Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

late at night.

Nanjiang City remains brightly lit.

Maglev trains, trailing streaks of light, shuttle through the city on the elevated highway.

The distant Starport Tower pierced the night sky, and the massive Federation projection GG lay beneath the clouds, flashing promotional images of lunar bases and interstellar routes from time to time.

The city was bustling, but no one noticed that a dark shadow was flying over the tops of the tall buildings.

Gu Changjin's toes landed on the edge of the rooftop.

With a light touch, the person shot off like an arrow, traversing dozens of meters and landing on another building.

A physical body at the Foundation Establishment level is nothing special in the cultivation world.

But in this technological world where the vast majority of people are ordinary, they can already be considered non-human.

The street surveillance cameras could only capture a blurry afterimage.

Even if someone happens to look up, they will only think it is a bird flying by.

In less than half an hour.

Gu Changjin stopped outside a detached house.

The original owner of this body had visited Shen Qingyan's home several times.

Her parents are away from home most of the year, and she usually lives alone in the huge house.

The lights are still on in the room on the second floor.

Gu Changjin looked up and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Still not asleep?"

"They are indeed diligent."

……

Second-floor bedroom.

Shen Qingyan sat cross-legged on the carpet.

The curtains were drawn, and nine thin incense sticks were lit in the center of the room. Instead of drifting upwards, the incense smoke slowly moved along the floor, outlining a strange circular pattern.

In front of her was the same small wooden box that was exactly the same as the one on Gu Changjin's desk.

The box was empty.

Shen Qingyan formed a hand seal, her face turning slightly pale.

But those eyes were surprisingly bright.

It worked!

The secret technique for seizing power passed down from our ancestors has truly succeeded!

The Shen family ancestors were once one of the nine branches of the Taoist sect.

However, the lineage was later broken, and each generation of the clan became less capable than the last.

By the time of Shen Qingyan's generation, they were born without features.

Unable to observe the mind, unable to unite the mind's image.

Even though she was well-versed in classical texts from a young age, she was destined to be just an ordinary person.

She found the method of "stealing the image" in a hidden compartment of her ancestral home.

A person with special spiritual qualities was sacrificed.

Have the other person recite the Soul-Connecting Mantra over a long period of time to actively establish a spiritual connection.

When they reach adulthood and their soul is at its most complete, they will use sacrificial vessels to seize the foundation of their heart and soul.

Those who are robbed will surely die.

The practitioner can then compensate for any innate deficiencies.

The requirements are very demanding.

Very few people meet the requirements.

Gu Changjin happens to fit the bill.

The old Taoist priest at Xuanzhen Temple wanted to take Gu Changjin into his sect the first time he saw him.

From that moment on, Shen Qingyan knew.

My chance has come.

She took the initiative to approach Gu Changjin.

Take the initiative to show your goodwill, accompany him in his studies, and give him gifts.

Then coax him little by little to recite the so-called blessing mantra.

Two whole years.

The day has finally arrived.

Gu Changjin is eighteen years old.

The ritual is complete.

She broke free from the formless body.

"Perhaps, this is fate."

Shen Qingyan murmured softly.

"You are destined to fulfill my wish."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cigarettes around him suddenly stopped.

A humanoid phantom slowly materialized behind her.

The phantom was initially blurry and indistinct.

But as the power of the mind flowed in, the facial features gradually became clearer.

With black hair, a pale face, and a slender figure, it was none other than Gu Changjin.

Shen Qingyan's breathing became slightly rapid.

Their hearts were united.

Although it's only the initial manifestation realm, as long as she can take the first step, she will be qualified to truly enter the world hidden beneath the Federation.

Just then.

The window suddenly shattered.

boom!

Glass shards flew into the room.

A figure crashed through the window and landed steadily in the room.

Shen Qingyan suddenly opened her eyes.

Then he froze.

She looked at the image of Gu Changjin that she had just created.

She glanced again at Gu Changjin, who was standing by the window, a living, breathing figure.

The same.

Even the gray top she was wearing was the same.

Her mind went blank for a moment.

Then, an overwhelming sense of joy welled up inside me.

"two?"

"Could it be that I've directly entered the Second Phase Realm on my first attempt at forming a physical form?"

Gu Changjin looked at her.

She then looked at herself standing behind her.

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

It's a little strange to look at yourself.

However, he soon realized the true nature of that mental image.

It is unpredictable, seemingly real yet illusory. It may be standing right there, but what the naked eye sees may not be its true location.

"Is this what they mean by 'mindset'?"

Gu Changjin's eyes showed a hint of interest.

Upon hearing the voice, Shen Qingyan's surprise froze instantly.

No! The mind cannot speak.

She stared intently at Gu Changjin.

"You're not dead?"

Gu Changjin stepped into the room.

"No one has ever been able to profit from me while still alive."

