This was the second time a global announcement regarding the opening of the Tongtian Secret Realm had appeared. Less than half a year had passed between the two announcements.

The first time, cultivators searched high and low but couldn’t find out who the ‘Lord of the Heavens’ was or where he was.

When the announcement came again… quite a few cultivators scoffed at it—

“First the Lord of the Heavens, then some savior—do they really think we’re just a joke, something to be toyed with at will?”

That’s certainly true…

“There are far more people here than we ever imagined.”

At the gates of Immortal-Demon City at that moment, both the sky and the ground were a sea of people, packed with cultivators from every sect, faction, and region.

“Of course there are. That’s the Tongtian Secret Realm, after all.”

“I’m two thousand years old now, and I don’t even know what the Tongtian Secret Realm looks like. Even if it’s just to join the crowd, I have to go take a look.”

“It’s no wonder you haven’t seen it at two thousand years old. I haven’t seen it yet, and I’m three thousand! I doubt you could find even a hundred people in the entire Zhutian Realm who’ve been to the Tongtian Secret Realm. The Sword Immortal elders of the Cangyun Sword Sect and those two demonic overlords from the former Demon Sect—they’re the ones from that generation.”

“That great demon lord also holds the title of number one on the Tongtian Rankings—I wonder who started that rumor. But since such a claim exists, it goes to show that the Tongtian Secret Realm isn’t a place for ordinary people to venture into.”

“Setting aside the Secret Realm itself, don’t you guys want to meet this ‘Savior Qin Zhou’?” The man couldn’t hide the curiosity in his eyes. “I’d love to meet him.”

“I’ve just emerged from seclusion and want to ask—what’s the story behind this ‘Savior Qin Zhou’?”

“No idea. I wasn’t in seclusion, but I don’t know anything either.”

The only thing they knew was that the universal proclamation explicitly stated the whereabouts of this “Qin Zhou”—

The Little Village of the Zhutian Realm.

So everyone naturally speculated that the “Savior Qin Zhou” was most likely connected to the “Lord of the Zhutian Realm.”

To find the Zhutian Realm, one must go to the Immortal-Demon City.

After all, everyone in the Realm of the Zhutian Realm knew that the Immortal-Demon City housed a famous landmark: the Stele of the Zhutian Realm.

That was why everyone was lining up in the Immortal-Demon City to pay their respects to the Young City Lord.

Consequently, the Young City Lord of the Immortal-Demon City had become the hottest figure in the Realm of the Zhutian Realm at the moment, second only to the “Savior Qin Zhou” and the “Lord of the Zhutian Realm.”

Having received Qin Zhou’s entrustment, Zhanyu naturally spared no effort, and the Immortal-Demon City single-handedly weathered all the rumors and speculation.

Yes, sparing no effort to earn spirit stones.

As the City Lord and absentee landlord of the Immortal-Demon City, Shiyi rubbed his forehead, unable to fathom how Shier and Shiba could have produced such a clever child as Zhanyu.

Probably only he knew just how many spirit stones the Immortal-Demon City had raked in these past few days. The inn alone charged two thousand spirit stones per night, and for those wishing to view the Stele of Zhutian, there was an additional fee. Not to mention other trades—elixirs, weapon forging, talismans—the turnover from these businesses was so vast that even just flipping through the ledgers, Shiyi couldn’t keep up.

Riding the wave of the “Savior” proclamation, the Immortal-Demon City had made a killing.

However…

“Earning spirit stones is one thing, but with so many cultivators arriving, if Immortal-Demon City doesn’t offer an explanation, this matter won’t blow over easily.” Last time, these cultivators couldn’t find the Lord of the Zhutian Realm because they didn’t know his name or appearance, so they had to return empty-handed. This time, however, they’ve even learned the village chief’s name and the location of the Zhutian Realm Village…

They likely won’t let this go.

“Let’s just stall for now,” Zhanyu mused.

Once the invaders from another world arrive, all the cultivators of the Zhutian Realm will likely have no time to spare for the matters of the Tongtian Secret Realm.

