Chen Shi and Black Pot left the Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital, following Juxian Pavilion's merchant convoy to Boundless Cliff.

According to Shao Jing, there was a weak point here connecting to another underworld. Walking through here, they could reach the underworld corresponding to Qianyang Mountain, and from there returning to the mortal world would be much simpler.

Red Mountain Hall had built a bridge at this weak point—a arched bridge with one end spanning Boundless Cliff. At the center of the bridge, the structure suddenly vanished.

But if one walked to the bridge's midpoint and simply took another step forward, they would discover they hadn't fallen off the cliff, but had instead arrived at the other half of the bridge.

That half of the bridge spanned a dry underworld river, but it too was only half a bridge—the other half completely invisible.

The bridge's construction was truly a masterpiece of craftsmanship.

Chen Shi and Black Pot stepped onto the bridge, looking down. They saw divine corpses hanging from the cliff walls as far as the eye could see.

No one knew just how long Boundless Cliff was, so no one knew how many divine corpses hung upon its walls.

"What exactly is the Fog Moon?"

Chen Shi withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself, "Why do these divine corpses revive on Fog Moon Night? And where do these divine corpses come from?"

He had asked Lei Qu and other ghost tribe clan heads, but even the poems passed down among these ghosts didn't mention the origin of these divine corpses.

Chen Shi walked to the opposite side of the arched bridge, gazing into the distance at the Yin Spring Sea. A spring eye lay within the sea, called the Yin Spring, which endlessly spewed forth boundless frigid air. On the sea's surface, enormous trees rooted themselves in the sky, with giant coffins beneath them.

"Why can't I see Yin Mountain at all here?"

He turned to look back. The other side of the broken bridge held nothing at all. He shook his head and departed with Black Pot.

They returned to Huangpo Village. Chen Shi stayed in the village for a few days, burning incense daily to offer to the True Martial Exorcising Sword. Since he and Black Pot had been away for quite a while this time, he planned to stay home for a few more days before setting out for Tai Hua Qing Palace.

His skeleton body remained in the Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital, continuing to serve as ruler.

This skeleton body possessed a single thread of his consciousness. It could cultivate on its own, collect divine blood, take care of itself, and even fight—requiring no worry from him.

However, the skeleton body couldn't handle complex issues. But with the Cabinet in place, there probably weren't any complex problems needing its attention anyway.

The skeleton body cultivated the Blood Lake Sutra, and its cultivation progress had already far surpassed Chen Shi, rivaling experts in the Refining Spirit Realm. Chen Shi, meanwhile, was merely at the early stages of Body Unification, and had to practice yin-yang purgation daily to refine the demonic energy within himself.

Of course, the skeleton body was merely an external incarnation of Chen Shi. If Chen Shi retrieved the Blood Lake Sutra, his strength would far exceed the skeleton body's.

The Blood Lake Sutra's boost to cultivation was secondary; its enhancement of the soul was truly astonishing. Chen Shi's soul was unprecedentedly powerful. Ordinary techniques attacking the soul or primordial spirit couldn't hope to harm him.

As for just how powerful his soul truly was, Chen Shi himself had no idea.

"Little Ten, we have something to tell you."

Granny Sha, Du Yiran, A Zhuo, and the others arrived at Huangpo Village, saying to Chen Shi, "This matter is extremely important. Try not to be too shocked."

Chen Shi blinked, thinking to himself, "What they're about to tell me couldn't be about the original star chart, could it? I already know about it."

Granny Sha hesitated a moment, then said to A Zhuo, "You're always the one without a conscience. You tell him."

A Zhuo glanced at her, then slowly narrated how they had tried to extract the demon from Chen Shi, only for a Cataclysm to appear. His personality was wooden, not good at expression, turning what should have been a dramatic process into a dry, boring account.

Chen Shi alternated between expressions of terror, worry, delight at their successful demon extraction, and concern over the demon's cunning and ferocity.

The more Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others watched, the more suspicious they grew. Blue Goat grabbed Black Pot by the neck, furious: "You told him in advance, didn't you! Traitor!"

Black Pot pitifully flattened his ears and tucked his tail between his legs.

Hu Xiaoliang whispered, "Sleazy goat, put Black Pot down. Think about his mother."

Blue Goat trembled and set Black Pot down.

Chen Shi said sheepishly, "I forced Black Pot to tell me. It's not his fault."

Granny Sha laughed, "We were originally worried you couldn't handle it, so we didn't plan to tell you. Since you already know and have accepted this reality, we can rest easy. After that Cataclysm displayed the star chart, each of us went into celestial-human resonance. Following the star chart's guidance, we did sense something. That's why we've come today."

Chen Shi's spirits lifted. He said, "I've long suspected that this star chart is precisely the starry sky blocked by the Celestial True God! You followed the chart to find the stars—did you discover the corresponding celestial positions?"

Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others exchanged glances and nodded silently.

