Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Soon, the two of them progressed from the inner perimeter to the core area.

Along the way, they encountered multiple spirit beasts or accidentally intruded upon some of their nests.

Of course, some spirit beasts attacked them, but in combat... Qin Zhou was hardly needed.

After all, Qin Zhou had Windswallow.

Windswallow usually consumed quite a lot, and Qin Zhou had put effort into enhancing its nourishment. Ever since discovering that it could dominate the Ninebee Queen in combat, Qin Zhou had further improved Windswallow’s diet—from allowing unlimited consumption of first-grade elixirs to now second-grade elixirs.

Windswallow would gladly have Qin Zhou summon it every day.

Thus, under Windswallow’s protection, the two of them reached the border of the barrier—the gateway to the Upper Realm—in just half a day.

Yet, the moment they officially stepped into the Upper Realm, Qin Zhou was stunned by the deluge of spiritual energy.

It felt like someone who had grown accustomed to living in the smog of a city suddenly arriving in the countryside, only to be overwhelmed by pristine, fresh air.

Wen Jue: *At last, I feel alive again.*

His cultivation was high, and the spiritual energy needed merely to sustain his cultivation was immense.

Qin Zhou watched as all the surrounding spiritual energy surged toward Wen Jue. Within moments, the spiritual energy within several miles was entirely absorbed by him.

"...What?" Wen Jue averted his gaze.

Qin Zhou shook his head, "What realm have you reached now?"

Wen Jue was startled, "Why ask that? There are two taboos in the cultivation world—someone’s realm and their age."

Qin Zhou: "I thought we were beyond such formalities."

Wen Jue went utterly quiet.

The sound of the wind whistling past only emphasized the silence between them.

*Not yet bound by intimacy either.* Wen Jue studied the ground at his feet. At the very least, he wasn’t ready to tell Qin Zhou everything yet.

There was still a weight in his heart.

That weight had been coiled inside him for thousands of years. Even with Qin Zhou’s return, it remained taut.

After all... he'd been left behind for thousands of years.

*"Current affection level of ‘Wen Jue’ toward you: 89"*

*"Current affection level of ‘Wen Jue’ toward you: 88"*

*"Current affection level of ‘Wen Jue’ toward you: 87"*

Watching Wen Jue’s affection level tick downward in real time, Qin Zhou seized his wrist suddenly.

Wen Jue lifted his gaze in question.

"Forget I asked." Qin Zhou’s voice held quiet resolve.

He thought that even if Wen Jue didn't want to answer, he would at least make up some excuse to brush him off. But unexpectedly, the moment they disagreed, the affection points dropped.

Even Qin Zhou couldn't react in time.

"Eat."

Wen Jue was stunned by the candied fruit skewers that Qin Zhou suddenly pulled out from the Qiankun Bag. "Why are you suddenly giving me candied fruit?"

"To boost it back up."

"Huh?"

Qin Zhou's expression was serious. "Never mind, just eat it."

Wen Jue: "... This is weird."

But, candied fruit.

Wen Jue didn't need asking twice. "Well, if you insist." He grabbed two sticks, and seeing Qin Zhou didn't react, he took one more.

Qin Zhou nodded and put the rest back.

According to the previous game system settings, combined with Lu Yi's love for sweets, one stick of candied fruit could raise affection points by about 1 point. Of course, it wasn't a system now.

So Qin Zhou wasn't sure if three sticks could boost it back up.

"Current affection points of 'Wen Jue' towards you: 90"

Qin Zhou thought to himself.

Just as he thought, no difference between Lu Yi in the game system and Lu Yi in reality.

"Want another?" Qin Zhou took out another stick.

Wen Jue shook his head. He thought Qin Zhou was being weird—he'd been the one warning against overeating.

Qin Zhou put it back.

Thinking, indeed. Once affection points were above 90, candied fruit could no longer be used as an item to raise affection points.

Qin Zhou had dealt with this before.

Villagers maxed out at 80. Whether Lu Er or Lu Qi—same deal. Everyone's relationship meter capped at 80.

Lu Yi had started at 80 himself.

But Lu Yi was the only one who pushed past the 80-point ceiling.

Qin Zhou recalled how Lu Yi's affection points broke through 80. It was right around when he gave Lu Yi the Moonlit Snow pin.

At the time, Qin Zhou had been thrilled to discover—the Moonlit Snow pin wasn't just an item with S-tier stats, it also had a secret bonus of raising affection points.

Turned out he'd been wrong.

It wasn't that affection points hit a wall.

It was that relationships only went so far. When a relationship leveled up, the affection cap would also rise accordingly.

The relationship between the village chief and the villagers, like that of a teacher and father, had a cap of eighty—it couldn’t go higher. It was a line drawn by discipline and respect.

To cross that boundary would mean they could no longer address each other as 'father and son.'

Thinking back now...

That Lu Yi, who had shouted in disbelief, "How could you give me a hairpin?! No, how could you give me a hairpin!" must have experienced a huge internal struggle.

The fact that he hadn’t thrown the hairpin back in Qin Zhou’s face was, in Qin Zhou’s current view, already more than generous.

And now, Moonlit Snow still sat in his hair, shimmering with a moonlit glow. A ninety favorability rating meant their relationship could no longer be that of an ordinary village chief and villager.

Having suddenly realized all this, even Qin Zhou was stumped on how to respond.

"Wen Jue."

Wen Jue turned his head, still munching on the candied hawthorn stick. "Hmm?"

Qin Zhou froze. For a moment, the white-robed youth before him seemed to overlap with the young man from the game.

His heart softened a little.

If he could see his own favorability toward Wen Jue, he thought, it might well exceed eighty.

For some reason, Qin Zhou felt a sudden urge.

