Baby with Daoist Monarch System

It felt as if countless cold, indifferent eyes were watching him from the deepest depths of the Earth Vein!

Ordinary cultivators, even those at Divinity Transformation or Realm of Returning to Void, would have their divine souls crushed instantly by this invisible pressure, turning them into fools upon entering this place!

Yet Xu Ran seemed completely unaware.

His expression remained eternally cold.

The power of "Gui Xu" flowed slowly within him. Where it passed, all external oppressions, probing, and influences were assimilated and dissipated, eventually falling into nothingness!

Gui Xu is the end, it is annihilation, yet also the darkness that embraces everything!

In the face of this power, the so-called sedimentation of time, the will of the Earth Vein, even the unknown probing seemed insignificant.

Finally, he reached the end of the passage.

His view suddenly opened up.

This was a vast underground space.

In the center was neither the imagined altar nor treasure, but a lake as black as ink?

No, that wasn’t a lake!

It was an energy form condensed from the purest "Power of Deathly Silence"!

Viscous, cold, emitting a despairing aura that could freeze the soul!

The lake surface was calm and without ripples, yet it seemed to contain a fearsome power that could devour everything!

Suspended quietly at the center of the "Lake of Deathly Silence" was a fist-sized grey Crystal Stone!

The stone had sharp edges, yet its surface was extraordinarily smooth, reflecting countless shattered starry skies!

Its aura faintly resonated with the "Gui Xu" power within Xu Ran, yet carried a slightly different flavor!

More like they were born from the same source but walked different paths!

"I see."

For the first time, a slight ripple appeared in Xu Ran’s frozen eyes.

This Earth Vein, this Lake of Deathly Silence, and this grey Crystal Stone.

Were left by that being who once planted the seed of "Gui Xu" into his body!

Was it a "Dao Field" prepared for him? Or rather a "Chamber"?

That being seemed to have foreseen today!

Foreseen his return!

Foreseen his need for an absolutely safe place to completely stabilize and control the nascent "Gui Xu" power!

"Gui Xu is not heartless."

"It’s just that its ’emotion’ is beyond your understanding."

A blurred fragment of voice, seemingly from a distant past, flashed in Xu Ran’s mind.

Was it a trace of remaining intention left by that being?

Xu Ran didn’t delve deeper.

He slowly lifted his foot and stepped into the ink-black "Lake of Deathly Silence"!

A strange scene occurred!

The power of deathly silence, enough to freeze the divine soul and devour vitality, when in contact with Xu Ran’s body, not only caused no damage but joyfully surged into him like a swallow returning to its nest!

His body seemed to turn into a bottomless black hole!

Greedily absorbing the purest source of deathly silence accumulated for countless years in this lake!

As the source of deathly silence influxed, the "Gui Xu" power in Xu Ran’s body began to boil fiercely!

The slight insubstantiality and hidden danger caused by forcibly activating and eradicating the "Source of Filth" were swiftly soothed and restored with this pure energy!

His aura not only didn’t become more evil or chaotic from absorbing this "deathly silence" power but instead grew more restrained, profound, and harmonious!

Like a piece of jade undergoing a thousand hammerings, losing the last blemish!

Finally, Xu Ran reached the heart of the lake.

He extended his hand to grasp the floating grey Crystal Stone!

"Buzz——!"

The moment his fingertip touched the stone, the entire underground space shook violently!

The grey Crystal Stone instantly shone brightly!

Numerous enigmatic and incomprehensible runes, yet embodying the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, surged from within the stone, imprinting like living things along Xu Ran’s arm, onto his limbs, and deeply into his divine soul!

"Rumble!"

Inside Xu Ran, as if countless stars were being born and dying!

An even grander, more vast, closer to "source" aura erupted from him!

But in merely an instant, this aura receded like the tide!

It gathered once more!

This time, the concealment was even more thorough than before!

It was as if his entire being had completely integrated with this underground space, with this Lake of Deathly Silence, and with this gray Crystal Stone!

No distinction between each other!

He was still himself.

Yet it seemed he was no longer entirely the person he used to be.

"First Transformation of the Returning Ruins Mark, condense!"

Xu Ran slowly closed his eyes, standing like a statue at the center of the Lake of Deathly Silence.

The gray Crystal Stone had already disappeared without a trace.

In its place, on his forehead, was an extremely faint gray mark, so faint it was almost invisible, flashing and disappearing!

He began the true metamorphosis!

The first metamorphosis belonging to a traveler of "Gui Xu"!

And this retreat might be very long.

Long enough for the world outside to undergo immense change.

Kao Mountain Sect.

As time went on, the shock brought by Xu Ran’s return, and the terrifying sect-annihilating crisis gradually subsided.

But the impact was profound.

In the sect’s great hall, the atmosphere was solemn.

Sect Leader Li Fugui, along with the few remaining Supreme Elders and various Peak Masters, were all present.

On the main seat, Li Fugui’s expression was complex, with both the relief of surviving a calamity and a hint of uncertainty and hidden concern for the future.

"Everyone," Li Fugui slowly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion, "you all surely know the matter of Xu Ran... no, our predecessor."

Silence fell over the crowd.

The term "predecessor," spoken by the Sect Leader, held different weight.

But no one refuted it.

With the terrifying power Xu Ran had displayed, enough to crush everything, and his unfathomable realm, calling him "predecessor" was indeed appropriate.

"The predecessor shielded our sect from catastrophe, a grace heavier than a mountain!" stated an elderly Supreme Elder solemnly. "Regardless of what the predecessor has experienced or what he has become, he is ultimately a person of our Kao Mountain Sect!"

"Indeed!" Another Peak Master nodded. "But the predecessor’s current state seems entirely different from the path we cultivate and is somewhat unsettling."

He voiced what most present were feeling.

That cold, deathly silence, and the aura that seemed to drag everything to an end, was truly terrifying!

It even caused them to instinctively feel fear!

Li Fugui sighed: "The predecessor’s path is beyond our comprehension. But one thing is certain, the predecessor harbors no malice towards the sect."

He recalled Xu Ran’s parting words, "Wait for me."

Simple, yet filled with deep meaning.

"The most important thing now is how to respond to the potential changes ahead." Li Fugai’s gaze swept over the crowd. "The Black Soul Sect suffered a great loss, even the will of that legendary ’Source of Filth’ was obliterated by the predecessor—they will not let this go lightly!"

"The Black Soul Sect seems to have even stronger forces behind them; if they return..." a worried elder speculated.

"Therefore," a stern look flashed in Li Fugui’s eyes, "we must restore our strength quickly! We must become even stronger!"

"The sect’s resources will be directed towards all disciples with potential!"

"Any elder in closed-door training without signs of breakthrough will be awakened immediately!"

"Moreover," Li Fugui paused, looking towards Xu Qinghan, who had been silent in the corner.

At this moment, Xu Qinghan’s demeanor had significantly transformed.

The former frailty seemed replaced by something more resilient and sharper.

Her gaze was clear yet carried an undeniable determination!

Like a sharp sword hidden in its sheath, ready to reveal its edge at any moment!

"Qinghan," Li Fugui’s voice softened a bit, "what are your plans?"

Xu Qinghan raised her head, looking calmly at the Sect Leader: "I wish to enter the ’Sword Tomb’ for seclusion!"

"What?!"

Her words caused a stir!

The Sword Tomb!

It was one of the most perilous forbidden grounds of Kao Mountain Sect!

It’s rumored to be filled with remnants of swords and undying Sword Intent from past Sword Dao masters!

Along with countless Sword Evil and Sword Spirits formed by predecessors who went mad from practicing the sword!

Extremely perilous!