The World Tree has grown anew, and the Tongtian Rankings have opened…

If his guess was correct, what lay ahead for them would be a matter of far greater urgency.

Zhanyu recalled what he had seen and heard back in the Spirit Mountain Realm.

The teleportation gate that had suddenly torn open the sky, and the powerful strangers from another world who emerged from it.

Last time, his two fathers and a host of uncles and aunts had all perished there.

This time…

They would ensure those who came would never return.

At the same time, someone in the Hongyun Realm noticed a tiny flash of starlight at the very center of the star chart.

“Immortal Sovereign, what… what does this mean?” someone asked excitedly.

The Immortal Sovereign of the Hongyun Realm, seated in the highest position, looked up—and was utterly stunned by what he saw.

The Immortal Sovereign of the Hongyun Realm remained motionless, yet the shock in his pupils spoke volumes.

The star that had completely dimmed was actually shining again.

What does this mean…

It means the withered World Tree has come back to life

Or perhaps, they have obtained a new World Tree.

But how is that possible?

Suddenly, he thought of that small world that had appeared out of nowhere earlier.

That small world the raiders had gone to investigate, from which not a single one had returned alive.

Could it be related to this?

Whether or not it was related, he had to go and see for himself.

What exactly was going on with this reborn world?

If this world can be reborn, does that mean the Hongyun Realm can be reborn as well?

“Gather our forces. Let’s go see what’s going on.” The Immortal Sovereign rose from his chair and produced his treasure.

“Immortal Sovereign, how many men do you need?”

“All of them.” He had a premonition that this reborn world would bring him some surprises.

A predator must act like a predator.

This world does not operate by reason; only the strong hold the power of life and death.

That is why the Hongyun Realm has survived to this day.

And in the future, it will be the world that survives to the very end.

Upon hearing this, the Blade-Bearer immediately stepped forward: “Immortal Sovereign, I volunteer to lead the charge!”

“No rush,” the Immortal Sovereign said coldly. “Spread the word about this. Besides us, there are surely many other worlds interested in it.”

As he spoke, he stroked the treasure in his hand. “I will establish a portal to this world. Cultivators from any world may pass through it to reach this realm.”

The Hongyun Realm would not be the first to step forward.

While the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind.

“We should be that oriole.”

Qin Zhou had no time to spare for rumors of a savior.

After the group returned to the village, they discovered a new portal had appeared on the mountain behind it.

It was the gateway to the Tongtian Secret Realm.

The Tongtian Secret Realm had never actually been a secret realm; its original name was the Tongtian Arena. Theoretically, secret realms leaned more toward dungeon-style gameplay, whereas the Tongtian Arena was a “player-versus-player” mode pitting villager against villager or village chief against village chief.

Last time, due to the withering of the World Tree, Qin Zhou was unable to participate in matches.

Now that the World Tree has revived, the Zhutian Realm has regained the qualification to re-enter the Tongtian Arena matches.

Qin Zhou can also see more of this game universe.

Inside the portal, the night sky envelops the entire space.

Looking up, one sees the cosmic starry sky.

However, the colors of the starry sky were too dim; even though the stars were countless, their combined radiance was still insufficient to illuminate this space.

Each star represents a small village world.

The star representing the Zhutian Realm is not hard to find.

It sits at the center of the constellation. Just like the moon held aloft by the stars. But right now, it barely glowed.

It was not even as bright as the faint embers left after an oil lamp went out. If not for the residual heat radiating from its surroundings, no one would likely have noticed that there was such a star at the center of the star chart.

It had once been the brightest star in this game universe.

It nearly vanished.

Now, this faint light is the new bud just sprouting from the World Tree—a new hope.

【The Tongtian Arena matchmaking feature has been reactivated】

【Enter matchmaking? (Currently carrying 1 villager) (132 worlds available for matchmaking, estimated success rate: 0%)】

One hundred and thirty-two worlds—these are the only worlds in the game universe where the World Tree has not yet completely withered away.

