Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Preparing to Reap the Benefits
Boom!
Finally, Qin Chuan arrived at the end of the Divine Bridge.
At this moment, an unparalleled power surged from the bridge, flowing through his feet into his body, causing him to feel as if his entire being was set ablaze.
Buzz!
In that instant, the light radiating from his body was even brighter than that of the Divine Bridge itself. His whole figure seemed like the blazing sun in the sky.
Even the gaze from his eyes turned golden, filled with both majesty and destructive force.
"I can still get stronger!"
Qin Chuan's eyes were deep, and after taking a deep breath, he slowly lifted his right foot and then—stomped down hard.
Boom!!!
The ground-shattering sound reverberated through the air.
Cracks began to appear beneath his feet, spreading out rapidly across the Divine Bridge, resembling vines growing at an alarming rate!
From within the cracks, golden light erupted, like molten lava spewing forth.
Boom! Boom!
The Divine Bridge began to collapse, section by section, like a long dragon being shattered mid-air and falling piece by piece.
Whoosh!
From the fragments of the Divine Bridge, golden mist poured out, flying toward Qin Chuan and merging into his body.
Instantly.
Qin Chuan felt his strength surge once again!
He floated in the air outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, his arms spread wide, reveling in the immense and unparalleled power coursing through him.
He even felt as though.
If he wished, he could immediately charge through the Southern Heavenly Gate and step into the next stage of the True God Realm!
But he had no intention of doing so.
Because that would be akin to pulling out seedlings to help them grow. If he forcibly broke through, he would no longer be invincible in his current realm.
In the real world.
Qin Chuan opened his eyes.
"Father, have you reached the True God Realm?!" Qin Zi asked excitedly.
"Just regained a bit of my strength," Qin Chuan smiled and nodded.
"What realm were you at back then, Father?" Qin Zi asked curiously. He had always thought these things were too far off, but with the emergence of True Gods, it seemed time to ask.
"Haha…"
Qin Chuan smiled meaningfully, but didn't answer directly, which only made Qin Zi even more curious. "Father, what was your realm before?"
Qin Chuan shook his head and said wistfully, "Don't ask. Even if you do, I won't tell you. I can only say... the True God Realm... is nothing but ants."
He was lying.
He had no choice. After all, he didn't even know what realms lay beyond the True God Realm. If he said too much, he might expose himself!
Qin Zi, however, never doubted his father for a second, and this only made him feel more reassured—yes, his father's cultivation reserves were vast. It looked like they would last for a long time.
As long as his father remained invincible, Qin Zi could roam freely, beating up anyone within his generation without concern.
At that moment.
The white-robed man, who was still bound, heard Qin Chuan's words and grew terrified, realizing he had offended a truly powerful figure.
"You... who are you?" he stammered, his voice trembling, face pale.
At this point, even a fool could guess that Qin Chuan was a reincarnated ancient powerhouse of unimaginable strength.
"You're not qualified to know who I am," Qin Chuan said indifferently.
In his mind, he wondered whether it was time to craft a grand identity for himself—perhaps posing as a long-lost ancient giant, letting others believe he was one of the legendary powerhouses.
Of course, he would employ the strategy of "There's No 300 Silver Here," which meant never admitting it directly, but subtly allowing others to draw that conclusion.
This way, he could retreat if necessary.
And if the real powerhouse ever returned to debunk him, he could always deny it—I never said I was you, it's not my fault they assumed that.
Seeing Qin Chuan's casual attitude, the white-robed man was even more convinced that Qin Chuan was an ancient giant, causing his fear to grow.
Despite his earlier arrogance.
In the ancient era, he had been nothing more than a small figure.
The Feixian Sect had never been a great power—it was just a mediocre sect, and he had been nothing more than a regular disciple.
He knew all too well how terrifying those true giants were. With just a single angry outburst, they could annihilate countless Feixian Sects.
"Please spare me, my lord! Have mercy!"
The man dropped to his knees with a thud, his bound body squirming like a worm as he kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.
Fear had completely overwhelmed him.
When someone insignificant feels inflated, they can be more arrogant than anyone, but once they're exposed and beaten down, they become more pitiful than anyone.
