He gave a name to this Lamp of Merit.

At the bottom of the Divine Object's ancient, sturdy candelabrum, four small, golden, archaic seal characters slowly emerged: "Hunyuan Ten Thousand Laws!"

With its name bestowed, the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance instantly transformed into a streak of colorful light and entered the back of Qi Xiu's mind.

At the same time, the many mystical phenomena triggered by the birth of this Merit Treasure completely dissipated.

The surrounding tens of thousands of miles once again became clear and bright.

Exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Qi Xiu slowly took a step back, clasped his hands, and bowed to Elder Shui. "Many thanks to Senior for acting as my protector. If you have any need in the future, this junior will definitely do his utmost!"

It was only thanks to Elder Shui's protection that he had successfully condensed this unprecedented Merit Treasure.

Qi Xiu was deeply grateful to this Ancient God.

"Hehe, this old man has nothing I need you to do," Elder Shui said, smiling warmly at Qi Xiu, his eyes filled with gratification.

"You child, you are quick-witted and your fortune is soaring. You are destined for great achievements in the future.

This is what we agreed upon. Keep it well. It might be of great use when you face your Great Tribulation of Dao Body."

With a flick of his finger, a Treasure Bead, thumb-sized and as crystal clear as glazed glass, landed in Qi Xiu's hand.

This contained the method for transcending the tribulation that Elder Shui had promised to tell him if he could retrieve the Dragon-Slaying Banner.

That Dharma Gate was contained within this glazed Treasure Bead.

"Don't open it yet. Look at it only after you have passed your tribulation.

Otherwise, it will weigh on your mind and create unnecessary complications, which will be detrimental to your cultivation."

"This junior will remember Senior's teachings," Qi Xiu replied with a solemn expression, carefully putting away the glazed Treasure Bead. It concerned his future Great Tribulation of Dao Body, so naturally, he couldn't afford any negligence.

"Go. Our fated connection has run its course, and the kindness between us is settled.

In this vast world, you are bound to achieve great things in the future.

It's just that this old man... I'm afraid I might not have the chance to witness it..." Elder Shui slowly waved his hand towards Qi Xiu, his expression tinged with some regret, but even more so with a sense of relieved liberation.

Just as the old dragon in the Dragon Prison had said, Elder Shui had lived for far too long.

Throughout the endless, boundless years, immortality, once a gift, had become a Curse and a torment.

He had to watch everything familiar continuously disappear, to see all he cherished turn to nothing.

Moreover, the longevity of the Shinto path differed slightly from the longevity sought by cultivators.

Confined to one place for this entire life and world, it was like a cage.

Only those who had truly experienced it could understand such a feeling.

"You are..." Qi Xiu was visibly moved. Aware of Elder Shui's intention to depart, he subconsciously wanted to persuade him, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.

If you haven't experienced another's suffering, don't advise them to be good.

He didn't know what Elder Shui had gone through, so he had no right to try and persuade him.

Seeing the conflict in Qi Xiu's expression, Elder Shui chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"You child, you do have a kind heart.

You don't need to worry about this old man.

For so many years, I've been entangled by longevity, forced to seal my divine soul and fall into deep slumber to escape the torment of endless ages.

You retrieved the Dragon-Slaying Banner for me, and this old man can finally have a good, long sleep.

I can feel that the world is in turmoil, and an inexplicable atmospheric qi is converging in this land."

"You mean to say, Dianchuan Province will face other calamities?" Qi Xiu was alarmed. As the Dianchuan Water Monarch, Elder Shui's perception of the world's atmospheric qi was exceptionally precise and keen; his words were enough to warrant caution.

"No." Elder Shui slowly shook his head, his gaze grave and as profound as the Ruins of Return.

"The scope of this turmoil extends far beyond just Dianchuan Province. This is a great atmospheric qi, rarely seen since ancient times.

I estimate that its reach will likely cover the entire current Great Xuan Dynasty!"

The entire Great Xuan Dynasty... Qi Xiu's pupils constricted slightly. He hadn't expected to hear such terrifying news from Elder Shui.

The Great Xuan Dynasty, with its one capital and thirteen provinces, was vast beyond measure.

If it was truly as Elder Shui said, then this great calamity in Dianchuan Province was perhaps merely the drizzle before a tempest!

"However, you don't need to worry too much.

This atmospheric qi has only just emerged. There's likely still some time before it fully erupts.

Use this period to diligently improve your Realm.

For someone like you, with such overwhelming fortune, a great tribulation also represents a great Opportunity.

A small river or narrow stream cannot produce a True Dragon.

Only the surging tides of the vast ocean are where a hidden dragon can soar.

This old man wishes you an early ascent to the pinnacle of the Great Dao.

May you become a carefree and unfettered immortal."

The icy sensation on Qi Xiu's shoulder slowly faded. Elder Shui's figure abruptly dispersed, transforming into countless azure ice crystals and water droplets that scattered and drifted through the void.

Within a radius of ten thousand miles, a vast and sweeping snow began to fall. The falling snow became a grand, draping curtain.

Innumerable snowflakes, like goose feathers, danced and tumbled between heaven and earth, slowly descending.

Silently, without a sound, they erased every trace in this world, one by one.

Qi Xiu caught a crystal-clear snowflake in his outstretched hand. He straightened his posture, adjusted his robes, and with a solemn expression, bowed respectfully to the empty void before him.

"Farewell, Senior!"

