Chapter Thirteen: First Arrival

"Senior, what do you think..." Yang Qingtian smiled awkwardly at the sky, helping Qin Shuang recover from her shock.

"Don't rush, let me take a look," Qin Shuang said, leaping to the ground. Lei Shan and the others finally descended as well. The cultivators instinctively cleared away from the teleportation array. Now, in their eyes, Qin Shuang was no longer a demon, but their hope—the only hope to leave this planet.

On the teleportation array, there were five holes. Qin Shuang surmised those holes were meant for the spirit stones that would activate the array. With a wave of her hand, five top-grade elemental spirit stones flew into the holes. After a moment, the array showed no response.

Two breaths later, the spirit stones Qin Shuang had thrown in flew back out, shattered and scattered across the ground.

"Strange," Qin Shuang frowned, tossing in five divine stones this time. Using precious divine stones to activate a mortal realm teleportation array—no ordinary person would dare even consider such a thing. Only Qin Shuang could attempt it.

Yet Qin Shuang hadn't expected the same outcome: the five divine stones came flying out, shattered as well. This time, Qin Shuang took the array seriously.

By rights, even teleportation arrays in the Immortal-Demon-Beast Realm could be activated by top-grade elemental spirit stones. Divine stones were extremely tough—Qin Shuang herself couldn't have crushed them so thoroughly. The array, however, managed it easily. If a single array could pulverize divine stones, then clearly the person who set it up possessed terrifying power.

Qin Shuang nodded inwardly. The creator of this array must be far more powerful than herself. It was no wonder she hadn't discovered the array earlier; perhaps it was deliberately hidden by its creator.

"Brother Qin, there are five holes. Should we use Ruan Spirit Jade?" Lei Shan quietly reminded Qin Shuang. Seeing Qin Shuang try twice, everyone except Qin Shuang thought Ruan Spirit Jade might be the key to activating the array.

"Let me try," Qin Shuang nodded again. Lei Shan's suggestion made sense; perhaps only Ruan Spirit Jade could activate the array.

Five pieces of Ruan Spirit Jade flew into the holes. Suddenly, the array burst with a crimson light, and the central teleportation stone began to slowly turn.

"It's working!"

Almost everyone cried out in amazement. The scene turned chaotic as cultivators from the three major sects jostled to enter the array.

"Those who remain, listen: take the Kuya people back and wait for our return. If you disobey, I'll wipe out your entire clan!" As the red light flashed, those inside the teleportation array vanished, though Qin Shuang's voice still reverberated outside.

All cultivators below the Tribulation Crossing stage were flung out by a force, leaving only sixty-five Void Meditation stage cultivators inside. Among the Kuya, Qin Shuang, Lei Shan, and five captains disappeared as well, leaving seventy-five Kuya warriors standing there in a daze.

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Lush forests, emerald grasslands, and a small lake not far ahead, all enveloped in fresh air—this was where Qin Shuang and her companions appeared.

When the teleportation array activated, Qin Shuang had decided to take all cultivators of Void Meditation stage and above, leaving behind a stern warning to prevent conflict between the remaining cultivators and the Kuya people in her absence.

Three rogue immortals, three sect leaders, seven Tribulation Crossing experts, and Lei Shan's six Kuya companions—all followed Qin Shuang to this new place.

"This place is beautiful!"

"Indeed, it's like a fairyland."

Everyone was enchanted by the new environment. Su Yuxing's world had never seen such scenery; even their forests only grew tall, rugged shrubs, never such verdant greenery.

"Be careful. Wait here for me and don't wander. I'll be back soon. Lei Shan, if anything happens, crush the jade I gave you," Qin Shuang instructed, then vanished.

Upon arrival, Qin Shuang used her immortal sense to scan the area. She had thought it would be a new planet, but she was mistaken; this was not a planet, but rather a continent resembling the Divine Realm.

The continent was vast—Qin Shuang's immortal sense could not find its edge, even after several teleports.

But she made other discoveries: she found many people, and two cities. Most inhabitants were cultivators, with a few immortals. The strongest in the city were merely two fifth-level Golden Immortals.

The air was filled with immortal spiritual energy, yet Qin Shuang discovered she could not absorb it. No matter how much she drew in, it was immediately expelled.

"This is definitely not the Mortal Realm, nor the Immortal-Demon-Beast Realm," Qin Shuang concluded instantly.

"But... what place is this, really?" Qin Shuang pondered this question for a long time.

He was not alone in his wondering. Another person closely tied to Qin Shuang, in a distant city, was pondering the same question: Qin Si.

Qin Si had also arrived here, though not with Qin Shuang—he arrived several days earlier. Ruan Spirit Jade had appeared on Earth as well, sparking a battle between several Earth cultivators and so-called government psychics. The cultivators ultimately prevailed, and Qin Si arrived with them.

Despite Qin Si's Upper Heavenly God cultivation, he found, like Qin Shuang, that there was no end to this place. He could only confirm it was a continent—a Divine Realm-like continent filled with immortal spiritual energy.

Qin Si had tried to tear open space and to fly away overhead, but all attempts failed. The space here was more stable than even the Divine Realm, and spatial laws were useless. Even flight required one's own divine power. Above, the sky was blocked by a membrane like that of the Divine Realm. To be precise, even with two top-tier Hongmeng treasures, Qin Si was as trapped as all the other cultivators.

Qin Shuang did not know his brother was here as well. They were separated by great distance; Qin Si's divine sense was not infinitely expansive here, so the two missed their chance to meet.

At this moment, Qin Shuang continued teleporting to explore the new place.

Seven days later, Qin Shuang returned to the site of his arrival, rejoining Lei Shan and the others.

"Senior Qin, this truly is a wonderful place! Look at this: Dragon Serpent Grass! Dragon Serpent Grass, which can be used to refine elixirs! It's a treasure found only in ancient records," Meng Jun exclaimed, holding a green, long-petaled herb. The others were no less excited, each introducing the treasures they had found in the past seven days, even Lei Shan eagerly presented some seeds. All were awestruck by the legendary immortal land, thrilled like five-year-olds who had just received all the toys in the world.

"Enough! These things are everywhere here. There are even more precious treasures. Prepare yourselves; we must leave and find a place to properly understand this new environment," Qin Shuang said, uninterested in their enthusiasm. The unknown was always the most dangerous.

"Ignorance is bliss," Qin Shuang suddenly recalled the famous saying from Earth. None of them realized they were in a completely different, utterly unfamiliar environment—one from which they might never return.

If this space was truly like the Immortal-Demon-Beast Realm, then Qin Shuang's strength here would hardly be considered top-tier, though he was not worried about that. What troubled him most was how to return.

He had not mentioned this problem to the others. Now it seemed, the teleportation array was a trap—a one-way array. In other words, it allowed entry but not return.