195: Please keep your distance; I'm afraid he'll misunderstand.

"That Ancient Desolate Secret Realm, in the era where this old man lived, was already a place of trial that the young Prodigies of the Five Domains and Two Heavens flocked to."

In the pavilion, Wang Changsheng picked up the white jade wine cup and took another gulp of blood wine.

"However, the rules of the Secret Realm back then were not yet stable; it only allowed beings of the Divine Fire Realm and below to enter, and it was fraught with danger."

"As time passed and the world changed, the laws of heaven and earth in that Secret Realm have now become much more stable. Even those in the God King Realm can enter safely."

"Inside the Secret Realm, Opportunities are everywhere, but so is killing intent..."

"When I was young, I once accidentally entered a patch of ancient ruins and sat there in meditation for three years. I actually comprehended half a volume of a fragmented ancient technique from it. The profundity of its Dao charm far exceeds many of the current Imperial Scriptures, seemingly touching... the edge of the Immortal Dao."

He paused, a hint of confusion and reminiscence flashing through his eyes.

"Even... I once caught a glimpse of a misty and transcendent figure in a certain forbidden land. Whether it was an immortal or a demon, real or an illusion, it was hard to tell."

"Perhaps it was just a lingering shadow left behind by some glorious era of the past, occasionally reflected by the rules of the Secret Realm..."

Wang Changsheng opened up. This ancient emperor, who had lived for twenty thousand years, possessed incredibly rich experience.

He slowly recounted various rumors of the Ancient Desolate Secret Realm, strange sights, and even some ancient legends about the Immortal Seed.

Qin Wushang listened quietly, nodding from time to time and occasionally interjecting with questions at key points.

"Kid, you must remember..."

Wang Changsheng put down his wine cup, his expression becoming a bit more serious.

"Although the Ancient Desolate Secret Realm is called a Secret Realm, its interior is vast and boundless, forming its own great world. Its territory is even more expansive than the Desolate Heaven Domain!"

"Since ancient times, no one has ever been able to explore its entire boundaries..."

"Peerless powerhouses once speculated that this Secret Realm might not exist fixedly in the present world, but is partially anchored in fragments of past time..."

"It might even be slowly growing and expanding on its own, which is why no one can explore its entire territory."

"It is the ultimate trial ground that all top Prodigies of the Five Domains and Two Heavens dream of, as well as the most brutal elimination ground."

"Only those who can stand out and complete the ultimate transformation within it are qualified to vie for the pinnacle of an era."

He looked at Qin Wushang with a deep gaze: "Now, the fragmented Great Dao that has suppressed the Desolate Heaven Domain for hundreds of thousands of years is about to dissipate completely."

"This means that the Mandate of Heaven, which has been dormant for too long, will choose a new Revered Master. The Golden Age is about to begin."

"With your talent and Luck, there is a great possibility that the Dao you walk will make you one of the protagonists in this struggle for the Mandate of Heaven."

"Make the most of this trip to the Secret Realm. Let this old man see to what extent a so-called Future Great Emperor of this era, an invincible one who wields the Mandate of Heaven and suppresses an entire generation, can truly be Heaven-Defying."

After saying this, Wang Changsheng drained the remaining wine in his cup. His figure slowly faded in the pavilion and finally disappeared.

"Phew..."

Qin Wushang sat alone in the pavilion, digesting the massive amount of information he had just heard. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

"As expected of an old fossil who has lived for nearly twenty thousand years. The things packed in his head are like a mobile treasury."

"This conversation was worth it."

He looked up at the sky; the sun was already sinking in the west. He got up, left the pavilion, and returned to the wooden house on Emperor Mountain... Night fell, and the stars were sparse.

Inside the wooden house, Qin Wushang sat cross-legged on the large bed made of condensed ice, his eyes slightly closed. A faint golden glow circulated around his body, and his aura was steady.

Suddenly!

The space in front of him silently rippled with an extremely subtle moonlight ripple.

A cold and peerless figure, like a Moon Palace Fairy descending to the mortal realm, appeared silently by the side of the ice bed.

Chu Yuehua had arrived.

She was still wearing the solemn imperial robes from the day, her black hair meticulously tied into a Phoenix Bun and adorned with a Swaying Hairpin symbolizing imperial power.

