The moment Mu Qingqing vanished, a faint speck of light, unnoticed by anyone, quietly attached itself to a strand of her hair.
This subtle change was imperceptible not only to the five great Holy Lords but also to Mu Qingqing herself.
The light speck then followed Mu Qingqing into the Void Divine Palace, disappearing without a trace.
"Buzz~"
Suddenly, a strange humming sound echoed in her ears.
As soon as Mu Qingqing stepped into the Eternal Divine Palace, she was forcibly teleported to a bare, empty room.
This sudden change left Mu Qingqing bewildered. She had clearly seen the Eternal Ink Cube suspended in the center of the Eternal Divine Palace just moments before, and was just a step away from obtaining it.
Yet, in the next second, she was inexplicably transported to this peculiar space.
Concurrently, Mu Qingqing abruptly realized that she had inexplicably returned to her original body.
Her beautiful eyes widened, and she bit her cherry-red lips, a look of worry on her face.
She sensed that she could no longer perceive Xin Ci's existence, meaning she had been forcibly brought to this space, while Xin Ci remained at the center of the Eternal Divine Palace.
What was going on?
The original plot had no such segment!
As Mu Qingqing pondered, the faint light speck hidden in her hair suddenly floated before her, emitting a dazzling radiance.
Immediately after, a familiar and powerful aura emanated, causing Mu Qingqing's heart to skip a beat and her entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
"This aura, impossible! How could you possibly be here!"
Mu Qingqing gritted her teeth, glaring furiously at the speck of light before her.
The light speck gradually materialized into a normal human form, and a familiar male voice spoke, "Long time no see, Miss Mu."
Seeing the familiar and detestable face, a trace of ferocity flashed in Mu Qingqing's eyes. She gritted her teeth and spat out two words: "Xuan Qi!!"
Xuan Qi's appearance was entirely unexpected.
Without a word, Mu Qingqing moved with chilling grace. Ten Soul Suppressing Chains shot out like cold needles, encircling Xuan Qi in a cage-like formation.
Facing the sudden assault, Xuan Qi narrowed his eyes and smiled indifferently, making no move to defend himself.
He allowed the ten Soul Suppressing Chains to pierce his body.
However, Mu Qingqing did not relax her guard; instead, a hint of confusion crept in.
Xuan Qi's body was merely an illusionary projection. The ten Soul Suppressing Chains passed through him as if he were air, inflicting no damage whatsoever.
An illusion?
Or perhaps a trial from the Eternal Divine Palace?
Before Mu Qingqing could figure out the answer, the Xuan Qi before her proactively revealed the mystery, a playful smile gracing his face.
"Miss Mu, this is not a trial of the Eternal Divine Palace. I merely left a wisp of my divine sense on you and followed you into this legendary Eternal Divine Palace."
"Divine sense! How is that possible?!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Qingqing's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
She had no idea how Xuan Qi had managed to leave this wisp of divine sense on her so silently and without her awareness.
Furthermore, after her experience in the Beast God Valley, her strength had already broken through to the peak Great Emperor realm, and her soul power had reached the pinnacle of the eight-star Soul Mirror.
If Xuan Qi had left a divine sense on her, her soul power should have detected it.
Thinking of this, Mu Qingqing's expression turned grim, her gaze sharpening as she stared intently at Xuan Qi.
"Alas, there's no need to be so tense. As I said, this is just a wisp of my divine sense; it can't harm you."
"However, conversely, you can't harm me either. Even if you were to destroy this wisp of divine sense, my main body would not suffer significant damage."
Xuan Qi teased in a relaxed and humorous tone, unconcerned by Mu Qingqing's intense hostility, appearing utterly at ease.
Even with his placating words, Mu Qingqing did not let down her guard. She continued to watch Xuan Qi with vigilance, coldly demanding, "What is your purpose in leaving your divine sense on me?"
"Don't be nervous, Miss Mu. Isn't my purpose for doing this quite clear? The Eternal Divine Palace holds the secret to breaking through to eternity. As a cultivator who pursues eternity, I naturally yearn for it..."
"Don't try to fool me. You yourself said that only a wisp of your divine sense entered this Eternal Divine Palace. Even if there is a secret to achieving eternal Dao here, your main body cannot enter. Knowing it would be useless."
"So your true purpose is not for the secrets of the Eternal Divine Palace."
Xuan Qi remained silent, seemingly caught by Mu Qingqing's exposure of his intentions.
However, this did not cause the slightest ripple in his emotions. Xuan Qi continued to smile leisurely, "Indeed, Mu Qingqing, I did not misjudge you."
"However, Mu Qingqing, there is no need for you to be so hostile towards me. You must have guessed that, like me, you do not belong to this plane of existence."
"So what? Even if you are a transmigrator, what does that have to do with me? The current Eternal Continent is in a state of turmoil and suffering, all thanks to you!"
Mu Qingqing retorted with cold sarcasm.
A peculiar smile curved Xuan Qi's lips as he slowly walked towards her.
Mu Qingqing did not wish for him to approach any closer. She directly controlled the Soul Suppressing Chains to shoot forward, shattering the ground before Xuan Qi's feet, and said coldly, "If you take another step, I will destroy your divine sense!"
Seeing Mu Qingqing's tense expression, Xuan Qi still smiled with narrowed eyes, stopped his advance, and waved his hand. "Relax, I won't do anything to you. Moreover, with just this wisp of my divine sense, I am no match for you."
With that, Xuan Qi retracted his previous flippant demeanor, his gaze becoming serious.
Mu Qingqing assumed Xuan Qi intended to fight her and secretly manipulated the Soul Suppressing Chains, preparing to meet the challenge with her true essence.
However, Xuan Qi did not make a move. He simply asked calmly, "Mu Qingqing, how long have you been in this plane of existence?"
This sudden question struck Mu Qingqing as rather bizarre.
Nevertheless, she cautiously replied, "I can't recall precisely, but it's definitely less than fifty years."
"Fifty years? You reached the peak Great Emperor realm in less than fifty years. You are truly lucky..."
"Lucky? What do you mean?"
"Do you know how many years I have been in this plane of existence?"
"How many?"
"Over sixty thousand years!"
"S-sixty thousand years? That's impossible! If you transmigrated to the Eternal Plane sixty thousand years ago, how could you possibly be alive now?!"
Hearing this, Mu Qingqing was utterly stunned.
Even cultivators at the Great Emperor realm had a maximum lifespan of only ten thousand years.
Could it be that he also had some kind of cheat or golden finger, like a system?
But Xuan Qi's next words shattered her conjecture.
"Sixty thousand years ago, I was accidentally teleported to this world. I did not respawn, nor did I possess another body. I had no system, could not cultivate, and had no golden finger to assist me in any way."
"That was a chaotic period when the Underworld God Clan was engaged in a great war against the countless beings of the Eternal Continent. At that time, to survive, I could only live like a lowly cockroach, scraping by moment by moment."