"I can spare you, but you must answer some questions—and you better not lie!" Qin Chuan's gaze turned sharp.
"Ask me anything, my lord! I swear I will tell you everything I know!" the man responded immediately.
"Tell me what's going on with this world. What was it like before, and why has it become like this?"
Qin Chuan asked calmly.
The white-robed man nodded, a hint of pride in his voice as he replied, "My lord, this world was once the renowned Xuanhuang Heaven!"
Whoosh!
Qin Chuan's eyes flashed with golden light, and he pretended to be shocked, exclaiming, "What?! This is the Xuanhuang Heaven?!"
In truth, he had heard the name Xuanhuang Heaven before from Qingye Daojun, but he had no idea what it truly meant.
Still, even without understanding it, he had to act surprised—because by doing so, it made him appear knowledgeable.
After all, judging from the man's tone, Xuanhuang Heaven was evidently very famous. If Qin Chuan didn't recognize it, it would be like a scholar not knowing a basic concept.
It took him a moment to "recover" from his "shock." He sighed deeply and said, "To think that the legendary Xuanhuang Heaven has fallen to such a state... It's truly lamentable."
"Legendary?"
The white-robed man was confused and cautiously asked, "Could it be that my lord never stepped foot in Xuanhuang Heaven before?"
Qin Chuan glanced at him and replied indifferently, "By the time I attained enlightenment, Xuanhuang Heaven had already become history, so naturally, I never went there."
The white-robed man was stunned.
This meant the lord before him was born even later than himself. In terms of seniority… well, this person was still of a much higher tier.
In the world of cultivators, age was irrelevant—everything was based on power. Even if one person was a million years older, they could still be equals if their strength was comparable.
The man calmed himself and continued, "Xuanhuang Heaven was a prosperous place back then, one of the Nine Great Heavens, floating high above the Upper Realm. It was also one of the Heavenly God Realm's Nine Forging Grounds—Heavenly God experts needed to undergo the nine refinements of the Great Heavens, and without Xuanhuang Heaven, they could only achieve eight refinements at most."
At this point, he cautiously asked, "Forgive my ignorance, but since Xuanhuang Heaven fell, how do those in the Upper Realm complete the ninth refinement?"
He speculated that without Xuanhuang Heaven, the path beyond the Heavenly God Realm had been cut off. No one could surpass it now.
Qin Chuan remained composed, replying calmly, "Only fools are stuck at that level. True geniuses always find a way to forge their own path, even in impossible circumstances. You, with your limited cultivation, don't need to concern yourself with such things."
"Yes, yes, of course!"
The white-robed man nodded hastily, feeling even smaller now. From Qin Chuan's relaxed tone, it was clear that he was one of those who had indeed surpassed the Heavenly God Realm!
"What caused Xuanhuang Heaven to decline?" Qin Chuan asked.
"That… I'm not entirely sure. It may have been beyond my reach," the white-robed man said cautiously.
"I only know that one day, the heavens collapsed, and incomprehensibly massive hands swept across the sky, destroying everything. Stars fell, mountains crumbled, space itself collapsed, and the very laws of the universe shattered."
"In the critical moments, the great figures of Xuanhuang Heaven rose to fight. That battle overturned heaven and earth, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. Ultimately, though, there were too many enemies. Our great figures fought bravely but fell one by one."
"Before their demise, they destroyed the Great Heaven itself, sealing Xuanhuang Heaven and casting it into the depths of the Lower Realms."
"They turned their Dao fruits into the Forbidden Divine Mountains, scattering them across time and space, vowing that when the Forbidden Mountains returned, they too would rise again, and Xuanhuang Heaven would revive."
"Now, the first Forbidden Mountain has returned, and so Xuanhuang Heaven has begun to awaken. I was also released from my seal."
The first?
Qin Chuan was shocked—so there were many Forbidden Mountains?
If these mountains kept returning, would the world revive even more drastically?
If so…
The waters of the Nine Skies Realm were only going to get deeper and deeper.
Not only would more sects like Feixian Sect and Qingye Heavenly Sect emerge, but even the real giants would eventually return!
"But… that just makes things more interesting."
In the end, Qin Chuan smiled.
In his eyes, all these powerful figures were just fat sheep. And he intended to shear as many as possible!