【 Cross-world mode activated. Risk of invasion by strangers from another world. Establishing a border-protection teleportation point.】

【 Boundary Protection Teleportation Point established】

As the voice of the God of Creation System faded, a spiral-shaped rune appeared on Qin Zhou’s arm.

【 Once an intruder from another world is detected, the rune will activate and forcibly teleport them away.】

The rune on Qin Zhou’s arm emitted a faint glow, but since it was hidden by his sleeve, no one but himself knew of its existence.

“Village Chief, the gate is open,” Shisi called out.

“Okay, go on in.”

Qin Zhou held out his hand and placed it in front of Wen Jue.

Wen Jue hesitated for a moment before pressing her palm against his. Indeed, he needed a little courage.

Qin Zhou’s hand felt warm—almost hot. It was only then that Wen Jue realized his own hands had grown so cold.

“I’d actually like to see those people show up again,” Qin Zhou said calmly. Once bitten by a snake, one fears even a rope for ten years. Only by encountering the snake again and slaying it with his own hands could he overcome this ordeal and break through the barrier in his heart.

Understanding what he meant, Wen Jue didn’t argue; he simply squeezed his hand a little tighter. Yes.

Things are different now. Even if they were to appear again, he would have nothing to fear.

Passing through the World Tree’s portal, the group finally laid eyes on the legendary World Tree.

“It’s much smaller than I imagined.” Shisi looked up; this World Tree was vastly different from the one they remembered from the Celestial Realm’s Secret Realm.

The one in the Zhutian Realm had been lush and leafy, with a trunk so thick it took several people to encircle it. Its branches spiraled upward, reaching straight into the clouds.

Yet this World Tree before them, though it too radiated spiritual energy, was clearly much smaller. It was about the size of two people embracing, and the entire tree stood only as tall as a two-story building.

“There are fruits on the tree,” Lu San exclaimed in delight.

Beneath the foliage lay plump fruits, each about the size of a palm, hanging densely from the branches. Those were the World Fruits. And there were so many of them…

“It seems we’re in luck,” Qin Zhou said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He had never seen a World Tree in the Zhutian Realm bear fruit. According to the chronicles of the Small Cultivation Mountain Village, the World Fruits of that world could only be obtained from the Tongtian List, yet in the past eight years, he had never once acquired a single one.

The Spirit Mountain Realm had only recently become a living, breathing world, yet it had already borne World Fruits.

“Pick them!”

At Qin Zhou’s command, everyone rushed forward.

“Village Chief, this World Tree is far more open-minded than those spirit beasts—it doesn’t even reject my identity as a Demon Beast Tamer!” Shisi exclaimed excitedly, cupping the fresh fruit he’d just picked.

“Because whether you’re a Demon Beast Tamer or a Beast Tamer, you’re all citizens of the Spirit Mountain Realm.” As he spoke, Qin Zhou raised his hand to catch the fresh fruit tossed down by Wen Jue.

Lu San hugged a World Fruit as big as himself and jumped down from the tree.

“Will picking these World Fruits have any impact on the Spirit Mountain Realm?” Shen Yun didn’t know the purpose behind their harvest; he was simply helping out. The Mountain Ning Realm Sect Master, standing nearby, pricked up his ears upon hearing this.

“No,” Qin Zhou replied. “When nourished by dense spiritual energy, the World Tree has a certain chance of bearing fruit. You can think of the World Fruit as a spiritual fruit nurtured by the World Tree. Even if no one picks it, it will fall after ripening and return to the World Tree as nourishment.”

“The spiritual energy in the Spirit Mountain Realm is indeed enviably abundant.”

“Some drown in water, others die of thirst.” That’s exactly what he meant.

Qin Zhou felt fortunate at that moment. If he had waited until the Spirit Mountain Realm had grown powerful before opening the portal, he likely would never have seen these fruits.

The Zhutian Realm must have borne many World Fruits in its early days, but Qin Zhou had never encountered any of them before.

Before long, everyone had picked nearly all of them, meticulously searching under every leaf to ensure they didn’t miss a single one, for fear there wouldn’t be enough. Soon, Qin Zhou’s Cosmos Bag was filled with many World Fruits.

With this many fruits, there would be more than enough to restore the physical bodies of over thirty people. There would even be some left over.

But when it came to elixirs capable of reviving villagers, he could never have too many.

