Chapter 2009: Close at Hand

"The God-Qilin Realm will be open for three hundred days. After three hundred days, everyone, regardless of whether they are alive or dead, will be expelled from the God-Qilin Realm.

"However, during this period, you are free to leave the God-Qilin Realm at any time. But once you leave, you cannot re-enter!"

Ximen Boyun coldly announced the basic rules of the God-Qilin Realm.

"Every breath you take in the God-Qilin Realm is a gift from the Abyss Emperor. I won't repeat unnecessary warnings; I believe you aren't foolish enough to waste this time fighting among yourselves."

Zhaike Xie quickly said, "Please rest assured, Sir Knight. There has never been conflict within the God-Qilin Realm. Any breakthroughs or opportunities gained depend solely on individual ability. How dare we cause trouble in a place blessed by the Abyss Emperor?"

"Hmph, I should hope not!" Ximen Boyun swept his gaze across everyone. "Furthermore, the God-Qilin Realm is filled with various sandstorms and rockfall disasters. While receiving its blessings, you must also look after your own lives! If you perish within, blame no one but yourselves."

As he finished speaking, the back of his hand, glowing with Nethergale divine patterns, touched the barrier of the God-Qilin Realm.

Instantly, the barrier shimmered and faded in a sudden burst of profound light, revealing the entrance to the God-Qilin Realm. Faint spatial ripples emanated a rich earthy aura.

"Finally!" His voice turned abruptly cold, and his expression became exceptionally solemn. "You must all know this, but I still have to say it... Under no circumstances are you to approach the resting place of the Qilin God! If you dare to anger the Qilin God, no one will be able to save you!"

"Understood, Sir Knight. Please rest assured," Ximen Borong replied.

Ximen Boyun stepped aside. "Enter now. During this period, I will guard this place until the God-Qilin Realm closes."

The members of the Helian, Bailin, Panxuan, and Wanren sects were all overwhelmed with excitement. After bowing in gratitude to the Abyss Emperor and the Abyssal Knight, they entered the God-Qilin Realm in a relatively orderly fashion.

As Ximen Borong approached the entrance, he paused and transmitted a message to Ximen Boyun: "Boyun, are you really not going in?"

Ximen Boyun replied, "Those above the Divine Master Realm cannot enter. This rule has always existed, but it's rarely triggered, so few people know about it.

"My cultivation as a Half-God and my identity as an Abyssal Knight both prevent me from entering. Moreover, the resources in the Nethergale are far superior to those in the God-Qilin Realm, so you need not worry about me, elder brother." He turned his gaze to Ximen Borong, his expression serious. "The God-Qilin Realm will block all sound transmissions and auras. If anything unexpected happens, I will be powerless to intervene. Therefore, if a truly life-threatening danger arises, escaping immediately is the best choice. Staying alive surpasses all else."

"I understand."

Ximen Borong nodded heavily, and his figure vanished into the spatial ripples at the entrance.

The moment he stepped into the God-Qilin Realm, the world transformed into a desolate, ochre landscape.

The sky and earth were a single hue of dull yellow. Quicksand churned beneath their feet, carrying an astonishingly dense power of sand and rock. Those with insufficient cultivation would easily be dragged in and eternally buried.

Yet, in this terrifying world of quicksand, countless rock pillars of varying shapes and sizes stood tall in the distance, unmoving amidst the perpetually shifting, horrifying sand, soaring straight into the sky.

Sand and dust danced across the sky, weaving an boundless and peculiar sand mist throughout this world. High-level earth spirits occasionally roamed within, scattering either profound or faint dull yellow rock light.

Whenever the wind howled, it signaled a sky-engulfing sandstorm.

"Beware of the quicksand! It's far more terrifying than you imagine!"

"Hiss... It truly lives up to its name as the God-Qilin Realm, the sacred land of Qilin Abyss! The rock-sand aura here is so incredibly pure and dense that I feel my cultivation bottleneck, dormant for over a century, is trembling."

Various exclamations of awe filled the air... Yun Che scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally settling on the east.

It was no wonder Ximen Boyun warned them never to approach the Qilin God without revealing its location. One glance upon entering the God-Qilin Realm was enough to know.

The sand sea and sky to the east were covered in a peculiar glowing yellow light. It seemed to be the legendary Qilin Light, and upon entering one's pupils, it carried an invisible spiritual pressure that seeped directly into the depths of the soul.

