Returning to the Spiritual Realm
They hit the small fry, which brought in the big boss. Yet as soon as the big boss showed up, he took one look and immediately fled in terror.
Only the small fry were left in the field, lost and at a loss what to do.
This happened twice. By the third time, a young Void Refining cultivator, after seeing his elder decisively flee and feeling momentarily absent-minded, was caught head-on by an unbelievably huge "plastic bag"...
The members of the Blade Squad, together with Zhang Jiamin and the other two, joined forces to drag one end of the "plastic bag," hauling their prize back to the repeatedly reinforced underground laboratory.
Backed by the Evil God Incubation Farm and Gene Optimization Fluid, ordinary humans might still lag behind the Extraordinaries physically, but there was little difference in intelligence. Add to that the ever-upgrading high-tech gear—seasoned mecha operators could go head-to-head with Nascent Soul cultivators. Against Divine Transformation cultivators, they’d just gang up.
The Void Refining cultivators from the Spiritual Realm were suppressed in this world and could only unleash Divine Transformation stage combat power. With experience on their side, the veteran mecha operators captured all the “invaders” with practiced ease. It was only logical.
As for the "plastic bag" tech, that, of course, was provided by Qin Jingzhou. But the raw materials? Well, as the saying goes, “the wool comes from the sheep’s back.”
Spiritual Realm cultivators were still human after all; none were stubborn enough to court disaster. Caught cultivators quickly surrendered, willing to cough up a ransom for their freedom. Not only was the Gene Optimization Fluid paid for with their ransoms, but even the resources to make more "plastic bags" came from the same source.
Catch Spiritual Realm cultivators, collect the ransom, use it to make necessary supplies and strengthen themselves, and be better prepared to capture hostile cultivators and Evil Gods—a virtuous cycle indeed.
To be certain, Qin Jingzhou stayed an extra three years. Once he confirmed humanity could now stand on its own, and that any treasure-seeking cultivators from the Spiritual Realm over the next three years could be dealt with, he said his goodbyes to his “cheap” children and Chief Li, promising they’d meet again if fate allowed. Once he had wrapped up all loose ends, he went looking for the World Will.
The World Will, who was devoting her full control to regulating the revival of spiritual energy, happened to be free, and clearly in a good mood. “I’m very satisfied. Even though I hoped for this, when you just stood there... you were enough to frighten off all the riffraff. The Great Ascension cultivators fled at the very sight, and I knew then everything would be fine.” Once the task was settled, she stuffed a ton of gifts into the System. “No need to let me hold you up from finding your girlfriend. This place connects directly to the Spiritual Realm. You’re welcome any time, and the position of Guardian will always be waiting for you.”
The World Will gave out a full twenty supreme-grade spirit veins, a number even the Daoists could only dream of four. Even the fortune Fate’s Son He Jiuping had accumulated before turning into an Evil God, which had been confiscated according to the rules, was handed over to him.
The gift was so generous that Qin Jingzhou could hardly believe it. “You’re too generous.”
“You deserve it,” the World Will replied solemnly. “I think you’ve got a great chance to ascend in rank right now.”
Qin Jingzhou beamed, “Thank you for the auspicious words.” It was funny—he thought so himself.
Shedding his body double, he exited the Task World and revealed his true self. All the Spiritual Realm cultivators waiting outside took one look... and fell to their knees.
To every Void Refining and Divine Transformation cultivator, each newly-upgraded world is an unimaginably tempting cake.
Most Body Fusion and even Great Ascension cultivators got their “first bucket of gold” in these worlds and would rarely give up a new world easily, not even if there was a tough Guardian rumored to be inside.
But now...
The cultivators—including not just the Void Refining and Divine Transformation cultivators present from the officials, but also several hiding in the space in-between, plus one Great Ascension cultivator—revealed themselves, queued up by rank and sect, kneeled in orderly rows, and offered formal salutations: “Greetings, Dao Sovereign.”
Just like that, all thoughts of meddling in the world behind Dao Sovereign vanished.
Qin Jingzhou saw straight through them. “The World Will of this world and I are certainly close, so deal according to Spiritual Realm rules, but don’t cross the line.”
Not just him, but the World Will behind him knew that flowers raised in a greenhouse cannot withstand storms. If they were to advance further, solid channels of exchange with the Spiritual Realm would be needed.
The World Will, through the System, sent her thanks.
Qin Jingzhou had the System reply, “You’re welcome.” He walked past the kneeling cultivators and left without looking back... He needed to pick his girlfriend up from work. Returning home with her as soon as possible—that was exactly how he felt.
He had just crossed two universes, and while only a half month had passed in the Task World, the leading Great Ascension cultivator only dared lift his head once he’d left, wiping cold sweat from his forehead—he’d truly been scared out of his wits.
