Seeing Little Gui hesitant to speak, Xu Zimo smiled and said, “This doesn’t seem like your character.”

“I want to stay in the Primordial Heartlands,” Little Gui took a deep breath and replied, somewhat nervously, as he looked at Xu Zimo.

“Then stay,” Xu Zimo smiled.

“You’re not going to ask me why?” Little Gui asked.

“Besides following me, there are actually many beautiful things in life,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “Like your wife, and now your newborn child, it’s natural you can’t bear to leave them.”

On the path of martial cultivation, not everyone yearns to climb to the peak. Some people are content with a peaceful life, walking at their own pace, that is enough.

“Yes, I, Zhang Guilin, lost my parents early. As a youth, I entered the True Martial Sacred Ground. Originally, I thought following senior brother in roaming the world was my only joy, my lifelong dream,” Little Gui replied. “But later, I had a wife, and then a child. Becoming a husband, then a father, having more attachments, I gradually didn’t want to move forward anymore.”

“That’s good,” Xu Zimo smiled and nodded.

“You don’t blame me?” Little Gui asked.

“Blame you for what?” Xu Zimo replied.

“For not being able to follow you to the end, and breaking my promise from before,” Little Gui said.

“I had just told a few of the ancestors that I wanted you to stay, as a witness of my era,” Xu Zimo smiled and shook his head. “You and Ruhu are among my few true friends. Naturally, I respect your choices.”

Saying this, Xu Zimo smiled again, “And your little one, if convenient, I’ll go take a look.”

“At Violet Cloud Mountain. I’ll take you there,” Little Gui quickly said. He then asked, “What about those Sacred Lords of the imperial lineages? They all want to visit you, aren’t you going to meet them?”

“They’re not important,” Xu Zimo waved his hand.

Under Little Gui’s lead, the three of them arrived at Violet Cloud Mountain.

Little Gui was once just an ordinary inner disciple of the sect, but after following Xu Zimo, his strength grew and his status rose accordingly. Now he had his own independent peak, a privilege many core true disciples longed for.

Violet Cloud Mountain was located to the east of the True Martial Sacred Ground. At sunrise, the first ray of sunlight would shine upon it, hence the name.

The mountain itself was not particularly towering, a medium-sized peak with purple as its dominant color.

Following the path up the mountain, after ten minutes, the three arrived at a courtyard halfway up.

The courtyard was especially quiet, with a flower garden planted nearby, making for a pleasant view.

Yao Shengnan walked out from the inner room, holding the newborn child.

Newborn babies loved to sleep.

Xu Zimo glanced at the child. Though he looked like any ordinary infant, his brows resembled Little Gui’s by seventy or eighty percent.

Looking at the baby, Little Gui’s eyes were filled with deep paternal love.

Xu Zimo smiled faintly and slowly extended his hand. In his palm, several balls of light swirled.

“Pick any one for your son. Consider it my gift,” Xu Zimo said.

“What is this?” Little Gui asked.

He looked at the differently colored light spheres. Each seemed vast, containing infinite power within.

“The Hundred Battle Physiques,” Xu Zimo replied. After the struggle for Heaven's Will, although he killed those people, their Hundred Battle Physiques were preserved. Xu Zimo had collected them, though he himself had no use for them.

“Then I won’t hold back,” Little Gui chuckled. Pointing at the Primordius Physique, he said, “That one, the Primordius Physique.”

Xu Zimo pointed with his right hand, and immediately the Primordius Physique turned into a stream of light, flying into the infant’s body.

He used an extremely gentle method to fuse it, so it would take some time.

“Stay here with your child. No need to see me off,” Xu Zimo said. “In a few days, come to my peak, I’ll help you enhance your strength.”

“Thank you, senior brother,” Little Gui said gratefully.

Xu Zimo waved his hand, then left Violet Cloud Mountain with Lin Ruhu.

As they walked away, the outside sky gradually dimmed. Xu Zimo looked up, the horizon was painted with the last glow of dusk. The setting sun, like a great disk, slowly vanished into the void.

Though ruthless to enemies, Xu Zimo had always been deeply loyal and generous to his brothers.

After parting with Lin Ruhu, Xu Zimo returned to South Goose Mountain.

Inside his room, he opened the book given to him by the Sky Shroud War God.

Inside were Grand Emperor Zhen Wu’s insights into the Grand Emperor realm.

When Grand Emperor Zhen Wu ascended, he had just stepped into Yin-Yang, so the knowledge mostly pertained to the Yin-Yang Stage. Later stages were mentioned little.

After comprehending Nomological Truths, a Grand Emperor would condense the Bridge of Yin and Yang within his body, formed from those Nomological Truths.

The Yin-Yang Bridge connected to the Grand Daos themselves.

Xu Zimo made no external movement. Instead, countless Nomological Truths condensed in his body, flowing between his nine meridians, then converging like myriad streams into one source, gathering in his abdomen.

The Yin-Yang Bridge sounded simple in words, but the process was extremely complex and difficult.

The further one cultivated, the less one felt the passage of time.

During this period, aside from helping Lin Ruhu and Little Gui increase their strength, Xu Zimo spent all his time cultivating.

But now, his cultivation was no longer as rapid as before.

Two months later, the God Emperor arrived at the True Martial Sacred Ground.

He came quietly, disturbing no one, and went directly to South Goose Mountain.

“The Ruins of Divinity are about to open,” the God Emperor said directly.

“I see. Who will participate this time?” Xu Zimo asked.

“The imperial lineages of the Middle Continent will definitely go. But with you and me here, deciding who gets in is just a matter of words,” the God Emperor said.

“Seeing how eager you are about the Ruins of Divinity, you must be after something,” Xu Zimo asked.

“There is something I want inside, and it might also be something you need,” the God Emperor replied. “Now that both of us are condensing the Yin-Yang Bridge, we really need it. Get ready, we’ll go.”

“There’s nothing to prepare,” Xu Zimo waved his hand.

…

The two left the True Martial Sacred Ground, stepping into the air, flying toward the Middle Continent.

The Ruins of Divinity were located at the border between the Holyflower Region and the Skysoul Region.

Their speed was astonishing, covering a thousand miles in one step was no exaggeration.

As they traveled, the vast mountains and rivers of the Primordial Heartlands stretched beneath them. Days passed, and finally, they arrived at the place where the Ruins of Divinity would open.

It was a canyon.

An endless canyon stretched across the two domains, like a coiling divine dragon lying across the boundless land.

Atop the canyon cliffs, several figures sat quietly, each radiating astonishing might, with thunder and wind stirring around them.