253: Meteor Ancient Realm

Li Qingluan concentrated and noted down the three matters, but her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

As soon as the other party finished speaking, she immediately questioned, "Lü Yingxin is...?"

The other Li Qingluan responded, "This person is a foreign royal, possessing a marvelous 'Precognition' ability, able to glimpse countless possibilities of the future."

"Only with her full assistance can you unite the myriad races of the foreign lands and gain authority."

"As for Tan Lingfei, he is from the foreign lands and possesses a supreme treasure that can stir up the future; kill him as early as possible."

"Finally, that Origin clone..."

'Her' voice for the first time revealed an extremely faint, almost ethereal sorrow: "It is prepared for Qin Wangchuan."

"At a certain destined point in the future, he will die once. This is a necessary preparation."

"These three matters are the cornerstones of your future Dao."

Li Qingluan stood rooted to the spot, digesting this vast information, enough to overturn everything.

Her future self had actually laid such a fallback?

But looking at those crimson eyes, similar yet distinctly different from her own, as waves surged in her heart... a cold unease, like a venomous snake, quietly coiled around her heart.

It wasn't disbelief.

On the contrary.

She fully believed that these words originated from the will of "Li Qingluan," but this ominous premonition also reminded her that something was amiss.

Was she deceived?

Where?

Recalling the three matters again, when she touched upon the "Origin clone," a flash of lightning seemed to strike in her mind!

A terrifying conjecture suddenly surfaced—

Li Qingluan suddenly looked up, her gaze piercing the other party like a blade, her voice cold: "Is that Origin clone... truly prepared for Qin Wangchuan?"

She didn't need the other party to answer, staring intently at those crimson eyes, dissecting every word:

"If I were you, trapped in a prison of thought, witnessing everything yet unable to interfere... what would I do? I wouldn't merely be content to observe, nor would I willingly remain just a reminder."

"I would spare no effort to seek a body that could truly carry my will and walk among the living."

"And an 'Origin clone' refined from Chaos divine objects like the Reincarnation Lotus, Nine Heavens Breath Earth, and Chaos Primordial Spirit... is undoubtedly the most perfect choice!"

The other Li Qingluan listened silently, without any panic at being exposed on her face.

Instead, after she finished speaking, she slowly curved her lips.

"I know what you're thinking." 'Her' voice was unusually calm, even carrying a peculiar frankness, "But on this matter alone, you can rest assured."

"You know, when it concerns him, I cannot lie."

Her crimson eyes were as deep as an abyss, reflecting Li Qingluan's wary face.

"Isn't that right?"

This rhetorical question, light as it was, precisely struck the deepest part of Li Qingluan's heart.

Matters concerning Qin Wangchuan's safety were indeed their common bottom line, the only "truth" that even someone as mad as the other party might preserve.

Li Qingluan's taut nerves slightly faltered.

Although her intuition still shrieked warnings, and she still felt something was wrong.

But since it concerned him, it was better to believe it than not.

This clone must be refined.

"...I understand." Li Qingluan finally said in a deep voice, no longer pressing the matter.

She turned around, beginning to ponder how to start searching for those three rare divine objects.

It was precisely because of this turn that Li Qingluan did not see the deep gloom and a barely perceptible, triumphant cold smile in the eyes of the figure behind her, who was identical to her.

The crimson-eyed Li Qingluan whispered silently in her heart, like a cold wind from the Nine Hells: 'Since I returned from Hell, what is a mere deception?'

'To change that outcome, I will stop at nothing!'

At the entrance of the Ancient Realm of the Meteor Star, starlight cascaded like a waterfall, illuminating the surrounding space in a misty and mysterious glow.

When Qin Wangchuan, Li Qingluan, Zhao Lingyun, Yan Wujin, and Zhou Yunyi appeared, the previously bustling entrance experienced a momentary pause.

Just standing there, the naturally flowing Dao rhythm and aura around them were like a bright moon in the sky, drawing gazes from all directions involuntarily.

Each of them was a paragon among men, and together they were so dazzling that people dared not look directly.