As for the Evil Gods waiting outside the world—they had long fled, escaping at all costs, willing to injure their cores if needed.
Speaking of which, the Transmigration Affairs Bureau Headquarters was rather remote but not hard to find. Its outer appearance alone, powered by a whole cluster of vibrant main-sequence stars, was quite imposing, especially enhanced by the tens of thousands of Evil Gods of every shape and size that surrounded it.
The Evil Gods looked menacing but were really lining up to be slaughtered.
That’s why so few humans who cultivate are willing to walk the Evil God path—Evil Gods’ madness and stupidity tend to infect each other... In this sort of situation, any seasoned cultivator would sense something was off.
The System piped up, ever sharp, “Brother Zhou, He Jiuping is hiding over there!”
Before Qin Jingzhou could reply, a spatial rift split open at his side and Ling Jing stepped out briskly... and into his embrace.
Leaning against him, Ling Jing said, “I missed you so much.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Me too. I wanted to wrap things up as fast as I could and hurry back to you.”
After all, He Jiuping was formerly Fate’s Son. Even though he’d become an Evil God and that special status had long ago been stripped away, he still had a certain amount of spiritual intuition. In other words, his perception exceeded that of his current peers.
Suddenly, his sluggish mind began to buzz, a ceaseless roar in his head... As a halfway Evil God, he spent most of his time suppressing the original faith and will of his past. He’d grown stronger and escaped for now, but the pain was unending.
Guided by his intuition, he glanced over—and even though those two were in different forms, he recognized them at once.
After all the effort, what had he gained? Nothing but never-ending pain and ceaseless self-examination and self-doubt!
He just couldn’t stop.
He didn’t want to keep going like this, whatever the outcome. Seized by recklessness, he let out a piercing shriek, rounding up his fellows and charging straight in.
He Jiuping led the reckless charge... Ling Jing was slightly surprised. “Oh? He’s not hiding anymore?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “I’ll grant his wish.” He lifted a hand and traced a gentle arc in the air. The torrent of Evil Gods led by He Jiuping was instantly sliced in two.
Ling Jing had firsthand experience with how tough Evil God bodies were.
She’d practiced on one not long before, and most of her attack talismans could barely scratch it. If she hadn’t used her best Soul Annihilating Talisman, landing three hits in a row to obliterate its spirit, she’d have had difficulties fighting an Evil God of the same rank one-on-one.
But now, watching her boyfriend casually slice through them with a wave—she recognized the space blade, yet hers could only leave a superficial wound on an Evil God’s surface...
She hugged his arm tighter. “You’re honestly stronger than I ever imagined.”
Qin Jingzhou grinned. “Does that make you like me more?”
Ling Jing laughed too. “A little.”
The Transmigration Affairs Bureau Headquarters came alive as well. Its main gate, long sealed, suddenly swung open like a blood-red maw, swallowing every lower body of those Evil Gods Qin Jingzhou had just cleaved in half...
The rest scattered in an instant, vanishing cleanly and completely.
Ling Jing blinked, then burst out laughing again. “Headquarters gave me a long vacation—all paid!”
It was clearly the Bureau’s way of thanking Qin Jingzhou.
He said at once, “Want to come to my place?”
Ling Jing smiled sweetly. “Of course.”
Qin Jingzhou was instantly in high spirits. With a flick of his wrist, the bottomless He Jiuping was swept over—He Jiuping, still unclear what was happening, was stuffed straight into Qin Jingzhou’s sleeve-world.
Hand in hand, Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing soared through space-time, passing by their old Task Worlds. He casually tossed the still-bewildered He Jiuping back inside, adding, “Since he’s a human-turned-Evil-God, don’t send him to the Incubation Farm. Use him for research instead.”
Then he plunged straight into the Spiritual Realm.
No matter how much the Spiritual Realm staff trembled, he patiently sat outside the qualification exam hall, waiting for his girlfriend to finish.
Ling Jing had always been a top student.
Even so, when she walked out of the exam, she looked momentarily dazed. Then she threw herself at her boyfriend. “The questions were so hard! Even after all the tutoring you gave me, I barely passed! If you hadn’t tutored me, I can’t even imagine!”
Qin Jingzhou burst out in laughter. “You’ve just passed the Spiritual Realm’s Unified Talent Certification Exam.”
“Huh? No wonder it was so tough!”
Qin Jingzhou tapped her forehead. “Now you’re officially one of us—and you get assigned housing and a regular stipend.”
Ling Jing’s face instantly lit up with joy. “Wow!”
Chattering as they left the Spiritual Realm’s checkpoint, they looked up to see the sky outside filled with floating banners, all towed by flying boats. Every banner was nothing but rainbow flattery.
Ling Jing was amazed. “So this is the Spiritual Realm’s version of hand-crafted bullet comments?”