“Let’s go home and take a look!”
Qin Li shared his thoughts.
Everyone was stunned, exchanging glances, somewhat confused by Qin Li’s reasoning.
Chu Qingyin advised, “Husband, we have a lot of troubles right now. Let’s deal with the Painful Heavenly Mother first, then return to our hometown.”
“I think it’s a good idea!” Chaos chimed in, “Anyway, we don’t have many years left. We should hurry back and see if there are any regrets we can make up for.”
Li Ping’an couldn’t help but roll his eyes, scolding, “You gray egg, can’t you say something positive? Maybe we can defy the heavens and succeed.”
Baili Jian frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then smiled, “Go ahead. We’ll each go our separate ways. If life has no regrets, perhaps we won’t fear anything.”
His words carried the courage of burning bridges, ready to sacrifice everything once all regrets were resolved, unafraid of death.
Hearing this.
Everyone nodded.
Li Ping’an went to find Han Xinwu.
Baili Jian headed to the Sword Cultivator’s Great World, his hometown.
Qin Li and Chu Qingyin naturally returned to Earth, bringing along a few women, two boys, and their parents.
“Wow, we’re going home!” Mo Yao was excited, clapping her hands.
Blood Princess and Bai Ruyun, being from Earth, were also delighted, dressing up and preparing.
“Father’s hometown is said to be a sphere!” Qin Lianyi and Qin Hao had heard from their mother but had never been there.
“Now that Earth has become a desolate continent with revived spiritual energy, the scenery has changed drastically. It might not be what you imagine,” Qin Yuanbo and Wen Shu smiled.
“We want to visit the ancient ruins,” Little White and Little Dragon were thrilled, accompanied by Yu Xian Long Dieyu, who was now inseparable from Little Dragon, growing more intimate.
“Wait a moment!”
Qin Li suddenly remembered something.
“You pack your things. I have a small matter to attend to.”
With that!
He teleported away.
Entering the depths of the celestial prison within the Heavenly Realm’s battleship.
“It seems you’re all quite comfortable,” Qin Li said.
“Qin Li.”
“Why are you here!”
“Come to mock us?”
The body cultivators and soul cultivators were indignant.
“I have no such interest,” Qin Li took out many delicacies and fine wines.
“Yesterday’s victory celebration should be enjoyed by all. Although we’re at odds, you should also share in the afterglow of victory. These treats are my small gift.”
Hearing this.
The group grew even angrier.
“Hmph, do you think we’re beggars?”
“Trying to win us over with petty favors!”
They smashed the wine jars, kicked over the dishes, venting their anger.
The Lingtai Temple Master shook his head, “Qin Li, I know you’re a gentle person, but thinking you can win us over with this is just wishful thinking.”
Qin Li had expected this reaction and calmly said, “I treat you well because you once treated me well. Whether you accept it or not is truly none of my concern.”
“Moreover, if I really wanted to deal with you, I have plenty of means at my disposal. I just choose not to use them.”
“Farewell for now. We’ll meet again.”
With that!
Qin Li rode the wind and left.
He chose to split into three avatars.
The Taihua Supreme said, “I’ll stay and guard the myriad worlds.”
The Rebellious Saint Emperor smiled, “I’ll continue to suppress the Lingtai Temple and Wugong Mountain. Perhaps I can find some treasures there, so I won’t be returning.”
Qin Li’s main consciousness resided in the Other Shore Daoist, who nodded, “Since we share one mind, my return home means everyone returns. You guard well, and I should be back soon.”
The three separated.
Qin Li rejoined the group.
Everyone was chattering, almost ready.
“Let’s go! We’re going home,” Chu Qingyin activated the Immortal Kingdom’s Green Lotus.
Though it was just a lotus, light and ethereal, it contained a grand, fallen world, a remnant of the First Epoch.
“Let’s go!”
They rode the wind.
Entering the Immortal Kingdom.
They teleported directly to the Desolate Continent.
This was a vast, empty particle universe, boundless and endless.
However, the sun, moon, stars, and all celestial bodies had ceased their motion.
As if time had frozen, everything was suspended in a single moment, the Desolate Continent plunged into silence.
Chu Qingyin explained, “I used the Immortal Kingdom’s Green Lotus in battle. To prevent the Immortal Kingdom from being destroyed, I froze time to protect it.”
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers.
Time began to flow again.