Granny Sha said, "We did sense the corresponding stars. Not only that, but with the specific positions of these stars, when I break through to Return to Emptiness, there will certainly be far fewer obstacles. Not like back in their day."

When Du Yiran and the others had broken through to Return to Emptiness back then, they encountered immense obstacles. When opening up the void, they could never stabilize its form. Even after excavating many ruins from the True King's Era and piecing together the star chart of the Divine Continent, they still couldn't stabilize the Return to Emptiness realm.

If cultivation proceeded this way, when Granny Sha reached Return to Emptiness, she too would likely be trapped at that stage, unable to advance.

Among the Five Great Villains, aside from A Zhuo, Granny Sha was the youngest. Her talent was also extremely high, but her son Xiang Tianyu getting lost in the underworld and the collapse of her family had prevented her from focusing on cultivation, wasting many years.

Now that she had found Xiang Tianyu and regained her youth, her cultivation had begun surging forward again.

With the original star chart, her breakthrough to Return to Emptiness would be a natural progression.

Moreover, using the original star chart to open up the Realm of Emptiness would make her realm more perfect than others', and her strength would be far greater.

Of course, Du Yiran, A Zhuo, and the others could also use the original star chart to repair the flaws in their own Realms of Emptiness, significantly enhancing their strength as well.

Du Yiran said, "We've come to pass the original star chart on to you."

Chen Shi was deeply moved, but then thought, "My father also helped extract the demon from me. He should have seen the star chart too. Why doesn't he teach me himself, instead having Granny Sha and the others do it?"

Du Yiran unfolded his own Realm of Emptiness, allowing Chen Shi to enter and comprehend the positions of every star and constellation, as well as the principles of their movement and change.

"The starry sky has thirty-six Heavenly Steeds, seventy-two Earthly Fiends, four Heavenly Palaces in the east, south, west, and north, plus the Central Heaven, the Northern Dipper, and other celestial bodies and phenomena. Several of us spent over ten days finally matching each star and constellation one by one."

Du Yiran's primordial spirit sat within the Realm of Emptiness. He gently raised his hand, and Chen Shi involuntarily flew up, landing in his palm.

Du Yiran's hand moved slightly, and Chen Shi saw the entire starry sky shifting and transforming, the Milky Way flowing—indescribably wondrous.

"Why is the original star chart so important?"

Du Yiran's primordial spirit voice rumbled like thunder, "Because it relates to Dao Unification. When cultivators reach Return to Emptiness, they open up the void, build their own world, create heavens and earth, sun and moon, stars and constellations, rivers and lakes, mountains and hills. Ultimately, they must merge it all with themselves. That is the Great Ascension Realm."

He moved his hand, and Chen Shi flew through the Milky Way, stars flashing past him.

Du Yiran stopped, and Chen Shi halted before the enormous Eastern Heavenly Azure Dragon Palace, composed of countless stars both large and small.

"When you reach the Great Ascension Realm, you have a heaven and earth within your body. But this heaven and earth must correspond with the external heaven and earth, to verify whether your Dao matches the Heavenly Dao. This is Dao Unification!"

As Chen Shi was marveling at the vastness of the Azure Dragon Palace, he involuntarily flew before the Southern Heavenly Vermilion Bird Palace, Du Yiran's voice ringing in his ears, "Chen Tang and I studied this original starry sky together and reached a conclusion. The current cultivation path is different from the True King's Era, but it's still possible to achieve Dao Unification and become an immortal. The reason no one has ever achieved Dao Unification is that the star chart was wrong."

Chen Shi's heart shook violently. He immediately understood what was being said.

The minor heaven was formed by the Realms of Emptiness of the Li Family's two ancestors. The sun and moon within it were clearly wrong—they were two eyeballs!

They had obviously imitated the Celestial True God, evolving their sun and moon into eyes resembling the Celestial True God's when opening their Realms of Emptiness!

And the starry sky was even more outrageous!

The Milky Way was simply composed of stars, countless celestial bodies piled together, colliding with each other, flowing through the sky.

The stars themselves were bizarrely shaped!

"With such a wrong starry sky, how could anyone achieve Dao Unification? Without Dao Unification, naturally no one could become an immortal!"

His heart pounded wildly as he thought of the six thousand years since the True King's Era ended, during which not a single person had managed to become an immortal. Clearly, the problem lay here!

The understanding and expression of heaven and earth in the Return to Emptiness realm didn't match the true heaven and earth. Thus, no one could achieve Dao Unification and become an immortal!

Suddenly, Du Yiran's Realm of Emptiness contracted, merging with his primordial spirit.

Chen Shi involuntarily followed the starry sky, flying toward the interior of Du Yiran's primordial spirit.

"Whoosh!"

He accompanied countless bright lights, arriving inside Du Yiran's primordial spirit, roaming within it.

Then, multicolored light shone from all directions—an extraordinary phenomenon caused by Du Yiran's physical body merging with his primordial spirit!

