Chapter 738: Beyond the Extremities of the Four Realms
Chapter 738: Beyond the Extremities of the Four Realms
“Brother-in-law, is this really a good idea?”
In the corner of the courtyard where the Imperial City Sword Dao Alliance was located, two figures were hiding behind a fake mountain, whispering conspiratorially.
These two were Qin Feng and Xing Sheng.
After learning from the latter that his younger brother’s relationship with Bai Qui had become increasingly intimate, Qin Feng’s innate brotherly protectiveness could no longer be suppressed.
“What’s wrong with it? Father is no longer here, so as the eldest brother, I should be like a father to him.”
“As his elder brother, is it not reasonable and proper for me to be concerned about his cultivation progress and emotional affairs?” Qin Feng argued righteously.
“If it’s so reasonable and proper, then why are you hiding instead of showing yourself? And can you please stop tugging on my clothes?” Xing Sheng turned his head to look at Qin Feng, who was using him as cover, with a somewhat exasperated expression.
Wearing black, Xing Sheng was a natural barrier, blending perfectly with the shadows of the fake mountain.
Qin Feng shifted his body a bit more, his gaze intently fixed on the two people in the courtyard, who were sparring, exchanging flirtatious glances.
In the courtyard, Qin Feng’s younger brother and Bai Qui were clashing their blades, and the metallic clanging could be heard constantly.The surging auras whipped up howling winds, making the plants in the courtyard sway back and forth.
After a round of sparring, the two stopped, their gazes filled with affection as they complimented each other.
An inadvertent touch made them both blush shyly, overflowing with tenderness.
Feeling the sour and bitter air wafting over and looking at his bashful younger brother, Qin Feng grew impatient, his expression one of frustrated exasperation.
“My younger brother is truly foolish, at this time he’s still being reserved? He should go and hold her hand!”
“They’re still discussing the details and shortcomings of their recent sparring, is now really the time to be talking about martial dao?”
“Tsk, Bai Qui has already given such obvious hints, and my younger brother is still unmoved. If it were me…”
“If it were you, how would it be different?” a calm voice spoke up from beside Qin Feng.
Without thinking, Qin Feng immediately replied, “If it were me, how would I have let it drag on to this point without solidifying the relationship? I’d already cooked the rice into a meal!”
“I see, no wonder you were able to marry Liu Jianli and the Azure Dragon lineage of the Dragon Clan, your skills in such matters truly leave other men far behind.”
Hearing this, Qin Feng felt something was off – this voice did not sound like Black Charcoal Head’s.
Turning towards the source of the voice, he froze in astonishment.
Suddenly, a man of distinguished bearing stood beside Qin Feng – a middle-aged figure in white robes, like an immortal from the heavens. His right hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and he wore a “kindly” smile.
Qin Feng asked awkwardly, “Senior Bai Yan, what brings you to the Imperial City?”
“I was entrusted with an important matter, and took the opportunity to come see my little daughter. But you two, why are you hiding here?” Bai Yan said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“Just passing through, and suddenly felt the need to urinate,” Qin Feng laughed awkwardly, then elbowed Xing Sheng in front of him.
Xing Sheng caught on, quickly adding, “Yes, yes, perhaps we drank too much tea before leaving, and couldn’t hold it in for a moment.”
“We were looking for a bathroom, but couldn’t find one, so we thought we’d discreetly take care of it here,” Qin Feng supplemented.
“That’s peculiar, the Sword Dao Alliance’s pavilion here was built with your help, Young Master Qin, and Divine Workshop’s assistance. Surely you know the layout better than I, how could you not find the restrooms?” Bai Yan scoffed coldly.
“Uh…” Qin Feng stiffened, having forgotten about that detail.
Before he could make another excuse, Bai Yan placed his hand on Qin Feng’s shoulder and spoke telepathically, “I don’t object to Qiu’er being with your boy. But I hope you won’t recklessly advise or interfere in their relationship process. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”
As he spoke, Bai Yan’s hand exerted a slight pressure, and Qin Feng felt as if he was carrying a mountain on his shoulder.
Regretting his earlier boast, Qin Feng nodded vigorously, feeling quite dejected.
When Qin An and Bai Qui saw Qin Feng’s group emerge from behind the fake mountain, they both looked panicked, quickly putting more distance between them.
Bai Qui composed herself, giving a forced smile as she bounced over to Bai Yan. “Father, you didn’t tell me you were coming, I didn’t have a chance to prepare a proper welcome for you.”
Bai Yan ignored her, turning his gaze to Qin An instead. The latter tightened his grip on the black knife, evidently very tense.