The stars moved, and life resumed.
All living beings were unaware they had been frozen for several months.
“Wow, so many stars, but they’re all so empty, like bloated balloons. I could burst them with a punch,” Qin Hao scanned the vast universe.
“Be careful, that’s a black hole. If you fall in, you’re definitely dead!” Qin Lianyi pointed to a terrifying black sun in the distance.
Qin Li, displaying his Supreme power, reached out and grabbed the black hole, revealing its true form—a black disc, indestructible and solid.
The disc was carved with ancient geographical beasts, such as the Kunpeng, Vermilion Bird, Roc, and Great Wind… all creatures from the “Classic of Mountains and Seas.”
Chu Qingyin explained, “This is a relic from the First Epoch. Back then, myriad races competed, and physical prowess reigned supreme, giving birth to countless legendary tales.”
“Unfortunately, all that is ancient history, only carved onto this disc, becoming legends. Some stories have become ancient myths in various realms.”
Blood Princess, now a sixteen-year-old girl after becoming a King through tribulation, was extremely curious, “Then are the many legends in Chinese history, like Xuanyuan and Chiyou, also remnants of the First Epoch?”
Chu Qingyin nodded, “In the First Epoch, humans were a major race, divided into many clans, such as the Xuanyuan Clan, Jiuli Clan, Shennong Clan… The powerful became kings, and the strongest became emperors.”
The women were astonished, asking questions continuously.
Gradually, they pieced together a strange yet familiar picture of the Primordial Epoch.
As they chatted, they sped up, approaching the Desolate Continent, said to be a small fragment of the Primordial Continent.
With the revival of spiritual energy, it had fully regained the appearance of the First Continent, filled with auspicious clouds, lakes, forests, pavilions, and towers. Due to Earth’s technology, there were also concrete high-rises and long railways.
“A mix!”
Everyone commented.
They landed near Yang City.
Though they concealed their auras, they still caused a stir.
“Look! A group of fairies has descended. They’re so beautiful, beyond anything dreams could imagine!”
“Wow, any one of them is more ethereal and otherworldly than the top celebrities in the Gentleman’s Country.”
“Who’s that man surrounded by fairies? He looks so divine. I’m so envious. I must take a picture and post it online!”
The onlookers were stunned. They had seen cultivators, but never true immortals. Just a glance made them feel ashamed, unable to look directly.
Xia Yufei shook her head, “Sisters, let’s tone it down a bit.”
With a simple spell, they concealed their presence.
Qin Li headed to Yang City.
Along the way, he inquired about the situation on the Desolate Continent.
After the Qin Dynasty was overthrown, the rebels who seized power.
They kept their promise, establishing a parliamentary system, giving birth to the Gentleman’s Country.
This was a new nation, born of ideals, like the rising sun. But what the future held was unknown.
However, they greatly respected Qin Li, honoring him as the Sacred Teacher, and sealed off Yang City.
Returning once more.
Yang City had turned into a forest.
The once towering buildings leaned, covered in ivy.
The electric poles were broken, becoming bird nests, and the asphalt roads cracked and disintegrated.
The vast city had only two intact places: the old home and the Qiankun Hall, protected by an aura Qin Li left, keeping beasts and birds at bay.
“Son, is this where you used to live?” Qin Yuanbo and Wen Shu, visiting for the first time, curiously examined the dilapidated villa.
Qin Li sighed, “Yes! This is where I started. Ten years as a mute, a son-in-law of the Chu family, climbing out of the mud to soar in the heavens.”
“Not a pleasant history,” Chu Zitan smiled awkwardly. She used to quarrel with Qin Li, but now she called him brother-in-law more affectionately than anyone.
Qin Li looked at the ruined home and said slowly, “It was here that I married Qingyin, and it changed my destiny.”
Chu Qingyin smiled brightly, waving her hand, “Even without meeting me, your destiny would still have been extraordinary.”
Hearing this!
Qin Li’s heart skipped a beat.
A thought suddenly popped into his mind.
If he hadn’t met Chu Qingyin, would he have achieved so much?
Unconsciously, he recalled the World Tree’s words, cryptic and vague, saying he was neither the Great Dao nor Qin Li, hinting at something deeper.
This was the third time he had dreamed of the World Tree, like a conversation with himself, or perhaps an overlap of past and present lives.
Qin Li had a strange feeling but couldn’t quite put it into words.
