Outside the boundaries of Silent River Hill, countless cultivators remained gathered around the devastated landscape, and although some of them maintained calm expressions on the surface, excitement and greed could no longer be concealed from their eyes.

The region that once contained flourishing forests, flowing rivers, towering spiritual trees, and countless traces of spiritual vitality had been reduced to a blackened wasteland. Vast stretches of earth had been scorched. Entire mountains carried massive scars left behind by overwhelming attacks.

Deep fissures spread throughout the land like wounds carved into the flesh of the world itself.

From a distance, Silent River Hill no longer resembled a sacred cultivation land. Instead, it resembled the aftermath of a catastrophic war between supreme experts.

Despite the devastation, however, the cultivators gathered around the territory had long since realized a strange truth.

No matter how much destruction they unleashed upon the region, no matter how many techniques they used, and no matter how much spiritual energy they poured into their attacks, the territory itself refused to disappear.

They could burn the forests. They could flatten the mountains. They could evaporate rivers. They could even reduce vast portions of the surface into ashes. Yet the foundation of the territory remained.

Something hidden beneath the visible world continued preserving the existence of Silent River Hill.

Hovering high in the sky, the Ascendant Elder of the Nether Corpse Sect stood atop an enormous black coffin whose surface was covered with countless ancient runes.

Dense demonic energy continuously flowed around him like dark rivers, causing weaker cultivators to instinctively retreat whenever they approached too closely.

Not far away stood the Ascendant Elder of the Cleaving Heaven Sect, whose body remained surrounded by countless sword lights. Every sword seemed capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers. Merely standing there caused nearby cultivators to feel pressure. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Neither elder spoke for a long period of time.

Their gazes remained fixed upon Silent River Hill as they carefully observed every detail. The expressions on their faces were thoughtful. The destruction they had caused should have erased almost any ordinary territory. Yet Silent River Hill remained stubbornly intact. That fact alone made them cautious.

Eventually, the elder from the Cleaving Heaven Sect slowly broke the silence.

"The forests can be burned."

His voice was calm, yet every cultivator nearby immediately listened.

"The mountains can be shattered."

His gaze swept across the devastated landscape.

"The rivers can be evaporated."

He paused before continuing.

"The surface can be destroyed repeatedly."

The elder from the Nether Corpse Sect nodded slowly before continuing the thought.

"Yet the territory itself remains."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"The spiritual veins hidden beneath the surface remain."

"The foundation remains."

"The roots remain."

"The strange laws governing this place remain."

Several nearby Soul Transformation cultivators exchanged uneasy glances after hearing those words. They had personally witnessed the attacks unleashed by the two Ascendant experts. Mountains that could resist Nascent Soul cultivators had collapsed. Ancient spiritual trees that survived countless years had been reduced to dust. Entire regions had vanished beneath overwhelming power. Yet despite all that destruction, Silent River Hill continued existing as though some unseen force was preserving it.

The elder from the Nether Corpse Sect slowly stroked his beard before speaking again.

"The Deity still has not appeared."

The elder from the Cleaving Heaven Sect nodded thoughtfully.

"Which leaves only a few possibilities."

The surrounding cultivators listened attentively.

"He either cannot leave the territory."

"Or he chooses not to leave the territory."

His eyes slowly brightened.

"Regardless of which explanation is true, both benefit us."

The elder from the Nether Corpse Sect suddenly laughed.

The sound echoed throughout the sky.

"Indeed."

His eyes shifted toward a concealed location hidden beneath countless formations.

"We have already proven something important."

The Cleaving Heaven Sect elder nodded.

"Every object he places within Silent River Hill becomes a treasure."

His voice became increasingly serious.

"The divine waters."

"The heavenly fruits."

"The mysterious objects that repeatedly descend from beyond the heavens."

"The countless resources appearing inside the territory."

His gaze lingered upon the hidden location.

"If those treasures can be extracted before he notices, then the benefits will be unimaginable."

A wave of excitement immediately spread through the gathered cultivators.

Some felt their breathing quicken.

Others stared greedily toward the hidden formation.

Several Nascent Soul cultivators could barely contain their excitement.

The elder from the Nether Corpse Sect slowly smiled.

"Then all that remains is determining whether the Deity can retrieve what has been taken."

"If he cannot..."

His smile widened.

"Then this world belongs to us."

Meanwhile, inside the real world, Clayne remained completely unaware of the celebration occurring beyond his perception. His attention remained focused entirely upon Silent River Hill.

Although he had initially been alarmed by the darkened appearance of the territory, his worries had eased somewhat after discovering that the damage only affected the surface. The mountains still existed. The rivers still existed. The foundations of the territory remained intact. Even the flow of spiritual energy appeared normal.

After reassuring himself, Clayne decided to continue experimenting.

Carefully, he removed another dried strawberry from his remaining supplies. Since previous experiments had produced excellent results, he wanted to determine whether dried strawberries possessed similar potential.