"After we find the forging hammer, how about I make you a set of jewelry? To thank you for always having my back."

Wen Jue was surprised. "Jewelry? An entire set?"

"It’s a tradition where I’m from. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, pendants, and rings. All golden."

"Your traditions are pretty intense." Wen Jue could only marvel. If each piece matched the quality of the hairpin he wore, this 'tradition' was indeed lavish.

Qin Zhou smiled. "Only you will have them. Do you want them?"

"This lord does like exclusive things. Since you’re so sincere, of course I’ll accept." Wen Jue accepted right away.

Qin Zhou: "Yeah."

He thought, *You said you wanted it.*

......

The Upper Realm had cities too, and the one closest to its entrance was called Boundary City.

Boundary City was lively, packed with good-looking people.

People got around in all sorts of ways—various mounts or riding on artifacts. There were no horse-drawn carriages in sight—only huge carriages pulled by beasts occasionally passing through the wide streets.

Some zipped past as streaks of light, while others strolled leisurely, chatting as they shopped.

In short, Boundary City was way livelier than Qin Zhou expected.

Qin Zhou and Wen Jue planned to find a place to stay in the city.

Even though those at the Golden Core stage no longer needed rest, they still required a quiet room for meditation.

The moment they stepped into the inn, Qin Zhou saw the main room crowded with people.

The cultivators wore diverse attire, some plain and others intricate, with colors differing widely.

All the tables in the hall were fully occupied, and since there weren't enough, the innkeeper had even added a few extra tables on the spot.

Qin Zhou walked straight to the counter.

Even the proprietress running the place was a cultivator whose cultivation level Qin Zhou couldn’t discern.

After explaining why they'd come, the proprietress sized up Qin Zhou and Wen Jue. "Lucky you, there’s only one room left. Come any later and it would’ve been gone. Do you want it? Eight hundred spirit stones per night."

One room.

Eight hundred?

It would take selling loads of pills to earn eight hundred spirit stones.

Qin Zhou had clearly realized the proprietress was ripping him off.

Just as Qin Zhou was about to speak, Wen Jue said, "We’ll take it."

The proprietress smiled, ducking down to grab the room token. As she did, she remarked to Wen Jue, "Good choice. You, as his guide, should really explain things to your little friend here. From the look in his eyes, he seems to think my inn is some scam joint."

Little friend?

Qin Zhou?

Wen Jue wanted to laugh, but considering Qin Zhou, who had just arrived in the Upper Realm, was just a Golden Core cultivator, in their eyes, he truly was a "little friend." And he himself was likely seen as the "guide" who had come to escort Qin Zhou.

"With the secret realm opening soon, every decent inn in Boundary City is packed solid. Those who come any later will be sleeping in the streets." Unable to gauge Wen Jue’s cultivation level, the proprietress spoke respectfully, adding, "I suggest you take your little friend farther away before the real crowds hit. Once the secret realm arrives, if things turn ugly, people could die—"

Before she could finish, Wen Jue cut her off. "The room token."

Seeing his displeasure, the proprietress awkwardly handed over the token.

Qin Zhou promptly forked over eight hundred spirit stones.

Fortunately, before coming to the Upper Realm, he had sold a batch of pills at the Snowflake Pavilion.

The moment the proprietress saw Qin Zhou paying, her expression changed instantly. "I spoke out of turn earlier—my mistake, Senior. Please forgive me."

Qin Zhou said nothing, just nodded and took the token, heading upstairs with Wen Jue.

...

"Don’t you have any questions about the Upper Realm?" Closing the door, Wen Jue raised a hand, and a barrier sealed the room.

"For example, why the proprietress suddenly switched from calling you ‘little friend’ to ‘Senior.’" Wen Jue settled into a cross-legged position, smiling.

Qin Zhou: "I came from the Lower Realm. Compared to the Cultivators here who regularly live for millennia, I am indeed a ‘little friend.’”

Wen Jue didn’t respond, but inwardly, he thought wryly. By any measure?

Only he knew that this so-called "little friend" from the Lower Realm was already ten thousand years old! A veritable "old man"!

"What does ‘guide’ mean?" Qin Zhou asked.

"Plenty of Lower Realm sects have ties with those in the Upper Realm, such as the Thousand Mystic Sect and the Tianxing Sect. Even without sect ties, Upper Realm cultivators usually have family roots in the Lower Realm. Whoever meets new disciples or relatives from the Lower Realm arriving at the Upper Realm’s entrance in Boundary City are called guides."

Wen Jue: "As for why the proprietress did a complete about-face with you and called you ‘Senior,’ it’s because you whipped out eight hundred spirit stones without a second thought. Think about it—how many newly arrived Golden Core cultivators from the Lower Realm could do that?"

Wen Jue thought of Qin Zhou's expressionless face and could only sigh. Was this guy just loaded, or did he not get how valuable spirit stones were?

"You have spirit stones, but she saw you were only at the Golden Core stage, so naturally, she assumed you were some hidden expert masking their true power."

Qin Zhou nodded.

"At least she’s got some sense," Wen Jue scoffed lightly. He couldn’t stand people underestimating Qin Zhou. Even if it was a mix-up, a bit more respect wouldn’t hurt.

"What is this secret realm?" Qin Zhou suddenly asked.

Wen Jue played it cool. "Just an ordinary secret realm. These Cultivators have nothing better to do—they swarm wherever the action is." He coughed lightly. "You're only at the Golden Core stage now, not yet meeting the threshold to enter. Better stay out of it."

"Alright," Qin Zhou agreed.

Qin Zhou didn’t know much about secret realms, but he knew Wen Jue well. Whenever he lied, he grew nervous and fidgeted.

So, this secret realm...

Now he kinda wanted to check it out.