"Dad, is this... really okay?" Qin Zi asked weakly, casting a nervous glance at the floating island. His heart raced with anxiety.
He couldn't help but feel scared.
The elder who had spoken from the floating island carried an overwhelming sense of authority, something that instinctively made Qin Zi feel reverence and fear.
"Don't worry," Qin Chuan said calmly, his expression unchanged. He spoke with a faint smile:
"He's just a wretched being clinging to life after crawling out of a tomb. All bark and no bite."
Standing with his hands behind his back, Qin Chuan gazed at the floating island, a faint cold smile of disdain playing on his lips.
It seemed like he knew more than he was letting on.
But of course, he wasn't going to say anything.
"Is that really the case?" Qin Zi looked at his father in surprise, feeling reassured as his father's confidence provided him with a sense of security.
Little did he know...
On the surface, Qin Chuan seemed calm, but inside, he was just as nervous. In fact, he had already exchanged for a teleportation sphere to use for a quick escape if things went south.
Fortunately!
The mysterious elder on the floating island took no action and seemed unaware of what was happening outside.
Was the elder truly unaware? Or just indifferent? Or perhaps powerless and pretending not to notice?
Qin Chuan decided to investigate further.
"Let's go in and take a look," Qin Chuan said calmly, taking out a few tokens and distributing them to Baihe King, Jin Zhi, Princess Bai Lu, and Qin Zi, each holding one.
The elder had said that those with tokens could enter the Azure Leaf Celestial Sect. Whether it meant joining as disciples or merely gaining entry was unclear, but the token clearly served as a pass.
"Brother Dao, are you sure this is safe?" Baihe King asked hesitantly as he held the token. Being at a higher level of cultivation, he naturally had more concerns than the younger ones.
"Opportunities always come with risks. Everyone has their own choices. Whether you go or not is up to you," Qin Chuan responded calmly.
Having said that, he led Qin Zi toward the floating island. Qin Zi, of course, followed his father without hesitation.
"Father, what should we do?" Princess Bai Lu asked, looking toward Baihe King, while Jin Zhi also looked at him, as though leaving the decision entirely to him.
Baihe King thought for a moment, then sighed, a self-deprecating smile appearing on his face.
"I guess I've grown old and timid. I can't shake the feeling that this place is dangerous. If something goes wrong, we may not be able to protect ourselves. So... let's not go," he said with a bitter smile.
"Okay."
"We'll listen to Father," Princess Bai Lu and Jin Zhi nodded in agreement.
Since they had asked Baihe King's opinion, they naturally had to respect his decision. Asking for advice and then disregarding it would be pointless.
Seeing their response, Baihe King's smile deepened with self-mockery. "If Qin Zi gains some great inheritance up there and surpasses you both in the future, will you regret not going?"
"I won't," Jin Zhi said with a carefree smile, shaking his head.
"With Qin's talent, it's inevitable he'll surpass us. If he didn't, that would be the real surprise."
"Life isn't about constantly comparing yourself to others. Some people are born winners. Constantly competing will only bring frustration."
"No matter how this world changes, as long as the three of us can live peacefully together, that's enough for me."
Baihe King looked at his son-in-law in surprise. Despite his reputation for being uneducated, Jin Zhi had developed quite a mature outlook.
It was truly rare!
"Yes, Brother Jin is right. Let's head back, Father," Princess Bai Lu smiled, agreeing with her husband.
"Alright, let's go," Baihe King nodded, then waved his hand, leading them away, disappearing into the distant horizon.
Meanwhile...
Qin Zi glanced back at the retreating figures and sighed, "Sigh, they've missed out on a great opportunity."
"Everyone has their own path. Don't worry about it," Qin Chuan said, his tone calm. In truth, he believed Baihe King had made a very wise decision.
Even though Baihe King had reached the peak of the True Self Realm, without the system's support, Qin Chuan himself would hesitate to enter!
After all, the elder's words earlier had carried a weighty grandeur, giving the impression of an unrivaled power returning to the world.
"Buzz!"
As they neared the floating island, a transparent barrier shimmered into existence around the island.
The barrier exuded an ancient aura, as though it had existed for countless eons, yet remained unscathed by the passage of time.
It was vast, majestic, and eternal.
"Boom!"
Qin Chuan pressed his hand against the barrier, testing it with his full strength. The power of his invincible Forgetting Self Realm surged forth.
But in the next instant...
It felt as though his strength was a mere trickle of water flowing into an ocean, unable to stir the slightest ripple.
Moreover, a boundless, indescribable force pushed back against him with overwhelming pressure.
Whoosh!
Qin Chuan quickly withdrew his hand, avoiding injury from the terrifying recoil, though the experience left him sweating.
"Dad, what happened?" Qin Zi asked in surprise.
"Nothing. This barrier is very strong. Even with my current cultivation, I can't break it. We'll have to try using the tokens," Qin Chuan explained calmly.
Based on his experience, admitting failure openly reduced embarrassment by at least 70%.
"Got it."
Qin Zi nodded, taking out his token and pressing it against the barrier.
"Buzz!"
A glow spread from the token, rippling across the barrier's surface. The barrier responded by creating a circular opening and pulling Qin Zi through, as though he had passed through a curtain of water.
Seeing this, Qin Chuan followed suit, using his own token to pass through the barrier.
"Whoosh."
Instantly, he felt as though he had entered a warm and moist world, teeming with life and beauty.
However, in the very next moment...
A deafening roar echoed in his mind, as if an entire world had been forcefully crammed into his brain!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Before his eyes, gigantic mountains and divine peaks erupted from the ground, towering like ancient gods, making his soul tremble.
Floating above were majestic celestial palaces, glowing with divine light. The sheer grandeur of the scene radiated a terrifying aura capable of suppressing the heavens themselves.
In the distance, unimaginably powerful figures stood high above the nine skies, waving their sleeves and causing worlds to crumble and stars to fall.
"Dad?"
Qin Zi's voice snapped Qin Chuan back to reality, and he felt a tug on his arm.
"Dad, what happened to you?" Qin Zi asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing. I just saw something you couldn't see," Qin Chuan replied, shaking his head.
Looking around again, he saw only low mountains and vast ruins of palace structures.
"Could it be... that I saw what this place used to be?" Qin Chuan thought to himself, growing more convinced of his theory about the world's impending revival.
The Nine Skies Realm may have once been far more powerful than he could have ever imagined, but later suffered a great decline... like an arrow to the knee.