"You're saying that this world must be much larger than it is today?"

Lin Jiufeng asked Miss Hong.

Miss Hong nodded. "Yes…"

"Have you ever read those ancient, absurd books that are like the imagination of a lunatic?"

Lin Jiufeng was stunned.

He had read them before!

In the royal library, there were a few of such books.

But without exception, it was labeled by people from various eras as the product of absurdity and imagination.

Lin Jiufeng recalled the contents of those books.

He couldn't believe them either.

Those books said that the world was much larger than it was today, at least a few thousand times larger.

They also said that originally, the people from this world could directly enter the immortal world.

The peak strength an individual could reach in the mortal realm was immortal.

The books also mentioned that there were hundreds of races in this world.

There was a gate connected to hell, and there was also a Dragon Island full of divine beasts.

The books also said—

The more Lin Jiufeng recalled, the more serious his expression became.

"Are the records in those absurd books true?" Lin Jiufeng asked Miss Hong.

Miss Hong shook her head. "I don't know if it's true."

"How come you were so confident just now?" Lin Jiufeng frowned.

"I swore solemnly just now that I believe that the world has shrunk. But I was only born thousands of years ago. Then not long after I was born, I was sealed in preparation for the arrival of the brand-new era…"

"How would I know if what was written in those books are real or not?" Miss Hong explained.

Lin Jiufeng understood what Miss Hong meant.

He asked, "Since you are so sure that this world has shrunk, prove it."

"Your cultivation base is high, don't you feel that it's especially obvious that the recovery rate of the world's spiritual energy has slowed down compared to decades ago?" Miss Hong asked.

"Yes." Lin Jiufeng nodded. He had sensed these changes a long time ago. In fact, it was because of it that he chose to release Demon King Jiao. He wanted to help the monster race in their development to bolster the recovery rate of the world's spiritual energy.

But Lin Jiufeng had no idea if his method would even be successful.

"Do you know why?" Miss Hong asked Lin Jiufeng with a smile.

"Miss Hong, please enlighten me."

Lin Jiufeng asked shamelessly. He wanted to clarify this matter today.

"You know that the recovery and decline of the world's spiritual energy is like a cycle right? But the question is—where does the spiritual energy of the world go when it has reached the 'decline' phase in the cycle?"

"And when the recovery starts, where does the spiritual energy come from?"

Miss Hong's slender hand grabbed, and a wisp of spiritual energy materialized in her hand.

"The spiritual energy of the world can't just disappear into thin air, am I right?"

Lin Jiufeng frowned.

"So are you saying that the spiritual energy might've gone into the other worlds?"

Miss Hong nodded and explained even further. "According to the investigations of generations of seniors in our Heavenly Dao Sect, the first spiritual energy decline began 15,000 years ago."

"Thousands of years later, the spiritual energy recovered, then the decline and recovery happened three times in total. As for the people from 15,000 years ago, they are long dead. The books from that time that still exist today can probably be counted with one hand. Considering the scale of the world back then, the people of today would probably consider those books absurd."

"Whenever we face history, we've always maintained a skeptical attitude. That's why everyone never believed in those books. Instead, they believe that the decline and recovery cycle had always existed since time immemorial."

"Because everyone from 15,000 years ago is already dead. It has become clear that no one can live past 15,000 years, except for immortals," Miss Hong said slowly.

"Speaking of immortals, The Quan Zhen Sect produced an immortal!"

Lin Jiufeng thought of this.

"Moreover, they came from the previous era. They also claim to be a Great Dao sect…"

Lin Jiufeng fell into deep contemplation.

Miss Hong looked at Lin Jiufeng and smiled meaningfully.

She asked, "Do you know what realms are beyond the Boundless Realm?"

Lin Jiufeng looked at Miss Hong and said, "I only know about the King Realm."

Miss Hong nodded. "That's right. There are 33 steps in the Boundless Realm. After crossing these steps, one will arrive at the King Realm."

"But what about after the King Realm?"

"You have no idea, am I right?"

Miss Hong asked.

Lin Jiufeng shook his head and looked at Miss Hong.

"After the King Realm is the Spirit Platform Realm."

"After the Spirit Platform is Void Returning."

"After Void Returning is False Immortal!"

"The immortal from Quan Zhen Sect that you mentioned managed to reach the False Immortal Realm."

"Being a False Immortal expert in this current world is already something unimaginable…"

"That is why the Quan Zhen Sect claimed that they were a sect that is qualified to preach about the Great Dao. But that False Immortal of theirs isn't a True Immortal."

"The gap between a False Immortal and a True Immortal is huge. There is also a huge difference in strength when going to the second stage of the False Immortal Realm from the first. The difference between the strong and the weak in the False Immortal Realm is the same as the difference between the clouds and mud…"

"Do you understand now?"

Perhaps she wanted to repay Lin Jiufeng for saving her life, or perhaps she had other thoughts.

Miss Hong's explanation to Lin Jiufeng was oddly detailed.

Lin Jiufeng and the white cat became obedient students.

As they listened to Miss Hong talk, the way they viewed the world instantly changed.

"I see." Lin Jiufeng nodded.

"In the oasis just now, did you hear what the leader of the Eighteen Bandits of the Northwest said?" Miss Hong asked Lin Jiufeng.

Lin Jiufeng nodded.

He heard it.

"A powerhouse from the Heavenly Dao Sect came to the Northwest Territory and fought with an immortal. After their fight, the Mountain Sea Realm appeared."

"That person from the Heavenly Dao Sect is my Uncle-Master…"

"He's at the False Immortal Realm, and that immortal is also a False Immortal expert."

"The two of them fought because they discovered that a forgotten world had appeared in the Northwest Territory. One wanted to break through the door of that world, while the other wanted to stop him, so they fought…"

"No one knows whether they are still alive today," Miss Hong said.

"Why stop that False Immortal?" Lin Jiufeng asked quizzically.

"Because that was at the end of the previous era. The spiritual energy in the world had already declined so much that opening the doors to a hidden world would have unimaginable consequences to our world…"

Miss Hong took a deep breath and continued. "By consequences, what I meant is that the world will become a bloody world with rivers of blood and corpses flowing everywhere."

Lin Jiufeng nodded.

"In that case, when can we open that hidden world?" Lin Jiufeng asked.

"Soon…" Miss Hong smiled.

"When the world's spiritual energy has reached its peak, we will open the seal on those hidden worlds. We will then be able to see the original appearance of the Xuanhuang Great World."

"You established the Heavenly Dao Sect in the Northwest Territory because you want to open up that hidden world?" Lin Jiufeng directly asked.

"Yes." Miss Hong nodded.

"I'm the only member of the Heavenly Dao Sect in this world. Since I am alone, there is no way that I can stop the many experts of the world from coming into being. Considering that, I might as well go with the will of the heavens."

"I will unseal that hidden world and let the experts of this brand-new era compete for it. At the same time, I can use the commotion created by their battles to rescue the members of my Heavenly Dao Sect." Miss Hong didn't hide her true motives.

The reason why she was the only member of the Heavenly Dao Sect in this brand-new era was that everyone else from the sect entered that hidden world to rescue their Uncle-Master. For some reason, they were trapped inside and were still unable to escape until now.

"Have you tried opening that hidden world at the least?" Lin Jiufeng asked.

"No…" Miss Hong shook her head. "I don't have the key to unlocking it. I'm also currently too weak to open that door." Miss Hong shook her head.

"I see. What about this then?" Lin Jiufeng slowly raised his hand.

"Is this the key?"

A key appeared in his palm.