"Afraid? Yes, why is he afraid?"
This question swirled in the mind of the old Heavenly God. Suddenly, he shuddered.
Who cares why he's afraid!
If Qingxuan Sanren was afraid, there must be danger. Danger that even Qingxuan Sanren couldn't handle—how could he possibly survive it?
"Run!!"
The old Heavenly God, with startling clarity, made his decision in an instant and fled into the distance.
But how could Qin Chuan let him escape?
He intentionally allowed Qingxuan Sanren to flee because Qingxuan Sanren had once been incredibly powerful. If the old man regained more of his strength, Qin Chuan could squeeze more benefits from him later on. It was all about sustainable development.
However, this old Heavenly God was not some important figure. In the future, his strength would likely not improve much.
Moreover, this old man's primary goal was to kill Qin Chuan, not Qin Zi, which posed a certain risk.
Naturally, Qin Chuan wanted to eliminate that risk at its root!
"Since you've come, stay!"
Qin Chuan snorted coldly and waved his right hand. Instantly, a massive golden net flew out, covering the sky.
The net of heaven has wide meshes, but nothing escapes!
This was a powerful Heavenly God-level treasure, and after breaking through to the Heavenly God realm, Qin Chuan could now fully unleash its true power.
"Break for me!!"
The old Heavenly God roared, his body erupting with boundless light, crashing into the enormous golden net with the force of a star colliding with a planet.
"Boom!"
Flames exploded like a sun bursting in the sky, illuminating the heavens and sending waves of heat rolling through the air.
But clearly—
It couldn't break through.
When the light finally dissipated, the old Heavenly God appeared stuck in the net like a fish caught in a trap, unable to move.
"Let me go!!"
He let out a crazed roar, his body continuing to shine brightly, as if set ablaze.
"Clang!"
Once again, the massive golden cymbals appeared, pressing down from above and below, trapping the old Heavenly God inside.
"No, no, no!!"
The old Heavenly God's voice, filled with despair and terror, echoed out. Qin Chuan raised the thunderous divine hammer once more and slammed it down with great force.
"Clang!"
The giant cymbals shook violently, rippling with countless wave-like patterns on their surface. Shockwaves rippled outward, shattering the sky for thousands of miles around. Even the space fragments were ground into particles by the force of the impact.
Then, the cymbals opened.
The old Heavenly God stood in place, wobbling back and forth like a toy top, his body moving so quickly that it appeared to create numerous afterimages.
"Ahhhh!!"
He let out an agonizing scream as cracks appeared all over his body, light pouring from the fissures. His body then shattered, revealing a golden spirit within.
But the golden spirit was also riddled with cracks and, with another scream, exploded into a rain of light.
A Heavenly God had perished.
Qin Chuan slowly put away the golden cymbals and net, standing with his thunderous divine hammer in hand, scanning the area as he calmly said, "Anyone else want to take action?"
The world fell silent.
Those who had been watching from afar had retreated tens of thousands of miles by now, some even fleeing entirely, not daring to stay and watch any longer.
Even now, as Qin Chuan's gaze swept over them from tens of thousands of miles away, they felt a chill in their hearts.
They could only bow their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Gasp, he even killed a Heavenly God!"
"This Demon King Qin is terrifying. To think that a being of this era could keep up with the revival of the world!"
"The ancient powerhouses are merely recovering their old strength, but he has risen from nothing! This is outrageous."
"Could it be that he will stand guard at the gateway of this era, suppressing each ancient powerhouse as they emerge?"
"Impossible, right? That would be defying the heavens…"
Fear and reverence toward Qin Chuan spread like a virus among the onlookers.
It was clear.
After this event, Qin Chuan's reputation would spread throughout the rapidly reviving Xuanyuan Heaven. No matter how powerful the newly resurrected ancient powerhouses were, they could not afford to ignore Qin Chuan—unless someone could defeat him.
"Disperse. Don't bother me unless it's necessary."
Qin Chuan waved dismissively.
Everyone felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders and hurriedly left the area.
Standing where he was, Qin Chuan took stock.
