Fragments of the Ancient World

A faint, imperceptible smile flickered at the corner of Cang Li's lips, but she immediately turned her face away, afraid Xu Mu might see it.

She pointed ahead and said, “Follow me. I’ll explain everything to you, but after I do, you have to let me go.”

“Don’t worry. Someone as beautiful as you—I definitely won’t kill you.”

Xu Mu glanced at Cang Li as he spoke.

A tall woman around seventeen or eighteen, with long, straight black hair and golden eyes—she really was captivating.

“I hope so.”

Cang Li showed no change in goodwill. Instead, she led Xu Mu and Tong Guoguo forward.

Eventually, they arrived at the mouth of a cave.

The entrance was about three meters in diameter, stretching deep into the darkness.

Xu Mu extended his perception, sensing that the inside was pitch-black, with no traces of anyone else.

“Follow me.”

Cang Li led the way.

Xu Mu and Tong Guoguo exchanged glances before following the woman inside.

The walls of the cave were lined with many small openings, each about two meters wide and tall.

But these openings were not deep—some were only a meter or two, others three or four.

Xu Mu had no idea what purpose these small cavities served.

Not until Cang Li stopped in front of one of them, having bypassed the main tunnel leading deeper inside.

“Why stop here?”

Xu Mu asked curiously.

“Because deep inside this cave, there’s nothing. All these small openings along the walls are just decoys.”

Cang Li pointed to the opening in front of her. “This is the real path.”

As she spoke, she stepped into the cavity.

Xu Mu and Tong Guoguo quickly followed, moving along the narrow passage for about five or six meters before encountering a dead end.

With the naked eye, they could see the wall just a few meters ahead.

“What does this mean? Is there a formation here?”

Xu Mu looked at Cang Li with confusion.

“Don’t ask me. Just take a few steps forward.”

Cang Li pointed toward the dead end.

Xu Mu was skeptical but cautiously walked forward. When he neared the wall, his brow suddenly furrowed.

He sensed a kind of resistance.

He raised his hand and found that he couldn’t touch the wall at all. An invisible barrier blocked him.

“Is this really an inner realm?”

Xu Mu found it hard to believe. He had never seen such a small inner realm before.

The inner realms he had previously encountered were like junctures between worlds, with vast stretches of air walls covering large areas.

But this one was tiny.

“It seems you don’t know much about inner realms. Though I don’t know everything, I can clear up your confusion.”

Cang Li folded her arms and leaned against the wall beside her. “Where do you think an inner realm should be located?”

“I don’t know.”

Xu Mu shook his head.

Tong Guoguo looked at Cang Li and asked, “Is an inner realm a 'spatial rift'?”

“No, actually. You humans like to measure the world by your own standards. In ancient times, you believed there were palaces in the heavens and immortals dwelling above. Now that science and technology have advanced, you’ve discovered that those skies are just barren, empty space.”

Cang Li paused before continuing, “At that point, you decided that ancient legends were false—that none of those things ever existed.”

Xu Mu and Tong Guoguo remained silent, listening intently.

“But have you ever thought about it from another angle? This so-called ‘heaven and earth’ is based on your own senses. You believe your head is toward the sky and your feet are on the ground.”

Cang Li looked at them both. “It’s like a tree. You assume its roots are burrowed into the earth, and its branches and trunk reach toward the sky. What if it were the opposite?”

“What do you mean?”

Tong Guoguo asked.

“I’d say the branches and leaves are the real roots. They spread out, reaching upward to grasp more sunlight and absorb more nutrients—so that the roots buried in the soil can penetrate deeper underground.”

Cang Li shrugged. “In other words, it’s the leaves that sustain the tree. Without sunlight, the tree would die. So I say leaves are the roots.”

Xu Mu narrowed his eyes and pointed at the ground. “I think I understand what you’re saying. You mean the ground is actually the sky?”

“Exactly. The inner realm is below, hidden within the rocks and earth—not above.”

Cang Li nodded. “Now you understand. What we call the ‘inner realm’ is actually the outside world, and this place you’re in—that’s the real ‘inner realm.’”

“I don’t want to argue with you about these philosophies. I just want to know why the entrance to this inner realm is so small.”

Xu Mu said flatly.

“This goes back to ancient times. My grandmother once told me that the place we used to live in was called the Ancient Realm.”

Cang Li explained, “The Ancient Realm had too many powerful experts, and it eventually collapsed, breaking into countless fragments. These fragments weren’t flat.”

She raised her hand. “Take my palm—each finger is like a fragment of that world.”

She then pushed her five fingers into the cave wall beside her. “If this wall is the barrier between the two worlds, then the continent represented by my palm has five separate exits leading to your world.”

Xu Mu and Tong Guoguo were stunned. They had never heard anything like this before.

“Are you saying that a single fragment of an inner realm can have multiple points of contact with our world?”

Xu Mu asked in a low voice.

“That’s right. The continent we inhabit has multiple contact points with your world. Wherever the two worlds touch, top-tier experts can tear through the barrier directly. Those who aren’t at the very peak can cross using the Fire of the Boundary.”

Cang Li pointed at herself. “I came over using the Fire of the Boundary.”

Xu Mu frowned. This was indeed major information.

“I’ve entered several inner realms before,” Xu Mu said thoughtfully, “and there was nothing inside.”

“That’s normal. When the Ancient Realm shattered, many small fragments formed that couldn’t support any form of life, so no one lives there.”

Cang Li pointed to the nearby entrance. “The continent we come from is different. It’s several times the size of your country, and nearly a hundred races live there.”

Hearing this, Xu Mu pointed toward the barrier and asked, “What’s on the other side? Is it the territory of your Dragon Serpent clan?”

“No, it’s an uninhabited area. If you’re curious, I could take you there.”

Cang Li smiled.

Xu Mu looked at her. Her Devotion Level toward him hadn’t changed at all.

That meant she was probably lying, just trying to get him to go through.

“Ha. I don’t have the Fire of the Boundary.”

Xu Mu shrugged with a grin.

“But I do! I stole some of my father’s—uh, my dad’s—Fire of the Boundary to come here and have some fun.”

Cang Li’s smile was radiant.

She had lied just now. The other side wasn’t a wilderness; it was the territory of her Dragon Serpent clan.

If Xu Mu dared to cross over, anyone from her side could impale him like a skewer.

“Oh? You have the Fire of the Boundary?”

Xu Mu reached out his hand. “Hand it over. It’s mine now.”