Wei Yuan subconsciously rubbed his eyes when he stood in front of the Myriad Manifestations Hall. Unless he was sorely mistaken, the building was much, much bigger than he had last seen in. What happened?

“Can you please step aside, Junior Nephew?” A voice called out from behind his back. When he looked, he saw a Trueman with seven children trailing behind him. The boys and girls had all completed the Body-tempering stage and looked to be around ten years old. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight. Not long ago, Zhang Sheng had brought him to the Myriad Manifestations Hall for the exact same reason; to witness all Dao Foundations under the heavens.

The Trueman’s expression turned odd when he recognized Wei Yuan, but he didn’t say anything. He simply gave a smile before leading his grand disciples into the hall. Wei Yuan followed behind him.

As soon as he set foot inside the hall, his attention instantly settled on the gargantuan floating continent holding the river of stars. To say he was stunned would be an understatement. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing as thought to himself: Is this my Dao Foundation?

After taking a moment to calm himself, he looked at the river of stars once more. He did not have Zhang Sheng with him this time, so he could only view the Earth-tier and Human-tier Dao Foundations. He could see the brilliant stars resting in the “riverbed”, but not see their true forms.

Wei Yuan’s gaze settled on the floating continent once more, but there was no information about it whatsoever. No introduction, no tier, and definitely no commentary. The fact that he could sense it proved that the floating continent was, in fact, a Dao Foundation, but it was all too easy to miss unless one was paying attention.

At the moment, Wei Yuan wasn’t yet aware that the Immortal Lords had issued a gag order. Only those who were Truemen or higher could learn about the exact details of Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation. Below that, it was a secret unless someone found out about it via normal interaction with Wei Yuan himself.

The humans looked like ants in the now gargantuan Myriad Manifestations Hall. The Trueman was patiently and kindly explaining the many Dao Foundations residing within it.

The children naturally paid more attention to the immortal foundations. One girl asked amidst the chit-chat, “Which immortal foundation is the strongest, grandmaster?”

This was the question that concerned the boys and girls the most. Everyone was wearing curious expressions as they waited for an answer.

Stroking his beard, the Trueman answered, “Dao Foundations come in all shapes, sizes, and strengths. Thus, there is no such thing as the strongest Dao Foundation. But if we’re talking about uniqueness, then there is a one-of-a-kind Dao Foundation right in front of you.”

The Trueman pointed at the continent holding up the river of stars, and the children were greatly surprised as a matter of course. This was a Dao Foundation? Who was the senior who forged such a thing? Could they even fit it in their sea of consciousness?

Moments later, the Trueman led his dazed grand disciples out of the hall. Wei Yuan was about to take his leave when suddenly, he noticed that there was an elderly sweeper in the room. Kind and amiable-looking, he was sweeping the floor with a broom. As he did not give off a speck of Dao energy, Wei Yuan had subconsciously overlooked him until the Trueman had left.

Wei Yuan was confused. The Myriad Manifestations Hall was a place of both illusion and reality. But one thing for certain, not a speck of dust existed in these halls. With that in mind, what on earth was the old Daoist sweeping?

That said, no one in the Palace of Absolute Beginning could be underestimated. There were no shortage of ancestors who intentionally hid their identities to enjoy humanity. Thus, he secretly wondered if this ancestor was sweeping away at the human heart.

Wei Yuan was hesitating and wondering if he should pay the elderly sweeper his respects—perhaps the ancestor would deign to give him some pointers?—when another three people entered the hall. They were a Dao Foundation stage cultivator in the spirit nurturing stage, and two girls who had completed the Body-tempering stage. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Dao Foundation stage cultivator was visibly surprised when he set foot inside the hall and saw the floating continent. It took him a second before he recovered and started explaining the Heaven-tier and Immortal-tier Dao Foundations to his disciples. When he happened to describe several immortal swords in a row, the two girls asked the same question as the girl before—which Dao Foundation was the strongest?

The Dao Foundation stage cultivator pondered for a moment before answering, “The Immortal Sword Beiming is far-reaching and inexhaustible. The Immortal Sword The Sun is brilliant and impressive. The Immortal Sword Parting Sorrow can make both heaven and earth weep. They all have their strengths, and they’re all evenly-matched. It mainly depends on their wielder and the context of the clash.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind their backs. “There is no such thing as the strongest Dao Foundation. But if we’re talking about uniqueness, is there not a one-of-a-kind Dao Foundation in front of you?”

Caught off guard, the spirit nurturing stage cultivator spun around in a hurry. It was only then he noticed the elderly sweeper sweeping the perfectly dustless floor and slowly passing behind their backs. He had no idea when he had shown up.

