"This is not the original body of the Chaos Bell, but merely a wisp of primordial Dao trace that I control after using it," Xiyang Yanji said.
As an ardent admirer of Earth's culture, Xiyang Yanji had naturally read many online novels from Earth. She was well aware of the Chaos Bell's status in Earth's myths and legends.
She found many aspects of certain Hong Huang novels particularly exhilarating, even if many things were presented inaccurately. For instance, Dao Ancestor Hongjun did not exist, nor did the supposed three thousand guests in the Purple Cloud Palace.
As for Hunyuan Golden Immortals, also known as Sages, her father spoke of them with a profound reticence, as if they held immense terror.
Knowing that Yu Zhibo would likely ascend to the Upper Realm soon, Xiyang Yanji shared many secrets of the Upper Realm with him. This allowed Yu Zhibo to gain a deeper understanding of just how complex and perilous the Upper Realm truly was.
In the early Qing Dynasty, the continent was round on top and square on the bottom, not a spherical world, but its territory was unimaginably vast, equivalent to countless Yongye Worlds.
After all, Yu Zhibo had once flown at extreme speed for three days and three nights, covering millions of miles, yet still failed to reach the edge of a Yongye World.
According to Xiyang Yanji, even reaching the realm of Great Luo Golden Immortal would require years to traverse the entire Qingchu Continent. Above that lay countless forbidden zones and secret realms, with millions of races coexisting. Humanity was merely one among them, not the supposed protagonist of heaven and earth.
It was a true era of great contention, where true immortals were as common as dogs, and Xuan Immortals walked the streets.
In comparison, the Liberation Sect, situated in a corner, was exceedingly insignificant.
Listening to Xiyang Yanji's vivid narration of various secrets, Yu Zhibo felt his spirit soar. While he harbored some confusion about his uncertain future, he was more exhilarated by the prospect of a broader world unfolding before him, akin to a frog in a well finally leaping out.
Earth was truly too small.
Lost in thought, Yu Zhibo began to ponder:
"There are currently four channels to the Upper Realm. The first is to ascend directly with the little Golden Crow. However, the Sun Star is not a human-dominated territory. If we go up and the little Golden Crow lacks sufficient influence, we'd likely be annihilated without a trace. This option is immediately rejected."
"The second is for my second sister to directly use her Golden Immortal-level abilities to bring us there. But my second sister seems to have many enemies in the Upper Realm, so it's not advisable to make such a grand move."
"The third is for my second sister to reach the Mahayana stage sooner and directly break through the realm barrier to ascend."
"As for the fourth, we can only hope that my Heavenly Demon clone, as a Heart Demon, can possess an Upper Realm cultivator, establish a foothold, and then imprint the Flying Thunder God technique, allowing me to teleport there in two stages. However, the chances are slim, considering it's the Upper Realm..."
After this summation, Yu Zhibo sighed. It seemed he could only wait for his second sister to break through quickly.
While he had been accompanying Xiyang Yanji on various excursions these past few days, it wasn't solely for leisure. He had also taken the opportunity to ask Xiyang Yanji to help search for the Heart of the Realm Vein, but their efforts yielded nothing.
Realm Veins are one of the invisible conduits connecting minor and middle worlds to the upper world. They are like tree roots, drawing nourishment from the minor and middle worlds for the greater world. After the loss of the Heart of the Realm Vein, these invisible conduits transform into certain dark zones within chaos.
Correspondingly, the minor and middle worlds they connect become abandoned lands of the Heavenly Dao, either perishing quickly or being rapidly assimilated. In any case, their fate is certainly not a pleasant one.
The rapid fusion of Earth and the Yongye World, evidenced by the invasion of numerous dark beasts into Earth, was a clear indication of this.
"It seems the Heart of the Realm Vein has truly disappeared!" Yu Zhibo thought with some disappointment.
Although Xiyang Yanji was only at the Nascent Soul stage, her methods were so numerous that even a Golden Immortal-level combatant would likely be unable to deal with her. If even she couldn't find it, his chances of finding it were even more remote.
Yu Zhibo had almost given up on searching for the Heart of the Realm Vein. After a brief farewell with Xiyang Yanji, he used the Flying Thunder God technique to arrive at the connection point between Earth and the Yongye World. Peering through the spatial rift, he observed the scene on Earth. The Blue Star, once renowned for its azure beauty, was now riddled with holes and imperfections, its quality reduced by at least one-seventh.
Moreover, the extreme weather phenomena caused by wind, fire, lightning, and thunder were constantly affecting the planet. If not for the protection of the Great Zhou Star Array, it would likely have been destroyed by the rampaging invading alien beasts long ago.
Yu Zhibo attempted to enter Earth through a spatial wormhole. As soon as he extended a toe, the space before him instantly cracked like glass struck by a drill, shattering into powder, even obliterating the laws themselves.
"Even after several years, Earth still cannot accommodate a being of my level... How weak..."
Yu Zhibo frowned, abandoning the idea of returning to Earth. Instead, he lingered near the spatial wormholes connecting Earth to various Yongye Worlds, eliminating a large number of unruly Yongye beasts, thereby easing the pressure on Earth.
Due to the excessive killing of Yongye creatures, dense red karmic thunderclouds began to gather madly in the sky, and soon various terrifying scarlet lightning bolts descended.
Yu Zhibo bathed in the sea of lightning, his expression one of willing acceptance. The various law-based minor worlds he controlled enveloped him like stacked buffs, allowing him to easily withstand the heavenly tribulation and subsequently overcome various heart demon tribulations.
His strength grew rapidly, yet he still had not broken through to the Void Returning stage. However, his comprehension of various laws deepened.
During this period, he finally understood what it meant for cultivation to be timeless. Often, he would simply close his eyes to comprehend a certain law, and upon opening them again, half a year or a full year would have passed.
This was even with his efforts to balance work and rest.
Time flew by rapidly. In the blink of an eye, another five years passed, and the little Golden Crow's ten-thousand-year period arrived.
One day, as Yu Zhibo was in seclusion, a clear cry echoed in his mind, accompanied by the appearance of a golden phantom of a Golden Crow.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
"It's time for farewells again," Yu Zhibo murmured. Seated on a towering peak, he rose to his feet and looked into the distance, where a golden silhouette was rapidly approaching.
"Little Yu, I'm leaving!"
Having reached the Void Returning stage, Xiyang Yanji had become even more beautiful and noble. Facing Yu Zhibo, she lacked her usual pride, her emotions somewhat subdued.
Yu Zhibo was her only friend.
Ten thousand years ago, she had used the Chaos Bell to kill the Dao Alliance's Holy Son, achieving a brilliant victory, but not without cost. In that battle, she had only managed to control the Chaos Bell at the critical moment when she was on the verge of death.
As a result of this battle, her Dao foundation was almost completely shattered. It wasn't until a hundred years ago that it was fully restored, after which she had been consolidating it, successfully advancing to the Void Returning stage last year.
Her encounter with Yu Zhibo happened when she was at her most bored. He had opened up a new world for her, and thus she held a very favorable impression of him, unlike other Golden Crows who viewed humans as mere pigs and dogs.