The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a dim, blood-tinged hue over Falling Maple City.

Within the market streets, mortals filled most of the space, their movements hurried and cautious as they passed between scattered stalls.

Many of them carried bundles of freshly harvested stalks or small storage pouches tied tightly at their waists, the faint scent of spiritual rice lingering in the air.

The few cultivators present were mostly within the Qi Gathering Realm, rarely exceeding the fourth or fifth stage.

Most oversaw small plots on the outskirts of the city or acted as enforcers, ensuring the steady flow of resources into the hands of those above them.

Occasionally, one at the sixth or seventh stage of Qi Gathering could be seen, their presence enough to command a small amount of respect.

These individuals often controlled multiple fields or managed groups of mortals, their words carrying weight within the lower circles.

As for those at the eighth or ninth stage, they were rarely seen in the fields, mostly acting as overseers or remaining out of the city.

And for those above them—

Very few cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm existed within the city, and even among them, only two were known to maintain any form of authority. It was said that nearly all the spiritual rice fields surrounding Falling Maple City ultimately flowed into their hands.

Their influence stretched quietly across the city, though neither appeared openly without reason.

Among one of the many worn and uneven courtyards within the city, the sound of a sharp impact suddenly rang out.

Pa!

A middle-aged woman stood before a young man, her hand still slightly raised as her expression turned cold and displeased.

The force of the slap caused Lin Wei’s head to tilt slightly, a faint redness appearing across his cheek as he steadied himself.

“Still sleeping at this hour?” she snapped, her voice sharp and unforgiving. “Do you think this is a place for you to rest whenever you please?”

Lin Wei lowered his head slightly, a bitter smile forming within his heart, though none of it showed on his face. He had been too engrossed in cultivation the night before, drawing in what little qi he could from the surroundings, and as a result, he hadn’t gotten enough rest.

These past few days had been quiet, with no work assigned to them, so he had naturally intended to make the most of it. But who would have thought that they would suddenly be called today without warning?

“Do you understand what I said?” the woman asked again, her gaze sharpening as she stared down at him.

“Ye… Yes, Madam Ye,” he said hurriedly, his tone respectful as he didn’t dare show the slightest delay.

The woman gave a small snort, clearly dissatisfied, but she didn’t continue pressing him.

“Good. Then hurry and get dressed,” she said as she turned slightly, already losing interest in him. “Today, all of you are heading to the spirit fields.”

At those words, the atmosphere in the courtyard shifted slightly, and the few youths nearby immediately became more stern.

They all hurried out of the courtyard, not daring to delay even a moment longer in fear of being reprimanded.

The courtyard quickly emptied when, suddenly, by the bed, a faint ripple passed through the air as it distorted and a figure in a pale blue robe appeared.

Meng Lin appeared with furrowed brows. “What’s going on here? How are there so many mortals and low-level cultivators alive here?”

Meng Lin had been eager to leave the void space to see the outside world after so long. She had expected to see the same world as she had left a few years ago.

But now, any eagerness within her faded, only to be replaced by confusion.

There was a faint pause in her expression as she looked at the scene of order and routine within her spiritual consciousness. For a brief moment, a trace of confusion flickered in her eyes.

There were far too many life signatures present, not just within Falling Maple City itself, but extending far past its borders into the surrounding lands.

Villages, scattered settlements, and carefully divided plots of land filled her perception, each one containing clusters of mortals and low-level cultivators going about their lives as if nothing had ever happened.

This was not something that could be explained with mere survival.

Even if a portion of the population had somehow survived the demon realm invasion, the numbers before her were simply too large to be justified in that way.

Meng Lin’s expression slowly turned to bewilderment as that thought settled in her mind. This… shouldn’t be possible.

Looking back toward the small bed, her gaze lingered for a brief moment before she stepped closer. She reached under the headrest and took out a broken jade token.

Her fingers paused for a fraction of a second as she studied it—just a faint, almost imperceptible stillness in her movements.

After considering for a moment, she flipped her hand and retrieved some items from within her inventory, placing it underneath the headrest.

Although the jade token belonged to her, she didn’t feel comfortable taking it without replacing it with something. Thus, she had to part with the Soul Confusing Array and some useless pills.

