Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 804: Preliminary Exploration of Space

Zhao Changhe cleared his throat twice and looked up at the ceiling.

This was a first for him when it came to being dismissed by someone who he was working together with, and the reasoning was completely irrefutable.

Ying Five might not have confirmation that his opponents were Jiuyou and Piaomiao, but he could easily guess that they were also in Kunlun. As long as he acted in Kunlun, the chances of encountering them were high. In fact, based on his experience, Ying Five was bold enough to conclude outright that the adversaries he was looking for were precisely Jiuyou and Piaomiao.

And why was he so certain? Because they were women...

Case in point.

A man like Ying Five would not move until he had resolved the concerns in his heart. If this issue remained unresolved, he would rather abandon the fight than charge in recklessly.

“Uh, Fifth Brother, hear me out... No, listen to my explanation.” Zhao Changhe coughed and then said, “I’ll admit to the first point, but as for this thing about women.... Well, it’s not that they restrain me; it’s actually the other way around, alright?”

“Oh?” Ying Five kept his face stern. “My brotherhood’s intelligence network is quite formidable... To date, only two women have ever been your enemies. One is the current Queen of Dali, Xiang Simeng, but you two merely fought over a treasure, and she never intended to kill you. The other is Vermillion Bird... Well, I don’t know if she ever truly wanted to kill you, but based on what I know of her, she probably had thoughts of it. Yet, she never actually made a move, did she? So tell me, which woman have you ever truly fought against?”

Zhao Changhe smirked. “Are you keeping that straight face because one of them is Vermillion Bird?”

Ying Five: “...”

“Intelligence requires analysis. And doesn’t the analysis tell us that, even when these women were my enemies, they never actually tried to kill me? Now that is unparalleled fortune, the kind you can’t just be jealous of. Some guys are just born lucky.”

Ying Five nearly laughed. “Sure, sure.”

“And your so-called intelligence gathering isn’t all that great. Just from escorting Yangyang back in the day, I killed multiple female assassins—how come that doesn’t count?” Zhao Changhe sighed. “Let’s just be upfront. The truth is, I came specifically for Jiuyou and Piaomiao. The place I need your help finding is precisely where Jiuyou is. Do I look like I’m here to get myself killed?”

“I know why you’re here, actually. I’ve received intelligence that Cui Yuanyang has turned into an entirely different person on the battlefield,” Ying Five said. “But I still think you’re walking straight to your death. The second and fourth-ranked demon gods, plus your wife’s body—you’re bound by concerns at every turn. Do you even understand your own capabilities? Do you really think you can waltz in there alone?”

“So after all this circling around, you’re actually just trying to talk me out of going. When you mentioned ‘women,’ you weren’t just referring to Jiuyou and Piaomiao, but also to Yangyang.”

“Yes,” Ying Five said flatly. “That’s why I gave you three days to think things through. Yet here you are, still charging in headfirst... And the strangest part? None of your women managed to stop you.”

“They didn’t fail to stop me; they never even tried. Every single one of them supported me coming here. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because they know that if they were in the same situation, I would do the same for them.”

“...”

Zhao Changhe swirled the wine in his cup, his gaze momentarily distant. “To be honest... I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but if it were you who needed saving right now, I’d still come. If you were taken hostage, I’d still be forced to act cautiously. If I have a weakness, it isn’t women but emotions. Friendship is the same.”

Ying Five stared at him for a moment before chuckling and asking, “Do we really have that kind of bond?”

“We do.”

Ying Five’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Zhao Changhe for a long while. There was a sharp glint in his gaze, but then, suddenly, he broke into a brilliant smile. “Since it’s you saying it, I believe you.”

“Which is why this weakness of mine has no solution. I don’t plan to fix it, and I don’t think it’s a flaw to begin with.”

Ying Five responded without hesitation, “Then don’t fix it.”

“Your attitude sure changed fast.”

“Because I have the same weakness.”

The two exchanged a long look before bursting into laughter.

Zhao Changhe grinned and said, “However, things like illusions and inner demons are indeed weaknesses that need to be dealt with. Fifth Brother, any advice?”

“I do. But the method isn’t exactly straightforward.” Ying Five casually tossed him a chain. “This is a Soul-Shackling Chain. It shackles the enemy’s soul. Once they’ve been bound, their soul cannot move. Even primordial demon gods won’t be able to break free. No one can sever it from the outside, and aside from the one who wields the chain, there is no known way to break it. To be precise, I’ve never heard of a way to undo it. Whether someone like Jiuyou has a solution, I can’t say for sure.”

