Cao Yun had planned his departure for a long time. A century had passed since his victory over the Empyrean Asura and the Demon God Da Mo. Thanks to the efforts of mankind, the Hongchen Kingdom was even stronger and more prosperous than it had been prior. Emperor Lixing was a very competent ruler. Although she could be ruthless, she was never cruel for the sake of cruelty or her personal gain. To be fair, her Huang family was so ridiculously wealthy that she really didn't need to do anything to help them.
Without much intervention from Cao Yun himself, his family had become a large pillar of the Hongchen Kingdom. His son Cao Sheng was the highest marshal in the kingdom. Technically, he didn't command all of the army, but his authority was so grand that he actually could have. For the moment, he was still only a 3rd-grade Spirit Warrior, but he was a tremendous fighter. Like his father, he was using a spear and his 'Azure Dragon Through the Seven Storms'. Contrary to Cao Yun, Cao Sheng had been able to train with the full version of the martial art since the beginning. Moreover, he had his father's insights throughout his youth.
Cao Bei was second only to the head of the Ten Thousand Rivers Monastery. The young man who had caused so many problems to his parents and family was now an authority on the Sutra Faith. As such, he had tremendous influence over the Hongchen Kingdom, besides the influence of his surname. However, he was wise enough not to abuse it, if he even used it at all.
Finally, Cao Yanmei had become governor of the Meifen Province where her mother had been brought up. She had helped the Meifen Province rise as it was now the third wealthiest province in the Hongchen Kingdom. In fact, she had used the restoration of the kingdom in order to become extremely rich and influential. Many governors owed her favors, as she had helped them alongside the Huang family. Most likely, the Huang family and maybe even Emperor Lixing had helped, but Cao Yun knew that this was still his daughter's doing. Without this help, she wouldn't have succeeded that much that fast, but he was certain that she would have succeeded nonetheless.
Even without Cao Yun's presence, the Cao family would remain a name with which to contend. He was at peace, knowing he could leave. That being said, seeing his wife and kids, Cao Yun had a hard time leaving.
Unfortunately, the portal would be open to the domain he wanted to visit only for a few months, not even an entire year. So he couldn't extend his stay. Alas, leaving could mean abandoning his family for centuries, or maybe more, much more. The distortion of time was unpredictable. The only certainty was that time would flow at a much higher rate on the Piaolu planet. That also meant that only a few centuries would have passed since Emperor Nuwa's departure from the Withering Fusang Domains. Thanks to this distortion, Cao Yun was certain that everything she talked about in her journals couldn't be off by a lot. Some things would have changed, but probably not too much.
In front of Cao Yun, the entire Cao family was gathered. Including the people who had married into the family and even the young children, there were around seventy members in the Cao family now. This wasn't a very large family at the moment, but they were extremely powerful, and they were growing fast. In another century, there would be thousands of members. Besides, most members of the Cao family would probably go far in their cultivation, so they would live extremely long. Not everyone could actually become a Sage, but many would still be able to achieve this realm.
Honestly, despite his best efforts, Cao Yun couldn't care about everyone. He cared about his family in general, but some were just too distant from him. Even though he was around a hundred and fifty years old, Cao Yun looked and felt like a young man. As such, he had a hard time seeing himself as a great-grandfather. However, when he looked at Cao Sheng, Cao Bei, and Cao Yanmei, he didn't see a great warrior, a profound philosopher, or a fierce politician. No, Cao Yun only saw children. He remembered their childhood, this had been a very peaceful time in his life. Despite the two decades he had not spent cultivating, he didn't regret them at all. In fact, he would have loved to go back to those times.
Cao Yun looked at Feng Yingyue, she could tell that they had the same thought.
Until the very last moment, Cao Yun spent all the time he could with his family, his wife and children in particular.
The moment of his departure had come. Behind him, Cao Yun left a a cultivation manual he had written incorporating his mind and soul cultivation. In fact, he had also created a version for the demons and had decided to let the Sisters of the Abyss have control over it. Considering that the humans could become Sages and more, the risk of demons learning the Weaver of Souls' manual was lower. However, he still asked the Sisters of the Abyss to be very careful, and he could tell that they would. Moreover, Emperor Lixing had actual spies among them at the moment. Apparently, Emperor Lixing had a vast network of spies and informants among the demons. In fact, she had a few squads made entirely of demons to launch military operations in demon territories when necessary.
Another important thing Cao Yun left behind was a way for anyone to enter the Withering Fusang Domains as well as maps and short explanations from Emperor Nuwa's journals. Someone like Sun Liao would easily be able to determine which domain the portal under the Everlasting Earth Palace led to at any given time. If someone wanted to explore those worlds, they could.
Finally, Cao Yun spent one last night with his wife. They didn't even talk about his departure or about what they would do since they would be separated for at least centuries. Feng Yingyue was absolutely certain that Cao Yun would come back to her at some point. But she also knew that he would leave again, and probably much longer, as he would be an even more powerful cultivator. Although she wasn't too worried about matching his cultivation, her main concern was that, unlike him, she didn't feel the drive to leave the Piaolu planet. She was happy, surrounded by her large family that still kept on growing. She cared for Cao Yun a lot, but she wouldn't leave the Piaolu planet, the world where her father was buried. Only one thing was weighing on her mind: her mother. To this day, she still didn't know anything about her mother.
Cao Yun bid farewell to his brothers and sister, of course. However, another sister of his wouldn't let him go alone. Hongyu decided to go with Cao Yun, no matter what. Since she couldn't procreate on the Piaolu planet, nothing kept her from leaving. She would follow her brother, no matter where he went. As a matter of fact, Cao Yun was happy. Where he was going, Hongyu might benefit a lot, a lot more than either of them could imagine.