Shaking the thought from her head, her consciousness shifted, locking onto the strongest life signal within her perception—a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

Without any hesitation, her figure disappeared from the courtyard.

Within a large manor located closer to the inner section of Falling Maple City, the atmosphere was noticeably more refined compared to the outer areas.

Guards stood stationed along the perimeter, their expressions stern as they maintained order, while servants moved quietly through the halls, not daring to make unnecessary noise.

Deep within the manor, in a spacious chamber filled with faint incense, a man sat cross-legged as he circulated his qi, his aura fluctuating slightly as he stabilized his cultivation.

However, before he could complete a few circulations, the space around him distorted.

A terrifying pressure descended without warning, causing his entire body to stiffen as his eyes snapped open in shock.

Before he could even react, a hand had already grabbed hold of his head, lifting him up. His pupils shrank instantly as a cold sweat broke out across his back, his breathing turning uneven as fear surged within him.

“S-Senior… what are you doing?” he asked hurriedly, his voice trembling as he didn’t dare resist in the slightest.

Meng Lin appeared floating slightly off the floor, her expression calm, yet there was a terrifying coldness in her gaze as she looked at him.

“I will ask, and you will answer. If you hesitate even for a moment, you will die.”

The man’s heart trembled as he tried nodding, not daring to show the slightest delay.

“Y-Yes, Senior… I understand…”

“Your identity,” she said directly, her grip tightening slightly as a reminder.

“I… I am a steward under the Immortal Pavilion,” he said quickly, forcing himself to speak clearly despite the fear. “My role is to oversee this city and ensure that the spiritual fields continue producing resources to be sent back regularly.”

At this, Meng Lin’s eyes narrowed slightly. Immortal Pavilion…

“What happened to the Soul Shattering Sect that was stationed a few miles away from here?” Meng Lin asked, voicing the question on her mind.

There was a subtle tightening in her gaze as she spoke the sect name—an almost instinctive reaction before she suppressed it.

“The Soul Shattering Sect?” the man repeated, his expression filled with confusion as his brows knitted together.

Meng Lin’s gaze grew colder as she watched him, her eyes narrowing slightly while a faint pressure descended once more.

“You’ve never heard of it?” she asked in suspicion.

“I—No, Senior… I haven’t. I was just stationed here,” he said quickly, his voice unsteady as he shook his head. “But after the calamity, many sects disappeared completely. Some were destroyed, while others… have left this realm entirely.”

Meng Lin’s brows raised slightly at that.

“Left this realm? What do you mean?”

He continued, clearly trying to piece together what little he knew.

“I heard that after the calamity, an organization appeared,” he said, his voice lowering unconsciously. “They called themselves the Heavenly Crossing. They revealed that there were other realms beyond this one and offered cultivators a way to leave this realm…”

Meng Lin’s expression remained calm, but her eyes grew colder. Other realms… The Heavenly Crossing.

“And you’re saying the Soul Shattering Sect left through this organization?” she asked.

“This, I don’t know for sure,” he replied hurriedly. “Because there are several other ways to leave now. Some ancient formations were reactivated, and there are rumors of hidden spatial passages… even I came from another realm.”

“Oh, what’s that realm called?” Meng Lin asked.

“I… I came from a place called the Azure Sand Realm,” he said, his voice steadying slightly as he spoke. “It’s a lower-tier realm, not much different from this one before the calamity, with scattered sects and small domains controlling most regions.”

Meng Lin listened without interrupting, her eyes narrowing faintly as she processed the information.

“The Immortal Pavilion… they opened a passage there,” he continued, his tone carrying a hint of unease as he recalled it. “At first, we didn’t understand what was happening. Large spatial formations appeared, and people were gathered in groups, each sent over one by one.”

His voice lowered slightly as he continued.

“They said this realm had become unstable, that its spiritual veins were damaged beyond repair after the calamity, and that rebuilding it would take time. So they offered those with potential a chance to leave, while others… were forced to do labor.”

“Is that what this city is?”

“Yes…” he said, nodding quickly. “Mortals, low-level cultivators—most who had no say in the matter—were transported through those formations, placed into different regions, different realms… this place was just one of them.”