He saw five magnificent mountains flying toward him—Du Yiran's five viscera. Looking up, he saw layers of heavens, misty and ethereal—thirty-three spinal vertebrae. He saw the Twelve-Story Tower floating at the highest heaven, and true energy flowing like the Heavenly River, cascading up and down through the Thirty-three Heavens.

Looking down, he saw the Nine-Bend Yellow Spring plunging with a roar, piercing through the Underworld, straight down to the Yongquan acupoint at the soles of the feet.

The scene at Yongquan resembled the Yin Spring Sea!

This was the interior of Du Yiran's physical body, now merged with his Realm of Emptiness. Suddenly, it possessed sun and moon, mountains and rivers, rivers and lakes—truly magnificent!

Chen Shi was so excited his vision went dark. Du Yiran was showing him another possibility for cultivation!

Even without the Tribulation Crossing realm, even without the Ascension realm, it was possible to achieve Dao Unification and become an immortal!

The path to immortality that the True King had wanted to promote, the path that generations of ambitious figures had sought, the path that his grandfather and the others had tirelessly explored—finally, hope for completion appeared!

Dao Unification with heaven and earth had become possible!

"Little Ten, remember the star chart and its changes!"

Du Yiran's voice came, "You walk the old path of the True King's Era. We walk the new path. In the future, if we fail at Dao Unification, you try the old path! Do you understand?"

Chen Shi felt a heavy weight in his heart: "I understand!"

Since the True King's Era, this path of Dao Unification had claimed countless heroes and talents. In the future, it would likely claim countless more as they blazed this trail.

Du Yiran, A Zhuo, and the others had already prepared to sacrifice themselves if Dao Unification failed!

If they fell, then Chen Shi would have to walk the old path, using the original star chart to cultivate, undergo Tribulation Crossing, achieve Ascension, seek Dao Unification, and verify whether it could succeed!

If that too failed, he would also become a martyr sacrificed for the cause!

Chen Tang and Wu Qingyu stood not far away, the husband and wife quietly watching this scene.

Wu Qingyu said, "A Tang, you also resonated with the original star chart, and you've also opened up your Realm of Emptiness. Why don't you teach Little Ten yourself?"

She was rather puzzled.

Granny Sha, Du Yiran, and the others were precisely the people Chen Tang himself had invited to teach Chen Shi. But clearly, Chen Tang always felt that Granny Sha and company were somewhat improper, and he himself also understood the material—yet he invited others to teach instead. This was quite strange.

"It's hard for parents to be strict with their own children. I'm afraid that when facing Little Ten, I won't be strict enough, causing him to slack off in his studies."

Chen Tang said, "But leaving it to Uncle Du and the others to teach, they won't hold back. They'll hit when necessary, scold when necessary. And besides, Little Ten is much more receptive to their teaching than to mine."

Wu Qingyu laughed, "I never thought that while you're so quiet, you've been thinking so much behind the scenes."

Chen Tang fell silent. After a moment, he said, "I've always felt I owe Little Ten. I'm not worthy of being his father..."

Wu Qingyu firmly gripped his arm, saying softly, "You've already done more than enough. There's no need to blame yourself."

She remembered something and laughed, "By the way, I've noticed that you've developed a habit you never had before. You often unconsciously look back, as if you're watching something."

Chen Tang's heart trembled slightly. He shook his head, "I'm not watching anything."

Wu Qingyu looked up at him, speaking seriously, "I am your wife, and Little Ten's mother. I want to see what you're looking at, to help bear some of the pressure. Lend me your sight, A Tang. Don't bear it alone."

Chen Tang hesitated, then drew her nascent soul into his miniature shrine.

Wu Qingyu stood beside the Divine Embryo. At that moment, Chen Tang turned his head, and a blaze of divine light flooded into Wu Qingyu's vision. Beings as majestic as gods filled the sky, gazing down at Chen Tang, gazing at them.

Chen Tang didn't continue looking.

Wu Qingyu flew down from his shrine and embraced him tightly.

"A Tang, you've worked so hard. Don't look back at them! They can't threaten us! Don't look back!"

Chen Tang's body trembled once, then he calmed down: "I'm not afraid of them. It's just... I have weaknesses."

Wu Qingyu held her man tight.

His weaknesses were them.

The Thirteen Great Clans, seizing upon this weakness, would trap Chen Tang like a caged dragon in the shallow waters of Xinxiang, preventing him from using his talents or realizing his ambitions.

Wu Qingyu hesitated briefly, then whispered, "A Tang, you don't have to bear so much. There's one thing I've been hiding from you. Your son did many things in the underworld, built up quite a reputation. Some very terrifying beings follow him..."

Chen Tang said, "I know. The experts of the Heavenly Pool Ghost Kingdom?"

Wu Qingyu gently shook her head.

Chen Tang raised his head, stunned as he looked at her.

"It happened during those eight years." Wu Qingyu's breath was like orchid fragrance, her voice soft.