“Not bad, at your age to have already reached the peak of Fourth Realm, with time you should be able to enter the Third Realm. Zhen Tianyi has indeed taken on a good disciple.”
Hearing this, Bai Qui beamed with delight. “That’s right, Father, he’s so powerful, maybe he’ll even surpass Big Sister one day.”
Bai Yan’s voice turned cold. “Don’t be so smug. Your sister is cultivating in the Southern Domain and is nearly at the threshold of the Second Realm.”
“But look at you – you’ve been in the Fourth Realm for so long, yet you haven’t made any progress at all!”
“I’ll give you another half a year. If there’s still no improvement, you’re not staying in the Imperial City anymore – you’re going to the Southern Domain to cultivate with your sister.”
“Ah?!” Qin An and Bai Qui exclaimed in unison, their tones clearly unwilling.
Observing this, Qin Feng’s mouth twitched slightly – they were already so in sync.
Bai Qui desperately protested, but her cries were weak and powerless against Bai Yan’s absolute authority.
“I will go back to Sword Emperor City and tell my mother!” Bai Qui cried and used her ultimate move.
Bai Yan’s expression immediately changed, and his attitude was not as tough as before.
Qin Feng raised his eyebrows slightly, with a strange look in his eyes.
Why were the people he knew mostly henpecked husbands? When would real men stand up?
Oh, he was also a henpecked husband, so never mind.
In the end, it was clear that Bai Qui had the upper hand in this tug-of-war. Bai Yan could only sigh, realizing that a girl should not be restrained.
He didn’t intend to break the young couple up, but the more things he knew, the more he understood what kind of situation this world was in.
And if you want to survive in the future turmoil, improving your own strength is the top priority.
As for matters of the heart, those would have to take a backseat.
“Speaking of which, Father, you’ve said so much, but I still don’t know why you’ve come to the Imperial City,” Bai Qui asked curiously.
Bai Yan paused briefly before speaking seriously, “Half a year ago, after the battle at Zhenling Pass and the destruction of the Candle Dragon, I was entrusted by the Heavenly Tower National Teacher’s avatar to guard the Southern Domain’s extremity.”
Qin Feng was confused. “The biggest threat to the southern border was the Garuda Clan of Tianling Mountain. But after the Candle Dragon Battle, Tianling Mountain collapsed, and the Garuda Clan was wiped out. Why would Teacher still have you guard this place?”
After the disastrous battle, the Southern Domain’s Demon Slaying Department, including the Divine Marquis Army and the Military War Duke Army, carefully combed the battlefield to ensure that there were no surviving remnants of the Garuda Clan that could rise again.
So Qin Feng could be certain of this.
“At the time, I was also puzzled, until I witnessed the scene beyond the extremity.”
“Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the borders of the Great Qian’s Four Realms?” Bai Yan’s expression was grave.
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.
Xing Sheng had been a vanguard commander in the Divine Marquis Army, having campaigned in many places, so his knowledge of The Great Qian’s geography was quite extensive.
He opened his mouth to speak, “Well, it must be…”
But he abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Because he suddenly realized that in his memories, he did not have the slightest impression of what lay beyond the borders of the Great Qian’s Four Realms!
Not only him, but even Qin Feng, who had read countless books and was well-versed in the world’s geography, could not recall any mention of what existed outside the extremities of the Great Qian’s Four Realms in any of the texts he had perused.
Bai Qui scratched her head, curious. “So what? Maybe the edges of the Four Realms are just the ends of the world.”
Beside her, Qin An lazily nodded in agreement.
As this absurd idea formed in his mind, Qin Feng felt his scalp tingle.
“Why do I feel like this ridiculous notion makes sense?”
After all, the scientific knowledge of the ancients was limited, and they even believed the world was flat. In their understanding, the idea of the heavens and earth having boundaries was plausible.
But as a well-rounded transmigrator, Qin Feng knew one thing for certain – the earth is round!
So this world could not possibly have borders, and beyond the extremities of the Great Qian’s Four Realms, there must be other regions.
“Why have I never been curious about this while reading all the various geographical records of the Great Qian?”
“I even once thought the borders of the Great Qian were at the extremities of the Four Realms.”
“And the history of the Great Qian is not short, spanning thousands of years, even tracing back to the descent of the Gods and Demons.”
“Why, in all this time, with so many geographical records, has no one ever wondered what lies beyond the Four Realms?”
“If not for Senior Bai Yan’s question today, I would still not have doubted this, and would have considered it perfectly normal.”
