Chapter Thirty-Three: The Realm of Mountains and Seas

"I never intended to tell you!" The Spirit Ox only exhaled a breath of wine after draining the last drop from the jar before speaking to Qin Si.

"Of course, it's up to you whether to speak or not. But I really want to know. Tell me—if you do, I'll give you this!" Qin Si fixed his gaze on the Spirit Ox for a while, then suddenly grinned and handed over a storage ring.

"Wine?" The Spirit Ox exclaimed softly. The ring Qin Si offered was filled with nothing but wine—collected conveniently while searching for Qin Shuang. It contained every sort and vintage, a whole ringful, at least a million jars of all kinds.

A million jars of wine were not hard to come by, but to gather so many different varieties was no easy feat. Anyone could see the Spirit Ox was a true connoisseur, and Qin Si had seized upon his one weakness. The Spirit Ox's face changed repeatedly, then at last heaved a sigh and pushed the ring back to Qin Si.

"Ah, you leave me no choice!" Qin Si shook his head with a heavy sigh. He hadn't wanted to resort to force with the Spirit Ox, whose character he rather liked. But to find Qin Shuang and return to the Divine Realm, Qin Si had no choice but to make this last move.

"You want to raise your hand against me too? You saw what happened to those Immortal Emperors just now—when I start, I don't stop." The Spirit Ox looked at Qin Si again and spoke slowly; he still held a favorable impression of Qin Si.

"Very well, let me see how you don't stop." As he spoke, the table between them vanished, the wine and dishes whisked away. In the blink of an eye, Qin Si stood before the Spirit Ox, seized him by the collar, and pummeled him with his fist.

Bang, bang, bang! The once overbearing Spirit Ox hadn't expected Qin Si to act so suddenly, and with such raw brutality.

Strangely, the Spirit Ox found he couldn’t break free from Qin Si's grip and could only let Qin Si's fists rain down upon him.

At the ninth-level Immortal Emperor realm, one rarely worried about the body—so long as the soul and nascent spirit were unscathed, the flesh could easily be restored.

But Qin Si's blows, though aimed at the body, made the Spirit Ox's soul shudder with each strike.

"Stop, stop..." The Spirit Ox cried out in panic. If this continued, he feared his soul would be scattered to the winds.

Qin Si lowered his fist but kept his other hand gripping the Spirit Ox's collar, his eyes narrowed in a smile. "Well, are you ready to consider telling me what I want to know?"

Panting, the Spirit Ox pointed at the hand holding his collar and asked tentatively, "Could you...let go of me first?"

Qin Si watched him with a sly grin, then cheerfully released his grip. No sooner had he let go than the Spirit Ox vanished, using instant movement to try to escape.

Boom! A thunderous crash sounded not far from Qin Si; the Spirit Ox reappeared.

"Still trying to run? I've already set a restriction here. Answer my questions obediently." Qin Si's smile remained, but to the Spirit Ox it looked utterly terrifying.

"I...I acknowledge you, all right? I'll take you to the Path to Heaven..." That display just now had cowed the Spirit Ox completely.

No sooner had he spoken than Qin Si teleported before him again, seized his collar, and pounded him with his fist while demanding, "Didn't you hear what I asked you? Where is this place? How did you come here? What is the Path to Heaven?"

"Stop, stop, I'll talk...I'll talk!" The soul-wrenching pain was no joke—even someone as strong as the Spirit Ox couldn't bear it.

Qin Si stopped his fists. "Very well, speak..."

After catching his breath, the Spirit Ox said, "Heh, this...this is the Infinite Continent..."

Bang! Qin Si struck him again, sending stars spinning before the Spirit Ox's eyes.

"I...I was answering you! Why hit me again?" the Spirit Ox protested indignantly.

"That's nonsense. I know it's the Infinite Continent. Don't try to fool me. The universe is made up of the Mortal Realm, the Immortal-Demon-Beast Realm, and the Divine Realm. Don't think I don't know. I've never heard of an Infinite Continent, nor of any land so vast that even my divine sense can't reach its edges, and even the laws of space are different."

The Spirit Ox blinked, then cautiously asked, "Are you from above?"

Bang! Another punch. "Another pointless question. You killed several ninth-level Immortal Emperors so easily—if I weren't from above, could I possibly threaten you here? You think I cultivated to this level in this ghostly place?" Qin Si was furious—the Spirit Ox was formidable, but so slow-witted. "I'm warning you—no more nonsense, or bear the consequences." He muttered under his breath, "I can't tell if you're a Spirit Ox or a Spirit Pig, so stupid."

"Ah..." The Spirit Ox was speechless. "I...I only know this is the Infinite Continent. Our master never told us anything more specific."

"You..." Qin Si was at a loss. "You really are low on the totem pole—not even told where you're being sent."