Knowing that he was facing a master, the spirit nurturing stage cultivator hurriedly saluted the elderly sweeper and said respectfully, “Which Dao Foundation is unique, senior? Is it the Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree or the Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda?”

The elderly sweeper pointed his broom at the floating continent and replied indifferently, “You shouldn’t set your eyes on the immortal foundations only. There exists a world beyond immortal foundations, you know.”

Astonished, the spirit nurturing stage cultivator blurted out, “T-this continent is a Dao Foundation too?”

“Why else would the Myriad Manifestations Hall become like this?” The elderly sweeper answered while continuing to sweep his way forward. He was far, far away in the blink of an eye. The spirit nurturing stage cultivator had no idea how he managed to get this far in an instant.

The two girls accompanying the spirit nurturing stage cultivator were no less astonished. They kept pressing their master asking how it was possible to create such a Dao Foundation. Of course, the spirit nurturing stage cultivator had no idea. Despite this, he said with a solemn expression, “All paths to immortality lead to Ultimate Unity. As long as the two of you keep working hard, who can say that you won’t form a Dao Foundation like this in the future? If someone can do it, then so can you!”

The passionate words instantly filled the two girls with fighting spirit. They followed their shifu out of the hall after that.

Wei Yuan could not help but feel that something was off, but he could not explain why. Still, now that he knew roughly where his Dao Foundation was situated, he felt no need to linger any longer. It was time to head back and cultivate.

Not long after Wei Yuan had taken his leave, Hsu Henshui stepped into the Myriad Manifestations Hall. He was acting shifty for some reason, looking left and right to see if there was anyone around. When he was sure that he was alone, he finally gave the floating continent a long look. He mumbled to himself, “It would be perfect if an orchid were to grow on this continent. But should it grow on the summit or the foot of the jade hill? What a difficult choice this is!”

Suddenly, a faint voice sounded behind him. “Orchids can’t grow on this continent.”

Hsu Henshui nearly jumped on his feet. When he wheeled around, he saw an old Daoist standing three chi away from him and sweeping the floor seriously. The broom made no sound when it was brushing against the floor, so it was impossible to say how long the elderly sweeper had been standing behind him.

Hsu Henshui was confused. He had carefully checked every nook and cranny of the place and confirmed that there was no one around. That was the reason he dared to speak out loud. So, where did this elderly sweeper come from?

As if he had seen a ghost, Hsu Henshui covered his face and hurried out of the hall, afraid to say another word. After he was gone, the elderly sweeper slowly disappeared as if he had never existed.

Not long after that, Ji Liuli, Feng Chutang, Sun Yu and more showed up in the Myriad Manifestations Hall one after another. They all gave the floating continent a long look before rushing off to somewhere.

Moments later, Zhang Sheng showed up at the Myriad Manifestations Hall as well. He should be recovering in his abode right now, but for some reason, he wasn’t. He looked back and forth between the river of stars and the continent that held it up for a moment before feeling disgruntled all of a sudden.

When Zhang Sheng was tempering his body, he had already created an immortal sword of his own. He then combined it with the two immortal swords bestowed upon him by the Founder and forged them into his Dao Foundation, becoming renowned for a time. Naturally, he was unwilling to become an Avatar without much deliberation.

In fact, Zhang Sheng had great ambitions. As soon as he had forged his Dao Foundation, he had turned his body into a forge and begun nurturing his fourth immortal sword. Later, he discovered an ancient array diagram and completed it after much time and effort. He had already begun to integrate it into his Avatar.

When the time came, all he needed to do was activate the array diagram with a wisp of dragon’s qi[1]. He would be able to mentally establish the array diagram and secure each corner with an immortal sword. Anyone who dared to step into this sword array, even an immortal or a god, would perish.

This was the Avatar he had planned to create for himself. It would have occupied the centermost area of the river of stars and dominated an era!

But now, looking at the continent holding up the river of stars, Zhang Sheng suddenly felt indescribably forlorn. He felt like a dead leaf that did not realize that autumn had passed it by. As it turned out, the object of his desire he had struggled over a decade to reach was worth little after all.

He was still wallowing in sorrow when suddenly, he noticed an elderly sweeper out of the corner of his eye. The old Daoist had reversed his grip on his broom and was attempting to sneak off to a far corner.

“Stand right there!” Zhang Sheng yelled so loud that the elderly sweeper visibly shuddered, nearly dropping his broom.

Expressionless, the scholar asked coldly, “Who do you think you’re fooling with that shoddy smokescreen of yours, shifu? And how dirty is this place that it requires an ‘esteemed’ senior like you to don a disguise and sweep it in secret, hmm?”

1. With this, you now understand what he was doing in chapter 1. ☜