A few days later.
Xiao Tianhao suddenly remembered that he hadn't returned to the Modern World in several months. He ought to go back and take a look, or he would lose touch with reality if he stayed away too long.
Traveling between worlds wasn't something he could do whenever he pleased. It consumed a tremendous amount of soul force, and only recently had his soul force reached the threshold required for the crossing.
Time flowed differently in the real world and the world of Tales of Demons and Gods. One day in reality equaled ten days in Tales of Demons and Gods.
With a thought, the Profound Space Pearl trembled violently against his chest, its web of cracks bursting with dazzling golden light. The world before his eyes shattered like a broken mirror, splintering in an instant-
Bang!
Xiao Tianhao's feet slammed onto the hard ground. He had appeared a little too high above it and nearly lost his footing, letting out a muffled grunt.
The sudden blare of car horns stabbed painfully at his eardrums. The murky air carried the familiar smell of gasoline and the scorched scent of asphalt baked beneath a blazing sun.
He snapped his eyes open. Dazzling sunlight poured through the gaps between towering buildings.
Scalding asphalt lay beneath his feet, surrounded by an endless stream of vehicles and pedestrians hurrying on their way. In the distance, an LED billboard for XX Bank flashed with glaring red light.
A modern city! He was back again.
Xiao Tianhao steadied himself awkwardly, avoided the strange looks of a few pedestrians, and stumbled into an alley.
Luckily, there weren't many pedestrians here. Otherwise, a fully grown man appearing out of nowhere would surely have been hauled away to be studied.
His heart pounded in his chest as he shakily pulled out the Profound Space Pearl-the cracks on its surface were denser than before, and light like liquid gold flowed within it.
This return trip had consumed roughly half his soul force.
He had also discovered that the soul force consumed by his crossings depended on his cultivation level. The higher his level, the greater the cost. In other words, each crossing would probably consume about half his soul force.
"Oh, I haven't called Mom and Dad in ages." He muttered to himself, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly took out his phone.
The date read July 25, 2025. Only ten days had passed since his last crossing into the world of Tales of Demons and Gods!
A police siren sounded outside the alley. Only then did Xiao Tianhao notice his outfit-old-fashioned martial attire made from coarse hemp, with a leather pouch of medicinal powder hanging at his waist. He looked every inch an extra from a period drama. He had to change clothes as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, in a room at a budget hotel.
Xiao Tianhao stood beneath the showerhead, letting warm water wash over his body. In the mirror, he looked much more muscular than before his crossing, his muscles sharply defined.
Most astonishing of all, with the slightest shift of his thoughts, he discovered that the swirling mass of intertwined blue and silver soul force in his dantian was still there!
A faint strand of soul force traveled along his meridians to his fingertips, forming a thin layer of silver light over his skin.
"I brought the power back..." He clenched his fist, and the water parted automatically when it touched that silver glow.
Why was he surprised? Because he had indeed returned a few months earlier, but at the time, he hadn't yet advanced to become a Bronze Rank Demon Spirit Master.
He had merely been an ordinary person who had undergone body tempering, making him a little stronger physically. That hadn't been enough to confirm whether a Demon Spirit Master's power could be brought back to the Modern World.
Still, he suspected that he couldn't replenish his soul force here. After all, this was only an ordinary modern world.
If he wanted to use a Demon Spirit Master's abilities here, he would have to bring some restorative pills over from the world of Tales of Demons and Gods.
After drying himself, Xiao Tianhao changed into a hastily purchased T-shirt and jeans and began taking inventory of his belongings: several packets of medicinal powder, the Bronze Key Nie Li had given him, the cold jade marrow Xiao Ning'er had gifted him-only three pieces remained-and the Profound Space Pearl he had stored in his sea of consciousness.
Fortunately, the bank card and ID card that had been in his pockets during the crossing were still there. When he had first crossed over, he had put the clothes he'd changed out of directly into the Profound Space Pearl.
He opened his laptop and quickly searched for information about Tales of Demons and Gods.
The search results made his pupils contract sharply-Tales of Demons and Gods did indeed exist as a novel in this world, but it had only been updated through the part where Nie Li assembled his core group after his rebirth. Everything after that was blank!
"Are the two worlds linked?" Xiao Tianhao pondered. "Or... is the real world I live in actually some sort of projection?"
The Profound Space Pearl suddenly trembled faintly in his mind, as though responding to his speculation.
He tried channeling a strand of soul force into it.
The space inside the pearl unfolded at once. The purified and refined medicinal herbs and blood essence floated there intact, including a few drops of diluted refined blood from a Crimson Blood Fox. He had extracted those later from purchased Crimson Blood Fox blood and the blood of other Demon Beasts.
A bold idea surfaced in his mind. I can bring things from the Modern World into the world of Tales of Demons and Gods now. What about the other way around...?
He immediately dialed a number he hadn't called in a long time.
"Zhou, it's me. Yeah, long time no see... I've got a business proposition for you."
Two hours later, Zhou Mo, a former researcher at a military research institute, placed a black briefcase on a café table.