“What do we do now?”

“Return to Shanning Realm and refine pills.”

Upon hearing Qin Zhou’s reply, many were taken aback. “We’re not going back yet?”

With a barely perceptible frown, Qin Zhou said, “We’ll refine them in the Spirit Mountain Realm. The spiritual energy is dense there, so the quality of the pills will be higher.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yan Qi and I will use this opportunity to finish our weapons,” Lu San said.

“Should we protect the World Tree with a barrier? That way, if anyone from another world invades, I’ll be the first to know,” Wen Jue suggested.

“Alright.” Qin Zhou didn’t refuse. Even with the God of Creation system and the runes on his arm, he was certain he’d sense it the moment an outsider from another world appeared.

But an extra layer of protection was always a good thing.

Wen Jue pulled out a massive barrier stone and tossed it into the air above the World Tree.

A thin veil of spiritual light descended like a curtain, enveloping the entire World Tree.

……

Everyone hurried back.

But Qin Zhou’s brief frown remained etched in Wen Jue’s mind.

……

Upon returning to the courtyard where they were temporarily staying in Shanning Realm, Qin Zhou immediately plunged into Elder Fang’s alchemy chamber. This alchemy chamber was clearly far more rudimentary than the one in the village.

But Qin Zhou didn’t mind.

This time, he had brought his alchemy furnace with him.

As soon as Wen Jue pushed open the door, he spotted the familiar furnace.

“I told you not to sleep in the blacksmith’s shop, so now you’re sleeping in the alchemy room instead?” Without looking up, Qin Zhou began processing the World Fruit. The World Fruit was considered an eighth-tier alchemical ingredient; even if an ordinary person obtained it, they might not necessarily attempt to refine it.

Qin Zhou felt a bit clumsy while processing the first one, but once he got the hang of it, he was peeling the seeds out quickly. Wen Jue defended himself, “I just came to take a look. Who said I was going to sleep?”

Qin Zhou smiled.

“Want to help?”

Qin Zhou shook his head.

Wen Jue had no choice but to give up. He sat down on the small stool by the furnace, staring at Qin Zhou’s focused profile, and suddenly said, “Qin Zhou, you’re a bit strange.”

Qin Zhou: “In what way?”

“You want to revive everyone in the Spirit Mountain Realm, don’t you?” Wen Jue voiced his suspicion. “You even brought your alchemy furnace—you must have planned to refine elixirs there all along.”

“The spiritual energy here is abundant.” 

“Is that so?”

Since he asked, it meant he had some doubts. Qin Zhou didn’t intend to hide anything; he simply said, “Of course, that’s just one reason. I was thinking, if I revive them in the Spirit Mountain Realm, would they then belong to the Spirit Mountain Realm rather than the Zhutian Realm?”

“Why would you want everyone to become citizens of the Spirit Mountain Realm?”

Qin Zhou: “Because I don’t trust the Dao of the Zhutian Realm.”

Hearing this, even Wen Jue couldn’t help but raise his head.

“In the Spirit Mountain Realm, I am the Creator. It’s better this way,” Qin Zhou said calmly.   “Don’t change the subject,” Wen Jue interrupted him. “Why don’t you trust the Heavenly Dao?” Seeing there was no way around it, Qin Zhou could only speak plainly: “It possesses sentience.”

“Is that all?”

Qin Zhou nodded. “I don’t trust the Dao.”

If it possesses sentience, it can think. His return to the Zhutian Realm was the result of the joint efforts of Wen Jue and the Heavenly Dao. It struck a deal with Wen Jue in an attempt to save itself. In the end, they succeeded, and he returned.

All of this sounded perfectly fine. But was it really?

Qin Zhou had actually wondered whether his car accident was truly an accident. If it were merely caused by that large vehicle losing control, then it was an accident.

But what if his car accident was actually caused by someone’s deliberate action?

Qin Zhou didn’t know if Xiao Lu could interfere with the real world. So he was still just speculating. After all, the deal Wen Jue and Xiao Lu had struck back then was—

After shattering the heavens, he would wait patiently and bring Qin Zhou back.

Wen Jue waited in the Immortal Restraint Prison for decades, and Xiao Lu did indeed bring him back. The flow of time in the two worlds is markedly different.

In the Zhutian Realm, it was decades, but if converted to the real world, it might have been just a few short days. Wen Jue smashed open the heavens just a few days ago, and he had a car accident.

