After the Divine Dragon Elder spoke of his grievances, every face present underwent a dramatic change. At that moment, they finally understood one crucial thing: no wonder the texts left behind by the previous generations of the Divine Path were so vague.

The artifacts and Frost Armor outside Ice Island were not meant to bar their entry, but rather to weed out those who lacked sufficient strength.

However, those revered predecessors had not anticipated that the ambient Heavenly and Earthly Energy in the outside world had dwindled to such a severe degree. Thus, setting the requirement based on the strength standards of the Divine Path practitioners meant that no one could possibly pass the trials.

If Yuan Lixun had not gained the recognition of the Glacial Mirror, coupled with He Yiming—that monstrous anomaly—and his incredible puppet capable of wielding the might of Heaven and Earth, it was likely no one would have ever breached those defenses.

“Why, why is it like this…” Liu Changju murmured to himself.

Bai Lingba glanced at him and replied, “Your Divine Path predecessors mastered the power of space, and they simultaneously discovered a specific location where a spatial passage could be opened. So, they gathered every creature capable of releasing spatial power. Under their combined efforts, they actually managed to tear this space open.” He paused here. “The individual power of living beings being capable of achieving something as monumental as opening a spatial passage—this is an entirely new field of study.”

He Yiming angrily rolled his eyes; this fellow was once again speaking in riddles that nobody could comprehend.

Fortunately, Bai Lingba did not stray into abstraction for too long this time. He continued, “But alas, your predecessors miscalculated the destination. After they opened the passage, they discovered that the place was not a land of life, but a terrifying realm of death teeming with undead creatures. Though their calculations and execution were quite primitive and flawed, fortunately, they managed to seal the passage, preventing those deathly entities from spilling into your world. Otherwise, five thousand years ago, your world would have vanished forever.”

A chill crept into everyone’s hearts. Although they had yet to witness such terrifying beings, anything receiving such a grim appraisal from the Great Dragon could not possibly be mundane.

“Why can’t this passage be closed?” Yuan Lixun inquired.

This was a critical question; if the passage could be sealed, all their problems would be resolved instantly.

“Because this is no ordinary passage; it is a mutated spacetime channel,” Bai Lingba’s voice was cold, profoundly cold. “When both ends of the passage open, the flow of time is synchronized. But once closed, a time differential of roughly tenfold emerges. That is why they remained here for five centuries, while the other side experienced five millennia.”

At this point, Bai Lingba stopped again and projected his voice, asking loudly, “How exactly did you open the spacetime passage back then? This is the most mysterious type of spatial passage, with a success rate of less than one in a billion for opening.”

The Dragon remained silent for a long time. Just as everyone assumed it would not answer, the rumbling voice sounded again: “We simply pooled the spatial power of every human and beast present. We struck that single point with our full might, and the passage appeared.”

Bai Lingba slowly shook his head, and upon hearing this answer, the crowd was utterly speechless.

This one-in-a-billion chance—it had materialized in such a haphazard manner. Yet, at the end of this passage lurked nightmares of terrifying biological horrors.

The predecessors who succeeded in opening this passage back then must have been exceedingly disheartened.

“The Heavenly and Earthly Energy in your world is a unique form of energy. Normally, all of it is used to mend and seal this passage. Only during the brief period when the passage materializes is a portion of that energy restored. However, this duration is never long, and it’s impossible for the external reserves to recover to their peak level. After one year when the passage vanishes, the energy deficiency will quickly return,” Bai Lingba delivered his final explanation, then firmly closed his mouth, refusing to speak further.

The group exchanged glances, their expressions tinged with bitterness. They finally understood the whole truth: all this calamity stemmed from the actions of the ancient human cultivators of the Divine Path and the Divine Beasts. They sought to open a spatial passage to some desired location, but they opened the wrong door. Worse yet, behind that door resided terrifying lifeforms capable of devouring everything.

After a long stretch of silence, the Dragon’s voice resonated once more: “Each time the deathly creatures emerge, the number of their strongest individuals increases. Our forces have suffered heavy casualties and require replenishment with new blood. You peak cultivators of the Human Path shall remain here, advance to the Divine Path, and resist alongside us. As for that young lady, you will take all the Sacred Beasts and return. Inform every sect and faction in both the Eastern and Western worlds: every hundred years… no, every thousand years, they are to gather all peak Human Path experts and have them await the opening of Ice Island. I will weaken the sealing power. As long as human powerhouses at the Human Path peak and top-tier Divine Beasts possessing Sacred Beast lineage arrive here, they will be granted direct entry.”

“No…” Yuan Lixun rejected the notion without hesitation. “I am not leaving.”

She tightly gripped He Yiming’s hand, the white light emanating from her body surging continuously, subtly pulling at the light of the divine artifact, the Glacial Mirror.