At last, Cao Yun went to the capital. He went underground where the root of the Withering Fusang Tree was.
Cao Yun circulated his cultivation to its limit. All of his strength was focused around him. Then, he jumped on the root with Hongyu. Within Cao Yun, Dian Mo was as excited as Cao Yun himself. They would enter the domains that Demon God Da Mo had tried and failed to conquer. Clearly, those worlds would be dangerous. Dian Mo had read Emperor Nuwa's journals too, so he knew what to expect, he had even guessed Cao Yun's plans to a certain extent. However, knowing about something and actually seeing or experiencing it were completely different. Just like Cao Yun, Dian Mo was a bit nervous.
As soon as his feet touched the root, Cao Yun felt that he couldn't fly, and neither could Hongyu. There wasn't any intense pressure. But something prevented Cao Yun from leaving the root, it was as though there was a world around the root, with a different Dao. In a way, it really felt like a human Domain, but it was different as it wasn't expanded consciously by the Withering Fusang Tree. Even Cao Yun's senses were limited. When he looked back, he simply couldn't see anything. Or rather, he saw an infinite root in both directions.
The human cultivator had been expecting that, so he kept on going forward. He knew that he had to maintain his direction or he would be lost. The root under his feet was slowly sapping his strength, but he wasn't too worried about it at the moment. He wouldn't be here too long. The only thing that worried Cao Yun a little was drawing the Withering Fusang Tree's attention not only to him but especially to the Piaolu planet. As such, he only used the amount of strength necessary, restricting his cultivation within his body. Thankfully, his 'Ashen Feather Seal' was able to conceal most of his cultivation.
After what felt like two months, Cao Yun stopped. He had walked at a steady pace since the beginning, but he suddenly came to a halt. This was it. He was absolutely certain that this was where he had to leave the path. Honestly, this was nerve-wracking even for Cao Yun. If he had made a mistake, he had no idea where he would appear. In the worst-case scenario, he might actually appear in the void between worlds, where he would most likely die unless he was able to get back to the root somehow.
Anyway, Cao Yun had checked his calculations several times. Now that he had made it all the way here, there was no reason to go back. Besides, he would be faced with the exact same problem if he tried to go back to the Piaolu planet.
"Boy, are you ready?"
"I am."
"Then, stop thinking and jump."
Dian Mo was as nervous as Cao Yun, but he pushed him forward. Hongyu could also tell that her brother was worried, so she gave him a small push with her head. Hearing Dian Mo's voice and feeling Hongyu's warmth, Cao Yun steeled his resolve and used all his physical strength to jump high enough to escape this world of the Withering Fusang Tree's root.
The very next moment, Cao Yun's world turned into pure darkness. All light had disappeared from the sky. For a short instant, Cao Yun feared that he had made a mistake. When he tried to look below his feet, he only saw a small part of the root, just like in the Everlasting Earth Palace. That was when he realized that there was a powerful light. However, it didn't come from the sky.
Unlike the root Cao Yun had jumped on, the root before him was completely exposed, but it was also much smaller. All around it, Cao Yun saw ashes and flames. Cao Yun felt Hongyu's body underneath him, she was helping him fly higher. When he looked at the ground from above, he saw vast lakes of lava and fire all over the place. This land was made only of black ashes that had turned solid and lakes of magma. Even from above, Cao Yun and Hongyu were feeling the scorching heat of the magma lakes. Then, they looked up.
The sky over their heads was pitch-black, any star above was blocked out by perpetual smoke. The atmosphere was also burning and toxic. To Cao Yun and Hongyu, this wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't dangerous either. They didn't need to breathe that much, and there remained enough oxygen in the atmosphere to keep them alive. Indeed, they still needed oxygen, for now.
In the distance, Cao Yun saw those thick clouds like embers. The flames below were shining in the clouds above. The landscape was absolutely extraordinary. Any mortal would have died in an instant from the heat alone. Even if Cao Yun had protected them, they would have suffocated to death as their lungs burned before their final moments. Even Mortal Warriors wouldn't make it very long here, only Spirit Warriors could stay in this land for extended periods of time. However, this had not stopped Demon God Da Mo from bringing Mortal Warriors to use them as cannon fodder anyway. Even if they didn't survive long in this environment, they weren't meant to survive long in the first place. They died in battle long before their surroundings could kill them.
This world was the Broken Fire World, the realm of the Flameborns.
As Hongyu was trying to fly higher, space itself seemed to oppose her movement. In this world, space was also fighting the cultivators. Flying was possible, but it was almost impossible to even reach the clouds, and speed was greatly diminished. Even the space of the Piaolu planet wasn't as distorted or broken. But Cao Yun had expected it. Unless his understanding of the Dao of Space was deep enough, he couldn't do much. In fact, he hoped that this strange space might help him study the Dao of Space. Of course, his main goal was the Dao of Fire.
For the time being, Cao Yun just wanted to make sure he was where he thought he was. Emperor Nuwa's description of this world was a few centuries old. Cao Yun flew on Hongyu's back, he chose a direction, and they went straight ahead. Space became so distorted the higher they went that going straight made their path chaotic. So Hongyu was forced to fly lower to the ground in order to keep a relatively straight line. As a consequence, they were exposed to the scorching heat of the planet much more. Even for a Crimson Annihilation Fenghuang, this wasn't pleasant. Cao Yun had already been thrown into lava, but the heat here was different.
On this planet, they felt as though they were on the surface of the Sun. The mere fact that the ground didn't melt was extraordinary, maybe it was due to the strange space, but it was also related to the fire itself. Clearly, the Dao of Fire was infused within this Broken Fire world.
Finally, they saw something different from the magma lakes. In the distance, Cao Yun began to spot small trees. They were on the right path.