If the bloodline of the Barbaric Beasts' Royal Clan is not removed, it will always be a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at any moment.

However, thinking of Xu Lai's four strands of Qingfeng Sword Intent that swept through the endless Barbaric Beasts, Sikong Jiu furrowed his brows deeply.

"Have you broken through?"

When he asked, he shook his head repeatedly: "Impossible, under this starry sky, the Emperor Realm is already the limit. Even the Tiangui has not taken that step."

"Which step!?"

Jin Shi stared intently at Sikong Jiu, his breath becoming heavy.

The Emperor Realm.

It is the end of the cultivation path in the Immortal Domain.

Jin Shi had considered that the Emperor Realm might not be the peak, but throughout a hundred eras, no one has ever gone further from the top.

Thus,

Jin Shi gradually stopped nurturing any illusions about what lies beyond the Emperor Realm.

In the Immortal Domain, the Emperor Realm is already the peak; why struggle to search for a boundary that might not even exist?

Sikong Jiu didn't beat around the bush and directly said: "In fact, before the previous cycle, the Emperor Realm wasn't the end."

"Before the previous cycle?" Jin Shi caught the keyword.

"Yes."

Sikong Jiu nodded, his eyes revealing reminiscence and longing: "Before the First Era I existed in, there's a legend about an Immortal Path, where the Emperor Realm can ascend the Immortal Path and engage in dialogue with the Heavenly Dao. Enter Inquiry Realm, transcend the Five Declines, and enjoy eternal life."

Jin Shi instinctively looked at the three cracked Realm Gates in the starry sky.

At the center of the Realm Gates.

The transmission light curtain suspected to lead to The Other Shore was gone, the Immortal Fruit was gone, and that Immortal Path... was also gone.

"Not that already broken Immortal Path."

Sikong Jiu reflected: "The Tiangui never stepped into the Inquiry Realm in his lifetime, so I suspect he might be at the perfect Emperor Realm, with the strength to enter the Ancient Immortal Path, but because it collapsed, he couldn't go further."

"I speculate that the Tiangui wanted to refine the Immortal Fruit and forcibly step into the Inquiry Realm, but the cycle's scheme turned into a delusion."

Sikong Jiu shrugged: "Because of the resurrection of The Supreme Emperor, most of the essence of the Immortal Fruit was consumed, so his strength significantly increased compared to before, but he still can only reach the perfect Emperor Realm."

"Perfect Emperor Realm, huh."

Xu Lai squints his eyes, his palm slowly clenching into a fist.

"Of course, the Ancient Immortal Path has long since broken; the incomplete Immortal Path cannot connect with the heavens, and no one is sure if the Inquiry Realm even exists."

Sikong Jiu opened his hands: "It's all just the fantasies of my sworn brother; he loved to delve into these things."

Jin Shi pursed her lips.

All of Sikong Jiu's sworn brothers were deceived and killed by the Emperor's Palace, leaving him only to survive, bearing a deep sea of blood feud.

Xu Lai temporarily put aside the questions about the Inquiry Realm and calmly said, "Let's go; we'll take a look at the Immortal Path."

The Immortal Path was completely broken, the three Other Shore Realm Gates lost their former grandeur, leaving only a decayed atmosphere.

At this time, even those at the Golden Core Realm could approach the Realm Gate.

As Xu Lai and the other two approached.

The cultivators near the Realm Gate changed their expressions drastically, retreating ten thousand feet away, falling back into a space exclusively for the Emperor Realm.

"It's Great Emperor Jin Shi!"

"Such unparalleled elegance is a model for all female cultivators in the Immortal Domain."

"Wait, who are those two men beside the Empress, could it be Great Emperor Jiu Feng?"

"One of them looks somewhat familiar, a bit like Great Emperor Qingfeng..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, Daoist? Great Emperor Qingfeng died in Heaven Beyond Heaven for the Immortal Domain, and Emperor's Demise cannot be falsified!"

Countless discussions among the cultivators ensued, with both agreements and disputes.

