Twelve years had passed since the battle to slay the demon. The former land of Da Zhan — once in chaos and then further ravaged by demonic energy — had also welcomed its rebirth, a new nation’s ruler, a change of dynasty. It had become the nation of Da Qian.

Qian, drawn from the meaning of upright Dao and the proper order of Heaven and Earth, also carried within it the significance of remembering the years when the demonic path had wrought havoc upon the world.

After Da Qian was founded, much had to be rebuilt from nothing. But the current ruler, Ning Zhe, governed with tireless dedication and judged people by their merit alone, leading by his own example and bringing peace to the people. This resulted in a unity throughout the court unlike any before it. In barely three short years, the disorder brought about by the demonic affliction had already been stabilized.

Now, twelve years on, the ruler was enlightened and his ministers upright. Da Qian was at peace throughout the land, free at last from the disturbances of war. The people lived in contentment and prosperity. Everything one saw and encountered bore the hallmarks of a glorious age of peace across all four seas.

“This city of Wu Jing — it looks far more prosperous than before. Many of the buildings have been renovated and restored?” Lang Jiuchuan sighed with a touch of wistfulness. Only one cycle of rebirth, and yet it already carried the feeling of all things remaining while the people had changed.

Feng Ya’s Tongtian Pavilion was still open. Though he had been in seclusion cultivating, he knew far more than Lang Jiuchuan — who had been truly in seclusion — thanks to messages relayed by A’Piao. He said: “After the demonic affliction, many had died, and with the population depleted and everything in ruins, Ning Zhe, upon ascending the throne, encouraged people to have children. In the first two years, every household that gave birth to a child could receive a string of coins per child per year to raise the infant.”

A string of coins might not amount to much in a wealthy household, but for ordinary impoverished commoners who might not save up even a few hundred copper coins in an entire year, with this kind of subsidy — actual, tangible money in their hands — wouldn’t they do everything they could to have children?

With more people came greater stimulus to the livelihoods and economy. Trade with other nations at open markets also expanded. The national treasury grew abundant, and with silver in hand, all manner of infrastructure would naturally follow — of course it looked far more prosperous.

“Ning Zhe is someone who gets things done, who truly works for the welfare of the people. He genuinely accomplished it. Today, every prefecture in Da Qian has a foundling hall and a charitable medical hall. Abandoned infants and orphaned children can be taken there and receive protection until the age of twelve. The charitable halls also teach skills and crafts, so that children who are ten or so years old and have learned a trade can go out and at least make enough to support themselves.”

Lang Jiuchuan said: “This is immense merit.”

Feng Ya looked at her: “All of that merit will flow back to you.”

Ning Zhe was someone she had saved. The merit and faith generated by his accomplishments as an enlightened ruler would accrue to him, yes — but would also settle upon Lang Jiuchuan. Such was the nature of cause and effect.

“I know.”

Lang Jiuchuan was not without awareness of how solid and robust this accumulation of faith and wishing power was — dense and pure. And precisely because of this, this realm of heaven and earth was increasingly unable to contain her.

She paused, her gaze falling upon a small shop ahead. A faint surprise crossed her features.

Wanshi Shop. Still here.

After the passage of years, all the memories of former days rose up before her, giving her a feeling of touching the past through the scenery before her.

“The Wanshi Shop was founded by you, and the Lang Family has preserved it all along. Some people come not to do anything in particular — even just to chatter their grievances to the divine statue feels deeply reassuring to them. The one in charge now — care to guess who it is?” A familiar and long-missed voice came from behind her, carrying a faint hint of catching emotion.

Lang Jiuchuan turned around and smiled at him: “So many years apart, and A’Piao the shopkeeper looks as splendid as ever.”

A’Piao gave a light snort, stepped forward and first gave a bow to his own master, then cupped his hands toward her: “I pay my respects to Qingyi Immortal Lord.”

Lang Jiuchuan said with mild exasperation: “Even you are taking the chance to mock me.”

“I would not dare, truly. Only — everyone in this world reveres you as a divine being. How could I dare to swim against the tide of all under Heaven?” A’Piao smiled with eyes curved in warmth, and seeing her glare, spoke one line in genuine sincerity: “Congratulations on achieving the righteous fruit of your cultivation.”

