You broke through to the Fifth Realm: Mountains and Rivers. The Primordial Dragon Elephant Scripture advanced to the fifth layer, and your physical body grew far more formidable.
At the same time, your lifespan increased from 300 years to 500 years.
You noticed that the progress of condensing the Heavenly Being Talisman deep within your soul skyrocketed—jumping directly from two-tenths to four-tenths completion.
After breaking through your cultivation realm, you sensed that the cost of using the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps had decreased significantly. Temporarily ascending to the Seventh Realm: Saint Ascension no longer required 100 years of your lifespan—it only cost 50 years, cutting the consumption in half.
With your current lifespan, you could maintain the Saint Ascension state for a full ten seconds—a threefold increase in duration compared to before.
At this moment, your strength underwent a qualitative leap.
Clearly, the higher your cultivation level, the lower the price you paid to wield the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps.
「"So this is the correct way to use the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps—its power grows stronger the higher my cultivation realm becomes."」You finally understood everything, grasping the true method of utilizing this technique.
Overjoyed by your breakthrough, you manipulated the yin and yang energies within your body, channeling the power of earth's gravity to gain the ability of flight—no talismans required. You soared back to Liu Yue's side. 「"Let's go. Back to Modu."」
Watching you break through to the Fifth Realm: Mountains and Rivers so quickly—without any signs of instability, your foundation rock-solid instead—Liu Yue's expression turned odd.
Normally, cultivators needed to calm their minds and adjust their state before a breakthrough, then spend time consolidating their new realm afterward. But you'd completely skipped all those steps...
What she didn't know was that you'd already used the Heaven-Stepping Nine Steps to transcend the Mountains and Rivers Realm multiple times in the past. You'd long since experienced the power of higher realms, knowing all their secrets inside and out—you'd just been waiting for the right time to grind through the final preparations.
You and Liu Yue returned to the Modu sea area. You pulled out the communication token, intending to contact the Sun Clan and send them a warning.
「"Modu is in danger. Someone is plotting against me. The clan must be on high alert."」
Unlike your last simulation run, where you'd spent half a year trapped in the secret realm, you'd returned much earlier this time. You hoped this would allow you to avoid certain disasters and give the Sun Clan time to prepare.
But after sending the message, it vanished into the void without a single reply.
「"Don't bother. A few days ago, I sensed that the entire city of Modu was enveloped by a strange power. It seems some supreme expert laid down a grand formation in advance, blocking the heavenly secrets and cutting off all communications. You can't contact the Imperial Capital right now—and the Sun Clan in the capital can't reach you either."」Liu Yue spoke up suddenly.
「"A few days ago?!"」Your expression changed drastically, and your scalp went numb with dread.
「"Are you certain the Sun Clan can't get in touch with me right now?"」
「"I'm certain."」Though confused by your reaction, Liu Yue nodded firmly in confirmation.
Boom!
At that moment, your mind felt like it was about to split open.
Because you remembered clearly—during your last simulation, after emerging from the secret realm half a year later, you'd received two messages from your eldest brother, Sun Shou.
「 Sun Shou: Do not return to the Imperial Capital. Head south to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. Enter the mountains, pass the trials, pay homage at the temple, cross the river—and someone will protect you... 」
「 Sun Shou: Little brother, it's alright. It's been too long since we last met. I was just joking earlier. The matters in the Imperial Capital have been resolved. You can come home now. The family misses you... 」
If Modu's communication-jamming formation had been activated a few days ago, how could your eldest brother have sent you those two messages?
Back then, you'd thought the first message was sent by your brother at the cost of his life, while the second was a trap set by the mastermind behind the scenes...
But now it seemed—could both messages have been sent by the same person?!
"The chance that Liu Yue is lying to me is extremely slim. In the past, it was her information that kept me alive and helped me uncover the truth step by step."
"Besides, now that we've struck a deal, she has no reason to deceive me. So the formation blocking communications in Modu must be real."
"And the person who impersonated my brother seems to be luring me south to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains—they don't want me to return to the Imperial Capital..."
"Could it be that this so-called trip south, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and the person who's supposed to protect me are all part of an elaborate trap?!"
Sun Qian's eyes trembled, turning cold and sharp.
He'd planned for every contingency, but he'd never imagined such a massive pitfall was lying in wait for him.
If it hadn't been for Liu Yue's casual remark, he would've fallen right into the trap without a second thought.
His gaze drifted to Liu Yue, who was sound asleep beside him. He was tempted to shake her awake and force the truth out of her.
But he knew it was impossible.
Her lips were sealed tighter than a vault.
After all, this matter involved far too much karmic entanglement.
It was only because he'd displayed so many extraordinary feats in this simulation run—shocking and intriguing Liu Yue—that she'd been willing to reveal even this much...
For now, he could only watch as his counterpart in the Villain Simulator stepped into the trap to uncover the truth.
「 You realized that the trip south might be a deadly trap. Instead of finding protection there, you might end up meeting a horrific end. 」
「 But you couldn't confirm the truth of it all—you simply didn't know enough. 」
「 And right now, the only person who could help you was the woman standing before you. 」
「"What will happen to me if I return to the Imperial Capital now?!"」You stared intently at Liu Yue, suddenly asking the question that weighed heaviest on your mind.
Liu Yue froze, then fell silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons of answering you.
After a long while—perhaps having made up her mind, perhaps seeing the plea in your eyes—she finally spoke slowly, 「"You'll have a one in ten chance of survival."」
A one in ten chance of survival! Your eyes flickered as you mulled over the meaning of her words.
Then you asked the second question—the one you most wanted to know the answer to. 「"What if I head south instead—to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains? What will happen then?!"」
「"So that's where you plan to go!"」
Upon hearing your words, Liu Yue's expression shifted repeatedly—sudden realization dawning in her eyes, as if she'd figured out something crucial, but she still hesitated, falling silent once more.
However, compared to her long hesitation before answering your first question, this time she replied much more quickly, 「"You will live."」