Soon, the pair reached the forest’s deepest interior.

They encountered several spirit beasts along the way, sometimes stumbling upon their dens.

Attacks did occur, but combat… rarely required Qin Zhou’s involvement.

After all, Qin Zhou had Tunfeng.

Tunfeng ate heartily, and Qin Zhou put considerable effort into feeding it. Ever since discovering it could pin the Nine-Sting Queen to the ground and beat it, Qin Zhou had increased Tunfeng’s rations again.

From first-tier rare spirit pills to second-tier rare spirit pills, ensuring it was always well-fed.

Tunfeng practically wished Qin Zhou would summon it every single day.

Thus, with Tunfeng’s protection, the two reached the barrier’s endpoint—the entrance to the upper realm—in just half a day.

Facing the portal glowing with light, Qin Zhou stepped through without hesitation.

He felt no discomfort crossing the portal.

Yet the moment he formally stepped into the upper realm, Qin Zhou was jolted by the overwhelming surge of spiritual energy.

It felt like someone accustomed to urban smog suddenly stepping into the countryside, their face slapped by the fresh air.

Wen Jue: Finally alive.

His cultivation was profound, yet the sheer volume of spiritual energy required to sustain his internal circulation was immense.

Qin Zhou watched as the surrounding spiritual energy surged toward Wen Jue. Within mere moments, the spiritual energy within several miles was completely absorbed by him.

“…What?” Wen Jue averted his gaze.

Qin Zhou shook his head. “What cultivation level are you?”

Wen Jue startled. “Why ask? The cultivation world has two unspoken rules: never ask about another’s cultivation level, never ask about another’s age.”

Qin Zhou: “I thought you and I weren’t ‘others’.”

Wen Jue fell completely silent.

The wind whistled past, making their corner feel even more profoundly quiet.

Not others, but certainly not people with a special relationship either. Wen Jue stared at the path beneath his feet. At the very least, he wasn’t ready to tell Qin Zhou everything.

A knot remained in his heart.

That knot had coiled within him for thousands of years. Even with Qin Zhou’s return, it still hadn’t been untied.

After all, he too had been abandoned for millennia.

[Wen Jue’s current favorability toward you: 89]

[Current Affection Level of ‘Wen Jue’ Towards You: 88]

[Current Affection Level of ‘Wen Jue’ Towards You: 87]

Qin Zhou watched Wen Jue’s affection rating drop before his eyes and instantly grabbed his wrist.

Wen Jue looked up:?

“Never mind.” Qin Zhou’s tone was slightly heavier.

He’d assumed that even if Wen Jue didn’t want to talk, he’d at least make up some excuse to stall him. But unexpectedly, their affection rating dropped the moment they disagreed.

Even Qin Zhou was caught off guard.

“Eat.”

Wen Jue stared blankly at the sugar-coated hawthorn berries suddenly pulled from Qin Zhou’s Cosmos Bag. “Why are you giving me sugar-coated hawthorn berries all of a sudden?”

“To raise it back up.”

“Huh?”

Qin Zhou’s expression turned stern. “Never mind. Eat.”

Wen Jue: “…”

Weird.

But… candy-coated hawthorn berries.

Wen Jue didn’t hesitate. “Fine, I’ll eat them.” He grabbed two skewers. Seeing Qin Zhou didn’t react, he took a third.

Qin Zhou nodded and pocketed the remaining ones.

Based on the old game system’s settings, plus Lu Yi’s love for sweets, one string of candied hawthorn berries would roughly increase affection by 1 point. Of course, this wasn’t the system anymore.

So Qin Zhou wasn’t sure if three strings could make up the difference.

[Current affection level of ‘Wen Jue’ towards you: 90]

Qin Zhou silently acknowledged the result.

Sure enough, the Lu Yi from the game system was no different from the Lu Yi in reality.

“Want more?” Qin Zhou held out another skewer.

Wen Jue shook his head. He found Qin Zhou odd—he’d clearly told him not to eat too much.

Qin Zhou put the items back.

