"Qingxiao, how was it? The Junior Martial Uncles didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"
Immortal Lord Yunmiao asked anxiously.
Although Celestial Venerable Yuheng was the most senior and highest-cultivating among the Immortal Venerables, Lingxu Heavenly Palace couldn't possibly be his personal domain.
Han Xuanji looked at his Master's concerned expression, smiled slightly, and said in a calm tone:
"Master, rest assured, everything went smoothly. This Disciple has reported everything."
Immortal Lord Yunmiao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, stroked his beard, and chuckled:
"Smoothly is good, smoothly is... Hmm?"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed something amiss, his expression stiffened, his eyes slowly widened, and his gaze towards Han Xuanji was filled with surprise.
In his perception, Han Xuanji's originally obscure and unfathomable Luck now had a deeper, more intimate connection with the vast Luck of the entire Lingxu Heavenly Palace.
One should know that a Cultivator's Luck is related to people, things, and the Dao. Previously, Han Xuanji's Luck was calm, seemingly untouched by these Karma Lucks, but now it seemed to be connected to the Sect.
This was not a bad thing.
Others could know that Han Xuanji had a close relationship with Lingxu Heavenly Palace through this Luck, and he would be much safer when traveling in the Immortal Realm.
"Ma... Master?"
Han Xuanji was somewhat puzzled by Immortal Lord Yunmiao's reaction.
Immortal Lord Yunmiao suddenly grabbed Han Xuanji's arm, his voice extremely low:
"Your Luck is closely related to the Sect. What happened...?"
He had some guesses in his heart, but he hadn't confirmed them.
Han Xuanji didn't expect his Master to be so perceptive. After a slight hesitation, he still nodded and said frankly:
"The Sect said they established me as the Dao Child, but I plan not to make this public for now."
Despite his previous guesses, Immortal Lord Yunmiao was overjoyed to hear it confirmed firsthand.
Dao Child.
The Dao Child of Lingxu Heavenly Palace.
That was a revered position, above all True Disciples, representing the future hope of the Sect, enjoying the Sect's top-tier resource allocation and most unreserved support.
The Dao Child was not easily established. For so many years, countless astonishing Prodigies had openly and secretly vied for it, yet no one could gain the unanimous approval of all the Peak Lords.
And now, this position had fallen upon his young Disciple.
A fellow who had joined the Sect only a few hundred years ago, who usually lived in seclusion, and was even too lazy to participate in the Seven Peaks Tournament.
Even he, as his Master, felt that the Sect might be too fond of his Disciple.
"Good... Good... Excellent!"
Immortal Lord Yunmiao came back to his senses, his beard trembling slightly with excitement as he patted Han Xuanji's shoulder hard.
"Good boy! You've truly brought honor to your Master!"
Amidst his elation, he immediately forced himself to suppress his emotions, looked around cautiously, and solemnly instructed in a low voice:
"It's good that this matter has been decided not to be made public for now. The position of Dao Child is revered, but those who covet it or are jealous will not be few.
Before you truly grow strong, keeping a low profile is the best strategy!"
"This Disciple understands."
Han Xuanji nodded; that was his original intention.
"Since you've attained this position, do not disappoint the Sect's expectations!"
Immortal Lord Yunmiao tried to calm his excited heart and said.
"Mhm."
Han Xuanji bowed and took his leave, transforming into a streak of clear light and departing.
Immortal Lord Yunmiao stood alone, looking in the direction where his Disciple had disappeared, his face still showing satisfaction, and he muttered to himself:
"Dao Child... My Disciple, Yunmiao, is actually the Dao Child... Hahaha!"
He couldn't help but let out a few more low laughs before tidying his robes and trying to assume his usual dignified demeanor, but the irrepressible smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed his extremely unquiet inner state at that moment.
Too bad he couldn't show it off.
This was a great joyous occasion... Time slowly passed.
After Han Xuanji was established as the Dao Child, nothing seemed to have changed from before, except that his scope of activity had widened somewhat.
