Six years later, another step forward

Shen Gui was still standing in front of Yanling.

The gray-clad figure remained motionless, the mountain wind blew before the tomb, and winter snow fell heavily.

Shen Gui's consciousness had left his physical body, crossed the Dongjin Mountains and Rivers, and landed above Beichezhou.

After the five-colored aura seeped into his flesh and blood, a world far more vast than the Yan Kingdom unfolded before his eyes.

Shen Gui had been to Beichezhou before, and when he was emperor, he also led troops there to fight.

However, maps can only outline the contours with pen and ink, and merchants and envoys can only state the place names, so they cannot be considered detailed.

What lay before Shen Gui was the entire continent's mountains, rivers, vegetation, cities, and the underground energy.

Look at the undulating mountains stretching from the far north all the way to the south, with several great rivers cutting across the grasslands, most of which are covered with floating ice, and in the distance, clusters of human lights shining from the cities.

Shen Gui's gaze was like a gentle breeze in the sky, floating over Beichizhou.

I don't know how much time has passed, maybe just a moment or maybe a lifetime has gone by, I can't tell.

All he could be sure of was that he had surveyed the entire Northern Trid Continent from above.

Then, he found that he could control his gaze and move it freely, instead of just going with the flow as before.

Shen Gui's gaze sank into the ground, and he discovered that the earth's veins in Beichezhou were collapsing from north to south.

Several mountain bases in the far north have sunk, and large black lines have appeared in the earth's veins. They are hidden in the depths where the sun never shines, and they are advancing southward inch by inch.

Wherever it passed, the mountains and rivers became fragile, the land loose, and even the flowing vital energy on the ground grew thinner and thinner.

In the far north where the calamity began, the three cities were now empty, and the shift in fortune left by the southward migration of the population could be observed.

Perhaps it was the work of the Qianhan Kingdom, or perhaps it was the scheme of the Ghost Clan, but this great migration of nearly a million people remained unknown to most of the world.

A hundred miles south of the empty city, the fate of the Qianhan Kingdom looms large, its aura thick and heavy.

As the dark energy from the north continued to press in, the nation's fortunes were constantly pushed southward.

This must be the reason why the Qianhan Kingdom had to move south.

However, the luck of each continent is limited, and it's not something that can be squeezed out.

For example, the martial fortune within the realm of destiny.

People often say that martial arts fortune is prosperous. Originally, a piece of martial arts fortune was to be shared among ten people, but suddenly ten more people appear. That will inevitably block the cultivation path of the original ten people.

Perhaps those who were destined to reach the level of Guanchen faded into obscurity, or perhaps those with exceptional talent and fortune stole the martial destiny of the remaining nineteen.

In short, the more people there are, the more cake there is to be divided.

The same applies to the fate of a nation, the fate of its people, and so on.

When one country wants to survive, it has to fill the void left by people from another country.

That's normal; it's always been this way.

Shen Gui shifted his gaze to the black vein.

What can block the flow of black energy is not only the national fortunes of various countries, but also a colorful aura at the forefront.

It lies deep underground at the core of the black energy, and in some places it has been bitten through by the black veins, while in many other places it is still blocked at the "entrance".

Shen Gui stared at it for a long time.

Today's perspective is too macroscopic, making it impossible to see the details.

He wasn't sure if the multicolored aura was suppressing the black vein, competing with it for the earth vein, or... if there was something else hidden between the two that he couldn't see for the time being.

One thing can be confirmed: this multicolored aura is from the same source as the one Bai Hengyi used before.

Shen Gui also understood why Bai Hengyi used five-colored turbid energy.

Inside the stone pendant was a five-colored pure aura.

"Is this the second Dao Mark?"

Shen Gui muttered to himself, secretly noting down the approximate location.

He could sense that the fusion of the Dao traces with himself was nearing its end. An instinct told Shen Gui that this perspective of overlooking the world could only appear during the fusion process.

Shen Gui had a sudden thought: perhaps he could use the state of "Heaven" to suppress the creature at the bottom of the sea.

Let's give it a try.

Shen Gui's consciousness followed the southward-flowing earth veins and probed further outwards; he wanted to take a look at the Zhonghun Sea.

After leaving Beiche, his vision gradually became blurry. Shen Gui had anticipated this and continued to move south.

The seawater below gradually turned black.

When they landed at the location of the Eternal Flow, all that remained was darkness.

Shen Gui looked down.

And in that very instant!

