Eternal Country

"Ziyan, open the door! It's me!!"

Letting out a breath of relief, Yi Tianxing immediately called out from outside while pressing the doorbell.

"It's my brother—he's back!"

Inside the apartment, Zhao Ziyan and Tang Zitong were both clutching weapons, standing guard near the door. Hearing the doorbell and his voice, they rushed to the door. A glance through the peephole revealed Yi Tianxing's figure, and their tense expressions instantly relaxed.

Click!

They unlocked the security door. Yi Tianxing and Chen Xuerou quickly stepped inside, shutting the door behind them without delay.

"Brother, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Zhao Ziyan took the backpack off Yi Tianxing's shoulders and scanned him up and down, as if checking for injuries. "I saw from the balcony—there were monsters outside killing people. So many got their heads smashed in and eaten…"

"I'm fine. Those things can't hurt me. Oh, and this is Chen Xuerou. I ran into her outside. She doesn't have anywhere to go, so she'll be staying with us for a while," Yi Tianxing said with a smile.

Back home, the tension he'd carried with him finally began to ease.

Home—a true haven in the storm.

"Oh, Xuerou, I'm Zhao Ziyan, and this is Tang Zitong. Just call me Ziyan and her Zitong. If you don't have a place to stay, feel free to stay with us. It'll be nice to have company."

Zhao Ziyan smiled as she introduced them.

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what to do. Out there, I'd probably already be eaten by those monsters." Chen Xuerou looked grateful.

The three women were all stunning in their own right—and beautiful women often got along more easily, especially under such apocalyptic circumstances. With monsters falling from the sky and humanity under siege, people found comfort in one another more quickly. Of course, this was only the beginning. As time wore on, human hearts would change in unimaginable ways.

Darkness, cruelty, despair, death—these would become the new themes.

"Brother, what are these? They're so pretty!" Zhao Ziyan had opened Yi Tianxing's backpack, and as the contents spilled out, her eyes widened. The willingness beads inside shone like top-grade gems, captivating at first glance.

"These are Willpower Beads. You get them by killing monsters. Every monster drops one when it dies. From what I've learned, the Cataclysm outside is closely tied to human obsession, fantasy, darkness, and other emotional willpowers. These monsters were born from humanity's imagination—creatures that never existed, now made real. Killing them gives you these pure Willpower Beads. They're treasures," Yi Tianxing explained, inhaling deeply.

He shared everything he'd learned so far. In a time like this, every scrap of information helped one adapt more quickly to a world that had been forever shattered.

"Is that really the reason? But, Brother, how do you know all this?" Zhao Ziyan was shocked but curious. She didn't believe he could've figured this much out just by going outside once.

"It's because of Chen Xuerou. She has a special item—an artifact called the Heavenly Tome Without Words. It records major events of the world. This Cataclysm was documented in it, including its origin. All the details are there."

Yi Tianxing looked over at Chen Xuerou as he spoke.

"The Heavenly Tome Without Words? That sounds incredible."

Tang Zitong couldn't help but look surprised. A treasure like that clearly wasn't ordinary.

"It was just luck. When the rift appeared in the sky, a bunch of treasures fell down. This one landed right at my house. If not, I'd know nothing either. The tome records all kinds of things—even details about rare artifacts," Chen Xuerou said modestly.

"Why didn't a treasure fall on me?" Zhao Ziyan muttered in frustration.

"Alright, Ziyan. That kind of luck is rare. The fact that Xuerou got it is her own fortune. No need to be jealous," said Tang Zitong calmly.

If everyone in the world got hit with magical treasures, it wouldn't be so special. A pie falling from the sky might feed you—or choke you.

"Brother, check this out. There are so many of these Willpower Beads!" Zhao Ziyan's eyes sparkled with excitement. She couldn't resist the glowing orbs—they were far more captivating than gemstones.

"They really are valuable. They'll be immensely useful for cultivation. Count them and put them somewhere safe. These are your resources for future training. Each one contains highly refined incense willpower—it can be directly refined into cultivation power. Much faster than ordinary methods," Yi Tianxing nodded.