“Different realms?”

“Yes. I heard that the demon invasion happened to four other realms as well. Both the Heavenly Crossing and the Immortal Pavilion are stationed in each of them.”

“Demon invasion happening in other realms…” Meng Lin couldn’t help but be reminded of the Qiankun World.

She had encountered a demonic woman there as well.

Meng Lin fell silent for a brief moment, her thoughts settling before she spoke again.

“Ok, so then how many have left through this Heavenly Crossing?”

“Almost all of them,” he answered immediately, not daring to hesitate this time. “Most sects, powerful cultivators, and independent experts chose to leave. Only some low-ranked sects and some loose cultivators who refused to go remain.”

Having come to a decision, Meng Lin asked, “These formations from the Heavenly Crossing,” she said slowly, “where are they located?”

“T-There are several… but the nearest one is a few hundred miles south, in Heavenly Crossing City.”

Meng Lin’s eyes flickered faintly, her gaze lowering slightly as she looked at the man in her grasp.

For a brief moment, she felt an urge.

Then—

Puchi.

It was almost instant.

Meng Lin’s grip tightened without the slightest warning.

A dull, muffled explosion rang out within the room as the man's head burst apart instantly, blood and fragments scattering outward before losing all force and falling lifelessly to the ground.

The entire process happened so abruptly that even the terror on his face had no time to fully form before his consciousness was snuffed out.

“What’s this feeling?” she questioned, her brows furrowed.

It was almost as if something deep within her had stirred.

A faint warmth lingered in her chest, spreading slowly like ripples across still water.

Her gaze lingered on the remains for a moment longer, the trace of that strange emotion flickering across her features before it began to fade.

Meng Lin’s brows furrowed slightly. “...”

Without another word, her hand moved forward once more.

It gradually turned translucent, phasing out as it passed directly through the man’s corpse without resistance.

Her fingers curled slightly.

A hazy, translucent figure was forcibly pulled out from within the corpse, its form unstable and flickering as if it could collapse at any moment.

The man’s soul.

It held a vacant gaze, almost as if in a trance.

Meng Lin raised her other hand, and a dark, ghastly qi appeared before she lightly tapped the soul between its brows.

A faint ripple spread through it.

“Everything that you just said, is it true?” she asked, her tone noticeably different from before.

The man’s soul flickered for a moment before he uttered, “yes,” with a vacant gaze.

Meng Lin fell into contemplation. If everything that he said was true, then she wondered if she should stay in this realm or leave as well.

Thinking of her sect, she reached into her inventory, taking out a palm-sized golden token. Its surface shimmered faintly with intricate engravings of clouds and mountains—the symbol of the Soul Shattering Sect.

As she inspected it closely, a wave of spiritual energy surged from the token, and a voice emerged within it.

“All Soul Shattering Sect disciples are to return to the sect immediately.”

“Upper Post Heaven, Yin Region, Fallen Star Ridge.”

Listening to the message in the sect token, Meng Lin confirmed that the sect had indeed left this realm.

She contemplated for a moment before setting a goal. For now, she would first find a place to cultivate and utilize everything that she had before leaving the realm.

There was the rank 6 beast soul that she had to absorb, as well as the Spirit Core of the Hollow Silent Forest. Then there were the rewards from the system, like the medium-grade sacred weapon and the system gacha.

Maybe after that, she could leave.

At the thought of leaving, she couldn’t help but think back to the Void Star Alliance. She wondered if she would encounter them.

---

High above Falling Maple City, her figure reappeared, suspended in the air as her gaze swept across the land below.

The city, the fields, the countless mortals and low-level cultivators moving about their assigned roles—all of it reflected clearly within her consciousness.

Her aura shifted slightly. A faint ripple spread outward from her position as space itself distorted subtly around her figure.

She locked onto the direction the man had mentioned earlier—Heavenly Crossing City.

If there was any place within this realm that still connected outward, it would be there.

Since it was a city, she could find accommodations there as well, and maybe gain more information about the current situation.

Her figure blurred.

And in the next instant, she shot forward, tearing through the sky as she headed directly toward the south, her speed distorting the air around her as she disappeared into the distance.