"Strength isn't?"
"But Feng Xiu said every world has its own rules and limits."
"When a person's power surpasses those limits, won’t problems arise?"
"Yet, Master, you don’t seem restricted at all."
"You’re ridiculously strong." Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"This is a rule the Zhou family altered just for me."
"My cultivation remains at the peak of the Great Emperor realm, but my strength isn’t hindered by it."
"So, over the years, my power has kept growing—it’s just that staying in the Tai Xuan World prevented my realm from breaking through."
"As for my exact strength..."
"Perhaps because I’ve stayed in the Tai Xuan World, my progress hasn’t been fast."
"At most, I’d be at the level of a Heavenly Immortal."
Heavenly Immortal level?
Is this... a realm from the Primordial Immortal Domain?
"Master, what about my strength?"
"How strong am I?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"You... though your cultivation is only at the first layer of the Immortal Realm, your situation is special—your combat power is monstrous."
"In my estimation, your true combat strength should be at the peak of the Emperor Venerable realm."
Peak Emperor Venerable realm?
"Let me explain."
"What the Tai Xuan World calls the peak of the Great Emperor realm is, at most, a Quasi-Emperor cultivation in the Primordial Immortal Domain."
"Above Quasi-Emperor are Emperor Venerable, Quasi-Immortal, True Immortal, Golden Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, Immortal Venerable, and Immortal Sovereign."
"So, the strongest of the Tai Xuan World, once they enter the Primordial Immortal Domain, are actually... very ordinary."
"In the Primordial Immortal Domain, Quasi-Emperors are as common as dirt."
As expected!
Just a dime-a-dozen existence!
Though Chen Chang'an knew the lower realm couldn’t compare to the upper realm, he’d assumed that the peak of the lower realm would at least hold some weight in the upper world.
But who knew? It wasn’t just "not great"—it was downright worthless.
In the Primordial Immortal Domain, Quasi-Emperors were everywhere.
"Master, does that mean there are no weaklings at all in the Primordial Immortal Domain?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"How could that be?"
"It’s just that even ordinary people in the Primordial Immortal Domain have long lifespans. Though they may seem to lack cultivation or strength, if they came to the Tai Xuan World, they’d possess power at the Divine Ability Realm level."
"In the Primordial Immortal Domain, breaking through to the Quasi-Emperor realm is relatively easier, so there are many at that level."
"This is also due to the rules."
"Different rules mean many things are different." Mu Yunyao patiently explained.
Mu Yunyao knew Chen Chang'an would eventually go to the Primordial Immortal Domain—after all, the ascension passage from the Tai Xuan World led directly there.
"So, if the rules of the Tai Xuan World were set by the Zhou family, who set the rules of the Primordial Immortal Domain?"
Hearing this, Mu Yunyao rubbed her temples helplessly. How could such a smart person ask such a foolish question?
Chen Chang'an also felt like laughing after asking. How could Mu Yunyao possibly know who set the rules of the Primordial Immortal Domain?
Even the top experts might not be able to touch upon that level.
"Let’s go. I’ll take you to find the last bead."
"Once you fuse with this final fetal bead, you should be able to cultivate freely without any more restrictions."
Chen Chang'an’s cultivation speed was fast—extremely fast—but it had always been hindered by the fetal beads, preventing unrestrained growth.
Mu Yunyao was also curious just how monstrous Chen Chang'an’s talent would become after fusing all the beads.
Returning to the Ascension Platform, Chen Chang'an noticed everyone else had already left, leaving only Da Huang lying there alone, waiting.
"By the way, Master, why is Da Huang the only divine beast in the Tai Xuan World?"
"Where are the others?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"Who said Da Huang is from the Tai Xuan World?"
Huh?
Both Chen Chang'an and Da Huang were stunned. Even Da Huang hadn’t realized... it wasn’t from the Tai Xuan World?
Then where did it come from?
"Master, are you saying Da Huang is also from the Primordial Immortal Domain?" Chen Chang'an was genuinely surprised.
"Mm, it is."
"Back then, I was bored coming here alone, so I brought along a newborn qilin, thinking it’d be company."
"But this thing... forget it, just looking at it annoys me."
Mu Yunyao had brought Da Huang to the Tai Xuan World and left it in the Forbidden Forest.
But as Da Huang grew, Mu Yunyao realized this bastard was too dog-like—utterly irritating—so she avoided much contact.
Yet when Chen Chang'an arrived, he and Da Huang hit it off, which only infuriated Mu Yunyao further.
At first, she thought Chen Chang'an had been corrupted by Da Huang, so she often took her anger out on the beast.
But over time, she realized it was hard to say which of the two was the bad influence.
"Wuuuuu!"
"So I do have family after all!"
"You wretched—"
Da Huang pretended to cry, but upon seeing Mu Yunyao’s icy glare, it quickly wagged its tail and scurried to her side.
Rubbing its dog-like head against her leg, it fawned, "Woof woof! You’re my family, all of you."
"Being with you makes me happy."
"I’ll always—"
Before it could finish, Mu Yunyao kicked it away.
"Stop disgusting me."
"You’ve shamed the entire qilin race."
The qilin were majestic creatures—how did they produce such a freak?
Was its bloodline impure?
But no, Da Huang’s father wasn’t the qilin king, but he was of royal lineage—its bloodline should be pure.
Did its brain get damaged when descending to the lower realm?
"Master, if Da Huang is from the Primordial Immortal Domain’s qilin race, why has it been stuck at the ninth rank? Why hasn’t it broken through to the tenth?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"Restrictions."
"The Tai Xuan World wasn’t meant to have divine beasts, so it’s heavily constrained. Otherwise, it would’ve reached the tenth rank long ago."
"Master, Da Huang is of qilin royal bloodline—you took it right after birth?"
"The qilin race just allowed that?" Chen Chang'an was puzzled.
"Mm. The qilin race has good relations with our Mu family."
"I just used the Mu family’s name to take it. They didn’t question it."
Huh?
Hearing this, Chen Chang'an got the feeling Mu Yunyao had come to the Tai Xuan World... without the Mu family’s knowledge.