Soon, Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan thought of a method and said: "You don't care about Chu Feng anymore?"
The moment those words left her lips, Chu Feng's grandmother—who had already made considerable progress along the Heaven-Reaching Gate—suddenly halted.
She froze for a brief moment, then abruptly turned around and started walking back.
BOOM— The instant she took her first step back, the space around her trembled violently, then twisted, as a tremendous force worked to prevent her from returning.
But in Chu Feng's grandmother's once-clouded eyes, a look of resolute determination now surfaced.
"Feng'er~"
Chu Feng—that was the reason she refused to leave.
And so, raging flames surged from within her like tidal waves, spreading in the blink of an eye across an area vast enough to engulf several worlds.
Her entire aura transformed completely. Though her physical form remained unchanged, the true power contained within her was enough to destroy several worlds in an instant.
Even Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan showed a flash of astonishment at the sight: "Her cultivation?"
Song Changsheng was equally surprised, but he soon smiled in understanding, thinking to himself: "Chu Xuanyuan, no wonder you were so powerful. Your mother is someone of this caliber."
Yet the blocking force was even more formidable—as if it were the very laws of the Heavenly Dao. Despite Chu Feng's grandmother unleashing her true power, each step she took was agonizingly difficult, and cracks even began to form across her physical body.
Even she could not contend with that restraining force.
"Once you step through this gate, there is no turning back."
"By forcibly calling her back, you'll only bring her harm."
Song Changsheng said to Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan.
"But I promised Chu Feng that I would bring his grandmother back," Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan replied.
"And bring back a corpse?" Song Changsheng asked.
Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan was momentarily stunned.
"Chu Feng only sent you here because he feared the Primordial Tomb was too dangerous and worried about his grandmother's safety, didn't he?"
"Setting aside his wish for her well-being—even if he knew his grandmother had opened the Heaven-Reaching Gate and obtained this opportunity, he would still want her to seize it."
"Don't ruin someone else's fate over a promise." With those words, Song Changsheng paid no further attention to Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan's response and hurriedly called out to Chu Feng's grandmother: "Senior, please don't be so stubborn. If something were to happen to you, Chu Feng and Chu Xuanyuan would be absolutely heartbroken. Your health is more important than anything."
"Chu Feng is perfectly safe in the Martial Cultivation World. There's no need for you to worry. Please go ahead to the Ninth Heavenly River—Chu Xuanyuan is there as well. Don't you want to see him?"
"When you arrive, find a way to heal your body. Don't let yourself reach a state where you can't even recognize your own family anymore."
"Chu Feng will eventually make his way to the Ninth Heavenly River too. When that time comes, make sure you find him. Don't let that boy wander alone like an orphan with no one to protect him."
Song Changsheng's words seemed to strike a chord within Chu Feng's grandmother. Tears instantly welled up in her previously resolute eyes.
She said nothing, but she withdrew her resistive force. And in that very moment, a radiant path materialized beneath her feet, stretching deep into the starry void.
The light expanded and quickly formed a corridor that enclosed Chu Feng's grandmother within. The corridor then rapidly receded from its far end until it vanished entirely from sight.
Both Song Changsheng and Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan knew that Chu Feng's grandmother had truly entered the Ninth Heavenly River—the special realm the Heaven-Reaching Gate had arranged for her.
Following that, the Heaven-Reaching Gate closed as well, though the path beneath their feet remained, still stretching beyond the horizon.
But Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan's gaze remained fixed on the place where Chu Feng's grandmother had disappeared, lost in thought.
"I'll vouch for you," Song Changsheng said, looking at Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan.
Though Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan had nearly endangered Chu Feng's grandmother in her attempt to keep her promise, it had been an unintentional misstep. Before she made the call, she had never anticipated that the Heaven-Reaching Gate would exert such a restraining force—one that allowed only forward movement with no possibility of return.
The fact that Song Changsheng had intervened to persuade Chu Feng's grandmother, and that Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan had not obstructed him, showed that she too wished for the grandmother's safety.
Heavenly Sword Qing Yuan offered a faint smile, then said, "Consider this one I owe to Chu Feng."