The middle realm was in disarray.
Almost the entire middle layer had been affected by the sword light, to the point where even passing dogs were flashed by it twice.
Nearby cultivators were even more annoyed; they all had various injuries from the aftermath of the clash. Now, sitting amidst the ruins, they stared at each other in disbelief, having never encountered such a scene.
"Should we still compete?" one cultivator suddenly asked, "After all, the gathering of ten thousand sects hasn't ended yet. The next phase should be the duels, right? Ha ha."
The other cultivators turned to stare at him, speechless for a moment before pointing at the ruins around them.
"Do you think there's any point in competing?"
"But... but, the champion of the dueling phase usually gets the admiration of ten thousand sects, right?" the cultivator countered.
"No need to compete; I agree you can directly be the champion," an elder from a major sect waved his hand, looking utterly exhausted.
"I second that."
"I agree too; if it makes you happy."
"But... but, shouldn't we at least go through the motions? I prepared many killing moves for today, ha ha," the cultivator insisted.
"No need; you can duel with yourself. If your killing moves can slay you, then you're the true champion."
Most of the other cultivators were just being perfunctory. They had no heart for the gathering now, only hoping the aftermath of the Quasi-Emperor battle could be handled properly.
The old dragon withdrew its head into the sky after the great yellow dog left the realms and returned to its own forbidden zone.
It had no intention of harming Chen Xia; first, because Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang had made a life oath, and second, killing Chen Xia wasn't much of an accomplishment—it didn't interest the dragon.
Even if it did kill him, it should have targeted Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang directly.
Chen Xia's green robe was torn, and he bore some injuries as he slowly walked through the ruins, putting the pill back into his storage treasure.
The figure of the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone turned away, seemingly leaving, but transformed into a phantom visible only to Chen Xia, walking alongside him.
"Hello, I am the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone, also known as Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang's heart demon," he greeted politely.
"Hello," Chen Xia stopped and replied, "Is there something you need?"
"Can you tell me about Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang's time in the Heavenly Sword Sea?" the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone asked.
Chen Xia nodded, recalling the events, then smiled lightly.
"In fact, I haven't known Big Yellow…Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang for long. Initially, it was guarding the gate in the Heavenly Sword Sea when we met by chance. There was nothing unusual until the Heavenly Sword Sea's destruction, leading to what happened here."
The Lord of the Forbidden Zone responded, "The Heavenly Sword Sea was likely part of that old Daoist's scheme. Although not in the same star region, its reputation was well-known. In my era, the Heavenly Sword Sea was at its peak with two Great Emperors. Who would have thought it would be destroyed after two lifetimes."
"Life is unpredictable," Chen Xia agreed softly, his expression unchanged. He suddenly asked, "Can you tell me about Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang?"
"Hmm, it's basically the story of the top person below a Great Emperor—nothing much to say. Just a series of battles, arrogance, and domineering actions typical of a power fantasy novel. You probably wouldn't be interested."
Chen Xia nodded; it sounded thrilling but didn't quite fit the great yellow dog's character. Shaking his head, he asked,
"What about the old Daoist you mentioned?"
The air suddenly grew silent.
The voice of the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone became slightly deeper, "Currently, this isn't something you should ask. That old Daoist has divine calculation skills. If you knew, he would know too, and might scheme against you again."
"Then forget it," Chen Xia nodded, not wanting to cause trouble for the great yellow dog.
The Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone nodded and continued,
"Alright, focus on cultivating in the realms. I'll protect you up to the fifth heaven of Heaven Mending realm. Beyond that, other lords of forbidden zones might have intentions to harm you, which is uncertain."
"If you want to uncover greater secrets, you'll need to advance further in cultivation and move to the upper realms—at least reach Quasi-Saint level."
Chen Xia understood and nodded lightly. With his current sixth-layer Inversion Sea realm strength, exploring Quasi-Saint level secrets was indeed beyond him.
The Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone smiled and, before leaving, pointed at Chen Xia's chest and said,
"Be careful and control your mindset."
With those words, the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone vanished from the middle realm, leaving Chen Xia alone among the ruins.
He wasn't unwilling to return, but he needed to think about how to explain things to Old Zhang.
Just say the great yellow dog ascended?
Seemed plausible enough.
He sighed, took out the Dao Cycle Pill again, looked at it, and then chuckled bitterly, putting it back and heading down to go home.
It was dusk.
Inside the small house.
Zhang Daoming stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, somewhat worried.
Not long ago, he watched the great yellow dog open its eyes and fly up into the sky with a powerful aura.
Goodness, he couldn't even call it back; it disappeared in an instant.
Now, he was worried about how to explain this to Chen Xia. Should he say it ascended?
He shook his head.
So troublesome.
The setting sun cast a dim yellow glow into the room, illuminating the chair Chen Xia often sat in.
Footsteps approached the door, stopping there as if hesitating.
After a while.
The door opened gently, revealing Chen Xia's tattered figure, looking rather ragged. He waved at Zhang Daoming and laughed.
"Not sleeping yet, Old Zhang?"
Zhang Daoming's pupils contracted. Ignoring the odd greeting, he hurriedly asked, "What happened to you? Did you fight someone? Are you badly injured?"
"Nothing serious, just a common brawl. Everything went smoothly," Chen Xia smiled lightly.
"You should take some healing pills," Zhang Daoming was still worried.
"Okay," Chen Xia nodded.
They exchanged glances in silence, neither speaking first.
"The great yellow dog..." Zhang Daoming began, touching his cheek, hesitating, then added sheepishly,
"It suddenly opened its eyes and flew up into the sky. I don't know where it went. Maybe it ascended? Sorry I couldn't keep an eye on it."
Chen Xia paused, then nodded and said softly, "I met it. It didn't ascend; it said it's going home to visit family, maybe even get married. It should come back after some time."
"Uh-huh," Zhang Daoming nodded, saying no more, hands behind his back, gazing at the sunset.
He could tell Chen Xia was lying.
Chen Xia endured his injuries, limping to sit in the chair under the setting sun.
The dim yellow light illuminated his weary face.
Exhaustion filled his features.