Zhao Changhe weighed the chain in his hand, unable to determine its material. It felt incredibly light, almost weightless. “This thing doesn’t seem very practical in actual combat. No one’s going to stand still and let you bind them, especially not when dealing with souls. They’re intangible, much unlike a physical body that can be restrained. If I can’t land a bind in the first place, then whether it can be broken or not is meaningless. A simple physical restraint would be far more useful.”

Ying Five chuckled. “Indeed, you have a keen combat instinct. Most people would be thrilled to get their hands on something like this, but you immediately recognize its limited value in a fight. It’s only useful for sneak attacks, but at this level, who can still be ambushed? So, practically speaking, it’s almost useless. Do you know why I’m giving it to you?”

“It’s not for binding Jiuyou, that’s for sure.” Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment before smirking. “You want me to bind myself. If I ever lose control, I can restrain my own soul to keep myself from going berserk. And since no one else can break it, no external force can manipulate me.”

Ying Five clapped his hands and laughed. “As expected of Zhao Changhe.”

Without hesitation, Zhao Changhe stored the chain in his ring. “Where did you even get this? I have to admit, for controlling prisoners, this is an absolute treasure with no downsides. You must’ve raided a pretty high-level secret realm to get it. I bet the casualties weren’t light...”

“Nope. I bought this in the mortal world.” Ying Five rubbed his fingers together, mimicking the gesture for money. “Ancient relics still exist in the mortal realm, just like the four divine swords of the mountains and rivers. As long as the owner is willing to sell, money can accomplish a great deal.”

Zhao Changhe had nothing to comment about that. If Ying Five had even accounted for his weaknesses, then the man’s own preparations had to be even more thorough. Thus, Zhao Changhe scrutinized him once again. “Did you break through the Profound Control Realm? Why do I still see no sign of it with my ability to observe qi?”

Ying Five smiled. “Actually, I broke through before the war in the Saibei. Did you really think someone who hadn’t broken through could trouble Timur? No matter how strong the path of space is, it can’t allow me to cross an entire realm in battle.”

“...So your so-called injuries weren’t that severe after all?”

“Exactly. I was baiting someone, tying up some loose ends in the Western Regions. It just so happened to take three days, hence, our three-day appointment.”

Zhao Changhe did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Ying Five sighed. “Back when we first stepped into the Profound Gate, no one could discern another’s strength from appearance alone, so everyone acted cautiously. But once we reached the Profound Control Realm, we started believing we could gauge someone’s power just from their aura. The more accustomed we became to that, the more we lost our initial prudence, leading to fatal misjudgments. Timur paid the price for this mistake. Have you not learned from it?”

Zhao Changhe acknowledged the wisdom in his words. “That’s a timely reminder. Thank you.”

“Want me to teach you a technique for concealing your cultivation?”

“I’m not really the type to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Besides, my reputation is already too big for me to pretend to be weak, so it wouldn’t serve much purpose. But there is another discipline I’d like to ask about.”

“Space?”

“Yes. I know it’s rather presumptuous, given that this is your specialty. If you don’t want to teach it, I completely understand.”

Without hesitation, Ying Five tossed over a booklet. “I won’t teach you the core techniques, but here are some of the fundamentals. How you develop from there is up to you.”

Zhao Changhe was momentarily stunned by his generosity. This was his bread and butter, yet he was handing it over without a second thought?

“If you really want the core techniques, we can make it work,” Ying Five said as he leaned back comfortably in his chair. “The reason I don’t want to teach them to you specifically is that Zhao Changhe shouldn’t be learning other people’s techniques anymore. You need to develop your own.”

Zhao Changhe studied him for a long while before breaking into a brilliant smile. “Fair enough. Give me half a day to rest, and then I’ll set out.”

He had initially considered feeding the fundamental techniques into the Heavenly Tome to let the general outline page deduce further developments and applications. But after what Ying Five had said, that idea was completely abandoned.

He finally had something independent of the Heavenly Tome, so why drag it back into that cycle again?

If he were going to give anything to the Heavenly Tome, it would be his own understanding, not borrowed techniques.

Ying Five smirked. “When you say ‘rest,’ do you actually mean you want to spend the next half-day studying space?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Follow me.” Ying Five drained the last of his wine and stood up. “It’s time for you to see the routes of secret realms of our brotherhood.”

The first secret realm lay beneath this very Western Regions-style building. It was nothing more than a barren mountain, untouched and desolate. Ying Five had not transformed it into any kind of base, leaving it as an empty, featureless void. The sky was an endless expanse of gray, featureless and devoid of life.

