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Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Guidance

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.

Standing at the peak of the mountain, Zhong Shan watched as more phantoms emerged in the valley. Xuan Yuan dredged up memories of his wife from the depths of his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Shan called out, "Senior Xuan Yuan, if you cannot forget, why try to forget?"

Xuan Yuan paused in the valley, then turned to look at Zhong Shan on the mountain peak. His gaze was so intense that Zhong Shan felt the air around him tighten, as if frozen by that single glance.

Zhihuo immediately stepped forward to shield him, but Zhong Shan gently pulled him aside.

"Becoming an immortal allows great power to enter the underworld, but even in death, one can still be with their loved ones. If you can\'t let go of her, why try? Keep her in your heart, let her accompany you for life. Even if you never reach the Celestial Realm, you\'ll have her in your heart," Zhong Shan continued.

Zhihuo didn\'t understand Zhong Shan\'s intentions but remained vigilant by his side.

In the valley, Xuan Yuan\'s previously violent gaze softened, and he seemed deep in thought, struggling internally.

"Allow me to offer you two more lines of wisdom," Zhong Shan said.

The red light from the Nirvana Fire Pool at Xuan Yuan\'s feet began to fade, and the surrounding phantoms gradually vanished. Xuan Yuan watched Zhong Shan, waiting for his words.

"At that time, the bright moon shone, illuminating the colorful clouds\' return. Tomorrow will not bring the same intoxication, as the colorful clouds will not return," Zhong Shan recited.

Xuan Yuan murmured, "At that time, the bright moon shone, illuminating the colorful clouds\' return. Tomorrow will not bring the same intoxication, as the colorful clouds will not return."

He repeated the lines over and over, as if caught in a trance. Gradually, he stood motionless, engulfed in a gentle sorrow, as still as a statue, his robes unmoved by the wind that swept through the valley.

Zhihuo glanced curiously at Xuan Yuan and then at Zhong Shan. He couldn\'t understand the meaning of Zhong Shan\'s words about the moon and colorful clouds, but it didn\'t stop him from admiring Zhong Shan.

What a remarkable event! If someone else had claimed that a Nascent Soul cultivator could enlighten an Empyrean Realm expert with words, Zhihuo would never have believed it. But the reality was before his eyes. Regardless of whether Zhong Shan\'s words were correct, Xuan Yuan had changed because of them, appearing to reach an epiphany.

Zhong Shan\'s guidance had to be about something other than cultivation. If it were about cultivation, even a hundred Zhong Shans couldn\'t enlighten Xuan Yuan. But regarding emotions and the human condition, Xuan Yuan\'s extraordinary cultivation couldn\'t compare to the wisdom of someone like Zhong Shan, who had been tempered in the mortal world for eighty years.

Zhong Shan was taking a gamble, one only he understood. He watched the valley intently, his eyes filled with anticipation.

An hour passed, then two, then a day, then two days.

Finally, after two days, there was movement from Xuan Yuan.

A single tear fell from Xuan Yuan\'s eye. Suddenly, everything around him froze, even the wind seemed to halt. Zhong Shan felt his own heart skip a beat.

Luckily, it lasted only a moment.

"Boom~~~!"

A thunderous clap echoed out of nowhere, prompting Zhong Shan to look up. There were no clouds in the sky. Where had the thunder come from?

"Crack~~~!"

A tremendous noise followed, so powerful that it sent hundred-foot-high waves crashing around Phoenix Island.

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.