「…」

"Search! I refuse to believe not a single trace was left!"

"Strange, truly strange. We've exhaustively searched nearly a thousand miles, yet not even a remnant trace can be found. Even my Profound Origin Cold Flame Searching Method shows no reaction at all."

"Impossible! Even a Primordial Spirit Boss probably couldn't erase all residual traces in this world so completely! Search! Keep searching! Something must have been left behind!"

「Three days after the vision of merit.」

The cultivators who had been frightened away by Elder Shui returned, each employing various techniques, attempting to find any lingering traces in the world to deduce information about what had occurred.

Most of these individuals had been dispatched by those dozen or so Dao Experts.

Wary of the Dianchuan Water Monarch's terrifying strength, which was comparable to that of a Primordial Spirit Boss, the Dao Experts didn't dare risk their lives by returning themselves. Thus, they dispatched their subordinates to come back and search for traces.

However, when these people returned to the original location and searched with painstaking effort, as if digging three feet into the ground, they still found not a single trace.

The area for thousands of miles around seemed to have been completely cleansed.

All the various methods and Dharma Gates they employed were utterly ineffective.

"I heard that three days ago, a great snowstorm swept across ten thousand miles. It was exceedingly strange. Do you think that snowstorm could have erased all the traces here?"

After searching fruitlessly for ten days and nights, they still found nothing.

Continuing to search would only be a waste of time, yielding no practical results.

Helpless, the group could only leave in dejection to report back.

「Meanwhile, several thousand miles away,」

Under an ancient, yellowish-brown tree, Qi Xiu sat cross-legged, his eyes reflecting the cultivators who had come and gone.

High in the sky, a large flock of ordinary, unremarkable sparrows flapped their wings and flew past.

If Elder Shui hadn't erased all traces before he left, these people might have truly found some clues leading to me.

The great snowstorm Elder Shui had conjured before departing erased all traces within a ten-thousand-mile radius. This was his final act of assistance to Qi Xiu.

Thanks to this, Qi Xiu wasn't discovered by these returning cultivators, who might have followed the slightest clue to track him down.

He had also chosen to linger in this area, using talisman arts to create this flock of seemingly ordinary sparrows. From a position these cultivators would never expect, he quietly observed them.

Watching the last group of cultivators depart, Qi Xiu calmly stroked the Golden Cry Jade Beads on his wrist, a hint of relaxation finally showing in his eyes.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

Free from outside disturbances, he rubbed the space between his eyebrows. With a thought, his consciousness sank into the storage space within the Golden Cry Jade Beads.

This trip to the Nu River had been incredibly fruitful, enough to elevate his overall strength by a full tier.

First, in the outer layer of the Dragon Prison, he had seized the Five Ghost Daoist's Myriad Ghosts Devouring Body technique. Using the soul to aid the spirit, he broke through the barrier between life and death, cultivating to the Realm of True Spirit of the Soul.

Furthermore, the Yama's Golden Chapter had successfully broken through to the Second Realm, allowing him to begin cultivating the second Divine Marvel—the Yama Golden Body.

Afterwards, in a side hall of the Dragon Prison, he obtained the Dragon Binding Rope from a former Dragon Prison prison guard.

This treasure was a Magical Treasure of the Dragon Court, possessing immense power!

Once activated, even Dao Experts could not resist it and would be bound up like a rice dumpling. However, its consumption was equally terrifying.

While passing through the Riding Dragon Grand Array to the lowest level of the Dragon Prison, he learned a True Dragon Method from the lingering remnant will of the old dragon—the Dragon Might Spell.

Although this Dharma Gate was limited by his own bloodline, resulting in weaker power, if its level was raised, it had the potential to become a highly potent technique.

In the lowest level of the Dragon Prison, he collected a large quantity of Dragon Bone Demon Children. These were the primary materials for forging the Mighty Dragon Demon Vajra.

After returning the Dragon-Slaying Banner, Elder Shui gave him an ancient Dragon Scale. Although its use was currently unknown, judging solely from its quality and aura, it was likely a rare treasure no less inferior to the Dragon Binding Rope.

And the greatest harvest from this entire expedition was stopping the great tide of the Nu River, thereby receiving immense feedback of Human Path Merit.

This directly pushed his Human Path Merit to the Sixth Realm.

And, under Elder Shui's protection, he successfully condensed his own Merit Treasure—the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance!

Apart from my soul cultivating to the True Spirit Realm, the other items, while not directly increasing my strength, are all of immense importance to my future Dao Path.

Especially the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance.

Under the illumination of this Lamp, my thinking and wisdom have undergone a terrifying increase.

As such, the most direct effect is an accelerated growth rate for proficiency.

When a person thinks, countless thoughts constantly arise, perish, and collide, leading to various conclusions.

The Divine Marvel of the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance is that the number of thoughts explodes to its limit, the speed of thinking is amplified to its limit, and the intensity of their collisions reaches its limit.

This greatly shortens the time needed for contemplation and increases the fruits of thought.

Consequently, the logic of the proficiency Divine Marvel—that effort guarantees reward—will also be greatly amplified.

This leads to an accelerated growth rate in proficiency!

With this Merit Treasure in hand, combined with the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery's power to govern all Dharma Gates, Qi Xiu's speed in learning various methods and True Scriptures will advance by leaps and bounds.

If he wishes to raise the level of a specific Dharma Gate, he now has a targeted approach.

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