However, she had shed the absolute majesty she displayed before others during the day. Her cold Phoenix eyes rested on Qin Wushang, quietly observing him with a complex expression.

Qin Wushang seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the visitor, he showed a hint of surprise.

"Revered Master? Why are you here?"

He thought that after last night, she wouldn't come to this slightly awkward wooden house again today.

He didn't expect her to come!

"Please address me as Your Majesty."

Chu Yuehua's red lips parted slightly as she uttered the cold words in her usual commanding tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qin Wushang followed suit, but his face wore his usual lazy and familiar smile.

"It's so late. Your Majesty's personal visit—does it mean there's some urgent matter to instruct your Disciple with?"

Chu Yuehua did not answer immediately. She only took half a step forward, moving closer to the ice bed.

She looked down at him, her gaze clear and cold: "Rebellious Disciple, why did you... not go to the Imperial Palace today?"

Her tone was flat, but Qin Wushang sensed a feeling of interrogation, which made him feel uneasy.

"Ah?"

Qin Wushang was stunned!

So it was for this.

His face immediately filled with helplessness as he let out a sigh.

"Your Majesty, please understand. Your Disciple... your Disciple has been overworked these past few days and is truly exhausted both physically and mentally. I only wanted to quietly regulate my Qi and build up my strength in preparation for tomorrow's trip to the Secret Realm."

"Therefore, I didn't step out, let alone travel all the way to the Imperial Palace. I hope Your Majesty can understand."

He deliberately paused slightly on the word 'overworked', implying something.

A very faint blush instantly appeared on Chu Yuehua's stunning cheeks. Fortunately, it wasn't obvious under the cover of the night and the hazy light emitted by the ice bed.

Her Phoenix eyes widened, flashing with a hint of shame and annoyance.

"As a Disciple, not going to the Imperial Palace to pay respects and report to this Emperor is a breach of etiquette."

She kept a straight face, trying hard to make her voice sound full of majesty.

"You should be punished."

"Oh?"

Qin Wushang raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing to see his Revered Master insisting on maintaining her Chu Yuehua persona.

He asked submissively, "Then how does Your Majesty intend to punish your Disciple?"

Chu Yuehua's eyes flickered slightly as she avoided his smiling gaze and looked elsewhere, saying coldly, "Lie down."

"?"

"Obediently attend to my bed."

...The next day, the first light of dawn appeared.

Desolate Heaven Domain, the far eastern borderlands.

This was originally a desolate and lifeless border with thin Spiritual Qi, rarely visited by people.

Today, however, it became the focus of the entire Desolate Heaven Domain and even the surrounding major domains.

In the sky, streaks of powerful light like meteor showers cut through the air, converging from all directions.

On the ground, there were also massive flying artifacts, ferocious war beasts, and ancient chariots with terrifying auras rolling past.

Countless powerful Divine Thoughts crossed in the Void Realm and cautiously avoided each other.

Heaven Mending Sacred Sect, Nine Nether Sacred Cult, Heavenly Derivation Sect, Taiyuan Sacred Sect, Forging Heaven Sect... top-tier orthodoxies that shook the Desolate Heaven Domain appeared one after another!

The gathering area of the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching focuses at this moment.

Not because their leader had the highest cultivation, but because two figures stood there.

One of them had a tall and straight posture, wearing a moon-white robe embroidered with the cloud patterns of the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect.

His face was resolute, with lines like they were carved by a knife or split by an axe. His eyes were particularly strange.

Deep within his pupils, there were actually faint double shadows!

Between their opening and closing, terrifying scenes of suns and moons rotating and the birth and death of the Universe and stars flashed by.

Just by standing there, he naturally exuded an innate aura of arrogance and dominance, as if he were born to look down upon his peers and take charge of the world.

Double-Pupiled One, Qin Wudi!

The peerless Saint that the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect of this generation had spared no effort to cultivate, hailed as the Future Great Emperor.

But at this moment, more people's gazes bypassed Qin Wudi and fell on the figure half a step ahead of him.

It was a woman.

She wore a plain white dress as pure as snow, untainted by a speck of dust. Her figure was tall and slender, and her hair was as black as ink.

Her face was extremely beautiful, perfect and beyond reproach, but it seemed to be covered in a layer of eternal frost. She had no expression, and her eyes were indifferent and ethereal, as if nothing in the world could stir the slightest ripple in her heart.

