247: Destroying the heavens is not my wish, but for you, I will do it.

As the external clamor and pronouncements faded into silence, Qin Wangchuan's unconscious mind continued to sink into endless darkness.

He finally landed at the bottom of a cold lake of consciousness.

Above, the lake surface rippled, reflecting countless blurry faces.

Whispers surged from all directions, at first faint and indiscernible, gradually coalescing into a clear tide, carrying undisguised fear and unresolvable anger, repeatedly impacting his Sea of Consciousness:

"Monster..."

"Monster!"

The sound grew louder and louder, like a curse, attempting to drag him into deeper darkness.

At the bottom of the lake, Qin Wangchuan lay still.

Listening to those voices filled with fear and anger, he slowly raised his hand, as if to touch the reflection on the lake's surface, but in the end, his hand silently fell back down.

A barely perceptible curve formed at the corner of his mouth.

"Monster, huh..."

He whispered in his heart, without anger, without denial, but with a nearly defiant calm.

"Indeed, it's the most fitting title for me."

As his words fell, he calmly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, all illusions had receded, and the anchor point of his consciousness had returned from the dark lake bottom to reality.

His blurry vision gradually cleared, and the first person to enter his sight slightly surprised Qin Wangchuan.

It was Ji Wuchen.

He sat quietly on a chair beside the bed, holding a scroll, his expression focused.

Unbeknownst to him, the scroll had almost become his constant companion.

Of course, he himself was pretty much the same.

"You're awake."

Ji Wuchen, catching sight of him getting up from the corner of his eye, closed the scroll and turned.

"How long have I been asleep?" Qin Wangchuan pressed his still throbbing forehead.

"Two days," Ji Wuchen said calmly. "You woke up very quickly; the others are still lying down."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wangchuan's body subtly stiffened, then he sighed, "I lost."

At the end of the battle, Yan Wujin was still alive.

Undoubtedly, he had lost.

"No," Ji Wuchen shook his head, "You won."

Then, he calmly recounted what happened afterward: how the Dragon Gauze materialized, how it pierced Yan Wujin's heart with a single strike, and then how Jiujiu suppressed Yan Wujin's Golden Crow... The final result was, without a doubt, Qin Wangchuan's victory.

"It's also fortunate that Yan Wujin was the one still standing at the end. Any other person in that situation would have been distracted and wary of their surroundings. Only a madman like him, with only battle in his eyes, would be completely unaware of the danger behind him and be defeated so decisively," Ji Wuchen added.

Qin Wangchuan listened quietly and then sighed:

"Luck played a part, but I'm still not strong enough."

His hand subconsciously reached for his waist.

Although the initially Awakened immortal bone had largely recovered on its own within two days, the Dragon Gauze's aura was ethereal and would certainly not recover in a short time.

While he was pondering, he saw Ji Wuchen hand him something.

It was the longevity token he had given him before.

"This thing is indeed useful, but you cannot rely on it."

"Now, it's returned to its rightful owner."

Just as Ji Wuchen had not declined it back then, Qin Wangchuan now accepted it without any pretense, reaching out directly.

"That battle was magnificent," Ji Wuchen looked at him, his tone carrying a hint of genuine admiration. "The pseudo-immortal body, it should have been an unsolvable existence, but I didn't expect... you still broke it."

"Remarkable."

After speaking, his expression became serious, and his gaze sharpened: "Next time, it will be a battle between you and me."

Ji Wuchen paused, then frankly stated, "To be honest, I don't think I can win. But at the same time, I also believe it's meaningful."

"Challenging the impossible might seem meaningless, or even reckless, to others, but..."

"How could it be meaningless?"

Qin Wangchuan suddenly interrupted, casually stretching his limbs as he got out of bed, saying, "To be able to fight with the strong, and to grow stronger through that fight, is meaning in itself."

"The Karma sown today will surely bear fruit tomorrow. Even I have gained something."

