Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 124

Chapter 124: ENTERING THE SIXTH REALM

The question caught her off guard. She cleared her throat. “Ah, that…I met a friend.”

His eyes narrowed at her vague response, and Li Hua found herself shrinking slightly under his scrutiny. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep secrets from Grandmaster Yu, but she suddenly realized how little she actually knew about Mo Xing.

“Someone who can freely enter the sixth realm has to be quite exceptional,” Grandmaster Yu said slowly, each word carrying the weight of centuries of knowledge. His penetrating gaze studied her face as if trying to read the mysteries written there. “They would need permission from the sixth realm master himself. This friend of yours… how exactly did you meet them?”

Li Hua felt her heart rate quicken beneath his questioning.

Her brothers exchanged knowing glances at her hesitation. They hadn’t forgotten the mysterious cultivator who had helped rescue Li Hao, wielding power that impressed them both.

“His name is Mo Xing and I met him at the Village Festival,” Li Hua answered, her eyes glancing between her brothers and Grandmaster Yu.

Her brothers’ expressions shifted into surprise. “You mean the Autumn Village Festival?” Li Hao asked. “When?” Li Wei added. “How come we didn’t notice?”

Li Hua swiftly raised a hand, silencing her brothers with a single gesture. She mouthed, “I’ll explain later,” before redirecting her focus to Grandmaster Yu.

His brows knit tightly, his voice laced with both disbelief and an undercurrent of something harder to place—concern? Recognition? “Are you telling me that a man of unknown origin, yet extraordinary strength, managed to breach your father’s array?”

A memory of honey-brown eyes and a predatory smile flashed through her mind before Li Hua nodded slowly.

“Very interesting,” he whispered, more to himself than to them. “Did Old Tang meet him?”

Li Hua nodded again, noting how her grandfather’s interest seemed to sharpen at the mention of Old Tang.

“Hmm… I’ll need to make a stop at Old Tang’s,” Grandmaster Yu said, his tone making it clear this wasn’t just a casual visit. Old Tang, it seemed, might hold the answers he was now seeking.

“Thank you for sharing everything with me,” he added thoughtfully. The siblings’ lack of reaction to his mention of the sixth realm three months ago had surprised him at the time—but now, it all made sense.

“Well then,” Grandmaster Yu said, his voice shifting to a lighter tone, breaking the weighty atmosphere that had settled over them. “Shall we begin your journey? The sixth realm awaits, and you three have already proven yourselves far more ready than I could have hoped.”

The siblings rose from the table, her brothers’ excitement and anticipation radiating from them like waves of spiritual essence. Li Hua felt more questions pressing at the edges of her mind but she held them back. There would be time enough for answers once they reached the sixth realm. For now, it was enough to know they were ready to face whatever challenges awaited them there.

Before they could leave, one final preparation remained. At a gentle pulse of Li Wei’s spiritual essence, his contracted spirit beasts shimmered before merging with his spiritual space. Through their soul bond, Bai Ying, Feng Yi, and the thunder twins would remain connected to their master, ready to manifest at a moment’s notice. This had been Li Hua’s suggestion – though her brother usually preferred to let his spirit beasts roam freely, their recent ordeal had taught them the value of keeping such powerful allies close. If anything were to threaten him again, his faithful companions would be there to protect him, their power instantly accessible through their soul bond.

Grandmaster Yu raised his hands, his fingers weaving patterns in the air that seemed to fold reality itself. The world around them began to blur and fade, colors bleeding away like water down a drain. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in the monochrome expanse of the sixth realm – a landscape Li Hua remembered all too well from her previous visit.

The endless grey vista stretched before them, buildings rising like shadows against the pewter sky, their impossible architecture following rules that defied common understanding. Li Hua watched her brothers’ reactions as they took in this realm between realms for the first time – their eyes widening at the sight of paths that wound through impossible geometries and gardens where grey flowers bloomed in eternal twilight. Even the air itself pulsed with ancient power, thick with spiritual essence that moved like fog through the colorless landscape.

Li Wei suddenly stopped his observation of their surroundings, his scholarly attention caught by something unusual. “Sister, your eyes…”

“What?” Li Hua turned to face him, remembering Mo Xing’s similar observation during her last visit.

“They’re… different here,” Li Hao moved closer, squinting at her face. “Like light through crystal, catching colors.”

Li Hua’s hand instinctively rose to touch the corner of her eye, just as it had when Mo Xing had mentioned it. The memory of his words echoed in her mind: “They shimmer like sunlight on crystal, reflecting a prism of celestial colors.”

Grandmaster Yu approached closer, leaning in to examine her eyes. His eyebrows knitted together, creating deep furrows that spoke of recognition or concern – perhaps both.

Li Hua felt her heart skip a beat beneath his intense scrutiny. “Grandpa… What does this mean?”

The question hung in the air as Grandmaster Yu continued his careful examination, his silence heavy with unspoken knowledge. Finally, he whispered, “Well, that explains it…”

“Sister!” Li Hao suddenly exclaimed, the tension broken by his revelation. “Is that why you asked us about the colors in our prison?”

Li Hua watched as Grandmaster Yu stepped back, his expression still unreadable, before she turned to her brother. “Yes,” she answered, knowing what he was referring to, “because the sixth realm isn’t colorful.”

“Then wherever we were taken to must not be in the sixth realm…” Li Wei’s mind was already analyzing this new piece of information.

The siblings exchanged glances, a new mystery presenting itself. If not the sixth realm, where exactly had their brothers been imprisoned? The question hung in the grey air between them, adding another layer to the growing list of mysteries they faced.

“Don’t worry. We’ll ask Old Tang, he should be able to provide more answers.” Grandmaster Yu said, his voice gentle with understanding.

They nodded and then again took in their new environment. The impossible architecture surrounding them seemed to shift and blur at the edges of their vision, paths winding away into distances that shouldn’t exist. Gardens of grey flowers swayed in an unfelt breeze, while fountains cascaded in sheets of silver that caught light from everywhere and nowhere.

“Come, follow me carefully,” Grandmaster Yu said, starting down a path that seemed to fade into mist. “The way can be… challenging for those unaccustomed to this realm’s nature. Stay close, and remember – what your eyes tell you may not always be what’s true.”

The siblings fell into step behind their grandfather, watching as his white robes seemed to blur at the edges, becoming one with the monochrome landscape.