"Fine, let's drop that question. Where did you come from? Who sent you here?" Qin Si pressed on.

"Well..." The Spirit Ox looked embarrassed. "We came down from the Divine Realm, but as for who our master is—we don't know..."

"Damn, is there anything you do know? Tell me everything." Qin Si was getting impatient—he seemed to know nothing at all, truly an idiot.

"We only know our master is unimaginably powerful—even a Divine King is no match for him," the Spirit Ox said fervently, his eyes full of yearning. "Our master ordered us to find someone we could acknowledge and then take them to the Path to Heaven—no, to Mountain-Sea Heaven, where there's a treasure that would tempt even a Divine King."

"Mountain-Sea Heaven?" Qin Si was taken aback. "Stronger than a Divine King—could it be a Celestial Lord? Or my second uncle?"

"A treasure that would tempt even a Divine King—is it a top-tier Primordial Spirit Treasure?" Qin Si asked.

"We...don't know what's inside," the Spirit Ox replied, even more embarrassed. "But from what our master said, it shouldn't be inferior to a top-tier Primordial Spirit Treasure."

Qin Si's heart stirred. He already possessed two top-tier Primordial Spirit Treasures, but his brother Qin Shuang had left in anger and didn't even have a decent weapon. This was the perfect opportunity to get something good for little Shuang.

"Very well, since you’re at least being honest now, I’ll go with you to Mountain-Sea Heaven." Qin Si decided. No matter whose treasure it was, this was a fair competition, and Qin Shuang certainly wouldn’t mind that it came from above.

"Also, what is your true realm? And don’t tell me ninth-level Immortal Emperor."

"It truly isn’t," the Spirit Ox said honestly. "We’re actually lower-tier Celestial Gods, but upon coming to the Infinite Continent, our master suppressed our strength."

"Don’t even think about taking revenge—you’re not strong enough." Qin Si threatened fiercely one last time. "Now take me to Mountain-Sea Heaven."

The Spirit Ox was thoroughly cowed by Qin Si. Taking to the air, a black mist rose around him, and in a flash, the burly man vanished, replaced by a massive black ox.

"Get on my back," the black ox rumbled.

Qin Si curled his lip, and in an instant, teleported onto the ox’s back. "Let’s go."

"Moo!" The black ox let out a thunderous roar. Even the space that Qin Si couldn’t shake split open with a massive rift; the ox’s form flickered and vanished, and the sky returned to its former serenity.

The Spirit Ox had appeared and, despite being surrounded by five ninth-level Immortal Emperors, twelve eighth-level Immortal Emperors, and over a hundred fifth-level Immortal Emperors, had slain the five ninth-level Emperors in one fell swoop.

The news spread rapidly throughout the Infinite Continent. No one dared underestimate the might of spiritual beasts any longer, nor did any Immortal Emperors dare oppress immortals or cultivators of lesser realms, forbidding them from competing.

Mountain-Sea Heaven—a land shrouded in clouds and mist, with towering peaks and endless blue merging sea and sky in a landscape of breathtaking beauty. Even in the entire Linmeng Universe, such vistas were rare.

High in the sky above Mountain-Sea Heaven, Qin Shuang sat cross-legged, immortal energy swirling around him. Not far away stood Spirit Snake, quietly watching over Qin Shuang.

With a long breath, Qin Shuang opened his eyes slowly. "This Mountain-Sea Heaven is truly extraordinary—the spiritual energy here is so abundant. In just a few short years, my strength has already reached the peak of eighth-level Immortal Emperor. It won’t be long before I break through to the ninth level."

"Xiao Qing, when will I finally be able to enter Mountain-Sea Heaven?" Qin Shuang stood and asked Spirit Snake.

"Not for a while yet," Xiao Qing—the Spirit Snake—replied coolly. "The Spirit Ox has found someone worthy, but only when all twelve spirit beasts have found someone they can acknowledge will you be able to enter Mountain-Sea Heaven."

"Heh, I might not have to wait for them to finish—I could reach ninth-level Immortal Emperor and ascend to the Divine Realm before then," Qin Shuang said with a laugh.

"Hmph, wishful thinking. Unless someone passes all the trials of Mountain-Sea Heaven, no one can leave," Xiao Qing retorted.

"What?" This time, Qin Shuang was startled. "Why didn’t you tell me before?"

"Why should I tell you?" Xiao Qing cast him a disdainful glance. "If our strength weren’t suppressed here on the Infinite Continent, you’d have been dead long ago."

Qin Shuang pursed his lips but said nothing, for Xiao Qing was right. It was only here that Qin Shuang realized all twelve spirit beasts were originally lower-tier Celestial Gods.

"Then...what about the Spirit Ox and the one he acknowledged?" Qin Shuang pressed on, unwilling to give up. After all, apart from this reticent Xiao Qing, there was no one else to talk to, and life was exceedingly dull.