Ying Five explained, “This place is actually a hub, linked to countless different secret realms. Even if two people were to walk shoulder to shoulder, they would step into entirely different spaces. It’s not like people assume, where all secret realms piece together into a single cohesive map. If an outsider were to break into what they think is our main headquarters, they would find themselves in an endless labyrinth, one they could wander for a hundred years and never escape. We don’t need any defenses or traps; space itself is the best trap.”

Zhao Changhe nodded and said, “I see.”

“My subordinates each only know their own routes. Those who can’t grasp the nature of space will never gain control over this place. Even if betrayal were to occur, I could simply retreat into one of these realms and no one would ever find me.”

Then why the hell are you teaching me spatial techniques so freely? That’s practically handing me your life.

Zhao Changhe did not ask, though. He simply observed, reaching out with his senses to perceive the flow of space.

It was different from the chaos that had linked the Xiangyang secret realm to Kunlun. That had been pure disorder, an entanglement of spaces that did not belong together. Jiuyou had likely never intended to link to any specific place. It was even possible that she had not done it on purpose. It was more likely just a chaotic disruption meant to conceal her own location.

But here, there was no chaos. Everything followed a distinct order, a singular guiding rule. Every connection was deliberate, every destination known.

“Follow directly behind me. Do not walk side by side with me.” Ying Five instructed as he stepped forward into the left-front path. Zhao Changhe followed closely.

This time, it was not like the previous instances of instantaneous teleportation. There was no abrupt twisting of space, no sudden arrival at a different location. They were, indeed, simply walking.

They stepped into a bizarre, dreamlike void. Twisted images flickered around them—mountains, rivers, plains, trees—warping in and out, appearing and disappearing in chaotic flashes. Nothing held form; everything was abstract to the extreme.

Beneath their feet was an impossibly narrow “bridge” as thin as a mathematical line. an ephemeral construct just as abstract as their surroundings. Moving forward along it felt like stepping into a surreal film, a sequence unfolding in slow motion.

It was as if the incomprehensible process of spatial travel had been made visible, slowed down, revealing its underlying mechanics in real time.

Ying Five spoke without looking back, “If you fall from this space link bridge, you’ll be shredded by the fractured space around us. Your body will be torn apart, and your flesh and blood will scatter across thousands of different dimensions. Your head might end up in the Grasslands while your stomach drifts off overseas.”

Zhao Changhe remarked, “If this technique could be applied in martial arts, wouldn’t it be absurdly powerful?”

“Instantly casting something like this in combat? No human could possibly achieve that... Even the so-called number one demon god, the so-called Unknown Existence, probably couldn’t do it.” Ying Five chuckled. “Maybe the Heavenly Dao could... But who really knows?”

Zhao Changhe nodded slightly. Understanding the principles did not mean one could execute them at will. If someone truly mastered this, they could probably punch a planet into oblivion...

During the brief exchange of words, they had already traversed the bridge and arrived in another space.

This realm was a barren wasteland, its soil composition similar to the previous desolate mountain and its sky just as bland. Yet, as Zhao Changhe glanced back at the spatial boundary, he could tell that it was not the same place.

Ying Five knew exactly what he was looking at. “Actually, it is the same place...”

Zhao Changhe turned to him with a questioning look.

Ying Five explained, “Even shattered glass is difficult to restore, let alone space itself. When space breaks apart, gaps inevitably form—large sections are lost, making it impossible to perfectly reassemble. Those twisted distortions you saw earlier? They’re the missing fragments. That’s the fundamental reason why secret realms can’t just be pieced together into a single cohesive area. It simply isn’t structurally possible. Besides, why would I even want to piece them together?”

“So, the bridge was something you created?”

“Exactly. Any two spaces, whether across the heavenly realm or the mortal world, or even far more distant and unknown realms, can theoretically be connected. Sometimes, it’s just a hole; other times, you need a bridge. The methods vary, but the principle remains. These secret realms are fragments of the original heavenly realm, so bridging them within the same dimensional tier is even easier... In fact, this is the foundation of teleportation. At its peak, it should be possible to construct a full-fledged portal of time and space.” Ying Five glanced at him. “Do you know how to teleport? I mean with your physical body, not divine descent, which is just your spirit. Divine descent has fewer restrictions, so it’s very different.”

“I do,” Zhao Changhe replied. “But my range is short. Right now, I can only jump from the capital to Beimang at most.”

Ying Five: “...?”

Zhao Changhe: “...?”