“Your staying here is useless,” the Dragon’s voice carried a hint of anger at being contradicted. “Only those at the peak of the Human Path can advance to the Divine Path in this short period. Your Martial Dao cultivation is too low; if you remain, you will only become a burden to others.”

Yuan Lixun’s face drained of all color. She lightly bit her lower lip, the words echoing relentlessly in her mind.

Burden others…

Was this her destiny, a fate sealed and unchangeable?

She had left He Yiming, endured countless hardships within the Ice Palace, to reach the level of a Five Qi Grand Venerable in just a few short years. When Ice Island appeared, she recklessly stepped forward, diverting the light of the Glacial Mirror.

Everything she did was so that she would no longer be a burden to him!

This had been her deepest wish, the greatest desire in her heart since Hengshan was captured.

But, at this moment, the deep rumble from the Dragon’s maw utterly shattered that aspiration.

It turned out she would still drag him down!

“I will stay…” a weathered voice emerged from the mouth of the Qilin Beast.

“No, you must go out,” the Qilin Saint Lord Qiu Chen roared vehemently.

The Qilin Beast slowly shook its head. “Five thousand years ago, there were no deserters among the Divine Path humans or Divine Beasts. Today, I shall not be a deserter either.”

White Horse Lightning let out a piercing whinny, its single horn glowing with purple light. Although it could not speak human words like the Qilin Beast or the Dragon, even an imbecile understood its intention.

On White Horse Lightning’s back, Precious Pig rolled about, opening its small mouth to emit a roar like thunder. However, compared to the Dragon’s voice, it lacked any truly earth-shaking impact.

The Qilin Beast shook its head again. “You three cannot stay. Sacred Beasts carrying Divine Beast lineage are already extremely rare. If you remain, the only known Divine Beast lineage Sacred Beast on the continent will be that great serpent.”

The Dragon’s voice sounded once more: “None of the three of you can stay.”

Three distinct cries erupted simultaneously. Perhaps due to the Divine Beast blood flowing within them, the three were unfazed by the Dragon’s immense voice. Even the overwhelming Divine Beast aura that had previously descended upon them failed to suppress them.

“Divine Dragon Elder,” the Qilin Beast raised its head high. “We carry the blood of Divine Beasts in our bodies. What humans can accomplish, we can do just as well. In this world, there are only Divine Beasts who die in battle, never Divine Beasts who evade responsibility.”

“You speak the truth; there are no Divine Beasts who shirk responsibility in this world,” the Dragon immediately retorted. “It is precisely because I hope you will not shirk your duty that I am sending you out.”

White Horse Lightning blinked its large, beautiful eyes, exchanging glances with Precious Pig and the Qilin Beast, all looking utterly confused.

“The number and strength of the deathly creatures are growing relentlessly. Even if we manage to hold them off this time, in a hundred years, when this passage opens again, our only path will be death,” the Dragon explained. “Therefore, I hope that after one hundred years—no, after a thousand years in your time—at least a hundred fresh troops at the Human Path peak can enter. Once inside, if they can all advance to the Divine Path, we can hold on for another century.”

“A hundred peak Human Path experts?” Liu Changju’s jaw dropped. After a long pause, he sputtered, “In the age of the Divine Path, this might not have been an issue, but under the current circumstances, it is absolutely impossible.”

Indeed, in this current era of severe depletion of Heavenly and Earthly Energy, anyone who could reach the Human Path peak possessed the potential to ascend to the Divine Path. Gathering even ten such individuals was a blessing; a hundred was pure delusion.

“If relying solely on humans, it is certainly impossible. But if we include top-tier Sacred Beasts bearing Divine Beast lineage, it might be achievable,” the Dragon clarified. “Children born to two Divine Path humans are not guaranteed to reach the Divine Path. However, spiritual beasts inheriting Divine Beast lineage, after a thousand years of cultivation, are certain to reach the apex level. Once they enter this place and absorb sufficient Heavenly and Earthly Energy, they have a high probability of advancing to Divine Beasts in a short time. The reason Divine Beast lineage has become so sparse is primarily because Divine Beasts are unwilling to leave offspring before finding a suitable partner. Thus, the number of Divine Beasts dwindles with each generation; some have even become extinct. But now, the situation is different. If this trend isn’t altered, even our world will face destruction. Therefore…”

Its voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and severe: “I am sending the three of you out. You must cast aside the pride associated with Divine Beast lineage. I don’t care what partners you seek; even if you have to find a sow or a female dinosaur, you must relentlessly propagate and spread your bloodline! A thousand years from now, I must see at least one hundred top-tier Sacred Beasts carrying the legacy of Divine Beast bloodlines appearing… outside Ice Island!”