The dark cave trembled violently as chunks of stone and earth fell from the ceiling. Twenty-eight young cultivators dashed through the shaken tunnel, hoping the cave would not collapse while they were still inside.
This scene was a repeat of what they had experienced a few days ago.
“What the hell is happening again?!” Lan Muyang screamed in alarm. He is dashing, leading the group out of the dark pit.
"Brother! The exit is there!" Lan Meiyu, who followed closely behind, screamed when she saw the exit.
One after another, young cultivators jump out of the dark pit and land on the large cave chamber's floor.
“Let’s get outside!” one of the Lan Clan's young cultivators shouted, his voice tight with worry as a small pebble struck his shoulder, falling from above.
Though they had escaped the dark pit, they were still inside the cave, and if the tremors continued, it could collapse at any moment.
No one hesitated. At once, everyone dashed toward the Lan Clan cave’s exit!
However, something had blocked their path; the purple swirling vortex suddenly appeared right in the path toward the cave's exit, forcing them to stop in their tracks.
They were frightened. Their expression turned pale as the mysterious phenomenon occurred before them.
Then, the next moment, they heard a faint sound that they couldn't understand the meaning of coming from the purple swirling vortex. The sound grew louder and louder until they heard it clearly!
Multiple human screams rang from the vortex, followed by the shadow of four humans.
Then, in a blur of motion, four human figures shot out of the vortex and slammed hard against the ground in front of the young Lan Clan cultivator's group!
The Lan Clan's young cultivators were shocked; they gazed at the 4 figures lying before them, and they soon recognized who these people were!
"Brother Xiaorong!" someone cried out.
Lan Xiaorong, still dazed on the ground, blinked in confusion. Just moments ago, he had been deep in the outer rim… yet now, he was suddenly back in the familiar chamber of the Lan Clan cave!
"What the h…ARGH!" Xiaorong screamed from the sudden pain as one of the wooden orbs had crashed against him on the back.
"Apologies. I didn’t think the travel would be this ugly." Hengsheng stepped out calmly from the purple swirling vortex, and after that, the vortex behind him vanished.
Hengsheng wasn’t just being sarcastic—he meant it. Unlike him, the others didn’t possess a [Reality Stabilizer Protocol]. Without it, their journey through the interdimensional space was rough and disorienting, while he could walk through it calmly and unscathed.
“Big Brother Hengsheng!” the young cultivators shouted in unison, their voices filled with joy as their ultimate savior finally appeared.
Hengsheng smirked, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming cheering, striking the pose of a great man making a grand entrance.
The Doomsday Clock’s trembling hum shattered his glorious moment. Hengsheng’s smirk faded, his expression darkening under the mounting pressure of time.
Hengsheng lowered his arms and pointed his finger at Xiaorong. “You handle the situation here. Keep them calm while I’m away.”
“What?!” Xiaorong, still confused, couldn’t process what had just happened. Before he could say anything more, Hengsheng had already vanished into the swirling purple vortex.
“You’re so arrogant!” Xiaorong cursed under his breath. He turned toward the group of Lan Clan’s young cultivators.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he observed the confused faces of his junior brothers and sisters. Then, steadying his tone, he began to explain everything he had heard he knew.
Meanwhile, Hengsheng reappeared on a volcanic terrain. Not far from him, a small group of four Lan Clan's young cultivators were hiding beneath the fire-leaf trees, shielding themselves from the fiery rain falling from the erupting volcano above.
Without wasting any time, Hengsheng activated his system ability, Dimensional Shift. The four cultivators barely had time to react before a swirling purple substance engulfed them, their faces frozen in horror.
Hengsheng sensed the resistance from these four, but they were too weak to break free from his ability.
In the next instant, Hengsheng vanished from the volcanic terrain and reappeared in another location. Again and again, he repeated this process, finding scattered Lan Clan members through the collapsing secret land and sending them back to the Lan Clan cave, one group at a time.
After retrieving all 27 members of the Lan Clan, Hengsheng didn’t stop there. Without resting, he activated his Dimensional Map and Dimensional Shift ability once more—this time, his target was the Wang Clan members!
Disappearing and reappearing across different locations, Hengsheng moved swiftly through interdimensional space, capturing all 33 members of the Wang Clan and sending them back to his base.
