The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

Huadu. Lingnan Energy Research Center.

Twelve thousand application forms flooded in within three days.

The head of the organization looked at the forms piled on the table. They were paper forms, because the online registration system crashed on the first day.

In Jincheng, Hangzhou, Pengcheng, and the ancient capital, all the training institutions in first- and second-tier cities were fully booked within 72 hours.

Even townships are taking action.

A Shaolin martial arts school in a county town, the kind that used to teach routines and free sparring, temporarily opened a "Flame Spirit Stone Introductory Class" the day after the Pluto incident.

The instructor himself was only at the second level of the Qi Condensation stage, but the playground was packed with people signing up.

Not just China.

Japan. Kendo dojo.

The owner of the academy was a seventy-year-old man. After his mysterious resurrection, he broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm. He was considered top-tier in the Japanese cultivation circle and had a long and distinguished career.

After the Pluto incident, the number of people registering for the kendo dojo increased fivefold.

Goryeo. Seoul National Training Institute.

The surge in applications caused the system to crash even after being expanded three times.

Western Europe.

A Reiki meditation studio in Lebanon that used to have only a dozen or so students now has a long queue outside every morning.

Renton. A private retreat center opened by a former MI6 agent. They were struggling to fill their positions before; now the waiting list stretches into June.

All spiritual training institutions worldwide were operating at full capacity within three days.

No age limit. No occupation limit. No nationality limit.

The term "spiritual practice" has moved from a niche interest into the lives of everyone.

Because the signal was so clear.

One person destroyed a planet.

This is not a fable. It's not a movie. It's not a myth.

Is the truth.

There was live footage. There was observatory data. There was that white light witnessed by billions of people around the world.

Human capabilities can reach such a level.

Spiritual practice is no longer an option; it has become a mandatory question.

You can choose not to practice. But everyone around you is practicing. Your neighbors are practicing. Your colleagues are practicing. Your children are practicing.

If you don't fix it... you'll fall behind.

This anxiety is exactly the same as the anxiety that arose when the internet became widespread. Only, the intensity has increased a hundredfold.

Because the internet changes lifestyles.

Spiritual practice changes...the person themselves.

The Yin Realm.

When Chen Siyao woke up, Yang Wanqing's bed was already empty.

The blanket was thrown to one side, and the shoes were askew at the foot of the bed. There was also an indentation on the pillow.

The door was open.

Yang Wanqing's laughter came from the balcony, along with Yun Wanlan's response.

Chen Siyao rubbed her eyes and slipped on her shoes to walk out.

Yang Wanqing squatted on the edge of the balcony, gripping the railing with both hands and looking down. Yun Wanlan stood beside her, pointing to something in the distance.

"What's that over there?" Yang Wanqing pointed to a glowing forest in the direction of the third floating island.

"A medicinal herb field," Yun Wanlan said. "It has more than three hundred kinds of spiritual plants. Most of them are varieties passed down from ancient times."

"Is it edible?"

"...some of them can be used in medicine."

"Whether it's used in medicine isn't important. Is it edible?"

Yun Wanlan paused for a moment. "I don't recommend eating it directly."

"Oh." Yang Wanqing's interest waned by 30%.

Chen Siyao went out onto the balcony. "What are you two doing so early in the morning?"

Yang Wanqing turned her head, her face still bearing a trace of the blue fruit from last night. "Yaoyao! Lanlan said she can take us to all the floating islands! We're leaving today, and I want to visit all the places we haven't been to yet!"

Chen Siyao glanced at Yun Wanlan.

Yun Wanlan nodded slightly. "If you'd like. The Sushen tribe has a total of twelve floating islands in its territory, and you only visited four yesterday."

"Let's go, let's go!" Yang Wanqing jumped up.

Chen Siyao glanced back into the house. Chen Hao wasn't there. The teacup on the balcony was empty. She didn't know when he had gone out.

Without thinking much of it, she took the photo crystal and followed Yang Wanqing and Yun Wanlan.

The fifth floating island is a gathering place for artisans. The narrow stone alleys are lined with workshops: blacksmiths, jade carvers, and spirit silk weavers.

An old craftsman used a silver thread as thin as a hair to carve patterns on a piece of bone the size of a thumb.

Yang Wanqing leaned over and looked at it for a long time. The old craftsman looked up and glanced at her, then put the bone fragment into his pocket.

Yang Wanqing awkwardly took two steps back. "Stingy."

Yun Wanlan explained in a low voice, "That's a secret clan technique for crafting talisman bones. It can't be shown to outsiders."

"I'm not going to learn it. Can't I even look at it?"

"That's the rule."

Yang Wanqing pursed her lips. Turning her head, she was immediately drawn to another workshop, where a young Sushen girl was braiding a hair ribbon.

The material is a luminescent thread, and the woven patterns change color at different angles.

"This is beautiful!" Yang Wanqing's eyes lit up. "Can I buy it?"

Yun Wanlan spoke a few words in the Sushen language to the girl. The girl looked at Yang Wanqing, smiled, and handed her the half-braided hair ribbon she was holding.

"She said she'd give it to you," Yun Wanlan translated.

Yang Wanqing took it and wrapped it around her wrist twice. The light from the silk thread flowed and shimmered as her arm moved.

"It's so beautiful!" She held up her wrist and waved it in front of Chen Siyao's eyes. "Yaoyao, look, look!"

Chen Siyao glanced at it. It was indeed beautiful.

The young Sushen girl took another piece of silk thread and began to weave. After weaving for a few moments, she handed it to Chen Siyao.

Chen Siyao paused for a moment, then took it. "Thank you."

The girl couldn't understand Mandarin, but she understood the expression. She smiled and waved.

The sixth floating island is smaller than the others. It has only one building on it, a circular stone platform.

In the center of the stone platform was a spirit stone larger than any other, emitting a faint blue light.

"What is this?" Chen Siyao asked.

"The altar." Yun Wanlan's speech slowed down. "Every time a clan leader ascends to the throne, they must receive the ancestral legacy here."

The edge of the stone platform was covered with inscriptions. Ancient script. Chen Siyao recognized some of them; they were the ones Chen Hao had taught her.

She crouched down and slowly moved her fingers along the engravings.

"This part is, 'As long as the guardians are not destroyed, the barrier will not be broken.'"

Yun Wanlan glanced at her. "You recognize classical Chinese?"

"My brother taught me. I recognize some of them."

Yun Wanlan did not press further. But there was something indescribable in her expression. Chen Siyao's talent was so high that the Venerable One had probably taught her something from ancient times.

The Eighth Floating Island is a place for children.

Call it a school or a playground, it may. A dozen or so Sushen children were chasing and playing on a wide-open grassland.

They threw balloon-like orbs of light at each other, which could be controlled by energy. Some children could make the orbs curve, while others could only move them straight.

The youngest boy, who looked no more than four or five years old, threw a ball of light that veered ninety degrees off course and struck a nearby spirit tree. The spirit tree trembled, and three leaves fell to the ground.

Yang Wanqing watched, her hands itching to play. "Can I play?"

Yun Wanlan glanced at Yang Wanqing's cultivation level. Peak of the Meridian Opening Realm.

"Yes, but don't use your inner energy. These children's bodies are not fully developed yet."

Yang Wanqing ran over.