Five hundred years later.

Great Tang, the fourteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, the fourteenth day of the fourth month, during the Si hour, in the home of Hai State Governor Lvu Yi.

At this moment, it was already deep into the night. The Lvu Mansion was brightly lit, and servants bustled about.

As the head of the household, Lvu Yi stood in front of the room door, while behind him came the piercing screams of a woman in labor.

Governor Lvu's expression did not change, but the sweat glistening on his temples betrayed his inner anxiety.

"Wah!!"

Accompanied by the clear cry of a newborn.

In an instant, the world fell silent.

The room was filled with an otherworldly fragrance, celestial music played in the air, and in a fleeting moment, Governor Lvu seemed to see a White Crane fly into the room.

Heavenly phenomena at birth? Could it be a divine being descending to the mortal world?

Creaaaak!

The door to the room opened, and Governor Lvu walked inside.

What appeared before him was a baby with bright, jet-black eyes staring straight at him. Governor Lvu carefully observed the baby's unusual features: born with golden proportions and jade-like texture, with Daoist bones and the demeanor of an immortal, a tiger-like physique and dragon-like features; phoenix eyes gazing upward, a long neck exposing high cheekbones, with a fair and yellowish complexion. On the left brow, there was a small black mark, while the soles of the feet bore patterns resembling a tortoise's shell.

What a true Immortal Embryo!

After five hundred years of reincarnation, although Song Lin had not awakened any memories, his true heart had been tempered into something flawless and pure.

Father Lvu rejoiced and gave him the name "Yan."

Due to the celestial phenomena at his birth, the family doted on him excessively, fulfilling his every wish.

Father Lvu invited a renowned fortune teller, who declared, "This child's features are extraordinary, clearly unworldly. When the time comes, if he encounters Lu Mountain, he should reside there. Upon meeting Zhongli and Caihe, he must remember it in his heart."

As a young boy, Yan was extremely intelligent, writing thousands of words in his daily journal, composing essays with fluent eloquence. He grew to be eight feet and two inches tall, with his hair arranged in a yang-style bun. Dressed casually, he wore a yellow-robed garment tied with eight black cords, looking every bit like an ascetic. At the age of twenty, he remained unwed.

Later, he traveled to Lu Mountain, where he encountered Fire Dragon True Man. He was taught the method of sword escape and demon removal. During the Huichang era, he took the imperial examination twice but failed to pass.

This year, he was sixty-four years old.

With white hair and a long robe, carrying a sword while traveling, he had fully mastered the swordsmanship passed down to him by an Abnormal Soldier. Ordinary little demons could not even approach him.

Having reached an advanced age, he resolved to abandon his ambitions for fame and fortune, seeking instead only to return to Chang'an and live out his twilight years in peace.

Upon returning to Chang'an, he visited a tavern and encountered a Feathered Taoist wearing a green headscarf and white robes.

The Taoist, with a tall, imposing figure and a sharp, unrestrained appearance, seemed part-warrior, part-enlightened sage. While drinking, he recited poetry aloud:

"To transmit the Dao, it is rare to meet a True Immortal. When will you return, I wish to follow you;

You claim your dwelling connects to the East Sea, Surely, it's the first peak of Penglai."

Hearing these words, Lvu Yan was suddenly filled with awe and couldn't help but ask about his identity.

"I am Mr. Yunfang, a hermit of Zhongnan Mountain. Would you like to wander the world with me?"

Lvu Yan remained silent, but Mr. Yunfang understood his intentions and shared wine and millet with him.

In a haze, Lvu Yan fell asleep. In the dream, he did not fail the imperial examinations. Instead, he passed them early on, married a wealthy woman, became a Prime Minister at forty, wielded power for over a decade, only for his life to take a sharp downturn in his later years. Stripped of his office, his family belongings were confiscated, and his family was exiled to Lingnan.

At the very end, Lvu Yan found himself alone, standing amidst wind and snow. Sighing deeply, he awoke suddenly to find the millet was not yet cooked.

Mr. Yunfang smiled and said, "The millet is yet uncooked, but you've had one dream to Hua Xu."

Lvu Yan stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "I ask the master to teach me the method for transcending the world!"

Mr. Yunfang said it was not yet time, and Lvu Yan returned home, abandoning Confucianism to pursue Daoism.

That day, he fell into another Illusion Realm.

In this dream, his entire family died, yet Lvu Yan felt no sorrow. All living beings must die, and he was no exception. Calmly and methodically, he prepared their funerals, only for his family to resurrect once more. Still, he remained unmoved.

By the tenth dream, Lvu sat alone in a chamber. Suddenly, countless ghostly shadows and demonic forms appeared, some attempting to kill him, others coming to behead him. Lvu Yan sat upright with an unshaken countenance.

A Yaksha suddenly brought forth a disheveled prisoner who bore an exact resemblance to him. The prisoner shouted, "You killed me in a past life. Now, repay me with your life."

Looking at this exact reflection of himself, Lvu Yan was suddenly struck with realization and smiled. "A life for a life—this is the Great Dao's justice."

With that, he grabbed a sword and slit his own throat.

Boom!

The dream shattered.

Back in reality, Lvu Yan opened his eyes. At this moment, he was Song Lin.

In a certain secluded place, his physical body turned into golden light and flew over, merging with his mortal body.

