The cultivation world was soon in an uproar.
In a small tavern in a mortal kingdom, Zi Tianhai was heartbroken.
He truly couldn't understand why his brother had become this way.
Even more, he couldn't understand when his brother had become this way.
However, it was no longer important.
Zi Yishan was now blinded by power and wouldn't listen to any advice.
"Three months from now? Brother, it's time we settled things between us!"
Zi Tianhai turned abruptly. After only a few steps, he had vanished from the tavern.
Inside the tavern, everything else was as usual, as if no one had noticed that one person had been there, nor that another had disappeared.
After leaving the tavern, Zi Tianhai first went to see his wife and children.
After his falling out with Zi Yishan, he had settled his wife and children in an inconspicuous village.
The village had a secluded feel to it.
This way, the insane Zi Yishan would be unable to find them.
Zi Tianhai spent a night with his wife and children, and as dawn broke, he headed towards Zhan Tian Peak.
Outside Zhan Tian Peak now, ten days had passed since the battle between the brothers.
Nothing remained but the devastation on the ground.
Zi Tianhai returned here because he wanted to enter Zhan Tian Peak, to see if he could re-enter the Sumeru space and find an opportunity for a breakthrough.
That token was now in Zi Yishan's possession.
Therefore, for Zi Tianhai to enter the Sumeru space, he could only rely on luck, just as he had at twelve years old.
Fortunately, after breaking through to the peak of the Saint King realm, his speed had increased significantly.
At twelve years old, the three of them had traveled for more than a night without stopping. Now, he had arrived in the blink of an eye.
Zi Tianhai stood outside Zhan Tian Peak, gazing at the aftermath of the battle. His heart was filled with emotion and then sliced with pain.
Once a loved one, a brother who had fought side by side, now an irreconcilable enemy. Truly, life is unpredictable, and people's hearts are unfathomable!
The eastern sky was soon painted crimson, and a ray of purple light slowly pierced through the red.
Zi Tianhai noticed that the moment that strand of purple light fell upon Zhan Tian Peak, the mist surrounding the peak paused, then began to spin rapidly in reverse.
As this exchange between forward and reverse happened, a vortex formed at the entrance.
So that's how it works!
Zi Tianhai's understanding was now far beyond that of the naive boy of twelve years ago.
He naturally also realized that Zhan Tian Peak was isolated from the world because of a peculiar formation around it.
It was a pity that human heritage had been severed for ninety thousand years, and many things were no longer recorded.
Thus, even though Zi Tianhai knew it was a formation, he had no idea of its name or function.
But this did not diminish his astonishment.
A formation encasing an entire mountain demonstrated how heaven-defying it was, and how extraordinary the person who laid it must have been, with unparalleled mastery of formations.
While sighing with emotion, Zi Tianhai plunged into the vortex.
A few breaths later, the formation outside returned to normal, and the vortex vanished.
At this moment, Zi Tianhai stood at the entrance, looking at the spot on the ground where they used to sleep, and once again recalling the memories of that year.
After a long while, he suppressed the pain in his eyes and walked towards the place where they had encountered the Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf.
To say he walked would be an exaggeration; it was merely a few steps.
In half a breath, he was standing at the place where he had once fought.
The corpse of the Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf had long since turned to bones, perhaps scavenged by other beasts, or perhaps weathered by time.
The bones lay scattered in the grass, or perhaps grew within the gaps between the bones and the grass, in short, the bones were covered by vegetation.
Time flows, and all has changed!
Was it fate playing tricks, or destiny's will?
Zi Tianhai composed himself and shouted, "Senior, are you still here?"
He didn't know how else to find the Sumeru space, so he could only try this clumsy method.
Inside Zhan Tian Peak, only his echo replied.
"Senior, the boy from back then has returned!" Zi Tianhai shouted into the air again.
"Oh, are you the older boy, or the younger boy?"
A familiar voice echoed in the void, making Zi Tianhai's heart leap with joy.
He politely replied, "Senior, I am Zi Tianhai, the younger boy!"
"The younger boy? Then why aren't you coming in? Do you expect this old man to invite you?"
The old man's familiar voice, though gruff, held a trace of excitement.
"This..."
Zi Tianhai was speechless and, after a long pause, said, "Senior, I didn't bring the token, so I can't enter the space!"
The old man's voice paused, and he said displeasedly, "Why did you come here without the token?"
"Senior, this is precisely why I have come. I implore you to allow me to see you!"
Zi Tianhai's tone carried a hint of pleading.
The old man's voice paused, as if he were contemplating whether to see him.
After a few breaths, Zi Tianhai felt a wave of dizziness, and then his soul reappeared in that cave.
On the stone bed in the cave, the white bones remained, and a wisp of a soul slowly floated out.
Zi Tianhai sensed that the old man's soul was even more ethereal than it had been that year.
The moment the old man's soul formed, soul power surged towards Zi Tianhai.
Zi Tianhai was alarmed and was about to resist when he heard the old man's voice, "Don't resist. Let me see what has happened all these years!"
As the old man's voice fell, Zi Tianhai felt the memories of the past few years rapidly flipping through his mind.
After a moment, the memories stopped flipping.
But Zi Tianhai could feel the old man's soul fluctuating violently.
"Well done, Zi Yishan! Well done, ambitious older boy! Well done, cruel and ruthless brother! Good! Very good! This old man has lived for a hundred thousand years, and this is the first time I've encountered such an inhuman being! Good! Truly good! Very good!"
The old man's anger stirred up a gust of wind within the cave.
Zi Tianhai felt a bitterness in his heart.
"Young boy, there's no need to look so pitiful! Think about it, if you had fought back when he first tried to trap you, how could your beloved child have died?
Zi Yishan's ruthlessness is a cause, but is your weak yielding not also a cause? In the end, you have yourself to blame!"
"I..."
Zi Tianhai wanted to argue, but found he had no grounds to refute.
"Enough, stop your mumbling! Haven't you come here seeking a way to break through? Then this old man will help you this once.
There are two ways to break through. First, absorb the first ray of purple qi every morning. Second, swallow this pill!"