He thought to himself, Just as expected. Once favorability exceeds 90, candied hawthorn can no longer be used as a favorability-boosting item.

Qin Zhou had encountered this cap issue before.

Villagers’ affinity caps at 80. Undoubtedly, whether it was Lu Er or Lu Qi, everyone’s affinity ceiling was 80.

Lu Yi had once been capped at 80 too.

But Lu Yi was the only one who had ever broken through that 80 affinity barrier.

Qin Zhou recalled the moment Lu Yi’s affinity surpassed 80. It happened just days after he had gifted Lu Yi the Bright Moon Reflecting Snow hairpin.

At the time, Qin Zhou had secretly rejoiced, thinking the Bright Moon Reflecting Snow hairpin not only possessed exceptional attributes but also had the hidden function of increasing favorability.

Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t that favorability hit a cap.

It was that interpersonal relationships had a limit. Once a relationship broke through a certain barrier, the cap on favorability would rise accordingly.

The relationship between the village chief and the villagers—a mentor and father figure—had a fixed ceiling of eighty. It could not go higher. That was the boundary of self-restraint and propriety, the line of mutual respect.

Crossing that line meant they could no longer be called ‘father and son’.

Now that I think about it…

Lu Yi, who had been so shocked he shouted, “How could you give me a hairpin?! No, how could you give me a hairpin!” must have experienced considerable inner turmoil and wavering.

That he ultimately refrained from flinging the hairpin back in his face—to Qin Zhou’s present perspective—was an act of utmost kindness and restraint.

Now, the Bright Moon Reflecting Snow still adorned his hair, radiating a luminous white glow like the moon itself. A ninety-point affection rating signified their relationship could never remain that of an ordinary village chief and villager.

Realizing all this at once, even Qin Zhou was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

“Wen Jue.”

Wen Jue turned back, sucking on a sugar-coated hawthorn, “Hmm?”

Qin Zhou froze. In that instant, the white-clad youth before him seemed to merge with the image of the young man from the game.

Something inside him softened.

If he could see his own affection rating for Wen Jue, he thought, it might well exceed eighty.

Somehow, an impulse stirred within Qin Zhou.

“Once I find a forging hammer, how about I craft you a set of accessories? As thanks for always looking out for me.”

Wen Jue looked surprised. “Accessories? A whole set?”

“It’s a custom from my hometown. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, pendants, and rings. All made of gold.”

“Your hometown customs are quite elaborate,” Wen Jue remarked, astonished. If each piece were crafted to the quality of the hairpin adorning his head, this ‘custom’ would indeed be precious.

Qin Zhou smiled. “It’s just for you. Do you want it?”

“I favor unique items. Since you’re so sincere, I’ll certainly take it.” Wen Jue accepted without hesitation.

Qin Zhou: “Hmm.”

He thought, You’re the one who asked for it.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The upper realm also had cities, and the one closest to its entrance was called Boundary City.

Boundary City was bustling with people, and as far as the eye could see, they were all handsome men and beautiful women.

Their modes of transportation were equally diverse—various mounts or objects they commanded to move. No carriages were in sight; only occasionally would massive beast-drawn chariots pass along the wide streets.

Some hurried by, transforming into streaks of light as they flew past, while others strolled leisurely, chatting as they shopped.

In short, the bustling vibrancy of Boundary City was beyond Qin Zhou’s expectations.

Qin Zhou and Wen Jue planned to find lodging within the city.

Even though Golden Core cultivators no longer required rest, they still needed a quiet room for meditation.

Upon entering the inn, Qin Zhou immediately saw the hall packed with guests.

The cultivators wore diverse attire—some simple, some elaborate—each in distinct colors.

Every table in the hall was occupied, and the innkeeper had even added several temporary tables to accommodate the crowd.

Qin Zhou walked straight to the counter.

Even the innkeeper running the place was a cultivator whose cultivation base Qin Zhou couldn’t discern.

After explaining his purpose, the proprietress appraised Qin Zhou and Wen Jue with a glance. “Well, this is fortunate. We have one last room available. If you’d arrived any later, it would have been gone. Are you interested? Eight hundred spirit stones per night.”