Besides his daily Cultivation, he didn't spend long periods Cultivating in his Immortal Cave, but would occasionally sign in at the Sect's Dao Imbued Lands.
"System, sign in."
"[Congratulations to Host for successfully signing in at the Hall of Nurturing Heart, obtaining a section of 'Ten Thousand Year Soul Nurturing Divine Wood'.]"
"[Ten Thousand Year Soul Nurturing Divine Wood]: Warms and nurtures the Immortal Soul, stabilizes the Primordial Spirit, can resist Heart Demon invasions, and assists in comprehending the Dao."
The sign-in rewards were as practical as ever.
Han Xuanji stored it in the System space for future use, then, without hesitation, with a thought, took out his Dao Child token.
Unlike the True Disciple token, this token could be said to possess the highest authority in Lingxu Heavenly Palace; its value was inestimable.
With this token, his sign-ins would also be much smoother.
The next moment, Han Xuanji's figure appeared in another Secret Realm of the Sect.
This was one of Lingxu Heavenly Palace's most core Secret Realms—the Space-Time Cavern.
The moment he stepped into it, he felt a strong sense of weightlessness and dizziness, as if his entire being had been thrown into a constantly tumbling chaotic flow of space-time.
The scene before him was bizarre and kaleidoscopic, colors distorted and collapsed, and time and space lost their inherent order here.
Here, time seemed to transform into a single instant, and yet it also seemed to stretch infinitely long.
"What a Space-Time Cavern!"
Han Xuanji stabilized his body. He could clearly feel that this place had an unparalleled advantage for comprehending the two supreme Laws of time and space.
He found a relatively stable area where the flow of time was approximately three times faster than the outside world and sat down cross-legged.
As soon as he calmed his mind, he immediately noticed the difference.
The "time" here seemed to have a tangible quality; it could be touched, and its flow speed and direction could be perceived.
Space was no longer a void background but like layers of thin gauze, whose folds and textures could be perceived.
"System, sign in."
Han Xuanji's mind stirred slightly.
"[Congratulations to Host for successfully signing in at the Space-Time Cavern, obtaining'Space-Time Fragment'.]"
"[Congratulations to Host for successfully signing in at the Space-Time Cavern, obtaining the entry'Space-Time Dao Body'.]"
"[Congratulations to Host for successfully signing in at the Space-Time Cavern, obtaining'Space-Time Fragment'.]"
"[Space-Time Fragment: A fragment of Origin comprehension containing the Laws of time and space. Absorbing it can enhance understanding and affinity for the Laws of space-time.]"
"[Space-Time Dao Body: The past cannot be changed, the future cannot be set. Your speed of comprehending the Great Dao of Space-Time increases; you are one favored by time.]"
"Good stuff."
Han Xuanji was delighted and immediately took out a Space-Time Fragment.
The fragment was like transparent glazed glass, but inside, countless tiny clock hands seemed to whirl, and there were phantoms of space constantly being born and dying.
He pressed it against his glabella and immersed his Divine Sense into it.
Boom!
In an instant, he seemed to transform into a speck of dust, witnessing the birth and extinction of stars, and feeling the long passage of time as seas turned into mulberry fields.
"Time is merciless, like a long river flowing, difficult to reverse. All words and descriptions are merely embellishments added by outside Cultivators."
Han Xuanji gained many insights at this moment.
"The Dao of Time..."
From this Space-Time Fragment, Han Xuanji saw many insights from Cultivators who Cultivated the Dao of space-time.
At the same time, the Dao rhyme around him naturally flowed, resonating with the environment of the Space-Time Cavern.
His Heavy Pupils opened inadvertently. In the depths of the Chaos-colored pupils, the chaotic yet traceable Law trajectories of the surrounding space-time were reflected.
While absorbing the insights from the Space-Time Fragments, he used his Heavy Pupils to directly observe and analyze the chaotic space-time phenomena in this place. With both methods, his understanding of the Laws of space-time soared at an unprecedented rate.