I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

"Return to the boundary?"

Lin Ye looked at Wan Ling.

"Didn't you just say that you came up with this name on the spot?"

Wanling remained silent.

At the very top of the Zonglu Stele, the eight newly emerged ancient characters are still lit up.

[The spirits outside have returned, and the mountain gates have returned to their original boundaries.]

A few seconds passed.

Wan Lingcai whispered:

"I thought so."

"Looking back now... this word has outlived me."

Xie Hongyi had already reached the monument.

She raised her hand and touched the last line of text.

The stone tablet did not respond.

That wasn't a record carved in by someone before us.

It's more like a stroke left by the Zonglu Stele itself after Cangfeng Mountain reconnected with heaven and earth.

Zhou Xiao's expression was complicated.

"So the founders knew this day would come?"

Xie Hongyi shook her head.

"uncertain."

"It's also possible that it was just a formation left to determine the return status."

She spoke very quickly.

There was no further entanglement.

"I want to go out."

Cheng Fang looked at her.

"Now?"

"Now."

"There are still people who haven't woken up in the mountains."

"That's why I need to know even more what's outside."

Xie Hongyi looked up.

"You say it's been more than two thousand years."

"I only listen to what you say, that's not enough."

Cheng Fang did not agree immediately.

The first batch of exploration missions were not originally intended to take Gu Xiu out for sightseeing.

However, Xie Hongyi now has a special status.

She is not only one of the highest-ranking awakened individuals in Cangfeng Mountain, but also the first confirmed true disciple to possess a complete ancient cultivation system.

Continuing to confine her in the mountains will actually hinder further contact.

Cheng Fang only thought for a few seconds.

"Can."

"But we'll follow your instructions once we get out."

Xie Hongyi nodded.

"OK."

There was no bargaining.

That saves trouble.

The team began its return journey.

Zhou Xiao did not follow.

He was to stay and watch over the outer gate and the other awakened people.

Before leaving, Xie Hongyi handed him her sword.

Zhou Xiao was taken aback.

"Senior sister?"

"People outside have rules regarding weapons."

Xie Hongyi had clearly learned her lesson.

"Keep this for me."

Cheng Fang glanced at her.

They didn't say anything.

At least this woman isn't the type to think the whole world has to make way for her just because she's awake.

The return trip was much faster than the inbound trip.

Medicinal herb field.

Abandoned mine tunnel.

Mountain gate.

The changes along the way continue.

The concentration of spiritual energy has increased from more than ten times when we first entered to nearly twenty times.

The protective vines whose main roots were burned by Qin Zhao have mostly withered completely.

It can be found at the edge of scorched soil.

Several new tender vines are sprouting outwards.

Lin Ye paused for only a second after seeing it.

Mark the coordinates.

The technician immediately marked it.

Nobody wastes time studying it.

This kind of ecological change will likely become the norm in the future.

When you actually reach the spatial rift.

Xie Hongyi stopped instead.

Outside.

The voice of the modern world has already penetrated.

Helicopter.

vehicle.

loudspeaker.

Voices from the distant lockdown area.

There were also continuous electronic notification sounds.

These sounds were ordinary to Lin Ye.

Xie Hongyi was a complete stranger to him.

She stood there for a few seconds.

Take that step.

The space swayed slightly.

next moment.

The morning light of the capital city fell on her face.

Xie Hongyi didn't move.

There is no mountain in front of me.

It's not a city wall either.

It is a road.

Lamp post.

Temporary command vehicle.

A row of modern containment equipment.

Helicopters were suspended in the sky.

Further away.

High-rise buildings stand one after another.

It stretched all the way to the edge of the field of vision.

She looked up and stared at it for a long time.

A helicopter just happened to pass by the side of the mountain.

Xie Hongyi subconsciously raised her hand.

He seemed to want to touch the sword.

Only after searching through empty spaces did they realize they had been left behind in the mountains.

Lin Ye stood to the side.

"That's not a flying artifact."

Xie Hongyi didn't look at him.

"I know."

"You know?"

"I've seen it many times already."

She stared at the helicopter.

"I just didn't expect there to actually be people sitting inside."

After saying that sentence...

