Is this differential treatment?

Having made up his mind, Zhong Qing immediately led everyone upwards.

Soon, the group arrived above the 100,000-mile high altitude, a place only Great Emperors could reach.

Although the Twelve Demon Generals and Qilin Xiao Hei were still low in strength, under the Scarecrow's protection, they were not affected in the slightest, constantly observing their surroundings and steadily following behind the group!

As for Zhong Qing, though his cultivation was only at the Quasi-Emperor stage, he had slain countless Great Emperors, so the trivial anti-flight restriction was naturally no problem for him!

As everyone continued to ascend!

Soon, they went higher and higher.

At this altitude, the restrictive force was quite powerful.

Before the Red Dust Empress and others followed Zhong Qing, their maximum attainable height was roughly at this level!

As everyone looked up, they saw swirling, endless clouds above. These were not true clouds, but rather carriers of laws, extensions of rules, and even filled with the power of order.

It gave off an immense sense of oppressive weight.

Looking up, it made one feel like an ant gazing at the sky!

It was as if a true heavenly barrier was pressing down.

"Master, above is the heavenly barrier!"

"This heavenly barrier is 108,000 miles high!"

"To go to the Upper Realm, one must cross this 108,000-mile heavenly barrier."

Netherworld Monarch of Hellfire pointed upwards, explaining to Zhong Qing.

"Within this heavenly barrier, it is extremely perilous. What the Red Dust Empress said earlier was correct: to fully cross this heavenly barrier without a celestial pivot order, perhaps only a Two Tribulation Great Emperor can succeed."

If that were the case, Zhong Qing felt that his group crossing the heavenly barrier would not be a big problem!

"Let's go!"

He did not want to delay further and led everyone directly into the heavenly barrier.

Upon entering, the Red Dust Empress and the other Great Emperors felt as if billions of tons of force were pressing down on them.

However, they could withstand this pressure.

As for Zhong Qing, although he also felt a gravitational pull, he did not feel any discomfort.

In contrast, Qilin Xiao Hei and the Twelve Demon Generals, under the Scarecrow's protection, did not feel this so-called pressure at all.

This made Netherworld Monarch of Hellfire somewhat aghast.

Even with a celestial pivot order, as a Two Tribulation Great Emperor, he could not bring people through this heavenly barrier.

Unexpectedly, a Scarecrow possessed such capability and power.

More crucially, he could not discern the Scarecrow's strength at all.

This made his heart involuntarily surge with excitement.

It seemed this newly recognized master was far more astonishing than he had imagined. If so, his future was not necessarily a dead end.

As everyone continued to ascend.

The pressure grew increasingly intense, and even the Red Dust Empress and the other Great Emperors felt considerable pressure.

This moved them somewhat.

Fortunately, they had not entered out of curiosity earlier.

Given the pressure on them now, if a One Tribulation Great Emperor had entered, he would likely have been severely injured.

And this was only after traveling 10,000 miles.

It was foreseeable that if an ordinary One Tribulation Great Emperor entered, simply from this pressure, he would be utterly unable to cross this 108,000-mile heavenly barrier.

Moreover, within this heavenly barrier, there was not only gravitational pressure.

When the group had ascended 20,000 miles within the heavenly barrier.

The surrounding scenery changed!

The surrounding white clouds turned dark black.

Lightning flashed within, and thunder intertwined.

Thunderbolts, like True Dragons, carried an endless destructive aura.

The thunder within, in terms of power alone, was comparable to the heavenly lightning tribulation an ordinary Great Emperor would face during an Emperor Tribulation.

When the group had traveled 30,000 miles!

The surrounding scenery changed again.

The dark clouds receded, replaced by a layer of red clouds.

Red as blood!

With an endless scorching hue, it was as if everyone had entered a sea of fire.

The scorching high temperature seemed to melt everything in the world.

Just like that, everyone continued their journey.

Almost every 10,000 miles, they would encounter a different cloud layer space.

Of course, within these cloud layer spaces, there were varying degrees of danger.

Some cloud layers could stir up one's inner demons.

Some cloud layers would obscure divine senses and the five senses, causing one to lose direction and thus drift in the endless void.

If any One Tribulation Great Emperor or weaker expert were to enter, it wouldn't be a crisis every ten steps, but it wouldn't be far off.

However, these dangers, in Zhong Qing's eyes, were somewhat insignificant.

Even the Red Dust Empress and other Two Tribulation Great Emperors could handle them with ease.

One could only say that being strong sometimes truly allowed one to do as they pleased.

And as everyone traveled a certain distance, a segment of an imprint would appear within their bodies.

After everyone had completely traversed the 108,000 miles, the imprint within their bodies had clearly formed a complete ring.

"How did a golden ring-shaped imprint appear inside me?"

Qilin Xiao Hei was somewhat bewildered.

Netherworld Monarch of Hellfire smiled and explained, "Any external being who passes the Second Heaven's test will have such an imprint appear within their body!"

"This is the celestial pivot order."

"It is a symbol of Upper Realm identity."

"You will no longer be rejected by space, essentially having a pass to enter the Second Heaven."

As Netherworld Monarch of Hellfire spoke, Zhong Qing was attracted by the distant scenery.

At this moment, he was above the heavenly barrier.

Below, clouds surged, laws intertwined, and thunder roared.

Above his head, the scorching sun hung high, and the sky stretched for thousands of miles in a clear blue.

In the distance, mountain ranges rose and fell, filled with the ancient and vast sense of time!

In the air, there was a faint, ethereal mist.

This was something the Lower Realm had never possessed—Immortal Qi!

Zhong Qing was not unfamiliar with this Immortal Qi.

After all, he possessed quite a few Immortal-grade items.

"This is the Upper Realm?"

He murmured to himself.

He closed his eyes, sensing the different changes between the Upper and Lower Realms.

Aside from the Immortal Qi that the Lower Realm lacked, the rules here were far more complete than in the Lower Realm.

Moreover, the spatial solidity was hundreds or even thousands of times greater than in the Lower Realm.

If a Great Emperor expert could easily destroy a domain in the Lower Realm, then here, their destructive power would undoubtedly be compressed by thousands of times.

At the same time!

The Red Dust Empress and others were also observing the Upper Realm.

Soon, a hint of realization flashed in their eyes.

Then, a radiant glow emanated from each of them, and their cultivations surged.

The Twelve Demon Generals, Qilin Xiao Hei, and Little Ga were no exception!

This scene made Netherworld Monarch of Hellfire feel a pang of envy.

In the Three Thousand Domains of the Lower Realm, due to the curse on the Fengtian Hall container, the laws were incomplete and the rules were imperfect. Now, they had arrived in the Upper Realm, where the rules were relatively complete.

Their Dao changed with the changes in the heaven and earth environment, becoming more perfect.

It was foreseeable that soon, their strength would inevitably experience a surge!

This was considered a stroke of luck and a benefit for those from the Lower Realm who traveled to the Upper Realm.

As for him, he did not have this fortune!

In fact, when he traveled from the Upper Realm to the Lower Realm back then, his cultivation had dropped significantly.

The changes in everyone naturally attracted Zhong Qing's attention.

Likewise, he understood that everyone was undergoing a baptism of fortune.

However, what displeased Zhong Qing was that everyone came from the Lower Realm, so why didn't he receive this fortune and benefit?

Was this differential treatment?

...