Just like her name suggested, Gui Qulai Xi arrived in a hurry and departed just as swiftly. Apart from the sheer inexplicability of it all, the whole encounter left one utterly bewildered. By the time Lin Luo processed what had happened, she had completely vanished from this world. He hadn't even managed to utter a single "Wait," which truly unsettled his composure.

"This person... even if she was just passing through, she ought to at least finish what she was saying before leaving," Lin Luo grumbled, staring at the now empty space before him. He had so many questions he needed to ask. Even if some matters couldn't be disclosed, what about the Lorlaireya incident, the matter of the Guardian Dragon Clan and the Seed of the Holy Stone, and most importantly, the power of the Mind's Eye... Were these all things that couldn't be revealed even in the slightest? Or perhaps...

"She couldn't offer me any help at all. That statement truly cut off all hope. It seems I'll have to rely on my own understanding." Recalling what Gui Qulai Xi had said, Lin Luo couldn't help but frown. His very uniqueness had thrust him into an incredibly precarious situation. It offered no aid, but rather subjected him to constraints everywhere... No, it couldn't be said there were no advantages; at least the Hosts of the World Heart were all on his side.

"Perhaps that's the very reason." Lin Luo vaguely suspected this was why he couldn't secure the aid of the Proxy Gods. After all, if the Hosts stood with him, it indirectly meant the World Heart belonged to him.

A single World Heart, even in its sealed state, could reverse the flow of time and reshape reality based on the wishes of its Host. Because of Mei Qin’s wish, the World Heart had halted time in that world, thereby altering an entire future. Because of Lin’s wish, the World Heart had sent them back ten years, erasing the original history and forging a new future. As for her, she stood outside the flow of time, unaffected by the disappearance of the old history, nor would she exist within the new one. Such power was tantamount to omnipotence.

Then, what if he possessed all the World Hearts, whose seals could be broken and whose control was entirely in the hands of the Hosts?

The moment this thought surfaced, Lin Luo’s entire body trembled. He dared not pursue the idea any further. He was beginning to grasp where his true advantage lay... One World Heart was enough to change the world; having more would be enough to change everything. If he willed the heavens and earth to be eternal, the earth to cease existing, or the Three Thousand Worlds to detach from the confines of time and space, they would be unable to remain confined within the Six Realms.

It was more than just the power to destroy heaven and earth; it was absolute dominion over all things according to his will.

"I see now. No wonder even Gui Qulai Xi felt pressure. This isn't a joke," Lin Luo finally understood. Although he couldn't gauge the true extent of the Proxy Gods' power, based on this advantage alone, he was certainly strong enough to stand as their equal, perhaps even surpass them.

Moreover, he possessed the Heart Codex, which could contract the World Hearts and held potential greater than the World Hearts themselves... As the saying goes, only mediocre talent avoids envy. This dual potential had been present since the very beginning, something even the Proxy Gods would fear.

But then again, why did something so overwhelmingly heaven-defying fall into his hands? Was this the choice of the Proxy Gods? Or was it the self-determination of the Heart Codex?

"No, I can't think about this any further."

Lin Luo violently shook his head, instantly casting these thoughts to the farthest reaches of his mind. He felt as though he was brushing against the very core of the God War. While this thrilled and excited him, it was coupled with a deep, inexplicable dread. Merely possessing dual potential already made the Proxy Gods wary; if he were to touch upon the core of the God War as well, heaven only knew what might happen.

It is said that the more one knows, the faster one dies. Before he achieved sufficiently overwhelming strength, he absolutely could not probe those excessively immense secrets.

"Forget about that just now; let's put it aside temporarily. However, what concerns me most is the meaning behind Gui Qulai Xi’s final words."

'Die once, how about that?' Although Gui Qulai Xi had spoken this with a joking tone, Lin Luo sensed an undercurrent of seriousness and warning in her words. Did she mean that he had to die once to avert all potential dangers?

What a joke. It couldn't be like that. If you die, everything is gone. This wasn't a game where you could just delete your account and start anew. Most likely... it was just a jest.

"Ah, forget it, forget it. Things have a way of working themselves out when the time comes. I'll take her words at face value for now." After racking his brain fruitlessly, Lin Luo decisively stopped pondering these complex issues. He shook his head, allowing his mood to gradually settle, and then headed toward the Sky City.

Moments later, before he even reached the Sky City, he saw the girls already assembled in the central courtyard from a distance. As he landed, they all rushed forward, bombarding him with questions the moment he arrived.

"What exactly happened?"

"Did that person do anything to you?"

