In the distance, Qin Chuan watched as the Ice Lord left, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
If the Ice Lord had stayed, he truly wasn't confident in securing victory. Although the Ice Lord was still in a weakened state, he was, after all, a supreme powerhouse.
"Forget it. I still have to take this one step at a time. I've only reached the sixth level of the Divine King realm, and it's unrealistic to expect to break through to the level of a giant in one go."
Qin Chuan shook his head and emerged from the void.
With a single step, he appeared before Qin Zi, standing with his hands behind his back, facing away from the prone Qin Zi.
"Father," Qin Zi called out weakly, still lying on the ground without moving, while the eight old Divine Kings also lay sprawled around him.
"How do you feel?" Qin Chuan asked calmly.
Qin Zi thought for a moment and then grinned. "Amazing!"
Yes, despite being exhausted and in pain, he felt a sense of accomplishment like never before.
To face off against a giant!
What a glorious feat.
Even though the Ice Lord had barely exerted any effort and he had collapsed, the important thing was that he didn't back down, standing his ground till the end!
Among all the practitioners in the Heavenly God realm, who else had the guts to face down a giant like this? No one!
"Father, I feel like this confrontation with the Ice Lord squeezed out even more potential within me. I'm on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Heaven!"
Qin Zi exclaimed with excitement.
"Good, make sure to break through soon. I've heard that the space of the World Tree is about to open, and the competition for it will be fierce," Qin Chuan said in a serious tone.
His information network was vast. After all, without the need to train himself, he had plenty of time to manage his intelligence systems.
Moreover, both the Tianheng Clan and the Human Sacred Hall were loyal to him, so he had a steady stream of well-trained informants.
"The space of the World Tree?" Qin Zi asked in surprise as he got up from the ground. "What is that? Why haven't I heard of it before?"
Qin Chuan explained calmly:
"The space of the World Tree is where the World Tree resides. The World Tree is an ancient innate spiritual root, and its fruit is known as the Seed of the World, which can evolve into an actual world."
"The many worlds in the lower realms, like grains of sand in a river, are all the result of the World Tree's fruit ripening and falling."
Qin Zi pondered for a moment before asking, "But we already have our own inner worlds. What's the use of these World Seeds?"
Qin Chuan explained:
"Our inner worlds are ultimately created by us. Everything in our inner world is a product of our own will, which means it can never give rise to something beyond our understanding. Paths of the Dao that we do not comprehend will never appear in our inner world."
"But the worlds born from World Seeds are different. They inherently contain some primordial essence and infinite possibilities, capable of evolving in various directions and giving birth to countless paths of the Dao. Observing the evolution of such a world is a grand opportunity and is also the key to breaking through to the Divine King realm."
"Normally, a peak Heavenly God would need tens of thousands of years of refinement to break through to the Divine King realm."
"But with a World Seed, by observing the evolution of a world, one could break through in just a few hundred years."
Qin Zi's eyes brightened, and he asked, "How soon will the space of the World Tree open?"
"In about a hundred years," Qin Chuan replied.
"A hundred years?" Qin Zi was startled. "Isn't it a bit early to talk about it now?"
It was like telling a child, "When you grow old, this will happen," or "When you die, you'll be buried here."
"It's not too early."
Qin Chuan smiled and shook his head. "You probably don't realize how vast the Upper Realm is. Just traveling to certain places can take thousands of years."
"And the space of the World Tree, though not far from Xuanhuang Heaven, will still take seventy or eighty years to reach."
"That far?" Qin Zi was shocked, stunned by the revelation. "If the Upper Realm is so vast, then don't many powerhouses spend most of their time just traveling?"
Qin Chuan chuckled and replied:
"Powerhouses have long lifespans. If everything happened quickly, how would they pass the time?"
"I get it! I'll aim to break through to the Ninth Heaven of the Heavenly God realm within twenty years, and then I'll head to the space of the World Tree," Qin Zi said, nodding as he flew off. "I'm going to find Qingrou for cultivation now."
"Yes, but remember, although cultivation is important, don't rush things. Everything must be done step by step," Qin Chuan advised as he watched his eager son, reminding him.
"Don't worry, I know."
Qin Zi chuckled. He was well-versed in this.
Nowadays, his cultivation almost entirely revolved around the Dao of Yin and Yang. The balance of Yin and Yang is the foundation of the heavens and the earth.
Moreover, Shui Qingrou had a natural constitution that complemented his perfectly, allowing their cultivation to progress swiftly.
…
A hundred years passed by in the blink of an eye.
During that century, no major events occurred—or at least, no events significant enough to capture the attention of the strong.
In the Upper Realm, the starry sky was cold, dark, and lifeless.
Boundless and infinite!
The light from the stars illuminated planets, but ironically, could not illuminate themselves.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Suddenly, the quiet starry sky began to tremble violently, splitting open with a golden crack, like a furnace splitting apart with molten gold-red liquid ready to spill out.
However, what emerged wasn't molten metal but gray, chaotic mist that billowed like thick smoke, seemingly ready to engulf the entire world.
Amidst the chaotic mist, a massive bronze ancient door slowly emerged, towering ten thousand miles high and standing between heaven and earth.
"Clank, clank, clank…"
With a tooth-grinding sound, the ancient bronze door slowly creaked open, and immediately, a surge of life energy, accompanied by a mysterious force, spread out in all directions.
"Hahaha! The space of the World Tree has finally opened!"
"Alas, my lifespan is running out. If I can't break through to the Divine King realm this time, it'll be the end of me. I must seize a World Seed!"
"Heh, stop dreaming. The World Tree only bears 129,600 seeds. With so many people, do you really think you'll get one?"
"Hmph! I've been at the peak of the Heavenly God realm for over ten million years. Are you telling me I can't even rank among the top 129,600?"
"Well, honestly, maybe not. There are countless peak Heavenly Gods in the Upper Realm—at least a billion of them. And that's not even the main problem. The real issue is those supreme powers... they'll want everything for themselves!"
"Exactly. I've heard that several of the Nine Great Heavens, like Taixuan Heaven and Taiqing Heaven, are sending their young kings. These are true heavenly prodigies, far above the rest of us!"
"Don't forget about Xuanhuang Heaven. I've heard their Heaven Master himself is coming to compete for the World Seed."
"Hah! Xuanhuang Heaven? Xuanhuang Heaven has long since fallen. Even though it has returned to the Upper Realm, who knows how long it will take to regain its former glory? They're just putting on a show."
"Wait, you can't say that! I've heard the Xuanhuang Heaven Master boasted that he alone could suppress all the prodigies from the Eight Great Heavens!"