The catch-up didn’t take too long. Actually, to be precise, they hadn’t been in the Spirit Mountain Realm for very long. It was just a matter of introducing new friends.

Even though Shisi was naturally lively, he couldn’t help but notice that Yan Qi really didn’t say much. After a brief introduction, the conversation had to return to the main topic.

“The reason for the spirit beasts’ migration? The World Tree is about to emerge? Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go check it out!” Shisi rolled up his sleeves, unable to wait a moment longer.

“If we get the World Tree fruit, we can save over thirty of our fellow disciples! With a hundred members of the Lu family, maybe we’ll really be able to reunite one day.”

The group didn’t waste any time and decided to head straight to the valley to investigate. With Shisi there, they might actually be able to learn something from the spirit beasts.

As soon as they entered the valley, they saw spirit beasts resembling mountain goats darting past the cliff’s edge, leaving a trail of spiritual light in their wake.

The birds and beasts perched on the trees along the cliff’s edge all turned to look at them. Upon spotting them, they silently flew off to other places.

At the center of the Shanning Realm’s valley lay a forest of Jingning Trees; in the past, there had been hardly any spirit beasts here. The most suitable habitat in the entire Spirit Mountain Realm was still Spirit Beast Mountain in the Red Cloud Sea.

This clearly indicated that the Shanning Realm had indeed seen a significant increase in the number of spirit beasts.

“Senior Qin Zhou, what exactly is in the Shanning Realm…” The head of the Shanning Realm had accompanied them on this journey.

“The spiritual energy here has increased significantly. We came here specifically to find the source of this,” Qin Zhou said. “It shouldn’t be a bad thing.”

The Sect Master’s slightly furrowed brows relaxed at those final words. If the elder says it’s fine, then there’s no need to worry.

Just then, Shisi, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something’s off,” Shisi said solemnly. “The spiritual energy here is indeed dense, but it doesn’t meet the conditions for spirit beasts to inhabit. Even if the spiritual energy were sufficient, this valley is barren—there’s nothing here except that patch of forest. A valley this small couldn’t possibly support multiple species of spirit beasts.”

The higher the tier of a spirit beast, the more demanding its living conditions. While dense spiritual energy is one factor, more often than not, they make their choices based on a comprehensive assessment.

The Thousand Machinations Divine Sect was established in a remote area of the upper realm with dense spiritual energy, and a very important reason for this was the group of high-tier spirit beasts on the mountain behind it.

In the past, Shisi had gone to great lengths to relocate the spirit beasts from the hilltop of their village to the mountains behind the Thousand Machinations Divine Sect. This valley before them clearly lacked such conditions.

“Little Demon Wolf, don’t you agree?” Shisi patted Duyan on the head. Duyan, who had been watching Qin Zhou, was startled by the pat. “Yes.”

It seemed, for some inexplicable reason, that it had become one of Lu Yi’s pack. But it had to keep up the act!

If it were exposed, Lu Yi would surely kill it!

The Demon Wolf sniffed the air. “The spiritual energy here is far too dense. The source is over there.” The Demon Wolf tilted its chin, looking toward the Jingning forest.

Qin Zhou: “Let’s go check out the source.”

But this time, they couldn’t get into the groove. Numerous spirit beasts were blocking the entrance.

Seeing this from a distance, Wen Jue frowned. “There wasn’t this kind of presence when I came here two days ago.”

The leader of the spirit beasts was a white tiger. Standing about two meters tall and several meters long, it was a massive creature. It took a step forward and let out a thunderous roar at Qin Zhou and his group—a roar that carried immense intimidation.

The roar, infused with spiritual energy, surged toward the group. Unfortunately for them, Wen Jue merely raised a hand, and a barrier blocked it all. This was a fully matured spirit beast in the late Nascent Soul stage.

Such power was already considered among the very best in the Spirit Mountain Realm.

The group then turned its gaze to Shisi.

“What is it roaring about?”

Shisi said innocently, “It says that demon beasts and tamers are not allowed inside.” The crowd fell silent.

