Chapter 65 The Lower Realms of the Five Continents

The nebula swirled, its cold light illuminating the side of Gu Heng's face.

"Besides the Five Great Provinces, that Lower Realm we stayed in... where else could it be?"

Lin Qingyue's voice echoed through the space.

Gu Heng's eyes narrowed, and his heart skipped a beat.

The Lower Realm of the Five Great Provinces?

The aura surging from the heaven-reaching tower was actually from the same source as the realm they had been in before?

Fragments of clues flashed through his mind.

From surviving in the Qingyun Sect with the System, to later being treated as a hidden expert, and then to the Heavenly Dao's induction and forced Ascension... that world felt like it had been tampered with everywhere.

"Are you sure?"

Gu Heng stared into Lin Qingyue's eyes, trying to find an answer within them.

Lin Qingyue shook her head slightly. "I'm not entirely sure. That aura appeared for only a very short time back then, and it was smoothed over by the tower's Law power in an instant.

If I hadn't been receiving a Legacy at that time and had my Divine Sense at its sharpest, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. To confirm this..."

She looked up at Gu Heng. "Only you can try it yourself. You are now the refiner of this tower; its secrets shouldn't be secrets to you anymore."

Gu Heng took a deep breath, feeling that there was some truth to her words.

Since he had already claimed this supreme treasure as his own, it would be a hidden danger if he didn't thoroughly understand its origins.

He closed his eyes and no longer suppressed the Immortal Venerable cultivation he had obtained. His Divine Sense flickered frantically within the tower.

The first floor, the hundredth floor, the ten-thousandth floor...

Layers of the Law of Space were peeled away. Gu Heng's Divine Sense touched the true core of this giant tower.

His vision suddenly cleared.

It was a cluster of Universes.

Countless shimmering bubbles floated in the void, densely packed like stars.

Each bubble was an independently functioning Small World.

Gu Heng's Divine Sense randomly locked onto a small bubble at the very edge and delved inside.

Inside was a continent.

Imperial cities rose from the ground; Mortal armies slaughtered each other on muddy battlefields, blood staining the moats; ragged farmers prayed for rain on parched loess; and low-level Cultivators who had just entered the Qi Refinement Stage fought with knives in dark alleys for a ten-year-old Spiritual Plant.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death; the rise and fall of dynasties; joys and sorrows.

All existed within this bubble, following the Laws of the Heavenly Dao, living and multiplying.

Gu Heng looked at another bubble.

It was a water world composed of vast oceans. In the deep sea, there were sea beasts the size of mountains, roaring at the sky, trying to break through the Lightning Tribulation on the water's surface.

Thousands, millions, even hundreds of millions of such Small Worlds were embedded inside the heaven-reaching tower.

Gu Heng was deeply shaken.

These living beings, these humans and Yao Beasts, struggled for survival and longevity, working from sunrise to sunset, fighting their whole lives for the so-called 'number one in the world.'

But they would never know that the world and Universe they couldn't escape in their entire lives, the Heavenly Dao they revered, was actually just a Magic Treasure used for combat or trials by some powerhouse in the Upper Realm.

How pathetic.

However, as Gu Heng's Divine Sense swept through the cores of those worlds, he discovered that they indeed hid many worldly wonders and ancient Legacies that couldn't be found outside.

This heaven-reaching tower was practically a treasury that had plundered the foundations of ten thousand worlds.

"Phew—"

Gu Heng opened his eyes, cut off his Divine Sense, and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

The starry sky remained profound.

He shook his head, tossing aside the sentimental thoughts of all living beings being like ants.

Now was not the time for mercy or treasure hunting.

Outside, two bloodshot-eyed powerhouses of the Emperor Realm were charging toward him. He had to figure out what fatal connection existed between the heaven-reaching tower and the Lower Realm where the Five Great Provinces were located.

Amidst his contemplation,

Gu Heng's gaze swept across Lin Qingyue's face.

Under the starlight,

the silver-white mark on Lin Qingyue's forehead flickered. With every flicker, a faint ripple appeared in the surrounding space.

Gu Heng frowned,

took half a step forward, and stared at the mark.

"This mark of yours, when did it appear?"

...

At the same time,

in the Lower Realm,

the Five Great Provinces,

East Province, Qingyun Sect.

Several days had passed since Gu Heng was forcibly inducted and ascended by the Heavenly Dao's golden light and the Divine Envoy had departed.

During these few days, the weather across the entire East Province continent had been very strange.

A misty drizzle enveloped the whole continent.

The raindrops were very fine, falling onto the bluestone slabs in front of the Qingyun Sect's main hall and gathering into puddles.

The pitter-patter of the rain sounded like someone weeping.

At the back mountain of the Qingyun Sect,

by the edge of a cliff.

At this moment, Old Ancestor Qingxuan had donned an old straw raincoat and was squatting on a large, moss-covered rock.

He let the rainwater drip from the edge of his bamboo hat onto the tip of his nose as he stared at the gradually changing sky.

Deep within the clouds,

on the gray horizon, a faint yet piercing golden light was flickering in and out of view.

