Chapter 922: The Weirdness

"Big brother!"

The Thirteenth Elder of the Phoenix Clan gazed across the entire Gu Song Mountain.

It had endured strikes from several Great Emperors, and half of it was blown apart by Zhou Qingmei's self-destruction.

What was once a cultivation paradise had now become ruins.

"There are still many disciples here!"

"Should we…?"

The Thirteenth Elder made a slashing motion with his hand.

"Unnecessary!" the Phoenix Emperor shook his head: "Gu Song Mountain is a sect with tens of thousands of people, but He Pingsheng's direct bloodline numbers less than a hundred!"

"Now, all of He Pingsheng's bloodline descendants have left. Killing these people would only invite karmic retribution—yet it would cause He Pingsheng no loss whatsoever!"

"Then what do we do?" The Thirteenth Elder looked bitter.

Not killing He Pingsheng's descendants felt like a great loss to her.

"Don't be so down!" the Phoenix Emperor said: "We are a divine clan, not a demonic one!"

"Killing does not bring satisfaction!"

"Our goal is to eliminate the threat He Pingsheng and his descendants pose to our Phoenix Clan. Though we didn't kill them, we forced them out of the Spirit Realm, cutting them off from all other small worlds—our objective has still been achieved!"

"Everyone, let's go!"

"Withdraw…"

…

"Sister Zhou… waaah… Sister Zhou…"

Witnessing Zhou Qingmei's self-destruction, the West Lake True Person was utterly heartbroken, trembling all over.

Over the years, she and Zhou Qingmei had jointly managed Gu Song Mountain, their coordination flawless and their bond deep, like sisters.

Now, Zhou Qingmei had self-destructed.

How could she not be devastated?

"Waaah…"

Countless disciples knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

"Enough!" the Great Lun Emperor frowned: "Stop crying!"

"Listen to my orders now!"

"First… is Zhou Qingmei's avatar still alive?"

Su Zhen replied: "Yes… but her avatar has fallen into a coma!"

Without her original body, the avatar lost its spiritual soul's anchor.

It would become a living corpse!

"Good!" the Great Lun Emperor said: "As long as it's still alive… preserve her avatar at all costs!"

"Ensure the avatar does not die, no matter what!"

"Yes!" Su Zhen bowed, then assigned two maids to care for Zhou Qingmei's avatar.

"Second!" the Great Lun Emperor said: "This is a small spiritual world. Though small, it is still cultivable!"

"Its level is no different from our original Spirit Realm!"

"So as long as you cultivate diligently, one day you will break through and ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

"Once in the Immortal Realm, we can still meet He Pingsheng!"

"Yes!" the others responded, their expressions varied.

The Great Lun Emperor turned to West Lake: "West Lake… I ask you, over the years, has the family world accumulated plenty of resources?"

"Yes!" West Lake said: "Friend He entrusted this small world to me and Sister Qingmei over two hundred years ago!"

"For these two centuries, Hao Cang has tirelessly gathered every celestial treasure under heaven to fill it!"

"Most of the necessary celestial treasures are already here!"

"Previously, I also brought in tens of millions of ordinary mortals, who have since multiplied over several generations!"

"Resources, spirit veins, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and scriptures—all are abundant!"

"The only major shortage is various magic treasures and spirit treasures!"

"Unfortunately," West Lake said, "despite Hao Cang's utmost efforts, we still could not acquire the materials to forge the 【Ascension Pill】!"

"It seems none of us will ever be able to ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

At these words, everyone was struck with terror.

No way to ascend?

Did that mean they'd be forever trapped in this small world?

"Don't say that!" the Great Lun Emperor shook her head: "Even the top-tier celestial treasures in the Spirit Realm weren't transplanted from other worlds!"

"They formed naturally under the Dao's rules, through the interplay of divine spiritual energy and cosmic principles!"

"Since this small world is self-contained, it will eventually evolve its own nine-grade celestial treasures!"

"Then we can forge the Ascension Pill just the same!"

Her words were purely to comfort them.

Though logically sound—this small spiritual world could indeed evolve nine-grade celestial treasures—

the time required would be impossibly long, longer than anyone could bear to imagine.

It was impossible in the short term.

Not even within a million years.

The others weren't fools; despite her words, they remained gloomy.

The Great Lun Emperor waved her hand, and a dozen purple pills floated in the void: "Moreover, even if this realm cannot produce nine-grade celestial treasures anytime soon, you needn't worry!"

"I have twelve 【Ascension Pills】."

"These were prepared by me for myself."

"I won't need them all—anyone here who reaches the Mahayana Emperor's peak may come to me and claim one."

At this, everyone's eyes instantly lit up.

Twelve!

That's not few.

"Alright, go now!"

After speaking, the Great Lun Emperor retrieved the pills and waved her hand; tens of thousands of disciples departed.

This family world already had a vast sect established, so the disciples could immediately resume cultivation in the new world.

"Sister!" After everyone left, the Great Lun Emperor stepped forward to Su Zhen: "Don't be so sorrowful—the situation was urgent, I had no choice!"

"There was no time to search for He Tianya."

"I know," Su Zhen shook her head: "Tianya is tough. Besides, he's lived this long already!"

"I believe he'll survive!"

"Don't try to comfort me—I've lost my son, but my grandchildren are still with me. I'm fine… waaah…"

As she spoke, Su Zhen covered her face and wept bitterly.

…

Golden Suffering Immortal Ruins!

He Pingsheng stood in the void.

Beside him stood the Empress Tianwei.

They had entered the Golden Suffering Immortal Ruins for several days—nothing was entirely useless, yet they'd gained no useful information.

The only thing known was the size and scale of this ruin.

"This small world isn't particularly large," He Pingsheng turned to Empress Tianwei: "But it's utterly bizarre!"

"A world no bigger than Lei Huang Continent hides ten true poisons!"

"Yet over countless ages, countless Mahayana Emperors have entered—and not a single one has ever taken away a true poison!"

"Nor has anyone ever claimed to have seen one!"

"This is… unreasonable."

Originally, He Pingsheng planned to learn about the true poisons by questioning the world's natives.

But after days inside, they hadn't seen a single native.

That was even stranger.

He Pingsheng even felt that this world was... eerie.