But looking at the star map, there are hardly any worlds that shine particularly brightly. It seems these hundred-odd small worlds are all on their last legs, with a match success rate of 0. This is likely because these worlds no longer have a “Village Chief.”

As for how they’ve managed to survive this long, Qin Zhou thought, it must have something to do with plundering.

The situation in the game universe is far from optimistic.

The stars of the Zhutian Realm have begun to shine once more, and this is bound to attract covetous eyes.

‘Hongyun Realm’.

Upon hearing this name, Qin Zhou quickly clicked the ‘Tongtian Rankings’ icon on the upper right side of the interface.

On the familiar list, the ‘Zhutian Realm Little Village’—which had once permanently held the top spot—was nowhere to be found.

Qin Zhou didn’t know that the strongest villager, but the village—or rather, the world—at the top of the rankings was undoubtedly the Hongyun Realm.

And this world was very likely the very culprit behind the initial invasion of the Zhutian Realm.

Qin Zhou dared not let his guard down.

The reopening of the Tongtian Rankings meant that, just like the Spirit Mountain Realm, the Zhutian Realm had activated cross-world mode.

When the strangers from other worlds would arrive was anyone’s guess.

Until then, they all had to be prepared.

Qin Zhou had no intention of holding anyone back. After swallowing a new Reshaping Pill, he once again became a tiny pill-form figure.

After recondensing his body, he began taking pills to improve his cultivation.

Xiao Lu was dead, but the system remained. Qin Zhou’s cultivation level still rose just as before—simply by taking pills.

In no time at all, Qin Zhou had actually advanced to the late stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

This speed left the villagers speechless.

How could anyone possibly avoid hitting a bottleneck entirely?

But Qin Zhou truly had not.

To upgrade the spiritual fields on the back mountain to Level 7, everyone repeatedly planted and harvested quite a few fourth-tier Spirit Heart Fruits. These fruits, when refined into elixirs, were perfect for boosting cultivation.

So, Qin Zhou spent every waking hour in the alchemy chamber. Occasionally, when he stepped out, he was always chewing on an elixir.

Eventually, the villagers got used to it.

One day, the village chief was still in the early stages of the Spirit Transformation Realm; the next day, he had already reached the late stages.

The speed of his cultivation progress was simply beyond anyone’s reach.

That day, Lu Qi returned to the courtyard from the back mountain.

Seeing that the village chief was absent, he instinctively asked, “What cultivation level is the village chief at now?”

“He should be nearing the Fusion Realm,” Wen Jue replied.

“His progress has slowed down these past few days.”

“Even if he hasn’t hit a bottleneck, the Fusion Realm and the Spirit Transformation Realm are two entirely different tiers.” Even with pills, it wouldn’t be that fast.

“True.” Lu Qi bent down, plucked a grape, and popped it into his mouth.

“But why are you here? Didn’t you go help the village chief?”

“Help with what?”

“Cultivation, of course,” Lu Qi said matter-of-factly.

Seeing Wen Jue’s bewildered expression, Lu Qi shot him a sidelong glance. “You’re a Tribulation Stage powerhouse, after all. Even if you don’t understand dual cultivation, surely you’ve heard of energy absorption? The difference is that dual cultivation benefits both parties, while energy absorption is one-sided…”

“Or are you and the village chief not even…”

Wen Jue paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “We have.”

Lu Qi’s ears perked up instantly.

Wen Jue: “…Don’t pry.”

Lu Qi chuckled.

Wen Jue shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tilting his chin slightly as he asked, “I just haven’t had a chance to go to the Huanhuan Sect to learn yet. Compared to matters of romance, isn’t the most pressing issue right now that group of people from another world?”

Lu Qi burst out laughing. “That gives you quite the sense of righteousness. I’ve never heard of dual cultivation being something you have to learn.”

“It certainly isn’t as strong as you and Lu Er, who are self-taught.” Wen Jue retorted sarcastically.

Lu Qi: “……”

“Let’s talk business.”

Lu Qi adopted a serious expression. “It’s all set.” He curved his lips. “We’re just waiting for them to show up.”