Qinglong’s voice echoed leisurely through the room, yet Tianlong remained asleep.

His breathing was steady, his face peaceful, as if he were experiencing an extremely beautiful dream.

Qinglong waited for a moment. Seeing that the person on the throne had no reaction, he silently turned his head back and waved his hand toward the thick tree behind him.

A moderate rain fell from above the thick tree, moistening the dry soil on the ground.

“You wouldn’t… want to have ‘Heavenly-Serpent’ make a move, would you?”

Qinglong murmured to the tree, “What matter makes us so anxious?”

Behind him, Tianlong’s breathing continued rhythmically, his face as calm as ever.

Qinglong raised his head to look at the thick tree before him. The verdant leaves were all full and oval-shaped, with smooth, reflective surfaces and edges lined with fine serrations.

He stared at the dense leaves for a long while, but his brows furrowed slightly, sensing something unusual.

He gently waved his hand, and the sturdy branches began to gently part to either side. Countless leaves, like clouds parting to reveal the sun, moved aside.

At the very center of the dense tree’s canopy, an unusual sight seemed to appear.

Qinglong’s eyes slowly widened as he walked forward step by step.

Deep within the twisted and gnarled branches, in a corner obscured by dense foliage, hung a small fruit that had just formed.

The fruit was entirely emerald green, wrapped in leaves, teardrop-shaped, and slowly developing.

“It worked… we succeeded…” Qinglong said tremblingly. “Even in this land of bitter despair… as long as the heart is sincere enough… it’s still possible to grow fruit…”

He turned his head back to look at Tianlong with a strange expression on his face. “Tian… did you see? This place can be cultivated… we’re truly going to have a world! They all say this is a hopeless human purgatory… but we are far more magnificent than ‘purgatory’—we’re going to have a world!”

Tianlong still didn’t open his eyes, his breathing steady.

“Ha… haha…” Qinglong’s expression gradually filled with despair. “A fruit tree planted for seventy years… has only just barely produced its first real fruit… why didn’t it come sooner?”

Seeing that no one responded to him, Qinglong turned his head back and reached out his hand to carefully explore around the fruit.

As if afraid of damaging the fruit, he only dared to cup his hands around it in the air.

“This wasn’t formed using ‘immortal techniques’… it’s completely different from last time! It didn’t use ‘Wild Growth’, ‘Soul Migration’, ‘Original Object’, ‘Plant Object’, or ‘Ingenious Object’… It’s a natural product of heaven and earth after planting a seed and watering it!” Qinglong called out hoarsely. “This is a gift from the Heavenly Dao… it’s something different from everything here!”

Qinglong looked around in bewilderment and mania, as if wanting to find someone to share his current joy with, but the enormous room was empty except for the sleeping Tianlong.

“You don’t understand… how could you possibly understand…” Qinglong turned his head back as if in a daze, looking at that tiny fruit. “For the first time in seventy years, a new living being has appeared in this place… It has nothing to do with any ‘immortal technique’, but was nurtured by the natural great Dao between heaven and earth… It doesn’t carry the scent of ‘Peach Blossom Spring’—it won’t disappear even if it leaves this place… How wonderful…”

Qinglong’s hands kept approaching the fruit, yet he never dared to touch it.

“How wonderful… if one fruit can be grown, then we can have ten thousand trees…” Qinglong smiled bitterly through his tears. “Why didn’t you appear sooner…?”

Qinglong slowly withdrew his hand, then lowered his head, his expression extremely despondent.

“Now that we’re all about to give up, you appear…”

He stood there for a long time before finally calming down again. Then, collecting his emotions, he slowly turned around and walked toward the iron door.

‘Heavenly-Serpent’ wasn’t in his seat. If the ‘Heavenly-Serpent Moment’ had truly been activated, it would mean that all-out war had begun, and even wanting to turn back would be too late.

If he could intercept him, perhaps they could still deliberate further.

Qinglong opened the iron door from inside, only to suddenly discover a woman standing there. This person had a dark and handsome face, and a tall, strong build—almost as tall as Qinglong himself.

Seeing this person standing outside the door, Qinglong’s brow instantly furrowed, confusion appearing on his face.

“I’m sorry.” The woman hurriedly bowed her head. “I just heard what sounded like someone talking in the room… so I was worried and came to check…”

“Worried…?” Qinglong’s gaze gradually turned cold. “You’re outside this room, worried that Tianlong and I might encounter danger…?”

“Yes, yes.” The woman said again. “Why… why are you looking at me with that expression?”

Qinglong’s eyes remained filled with doubt. It was unfortunate that his mind had just been disturbed by the appearance of that fruit; otherwise, it would have been impossible not to hear someone appearing at the door.

“But shouldn’t you be asleep?” Qinglong felt this matter had become interesting. “You knew I came in a long time ago?”

“How could that be…” The woman took a step back. “You’re overthinking… I just woke up…”

“It’s neither nighttime nor a new cycle, yet you woke up.” Qinglong said. “Is the dream he granted you no longer beautiful?”

Only then did the woman realize that Qinglong was very angry. She hurriedly lowered her head deeply.

Qinglong pursed his lips and walked out the door. He turned back to lock the iron door, then asked in a deep voice, “When did he send you a message?”

“There’s… there’s no such thing…” The woman shook her head. “You’re really overthinking…”

“‘Heavenly-Ox’… I advise you not to provoke me further.” Qinglong said. “What exactly is he planning?”

“I… I…”

“Did he send you to monitor me?”

Qinglong walked forward step by step, while Heavenly-Ox retreated again and again.

Seeing Heavenly-Ox remain silent, Qinglong asked again, “Where did ‘Heavenly-Serpent’ go? Have you all seen Tianlong in your dreams?”

“Yes…” Heavenly-Ox answered. “The ‘Heavenly-Serpent Moment’ will begin in a few minutes…”

“What’s the purpose?” Qinglong continued. “If it’s just ordinary killing, why would a ‘Heavenly-level Moment’ be necessary?”

“I don’t know…” Heavenly-Ox answered. “I don’t even know if our purpose is really to kill people. In any case, we’re to take turns activating ‘Heavenly-level Moments’ according to his instructions…”

After hearing this, Qinglong narrowed his eyes and looked at the other party, feeling that this indeed didn’t seem like a ‘Great Reshuffle’, but rather like a trial.

“Are you actually helping Qi Xia…?” Qinglong’s eyes suddenly widened. “Have you given up even more thoroughly than I have…?”

“Qinglong…” Heavenly-Ox called out again. “We don’t know what exactly happened between you two… but now that things have reached this point, we can only hope that everything that happens won’t implicate us…”

After hearing this, Qinglong pondered silently for a moment, then nodded his head.