One room.

Eight hundred?

He’d have to sell a lot of pills to scrape together eight hundred spirit stones.

Qin Zhou clearly realized the landlady was trying to rip him off.

Just as Qin Zhou opened his mouth to protest, Wen Jue interjected, “We’ll take it.”

The landlady smiled, bending down to retrieve the room sign. As she did so, she remarked to Wen Jue, “Good choice. Your guide really should have explained things to your little friend. The look in his eyes—he seemed to think my place was some kind of rip-off joint.”

Youngster?

Qin Zhou?

Wen Jue wanted to laugh, but then realized that Qin Zhou, newly arrived in the upper realm, was only at the Golden Core stage. To these people, Qin Zhou really was a youngster. And he was likely the ‘guide’ sent to escort Qin Zhou.

“With the secret realm opening soon, every inn in this city is packed to capacity. Those arriving later might not even find lodging.” The landlady, unable to gauge Wen Jue’s cultivation, cautioned respectfully, “I suggest you take the youngster somewhere more secluded while the crowd is still manageable. With the secret realm opening, one misstep could be deadly…”

Before she could finish, Wen Jue cut her off. “Room key.”

Noticing his displeasure, the landlady sheepishly handed over the key.

Qin Zhou promptly produced eight hundred spirit stones.

Fortunately, before coming to the upper realm, he had sold a batch of pills at Snowflake Pavilion.

The landlady’s expression changed the moment she saw Qin Zhou paying. “I spoke out of turn earlier, Senior. Please forgive me.”

Qin Zhou said nothing, merely nodding. He took the room key and followed Wen Jue upstairs.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

”About the upper realm—is there nothing you wish to ask me?” After closing the door, Wen Jue raised a hand, instantly enveloping the entire room in a protective barrier.

“Like, why did that landlady suddenly switch from calling you ‘kid’ to ‘senior’?” Wen Jue sat cross-legged with a smile.

Qin Zhou: “I come from the lower realm. Compared to cultivators here who are thousands of years old, I am indeed a kid.”

Wen Jue remained silent, but inwardly scoffed at the notion of “thousand-year-olds.”

He alone knew that this ‘kid’ from the lower realms was at least ten thousand years old! Clearly an old man!

“What does ‘guide’ mean?” Qin Zhou asked.

“Many sects from the lower realms maintain connections with sects in the upper realms—like the Thousand Machinery Divine Sect and the Heavenly Star Sect. Even beyond sect-to-sect ties, cultivators from the upper realms often have ancestral kinship in the lower realms. When new disciples or relatives arrive from the lower realms, those who come to the gateway city to greet them are called guides.”

Wen Jue continued, “As for why that shopkeeper suddenly changed her attitude and addressed you as ‘senior,’ it was because of the eight hundred spirit stones you produced. Think about it—how could an ordinary Gold Core cultivator who just arrived in the upper realm casually produce eight hundred spirit stones without batting an eye?”

Recalling Qin Zhou’s expressionless demeanor, Wen Jue felt helpless. Was this man simply wealthy, or simply had no grasp of spirit stones’ worth?

“You have spirit stones, yet she saw you were only at the Golden Core stage. Naturally, she assumed you were some reclusive elder deliberately concealing your cultivation.”

Qin Zhou nodded.

“At least she has some discernment,” Wen Jue snorted lightly. He couldn’t stand others looking down on Qin Zhou. Even if it was a case of mistaken identity, showing some respect was only right.

“What is that secret realm?” Qin Zhou suddenly asked.

Wen Jue feigned nonchalance. “Just an ordinary secret realm. Cultivators are bored, so they flock wherever there’s excitement.” He cleared his throat. “You’re only at the Golden Core stage now—barely meeting the entry requirements. Best not to join the commotion.”

“Alright.” Qin Zhou agreed.

Qin Zhou didn’t know much about secret realms, but he knew Wen Jue well. When lying to him, Wen Jue would feel guilty and fidget constantly.

So, this secret realm…

He found himself rather curious to see it.