Saintess of the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect, Mu Bingyun.

Just like her name, she was as cold as frost. As the future successor of the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect, she was known as the "Ice Block."

She just stood there quietly, independent and transcendent.

Qin Wudi turned his head slightly, looking at Mu Bingyun's flawless profile, the corner of his mouth curling into what he thought was a dashing and charming arc.

"Senior Sister Bingyun, look. The heroes of the Five Domains and Two Heavens are gathered here today; it is a magnificent sight."

"But in my view, they are all merely foils."

"Only a celestial grace like yours, Senior Sister, standing by my side, is the most perfect match in this world."

His tone carried unabashed confidence and pride.

But Mu Bingyun acted as if she hadn't heard.

Those ice-blue beautiful eyes still looked indifferently at the Void Realm ahead. Even her eyelashes didn't flicker once, as if Qin Wudi were just a clump of insignificant air.

Qin Wudi didn't care; he was already accustomed to such an attitude.

Just then!

"Buzz!"

From the distant sky came a terrifying fluctuation!

The Void Realm was torn open like a curtain by a domineering power, creating a thousand-foot-long brilliant crack!

In an instant!

Thousands of golden rays shone, and Dragon roars shook the heavens!

Nine golden Dragons, each over several hundred feet long, pulled a massive, mountain-like imperial carriage out of the Void Realm passage!

Nine Dragons pulling the carriage, Imperial Might surging!

"Great Chu Empire! It's Her Majesty the Empress's carriage!"

"They're finally here! The hosts of the Desolate Heaven Domain!"

"Goodness, what a grand display! Truly worthy of the Chu Yuehua who governs a domain!"

Exclamations rose from all sides as all eyes were instantly drawn over.

The imperial carriage hovered high in the sky, its light dimming slightly.

Everyone was able to see clearly that beside the imperial throne, which symbolized supreme authority, another person was actually sitting.

It was a young man dressed in a white robe, standing tall like a pine tree.

His features were handsome, his brow naturally carrying a spirited air, and a faint, non-committal smile played on his lips.

"He's Qin Wushang? That legendary Supreme Double Pupils?"

"His eyes look ordinary, with no unusual phenomena. Is he really the Supreme Double Pupils? Could it be an exaggeration?"

"To be able to ride in the imperial carriage with the Chu Yuehua, how could he be an ordinary person?"

"It's said that in the Great Chu Struggle of the Great Families, he took on fifteen opponents alone and crushed all the Prodigies!"

"It is said that Supreme Double Pupils are different from the Double-Pupiled One; they don't show normally and only manifest phenomena when activating Divine Abilities... I wonder how he compares to that Double-Pupiled One from the Heaven Mending Sect?"

"Nonsense! It's definitely the Supreme Double Pupils! The name is even longer; if he's not the best, then who is!"

Countless gazes focused on Qin Wushang!

Curiosity, jealousy!

In the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect camp, Mu Bingyun's ice-blue eyes locked onto that handsome face on the imperial carriage.

On her eternally frozen, expressionless face, a smile appeared at this moment.

Though it was only for an instant, like an illusion, it already captivated everyone who was fortunate enough to witness it.

"Im... Impossible!!!"

Standing beside Mu Bingyun, Qin Wudi was the first to notice this extremely subtle yet clear change.

The arrogant smile on his face instantly froze, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the phantoms of the sun, moon, and stars that were originally drifting in his Dual Pupils directly collapsed.

He stared fixedly at Mu Bingyun's fleeting smile, then suddenly turned his head to look at the composed and handsome figure on the imperial carriage.

"Qin! Wu! Shang!"

A surge of fury suddenly erupted!

He had been in the Heaven Mending Sacred Sect for so many years, racking his brains and using every means possible, yet he had never managed to elicit even a ripple in Mu Bingyun's gaze.

Why did this outcast of the Qin Clan, this younger cousin whom he had never cared about, deserve this?

Why could he make Senior Sister Bingyun show the smile he had dreamed of after just one look?

This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"You're very annoying."

"He is the one I love the most."

"You are nothing."

"In the future, please keep a further distance from me. I don't want him to misunderstand, and I don't want to see you."