Why Su Xuan Only Had a Century Left

Su Xuan smiled. "With your current cultivation, walking through the void for extended periods to cross realms is still a bit strenuous." Li Guanqi nodded slightly. The crushing and tearing forces of space were simply too immense. Even someone like him could only remain in this void for about one shichen at most. Su Xuan glanced at Li Guanqi, his brow relaxing as the weight hanging over his heart finally lifted. He was in no hurry to take Li Guanqi back. Enveloping Li Guanqi in a gentle power, Su Xuan led him toward a certain place. A place... Capable of overlooking the entire Human Spirit Realm and the Seventh Domain! It was a floating spatial fragment towering within the void. Li Guanqi looked at this fragment in shock. Though suspended in the void, this spatial shard was anchored firmly in this exact position. Looking downward past the shard revealed the immense Human Spirit Realm, As well as... The shimmering Seventh Domain. The old man smiled at Li Guanqi, whose brows were tightly knitted. "Curious why you can't see the Immortal Realm from here?" Li Guanqi nodded slightly. Logically, since they were looking down upon the Human Spirit Realm, the Immortal Realm ought to be nearby. Su Xuan pointed above his head. Li Guanqi was still somewhat perplexed... Just then, the voice of another old man slowly sounded. Dressed in a white robe, Ling Tianchen walked slowly out from the domain barrier's curtain of light. He cast a gratified glance at Li Guanqi, then pointed toward the pitch-black void. "Because... this void here is still merely the Spirit Realm." The words detonated in Li Guanqi's mind like a thunderclap! He looked around in disbelief, pointing at the pitch-black void that bore down with crushing pressure, and murmured, "This place... is still the Spirit Realm?" Su Xuan chuckled without replying, clasping his hands behind his back as he stepped into the domain with an amused grin. Ling Tianchen walked up beside Li Guanqi and patted his shoulder. His gentle voice rang out slowly. "That's right. This place... is still the Spirit Realm." With that, the old man gestured with his hands, clenching his left fist and wrapping his open right hand over it. "The fist is the Human Spirit Realm, and the palm is the void." "Within the palm, there are countless fists." "Yet in the end, they still remain within the palm." "And the palm is the Spirit Realm." "Beyond the palm lies the Immortal Realm." Having finished, the old man lowered his hands, tilted his head back, and took a sip of wine. Glancing toward the Human Spirit Realm from the corner of his eye, he murmured softly, "Right now, you and I are standing atop the palm that holds the Human Spirit Realm." Li Guanqi's mind was reeling, deeply shaken! Only after several breaths did Li Guanqi finally come to his senses. "Then... are there many worlds like our Human Spirit Realm?" The old man laughed heartily. "Rumor has it there are three thousand spirit realms beneath the Immortal Realm." "But according to the estimates of your grandfather and me, there are probably fewer than two thousand worlds left in the Spirit Realm today." Li Guanqi drew a deep breath, still profoundly shaken. A question arose in his mind. "Then... Emperor Chen, have you ever visited other realms?" Ling Tianchen pondered for a moment, pursing his lips and nodding. "I have. I wandered a bit far and ended up in a very interesting spirit realm." "Oh? Why was it interesting?" Ling Tianchen's face carried a hint of lingering dread as he said softly, "Because that world... was entirely filled with demons, and many of them were ancient great demons that had already assumed human form." "I fought a duel with the strongest one among them, and I nearly lost." Li Guanqi's eyes widened, his throat bobbing slightly. One had to keep in mind that he was now at the peak of the early Ascension Realm. Yet facing the old man before him, he still could not sense the other party's aura at all, only perceiving a vague, nebulous impression. For such a powerhouse to say he had nearly been defeated by a transformed great demon? Li Guanqi had thought that at Emperor Chen's level of cultivation, he could run rampant across any other spirit realm without match. "Alright, come in and sit a while," Su Xuan's voice called from within the domain. Ling Tianchen gestured for Li Guanqi to follow, and the two walked forward side by side. The old man smiled and patted his shoulder. "Welcome to the Ascension Realm." Li Guanqi gave a wry smile, still not quite used to it. Stepping into the domain, they found that while it was not large, it was a paradise where birds sang and flowers bloomed. A charming, meticulously crafted courtyard sat beside a mountain brook; from inside to out, it was clearly cared for with great devotion. The flowers and greenery in the yard were carefully tended and trimmed. Beside it lay a sprawling vegetable garden, and the brook was teeming with spirit fish. Seeing this, Li Guanqi could not help laughing. "Living such an idyllic life, why did you ever go begging in the city?" The old man was not bothered at all by having his past brought up. Opening the door and ushering him inside, he chuckled softly. "Do you remember what I said the first time we met?" Just as Li Guanqi's foot crossed the threshold, his body abruptly froze! Li Guanqi's voice slowly overlapped with Ling Tianchen's: "You and I are both wanderers—only our forms of exile differ!" In that moment, Li Guanqi finally understood the meaning behind what the old man had said back then. He had merely endured a century of loneliness. What about the Mahayana realm and Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivators under these heavens? Had they endured it for even longer? Li Guanqi exhaled a long breath, the pressure on his heart growing even heavier. Fortunately, the Immortal Path was now open. From here on, as long as he cultivated diligently step by step, He would be able to break through to the Mystic Immortal realm within several decades! Su Xuan sat on a chair and glared at the old man. Ling Tianchen gave an awkward smile and clasped his hands behind his back, teasing, "Old Man Su is getting cross." Li Guanqi walked into the courtyard, sat down beside Su Xuan, and asked directly, "Grandfather... do you have something requiring you to leave the Human Spirit Realm within a hundred years?" Su Xuan looked at Li Guanqi in surprise. "Why do you ask that?" Li Guanqi tucked his hands into his sleeves, finally able to let his mind relax a bit. Leaning back in his chair, he spoke slowly. "You've been in too much of a hurry..." "Ever since I arrived in the Seventh Domain," "You began lavishing all manner of resources on me without the slightest hesitation." "Whether it was Shiwu, the Eight Generals, or the Four Kings," "Or this time's Star-Falling Cold Lotus, and so on..." "It feels as if every plan was waiting to begin until after I arrived in the Seventh Domain." "Being able to come here meant my foundation was already solid enough, and even the Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Immortal-Slaying Sigils on my body only slowly dispersed around that time." Su Xuan knew such things could not be kept hidden for long, but he had not expected Li Guanqi to deduce them on his own. Su Xuan did not deny it; he merely sighed with emotion. "Indeed..." "My origin clone in the Immortal Realm has been discovered." Li Guanqi's heart jolted, and even Ling Tianchen's brow furrowed, his face darkening with gravity! Li Guanqi asked urgently, "Then what will you do? Should you return right now?" The old man turned to look at Li Guanqi's anxious face and reached out to pat his head. "What's there to panic about?" "I've left behind far more contingencies than you think." "Holding out for another eighty to a hundred years won't be a problem." Li Guanqi's eyes flickered, worry involuntarily rising in his heart. It seemed the reality was just as he had guessed. The old man's departure was already imminent. Though he said a century, in truth, danger could strike at any moment!