Hengsheng curled up in despair within the darkness of the sealed dimension. His current state was no different from when he was five years old—the only difference was that he wasn't sucking his thumb.
His attempt to escape using the system had failed miserably. The number of system points required to activate the ability was simply too high.
The thought of spending that many system points on something he hadn't caused was frustrating.
His hatred for Vishnu had already run deep, but now, he wished for more than just a simple revenge. He wanted to make Vishnu's life miserable… to make him pay for what he had done!
Though he could eventually gather those many points if he used his unique system ability wisely and resourcefully, it was clear that it would take a long time. Escape wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
He straightened up once more—he'd had enough of drowning in disappointment.
"Let's test the system function…" Hengsheng murmured.
He opened [Dimensional Map]. This function was nothing more than a super map that showed his current location and surroundings. It was like a god-like version of Elgoog Maps.
It was so detailed that it could even display the structure of this seal dimension and nearby dimensions, and he also discovered that the space of the dimension he was currently in was truly infinite, just as he assumed it was.
It had an infinite layer of dimensional walls between this dimension and the outside, and its layers continued to grow as the formation activated. Each layer of dimensional walls supported the others.
The result was also infinite strength, not just separate dimensional layers. It was truly amazing. He admired the people who created it, just how they made use of infinity like it was a common tool.
He shifted his gaze to the nearby dimension—it was a dimension of the Secret Land. Even though the seal dimension was amazing, it could not compare to the Secret Land.
The Secret Land's dimensional structure was that of a realm itself—the complexity, perfection, and other aspects; man-made dimensions could not compare with Heaven and Earth's creation. He didn't even have a word to describe the difference—it simply could not compare.
"Hm…" Hengsheng saw Jian Zixuan and the others at the Pagoda still fighting the God Spawns. They didn't seem to be in much trouble, as the number of God Spawns was low—the rift had already closed, and the God Spawns seemed to have completely lost their regeneration ability. He figured it was because the Wu God was dead.
The expression of the people fighting there seemed confused, as they didn't understand why the God Spawns had suddenly become weaker.
Hengsheng scrolled the map to where the Lan Clan Cave was located, to see what his cousin was doing, and his heart sank when he saw that the cave interior was completely devastated.
"What?! Blue! What happened to the Lan Clan Cave?!" Hengsheng asked. Since Blue was the administrator, she should know.
He was confused as to what had happened, why he hadn't received any report.
"Master..." Blue's tone was filled with guilt, as though she had failed her mission—or rather, she had failed to cover it up. She began to explain what had happened.
Hengsheng listened and was soon relieved that nothing deadly had happened to his people—it turned out that the ones who wiped out the Thunderclap Blade Sect were his system race, not the disciples of the Golden Sword Sect!
He also discovered that Blue could exert the power of Origin Energy within territories under his control! It was a big deal—even though it wasn't the full might of Origin Energy, it was only Tier 3 Origin Energy, corresponding to the level of her Prime System Node.
What made it a big deal was that it was Origin Energy—an omnipotent energy that could do anything! Hengsheng began to think about how to utilize it. If a simple method, he could conjure an endless source of Tier 3 resources. And if he upgraded Blue's System Node, he could obtain even higher-tier resources!
Hengsheng thought his rise was about to begin with this discovery. From now on, his cultivation would proceed smoothly, and he would become the wealthiest man to ever exist in the cultivation world!
He would be printing money endlessly, to the point where even certain countries on Earth would pale in comparison because, in this world, there was nothing to stop him.
"HAHAHA…" Hengsheng lifted his head and laughed with joy and madness.
However, it seemed like someone had perceived his evil plan before it could even happen. Golden clouds appeared out of nowhere. Hengsheng's expression turned pale as he could guess what was about to happen next!
"NONONONONO!!" Hengsheng begged, but the Heavens did not appear willing to compromise this time. Golden clouds conjured a golden seal and attached it to Blue's Prime Node—then it vanished.
"Blue! What did it do?!" Hengsheng roared.