“Just now, it almost seemed as if there was an invisible force persuading me to believe in that foolish girl Bai Qui’s words.”
This strange phenomenon made Qin Feng think of the way the names of the transcendent realm entities were shielded by the laws of heaven and earth.
To make people feel that things should be a certain way, only the laws of heaven and earth would have that kind of power.
In other words, beyond the extremities of the Four Realms, there must be something that transcends common understanding, something that needs to be shielded by the laws of this world.
“So what exactly did you see, Senior?” Qin Feng couldn’t help but ask.
As soon as he said that, a beam of white light descended, and Qin An and the others suddenly started walking away in the distance.
Qin Feng was puzzled. “Where are you all going?”
Bai Qui looked confused. “Where else? Didn’t we say we’d go to your Moonlit Pavilion for dinner to welcome Father? Going over there to claim a spot ahead of time is perfect timing, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, Big Brother, how could you have forgotten so quickly?” his younger brother laughed.
The three of them gradually walked away.
Qin Feng felt a numb sensation from the base of his spine all the way to the top of his head – the laws of heaven and earth were altering his brother and the others’ memories, making them forget the topic of what lies beyond the extremities of the Four Realms!
“But why am I unaffected?” He glanced sideways at Bai Yan, who was also furrowing his brow as he watched the three leave, chatting cheerfully.
“Senior Bai Yan, do you remember what you just said?” Qin Feng asked, swallowing hard.
Bai Yan sighed. “Now I understand why the Heavenly Tower National Teacher told me not to reveal what lies beyond the extremity to others.”
“If my guess is correct, those below the Third Realm who have not endured the verification of hegemony of heaven and earth, will have their memories blurred by the laws of heaven and earth, making them unable to recall anything about what’s beyond the extremity.”
“But you have already entered the Third Realm, so you can resist this power of the laws of heaven and earth.”
Seeing Qin Feng’s darkened expression, a voice suddenly sounded in their minds.
“Come to the Nine Bend River.”
“It’s the Teacher’s voice!” Qin Feng looked at Bai Yan, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.
By the Nine Bend River, the white-haired, black-bearded elder was waiting.
Seeing him from afar, Qin Feng said quietly, “This old man likes to fish by the Nine Bend River, and I’ve met him a few times, but I still don’t know who he is.”
“Senior Bai, let’s not bother with him, the Teacher told us to come here, so he must be nearby.”
Hearing this, Bai Yan’s expression turned strange. “You really don’t know who he is?”
Qin Feng was taken aback. “Senior Bai, do you know him?”
Bai Yan suddenly remembered that the Divine Guardian had stayed in the Imperial City for a long time without taking action.
Even in the battle between Asura King and Divine Guardian, the latter used Qi to shield his body. Outsiders could only see a burst of golden light, but could not clearly see the figure under the golden light.
Thus, the world knew little of the Divine Guardian’s true appearance, except for the common sentiment – he is like a god, unparalleled in the world!
Bai Yan did not answer Qin Feng’s question, but instead approached the old man, cupping his fists and bowing respectfully. “Junior Bai Yan pays his respects to the Divine Guardian.”
Hearing this, Qin Feng was dumbfounded. This old man was the Divine Guardian, the Teacher’s peer, a supreme master?
The Divine Guardian nodded in acknowledgment, then turned his gaze to Qin Feng, expressing satisfaction. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You did well at Zhenling Pass and Suiyang City.”
“I was only doing what I should, Senior,” Qin Feng replied humbly.
“Come with me,” the Divine Guardian said, turning to walk towards the Nine Bend River.
The river waters churned, and the old man stepped onto the void, as if the space had crystallized into a path of ice, extending towards the turbulent river.
At the end of the icy road, a different scene unfolded in the spatial void.
What kind of technique is this? Qin Feng swallowed hard, closely following Bai Yan.
As the vision darkened, Qin Feng found himself in a gloomy corridor with numerous prison cells.
Before he could ask, a voice spoke up from ahead. “This is the Seventh Layer of the Ninefold Prison.”
The Seventh Layer of the Ninefold Prison?
Qin Feng’s heart raced. The Ninefold Prison was where the most heinous criminals were imprisoned, and the deeper the layer, the more terrifying the entities confined.
Those who could be held in the Seventh Layer would be the likes of demonic kings or ghost kings in the outside world!
Why would the Teacher summon me here? Qin Feng wondered, carefully scanning the surroundings. “Why is the Seventh Layer of the Ninefold Prison empty?”
“That is precisely why I called you here,” the Heavenly Tower National Teacher said calmly.
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