Chapter 712: Chapter 685: The Former Self
 

“What you’ve seen, I’ve seen too. What you don’t know, of course, I don’t know either.”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to consume my origin to investigate the Heavenly Dao,” Old Jian shook his head and said.

“Don’t mess around. Just join the Elders Association and focus on cultivating and accumulating resources.”

“Now I have enough Dao Artifact Spiritual Swords, but I don’t have a single Immortal Sword,” Ye Xiaoyao was somewhat worried.

After obtaining that large batch of Dao Artifact Spiritual Swords, his ambition surged in his heart.

He wanted to cultivate to the pinnacle of this realm, suppress the entire Demon Clan with his power alone, and become the legendary savior of the Cultivation World.

With that mindset, Ye Xiaoyao asked Old Jian a question.

“Can I become a powerful person like a Supreme?”

The only reply was Old Jian’s nonchalant remark.

“Don’t overthink it. Just cultivate diligently, and with my help, you’ll definitely surpass him.”

Ye Xiaoyao understood the meaning behind Old Jian’s words.

He now saw the sword array formed by nine Immortal Swords and thousands of Dao Artifact Spiritual Swords in this place.

That powerhouse could easily suppress the Invincible Demon Venerable by manipulating the sword array through puppets.

This truly startled Ye Xiaoyao.

“You barely have enough Dao Artifact Spiritual Swords, so you just need a few more Immortal Swords.”

“Whether you can find them in this realm doesn’t matter. Once you ascend to the Great Thousand World, I have ways to help you get Immortal-grade Spirit Swords.”

“As for your dream of saving the entire Cultivation World, let it go.”

“You’re not cut out for it. Your Junior Brother Xu might have been, but he doesn’t have the aura of destiny on him. In the end, he can only serve as a foil to those Chosen Ones.”

Old Jian’s words made Ye Xiaoyao freeze, a look of reminiscing appearing on his face.

“It’s been so many years. I wonder how Junior Brother Xu is doing now.”

“If he’s alive, he’s definitely doing better than you. Maybe by now, he’s already become an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, enjoying the praise and protection of Invincible Venerables and living a comfortable life.”

“If he had learned the Sword Formation Dao with me back then, he wouldn’t be worried about the lack of a few Immortal Swords now,” Old Jian said nonchalantly.

“Old Jian, you really do seize every opportunity to ridicule me,” Ye Xiaoyao replied, somewhat sour.

Hearing Ye Xiaoyao’s words, Old Jian seemed to recall the past scenes and couldn’t help but sigh.

“Sigh, actually, I’m not just mocking you, but also the past me.”

“You should know, my talent at the beginning was even worse than yours. I slowly climbed up through various means.”

“Seeing you reminds me of myself back then. We were both naive and foolish at the beginning.”

“The only difference is, I was enlightened back then, while you’re still not now,” Old Jian laughed.

At that moment, Ye Xiaoyao’s mind conjured an image of an honest-looking man with sly eyes who would make people want to trust him upon first glance.

“When I was your age, I already understood the essence of this world, my powerbase just started to take shape, and I was in my prime.”

“In the end, I was still betrayed,” Old Jian chuckled.

“So now you’ve become someone who takes advantage of friends,” Ye Xiaoyao frowned.

“Is it taking advantage? It’s just a transaction. Once you succeed, you can repay it in hundreds or thousands of times more.”

“The purpose is to prevent you from experiencing what I went through,” Old Jian explained.

“Old Jian, I appreciate your intentions, but everyone has their own path. Even if you forcefully help me onto a path that isn’t mine, I’ll still have to return to the main track eventually,” Ye Xiaoyao stated.

“That’s why I haven’t intervened in your life in recent years. I’ve just been urging you to cultivate. Haven’t you noticed?” Old Jian laughed.

“Of course I’ve noticed, but haven’t you? I haven’t gone to the Human Clan’s side in all these years. Even if you wanted to intervene, you couldn’t,” Ye Xiaoyao said helplessly.

When he emerged from the Secret Realm filled with spiritual swords, he found himself in the Demon World and had stayed there for over a thousand years.

“You’ve gathered quite a lot of good stuff over the years. It’s time to go back to the Human Clan and get an Immortal Sword,” Old Jian said.

“So you suggest I join the Elders Association?”

“What else can you do? You don’t know any Artifact Refining Grandmasters, so you can’t custom order one.”

“Or else, try to join that power from earlier. Their lineup looks like they have an Artifact Refining Grandmaster in their sect,” Old Jian suggested again.

“Let’s go back to the Human Clan first,” Ye Xiaoyao said as he flew towards the location of the Two Realms Teleportation Channel he had discovered.

At this moment, in the Vast Void Domain, a huge boulder-like Star was flying towards the territory of the Giant Stone Mountain Demon Clan.

Xu Fan walked out of the small world that Pu Tao had deduced for time acceleration and felt an indescribable sense of comfort, as if he had consumed the most nourishing Spiritual Medicine.

“Others enter the Time Acceleration World for fast cultivation, but I’m here to reach my Great Limit sooner,” Xu Fan laughed.

He felt as if he were becoming addicted to the sensation of time acceleration.

“Master, there’s something I need your approval for,” Pu Tao’s voice rang out.

“What is it that you need my approval for? Can’t you just ask Ziyuan?” Xu Fan asked.

“The Sect’s Treasure Vault is full, and the small world I expanded is nearly full as well. I need Master’s approval to use Immortal-grade Spirit Mines to expand the Treasure Vault World,” Pu Tao’s voice sounded again.

“Is that so? What do you need? Let me see,” Xu Fan replied with a smile.

A light curtain appeared, displaying the list of Spirit Mines needed to expand the small world. Xu Fan even saw a few Spirit Mines he considered precious and would use to forge his own Immortal Tools in the future.

“You’re asking for quite a lot. You don’t need so many precious Spirit Mines just to expand a Treasure Vault Small World, do you?” Xu Fan quickly identified the issue.

“If Master plans to continue raiding the treasure vaults of top Demon Clans, it’s best to expand the vault more thoroughly. Otherwise, the treasures will be neglected and lose their original effects,” Pu Tao explained.

The storage function of those sects’ and demon clans’ treasure vaults was just the most basic feature.

Maintaining and preserving the treasures, constructing environments for different treasures, and adjusting various densities of Spiritual Qi were not things that could be done just by placing them anywhere.

“So you want to make it complete,” Xu Fan said, eyeing the Spirit Mines on the list with some reluctance.

“This way, we can properly protect those spoils of war in their entirety.”

“Then go ahead and expand it. It’s bound to happen eventually,” Xu Fan waved his hand.

At this moment, a small jade-white turtle crawled out of a delicate grass nest and, with a push of its four legs, landed on Xu Fan’s shoulder.

Xu Fan fed a grain-sized Spirit-Nourishing Pill into Fierce White’s mouth.

Fierce White rubbed its favorite neck, showing its appreciation.

“Where are my good brother and good niece now?” Xu Fan asked.

“Fishing at a starry sky fishing spot.”