A radiant golden light erupted from his dharma body, recreating the golden proportions and jade texture, Daoist bone structure, and immortal-like appearance of his birth: crane-like top, ape-like back, tiger-like physique, and dragon-like features.

The mortal shell was shed, ascending feather-light, leaving behind only a crystal-like pearl.

Song Lin gently rolled the pearl between his fingers, scrutinizing it for a long time.

Mr. Yunfang, now revealed as Zhongli Quan, stepped forward and cupped his hands slightly, saying, "This disciple greets the Master."

Zhongli Quan, the former Zhengyang, was now this life's Mr. Yunfang.

Five hundred years ago, he had received the teachings of Donghua but had been in a foggy daze. Only upon enlightenment did he realize that the elder was Song Lin. He thus spent hundreds of years searching fervently, finally finding Song Lin and guiding him.

"No need for formalities."

Song Lin waved his hand.

"What is this object?"

Zhongli Quan asked curiously.

"This is the soul of my former self, Lvu Yan."

In the tenth dream, Song Lin had already severed himself. This was the Lvu Yan that should have existed.

Song Lin hurled the pearl into the void. The pearl quickly fell into a household.

Help me achieve the Dao, and I shall grant you a hundred lifetimes of prosperity.

"What has changed in the world since I left?" Song Lin looked toward Zhongli Quan.

"In the Heavenly Court of this Small Thousand World, six thousand years have passed. The Jade Emperor now secretly holds power, using the Buddhist Sect to extinguish Lishan's Three Pure Dao. Lishan Mother has perished, Golden Cauldron True Man is missing, and Sun Monkey has taken his title, joining the Heavenly Court as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Meanwhile, the Pure Yang Sect has flourished, though the Jade Emperor has yet to act against them."

"Many of these individuals ascended from among the cultivators of long ago."

"The Xiaoyao Zi of the Heavenly Heart Sect has become the Barefoot Immortal, and his reincarnation in this life is Lan Caihe. Ann Qi is the Bat Spirit Zhang Guolao, whom the Jade Emperor returned to his original form, and has now regained his consciousness."

"As for the others, like Xuan Su of the Yin Yang Sect, Bi Xuan of the Xuanyin Sect, and Zixu of Fangxian Dao, their previous incarnations are confirmed, but their reincarnations have not yet been discovered."

"That's fine. I will handle this."

"However, there has been an unexpected development," Zhongli Quan suddenly changed the subject, saying, "The final person, Li Qing, might not have succeeded in the Taiyin Refining, and may be lost to the mortal dust."

"Oh?" Song Lin was slightly surprised. With one missing among the eight, would they need to find a replacement?

"There's also another matter—whether it's good or bad news, it's hard to say. Zhang Guolao, in his form as a bat demon, cultivated into essence and retains part of Ann Qi's memories, yet he is not Ann Qi himself. His soul's whereabouts remain unknown," Zhongli Quan explained.

This meant that Ann Qi had essentially become two separate individuals.

Zhongli Quan understood Ann Qi's intention. Back when an error in the Taiyin Refining turned him into a demon, it had left him obsessed. He likely wished to become human again, which was why this separation of form and soul occurred.

Even so, his current location was unknown.

Thus far, Zhongli Quan had only located Lan Caihe and Zhang Guolao.

"You should follow the plan and continue refining in seclusion. You are no longer the previous Zhengyang but a mortal Independent Immortal. An Independent Immortal must present himself as such, lest the Jade Emperor becomes suspicious. I will handle finding the others," Song Lin instructed.

"After my awakening, I won't reveal my identity either. Instead, I shall continue to roam the Mortal World as Lvu Dongbin Taoist, to unify the Mortal World's Daoist inheritance."

This had always been Song Lin's true goal.

To enlighten the world and consolidate the Taoist lineage.

And to refine his cultivation technique to perfection.

After centuries of reincarnation, Song Lin had gained insights, and he now intended to compile them into a book—a foundational text for the Donghua Dao lineage.

Currently, he was at the Primordial Spirit Peak, and he considered utilizing the Dragon Head Master Seal to break through this bottleneck.

This realm was classified into five Immortals: Ghost, Human, Earth, Divine, and Heavenly.

To become a Heavenly Immortal, one had to achieve Harmonization. Zhongli Quan, however, was merely at the Earth Immortal Peak, as were most of the others. Only by gathering all Eight Immortals and attuning them to the Great Dao of the Eight Lords of Qi Land could they break through to the level of Heavenly Immortals.

When eight Heavenly Immortals took action, wielding the inheritance of the Eight Gods, they would undoubtedly create waves in this world.

After all, even the Jade Emperor and Guanyin were but Half-step Heavenly Immortals.

"Understood, Master!"

Zhongli Quan drifted away gracefully.

Thus began a legend, where it was said that Zhongli Quan had enlightened a son of the Lvu family. Lvu Dongbin, refusing even the most minor of Immortal positions in the Heavenly Court, declared he would accept no titles and vowed to transform the hearts of mortals before attaining the Dao.

For a time, his name echoed across the land.

Song Lin entered Zhongnan Mountain to cultivate.

Before doing so, he intended to return to the Real World.

Five hundred years later, accounting for the conversion of one mortal year to twelve days in the Real World, approximately sixteen years had passed since his absence. What might the Real World have become?

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