She looked into the distance again.

Vehicles were constantly moving on the highway.

The city is fully awake.

A large number of drones flew around the perimeter of the mountain.

Some citizens were even taking photos from several layers of cordoned-off areas in the distance.

Xie Hongyi stared at it for a full minute.

Only then did I ask:

"Where is this place?"

"The capital city"

"The capital?"

"almost."

How many people are there?

Lin Ye thought for a moment.

"The entire city has over 20 million people."

Xie Hongyi finally turned her head.

"How many?"

"More than 20 million."

She didn't say anything.

Lin Ye could tell.

This number was even harder for her to understand than the number of helicopters.

"A city?"

"Um."

"Are they all just ordinary people?"

"Previously, most of it was calculated."

"It's hard to say right now."

After the second spiritual tide.

The number of awakened individuals is increasing every day.

How exactly is this "mortal" defined? That will likely change in the future.

Xie Hongyi looked back at the city.

long time.

"The largest city in the vicinity of Cangfeng Mountain in the past."

"Less than 300,000 people."

It's almost a hundred times worse.

Lin Ye didn't answer.

There's no need to finish them off.

We entered the temporary command area.

Identity registration and basic testing began quickly.

Xie Hongyi was clearly not used to things like blood draws and scans.

But when Cheng Fang explained beforehand that "it's not a torture device," she cooperated.

What truly silenced her was the date.

The staff turned the electronic screen around.

The year 2026.

September.

Xie Hongyi couldn't read the Gregorian calendar.

Therefore, the year of Cangfeng calendar that Zhou Xiao had previously reported was cross-calculated by the technical team based on existing ancient historical data.

The error could be decades.

However, the general area has been determined.

More than two thousand years ago.

The staff placed the results in front of her.

"From the time you closed the mountain until now."

"A tentative estimate is around 2100 years ago."

Xie Hongyi stared at that number.

He didn't say anything.

The staff thought she didn't understand.

I was just about to explain further.

Lin Ye raised his hand to stop him.

enough.

Xie Hongyi understood, of course.

She just needs time.

After a while.

She suddenly asked:

"What about the Hidden Edge Sword Sect?"

No one answered immediately this time.

The technical team has checked.

There is no complete record of the "Hidden Edge Sword Sect" in modern publicly available ancient books.

Only a few unearthed fragments of steles and local chronicles contain vague characters that resemble "Zangfeng" or "Jianmen".

Unable to determine.

Cheng Fang finally said:

"From the information that can be found so far."

"there is none left."

Xie Hongyi's eyes twitched.

"An affiliated sect?"

"Not confirmed."

"Yujing City?"

Cheng Fang remained silent for a moment.

"No, not at all."

Xie Hongyi didn't ask any more questions.

She got up.

Step out of the temporary testing area.

From the outside, you can see the entire cliff face.

The mountain still hangs in the sky above the capital.

But it was already lower than in the early hours of the morning.

The skyscrapers, roads, and vehicles of a modern city.

And that mountain gate from two thousand years ago.

They appear in the same frame at the same time.

Xie Hongyi stood there.

Looked for a long time.

She didn't cry.

There was no mention of "the world changing drastically".

Finally, he only asked one question softly.

"What about the Sword Sect?"

Lin Ye stood behind her.

No reply.

Because of this sentence.

It wasn't originally intended to be asked of him.

The wind blew through the cordoned-off area.

A few strands of Xie Hongyi's long hair were blown into disarray.

She raised her hand to press it down.

When he spoke again, his voice had returned to normal.

"Take me to see your era."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Now?"

"Um."

"You just woke up."

"so what?"

Xie Hongyi turned around.

"Slept for over two thousand years."

"Do you want me to keep sleeping?"

Lin Ye smiled.

This time I didn't try to persuade them.

Just then.

Suddenly, a rapid alarm sounded from the direction of Xuanshan.

Everyone turned around at the same time.

On the monitoring screen.

Spatial stability surged again.

78 percent.

Eighty-three.

Ninety-one.

The technician's expression changed drastically.

"The mountainside is sinking as a whole!"

far away.

That ancient mountain that still hangs in the sky.

It has landed in the real world.