Shisi fell silent after speaking.

Among those present, it seemed he was the only Beast Tamer.

“Beastmaster, you understand what I’m saying.”

Suddenly, Shisi heard a voice. He looked up—it was the White Tiger speaking.

“I understand.”

“Roar—” The white tiger seemed even more agitated than before. “What is it yelling now?” Wen Jue rubbed his ears.

“It says that a human cultivator who can understand the language of the beast clan is actually a Demon Beast Tamer. It’s furious.” Shisi shrugged. “What should we do, Village Chief? They don’t seem to welcome us very much.” A shadow passed over Shisi’s eyes.

These spirit beasts were unmatched in the Spirit Mountain Realm, but in his eyes, their resistance would likely be no match for even a single flap of the Fire Phoenix’s wings on the back mountain of the Thousand Machinations Divine Sect.

“Let’s try to communicate. If that doesn’t work, we’ll force our way in,” Qin Zhou said calmly. Wen Jue rolled up his sleeves.

Yan Qi and Lu San also braced themselves for battle.

Shen Yun looked at them, then at the spirit beasts. Privately, he didn’t want anyone to fight, but they had to investigate the source of the spiritual energy. After a moment’s thought, Shen Yun also pulled out his beast-taming staff.

Half an incense stick later, the White Tiger slinked back a step, still snarling and bellowing that Demon Beast Tamers were forbidden to enter.

“Thwack.”

The White Tiger’s eyes rolled back, and it passed out.

With the White Tiger no longer blocking the way, the other spirit beasts scattered in all directions. Shisi took advantage of the chaos to grab one. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get any useful information out of it.

“They don’t know what’s happening in the Shanning Realm; they merely sensed a strange spiritual energy guiding them here.”

A moment later, the group successfully reached the clearing beyond the mountains and forests.

“The spiritual energy here is even denser than when I came two days ago.” Wen Jue swept his sleeve, and everyone’s eyes grew brighter. They could see the spiritual energy flowing through the air.

It was almost tangible.

It was a kaleidoscope of colors, surging forth from a single direction.

And at the end of that direction lay a fissure. The fissure was tiny, barely half a finger wide, yet it stood as tall as a person. Upon seeing the fissure, Wen Jue’s expression suddenly shifted.

“When I came here that day, this fissure wasn’t here,” he murmured. This thing… It’s too similar…

Qin Zhou noticed the fleeting shock in Wen Jue’s eyes, then calmly looked at the crack, which resembled the embryonic form of a teleportation gate.

“A portal?” The Sect Master was particularly alarmed. Even though he was the least experienced among them all, he could tell that this crack was a portal. How could a portal have been opened in the mountains and forests of Shanning Realm?

The Sect Master instinctively thought of the Demon Beast Tamer.

But the thought was instantly dismissed. Demon Beast Tamers relied on demon beasts as their foundation; even if someone had created a portal, it couldn’t possibly be the current situation—

This portal was leaking spiritual energy outward. The surroundings fell into dead silence.

Shen Yun cautiously glanced at the others, puzzled as to why everyone had suddenly fallen silent. He looked at Shisi, whose face was dark and foreboding.

Yan Qi also looked down and noticed that the little wooden puppet he was cradling in his palm was staring intently at the crack, saying nothing. He seemed to sense it—the little puppet was unhappy.

Only Duyan was different; a flurry of voices was ringing in its mind. This was…

The voices of inner demons. Not just one inner demon.

And among them, one voice was terrifyingly loud. The Demon Wolf looked up—it was Lu Yi.

What exactly was this crack? It had actually awakened Lu Yi’s inner demons all at once. This was undoubtedly the best moment to strike.

Duyan extended its claws, then paused. Wait a moment—Lu Yi is incredibly ruthless. If this move fails, it might not survive.

Duyan scratched its head hesitantly. Even if it could use the heart demon to subdue Lu Yi right now, it certainly wouldn’t be able to escape. It couldn’t even beat Shisi on its own.

Plus, getting hit on the head by Shisi really hurts!

