Firmament Sword

"If that's the case, why is it so fixated on you? It's as if you two are mortal enemies," Xu Luo asked. "Creatures at this level should have intelligence comparable to humans, or at least not far off."

Unless there's some deep-seated hatred, a fight to the death like this usually doesn't happen.

Xiaojin hesitated for a long moment before finally answering, "Well, a long time ago... I ate a clutch of its eggs..."

"What the hell!"

Xu Luo and Master Mao were both speechless. They looked at the seemingly bashful little serpent, not knowing what to say.

"You're so naughty!" Su Qianqian said, standing beside Xu Luo. Her innocent face and pure eyes were fixed on the Golden Flood Dragon, and her voice was as melodious as a lark's song.

"Um... that was just the folly of my youth," the Golden Flood Dragon said, a little abashed. "And haven't I paid the price for it already..."

"I'd say you haven't paid nearly enough! You basically wiped out its entire next generation. It'd be a miracle if it *didn't* hate you!" Master Mao said.

"It's not that serious. Laying eggs isn't easy for it, but a clutch every few years... is still manageable," Xiaojin retorted defensively.

"Pfft! So you're planning to eat a few more clutches?" Master Mao shot back, rolling his eyes.

"The flavor... once you've had it, you'll never forget it!" Xiaojin flicked out his scarlet tongue, seeming to savor the memory.

"Really?" Master Mao's interest was instantly piqued, and he sidled closer.

The two scoundrels actually started hitting it off over the topic, eventually huddling to one side to whisper furtively.

Xu Luo's lip twitched. 'Birds of a feather really do flock together!'

Just then, Master Mao whipped his head around. "Xu Luo! Next time we steal that bird's eggs, you get half!"

"Sure!" Xu Luo replied without thinking. He immediately caught himself, seeing Master Mao snickering and Su Qianqian looking at him in surprise. Xu Luo shot Master Mao a fierce glare, then put an arm around Su Qianqian's shoulder and gave a hollow laugh. "Uh, your big brother isn't like these two scoundrels! Am I that kind of person? Even if they wanted to, I would definitely stop them!"

"That's my big brother. Don't do bad things, or the bird will be very sad!" Su Qianqian said with a look of pure innocence, her expression so sweet it could melt your heart.

Ever since Su Qianqian's memory had been damaged, her naturally innocent side had come to the forefront. She was like a naive child, disarmingly kind.

It was hard to imagine this was the same Su Celestial Maiden who had once been so ruthless and decisive.

"Xiaojin, how much do you know about the world outside?" Xu Luo asked.

Xiaojin gave him a puzzled look. "Aren't you from the outside?"

Xu Luo smiled. "To be honest with you, we just ascended from the Lower Realm."

"What?" Xiaojin was stunned. He stared at Xu Luo with his cold, serpentine eyes. "You... you actually *crawled* up from the Lower Realm?" he said, aghast.

"Hey, Xiaojin, what's this about 'crawling'?" Master Mao interjected, annoyed. "We may be buddies now, but if you keep talking like that, Master Mao here will have to teach you a lesson."

"My apologies... Please forgive my misspeaking. I was just so shocked!"

Xiaojin's tone was now filled with reverence. "I once heard my clan's king say that there are mortal worlds below. Many of the powerful beings in the Divine Domain originally crawled their way up from there. But the last recorded instance of a creature coming from the world below was a million years ago!"

He then looked at Xu Luo. "You... you really did crawl... er, *ascend* from the world below?"

Xu Luo nodded.

Xiaojin gasped. "Incredible! My clan's king said that any being who makes it up from the world below is a peerless powerhouse! I can't believe I've had the honor of meeting one!"

"Three of us!" Master Mao corrected, highly displeased. He shot a sidelong glance at the Golden Flood Dragon. "Well, Xiaojin? Still regretting becoming this master's servant?"

The Golden Flood Dragon rolled its serpentine eyes. 'Of course I regret it. Even if an Emperor Venerable wanted me as a slave, I'd never agree!'

But what was done was done. There was no point in saying anything more. Xiaojin could only hope that this Master Mao would one day take pity on him and set him free.

Then, Xiaojin said to Xu Luo, "To be honest, I don't know much about the outside world either. But my clan's king has been there. He knows far more about Xi Hezhou than I do. If we could ask him, I'm sure you could learn a lot about what's out there."

Master Mao sneered. "See your clan's king? Xiaojin... you're being sneaky! You just said your king is incredibly powerful, and now you want us to go see him? What... are... you... plotting?"

The Golden Flood Dragon was exasperated by Master Mao's dramatic accusations. "Master Mao... that's not what I meant. It's just that if you want to learn about the outside world, it's impossible without consulting a truly powerful figure! Beings like me... we've never left these Vast Mountains in our entire lives. How could we possibly know what the world outside is like?"

"Have you... never thought about going out to see for yourself?" Xu Luo suddenly asked, looking at Xiaojin.

"Of course I have!" Xiaojin's voice was tinged with excitement, but it quickly fell. "But... the Golden Winged Jiao Clan has a rule forbidding any member from leaving the Vast Mountains. The king says the outside world is too dangerous, that death lurks around every corner. A single misstep could mean annihilation. So, even for our trials, we're only allowed to train within the Vast Mountains."

