"Little Xi, could there really be something extraordinary about this hammer?" Lan Xian finally could not resist asking.
Yao Yue's eyes widened as well, curiosity shining in them. Clearly, she also wanted to know why.
They had examined it by all sorts of means, only to conclude that it was a divine artifact that had lost its spirituality.
This left the two of them puzzled. Had their examination not been thorough enough?
Xi Yue smiled and said no more.
The two immediately understood. There were too many people and prying eyes here; this was no place to discuss it.
With that thought, they set aside their curiosity.
They continued exploring, visiting all sorts of places, but found nothing else of value.
They did, however, casually buy a few objects that looked rather interesting.
In the Lan clan's Ancestral Land, three graceful young women gathered around a stone table, their eyes fixed on a pitch-black hammer.
Xi Yue held the hammer and examined it before finally fixing her gaze on its handle.
More precisely, she focused on a piece of beast hide wrapped around the handle.
A section of the handle had broken off, leaving only about two feet. A piece of purplish-black beast hide was tightly wound around it.
The hide felt cold to the touch and was exceptionally supple and tough. There was no telling what kind of ferocious beast it had come from.
Several runes were inscribed on it, binding it tightly to the handle. They were badly damaged, however, so she removed the hide without much effort.
Lan Xian raised her hand and produced a true god weapon. Channeling her divine power, she slashed straight at it.
Clang!
A clear ring sounded, like metal striking metal. When they looked, not even the slightest mark had been left behind.
"This beast hide really is extraordinary. Even a divine weapon can't leave a mark on it. It must have come from at least a sect master," Lan Xian said, surprise flickering in her beautiful eyes.
"Oh? It seems there's an entire hidden world within it," Yao Yue murmured, having discovered something as well.
She brought forth a Bone Mirror, an extraordinary treasure capable of seeing through illusions, and turned it on the beast hide.
At once, the Bone Mirror shone, sending a beam of divine light shooting toward the hide.
Yet the divine light did not penetrate it. It lingered on the surface for a moment before dissipating.
"Huh? It didn't work?" Yao Yue was stunned. This Bone Mirror had been refined by a sect master of the Self-Slaying Realm in her clan, yet even it could not see through the mysteries within?
They studied it for a while longer without finding a single clue. It was too strange. No matter what methods they used, the hide remained unmoved and showed no reaction whatsoever.
In the end, left with no other choice, they summoned the old man, Lan Canghai.
The old man picked up the beast hide. After examining it for only a short while, his face filled with astonishment. "This is something incredible!"
"What's so incredible about it?" they could not help asking.
"If I'm not mistaken, this beast hide comes from the previous epoch, and it does not belong to this realm. It is the hide of a Time Beast!"
They were all startled to hear this. None had expected the hide to have such a terrifying origin.
"Time Beasts... they're an imperial clan of the Foreign Realm!" Lan Xian said gravely.
"Indeed, that is the clan. They are a supreme race said to wield the Great Dao of Time. One of their ancient ancestors even attained power that plumbed the mysteries of creation, standing shoulder to shoulder with Immortal Kings such as Without End and Six Paths of Reincarnation!" Lan Canghai said.
"This beast hide is profoundly mysterious. There is a great formation within it, sealing away certain secrets. It carries the aura of the immortal path and seems to have been laid down by a supreme expert."
Then he shook his head and sighed deeply, handing the hide back to Xi Yue. "Unfortunately, my strength is not enough to break it open safely."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "If we force it open and trigger the world-shaking formation within, great disaster will follow!"
Xi Yue reached out to take it. Something that even a supreme expert like Lan Canghai could not open had to conceal earth-shattering secrets. If she could unravel them, she might gain tremendous benefits.
"Little Xi, rest assured. This old man knows what he's doing. This is your good fortune, and I certainly won't reveal it to anyone," he promised at once, patting his chest.
Its origins were far too astonishing. Though they did not know why it had been treated as ordinary leather and fitted onto a weapon, that could not conceal its extraordinary nature.
Even setting everything else aside, using it purely as a defensive treasure would already be heaven-defying.
If word got out, who knew how many powers would come scrambling to seize it? Even the immortal families and ancient great sects might enter the fray.
What was more, it involved another realm, making its significance immense.
Yao Yue and Lan Xian also spoke up, swearing not to reveal it.
They felt no jealousy, either. After all, Xi Yue had discovered it. Even if they gained nothing, they would have no grounds to complain.
Besides, they knew Xi Yue's nature. She would never keep all the good fortune to herself.
A few days later, Lan Xian came to bid Xi Yue and Yao Yue farewell. She was returning to the Immortal Academy.
"Who knows when we'll meet again, or what things will be like then?" Lan Xian said, a hint of melancholy in her voice.
Yao Yue tapped her on the head, exasperation written all over her face. "What are you talking about? You make it sound like we're being parted by life and death. It's not as though you can't come back."
Lan Xian glared at her with her beautiful eyes, then gave an elegant roll of them. "When I return, we'll fight again."
Their relationship was a subtle one. They constantly competed, neither willing to yield to the other.
"Sure. I'll be waiting," Yao Yue said with a smile.
Lan Xian finally left, leaving the others exchanging glances.
"Why are you looking at me? Does this old man still have something worth coveting?" Seeing the two staring at him, Lan Canghai scratched his head in confusion.
Silence followed.
"I'm going back," Xi Yue finally said, breaking the silence first.
Though she had not stayed here all that long, it had not been a short visit, either. It was time to return.
"Ah, I knew it." Lan Canghai sighed deeply. "I'll take you back."
He was somewhat reluctant to part with them, but there was nothing he could do. He could not shelter the two of them throughout their entire growth. Fledglings would always have a day when they spread their wings and soared.
"It so happens that I can visit a few old friends in Boundless Heaven."
With a supreme expert accompanying them, there was no need to activate an altar. They could simply break through the great realm barrier and return.
Every activation of such an altar consumed vast quantities of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Even a wealthy clan with extensive holdings could not afford to squander them.
These days, even the landlords had little grain to spare.
Within the endless sea of stars, chaos surged and great stars hummed. Traveling through it gave them a peculiar feeling.
Of course, this was only because the old man, a supreme expert, was accompanying them. Otherwise, their meager cultivation would likely have seen them reduced to dust in an instant.
This was not a journey across a single continent, but a true crossing between domains. None but an unparalleled sect master
could accomplish it!
An ordinary Heavenly God could traverse the starry sky with their physical body alone, but that only applied within a domain such as Boundless Heaven. If they tried to cross from one domain to another, even if they did not perish instantly, they would come close.
With a thunderous boom, boundless divine light blazed, dazzling and resplendent, illuminating past and present and sweeping across heaven and earth. The realm barrier had been pierced. At that moment, they had left Qingwei Heaven.
In the distance, they could see more than a dozen ancient continents floating in space, drawing in the essence of the sun and moon and the radiance of the stars. They seemed to breathe, exhaling waves of ripples that swept in every direction.
"These are the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths of today. Once, they were merely some ancient lands within the Primordial Ancient Realm. At the end of Immortal Ancient, they were shattered in battle and became these nineteen ancient continents," Lan Canghai explained.
At his level, he naturally knew some of the secrets of the past.
At last, they saw that ancient continent and returned to Boundless Heaven.