"What you asked for." Zhou Mo adjusted his glasses, keeping his voice extremely low. "It's all civilian-grade, but getting it still took quite a bit of effort. Let's be clear up front-if anything happens, I won't admit a thing."
Xiao Tianhao opened the case and glanced inside: three high-carbon steel tactical daggers, a portable water purifier, ten antibiotic injections, and several packets of specially made, high-calorie compressed military rations.
At the very bottom sat a sealed titanium alloy box the size of a matchbox, containing a sample of some radioactive mineral-a little occult "extra" he had specifically requested.
"The money's already been transferred to your Swiss account." Xiao Tianhao closed the case, then suddenly lowered his voice. "Zhou, do you believe in parallel worlds?"
Zhou Mo paused, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his lenses. "They're possible under quantum physics. Why? You..."
Xiao Tianhao didn't answer, merely offering a mysterious smile. After saying goodbye to his old friend, he returned to the hotel with the case and placed each item into the Profound Space Pearl's space.
To his delight, the space inside the pearl seemed to reject none of the modern items. Previously, he had only brought simple everyday supplies, so he hadn't been certain about taking so much military equipment across. The tactical daggers were even automatically sorted into the "weapons" section.
He also went out to buy generators, refrigerators, air conditioners, and other electrical appliances, storing them all inside the Profound Space Pearl.
"Now for the most crucial part of the experiment..."
Xiao Tianhao took a deep breath and gripped the Profound Space Pearl, picturing Glory City in the world of Tales of Demons and Gods. The familiar tearing sensation struck again-
Bang!
This time, he landed in a clump of bushes on the mountain behind the Sacred Orchid Institute. Night hung low, stars filled the sky, and the institute's distant lights resembled fallen stars.
Ignoring the dirt on his body, Xiao Tianhao immediately checked the space inside the Profound Space Pearl. (It was normal that the protagonist couldn't control the Profound Space Pearl very well yet.)
Every modern item was completely intact!
Suppressing his excitement, he took out a tactical dagger.
Its sharp blade gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight, several times finer than the ordinary iron weapons of the Tales of Demons and Gods world. Although it couldn't compare with high-grade weapons forged from Demon Beast bones, it was still outstanding among ordinary weapons.
Better still, the titanium alloy box containing the radioactive mineral had automatically been wrapped in a layer of purifying energy inside the pearl's space, sealing off all radiation.
Xiao Tianhao felt that everyday supplies were actually the most useful things from the Modern World.
Electrical appliances of all kinds made life incredibly convenient and would certainly be sought after by the nobles.
"It really works..." A sharp gleam flashed in Xiao Tianhao's eyes. This meant he could become a "bridge" between the two worlds and carve out a path of development that belonged to him alone!
Although modern weapons would become much less effective in the later stages, he believed firearms would remain highly effective against anyone below Gold Rank.
Taking that claim a little further, even Legend Rank experts might not be impossible to deal with. It was just that modern weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear bombs, couldn't be bought even in the chaotic regions of the Middle East.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the distance. Xiao Tianhao swiftly put everything away, concealed his aura, and slipped into the shadows.
"Strange. I clearly sensed spatial fluctuations..." A familiar figure appeared on the forest path. It was Nie Li! Holding an antique compass, he surveyed his surroundings with a deep frown.
An idea stirred in Xiao Tianhao's mind, and he deliberately snapped a branch underfoot.
"Who's there?" Nie Li instantly grew alert, his compass pointing toward the bushes.
"It's me." Xiao Tianhao pretended to have just climbed up from the ground. "Are you here to cultivate on the mountain too, Nie Li?"
The sharpness in Nie Li's eyes vanished in a flash, replaced by a calm expression. "Tianhao, how did you end up looking like that?"
"I had a little accident while trying a new pill formula." Xiao Tianhao brushed the dust off his clothes, deliberately showing a wry smile. "The pill cauldron exploded."
Nie Li nodded thoughtfully, then abruptly changed the subject. "Tianhao, are you ready for the Trade Fair at midnight tomorrow?"
"Of course." Xiao Tianhao touched the Space Ring on his hand. "I've brought a few interesting things."
The two walked side by side along the forest path back to the institute, each occupied with his own thoughts. As they passed through a patch of shadow the moonlight couldn't reach, Nie Li suddenly stopped.
"Tianhao, do you believe in fate?"
Xiao Tianhao's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "Yes and no. Fate is like a river. Its main course may be hard to change, but where its tributaries flow... who can say for certain?"
A trace of surprise flashed in Nie Li's eyes, followed by a smile. "An interesting perspective."
Nie Li gave him a long, searching look, then left with a light, graceful step after saying, "See you tomorrow night."
Back in his dorm room, Xiao Tianhao locked the door and windows, then eagerly took out the modern items.
He put the tactical daggers and water purifier away for now, focusing instead on the antibiotic injections. He didn't know whether they would be useful in this world filled with Demon Beasts.
Outside the window, the first ray of morning light pierced the clouds.
Xiao Tianhao closed his eyes, already beginning to plan every detail of tomorrow night's Trade Fair.
With modern supplies and the advantage of knowing what lay ahead, he would surely become one of the players in this chess game spanning two worlds!
Before you continue