"Why don't you reveal your identity, Daoist Qingfeng?"

Great Emperor Jin Shi raised an eyebrow, Xu Lai neither deliberately hid his identity nor spoke it aloud.

"Those who know I'm alive already know. Those who don't know, don't need to know."

Xu Lai's gaze was profound.

"Hmm, that's reasonable." Great Emperor Jin Shi nodded.

The three at the Emperor Realm observed the Realm Gate, but after several hours, found no useful information.

They only knew the Immortal Path was severed, the gate to The Other Shore disappeared.

"Ruan Tang..."

Xu Lai, at the cost of backlash, forcibly traced back time, still unable to confirm whether his wife was alive or dead.

"Ugh."

Xu Lai spat out a mouthful of heart's essence blood, his mental state debilitated instantly.

He no longer overestimated his capabilities, but stood desolately in front of the Realm Gate, gently stroking the bronze rust on the ten-thousand-zhang Bronze Gate.

Looking from afar.

The three figures of Xu Lai appeared as small as ants against the ten-thousand-zhang Realm Gate.

"The Tiangui must still be alive; otherwise, the Barbaric Beasts imprinted with the Tiangui soul brand would have already followed him to the grave."

Sikong Jiu said in a deep voice, "He—went to The Other Shore!"

At this point,

Sikong Jiu couldn't help but curse: "That damned creature, he ran fast enough; otherwise, I would have killed him."

"..." Jin Shi.

She sometimes really doubted if the old predecessor before her, spouting such language, really came from the First Era's Emperor Realm?

"Sikong Jiu." Xu Lai looked over.

"Hmm?"

"I want to go to The Other Shore."

"The Immortal Path is broken, the Realm Gate is gone, how are you going there!" Sikong Jiu was dumbfounded.

"I know you must have a way; I want to find Ruan Tang and kill the Tiangui along the way."

"..."

Sikong Jiu couldn't help but complain inwardly: "If I had a way to The Other Shore, why would I become a branch of the Heavenly Dao!"

"Indeed." Jin Shi nodded along with what she heard.

"Do you know or not, you know better than me."

Xu Lai stared deep into Sikong Jiu, making the latter inexplicably guilty:

"Could it be that those old turtles of the Nine Kings' Palace gossiped nonsense with The Supreme Emperor? Don't believe in rumors!"

"Do you really have?"

This time it was Xu Lai's turn to be surprised; he was just testing Sikong Jiu, but the other's reaction was clearly off.

"I really don't."

"Make an Emperor's vow."

"Xu Qingfeng, don't push me too hard, do you really think I'm easy to bully?!"

"You just said I'm at the perfect Emperor Realm, are you perfect?"

"..."

Sikong Jiu's face fell: "Seeking The Other Shore requires asking that old fool Huang Zhongtian, or finding Jing Ke, or at least seeking a way from the six Other Shore Cultivators guarding the Realm Gate."

"Gu Yan, Li Hua, and the other six Other Shore Cultivators are abandoned by The Other Shore; they surely don't know the way home."

Xu Lai said helplessly: "Moreover, Li Hua is dead, Gu Yan has yet to awaken, the other four's lives are unknown."

As he spoke,

Xu Lai stared at Sikong Jiu, and asked, "Do you really have no way?"

"Really not."

Sikong Jiu's expression was very sincere.

After a while, he hesitated: "But thinking back, what if Ruan Tang isn't at The Other Shore, but—"

Sikong Jiu's words stopped abruptly.

Because the calm gaze of Xu Lai felt cold, cold to the point of unfamiliarity.

Sikong Jiu changed his tone: "I think, Ruan Tang definitely went to The Other Shore. Find her, you must search, she's surely waiting for you!"

Xu Lai said nothing more, turning to return to the Heavenly Court.

Jin Shi softly asked: "Do you really believe she's still alive?"

"People need hope to live."

Sikong Jiu said earnestly: "Moreover, I indeed didn't feel the aura of Ruan Tang's fall here."

"Then why did you say those things just now..."

"Guess."

"..."