He simply stood silently in midair, watching the seawater below ceaselessly wash onto the shore day after day, listening to the crash of the waves...
His gaze appeared dazed, bewildered... until it gradually cleared and transformed back into icy composure.
However, this coldness now seemed subtly different from the deliberate façade of before.
"Han Yanzi."
Shen Fu lightly clenched the red wooden talisman, which promptly disappeared into his palm.
He looked to the northwest direction, his eyes flickering with steadfast determination.
Without hesitation, he flew toward the northwest.
...
Wanfa Peak.
Inside the small house.
"Senior Brother, youâve just entered Immortal Ascension Stage, and now youâre heading out again?"
Bu Chan couldnât help but furrow his brows.
Yet with age and experience, this furrowing failed to mar his appearance, instead adding charming depth to his expression.
Wang Ba smiled and gently embraced Bu Chan. Though Bu Chan initially struggled, under Wang Baâs strong arms, he quickly settled down.
But his eyes still carried a deep tenderness and glimmer of tears:
"The Sect has so many people, so many in Immortal Ascension Stage, and youâre merely the Deputy Sect Masterâwhy is it always you who risks life and limb?"
"Youâre just some lousy Spirit Chicken breeder; youâve already built your Taoist Fieldâwhat more do you want?"
"Earlier, after you finished Crossing Tribulation, I heard them say that if Hui Yunzi Ancestor hadnât intervened, Han Yanzi from the primitive Demonic Sect would have already..."
At the perilous part of his words, Bu Chanâs eyes displayed even more fear.
He couldnât help but tighten his grip on Wang Baâs arm.
Wang Ba, though surprised, felt a rare sense of warmth stir within him.
Their relationship had not waned over the years, but after becoming an old married couple, Bu Chan often jested at his expense. Displays of genuine emotion like today had grown scarce.
He understood, however, that todayâs situation had been exceptionally dangerous. First came the World Eater from the outer realm, then Han Yanziâeither threat alone could spell instant death and destruction if not handled with care. No wonder the usually composed Bu Chan was so deeply affected.
So, he simply smiled and drew him closer, saying nothing further.
"Donât think I donât know what youâre planning just because youâre keeping silent."
Bu Chan rested his cheek against Wang Baâs chest, murmuring:
"I know I canât stop you. Youâve never listened to me anyway... I just hope you remember, Wanfa Peak still has a junior sister always waiting for you."
"Junior Sister."
Wang Ba couldnât help but feel a pang of affection.
"Donât speak..."
Her delicate face slightly lifted, almond eyes misty, lips parted softly.
And once more, they indulged in a passion that neither could resist.
The gentle embrace is, indeed, the heroâs final resting place.
But Wang Ba never considered himself a hero, making the allure of such tender moments even harder to resist.
He took the time to consolidate the gains from successfully Crossing Tribulation and seized the opportunity to savor every moment with Bu Chan.
Time was perhaps meaningless to him, yet the moments he shared now would remain the most cherished experiences of his life.
He always kept this in mind.
Pearl Dungeon.
Wang Ba gazed at the hundreds of newly established Spirit Chicken breeding grounds and giant elephant farms, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Seems the scale needs further expansion."
The Taiyi Dojo was still in its most basic state. Though it had absorbed fragments of Dao Intention scattered by a few World Eaters, which had provided considerable benefits to the dojo, it was still far from what was needed.
At the dojoâs core remained the Dao Domain, but the required quantity wasnât as staggering anymore.
After all, when the Dao Domain extracts resources from the outer realm, it is nourished simultaneously by the Realm Membrane and outer realm resources, growing stronger over time.
This principle applied to the Immortal Ascension Stage, but beyond that stage, the demand for Dao Domain quantity would surge dramatically due to the Void Refining Stage requirements.
The Void Refining dojo would need Class II Dao Domains. If quality fell short, quantity had to compensate. Thankfully, Wang Ba didnât fear increasing supply.
He only needed to proceed according to plan with steady cultivation.
"Once the dojo matters are handled, the next step will be the divine beast cultivation programs."
Wang Ba looked at the five divine beasts before him, as well as the Wu Monkey King, whose flesh had healed but whose aura remained somewhat exhausted, deep in thought.
Erya had returned to the Fire Paulownia Tree, the White Tiger lazily lounged nearby, Ding Twenty-two wrapped itself around him, while Elephant Forty-Nine looked at him pitifully, waiting for feed.
The only exception was Sanjin, perched alone on Spirit Chicken Mountain, looking blankly at the shattered puppet of Spirit Poultry it had toyed with for years.
No matter how skillfully it tried, pressing its talons and beak to piece together the fragments, it could not reassemble them.
Turning its head desperately, it sought help from the other divine beasts, but its loud, flustered âcawsâ only earned looks of mild disdain.
Finally, Sanjin could only turn back to the scattered parts, imagining how wonderful it would be to have a companion identical to itself.
As the thought took shape, the golden flames on its body appeared to move of their own will, separating from its form and transforming into a three-legged Golden Crow before its eyes.
Sanjinâs eyes sparkled instantly. Fluttering its wings, it leapt forward to play with its new companion.
Wang Ba calmly watched these divine beasts, nurtured with such care and effort.
To be fair, whether it was Erya, Ding Twenty-two, Sanjin, Elephant Forty-Nine, the White Tiger, or the Wu Monkey King, their progress far exceeded the normal Spirit Beasts within Little Cang World.
Even if Elder Du Wei were resurrected, it was unlikely his cultivation speeds could surpass those of Wang Baâs divine beasts.
It wasnât just the Sect providing him limitless resources but also Wang Ba himself, having traversed Fenglin Continent, Huangji Continent, and numerous other regions, mastering top-grade Beast Taming Techniques. Over three hundred years, countless Spirit Beasts had served as experiments, honing his understanding of taming both in theory and practice. It was unlikely even three millennia of Little Cang World history could match his expertise.
Yet all things pale in comparison.
When measured against Fuâmissing for four centuries only to reappear suddenly at Class VIâor that one fleeting glimpse of what seemed to be Fanming before vanishing, his divine beasts appeared lackluster.
In terms of bloodlines alone, there wasnât much to justify their impact.
After all, Fu started with a mixed-blood lineageânot an innate divine beast bloodlineâranking only at the Second Layer among Ghost-pattern Stone Lizard grades.
The First Layer belonged solely to the Thousand-eyed Dark Lizard.
Having nurtured it to top-grade Class IV, Wang Ba still faced difficulty breaking the threshold.
Of the five divine beasts, Erya bore the Vermilion Bird Bloodline, Sanjin carried the Golden Crow lineage, Ding Twenty-two was slightly weaker with a common innate divine beast bloodline, Elephant Forty-Nine had transformed from an Innate Divine Demonâthe sole specimen in the Realm Seaâand the White Tiger had evolved from a Hybrid White Tiger to nearly pure blooded.
Fu once paled in comparison to them.
Since then, however, it had gained the Azure Dragon Bloodline, completely changing its narrative.
"Outer Realm..."
Wang Ba mused silently.
Fu had ventured into the Outer Realm by accident, undergoing a metamorphosis.
If that bird truly was Fanming, then its transformation might also stem from the Outer Realm.
With this thought, a figure appeared fleetingly in his mind.
"It seems itâs time for another meeting with him."
With that decision made, Wang Ba, accompanied by the Ice Daoist and Wu Monkey King, finally stepped out of Wanfa Peak...