In the darkness, an eye that had been closed slowly opened. It was a pair of pitch-black eyes, devoid of any emotion.

The traces reacted.

Before Yanling, Shen Gui's eyes were tinged with a dazzling gold by the Dao traces.

One gold, one black.

They collided across countless layers of seawater in the Zhonghun Sea.

They only looked at each other for a moment.

The eye widened slightly, and then a sword's cry rang out from the seabed.

A long sword appeared on the surface of the dark sea.

The sword is three feet nine inches long, entirely bluish-black, with a water ripple running along the blade from the guard to the tip.

It had no scabbard, only a faded hemp rope wrapped around the hilt, and the entire sword hung upside down on the sea.

"Clang—" The darkness was cut open by the sword intent.

After the sound of the sword, the water in the entire Zhonghun Sea sank downwards and came to a standstill again.

As Shen Gui watched, the panoramic view brought by the initial fusion of Dao traces was receding. The gold in his eyes faded, and the eye on the seabed also closed.

Before disappearing, Shen Gui was able to confirm that the Dao traces and the creature at the bottom of the sea were mutually restraining.

If we obtain the Eastern Ash Dao Traces again, perhaps we can use the earth veins of the two continents to take over the responsibility of guarding the sea, allowing the Eternal Flow to end its guarding duties.

Of course, this is just one direction.

Whether or not to leave, we will only know once we reach Beiche and find Dongjin Daohen.

Gradually, Shen Gui's consciousness began to return to its original state.

He tried to sense the Dao traces within his body, wanting to take another look at Bei Che, but his vision had changed, and he could only sense the general trend of that continent.

Shen Gui had no way of knowing what happened in Bei Che every day, nor could he know which city had people die tonight, or which ghost tribe had raised an army.

What he can perceive is the rise and fall of the great trends of the land and the operation of other major directions within it.

That's how it should be.

If one could truly see all people in the world and kill across continents in the blink of an eye, then that would be more than just a Dao mark.

At the same time, Shen Gui confirmed that Bai Heng was not exaggerating.

After the Northern Trident Dao Mark merges with himself, the Northern Trident will prosper, and Shen Gui will benefit from it.

If the northern trident continues to collapse, he will also be implicated.

If an ordinary person encountered this situation, they might worry that Bei Che's current state would be led astray by the fate of Yizhou.

But Shen Gui had another idea:

If the Northern Tripod Continent were to sink, would my immortal body perish along with it?

Want to try it?

Shen Gui was even somewhat tempted.

However, he quickly suppressed the thought. Shen Gui could ignore Bei Chezhou's attitude, but he wouldn't secretly push things to make the continent break apart faster.

Shen Gui put aside these thoughts that were not relevant to his immediate concerns.

He closed his eyes and felt the changes within his body.

Besides its connection to Beichezhou, the fusion of Dao traces also brought about other changes...

Shen Gui has been practicing Buddhism for over a thousand years.

More than 600 years ago, they stood on the mountains and the sea.

People say that mountains and seas are the highest peaks, but in fact, this world is not the end of mountains and seas.

Going further ahead, one can still compete for half a realm.

Bai Xingjian called it the Realm of Returning to Truth, saying that when one cultivates to this stage, one can return to one's true self and be free from worldly defilement.

Shen Gui never really agreed with the name "Guizhen" because it sounded too nice.

But that was actually the end of a dead-end road.

When one reaches the point of returning to one's true self, the connection between humanity and the universe has reached its limit. There is no way forward. No matter how pure one's vital energy is or how strong one's spirit is, one is just going around in circles.

Shen Gui's cultivation remained unchanged for over six hundred years.

until today.

The Dao traces completely merged into his body, and the colorful aura that was still circulating in his meridians dispersed, first cleansing his vital energy, then entering his flesh and bones, and finally sinking into his soul.

His cultivation level did not increase dramatically, but the impurities that had accumulated in his body for thousands of years were peeled away layer by layer.

Some came from pills he took when he was young, some were scars left from injuries he sustained in his early years, and some had long since sunk deep into his soul, so much so that even Shen Gui himself was unaware of them.

At this point, all of these things were washed away.

When it comes to the soul, the changes are minimal.

Shen Gui has lived for too long, and many things have long been connected with his soul. The Dao traces have only stripped away the external things; those memories, emotions, and old wounds are still himself.

Shen Gui stood in the falling snow, with no fluctuations of vital energy emanating from him.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The mountain wind rose again, and snowflakes fell on the gray clothes, but when they reached within a foot of him, they moved aside on their own.

