If Qin Qingyu had been at the Immortal Ascension Realm, Chen Yan could still have managed to hold things together.

But what about Qin Qingyu at the Returning to Void Realm?

As an Immortal Ascension cultivator, Chen Yan could not achieve the same crushing dominance over Qin Qingyu as he had before, even with the so-called "One Hundred Thousand Immortal Artifacts" at his disposal.

In fact, the situation could very well be completely reversed.

"I am well aware of just how vast the gap is between the Returning to Void Realm cultivators you speak of and Immortal Ascension cultivators."

Mr. You said.

After all, seventy thousand years ago, when this Immortal Venerable Fusheng, who had dominated the Chenping Continent for tens of thousands of years, was at his peak, his cultivation had been at the Returning to Void Realm.

And by the time he had drawn the attention of "that existence," Immortal Venerable Fusheng's cultivation had already reached the peak of the Returning to Void Realm, coming within a single step of the Sage Realm.

Immortal Ascension cultivators, after all, were merely a transitional realm between the Nine Realms Below Immortality and the Five Realms Above Immortality.

When it came to the gap between these two realms, never mind one hundred thousand immortal artifacts, even a million immortal artifacts might not be enough to bridge the divide.

"If one day Qin Qingyu steps into the Returning to Void Realm, what will you do then?"

Mr. You asked next.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan fell silent for a brief moment, then shook his head:

"That is not something I should be worrying about."

Chen Yan's answer seemed to catch Mr. You somewhat off guard.

"What do you mean by that?"

Mr. You pressed further.

"If that day truly comes, it will not be me wondering how to deal with Qin Qingyu, but rather her wondering how to deal with me."

Chen Yan said.

And indeed, that was the truth. Chen Yan had no intention of obstructing Qin Qingyu's path to the Returning to Void Realm.

He himself harbored no desire whatsoever for power or authority. The only reason he had taken on the role of Steward of Chenping Continent at this particular time was to stabilize the situation on the continent after the Great Chaos of the Immortals, and in doing so, to consolidate a force capable of standing against the "Mystic Maiden" and the "existence" behind her.

Mr. You fell silent for a moment, then nodded:

"If that is the case, then let us simply take things one step at a time and see where the road leads."

......

Qin Qingyu had stepped into the Dao Union Realm.

For the Star Heaven Sect, this was the greatest blessing the sect had seen in nearly a hundred years.

Before Chen Yan stepped into the Immortal Ascension Realm, the Chenping Continent had a total of thirty-one Immortal Ascension cultivators.

Among them, Heavenly Summit Mountain had produced twelve generations of Ascended Stewards, while Immortal Venerable Fusheng and the Falling Star Realman had both been Rogue Cultivators.

The Five Great Sects had a combined total of seventeen Immortal Ascension Stewards.

Lingxiao Temple had produced five, and Mirage Palace had produced four.

Kongshan Sect and Wind Ravine Valley had each once produced three Immortal Ascension cultivators.

In other words, from ancient times to the present, the Star Heaven Sect had only ever produced a total of two Immortal Ascension cultivators.

And after the revival of the Path to Immortality, the four great sects of Lingxiao Temple, Mirage Palace, Wind Ravine Valley, and Kongshan Sect had all seen the reincarnated bodies of their Ascended Stewards return to their sects to take up their positions.

Only the Star Heaven Sect had none.

This had placed immense pressure on Gu Jiancheng, the Star Heaven Sect's Supreme Pivot Elder and a great power of the Dao Union Realm. He even worried that if things continued this way, the Star Heaven Sect and the Southern Region of the Chenping Continent it controlled might very well be carved up by the other four great sects and the two Immortal Ascension cultivators of Heavenly Summit Mountain.

Like someone desperately trying any remedy when critically ill, Gu Jiancheng resolutely chose to go into seclusion, attempting to break through to the Immortal Ascension Realm.

But he was far too overestimating his own abilities. Even among Dao Union cultivators, Gu Jiancheng's aptitude could only be considered below average.

It could basically be concluded that he had no possibility whatsoever of stepping into the Immortal Ascension Realm in his lifetime.

And now, Qin Qingyu's entry into the Dao Union Realm filled Gu Jiancheng with a flood of emotions.

This was the gap in talent.

Gu Jiancheng had cultivated bitterly for thousands of years without being able to advance even the slightest bit further in his cultivation realm.

Yet in just a few decades, Qin Qingyu had completely surpassed him.

At this very moment, Gu Jiancheng was leading a group of Grand Elders from the Star Heaven Sect, standing at the Heavenly River Platform ferry dock, waiting for the ferry flying back from Du Cang Mountain to slowly descend.

After the ferry came to a stop at the dock, a young female cultivator dressed in a light green skirt could be seen slowly walking down from the vessel.

Her gaze first swept roughly over the crowd gathered around the dock.

Then she fixed her eyes on Gu Jiancheng, the Supreme Pivot Elder of the Star Heaven Sect, standing at the very front.

"Disciple Qin Qingyu greets Supreme Pivot Elder Gu, and greets all the Grand Elders."

The young female cultivator in the light green skirt stood before Gu Jiancheng, the Star Heaven Sect's Supreme Pivot Elder, and the group of Grand Elders, then bowed and paid her respects in their direction.

Thirty-four years had passed since Qin Qingyu had departed for Du Cang Mountain.

In those thirty-four years, the number of times Qin Qingyu had returned to the Star Heaven Sect could almost be counted on one hand.

In other words, during those thirty-four years, the position Qin Qingyu held within the sect had never changed. Even though she had become a Dao Union cultivator, her position remained that of Peak Elder of the Moon Void Sect within the Star Heaven Sect.

"While etiquette is certainly important in the cultivation world of Chenping Continent, you must also understand that in cultivation, those who achieve mastery always come first."

Gu Jiancheng said:

"Now that Elder Qin has already stepped into the Dao Union Realm, such excessive courtesy would surely be overwhelming for the Grand Elders of our sect."

Elder Qin.

The way Gu Jiancheng currently addressed Qin Qingyu already demonstrated her status within the Star Heaven Sect.

Prior to this, Gu Jiancheng had always referred to Qin Qingyu directly by her full name.

After another round of pleasantries at the Heavenly River Platform dock, Qin Qingyu followed the group of Grand Elders toward the Moon Void Sect.

After all, Qin Qingyu was one of the Star Heaven Sect's own people, and there was no need to follow as much protocol as would be required for a visiting Dao Union great power.

Therefore, Gu Jiancheng and the Four Supreme Courts he led simply chatted with Qin Qingyu for a little while longer before all taking their leave, allowing Qin Qingyu to move freely within the Star Heaven Sect.

Qin Qingyu returned to her residence in the Moon Void Sect. When she pushed open the door, she found that nothing seemed to have changed at all, still exactly as it had been over thirty years ago.

This made her feel somewhat nostalgic.

Just as this Dao Union great power, who was, by the standards of cultivators, impossibly young, was lost in recollection, her spiritual sense suddenly detected a strange aura outside her residence.

"Who?"

Qin Qingyu said softly, without the slightest hint of wariness.

Because this unfamiliar aura belonged to nothing more than a late-stage Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator.

The person was even wearing a set of Star Heaven Sect daoist robes. Yet Qin Qingyu had almost no recollection of this person's existence at all.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.