The person who had once returned to the mortal world in another’s worn-out body, shattered and barely holding together, had now cultivated the Great Way and was ready to ascend to the highest heavens at any moment. Compared to the demon Tantai Wuji, who had schemed for a thousand years and achieved nothing — who could hear this and not let out a sigh of mixed feeling?

“Likewise,” Lang Jiuchuan replied with a warm smile.

In the battle to slay the demon, everyone had gained something. It had been a tremendous good.

Only the comrades who had given their lives were a cause for regret. But though their bodies had perished, the Dao had not scattered — their merit would never dissipate, and in the next life, they would surely receive their blessings.

The group walked toward the Wanshi Shop. They saw a young man emerge from within — wearing a dark blue long robe, his features bearing a slight resemblance to Lang Jiuchuan, his entire constitution — oh?

Lang Jiuchuan narrowed her eyes. She could see the upright energy about him, along with a familiar spiritual aura, and she could not help but curve her lips.

“Looks like you — this is your father… your eldest nephew, right!” Jiangche caught himself in time and adjusted: “He has entered the Dao — he actually has strands of the Dao’s resonance emanating from him.”

Lang Jiuchuan and Feng Ya had descended from the mountain and walked and stopped along the way, taking in the prosperity and welfare of the people of Da Qian. Naturally, they had also come to understand Da Qian’s current stance on the Buddhist and Daoist traditions.

Because of the battle to slay the demon — in which Lang Jiuchuan had sacrificed herself to Heaven and prayed for the spiritual rain to cleanse the demonic energy, bestowing life and vitality upon all living things — the spiritual energy had shown signs of revival. Buddhist and Daoist cultivation alike had become richer in what perception could grasp and what one could attain.

And with Lang Jiuchuan’s example before them — a true immortal who had achieved the Core Formation stage — many cultivators had come to believe that the Great Way was within reach. As long as one held steadfast to one’s Dao heart and cultivated diligently, there would come a day to achieve the righteous fruit of the Great Way as she had — and even if not, at least one could extend one’s lifespan considerably.

And so, after the great peace was established throughout the land, many cultivators had retreated into seclusion once more. Even the Xuan clan was no longer called the Xuan clan.

The Tantai clan had once been the imperial family, but because it had produced a demon of Tantai Wuji’s caliber, it was denounced by all the people. Its members were stripped of their imperial status and reduced to commoners. Moreover, the various rare texts and archives accumulated by the family over the years were sorted through, and the Emperor of Da Qian issued an imperial edict to have them sent to the Stargazing Tower of the Taiping Daoist Temple for preservation.

As for the remaining Gong Family and Feng Family — on a voluntary basis, many of their disciples had been dispersed. Though they still retained the names of established families with Xuanmen origins, they no longer chased fame and fortune as they once had. Instead, they had retreated into seclusion to cultivate, no longer participating in the conflicts of the mundane world.

This, of course, referred to those who had a foundation in the Dao. Those without such aptitude sought their own Great Way — through learning, through literature, through martial arts, or by becoming officials or merchants.

There were also many who now wished to seek the immortal path and inquire into the Dao, and those who could not find their way in would go to Daoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, or even to the Gong Family and the Feng Family. But these two families only accepted those with exceptional natural aptitude and a pure Dao heart.

As for Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries — Ning Zhe, in order to prevent another outbreak of demonic affliction, had also issued an edict forbidding the excessive construction of Daoist temples, to prevent the people from abandoning their livelihoods in single-minded pursuit of the immortal path, or from performing harmful deeds in search of elixirs that might one day bring great catastrophe upon their descendants.

The Daoist temples that existed at present were the ones that had always been there. Any new construction required passing through layer after layer of official review and approval, and so some people simply cultivated freely on their own.

Lang Jiuchuan had not expected that the spiritual rain she had called down would open the spiritual apertures of quite a few people — as with the small ginseng on Tantai Princess’s burial mound, and as with the young man now before her, Lang Chenghui, her father in a former life and her eldest nephew in this one.

Lang Chenghui also caught sight of Lang Jiuchuan. He could not quite make out her current appearance and aura, but dimly felt the pull of a blood connection surging within him, impossible to suppress. He came bounding down from the shop’s stone steps and ran to stand before her, suppressing his agitation with great effort, and cautiously called out: “Aunt?”

The single word “Aunt” caused the faint, ethereal presence about Lang Jiuchuan to dissolve, revealing her true appearance.