"Under no circumstances should you approach the east; that is where the Qilin God resides!"

The elders of the four major powers sternly warned their young disciples.

"The legendary Qilin God... I wonder what it looks like."

"What terrifying might! Just how powerful is the Qilin God?" "It's said that this Qilin God was once extremely powerful, but it has been eroded by Abyss Dust, its power dissipating year by year. Its continued existence to this day is a miracle. But it is a Qilin God after all; even if its power has degraded significantly, it is still beyond our reach... In short, you absolutely must not take even half a step towards the east."

The surrounding voices reached Yun Che's ears, causing his eyebrows to twitch slightly.

It seems that all my conjectures during this period are increasingly aligning with the truth.

Withdrawing his attention from the east, Yun Che quickly scanned the surrounding auras.

Helian, Ximen Borong, Zhaike Xie, and Wan Wei were all present... These four were all stuck at the Half-God Extinction Realm, and the God-Qilin Realm represented their greatest hope for breaking through their bottlenecks, so there was no way they wouldn't enter.

At a glance, about ninety percent of the participants from each major power were young disciples. After all, most older practitioners had already reached their limits, and the younger generation represented the future hope.

What Yun Che was more concerned about was the remaining ten percent.

Besides Zhaike Xie, Panxuan Sect had three other Half-God Extinction Realm auras, likely elder-level figures; the same was true for Wanren Sect; and even Bailin Alliance had another Half-God Extinction Realm profound practitioner besides Ximen Borong.

The vast majority of profound practitioners in the Abyss were stuck at this realm for life. They would become the cornerstone of their sects, but they would never abandon their yearning to become Half-Gods... and this yearning would only grow stronger and more urgent with increasing lifespan.

The Helian Imperial Family had many relatives enter, but most were unremarkable. What surprised Yun Che was that Ku Xuan had also entered the God-Qilin Realm.

Given his current state of nearing death, he shouldn't have...

But he immediately understood. Ku Xuan had clearly entered to guide and assist the disciples of Helian Sky Palace in their cultivation, especially Helian Lingzhu and Mo Cangying.

This old man could be considered to have sacrificed his entire life for the Helian Imperial Family.

"Young Master Yun Che." Helian Lingzhu stood beside Yun Che, her face flushed with excitement. "So many people entering at once—this was a sight only seen during the prosperous era of Helian. I truly don't know... how to thank you."

"Princess, you overstate things," Yun Che replied with a faint smile.

Mo Cangying also walked over. "Brother Yun, I plan to first assist Master in helping Lingzhu achieve the Divine Master Realm. Would Brother Yun like to cultivate with us?"

Yun Che shook his head. "I don't cultivate earth profound energy; the aura here is of no use to me. I'm only here out of curiosity." "Just as I thought," Mo Cangying nodded. "Then Brother Yun should do as he pleases. However... please be as careful as possible. This is an independent space, and I fear some might seek an opportunity for revenge. If anything unexpected happens, remember to send a sound transmission immediately. Lingzhu and I will bring all of the Helian members to you."

Yun Che showed gratitude. "Understood."

This was indeed a good place to kill people and settle private grudges. Therefore, the most rational course of action right now was to quickly escape everyone's notice.

This space contained not only sand mist but also Abyss Dust.

As the most primordial power of destruction in chaos, its level was simply too high; even self-created spaces could not isolate it.

His gaze flickered to Long Jiang in the distance, then he turned and walked away.

Helian Lingzhu subconsciously raised her hand... but then slowly lowered it, the words she was about to speak dissipating on her lips.

She vaguely sensed that Yun Che's gaze towards her had changed after entering the God-Qilin Realm.

The same expression, the same gaze, the same light smile... but neither his eyes nor his smile seemed to reach her heart anymore. "Esteemed Junior Dragon," Ximen Borong bowed slightly to Long Jiang. "Our Bailin Alliance was able to enter the God-Qilin Realm first this time thanks to your assistance. I still don't know what Esteemed Junior Dragon seeks by entering this realm. If you would tell us, our Bailin Alliance will certainly do everything in our power to help."

Long Jiang, her back to him, said coldly, "No need. Our agreement is complete. From this moment on, we owe each other nothing and shall not interfere with each other."