"Oh..." Hengsheng muttered as he gazed at the Dimensional Map. He noticed that Jian Zixuan’s group had already left the secret land, without leaving a single trace behind.
Hengsheng also noticed that the Astral Rift's expansion was accelerating; it will soon swallow the Golden Pagoda in 3 minutes.
"I need to move faster…" Hengsheng murmured as he studied the Dimensional Map, carefully ensuring he hadn’t left anyone behind. He noticed a few scattered life signs—other young cultivators from different forces. After a moment of thought, he decided not to lend a hand.
'They were outsiders.'
'If I take them in, they will likely cause trouble someday. I can not be too kind,' Hengsheng thought.
After finally confirming the success of his primary plan, Hengsheng wasted no time, he immediately moved on to the second!
Once again, Hengsheng moved swiftly across the outer rim—but this time, he wasn’t rescuing people.
He was harvesting treasures.
The remains of the Golden Pagoda—whether decorations, tiles, roofs, pillars, walls, everything—were collected.
The unknown extremely hot red orbs—collected.
The golden-flowered plant glowing with profound Dao aura—collected.
The mysterious silver metal pulsing with ancient energy—collected.
The secret land was collapsing, yet to Hengsheng, it had become a field of opportunity. Just like the humans, the demon beasts had fallen into panic. Driven by instinct, they scattered in every direction, desperately trying to escape the collapsing dimension, leaving many treasure grounds unguarded.
A sheen of sweat appeared on Hengsheng's forehead as he continued hopping from one place to another. His actions were not without cost—his system ability [Dimensional Shift] required the expenditure of Spiritual Qi, just like any Qi technique.
By now, he had used Dimensional Shift over a thousand times. The toll on his Spiritual Qi reserves was significant, as it was now running low. His mind had almost reached an exhausted state from constantly wielding the Divine Sense.
This was a clear sign that he was reaching his limit. Hengsheng stopped his treasure-gathering voyage and shifted to the final location in his plan.
Hengsheng appears from the purple vortex before the plain of the Divine Tree in the middle of the endless forest.
The Divine Tree was still emitting the profound Dao Rhythm, undergoing Dao blessing, awakening its spirituality, and becoming the Spirit Tree!
Surrounding the Divine Tree were myriad Demon Beasts seeking Divine protection from its aura, just as they did when the God Spawn's invasion.
The Demon Beasts roared as they noticed Hengsheng's presence. Some even remembered him and offered a subtle welcoming gesture, even though they were still panicking from the trembling world.
Hengsheng released a pulse of Divine Sense, silently sending a message to the surrounding demon beasts: 'Give me a path.'
Without resistance, the beasts obediently parted, forming a clear path toward the Divine Tree. They moved aside with surprising reverence, as if recognizing the merit he did with this sacred place.
Stepping forward, Hengsheng reached the base of the towering Divine Tree and gently placed his hand against its trunk.
Hengsheng felt a subtle stir deep within him—the Timbergrasp genetic trait buried in the depths of his DNA had begun to resonate. It pulsed faintly, as if awakening in response to the Divine Tree before him… as if it had finally found its own kind.
Hengsheng sensed the Divine Tree's spirit. Even though it was not fully formed, it was still growing—its sense sent waves of emotion through his hand. It was glad to meet its friend, and it was lonely.
Hengsheng's lip curves, his heart is fluffy as he senses the infant Spirit Tree's innocent spirit and emotion.
“Then come with me…” Hengsheng whispered through his thoughts, sending the message directly to the Divine Tree with his Divine Sense.
The joyful emotion responds to his request.
Hengsheng smiled warmly before he expended his massive amount of Spiritual Qi to activate the Dimensional Shift.
The Demon Beasts screamed in panic when they noticed the purple substance emerging from the ground all over the plain, beginning to envelop everything, including the Divine Tree.
Hengsheng frowned as he executed the mass teleportation. It was harder than he thought.
'Dim, help me!' Hengsheng decides to ask for help.
'Yes, Host.' Then the pressure on Hengsheng's mind was lifted, and the system's notice appeared before him.
[Dimensional Shift in progress…]—[91%]
[Dimensional Shift Activated]
Hengsheng's vision before him turned completely purple due to the Dimensional Tunnel. In the next moment, he moved, traversing the interdimensional space alongside the myriad Demon Beasts and the Divine Tree.
Only to appear somewhere else in the secret land again a moment later.