Chapter 1328: Despair's Transformation

What is this... thing...?

Gazing at the hundreds of nianlun rings, the "faith" within Qinglong nearly collapsed entirely. Countless questions began to swirl wildly through his mind. Why are they called nianlun? How could a tree over seventy years old be packed with hundreds of rings? He had planted the tree himself and lived through the time himself. What could have caused such an anomaly...? If this tree had lived for hundreds of years, why was it still so slender?

The multitude of rings coiled like scrolls across the cross-section, making the tree trunk's color appear darker at first glance. A thought that had never crossed Qinglong's mind before now surfaced abruptly— was there something wrong with the time he had experienced? It felt as if he had been deceived by someone, or perhaps controlled. No... or maybe... someone had tampered with this tree? But who could possess such incredible power to meddle with it right under his and Tianlong's watch?

His mind was in utter chaos. Not only had Duoxinpo vanished without a trace, but the thunderclouds in the sky were also gradually dissipating. He felt a growing fear, a fear of the completely unknown situation he was in.

"This is not right..." Qinglong murmured, "The situation is completely out of our control... Tianlong... wake up..."

The three onlookers watched Qinglong's bizarre behavior, plunging them into confusion once more. The situation was beyond Qinglong's control... and equally beyond theirs. So, was it heading in that direction?

Although Chutianqiu was utterly baffled, he sensed that Qiaojiajin's "killing move" had indeed taken effect. Seizing the moment, he dashed toward Tianlong again.

Qinglong was shouting "not right" like a madman. Just as Chutianqiu was about to reach the steps, Qinglong raised his hands high and slammed them down onto the ground with a tremendous boom.

Boom!!

Massive cracks spread across the room's floor, extending to the feet of the three, causing them all to stagger unsteadily. Chutianqiu was tripped by the cracks and nearly fell.

"Tianlong..." Qinglong stared wide-eyed, saying, "This is not right... The situation has spiraled out of control... Tianlong... Wake up!!"

In the trio's stunned gaze, Qinglong raised his hands again and pounded the ground with force.

Boom!!

The room shook violently once more, even making Tianlong, seated on the steps, sway from side to side. Amid the deafening noise, he furrowed his brow slightly, as if on the verge of opening his eyes.

The current situation left Qinglong helpless. Not only had he lost all his xianfa, but he was also clueless about the true nature of his experiences over the past decades. This was the first time he felt such panic. He had always believed himself to be the supreme ruler of Taoyuan, yet now he realized he knew nothing about it. He knew he had to awaken Tianlong, as if something major was about to happen.

"Tianlong... Wake up!!"

As Qinglong prepared to strike the ground again, Qiaojiajin leaped in front of him and extended his arms to catch his hands. But Qinglong's strength in that moment was extraordinarily immense. Though his body still bore unhealed wounds, his hands came down like falling meteors, dragging Qiaojiajin's resistance with them to smash into the ground.

Boom!!

Qiaojiajin was knocked to the ground by the terrifying force. Only then did he realize that striking that tree wasn't some "killing move"— it was more like a "death warrant." If he had known seeing that tree would make Qinglong wake Tianlong... would he have chosen this plan? So, what attitude should he take toward working with Qixia...? When you believe in him, you unexpectedly find he's deceiving you. When you think he's a fraud, he seems to be helping you.

Amid countless cycles of deception and trust, Qiaojiajin could only hold fast to his own principles. In this life, he existed only to repay kindness and seek revenge, yet he hadn't accomplished a single thing so far.

"Tianlong!! Wake up!!"

Qiaojiajin didn't know how to stop this maddened beast anymore. He simply rolled his body to cushion the punch with himself. He knew he had always been foolish, but if he could just delay things a little longer... even a few seconds... that would be enough for Tianqiu to reach Tianlong, right?

Qinglong paid no attention to Qiaojiajin beneath him and simply drove his fist into his body.

Boom!!

The punch landed on Qiaojiajin's chest, producing a massive, frightening sound. Qiaojiajin spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staining his entire face red.

In the wildly shaking room, Chutianqiu struggled to steady himself as best he could. His knees were scraped and bloody, and he stumbled with every step as he climbed the steps.

"Tianlong!!" Qinglong, like a maniac, punched toward Qiaojiajin's chest again. Qiaojiajin was now completely unable to resist.

Seeing this, Zhangshan hurriedly flew over to strike at Qinglong, but Qinglong was like an unyielding stone pillar—any attack on him had no effect whatsoever. His hair was disheveled, and instead of healing any wounds, he channeled all his "faith" into raw power.

Boom!!

Amid the enormous noise, Chutianqiu staggered again, but he knew he couldn't stop. Perhaps after all these years, he was the only "participant" who could set foot on these steps— Tianlong was right within reach!

He pulled out Rumen from his pocket, bit into it fiercely with his mouth, and his entire consciousness began to blur. He had never tried swallowing so many eyeballs at once; time seemed to slow down for a second. Then, he mustered all his focus to keep his wits and reached out his right hand toward Tianlong. But the room started shaking wildly again, leaving a palm's distance between them. After seventy years, this final step was harder than any before.

"Considering I've never done any harm in my life..." Chutianqiu gritted his teeth and said, "Can't I just have one thing go smoothly...?"

Tianlong's brow was furrowed, his body swaying as if he was about to open his eyes. In the midst of the violent shaking, that palm's distance was finally closed. Chutianqiu gently touched Tianlong's fingertip.

A joyful expression instantly spread across his face. Though this step had been more arduous than any other, he had succeeded. What an incredibly perilous and drawn-out step! As an ordinary person, he had touched the supreme "god" here.

Chutianqiu instinctively looked up. Everything in the plan was now on track; he just needed to—

Before he could even finish his thought, he met Tianlong's eyes, deep and hellish. Tianlong was staring straight at him, eyes wide open.