As his words fell, his gaze suddenly turned to Ji Wuchen, those golden eyes deep as an abyss, clearly reflecting the other's figure:

"I look forward to our fight."

Even without looking at his eyes, one would know that these words contained no falsehood.

Even though he himself was a mountain and sea, he could still look directly at the light of every speck of dust.

Ji Wuchen gave a bitter smile: "Indeed, I can't compare to you."

He gazed at the figure before him, who had just awakened from unconsciousness, yet whose eyes were already burning and Battle Intent rekindled, silently completing that sigh in his heart:

'And precisely because of this, you are so... captivating.'

After they chatted for a while longer, Ji Wuchen seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Oh right, among those people you brought up from Middle Thousand Province, there seems to be a young lady waiting outside."

Qin Wangchuan nodded upon hearing this, understanding in his heart that it was Feng Qingjue.

"After lying down for two days, it's indeed time to attend to proper matters."

With that, he ordered Ye Jianwei to invite her in.

Ji Wuchen, seeing this, tactfully took his leave, tucking the Daoist scroll under his arm and departing to continue comprehending his Cultivation Technique.

The words "Myriad Tribulation Thunder Furnace" were faintly visible on the book's cover.

Not long after, Feng Qingjue pushed the door open and entered.

Her gaze involuntarily fell upon Qin Wangchuan—at that moment, he was merely casually draped in a dark outer robe, his collar slightly open, revealing his well-defined chest.

Her gaze lingered for a moment unconsciously.

Noticing this, Qin Wangchuan calmly adjusted his collar, covering his body, and then spoke, "We depart for the Immortal Court tomorrow."

"There's no need," Feng Qingjue gently shook her head. "These past few days, I have seen the true nature of the Upper Realm and the Immortal Court... It is indeed completely different from the Lower Realm."

She looked around the elegant bedchamber, her tone calm: "There's no need to go up anymore."

Qin Wangchuan did not insist, but merely continued to ask, "Then what is your answer?"

Back in Middle Thousand Province, the two had made an agreement.

After she had seen the Upper Realm and fulfilled her ideal, if she wished to challenge the heavens, he would lend her a hand;

If she did not wish to, then he would let her be.

"Challenging the heavens is not my wish," Feng Qingjue replied.

A very clear refusal.

She was indeed very valuable, but such people were as numerous as carp crossing a river throughout the myriad heavens, countless.

Qin Wangchuan said nothing more, simply raised his hand, signaling Ye Jianwei to show her out.

"Wait."

Feng Qingjue suddenly spoke, her clear, cold voice carrying a sense of desperate resolve.

When Qin Wangchuan looked up at her, she said word by word, "I owe you a favor for the resurrection last time."

"I can help you with the ideal you speak of."

"I want to see what this path ultimately leads to."

Qin Wangchuan did not immediately respond, but instead pondered in his mind.

Since his future self had borne Karma to leave a warning, then the organizations "Scavenger" and "Returnees" could not be ignored.

But if he were to entrust this matter to Yin Qiyue as well, she would indeed be spread too thin.

He had previously thought of assigning a few people from the Qin Family to go... After hearing these words, he suddenly felt... the person before him was the perfect candidate.

A fated person and a Transmigrator.

This combination would definitely be very interesting.

Thinking of this, Qin Wangchuan decisively looked up at Feng Qingjue: "That ideal is still too far for you."

"However, there is indeed another matter I can entrust to you right now."

Saying this, he raised his hand and tossed her a compass, continuing, "In the Xuanhuang Realm of Middle Thousand Province, there's an organization called 'Returnees'. This is its token. Opposing the Returnees is another organization called 'Scavenger'."

"Go and take control of them, prove your corresponding worth."

Feng Qingjue was not someone who could be easily swayed. She did not immediately agree, but instead lowered her gaze to the compass in her hand, her fingertips gently caressing its cool surface. After a moment of thought, she suddenly looked up and asked in return,

"Is this matter related to your ideal?"

"No," Qin Wangchuan replied calmly, "This is related to the future."