Shen Gui took a step forward.

The soles of my shoes should have landed in a muddy puddle of snowmelt, but the muddy water receded first, leaving only a clean patch of ground.

Shen Gui looked down at the pair of cloth shoes.

According to folklore, immortals are untouched by dust and dirt; they can enter water without getting their clothes wet and tread on mud without getting their shoes dirty.

A body without impurity.

So that's what it's like; it's actually achievable.

Shen Gui stopped in the snow and, after a short while, adjusted to the changes in his body, withdrew his Immaculate Power.

The snowflakes didn't move aside; they landed on Shen Gui's shoulder, melting into a small damp spot.

That's right.

If one maintains an immaculate body, dust, snow, and the world's filth will all retreat on their own.

This does bring one closer to the immortals, but it also separates people from the world around them.

Snow doesn't fall on your shoulders, rain doesn't wet your clothes, and mud no longer sticks to your shoes.

Over time, even the four seasons of the human world will only become scenery outside of us.

Shen Gui has only just rediscovered many of his human emotions along the way and has no intention of pushing them away immediately.

"Whoosh—"

In the distance, sword energy tore through the wind and snow.

Xuanyuan Fugui returned from the direction of the imperial city. He was still very cautious. He stood outside the mountain pass for a few breaths to make sure that the aura that made the sword intent nowhere to land had disappeared before he came over with his sword.

He looked Shen Gui up and down.

"You've become an immortal?"

"Still a long way off."

Shen Gui replied.

Xuanyuan Fugui's hand was still on the sword hilt; he couldn't tell how much Shen Gui's aura had improved.

"You mentioned before that there are realms beyond mountains and seas, is this it?"

"What I said before counted as half, and what I say now also counts as half."

"Two and a half?"

"You can call the first half 'Return to Truth,' or you can go explore it."

Shen Gui no longer concealed the truth.

Xuanyuan Fugui immediately asked, "How do we investigate?"

"It's no use me saying anything; you have to figure it out yourself and use your own methods."

Shen Gui glanced at the sword in his hand, "You can't borrow other people's methods."

Xuanyuan Fugui didn't press further. He looked down at the sword, and after a while asked, "Besides you, who else has been here?"

Shen Gui: "The only one I know is the Ghost Saint."

Xuanyuan Fugui remained silent.

Because Bai Xingjian is already dead.

This person, who possessed the highest sword intent in the world, had stood atop the mountain for many years, only to discover now that there was a path beyond the mountain, and that others had already reached it.

As long as there's a road, that's fine.

Xuanyuan Fugui hugged the sword back to his arms: "I'll ask you about the sword after I've touched it."

"Can."

"What about the wine you promised?"

"Ask Zhaoyue for it."

"You said you invited me."

"The money is with him."

Xuanyuan Fugui opened his mouth, but the figure in gray had already disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, in the backyard of the Yang residence.

When Shen Gui arrived at the corridor, a servant from the Yang family was carrying a bowl of medicine inside. He was startled by the sudden appearance of the person, and his hand trembled, spilling half a spoonful of the medicine.

"Who are you!"

"Don't shout, go and tell your master that someone is looking for him."

The servants of the Yang family ran into the house.

He had only been inside for a short while when he hurriedly ran out again, his attitude becoming polite: "Please come in, please come in."

Shen Gui entered the house.

Yang Qinghe was sitting at the table. He put down the medicine bowl and performed a junior's bow.

The title remains "Sir" instead of "Your Majesty".

"Sir, did you just come from Yanling?"

"Um."

"You saw the person behind the demon clan?"

"Yes, they even had a fight. That guy managed to escape back to Beiche with a bit of life force. Whether he lives or dies depends on his fate."

"At least for a short period, there will be no leader, which presents an opportunity that we can seize..."

Yang Qinghe didn't ask any more questions and bowed her head to drink a mouthful of medicine.

Shen Gui got straight to the point, stating his purpose: "I want the changes in the mountains and rivers of Beichezhou over the past three hundred years, the territory and relocation records of Qianhan Kingdom, and the old files of the various branches of the Ghost Clan."

These things far exceed what a single landscape map can provide; they must be pieced together slowly from the data of several government departments.

The only person in Yan Guo who could gather them all together in the shortest amount of time was Yang Qinghe.

Yang Qinghe only asked, "When will you need it, sir?"

"The sooner the better."

Give me an hour.

Yang Qinghe tapped the table.

