Chapter Sixty-Five: Return to Penglai, Before the Startrack Formation

Leaving the snowy realm of Kunlun, I chose not to take any modern means of transportation.

After finding a secluded valley, I let the true essence within my spiritual sea flow. Instantly, the Azure Leaf flew forth, carrying us gently into the sky.

“Wow! Father, we’re flying again!” It had been decades since we left the Immortal Palace, decades spent on mortal means of travel, and this was the first time I'd summoned the Azure Leaf Sword since then.

Yi Yi’s joyous exclamation echoed among the clouds. She clung tightly to my arm, her small face bright with excitement and wonder, devoid of any fear. She gazed curiously at the mountains and rivers racing by beneath us, at the cities below that appeared like matchboxes, her mouth forming a perfect “O”.

“Hold on tight,” I reminded her with a smile. With a thought, I accelerated, becoming a streak of light barely discernible to the naked eye, shooting straight toward the eastern sea.

Now, this world held few secrets for me.

Our destination was the legendary Penglai Immortal Isle, wrapped in endless turbulent void—a place that was our true home.

Thanks to the token left to me by the Elder of Return to the Void, I could sense the isle’s coordinates clearly. It was like a vast, transparent bubble, floating between the folds of the real world and the void.

Piercing through thick clouds, the azure ocean appeared beneath us. Without hesitation, I led Yi Yi straight toward an expanse of seemingly empty sea.

A faint hum—

A gentle ripple of space passed over us, and the scene before our eyes shifted in an instant. The noisy sea winds vanished, replaced by tranquility and peace. A colossal immortal isle, shrouded in mist and cloud, hung silently before us.

We had returned.

With Yi Yi, I descended slowly before the vast, empty Hall of Return to the Void. Gazing at the great doors, still wide open, countless emotions stirred within me.

The last time I stood here, I was a mortal struggling in the storm, lost and uncertain about the future. Now, with two keys to the road ahead in my hands, I had returned to seek my own path.

“Father, we’re home!” Yi Yi leapt joyfully from the Azure Leaf Sword, running familiarly into the hall.

To her, this place had long become her greatest playground.

I followed her, walking slowly inside. Everything within the hall was exactly as we had left it: towering jade pillars, runes glimmering faintly, a floor smooth as a mirror, and the eternal azure “starry sky” upon the dome.

At the far end of the hall, the meditation mat belonging to the Elder remained empty, as if he had never left, merely gone wandering for a while.

With Yi Yi, I stepped into the center of the hall.

Here lay the heart of the “Star Track Formation” used by Return to the Void.

I knelt and gently traced the cold floor.

Though it appeared smooth, it was carved with countless lines finer than a strand of hair. These intricate patterns intertwined, sketching a vast and complex star map. It resonated with the blue crystals in the dome above, forming a complete array connecting heaven and earth.

Yet now, the star map was lifeless, dim.

“Yi Yi, stand behind me,” I said softly.

Obediently, she nodded and withdrew to the edge of the hall, her wide eyes full of curiosity, wondering what I was about to do.

I took a deep breath, calming my excitement, and slowly opened my hand.

Two spirit stones lay quietly in my palm.

One was the “Sword Heart” from the Azure and Violet Twin Swords of Shu Mountain, radiating a sharp and pure blue-violet light.

The other was the “Mirror Core” from the Haotian Mirror of Kunlun, emitting a weighty and vast starlit glow.

As they appeared, the dormant hall seemed to stir. The blue crystals in the dome shone a touch brighter. Within the Star Track Formation on the floor, faint streams of light flickered among the delicate lines.

There was a response!

Delighted, I wasted no time. Following the inheritance left by the Elder, I found two adjacent, thoroughly dim energy nodes within the formation’s diagram.

I pressed the two spirit stones gently onto those nodes.

The moment the stones touched the array—

A deep, indescribable aura awakened from slumber!

Centered on the two spirit stones, the star formation, dormant for millennia, seemed infused with life! Light spread swiftly along the fine lines, like rivers rekindled after drought.

Wherever the light reached, ancient runes lit up one by one, the entire hall trembling gently. Overhead, the blue “starry sky” responded as countless stars began to move in mysterious patterns.

Yi Yi and I were suddenly immersed in a cosmic river of stars!

Brilliance from countless stars flowed around us, radiant star paths weaving beneath our feet, ultimately converging into the depths of the formation’s abyssal darkness.

Though only a small corner of the immense star map had been illuminated, the grandeur spanning time and connecting myriad worlds was unmistakable.

I could clearly feel the formation greedily absorbing the stones’ energy. In return, it revealed to me the infinite possibilities it linked.

My divine consciousness followed the newly lit star paths outward.

I “saw”.

I saw a world shrouded in sword energy, countless sword immortals flying on their blades, sword lights crossing thirty thousand miles.

I saw a world bathed in holy light, angels singing among the clouds, devotees praying below.

I saw a world cloaked in night, ancient castles where elegant nobles raised their goblets under the moon, baring sharp fangs.

…

Shu Mountain, the Church, the Blood Clan… all those places spoken of by the Xuantian Sect. The array diagram showed nine holes in total, meaning a complete activation required at least nine spirit stones.