This had been quite the haul, not only gaining a large amount of "Father Points" but also breaking through to the Heavenly God realm.
After converting his points into the "Shenqiao Standard," his current balance was 50 points.
It didn't seem like much, but its purchasing power was substantial—each point was equivalent to fifty thousand points from before!
"Bzz bzz bzz!"
At that moment, Qin Chuan's communication jade talisman began to vibrate again. Frowning, he took it out to check the message.
"Father, what's wrong?" Qin Zi asked, puzzled.
"Shui Qinghan sent word—something has happened to Shui Qingrou," Qin Chuan said gravely.
"What?!"
Qin Zi was immediately flustered and asked urgently, "What exactly happened? What should we do now?"
He had every reason to be worried—Shui Qingrou wasn't just the girl he fancied, but her constitution was extraordinary, destined to achieve great things in the future.
"Let's go. We'll figure it out when we get there."
Qin Chuan didn't explain further. He enveloped Qin Zi in a burst of energy and sped off into the distance.
Whoosh!
They moved at lightning speed, warping space and time as they traveled.
Before long, they arrived at a towering ice mountain. The mountain was blue, glowing faintly with a mystical light.
"You've finally come."
A figure hurried to meet them. It was Shui Qinghan, and he had already broken through to the Heavenly Palace realm.
As the current leader of the Tianheng Clan, Shui Qinghan was indeed extraordinary. However, in the current Nine Heavens Realm, even the Heavenly Palace realm didn't stir much commotion anymore.
"What exactly happened?" Qin Chuan asked seriously.
"A while ago, I received a distress signal from Qingrou. Using certain methods, I tracked her to this location. She should be inside that ice cave ahead, but the ice gate is too strong. I haven't been able to break through it yet," Shui Qinghan said solemnly.
Qin Chuan looked ahead and saw a massive ice gate, about thirty feet tall, standing imposingly in the middle of the mountain, radiating grandeur.
"Hmm."
Raising his right hand, Qin Chuan conjured numerous golden circles, like interlocking gears of various sizes, forming a stunning design that filled the surrounding space.
"Break!"
With a final punch, all the golden rings converged into a single point, unleashing a massive force.
"Boom!"
The seemingly indestructible ice gate shattered into pieces with a deafening sound, crumbling into rubble.
Suddenly, a thick white mist of freezing cold air burst out.
The cold was so intense that it seemed to freeze space itself, causing Qin Zi and Shui Qinghan to shudder in fear.
Qin Chuan stomped his foot, releasing a radiant golden light from his body like an eternal furnace, vaporizing the frigid mist.
"Let's go."
Qin Chuan took the lead, confident in his abilities, unafraid of any potential danger.
As they passed through the gate, they found themselves in a vast open space.
Inside was a crystal-clear, ice-blue lake filled with freezing water that shimmered like gemstones.
In the center of the lake was a small island, about ten meters in diameter.
A giant peach tree grew on the island, its trunk like a coiled dragon. The gnarled branches stretched out, covered in moss, and adorned with pink blossoms that enshrouded the entire island.
The tree's roots extended beyond the edges of the island, diving deep into the lake.
Above the island, there seemed to be a skylight, allowing a column of white light to bathe the island, creating a surreal and ethereal scene.
"There she is!"
Qin Zi gasped in surprise.
Beneath the shade of the peach tree lay a graceful woman in a white dress—it was Shui Qingrou.
He was about to rush over.
But a hand stopped him.
"Father, what's wrong?" Qin Zi asked, confused.
"Look beneath the water," Qin Chuan said calmly.
Qin Zi glanced down and saw bubbles rising from the icy blue lake. A massive, shadowy figure slowly swam up from the depths.
"What… what is that?!"
Qin Zi backed away in alarm, while Shui Qinghan immediately assumed a defensive stance.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, water splashed upward as if it were raining, pouring back down in torrents.
A massive creature that looked like a cross between a snake and a dragon emerged from the lake, towering over them like a skyscraper.
"Who dares trespass upon the resting place of the gods?"
A majestic voice boomed from the creature's mouth, rumbling like thunder.