If he had died of natural causes and his soul had been brought back, there would be no room for conspiracy theories. But he had met with an accident.

If none of this was a coincidence, then for Xiao Lu, it was an act of self-preservation. But for him, could this be considered premeditated murder? Qin Zhou didn’t bring any of this up with Wen Jue. He merely lowered his voice and said once more—

“I don’t trust it, so all the villagers have to be reborn here.” He repeated “I don’t trust it” over and over, and Wen Jue sighed, “Then I don’t trust it either.” After all, he’d never really thought that “Heavenly Dao” was trustworthy to begin with.

Qin Zhou smiled.

Lu Yihui had always been on his side; Qin Zhou never doubted that.

“Time for bed?”

Wen Jue shook his head. “No way! This is an eighth-tier elixir that’s going to save everyone’s lives. I’m going to watch it get refined with my own eyes.”

That was the plan.

But after Qin Zhou had been at it in the alchemy chamber for two hours, Wen Jue finally fell asleep.

Even though he was asleep, he was still quite well-behaved.

He lay completely still, having dragged a garden chair into the room, where he curled up and slept soundly. When Shisi walked in, the first thing he saw was the person sleeping like a log on the chair.

Qin Zhou made a “shh” gesture at him.

He widened his eyes, pointed at the person on the chair, then looked at Qin Zhou in bewilderment.

“The fact that he can sleep means his mind is at ease,” Qin Zhou whispered to him.

Shisi came over and sat cross-legged beside Qin Zhou, replying via telepathy, “You’re right.” The Lu Yi of the past—how much he used to love sleeping.

Even as a cultivator, he’d still sleep soundly right by the village chief’s side.

“Can you sleep now?”

Shisi chuckled, “Village Chief, I’m not Lu Yi—I’m not a sleepyhead at all!” Hearing this, Qin Zhou merely shook his head; he didn’t believe him.

Wen Jue was the only survivor of the Battle of Tongtian.

Although Shisi hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, he had modified the Thousand Machinations Bell, foretold the future, and seen with his own eyes that nightmare of a situation that should have been a certain death.

He was always smiling and cheerful, but Shisi likely wasn’t much better off than Wen Jue.

“The burden has all been on the eldest brother’s shoulders. If I were to sleep soundly, that would be utterly despicable.” Shisi tapped his fingers together. “When he became a demon lord, Seventh Brother founded the Demon Sect, and Little Zhanyu helped relay messages in the Immortal-Demon City. The eldest brother loved me the most, but I didn’t do a single thing for him. Then there was that portal incident… so many brothers died. I begged Third Brother to alter my bell, but the prophecies it produced were useless—they just kept me up at night.”

“Village Chief, am I really that useless? I can’t help with anything.” He was the last one to find everyone after arriving in the Spirit Mountain Realm. Life is tough, Shisi sighed.

Qin Zhou: “There’s one thing I need your help with.” Shisi immediately straightened up. “Village Chief, go ahead!”

Qin Zhou took an object out of his Cosmos Bag and handed it to Shisi.

When Shisi saw the object, his pupils contracted.

……

At the same time, certain travelers from other worlds quietly discovered that, among the multitude of worlds, a new, small world seemed to have appeared.

“Huh? It’s this small?”

“How did this tiny thing, no bigger than a sesame seed or a mung bean, end up here?” 

“It’s so small—it must be a baby world,” someone marveled.

Others harbored sinister intentions.

Even a mosquito is still a morsel of meat.

Never mind the rewards—just the feeling of crushing an ant… that’s pretty satisfying, too.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

T/N: Hiii guyss, with all new stories uploaded, we are gonna be consistent with the schedule now. Bonus chapters on Sunday, regular updates on Monday and Tuesday, Patreon uploads on Saturday. Side note, with the way the site is built, uploading chapters is a bit of a hassle for the way the site was built, so the Milou’s Archive admin handles the uploading, not us, so we may see comments late. You can chat us up on Discord for issues. I heard that the channel is coming up this week. Also, since we (TKA and the Site Admin) are not from the US, which makes ad views payment low and inconvenient, we are looking for a way to resolve it, but MLA activated their Patreon using a similar way to ours, so check it out if you want, their seven-day free trial is open until the end of June.

That is all. As usual, Tokki’s Archives is thankful for every reader and supporter with us.