Xu Luo turned to glance at Su Qianqian, who stood there quietly with a look of pure innocence. A pang of pain went through his heart. 'Qianqian's condition hasn't improved much. Even with the Water Blue Jade that Chu Xiaoya gave her, it's only temporarily suppressing the excess yang energy in her body.'

'To repair her Divine Soul, I have to get the Holy Scripture of the Soul from that Supreme Great Sect in the Divine Domain. But I'm stuck here in the Vast Mountains, and I don't even know what the outside world is like. How am I supposed to find the Soul Scripture?'

'Can Qianqian's Divine Soul even withstand such a long wait?'

'A person's Divine Soul is an incredibly delicate thing. Once it's damaged, recovery is extremely difficult. And as time goes on, if Su Qianqian gets used to her current state... then even if I do manage to get the Soul Scripture one day, will she even be able to return to her old self?'

For that reason, Xu Luo couldn't afford to wait.

"I'll go with you to meet your clan's king," Xu Luo said to the Golden Flood Dragon after a moment of consideration.

"Are you insane?" Master Mao stared at Xu Luo. "We forced one of their own into a soul-bond servitude, and now you want to go meet their king?"

The Golden Flood Dragon interjected awkwardly, "Actually... you don't need to worry too much about that. The soul sacrifice was, of course, completely voluntary on my part. Although... ahem, although I was a little... coerced at the time, if the king knew you were from the Lower Realm, he definitely wouldn't blame you. He might even be happy that I made this choice!"

"Happy?" Master Mao wanted to ask, 'Is your king an idiot?'

"Yes. The Golden Winged Jiao Clan reveres the strong. To ascend from the Lower Realm to the Divine Domain after a million-year gap... you must be peerlessly powerful beings. For that reason, even our king would approve of my decision! It is an honor to become the servant of such a powerhouse!"

"Really?" Master Mao gave Xiaojin a skeptical look, feeling like the creature was hiding something important.

Still, if they wanted to understand the outside world, they had two choices: cross the Vast Mountains and find their own way out, or consult an experienced expert.

The first option was reckless. The Vast Mountains were home to one Emperor, two Sovereigns, and eighteen Kings. They could easily stumble into the territory of some great power and trigger a vicious battle.

The Divine Domain was not the mortal realm, and Qianqian's condition couldn't wait.

Therefore, to understand the outside world and leave this place, they needed a fundamental understanding of their situation.

"It's true!" the Golden Flood Dragon answered with absolute certainty.

Afterwards, Xu Luo brought Su Qianqian back into the Bronze Divine Hall World. There was a beautiful house there, along with some harmless creatures he had moved over from the Small World to keep her company, so she wouldn't get too bored for the time being.

The Golden Flood Dragon was fascinated by Xu Luo's ability to make a person vanish into thin air, but it was tactful enough not to ask questions. It simply led Xu Luo and Master Mao toward the territory of the Golden Winged Jiao Clan.

Along the way, Xiaojin deliberately avoided certain areas, explaining to Xu Luo and Master Mao that while the masters of those territories weren't kings, they were not to be trifled with. Angering those creatures would surely lead to a brutal fight.

"Many of the creatures here have intelligence on par with humans," he explained, "but most have eccentric personalities and short tempers. They absolutely will not tolerate others intruding on their territory. Even just passing through... can often lead to a conflict."

Xu Luo and Master Mao readily took his advice and followed Xiaojin.

On their journey, Xu Luo discovered the most striking feature of the Divine Domain: its durability.

The laws of this world were far more complete. The mountains and rivers were countless times more resilient than those in the Lower Realm. Even though Xu Luo had already entered the Saint Realm, it was no longer possible for him to destroy landscapes with a casual wave of his hand as he could in the Lower Realm.

The previous battle between Xiaojin and the giant bird hadn't caused much damage to the surroundings, which was a testament to how sturdy this world was.

"What realm would you need to be to destroy the landscape for a thousand li in every direction with a single wave?" Xu Luo asked.

Xiaojin sounded incredulous. "Destroy the landscape for a thousand li with a single wave... How is that possible? Even the Infinite Saint Emperor and the Infinite Saint Emperor... I doubt even they could do that."

"Er..." Xu Luo asked, "Your clan's king... can't do it either?"

Xiaojin replied, "Even if my clan's king is stronger than you, it's only by a limited degree. You're already a supreme expert. You can try it yourself!"

Then, Xiaojin muttered to himself, "Destroy the landscape with a wave of a hand... How is that possible?"

Xu Luo's lip twitched. He raised a hand and unleashed a palm strike at a massive stone mountain below.

"Don't do it here—" Before Xiaojin could finish, Xu Luo's palm strike had already shot forth.

A vast and majestic power erupted from Xu Luo's palm, roaring down toward the huge stone mountain below.

RUMBLE!

With an earth-shattering roar, the peak of the stone mountain was obliterated. Countless fragments of rock shot out in every direction.

A massive plume of dust and smoke soared into the heavens!

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