"You've got some nerve."

Shen Qingyan's pupils contracted.

"This seat?" This is not something Gu Changjin would say.

But she didn't have time to think about it.

Almost the instant Gu Changjin approached, she suddenly formed a hand seal.

"Kill him!"

Gu Changjin's image vanished instantly.

The next moment, a pale hand emerged from the shadows behind Gu Changjin, aiming straight for the back of his head.

Gu Changjin seemed to have sensed it beforehand, and turned around to throw a punch.

The fist passed through Xinxiang's chest but did not hit the physical body.

That mental image seemed to be just a phantom, allowing the fist to pass through, but the palm slammed hard onto Gu Changjin's shoulder.

boom!

Gu Changjin swayed slightly.

Seeing this, Shen Qingyan felt much more at ease.

"Gu Changjin, no matter what happened to you, it's useless."

"The mind exists between the real and the unreal."

"You can see it, but you can't touch it."

"Even if you miraculously survive, you'll still die tonight."

Gu Changjin turned his shoulders.

The force wasn't great, but the way it shifted between reality and illusion was quite interesting.

Ordinary body cultivators probably really have no way to deal with this kind of thing.

But he is not an ordinary body cultivator.

Gu Changjin shook his head and smiled.

"What utter bullshit about mindset."

"To put it bluntly, isn't it just something formed from a bundle of evil thoughts?"

His qi and blood surged and circulated, and a wisp of extremely yang and powerful qi instantly covered his fist.

Although the Foundation Establishment stage physical body is not strong, the way the Qi and blood circulates originates from the Nascent Soul stage body cultivator, and also carries a trace of the ferocious essence of the ancient Bagua serpent.

Gu Changjin took a step forward.

Gu Changjin's mental image reappeared from the void, clawing at his throat.

Gu Changjin raised his hand and threw a punch.

"Take this punch of my masculine energy!"

boom!

The fist landed.

This time, they didn't make it through.

The instant the intense yang energy collided with the heart's image, the face that looked exactly like Gu Changjin's instantly twisted.

Click!

The cracks spread from the heart-shaped chest to the entire body.

The next instant, it exploded with a deafening roar.

"puff!"

Shen Qingyan spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, crashing into the wall.

She stared at the scattered fragments of her heart image throughout the room, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

"You're just an ordinary person!"

Gu Changjin walked up to her.

Shen Qingyan finally panicked.

Ignoring her injuries, she knelt on the ground and reached out to grab Gu Changjin's trouser leg.

"Changjin, let me explain."

"I didn't mean to kill you."

"I just want to cultivate."

"I had no choice."

"We've been together for so long, didn't you say you'd do anything for me?"

Gu Changjin looked down at her.

From his angle, all he could see was Shen Qingyan's messy long hair and her constantly trembling shoulders.

He reached out and grabbed her hair, lifting her face up.

"You already know you were wrong."

"All you know is that you're going to die."

Shen Qingyan's face turned deathly pale.

"No……"

Gu Changjin delivered a punch.

Bang! The sound stopped abruptly.

Shen Qingyan's body went limp and collapsed.

But at the very moment of her death, Dao Guo suddenly trembled slightly.

A wisp of golden light, invisible to the naked eye, drifted out from her body and was directly swallowed by the Dao Fruit.

Gu Changjin paused.

The next moment, a sudden realization dawned on me.

The origin of the world!

Primordial spiritual objects can bear the essence of the world.

Luck, too, can be a factor.

Those key figures chosen by fate, their luck, opportunities, and predetermined destiny are essentially a manifestation of the origin of the world.

Kill, seize, alter their destiny.

Similarly, one can obtain the Dao Yuan of Returning to the Dao.

Gu Changjin's eyes gradually brightened.

"I see."

But soon, he thought of the Nine Provinces world again.

Qingxuan, Xie Wuchen, Ye Xingzhou.

So many destined figures were devoured by him, why is there no such feedback?

Gu Changjin remained silent for a few moments, then his lips twitched slightly.

"Damn it, the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Provinces has embezzled it."

No wonder that world so readily recognized him as its own son that day.

They both bestowed merit upon him, helped him break through to the Void Realm, and even allowed him to relax the restrictions on ascension.

So, they intercepted the world's origin that he had seized by killing the chosen one.

"You dog, Tiandao, you're taking kickbacks, aren't you?"

Gu Changjin gave a helpless bitter smile, and then several faces from the Fate Line appeared in his mind.

Zhou Jingming, the white-haired girl, the boy from the Mechanical City, and key figures from the Reverse True Society and the Nine Lineages of Taoism.

One Shen Qingyan can provide a hundred strands of origin.

What about those who truly bear the weight of great fortune?

Gu Changjin's smile gradually softened.

"The Chosen One".

"This is going to be interesting."