At this moment, the setting sun stained the sky crimson. Its pale red light fell upon the crowd, casting long, long silhouettes.
“Teacher…”
In the Da Yu Capital City, atop the majestic God-Sealing Platform, Cui Yanliang stood with his hands behind his back. He faced the wind and the setting sun, his expression subtly shifting.
He watched the crowd recede into the distance, his eyes fixed on the white-robed figure among them.
An indescribable feeling stirred in his heart.
His mental Realm had reached a very high level of cultivation. His perception of the world far surpassed that of other Feathered cultivators.
He was infinitely close to the Su Bai of eight years ago.
Now, watching Su Bai depart, he faintly sensed a touch of foreboding.
‘This farewell…’
“Teacher, are you truly certain about this…?”
Cui Yanliang murmured to himself, a sudden emptiness filling his heart.
He wanted to follow in Su Bai’s footsteps, but he had to remain here.
For he had returned this time to take Su Bai’s place, to stand guard over the Da Yu Capital City.
In other words, he was here to draw the attention of that unseen, ephemeral, yet undeniably real gaze on Su Bai’s behalf.
It was only now that he finally understood why Su Bai had never left the Da Yu Capital City.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but that he was unable…
Only he, who followed the same lineage, could use the unique Presence of the God-Sealing Platform to create a convincing deception.
He would attract Its attention for Su Bai.
But Cui Yanliang could not leave the God-Sealing Platform either.
Otherwise, he would surely be discovered, and all their efforts would be for naught.
Therefore, no matter what thoughts raced through his mind, he forcibly suppressed them.
And this was precisely why Su Bai had focused so heavily on cultivating Cui Yanliang.
A moment later, Cui Yanliang retracted his gaze, sat down cross-legged facing due south, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.
This God-Sealing Platform in the Da Yu Capital City was where Su Bai had sat for eight years. For any Cultivator practicing the Fist Scripture, it was a supreme training ground.
He was naturally no exception.
Moreover, Cui Yanliang was only a hair’s breadth from a breakthrough, and this place held the opportunity he needed to achieve it.
「…」
「Desolate Province.」
Desolate Province was located on the border of Da Yu. Its resources were scarce, consisting mostly of barren deserts and wastelands, and its population was sparse.
Among Dayu’s Thirteen Provinces, it was utterly unremarkable. Normally, it wouldn’t have drawn any attention even after a thousand years.
But over the past eight years, as the fame of the Boxing Saint Daoist Temple spread, it gradually attracted countless Cultivators who practiced the introductory chapter of the Fist Scripture.
The mountains where Su Bai had once stayed, in particular, had become a Holy Land in the hearts of many.
They were even revered as the Boxing Saint Mountains.
Even without any instructions from the Boxing Saint Daoist Temple, numerous Cultivators spontaneously built a sprawling complex of palaces within the Boxing Saint Mountains to worship the Ancestral Master.
Later, this matter caught the attention of the Celestial Patrol Bureau, whose secret agents reported it to Ye Xiaoyu.
After consulting Su Bai, Ye Xiaoyu designated the area as the Ancestral Land of the Boxing Saint Daoist Temple.
With the mountains now officially recognized, the reputation of Desolate Province grew larger and larger.
Out of reverence for the Ancestral Master, and despite receiving no instructions from the Boxing Saint Daoist Temple,
the Desolate State Mansion experienced development over these eight years that it couldn’t have achieved in the previous millennium.
This caused the border province, once considered a barren wasteland by many other Great Provinces, to leap into prominence among all the state prefectures of the world.
It became the most prosperous place in Dayu’s Thirteen Provinces, second only to Yu Province.
Stepping off the iron cart, Su Bai watched it speed away, a strange feeling in his heart.
‘Something like this should not exist in this world.’
No Cultivator would ever spend years creating something for the convenience of mortals when it offered no benefit to their own cultivation.
“I knew Desolate Province had changed, but seeing it from afar is nothing like experiencing it firsthand.”
“Senior, these disciples and grand-disciples of yours are truly devoted.”
Returning to Desolate Province after eight years, the Silver-White Dog Demon clicked its tongue in amazement.
In these eight years, the changes within the Dayu Immortal Dynasty were not limited to the iron carts; they encompassed every aspect of life.
In fact, the first step in implementing the new laws was the distribution of Profound Light Mirrors to the various state prefectures, commanderies, counties, and towns.
Only through these countless Profound Light Mirrors could government decrees be disseminated so effectively.
If not for this, how could the network of iron cart tracks spanning the entirety of Da Yu have been successfully constructed in just eight short years?
“Revering me as they would a god is not a good thing,” Su Bai said, his expression unchanged, seemingly devoid of joy or sorrow.
He had deduced the Fist Scripture and spread it across the world for all to practice. In a way, every Cultivator in the world who practiced the Fist Scripture was his disciple or grand-disciple.
He had to admit this point.
But precisely because every Cultivator in the world had learned his Dao, something had occurred that would have been impossible in the old Cultivation Realm.
Namely, some Cultivators had begun to worship him as a deity.
“Why isn’t it a good thing?”
The Silver-White Dog Demon was a little stunned.
Chen Shaoyou and Jin Yunfeng were also somewhat surprised.
“If they treat me as a god, they will naturally treat others as gods.”
Su Bai’s gaze was profound. He said no more, simply walking step by step toward the Boxing Saint Mountains.
To others, this might seem like a good thing, but in his eyes, it was not.
‘He had merely introduced the introductory chapter of the Fist Scripture, and already numerous Cultivators revered him as a god.’
‘So, what about the nature’s spiritual energy that has spanned heaven and earth for a million years across multiple epochs?’
‘And what about the five Spiritual Mechanisms—of Daoism, Buddhism, Demonism, Ghosts, and Heresy—that have already been corrupted?’
‘What is to be done?’
‘Their influence is surely far more severe than his own.’