"After the heavens collapsed, all divine weapons were destroyed. Where did you get these divine weapons?!"
The old man in coarse robes shouted in shock.
These half-dismantled divine weapons, in some ways, were even more terrifying than complete ones.
Because these weapons attacked using self-destruction, they could only be used once, but their power was incredibly fearsome!
"Do I need to explain that to you?"
Qin Chuan coldly looked at him and said, "Today, I want to see how you plan to take this person away."
"Senior Qing Xuan, save me!" the blonde youth hurriedly cried out.
The old man in coarse robes, however, had his face twitching in hesitation, a deep conflict showing in his eyes.
After a long while, he forced a smile and said, "Hehe, there's an old saying: 'Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't suffered their hardships.' Since this is a matter between the two of you, I won't interfere."
After speaking, his body floated backward.
"Senior Qing Xuan, don't abandon me!" the blonde youth screamed in fear. He reached out to grab the old man, but the latter slapped him away, sending him flying toward Qin Chuan.
"Die!"
Qin Chuan struck with a punch, his unmatched fist light pierced the sky and directly blew the blonde youth apart.
His body and soul were completely obliterated.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
At the same time, the dozen or so broken divine weapons floating behind Qin Chuan shot toward the retreating old man in coarse robes.
"You broke your word!"
The old man turned pale with fright and roared angrily.
"Hmph, when did I ever say I'd let you go? People like you, hypocritical and deceitful, are nothing but trouble if left alive!"
Qin Chuan sneered.
As he spoke, the dozen or so divine weapons surrounded the space around the old man and exploded simultaneously.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
A dozen mushroom clouds bloomed at once, and the space within thousands of meters was completely annihilated, even tearing through the void.
"Ahhh!!"
A pitiful scream came from within the mushroom clouds, and then, a golden light shot out, attempting to escape.
It was a weakened primordial spirit.
This primordial spirit was faint, yet it radiated a faintly majestic aura, as if it had once been immensely powerful but was now suppressed by something.
"Looks like this old guy was once a Celestial God. But with the world's current recovery level, he can't fully unseal his power yet."
Qin Chuan thought to himself.
At the same time, without hesitation, he cast a golden net, enveloping the fleeing primordial spirit.
"No!!!"
The old man screamed in terror. His primordial spirit glowed as he struggled desperately, but it was futile.
The net was a celestial artifact Qin Zi had picked up in the Dusk Ancient City. Although it lacked offensive power, once something was caught in it, no one below the Celestial God realm could escape.
"You're mine now!"
Qin Chuan smirked as he pulled the net back. It shrank rapidly, eventually becoming a small ball in his hand.
"Friend, let's talk about this! It was all a misunderstanding before, a misunderstanding!"
The old man, no longer the composed mediator he had been, now looked terrified, clearly desperate to save his own skin.
"Hmph, hypocrite."
Qin Chuan chuckled in disdain. People like this, arrogant in power, were the most cowardly when they lost it.
Seeing this, the old man became even more panicked and shouted, "You can't kill me! I have many powerful friends across the world. If you kill me, it will cause great karmic consequences!"
Qin Chuan's eyes lit up at his words.
But then he frowned and said, "How do I know you're not lying?"
In truth, he was more worried that if this old man didn't actually have many friends, killing him would bring no consequences, and that would be a wasted opportunity.
Misunderstanding Qin Chuan's hesitation, the old man quickly explained, "Many ancient beings have already begun to awaken in the current Xuanhuang world. You can ask around—I'm fairly well-known as Qing Xuan Sanren."
Qin Chuan remained uncertain.
He still couldn't tell if the old man was lying, so the safest course of action was to provoke some enmity first.
"Qin Zi, teach him a lesson."
Qin Chuan tossed the old man's primordial spirit to Qin Zi.
"Got it!"
Qin Zi eagerly caught the primordial spirit and began cracking his knuckles in excitement.
His father had already explained that dealing with such powerful figures would allow him to gather a strong momentum. Since they had captured a formidable foe, it was only natural to make the most of it.
"Let's head back."
With that, Qin Chuan led Qin Zi away, flying toward the distance.
The commotion at the Forbidden Divine Mountain would undoubtedly attract many powerful figures soon. It was best to leave quickly.
He needed to return and refine the treasures he had acquired, especially those from the tomb. They had to be absorbed!
Once he was fully equipped, he would be ready to roam the world.
From the old man's words, Qin Chuan had deduced that most of the current strong cultivators in the Nine Skies were impoverished.
After the ancient collapse of the heavens, nearly all treasures and divine weapons had been destroyed. Only a few powerful sects, like the Qingye Heavenly Sect, had managed to preserve some broken treasures due to their strong defenses and sheer luck.
As for complete treasures, there were almost none.
However, the treasures from the Forbidden Divine Mountain were all intact!
The mountain had flown out of the Nine Skies during the catastrophe, narrowly escaping the collapse, and only returned a few millennia ago.
Thus, the treasures Qin Chuan had obtained from the Forbidden Divine Mountain gave him a significant advantage, which would last until other Forbidden Divine Mountains returned to the Nine Skies.
Wearing divine gear while everyone else had nothing—his confidence soared!
Having recently broken through to the Heaven Palace realm, Qin Chuan's speed had greatly increased. However, it still took him a long time to return to his secluded retreat.
"The Nine Skies' size... has expanded?"
Qin Chuan was momentarily stunned.
Judging by the distance, the Nine Skies had expanded by a hundredfold in the half year he'd been gone!
And this was just the early stages of the world's revival. If the Xuanhuang world were to fully recover, it would be an unimaginable spectacle.
No wonder it was one of the nine great heavens.
"Father, I'm going to the village at the foot of the mountain to find a dung pit and soak this old man in it."
Qin Zi was eager, excitedly running down the mountain with the old man's primordial spirit in hand.
There were no outhouses on their mountain because, at their cultivation level, they no longer needed to relieve themselves.
They lived by absorbing the energy of the heavens and earth, making mundane bodily functions unnecessary.
At the foot of their "divine mountain" was a small mortal village where people still lived normal lives.
Qin Chuan watched Qin Zi leave.
Then, he entered the underground chamber of the palace, set up a protective formation, and began his seclusion.
First, he needed to refine these treasures.
Second, he had to train with the inheritance he had obtained from the Creation Ancient Tablet. These techniques would greatly enhance his foundation.
Once his foundation was solid, he would begin creating his own cultivation method and plant the spiritual seeds of Eternal One Thought into the method. Then, he would spread the technique far and wide.
This would serve as a backup plan.
If he ever died, he could resurrect himself through the spiritual seeds of Eternal One Thought, essentially giving himself an extra life.
A man must always have a trump card!