Gu Jianlin imagined, the large and small figures sitting on the rooftop, watching him leave for and return from school.

"Two peeping toms."

He couldn't help but complain.

Fortunately, when he was by himself, he hadn't done anything particularly embarrassing.

It was a strange feeling, realizing that his life had been under someone's protection from beginning to end.

Not only the ominous Old Gu, but also a beautiful girl.

Su Youzhu had been by his side for a whole eight years, without him knowing, staying near yet never coming close.

"Don't you feel bored?"

Gu Jianlin suddenly asked.

Su Youzhu shook her head gently and said in a soft voice, "Not at all. Observing someone's life from afar is quite interesting. Besides, I know that the things I've gained were originally meant to be yours."

Gu Jianlin remarked, "Don't you think he's trying to find me a child bride? Doesn't that bother you?"

Su Youzhu thought about it seriously: "That depends on who I'd be a child bride for."

This sentence carried multiple layers of meaning.

Gu Jianlin caught all of them.

"So why were you so happy the first time you met me?"

He deftly shifted the subject.

"Because I sensed that you were on the verge of awakening, and I wouldn't need to keep hiding from you anymore."

Su Youzhu pouted, "Also, it gave me a reason to have you do my homework."

Ha, women.

Gu Jianlin asked, "Did Old Gu's guide mention anything about this place?"

"Hmm."

Su Youzhu blinked her beautiful eyes and tilted her head, thinking. "He only said that this is a trap."

Gu Jianlin frowned, "A trap?"

This matched the records he'd seen in the Soul Skywell.

"The guide mentioned that the teacher always believed the Qilin Immortal Palace had a deliberate design, but that was just his profile of it, with no concrete evidence. However, ever since he returned from these Ancient Ruins, he became increasingly convinced of it."

Su Youzhu raised a fair finger and lightly tapped her red lips. "He told me that although, two thousand years ago, during that great battle, Qilin Venerable indeed lost to Candle Dragon Venerable, the Qilin Wedge was something Qilin Venerable intentionally allowed Candle Dragon Venerable to shatter."

Gu Jianlin was taken aback.

"When he first entered the Qilin Immortal Palace, the place was riddled with traps, and Qilin Venerable's Spiritual Domain was volatile to the extreme, as if it could engulf the entire Ancient God Realm into a time-space turbulence at any moment."

Su Youzhu reminded him, "At that time, he also felt like something was watching him—a being of unimaginable rank, whose presence even he couldn't detect."

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second. That was most likely Qilin Venerable, wasn't it?

"But then the teacher said that after spending some time in the Immortal Palace, he suddenly felt the volatile Spiritual Domain vanish. According to him, Qilin Venerable, for some unknown reason, changed their mind."

Su Youzhu paused for a moment. "They forcibly restrained their destructive urge."

Gu Jianlin contemplated for a moment. Based on the timeline, Qilin Venerable was still setting up the game back then.

And by the time he acquired the Qilin Mask, that Supreme being had already vanished.

Now, all the enigmas pointed back to that epic battle over two thousand years ago.

Why had Qilin Venerable orchestrated such a plan?

"Then what exactly is this cave? Why, when we're already in the Ancient God Realm, must we enter another dimensional space? And why is the Qilin Wedge here?"

Gu Jianlin frowned as he asked.

"To be honest, the so-called Wedge is the core of a world condensed after an Ancient Supreme devours it. Every Ancient Supreme possesses the power to destroy or create an entire planet. The Wedge is born from them, and no one can take it away. Even if the Supreme sleeps, the Wedge will not leave the Ancient God Realm."

Su Youzhu thought for a moment. "Do you think it's possible that someone hid the Wedge here?"

Gu Jianlin was startled.

Who would hide the fragments of the Wedge here?

And also possess the ability to manipulate time and space.

He directed his gaze toward the scarlet patterns in the cave, narrowing his eyes: "Candle Dragon Venerable?"

Su Youzhu agreed with his conjecture. "It's possible that this space was created by Candle Dragon Venerable."

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a moment before reaching out to touch the scarlet patterns.

Cold and rough.

The moment he touched them, countless violent, crisscrossing fissures seemed to flash before his eyes.

At the same time, the Black Qilin in his mind opened its golden vertical pupils slightly.

Gu Jianlin felt his brain igniting.

He utilized the spirit of the Ancient God, delving into a profound profile!

Bang!

In that instant, fragmented, chaotic images surged in his mind.

Waves crashing against the sky.

Black clouds burning with fiery-red molten lava.

The dark Sky Dome seemed to be torn in two.

The ocean floor split apart, with a trench so deep it resembled an abyss.

A man wearing the Black Jade Qilin Mask plunged into the abyss, a sinister and eerie smile on his face.

A slender black Iron Sword, resembling a scepter, was torn apart by countless intersecting fissures.

Shattered to pieces!

Thunderous dragon roars reverberated across the heavens and earth.

A breathtakingly elegant woman hovered above the clouds, gazing indifferently downward.

At that moment, a blazing Fire Qilin soared into the sky, forcibly consuming the shattered fragments of the Iron Sword!

Crash!

The stunning woman cast a glance, and the heavens crumbled.

The dimension where the Fire Qilin resided shattered like a mirror!

Burning blood rained down like a torrential storm!

Crash!

In just a brief moment, Gu Jianlin was drenched in cold sweat, his face deathly pale.