It was an expected reply. Ximen Borong said helplessly, "In that case, I will abide by Esteemed Junior Dragon's wishes."

Long Jiang, without looking back, departed alone.

The wind swirled around her, and Yun Che caught up, saying with a sincere expression, "Clearly, neither of us is here for cultivation or breakthroughs. If that's the case, why not travel together?"

Long Jiang ignored him completely.

Yun Che glanced sideways, observing her intently. He said, "Actually, I don't think your name suits you very well either. The character 'Jiang' is composed of 'sheep' above and 'woman' below, which means..."

A cold glint shot out from beneath her gray robe, stopping just before Yun Che's throat.

"One more step closer, and I'll kill you!"

Yun Che indeed stopped following her, standing frozen in place as if stunned, silently watching her gray figure vanish into the overwhelming sand mist.

The direction she went was south.

Yun Che turned and headed north. He completely suppressed his aura, minimizing his presence. Coupled with the fact that most people were immersed in the excitement of first entering the God-Qilin Realm and planning their next moves... it wasn't long before Yun Che silently disappeared from everyone's perception.

Without any external aura touching him, Yun Che continued flying north for a thousand miles, then suddenly changed direction, heading east.

His figure also slowly blurred, then blurred further, until, like his aura, it completely vanished into the sand mist.

Almost simultaneously, in the south where only one person traveled alone, a grayish-white shadow also changed direction, heading directly east.

However, her speed was much slower than Yun Che's.

This was because Yun Che was largely no longer negatively affected by Abyss Dust, and his ability to conceal his aura was gradually becoming as effective as it was in the God Realm. Thus, he could maintain a relatively fast speed while remaining hidden.

But Long Jiang... she had to exert extreme effort to suppress and conceal her aura, forcing her to move at the slowest possible pace.

The pervasive sand and dust, at times gentle and at times violent, undoubtedly posed a considerable challenge to Yun Che's Star God's Broken Shadow, causing his figure to briefly reveal itself occasionally. However, Yun Che was not overly concerned. He was confident that the Qilin residing in the east was likely in a deep slumber and would not easily awaken. Therefore, concealing his aura to the greatest extent was sufficient; the concealment technique merely provided an extra layer of security.

Because awakening would only accelerate its demise!

The yellow Qilin Light grew closer, reflecting more clearly in his pupils.

At that moment, Yun Che suddenly sensed something and raised his left hand.

In his palm, a vibrant green light shimmered faintly.

Within his profound veins, the five Evil God Seeds—Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Darkness—also shone with their respective divine glows... more intensely than any previous sensation.

It was as if even they could not suppress the throbbing anticipation of becoming complete and reborn.

Although he had nearly 100% certainty, Yun Che's heart still pounded several times faster at this moment.

It was indeed here, just ahead!!

His speed unconsciously accelerated, but he immediately calmed himself and slowed down again.

Endless yellow sand, solid rocks, and dust mist were left behind him. In this entire world, he seemed to be the sole living being. Having ventured this deep, even if he were to shout with all his might, it was impossible for anyone to respond.

Finally, the light in his pupils intensified to the extreme. His feet also touched the tranquil yellow Qilin Light.

His concealment dissolved, and he stopped there, staring straight ahead. Within just a few breaths, his gaze lost all trace of nervousness or apprehension, leaving only cold resolve and a gradually surfacing arrogance in his brows.

When faced with indecision, Yun Che excelled at overcoming obstacles with brute force, while Chi Wuyao was adept at discerning and manipulating human hearts.

How to confront this Qilin, how to obtain... no, to reclaim the final Evil God Seed—he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind.

This was a Qilin crowned with the name "Qilin God"; its power was naturally immense.

If he were to seize it by force... with Yun Che's current cultivation, even ten or a hundred of him would only be courting death.

Since that was the case...

Then he would make this Qilin... obediently offer up the Evil God Seed itself!

Because it was a Qilin, known for its distinct nature, virtually no one, from ancient times to the present, was unaware of it!

He stood proudly within the Qilin Light, profound energy surging around him, and let out a mighty roar:

"Yun Che, successor of the Elemental Creation God, has come to respectfully seek an audience with the Qilin Divine Spirit!" This mighty roar dispersed the sand mist, vibrated the space, and even caused long-lasting ripples to appear in the pervasive Qilin Light.