He already knew this from consulting the Heavenly Tome Without Words. These beads were like cheat codes. A single white Willpower Bead was worth a year of hard training. How fast one could absorb them depended on the cultivator's method. Some might take ten to fifteen days to refine one bead, while a talented cultivator with the right method could refine several a day.

In other words, there was no such thing as too many Willpower Beads.

"These are mostly white ones—almost filled the whole backpack. I'm going to grab the silver case." Zhao Ziyan darted into the bedroom and came back with a silver metal case. It was specially made—bulletproof, fireproof, waterproof, shock-resistant. Yi Tianxing had once helped a wealthy client with a paranormal case, and the man gifted him this case full of cash. He kept the case—its build alone made it valuable.

Now it was finally being put to good use.

One by one, the shimmering Willpower Beads were placed into the case as the girls counted them.

Before long, the tally was done.

"A total of 1,123 white Willpower Beads and three green ones. You actually killed that many monsters?" Tang Zitong looked at Yi Tianxing in astonishment. Each bead meant one monster.

Over a thousand monsters. That was insane.

"Not all of them were mine. I got lucky—a fortunate turn of events gave me a windfall," Yi Tianxing replied with a smile.

If not for the Passage of the Ghost Army event, gathering this many beads would've been impossible.

"What's in these orbs?" Zhao Ziyan picked up one of the light orbs curiously.

"These orbs hold the essence of the monsters—items made from the Willpower that birthed them. Some are materials, some might be artifacts. You won't know until you open them," Yi Tianxing said.

He was curious himself.

"Green bones… looks like jade. Is this a material from the monster's body?" Tang Zitong had crushed a light orb and pulled out a piece of emerald green bone—it glowed like jade, beautiful to behold.

"Wolf Fang, bone material. Can be refined. Mortal Grade, High Quality!" Zhao Ziyan crushed one and found a fang the size of a dagger. It gleamed coldly, clearly sharp and deadly.

As soon as she crushed the orb, knowledge of the item flowed into her mind.

But after that, when touching the material again, that information didn't come back.

It seemed to be a rule—mysterious and unseen.

The Heavenly Tome Without Words also recorded each new item automatically, its entries growing with the user's experiences. Truly a treasure.

"Zombie Fang. Bone and medicinal material. Can be refined or used in alchemy. Yellow Grade, Low Quality."

"Wolf Hide. Leather. Can be refined into armor or clothes. Yellow Grade, Low Quality."

…

Item after item was revealed and cataloged.

"Brother, this one might be a cultivation method!" Zhao Ziyan called out.

In her hand was a book—not gold, not jade, not silk, not paper—made of some mysterious material. It shimmered faintly with a sacred aura.

Yi Tianxing took it from her. On its cover were ancient characters brimming with divine charm:

The Scripture of Sitting Oblivion : A Divine Sea Realm Cultivation Method. Allows the cultivation of qi condensation, spirit spring, and sea transformation. Complete cultivation for the Divine Sea Realm. Includes visualization technique: "Innate Qi Visualization Chart." Through sitting in oblivion, visualize innate energy to open the Divine Sea. A foundational method of the highest tier.

Zhao Ziyan had already received the knowledge as soon as she broke the orb.

"So it's really a cultivation technique. The Heavenly Tome confirms it too—it's a top-tier foundational method, one of the best at its level. It produces true qi that perfectly harmonizes with one's body type. Fire-type bodies produce fire qi, etc. It can also be switched out later with no backlash," Chen Xuerou added, visibly excited as she flipped through the tome.

"Humans have seven emotions, hearts six desires. Sit and forget them, calm the mind like still water, and the divine will shine clear. From that, qi will arise from nothing…"

Yi Tianxing read aloud the opening passage of the Scripture of Sitting Oblivion, a mysterious and profound prologue. Every word radiated a subtle divine resonance, hinting at hidden truths.

And within was the Innate Qi Visualization Chart—seemingly a simple swirl of primal energy, yet deep and incomprehensible.