Weighing the pros and cons, Duyan finally withdrew its claws quietly.

Hmm, now is not the right time!

After retracting his claws, Duyan cautiously looked up, only to lock eyes with Qin Zhou. In that instant, it felt as though he had fallen into an abyss.

Duyan’s entire body froze.

He simply stared at it, as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff—one wrong step, and it would be doomed forever.

Even when he was suppressed at the bottom of the lake by Lu Yi, when Lu Yi extracted his inner core to torture him, and when he was beaten on the head by Shisi after escaping, he had never felt so close to death!

Duyan couldn’t even manage a scream. It was certain that if it had raised a paw against Lu Yi just now, it would have died! It would have died for sure! Qin Zhou slowly looked away.

As if nothing had happened, he said, “That’s the portal to the World Tree.” After saying that, Qin Zhou even added,

“Not a portal to anything else.”

“So it’s the portal to the World Tree, is it?” Wen Jue turned back, a hint of vulnerability appearing in his expression. He was already on edge.

He didn’t dare to acknowledge it.

Last time, he’d also thought it was the portal to the Tongtian Secret Realm, and then… everyone had died. Over thirty fellow disciples—all of them dead. Just looking at this crack… it felt as though the moment he closed his eyes, the scene of that desperate battle in the teleportation passage would reappear.

“What are you worried about!” Shisi silently stepped beside Wen Jue and said, “Could the Village Chief possibly be lying?” 

“The Village Chief wouldn’t be wrong,” the little puppet chimed in, hopping onto Wen Jue’s shoulder.

Wen Jue forced himself to stay calm. “You’re right.”

Qin Zhou opened the Map of Mountains and Rivers. Sure enough, a new teleportation portal icon had appeared at their location on the map. Qin Zhou tapped the icon.

【 You do not meet the requirements to open this portal. Do you wish to force its opening via the Creator God System? (If the portal is opened, this world will enter Cross-World Mode. By default, it will be detectable by all beings from other worlds, posing a risk of invasion. This world’s overall strength has been detected as falling short of the Cross-World Mode threshold. Please assess this world’s capabilities before proceeding.)】

The Heavenly Dao was giving him a choice.

Opening the portal would allow him to obtain the fruit of the World Tree and revive all the villagers. But at the same time, taking the World Fruit from the Spirit Mountain Realm would also mean shouldering this world’s karma, protecting this world, and perhaps one day having to confront the outsiders on the other side of the portal.

Qin Zhou did not hesitate. He chose “Yes.”

He intended to save every single villager.

The moment Qin Zhou chose “Yes,” a blinding light erupted from the portal. The fissure was like a human eye, originally narrowed and in a closed state.

Now, the rift opened its eyes.

Everyone raised their hands to shield their eyes from the light. Only Qin Zhou stood his ground, neither flinching nor turning away.

The Spirit Mountain Realm currently lacked the strength to enter “Cross-World Mode.” In truth, Qin Zhou could have waited. He could have waited until the Spirit Mountain Realm had grown strong enough before opening the portal. But he couldn’t wait—nor could the Zhutian Realm.

Moreover, he didn’t need to use the World-Creating God System to force the opening of this portal.

Like the Zhutian Realm, the Spirit Mountain Realm is also a “player” save file. And the player is Yan Qi. The Zhutian Realm’s Tongtian Secret Realm was opened by him, and here, it should be opened by Yan Qi.

Yan Qi is the protagonist of this world; if he were to open the gate, the world’s karmic consequences would not fall upon him. But Qin Zhou had no intention of doing that.

He actually wanted to meet these strangers from another world, in his capacity as the creator of this world. Back then, the villagers died because of the invasion by those strangers…

He still hasn’t been able to get past that.

If outsiders really do come, he’ll see just what kind of people they are.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Hiii!! With other stories about to end, here are our new ones. Check them out:

Global Survival: From a Small Wooden Cabin to a Magic Farm
Island Survival: Life-Type Player Farms and Hoards Goods.
Lord of the Wastelands
Transmigrating to the Beast World to Farm and Raise a Wolf