In the northwest basin of Huaxia, there is a vast lake. In the center of the lake are two small islands connected head to tail. The islands are narrow and winding, appearing like two coiled dragons from above.
This place is named Tianlong Island. Its former master was a renowned figure in the Huaxia martial arts world, known as the Invincible Grandmaster, Wang Tianlong. However, ever since the place of opportunity was exposed to the starry sky and a large number of extraterrestrial cultivators descended upon Earth, the title of Invincible Grandmaster gradually lost its weight.
Tianlong Island was occupied by a group of cultivators who called themselves the disciples of Tianhai Star. They established the Tianhai Sect here, widely spreading their teachings, which significantly boosted the overall strength of the Huaxia martial arts world. Wang Tianlong also benefited from the Tianhai Sect, now a cultivator in the Heavenly Human realm.
"Wang Tianlong, are you sure Zhang Fan has returned?" a silver-haired old man seated on a high throne fixed his narrow-faced, sharp-nosed gaze, like that of a falcon, on Wang Tianlong below. His voice was tinged with a slight sharpness.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, your subordinate is absolutely certain. I have met Zhang Fan several times and would not mistake him," Wang Tianlong replied from his kneeling position below with unwavering conviction.
"Haha, after eight years, he has finally returned. Whether this old ancestor can survive the third Nascent Soul tribulation depends on him," the silver-haired old man suppressed his inner excitement, already plotting how to capture Zhang Fan.
The specifics of the struggle for the place of opportunity were never disseminated. They only knew that a group of Golden Core cultivators were fighting over it, and thus, the Tianhai Ancestor had not taken Zhang Fan seriously.
What could a cultivator from a place of depleted spiritual energy achieve, even with the bestowed opportunity? Eight years of time would have barely allowed him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he reckoned.
In the South China Sea archipelago of Huaxia, there was also a sect established by extraterrestrial cultivators, known as the Illusion Blood Palace. At this moment, the Illusion Blood Palace had also received news of Zhang Fan's return.
"I, the Illusion Blood Demon, have descended upon this land, endured for years, and finally, you have arrived," an old man with fiery red hair stood before a pool of blood, greedily inhaling the blood essence.
"Notify all disciples of the sect. Tomorrow morning, head to the East Sea and attack the island in the lake!"
As the Illusion Blood Demon's voice echoed, the cultivators on the entire island became agitated.
...
Inside the villa, a group of people sat in the living room, chatting. Zhang Fan inquired about his parents' lives over the past few years, while Su Yun and Zhang Xing'an were also very interested in the Wushan Star Domain, constantly questioning Zhang Fan.
"A continent that is over a light-year across?" Su Yun and Zhang Xing'an were dumbfounded and shocked upon hearing Zhang Fan's introduction to the Jie Xin Continent.
The diameter of the entire solar system was less than two light-years. Did this mean that the Jie Xin Continent was as large as the entire solar system? Would the people living on it feel insignificant?
"The Jie Xin Continent is filled with countless marvels and beautiful landscapes. Starting tomorrow, I will have Tian Hua set up a teleportation array on the island in the lake. Once it is connected to the teleportation array on the Jie Xin Continent, you can go there whenever you wish," Zhang Fan said with a smile.
"That sounds good. As my strength grows, I feel that Earth is becoming too small. I must visit the Jie Xin Continent to see it for myself," Zhang Xing'an nodded, a look of a master’s loneliness on his face.
Su Yun couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, then turned to Zhang Fan and asked, "Did Luo Shui not return with you?"
"Luo Shui is studying under a powerful being. Once I have settled matters on Earth, I plan to go find her," Zhang Fan replied.
"Brother Zhang Fan already has a Dao companion?" Liu Mu appeared very surprised. "Why have I never heard about it?"
Ever since he had known Zhang Fan, he had always been alone and had never mentioned anything about a Dao companion, leading Liu Mu to believe that Zhang Fan only pursued the Great Dao and was not concerned with romance.
He had never expected that he was already married.
Time passed as they chatted. As night fell, Su Yun personally cooked a lavish feast, with many dishes made from spiritual herbs, a truly extravagant spread.
After cultivating to the Nascent Soul stage, Zhang Fan had long ceased needing to eat or sleep, but he cherished the moment of dining with his parents.
"Go. Visit the people you care about during this time. After leaving Earth this time, the next return might be much longer," Zhang Fan said to Lin Haotian.
Lin Haotian nodded and left the island alone.
...
The next day, as the sun began to rise.
Lin Yun, along with a group of familiar faces from the Dark Group, came to the island in the lake to pay a visit.
Under the guidance of the Sword Immortal Wu Chen, they met Zhang Fan.
"Brother Lin Yun, it's been eight years. How have you been?" Seeing these familiar faces, Zhang Fan felt genuinely happy.
"Thanks to Brother Zhang Fan, I thought I would die old on Earth, but unexpectedly, I am still alive and doing quite well," Lin Yun said with a chuckle.
Before Zhang Fan left Earth, he had left him many spiritual pills and taught him a high-grade cultivation technique. With these, Lin Yun cultivated and had now survived the third Nascent Soul tribulation, a remarkably fast progression.
"Greetings, Saint Master Zhang," Emperor An and Tianyi bowed to Zhang Fan in unison.
They always held Zhang Fan in awe and gratitude, as their current achievements could be attributed to Zhang Fan as the primary contributor.
Inside the villa, Zhang Fan produced precious immortal wine harvested from the Wushan Star Domain and offered it for everyone to taste.
"This single cup is equivalent to several months of my arduous cultivation. Truly worthy of being called immortal wine!" Lin Yun was immensely shocked. A single cup had significantly improved his cultivation as a third-tribulation Nascent Soul cultivator. If Tianyi and the others drank a cup, what would happen?
Thinking this, Lin Yun glanced at Tianyi. After swallowing a cup, before he could even savor it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, drunk.
As everyone was drinking and chatting, a surge of immense magical power flowed from all directions towards Bibo Lake, stirring up strong winds and creating dense ripples on the lake's surface.
Everyone obviously noticed, but they paid no mind.
Lin Yun's face flushed slightly and he said, "After you left, extraterrestrial cultivators continued to descend, but most were Golden Core stage cultivators, posing no threat. However, there were two individuals with considerable strength whom I found difficult to defeat."
"One of them is the Illusion Blood Demon of the Illusion Blood Palace, and the other is the Tianhai Ancestor of the Tianhai Sect. They are said to be from other life planets in the Milky Way, both at the third-tribulation stage. I suspect their purpose in establishing sects on Earth was to await you." Lin Yun explained.
"To await me?" Zhang Fan was puzzled.
"I informed them that you obtained the opportunities from the place of opportunity and left Earth. They likely felt unwilling to accept it," Lin Yun said with a smile.
Zhang Fan smiled. "This is rather interesting. Accompany me outside to take a look."
...