Without wasting time, he placed the dried strawberry inside Silent River Hill and watched closely.

Immediately, spiritual energy began gathering around it.

The air trembled. Tiny clouds formed overhead. The fruit slowly started absorbing spiritual energy. Everything appeared normal. Everything proceeded exactly as expected.

Then, without warning, the dried strawberry vanished.

Clayne froze.

His eyes widened. For several moments, he simply stared where it disappeared.

His first thought was that perhaps he had blinked and missed something.

His second thought was that perhaps the fruit had rolled away.

His third thought was that perhaps some strange phenomenon had occurred inside the Tiny World.

Unfortunately, none of those explanations made sense.

The fruit was simply gone.

Completely gone.

No explosion. No heavenly tribulation. No warning. No trace. Nothing remained.

Clayne immediately began searching.

His consciousness swept across the surrounding forests.

Nothing.

He searched the rivers.

Nothing.

He searched every mountain.

Nothing.

He searched every building.

Nothing.

His search quickly expanded.

Every valley. Every cave. Every hidden location. Every corner of Silent River Hill. Still nothing.

The dried strawberry had seemingly disappeared from existence itself.

The realization immediately caused Clayne’s expression to darken.

Meanwhile, outside Silent River Hill, celebration erupted.

Laughter echoed throughout the sky.

Excited cultivators gathered around a concealed formation hidden beneath countless layers of arrays. The atmosphere resembled a festival rather than a gathering of cultivators. Faces filled with excitement could be seen everywhere. Many repeatedly stared toward the center of the formation. Others continuously praised the two Ascendant elders.

One cultivator laughed loudly.

"It actually worked."

Another could not contain his excitement.

"A heavenly fruit."

"A genuine heavenly fruit."

"We actually stole it."

The cultivators surrounding him immediately burst into laughter.

Several Soul Transformation cultivators carefully examined the object floating above the formation. Streams of spiritual energy continuously flowed into it. The sight alone caused countless eyes to burn with greed.

The missing dried strawberry floated quietly above the formation.

Concealment arrays surrounded it.

Protective formations surrounded it.

Spiritual gathering formations continuously nourished it.

The elders observed the scene with satisfaction.

The Ascendant Elder of the Nether Corpse Sect slowly nodded.

"Very good."

The Ascendant Elder of the Cleaving Heaven Sect appeared equally pleased.

"Our assumptions were correct."

One Nascent Soul cultivator quickly bowed before asking respectfully.

"Senior, what should we do now?"

The elder smiled faintly.

"We wait."

The cultivator looked confused.

The elder pointed toward Silent River Hill.

"If the Deity cannot retrieve this fruit..."

His smile slowly widened.

"Then we can repeat this process indefinitely."

The elder from the Nether Corpse Sect burst into laughter.

"Divine water."

"Heavenly fruits."

"Heavenly treasures."

"Everything placed inside that territory will become ours."

The surrounding cultivators immediately became excited. Some imagined future breakthroughs. Some imagined becoming Soul Transformation cultivators. Some imagined becoming Ascendant experts. The greed in their eyes became increasingly obvious.

Back inside Silent River Hill, Clayne’s frustration continued growing.

He had already searched every corner of the territory.

The fruit remained missing.

Then suddenly, he heard something.

Laughter.

At first, he thought he had imagined it.

Then he heard it again. More laughter. Then more. Then even more. The sounds seemed to come from beyond Silent River Hill.

Beyond the area he could directly observe beyond his reach.

Clayne immediately narrowed his eyes.

The laughter continued.

Some voices sounded mocking. Some sounded triumphant. Some sounded openly provocative.

The intent behind them was unmistakable.

Someone had taken his fruit. Worse, they were celebrating it.

Clayne immediately shouted several threats toward the unseen cultivators.

"Hey, bring it back!"

The response was even more laughter.

More taunts. More mockery.

The voices seemed convinced he could do nothing. That realization immediately fueled his anger.

His eyes swept across the territory repeatedly. Unfortunately, the voices remained beyond his range.

Then suddenly, an idea appeared. Clayne immediately grabbed water and poured it throughout Silent River Hill.

Rivers began flowing once more.

The blackened terrain slowly recovered.

Charred grass gradually regained its color.

The damaged landscape became increasingly clean.

The water spread everywhere. It flowed through valleys. It flowed through forests. It flowed through mountains. Then something unexpected appeared.

A formation.

Hidden beneath the surface.

Clayne froze.

His eyes widened.

The water revealed lines previously concealed from view. Spiritual patterns became visible.

Array markings emerged from beneath the ground. The moment he saw them, everything suddenly became clear.

A slow smile appeared across his face.

The missing fruit. The laughter. The hidden cultivators. The celebration.

Everything finally connected.

His eyes locked onto the formation.

The smile gradually disappeared.

A dangerous look appeared in his eyes.

Then he slowly muttered.

"What exactly do you think you’re accomplishing by doing this?"