"What was that disturbance on Starlight Avenue all about?"

The girls spoke over each other, and Lin Luo couldn't answer them individually. Finally, at his gesture, they quieted down. Of course, he withheld nothing about what needed to be said—everything about his encounter in the Zero-Food World and the matter of Gui Qulai Xi... However, he omitted the line about him needing to die once.

When they learned that Lin Luo ranked only in the top three among the Walkers, and that the gap between him and the top two was still substantial, the girls’ expressions turned serious. This issue was closely related to their own futures, making them realize the gravity of the situation. Such a disparity meant they could no longer afford to remain idly by.

As for the series of events that transpired after Gui Qulai Xi arrived at the Sky City, Lin Luo heard about it from them as well. Simply put, she had forced her way in like a brigand. If Mei Qin and Long Wanxuan hadn't known her, the damage to the Sky City would have been far worse than just one door.

After briefly summarizing their respective experiences, Lin Luo released Huang Quan and Kagura from the Fourth Space... Since Lin Luo always brought back one or two girls every time he returned from another world, the others were no longer surprised by such occurrences. Coupled with the prevailing sense of urgency, the girls, after introducing themselves, didn't press further.

However, Huang Quan and Kagura were clearly startled. Although Lin Luo had mentioned the Sky City before, they never imagined there would be so many girls here. For a moment, the way they looked at Lin Luo became somewhat peculiar.

Lin Luo could only offer an awkward, wry smile in response, utterly speechless. In truth, he was still somewhat burdened by the things Gui Qulai Xi had mentioned, which contributed to his heavy mood.

After a brief period of casual conversation, Lin Luo turned to Chou Rinne and asked seriously, "Chou, can you create an absolutely vacuum-sealed container?"

"An absolutely vacuum-sealed container?" Chou Rinne was momentarily stunned, looking somewhat confused.

Lin Luo nodded. "Yes, I need a sealed vessel, not very large—perhaps palm-sized is enough—but it must be a vacuum."

Though unsure what Lin Luo wanted the vacuum container for, seeing his solemn expression, Chou Rinne also grew serious. She frowned. "I can't create a container of absolute vacuum, but I can make one as close to absolute vacuum as possible—one where energy, light, and sound waves or vibrations cannot penetrate. Will that suffice?"

"Yes, that works too. As long as external forces cannot cause any fluctuation inside, it’s fine."

"Then that’s no problem; leave it to me... Adeade Super Assembly Empire!" Upon hearing this, Chou Rinne instantly became confident. As she spoke, a palm-sized cubic glass vessel flew out from the ring in her hand. Though it looked ordinary, one could vaguely perceive that light and energy seemed unable to enter it.

"This is it!" Lin Luo was overjoyed. He had to admit, Chou Rinne's contracted item was incredibly useful. Otherwise, creating such a vacuum container would have taken him a considerable amount of time.

Simultaneously, Lin Luo opened his storage space, and a multi-colored stone floated out of thin air. In the next instant, Lin Luo flickered his hand, and the vacuum vessel vanished, reappearing moments later to miraculously encase the colored stone within.

Although Lin Luo's storage space was also a vacuum, every time he opened it, the colored stone would generate slight fluctuations due to his influence, making him uneasy. Therefore, to increase its security, he needed to establish another layer of vacuum to minimize any external influence.

The others were familiar with Lin Luo's abilities, but seeing this scene still caused some surprise. After all, the container was completely sealed; how did he manage to place the stone inside? But what piqued their curiosity even more was the stone itself, from which they could faintly sense terrifying energy contained within.

"This stone..." Just as Lin Luo had placed the colored stone into the vacuum container, Long Wanxuan suddenly cried out. Everyone turned to look at her, noticing that her face had turned ashen, her gaze fixed intently on the colored stone, a flicker of terror in her eyes.

It wasn't just her; the four strongest Dragon Maidens standing beside her also displayed expressions of fear.

"You recognize it?" Seeing their reactions, Lin Luo suddenly recalled something and his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but ask. All the other girls focused their attention on Long Wanxuan; after all, this was the first time such a formidable expert had shown such abject fear.

Long Wanxuan nodded heavily, her face displaying unprecedented seriousness and caution. "Where did you get this?"

"Just now, as I mentioned," Lin Luo replied.

"I see. Although the color and shape are somewhat different, this feeling cannot be mistaken..." Long Wanxuan raised her head, looked at Lin Luo, and spoke word by word, "It is exactly the same as the Seed of the Holy Stone that destroyed multiple worlds of our Dragon Clan!"