The portly butler rushed in, his gaze lingering on Shen Gui for a moment before quickly looking away.

After Yang Qinghe gave his instructions, he didn't ask which government office to go to, nor did he ask if the master still had the authority to access the files. He simply said, "Understood."

Less than a quarter of an hour after the fat steward left, the first carriage had already stopped at the side gate of the Yang residence.

What arrived was a catalog of the Northern Tripod Envoys, which had been sealed away by the Honglu Hall.

Next came the old border records from the Ministry of War, and then the ghost files sealed with wax by the Xun Jin Si arrived.

The coachman put the box down and left; no one lingered outside the mansion gate.

Shen Gui laid out the landscape map that had been sent earlier, alongside the maps and records of recent envoys.

When he looked down at Beiche earlier, he only remembered the general outline and didn't memorize every small river and town.

At this point, with the two maps laid out, the mountains and rivers were given names and dates.

On the two maps, three cities in the far north have disappeared, and two waterways have been renamed.

The old border records of the Ministry of War documented the military towns after the southward migration of the Qianhan Kingdom, but the envoy from the Honglu Hall only said that they had suffered from a cold disaster.

These are exactly what Shen Gui is looking for.

What I just saw from above heaven and earth was the course of the disease. These old records can tell me which year the disease started and how the people on earth dealt with it.

After Yang Qinghe finished her medicine, she didn't disturb him. She waited until Shen Gui had turned dozens of pages before saying, "The war has begun. There are already the Qianhan Kingdom's Jiuyuan Army outside Hanmen Pass, and the Chaoxuan Army has also appeared in the southern border."

Shen Gui didn't look up: "I heard about it outside the manor."

Yang Qinghe took a copy of the report from the table and placed it next to Shen Gui. It contained only a few words of a proclamation announcing the start of an uprising.

[By order of Emperor Yanzu, to punish the false emperor of the Li family.]

Shen Gui glanced at it:

"You want me to withdraw the troops on behalf of Yan?"

"no."

Yang Qinghe said, "Sir, you may be able to back down this time, but what about next time? Yan Kingdom is no longer a fledgling eagle. It cannot be left for you to guard forever. Today's Yan Kingdom is guarded by today's people."

He paused for a moment, then said, "This old minister only asks that you, sir, leave Yan a trump card."

What do you want?

"Just the truth."

Yang Qinghe didn't say anything more.

Shen Gui didn't press for details about how to use this trump card. He had someone bring him a piece of paper and flattened it.

He picked up his pen and wrote three lines.

The various states' attack on Yan was not ordered by me.

Today, the Yan Kingdom is being guarded by its people.

Shen Gui.

Shen Gui did not use the title of Yan Zu, nor did he affix the imperial seal.

After the ink dried, Shen Gui handed the paper to Yang Qinghe and turned to look at the newly delivered old files of the Ghost Clan.

An hour later, the organized picture albums and files filled two large wooden crates.

Shen Gui put them away: "Thanks."

Yang Qinghe rose to see him off: "Are you preparing to go to Beiche, sir?"

"I have that plan."

"When do we set off?"

"No rush."

After dealing with the remaining issues in Chengtian Prefecture, Shen Gui will first head to Beiche.

Nie Chenzhou had not replied for a long time.

What was it that Bai Xingjian failed to block?

The promise made to Bai Xingjian only stated that he would protect the Yinling Ghost Clan, but in reality, the other party's attitude was quite direct: Shen Gui could kill any other Ghost Clan or any of the Northern Tribe countries.

So, what is the current state of the Yinling Ghost Clan? Shen Gui needs to go and see.

And the second Dao Mark that fell into the hands of the Ghost Clan...

Many things were piled up there.

Shen Gui, on the contrary, thought it was a good thing.

What he wanted was never a destination, but a path. Since the path pointed north, he would walk the rest himself.

Yang Qinghe cupped his hands in greeting, but did not try to keep him.

After Shen Gui left, only the smell of medicine and the lingering fragrance of ink remained in the room.

Yang Qinghe stood by the table and read the handwritten note from beginning to end.

Based on the nature of Yan Zu that he had learned about, he thought that asking for this handwritten letter would be very troublesome.

"It seems the situation is better than I thought; he hasn't completely abandoned Yan Kingdom."

Yang Qinghe smiled, gently folded the paper, and tucked it into her sleeve.

"Prepare the car."

The butler asked from outside the door, "Where are you going?"

"The Heavenly Prison".