome cultivation manual as well, as well as how I should keep condensing Heavenly Immortal Dao…… if push comes to shove, I could plant some heavenly thunderbolts to grow more Thunder Dao Fruits. It’s horrid, but it is not a bad time for improving cultivation.”


  As Jiang He pondered, his eyes flashed and he looked toward the distance.

  A dog bark could be heard, and Dumbo’s bellow ensued. “You mongrels! How dare you ambush me?”


  “Don’t you know whose pet I am?”


  At the same time, three veins of Daemonic Qi that did not lose out to Dumbo’s appeared.

  One should know that Dumbo’s cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds after he ate the Mahayana Dao Fruit, and he was now full-fledged Convergence-tier. Jiang He was even ready to decide on an auspicious day where he would help Dumbo and the others weather their heavenly retribution.”


  “Three full-fledged Convergence-tier daemon cultivators?”


  Jiang He’s eyes lit up.

  Which blind little daemon from which Holy Ground dared to ambushed his dog?

  Right now, Jiang He felt so distressed that the toll it took on his mind could not be compensated, unless it was with over a thousand superior-grade spirit stones!