Ying Five maintained a blank expression. “That’s fine. It means your fundamentals are sound. If you want to advance, just use the technique I gave you and combine it with your own understanding of teleportation. That should allow you to find your own path forward.”

Zhao Changhe’s heartbeat quickened.

This is it.

This was the first step into a field that directly connected to his original desire—the wish to return home.

It had only been two and a half years, and already, he was touching upon this knowledge. Objectively, that was incredibly fast. And yet... in those same two and a half years, he could not remember the last time he had seriously thought about going back.

But if he could travel freely between worlds, then there would be no need for hesitation or regrets.

He could visit both worlds, bring people over, and live in either as he pleased.

Zhao Changhe was momentarily lost in thought, and Ying Five remained silent.

The capital to Beimang... that’s around two hundred li, right? Unless I prepare meticulously, even I can’t teleport half that distance... Who’s really teaching whom here?

Neither of them spoke as they passed through several more secret realms, each maintaining a blank expression. Before long, they arrived at a familiar place.

“The Black Tortoise Secret Realm from Rocky Mountain?” Zhao Changhe looked around in surprise. Indeed, it was the very space he had gifted to Ying Five. The landscape remained unchanged, though the jelly was long gone, leaving it as nothing more than an empty, valueless space.

But to Zhao Changhe, this place held great sentimental value. After all, this was where he had lost his... wizardhood.

“That’s right,” said Ying Five with a smirk. “You’ve really helped me find quite a few good places.”

“But all the useful resources here are gone. Is it still a good place?”

“I already told you, I don’t collect spaces for their resources. I use them as gateways to locate adjacent ones. This particular secret realm sits on an elevated part of the central heavenly realm. From here, I managed to discover numerous connected locations. Tell me, doesn’t that make it valuable?”

So this place was also part of Kunlun... That lakewater, stained with Hongling’s blood... Was it the heavenly realm’s heavenly lake?

Zhao Changhe blinked a few times, suddenly tempted to ask whether Ying Five still had any use for this space. If not, could he take it back as a keepsake? Hongling would certainly be thrilled.

Wait... by that logic, then stepping out from here should lead to Huangsha Market, right?

Ying Five saw through his thoughts and chuckled. “Want to take a look outside?”

Zhao Changhe, intrigued, nodded. “Mm-hm.”

The two ascended and peeked out. To the south, a great dust cloud rose into the sky as construction was in full swing. A new city was being built, bustling with activity.

At this moment, the brand new King of Monan, Batu, was personally overseeing the progress. Zhao Changhe immediately spotted Batu’s unmistakable broad face.

Ying Five grinned. “Want to go say hello to the King of Monan?”

“Nah.” Zhao Changhe yanked him back inside, laughing. “Spatial travel is fascinating.”

Ying Five chuckled. “Since we’re here, we’re not far from our newly discovered secret realm. No need to worry about resting for half a day. Anyway, it’s better to sharpen the blade before cutting the wood. Take this time to comprehend space. When you grasp the fundamentals, then we’ll move forward.”

“And what counts as grasping the fundamentals?”

“Hmm... If you can locate the newly established bridge in this space by yourself, I’ll consider you to have mastered the basics.”

“...Then this test is pointless.” Zhao Changhe casually reached out and pointed at an empty stretch of void ahead. “There.”

Ying Five’s heart skipped a beat. “How do you know?”

“Because this place feels like home to me. If there’s any change in its aura, I could detect it even with my eyes closed. It’s basically cheating.”

Ying Five: “...”

This... might not actually be cheating.

Did space have an aura? Technically, yes. But it was not something as simple as a scent. Each realm had its own unique essence. Unlike the distinction between good and bad smells, this kind of perception was much, much more difficult to grasp. Moreover, adjacent spaces often have similar essences, with only slight variations. Detecting those minute differences should be incredibly difficult, and should thus be nearly impossible for a beginner.

If someone just beginning to delve into space and spatial arts could already sense the subtle distinctions between connected spaces... that was not just some “rather decent talent” but heaven-defying talent.

Rather than calling it cheating, it would be more accurate to call it fortune. Because he was extremely familiar with this place, it made entering the realm of spatial comprehension significantly easier. And once he had stepped through that door, everything was bound to come naturally.

“You did spend some time here, but why does it feel like home to you? You’ve been in plenty of secret realms. Do you remember each one this vividly?”

“Not really,” Zhao Changhe admitted, stuffing his hands into his sleeves. “But this was... my first wedding chamber.”

Ying Five suddenly wanted to take back everything he had just said.

Women really aren’t his weakness at all. They’re actually his source of power.

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