"Heavenly Dao has placed a limitation on my use of Origin Energy within the Heavenly Dao World, Master…" Blue answered. She explained that anything she created using Origin Energy would now be marked—it could not be sold or exchanged. If this limitation were violated, the thing would disappear.
Hengsheng's expression was dark. He was glad that the Heavenly Dao had not cut off his use of Origin Energy entirely—it had only blocked his easy road to becoming the wealthiest man in the multiverse.
Even he still has an endless source of resources, but…
What's the point of having endless wealth if one can't show it off?
Hengsheng sighed. In fact, he had already half expected this, since he had long learned that good things never come easily in the cultivation world.
It wasn't hard to guess why those cultists hated the Heavenly Dao so much, to the point that they sided with the Wu Gods.
He resumed his observation. Looking around the Lan Clan Cave territory, he finally found his clanmates. It seemed that the destruction of the cave had also opened a new tunnel deep inside the mountain. They appeared to have discovered a new resource point at the bottom of the dark pit.
Hengsheng was free, as he probably wouldn't be leaving this place anytime soon. He continued to observe the situation within the Secret Land to satisfy his curiosity before attempting anything to escape from this place.
His gaze left the Lan Clan Cave, passed the Pagoda, and reached the barriers that separated the outer rim from the other zones of the Secret Land.
Hengsheng looked ahead and discovered that this Secret Land was divided into five zones, each separated by a powerful barrier.
He noticed that the closer the zones were to the Golden Pillar, the better the environment became, including the strength and presence of the Demon Beasts.
He saw that in the zone next to the Golden Pillar, there were five Demon Beasts with the strength of Tier 9 power: Rank 9 Demon Beasts! The beast that had power equal to that of Transcendental Mortality Realm cultivators!
They seemed carefree at first, but Hengsheng noticed them suddenly grow alert, glancing around left and right as if they sensed someone watching them, yet they couldn't find the source.
Other than the demon beasts, he saw something he had not seen before on the surface—the Demon!
Hengsheng gazed at the small town that was located within the third zone. They looked like humans, but he could see that they had beast traits—some obvious, like fur on their arms, and others subtler, like having completely human features except for hair colored like rainbow parrot feathers.
Their strength was remarkable too—he noticed many at the Saint Realm, and one with rainbow-colored hair at the Transcendent Realm.
Demon Beasts and Demons were not the same. A Demon was a Demon Beast that had fully awakened its spirituality and gained sentience.
This difference didn't necessarily mean Demons were smarter than Demon Beasts—it was simply a matter of spirituality.
A Demon Beast could be as intelligent as a genius and as emotional as a woman, yet in the end, they still mostly followed their instincts.
Demons, however, were different. Though their instincts remained strong, they transcended it; they could act against them—their will had become stronger than their primal urges.
Becoming a Demon granted them the ability to make choices about their lives. They could follow the path of the Dao and become cultivators.
However, they also lost one of the key advantages of being a Demon Beast: the ability to passively absorb Qi and grow stronger simply by living.
Hengsheng saw the rainbow-haired one glancing around, trying to find him just like those Rank 9 Demon Beasts. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly—he had successfully pranked a powerful cultivator without facing any consequences.
While Hengsheng was enjoying his free time, a thunderous explosion echoed across the Secret Land, shaking the earth like the wrath of heaven!
BOOMMMMM!!!
"What?!" Hengsheng was startled by the sudden, deafening noise. He quickly turned toward the source, his gaze landing on the outer rim not far from the pagoda at the center of the canyon territory.
There, he saw it—the golden sword, just as Blue had described. It was firmly embedded in the ground, radiating a faint divine glow as it slowly disappeared.
Not far from the sword, a massive vertical tear in space shimmered. Outlined by strands of glittering starlight, it looked like a fissure of reality itself had been unstitched, revealing the astral weave behind.
Hengsheng quickly recalled general knowledge he had learned from the Wu God's memories—What was beyond the rift matched one of them exactly.
The Astral Web!