Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

In the year 195 of the Gregorian calendar, the Bodhisattva Xuanling visited Wangxing City and had lunch with Mu'an.

Just like when he entertained the Celestial Master, Mu An treated the Xuanling Bodhisattva with considerable hospitality.

Mu An maintained basic respect for these old acquaintances and even helped Xuanling Bodhisattva resolve the issue of the heavily sealed remnant soul within the Golden Lotus of Merit.

The sealing method was extremely mysterious, and it also contained traces of both Taoism and Buddhism. It was not hard to guess that Zhang Ming'an and Xuanling Bodhisattva worked together to set up a great array to seal the remnant soul.

The entire formation is interconnected, consisting of hundreds of seals of varying sizes, completely eliminating any possibility of the remnant soul escaping, making it virtually foolproof.

Even if the remnant soul repeatedly unleashed its power, it could only break through a few surface seals, and in the end, it was powerless and furious as it looked at the dense seals.

Mu An didn't think that Zhang Ming'an, who had the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, couldn't resolve this remnant soul, but since Xuanling Bodhisattva had already arrived, he wouldn't say anything more.

The reason for this is obvious to everyone.

Rather than saying that Xuanling Bodhisattva's visit was to ask Mu'an for help in resolving the problem of the remnant soul of the Buddhist immortal, it would be more accurate to say that Xuanling Bodhisattva took this opportunity to offer a pledge of allegiance.

Xuanling Bodhisattva, representing the Heavenly Dao, presented the remnant soul of this Buddhist immortal as a gift to Mu An, demonstrating his sincerity and hoping that Mu An would not interfere in the affairs of the Nine Realms.

As a junior, Qinghe also received a gift from the Xuanling Bodhisattva: a Buddhist lamp that uses spiritual energy to transform into golden lotuses.

Qinghe was overjoyed by the gift from the Bodhisattva Xuanling and specially instructed Qingyun Trading Company to prepare a sumptuous vegetarian meal.

Compared to when the Celestial Master visited, Qinghe is much more composed now, no longer as at a loss as before, and her demeanor has become more poised and graceful.

The process of entertaining the Xuanling Bodhisattva was the same as when we entertained the Old Celestial Master back then, just like an ordinary old friend coming to visit, with no major differences.

If there's anything different, it's that when the Celestial Master visited, Mu An told him not to address him as True Lord, but that they could address each other as fellow Daoists.

When the Bodhisattva Xuanling visited, Mu An did not say such things, but let the Bodhisattva Xuanling talk about things that were different from his memory.

It's not because the Celestial Master's realm is higher than that of the Mysterious Spirit Bodhisattva, making him more likely to become a Golden Immortal.

It's because the Celestial Master remembers everything from the past, remembers Mu An, remembers Mu Ling'er, remembers that Mu An was originally just a minor inspector, and remembers all the things that happened over the past few hundred years.

Xuanling Bodhisattva kept referring to himself as "True Lord" and talking about things that didn't match Mu An's memories.

This point is particularly important to Mu An.

There's no question of supporting either side, and Mu An won't participate in the Nine Domains' competition.

Having reached Mu An's current level, he can no longer talk about liking or disliking. He can understand the thoughts of both the Old Celestial Master and the Xuanling Bodhisattva.

But Mu An did not want anyone in the vast Nine Domains to remember her past.

Regardless of who wins or loses in the end, Mu An hopes that there is someone who can remember everything that happened and occasionally talk to him about the past.

……

Two hundred years into the Gregorian calendar.

As the world draws ever closer to perfection, the struggle between the Celestial Master and the Heavenly Dao for ownership of the world begins, with undercurrents surging throughout the land.

Although it has not yet triggered large-scale conflict, many places have already quietly changed.

Even in the most peaceful Great Spirit Empire, discerning individuals could sense the changes lurking in the shadows.

Driven by various factors, the Great Spirit Empire began a new round of banding together for mutual support.

While uniting through marriage alliances, major powers continuously annex surrounding smaller powers, forming complex interest groups.

At the same time, the Great Spirit Empire has transitioned from an era of great expansion to an era of great conquest.

Over the past century, the Great Spirit Empire has invested heavily in the development of the Starfall Domain, providing continuous financial support, yet it has failed to achieve significant results.

Although the Starfall Continent has undergone some changes and shown a thriving appearance, its development speed and the benefits it has generated are disappointing.

A century of investment has not only failed to benefit the Great Ling Empire, but has instead acted like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring the Great Ling Empire's human and material resources.

The longer the time, the lower the expectations.

The major powers within the Great Spirit Empire have spent a century recognizing the reality that the distant Starfall Continent is ultimately not as mature as the Yin Yin Domain, and the investment and returns are completely disproportionate.

The Yin Yin Domain can bring them countless riches, while the Starfall Domain will only bankrupt their family's finances.

The excessive distance between the two continents caused development and transportation costs to skyrocket, far exceeding the meager returns from production.

Before major technological breakthroughs, it was unrealistic to attempt large-scale commercial exchanges between the two continents.

Even after a hundred years and generations of people working tirelessly, they failed to turn the Starfall Continent into a money-printing machine as they had hoped, and instead it hindered the progress of other things.

The development of the Starfall Continent requires a long period of time and an unimaginable amount of investment, which is simply beyond the reach of one or two forces.

Only an empire that doesn't consider short-term gains can afford such an investment.

Rather than exhausting our resources to fight Starfall Continent to the death now, it would be better to wait a few hundred years until the empire has built up Starfall Continent, completed the most basic development, and perfected the transportation network before entering the fray.

Every powerful family and clan has a dream of passing down its legacy for thousands of years, and none of them want to suffer too much loss in their own generation.

The bottomless pit with no end in sight caused major powers to retreat, reducing their investment in the Starfall Continent and shifting their attention back to the mature Apocalypse Domain and Yin Domain.

The number of flying ships traveling between the Starfall Continent and the Apocalypse Domain has decreased year by year. Apart from the areas that have already been developed, all major forces have stopped investing in the Starfall Continent.

They stopped providing continuous financial support to the Starfall Continent, instead allowing their people who had already settled there to develop freely.

Only the royal family of the Great Spirit Empire continued to persist, allocating funds to the Starfall Continent in the name of the imperial court.

One after another, princes and grandsons of emperors brought their elite troops to the Starfall Continent, where they stayed for years at a time, often spending money without regard to cost, which greatly promoted the development of Stargazing City and the surrounding cities.

This strange move puzzled countless court officials, who couldn't understand what treasures the Starfall Continent possessed that could attract these chosen ones of heaven.

They tried every means to uncover the mystery, but they were never able to get any information from the princes and grandsons who kept their mouths shut.

The temporary setback did not discourage the old foxes. No matter how tight-lipped these chosen ones of the Great Spirit Empire were, they could not hide the traces of their actions.

The more you do, the more traces you leave behind.

Rare and exotic treasures sent from all over the world, romantic heroes from various regions summoned to the palace, and peerless beauties of different styles...

Through investigating various clues, the old fox quickly guessed the "truth" of the matter.