What shocked the surrounding Cultivators even more was—

Zhao Lingyun casually took five ancient bronze tokens from a servant, and as if distributing ordinary keepsakes, he nonchalantly handed them to the four people beside him.

Those tokens... were Meteor Star Tokens!

For just one of these qualifications to enter the Ancient Realm, countless Cultivators had fought tooth and nail, battled on life-and-death platforms, struggled at the edge of Secret Realms, expending countless efforts and costs to barely obtain one.

After acquiring them, they would invariably cherish them, hiding them deep in their bosoms, fearing that even a corner revealed would invite murder.

Yet at this moment, these five Meteor Star Tokens, enough to cause a bloody storm, were held and played with casually in the hands of these few people, like wooden tokens for children in the mortal world, without even a second glance.

This indifferent attitude was more impactful than any deliberate display of wealth.

"Who are these people...?" someone murmured, their eyes filled with shock and awe.

In an instant, envy, jealousy, scrutiny, terror... all sorts of complex gazes, like solid entities, fell upon the five individuals.

The few naturally noticed these gazes, but as long as no one came forward to cause trouble, they wouldn't be too conspicuous.

The others, such as Yan Wujin, all had their own reasons for not coming.

Chu Wujiu weighed the token in his hand and grinned: "Zhao Lingyun, do we really need this thing? I think the Secret Realm wall is very thin; using the Heaven and Earth Law might even tear open a direct breach."

"You just want to show off a few more tricks, don't you?" Ye Lingchuan, with the immortal burying coffin on his back, glanced at him, his tone flat.

Zhao Lingyun shook his head, firmly tying the token to his waist: "Since we've come to a Secret Realm, we should abide by its rules. Forcibly breaking the wall would only increase Karma, which is not ideal."

Qin Wangchuan took the token, his fingertips brushing over the cold star patterns as he pondered.

Just then, he heard Yun Zexuan next to him whisper very softly:

"Rules..."

There was an elusive meaning in that voice, not like a question, but rather a kind of... confirmation.

Qin Wangchuan's gaze shifted slightly, but he said nothing more.

While the Secret Realm had not yet opened, he had a thought and summoned his System panel, which he hadn't checked in a long time.

[Targeted Simulation · Ancient Realm of the Meteor Star] (Available)

[Number of Simulations: 7]

This was also a Secret Realm that could be targeted for simulation.

A few months had passed since he completed his Ascension, and although System tasks were still being issued normally, and the people of Dao Seeking Palace were working on them, the efficiency was very slow.

The reason, well, it wasn't that they were slacking off, but rather—

Qin Wangchuan's gaze fell upon the ongoing System task.

[New Task: Temporary Humiliation!]

[Task Description: You have endured countless hardships, shattered the Void Realm from the Lower Realm, and Ascended to the Middle Thousand Province of the Upper Realm. Upon first arriving in this esteemed place, you deeply understand that your own strength is not profound enough. To act discreetly, you adopted the alias Qingchuan. Just as you were about to enjoy the scenery of this realm, you were stopped by a team of people. The leader demanded that you pay Spirit Stones or mine for a hundred years to repay the debt.]

[Task Objective One: Defeat the Guard Captain!]

[Task Reward: Simulation Count +5, Origin +400.]

[Task Objective Two: Honestly mine for at least (six months).]

[Task Reward: Gain Simulation Count +2 for each month mined, and a mysterious reward within the mine upon task completion.]

(Note: If Task Objective One is completed first, Task Two will automatically fail.)

Only one main quest would appear.

Even if the people of Dao Seeking Palace were incredibly capable, completing this one task would take a full six months; they couldn't speed it up.

This was the reason why obtaining simulation counts was very slow.

"Looks like I'll have to use them sparingly." Qin Wangchuan mused, his gaze sweeping over the task again: "Six months of mining, not long, but it's hard labor. After this task, I should give them some rewards."

A well-timed reward could both comfort their toil and solidify their loyalty.

"Time to go in." Zhao Lingyun's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ahead, the light screen fluctuated violently, star patterns swirling to form a vortex-like entrance, deep and unfathomable, as if leading to the ancient starry sky.

However, at this time, within the Middle Thousand Province, things were not as difficult as Qin Wangchuan imagined.