One year later.

"Old man, which direction is the Qilian Mountains?"

In front of the village where smoke was curling up, a figure wearing a bamboo hat stopped an old man and asked politely.

The old man was wearing a coarse linen shirt, his shoulders were bent by the heavy carrying pole, and he was tanned. He looked at the strange boy in front of him curiously.

"Where are you from, young man?"

"I'm from Chang'an."

"Chang'an?" The old man looked him over. "The other side of Qilian Mountain is the Xiongnu border. What are you going to do alone?"

"Don't do anything, I'll just go and take a look."

"It's better not to go there. Hun spies appear from time to time. Be careful and you might lose your life!"

The boy smiled and said nothing.

"In that direction, walk another twenty miles and you will see the mountains." Finally, the old man pointed out a way.

The young man thanked the old man, pulled his hat down a little, and walked straight towards the Qilian Mountains.

The old man looked at the young man's departing back strangely, shook his head, and was about to go home, but he was suddenly stunned.

"Strange... why is this shoulder pole not heavy anymore?"

He carefully checked the things in the front and back baskets, and they were all still there. However, the shoulder pole on his shoulder felt like it had no weight at all, like a feather.

The old man muttered to himself, but still picked up the weightless shoulder pole and hurried home.

Without the weight of the shoulder pole, he walked very fast and soon reached his home five miles away. Only when he stepped into the house did the weight of the shoulder pole return to him and fall heavily to the ground.

"Hey, it's really a ghost." The old man muttered to himself.

at the same time,

Wuquan, several miles away, slowly withdrew his index finger from his sleeve.

“The scope of [Dominating the Emperor] has expanded a lot... but it’s still a long way from the Marquis in his heyday.” He sighed lightly and continued walking towards the Qilian Mountains.

The breeze blew up the veil on the hat, revealing a young boy's face, which was very different from a year ago.

Young people grow the fastest, changing every year. In this year, Wuquan has traveled across half of the country. His skin has become darker due to the wind and sun, but he has also grown a lot taller and is now almost as tall as Lin Qiye.

There was a touch of determination and vicissitudes between his brows, and his eyes were extremely deep. He didn't look like a boy of sixteen or seventeen at all.

After walking for a while in the direction the old man pointed, he saw the long Qilian Mountains. After stopping to admire them for a moment, he set off again and walked straight into the mountains.

It is spring now, but the Qilian Mountains are still as cold as winter. Wuquan is wearing thin clothes that are wet with dew, but he seems not to feel the cold at all. He keeps moving forward along the rugged mountain road at a brisk pace.

Along the way, when he was thirsty he drank mountain dew, and when he was hungry he picked wild fruits in the forest. During the whole process, he did not use any mental energy at all, and relied purely on his physical body to move, like an agile savage. If you look closely, you will find that there is occasionally a hint of red flowing under his skin.

Finally, before the sun set, he reached the top of one of the mountains.

In the dim setting sun, two figures, one green and one blue, were already sitting on the boulder. When they saw him climb up here, the corners of their mouths slightly raised.

“You’re finally here.”

"Brother Qiye?!" Wuquan was stunned at first when he saw the familiar face, and then he said in surprise, "You knew I was coming here?"

"A few days ago, I received a tip from the Suppression of Evils sent by Gong Yangwan, saying that you left from Langjuxu Mountain and headed east. You also said that you wanted to follow the footsteps of the Marquis. There are not many places where the Marquis defeated the Xiongnu, so I could guess that you were going to come here."

He looked over Wuquan carefully, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"You actually made a breakthrough?"

Wuquan smiled.

"When did you break through?"

"Just a few days ago, on Mount Langjuxu." Wuquan looked at the gradually surging sea of ​​clouds in the distance and said slowly, "I have been walking in the human world for a year, and I have seen a lot of suffering and have deep feelings... A few days ago, I climbed the place where the Marquis held the heaven sacrifice ceremony, and suddenly my heart was touched. I sat there and waited for seven days... When I came to my senses, I had broken through the 'heart barrier'."

Lin Qiye nodded, "No wonder..."

Although Wuquan's past was bumpy, it was ultimately narrow. From the Hanshan Orphanage to the fasting home, he always lingered in that corner. Seeing those few people, his mind was naturally not broad enough... This year's experience in the world can be said to have directly opened up his vision and aspirations. After accumulation and precipitation, he broke through the "barrier" in his heart in one fell swoop in the place where Fenglangjuxu was located.

“It seems that the body-building method that the Marquis taught you has also achieved some success.” Lin Qiye looked at the luster on Wuquan’s skin and nodded in praise.

"Brother Qiye, you came to see me...is it because the time has come?"

Wuquan asked tentatively.

“That’s right.” Lin Qiye’s expression was a little complicated. “Your life span is limited, so you shouldn’t delay it any longer… Now that you have broken through the human ceiling, all the causes and consequences of this era have been resolved. Next, it’s time to return to our era.”

Lin Qiye stretched out his hand to his waist, and the Donghuang Bell swelled in the wind and fell heavily on the top of the Qilian Mountain. Mysterious runes flowed on the surface of the bronze bell, exuding an ancient and grand atmosphere.

Wu Quan looked at the ancient bell in front of him, clenched his fists tightly, and expectation appeared in his eyes.

"Can we finally go back?"

"The Donghuang Bell will suppress your time, so you won't notice the passage of time... When the Donghuang Bell rings again, you will be automatically unsealed. Only then will this game of chess truly begin."

Wu Quan nodded, walked to the Donghuang Bell, and looked back at Lin Qiye:

"Brother Qiye, we'll meet again in two thousand years."

"Um."

Lin Qiye smiled slightly, raised his hand, and the heavy Donghuang Bell emitted a ray of light, directly covering Wuquan. When the light faded, his figure had disappeared.

As Lin Qiye took a step forward, the mountain under the Donghuang Bell shook violently, and a crack appeared instantly, trapping the bell in it. Huge rocks rolled on the ground, and after a moment, they completely submerged the crack.

The dust in the sky gradually settled, and the shadow of the Donghuang Bell was no longer seen on the Qilian Mountains.

"Two thousand years... Alas." Lin Qiye looked around. Above the sea of ​​clouds, the setting sun gradually sank into darkness and disappeared without a trace.

“I wonder what the situation here will be like two thousand years from now.”

Lin Qiye shook his head, reached out and held Jia Lan's hand, and said softly: "Let's go."

"Yeah." A blush appeared on Galan's cheeks, but he did not resist.

Two figures, one green and one blue, gradually disappeared into the darkness.