Every time the golden light flickered, the surrounding Spiritual Qi would fall into chaos for a moment.

Old Ancestor Qingxuan's expression became somewhat strange, as if he had seen a ghost, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Um... Old Ancestor..."

Nearby in the mud, Ye Wentian, the Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect, held an oil-paper umbrella and cautiously approached.

He followed Old Ancestor Qingxuan's gaze and glanced at the golden light in the sky, his Adam's apple bobbing. "This celestial phenomenon... this wisp of golden light... could it be that the Heavenly Dao has finally remembered you... and your Divine Light of Induction has come again?"

At the mention of the 'Divine Light of Induction,' Old Ancestor Qingxuan jumped up from the rock like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He shook the accumulated water from his straw raincoat right onto Ye Wentian's face.

"Stop, stop, stop! Enough!"

Old Ancestor Qingxuan pointed at the sky, his finger trembling as he cursed, "This is absolutely not some Divine Light of Induction! How many times has this ancestor been fooled?

Do you think this ancestor would fall for that kind of trick again?"

Ye Wentian wiped the water from his face and shut his mouth.

Old Ancestor Qingxuan was so angry his beard was bristling. He paced back and forth along the cliff edge with his hands behind his back, saying, "Furthermore, this ancestor cares deeply for the safety of all Cultivators in the world. If the moment of Ascension truly arrived, this ancestor would naturally set up an altar to preach the Dao and bestow supreme opportunities and insights upon the juniors of this world!

How could I be like that kid Gu Heng, having no sense of responsibility, just patting his butt and leaving behind a mess? Am I that kind of selfish person?"

"..."

Ye Wentian stood under the umbrella, the corner of his eye twitching.

The Old Ancestor was still the same, always going on about 'all the world's Cultivators.'

Besides, Senior Gu left in a hurry; he probably had his reasons.

After all, that Divine Envoy was a supreme powerhouse at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level. If he didn't ascend, was he supposed to stay and wait for death?

While complaining wildly in his heart, Ye Wentian didn't dare show it on his face. He could only force a smile and repeatedly agree.

Old Ancestor Qingxuan seemed to see through the disdain in Ye Wentian's eyes.

He coughed to hide his embarrassment, then straightened his expression and changed the subject.

"Fine, stop meddling in the sky's business. I ask you, some time ago, those Central Province prodigies and the Saints and Saintesses of various Sects who entered the tower—did they all suddenly appear outside their respective Sect gates?"

Ye Wentian was taken aback. Putting aside his playfulness, he said seriously, "Reporting to Old Ancestor, that is indeed the case. According to reports from our scouts, those prodigies have not only returned but their cultivation bases have all increased significantly.

It's just... their memories of what happened inside the tower are very blurred, and nothing clear can be gathered from them.

Old Ancestor, is something wrong?"

Old Ancestor Qingxuan stopped in his tracks, rainwater dripping from his bamboo hat and splashing onto the bluestone.

"What's wrong?"

Old Ancestor Qingxuan sneered, "Use your brain and think about it. That heaven-reaching tower was directly refined and taken into his body by that kid Gu Heng right in front of everyone!"

"And Gu Heng has already broken through the realm and ascended to the Upper Realm!"

"A tower taken to the Upper Realm. A group of people trapped inside the tower. Tell me..."

"How did they cross the realm barrier and return to this Lower Realm?"

The moment those words fell.

"Boom—"

Pale lightning streaked across the dark sky.

It illuminated Ye Wentian's terrified face in fits and starts.

...

Outside Chiyan City.

The wind, carrying the scorched smell of magma, blew across the city-protecting array of the border city of sin.

The pressure of an Immortal Emperor crashed down over Chiyan City like a mountain.

The millions of Devilish Cultivators, Yao Race members, and Loose Cultivators in the city were all flat on the ground, not daring to lift their heads, only able to let out whimpers.

The sky tore open into a rift hundreds of thousands of miles long.

Under the collision of the auras of the two Immortal Emperor Realm powerhouses, the realm barrier turned into countless spatial turbulences raging in the sky.

"Boom—"

A demonic shadow with scarlet eyes stepped out from the spatial rift.

Emperor Li descended.

With every step he took, the leyline magma beneath Chiyan City churned, and countless crimson fire pillars shot into the clouds as if welcoming the wrath of this Dominator of the Devil Realm.

A thousand feet from Emperor Li's side, ripples of blue light wavered in the void.

Jiang Wuji held his natal immortal sword, treading upon a river of stars paved by Sword Intent.

Even though traces of blood from when he was previously suppressed by the heaven-reaching tower remained on his robe, the killing intent belonging to a human Immortal Emperor still kept the surrounding Devilish Qi at bay.

A devil and an immortal, originally Mortal enemies who would fight to the death.

At this moment,

they stood strangely under the same sky because of a shared goal.

Emperor Li looked down from above, his scarlet eyes sweeping over the City Lord's mansion hall below.

"Chong Batian."

Emperor Li let out a cold snort. "You people have certainly made it difficult for this Emperor and the Immortal Emperor to find you!"