Far beyond Tian Yuan's cultivated fields…
Beyond the soft winds and growing divine forests…
Beyond the gentle silence of his secluded heaven…
The Upper Realm shifted.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
But like a sea feeling the gravity of a rising moon.
Subtle.
Inevitable.
Unavoidable.
The First Ripples
High above distant celestial continents, a gathering of divine clouds trembled saturated with threads of qi so ancient they hummed like distant bells.
The Celestial Observation Pavilion awakened.
Dozens of floating mirrors rotated silently in the air each carved from crystallized time, reflecting realms, dimensions, and the web of divine territories.
One mirror flickered.
Then another.
Then nine.
Silver-robed observers froze.
Their leader an old immortal with snow-white hair and eyes like polished glass leaned forward.
"…This is impossible."
A younger attendant swallowed nervously.
"Elder… another fluctuation from the barren quadrant."
The old immortal's fingers tightened around his staff.
"That quadrant was deemed lifeless since the War of Broken Crowns. No god, saint, or demon should exist there."
The mirror pulsed.
A faint golden aura spread outward… pure and clean.
Too clean.
The young attendant whispered:
"…This isn't natural qi. This is…"
He hesitated.
The elder finished quietly.
"God-level purity."
The chamber grew cold.
The Realm with No Gate
A scholar flipped through jade records in panic.
"No celestial formation registered… no ascension gate… no divine territory marker… no sovereign seal…"
His voice shook.
"There is a realm there but it has no origin signature."
The old immortal frowned.
"That cannot be. All realms are birthed from lineage or conquest."
Silence.
Then another voice trembling.
"…What if it wasn't birthed… but cultivated?"
The room went still.
A realm that grew.
A realm that was planted.
A realm that resisted external entry.
The elder closed his eyes.
"Seal all external reports. No information leaves this pavilion."
"But Elder"
"Do you want the Conqueror Factions to hear of this?"
The attendants fell silent.
Because they understood.
To the wrong god…
this realm would not be a mystery.
It would be prey.
Whispers of Greed
But secrecy… does not exist among immortals.
Far across gilded city-palaces, banquet halls, and towering jade temples information flowed like silent poison.
Rumors bloomed.
A hidden realm.
Pure qi.
No ruler name.
No banner.
No divine army.
A perfect target.
The Arrogant Prince
On a distant divine continent, a young man sat upon a throne of bone-white stone. Silver armor rested across his shoulders, etched with phoenix wings.
His eyes burned like cold embers.
A smile curled his lips.
"So… a newborn realm appears beyond the dead quadrant…"
An attendant knelt beside him.
"My lord, the elders have declared it under investigation. No entry is advised"
The prince laughed quietly.
"Advised? Or restricted?"
He stood aura flaring like a restrained blade.
"The Great Realms spent eras fighting to claim fragments of land weaker than this."
He stepped toward the balcony.
Stars bowed beneath his feet.
"And now a pure qi realm appears ownerless sealed from the heavens…"
His voice darkened.
"…and I should ignore it?"
He raised a hand.
A golden war-ship formed in the sky sleek, divine, bristling with formation arrays.
His generals saluted.
"Prince Jianmu orders?"
His smile sharpened into cruelty.
"We will not conquer it."
He turned eyes cold.
"We will take it."
Meanwhile… in Tian Yuan's Realm
The breeze rustled gently through divine trees.
New seedlings glowed softly.
The Golden Dragon rested quietly in the sunlight peaceful, watchful, steady.
The Realm Spirit hummed softly while organizing small jade tablets across the manor steps.
The system popped into existence
bouncy
cheerful
slightly smug.
"Boss! Realm progression up by three percent! Trees stable! Soil density improving! Golden Dragon no longer mentally bullied by brain-ghosts! We are thriving!"
Tian Yuan knelt beside a sapling pressing fresh soil around its roots.
His expression was calm.
Grounded.
Focused.
He didn't rush.
Didn't force growth.
He simply guided life patiently.
Quietly.
Responsibly.
The world around him breathed with him.
The system blinked.
"…Uh. Boss?"
He paused.
The wind shifted.
Very faint.
Almost distant.
But unmistakable.
A ripple brushing the outer edge of his realm boundary.
Not intrusive.
Not violent.
But curious.
Probing.
Searching.
The Golden Dragon slowly raised its head.
Its aura didn't flare.
It settled
low
controlled
coiled
ready.
The Realm Spirit looked up from her work eyes widening faintly.
"…Father?"
Tian Yuan didn't move from the sapling.
He patted the soil one last time.
Then he exhaled softly.
"Someone found us."
A Door That Refuses To Open
Outside the purified barrier…
Prince Jianmu's war-ship hovered in empty divine space.
His aura surged mighty and imposing.
He extended his hand.
A spear of celestial might condensed ripping through space toward Tian Yuan's realm.
It should have pierced.
It should have devoured.
It should have shattered any ordinary boundary.
Instead…
It vanished.
Like a stone sinking into water…
leaving not even a ripple.
His generals stiffened.
"What"
Another blast.
Stronger.
Focused.
Precise.
Gone.
Silence.
No entry.
No rejection.
No resistance.
Just…
non-existence.
The prince narrowed his eyes.
"…A realm that does not acknowledge external force?"
He smiled slowly.
Not deterred.
Intrigued.
"Very well."
He stepped off the ship.
His body dissolved into divine light.
He attempted to phase through space.
To enter as light.
To enter as will.
To enter as existence.
But as soon as his form touched Tian Yuan's realm
the world vanished beneath him.
The star field twisted.
Gravity inverted.
And his body plummeted
into silence.
He Had Entered
But not into the realm.
Into the formations.
Ancient.
Silent.
Alive.
The first intruder…
had arrived.
And he did not understand one crucial truth.
Tian Yuan's realm was not defended by walls.
It was defended by principles.
By balance.
By intention.
By choice.
And once you stepped into it…
you did not walk where you wished.
You walked…
where Tian Yuan allowed.
Far below, in the peaceful manor garden, Tian Yuan straightened slowly.
He dusted soil from his hands.
His expression remained calm.
Not excited.
Not threatened.
Just…
aware.
The system tilted its head.
"…Boss?"
Tian Yuan looked toward the horizon.
His voice was gentle.
"Let him wander."
A faint breeze passed across the realm.
Calm.
Patient.
Unhurried.
"If he came seeking land…"
His eyes softened.
then let him learn how land responds.
End of Chapter 82