If it weren't for Yu Ziqing shielding him from most of the harm, protecting all his vital points, he would likely have been in a much worse state.
The two exchanged just a few words when everything around them, like a fleeting dream, silently vanished.
The destroyed mountains and trees all returned to their original state.
Everything began anew.
Only King Xiang's injuries remained unchanged, with no signs of recovery.
After resting for several hours, the True Yuan in King Xiang's body returned to normal. He swallowed a pill, changed into fresh clothes, and finally restored his initial appearance.
On the way back to Jiayin City, King Xiang stayed silent for quite some time before suddenly uttering a sentence.
"When I was young, I always believed that if my father hadn't chosen the path of Body Cultivation, he wouldn't have fallen prey to the Devil, ending up in a fate worse than death.
So, I chose Qi Refinement, avoiding the path my father took."
"Do you think you were wrong when you were young?" Yu Ziqing casually asked.
"I was wrong. Whether my father practiced Body Refinement or Qi Refinement, he might have fallen into treacherous hands.
If he had pursued Qi Refinement cultivation, he might have died completely already, whereas Body Refinement gave him a sliver of life.
I oversimplified the issue when I was young, but unfortunately, there wasn't a chance for regret later on."
King Xiang was somewhat silent.
Yu Ziqing thought that perhaps he was considering that if he had followed his father's path of Body Refinement, he might have already smashed that meteor with his own strength by now.
Yu Ziqing also pondered that if he had brought the village chief, the village chief's full-strength strike might have shattered that meteor.
Moreover, he had another thought.
It seemed like all the cave heaven blessed lands he had heard of and encountered contained Alien Power seemingly targeting Qi Refining cultivators.
Now, even the Alien Power within a meteor from the heavens targeted Qi Refining cultivators.
Having seen so much, he thought this seemed odd.
He had a feeling that there was a deliberate intent behind it all.
He planned to ask Yang upon his return or perhaps conduct some research himself.
Back in Jiayin City, after finding Xu Yang and securing free lodging, King Xiang retreated into his room for solitude.
No one knew if he was researching how to unleash his power if restricted and how to protect himself.
Yu Ziqing didn't tell him they could leave now.
In fact, they didn't have to manage this catastrophe, nor did they need to resolve it.
Yu Ziqing didn't intend to leave because he had his sights set on that meteor.
He wanted to bring the meteor back to Jinlan Mountain.
Currently, Jinlan Mountain, no matter how strict, fundamentally only had Yang, who barely practiced Qi Refinement.
The rest were either not human or solely pursued Body Cultivation. Even Qingqing was treading the path of a hard-working ascetic.
Yang wasn't actually human anymore; his cultivation integrated Demon Qi and Evil Qi, and ever since Dragon Transformation, it seemed he had even surpassed Demon Qi.
With this prerequisite, Yu Ziqing would have been remiss if he didn't consider bringing the meteor home.
Once he brought back the materials, he would see if they could be used as array materials to enclose the entire forbidden land of Jinlan Mountain.
Yu Ziqing had been troubled by one thing: Jinlan Mountain was entirely populated by Body Cultivators. What if a powerful expert, flying over without entering Jinlan Mountain, attacked them from above?
Now there was a solution.
Even if the meteor's materials couldn't be used as array materials, they could be arranged around Jinlan Mountain, especially in the high sky.
In the future, if anyone flew over Jinlan Mountain and crashed to their demise, they would pay the price.
If he were more ruthless, he could place it directly in the Gang Wind Layer, making those who spied on them from above fall into it, meeting their end.
This was the main reason Yu Ziqing insisted on securing the meteor—otherwise, he knew he would lose sleep with regret in the future.
He had never heard of materials possessing such Alien Power.
The next meteor would not fall for some time, so Yu Ziqing started various preparations.
King Xiang claimed that the meteor, when it first appeared, was ten miles wide before being refined to only one mile.
The size difference in between was about two or three thousand times.
At the beginning, it should not have been hard; it would be easy to dig.
While preparing various mining tools, Yu Ziqing continued practicing the Jinlan Secret Method.
In the blink of an eye, over a month passed, and the time for the meteor to descend drew near.
Yu Ziqing was ready with his full equipment, setting off alongside King Xiang and Xu Yang.
Led by King Xiang, they passed through the Gang Wind Layer, reaching above the nine heavens—a cold, desolate place, particularly during the night. The Gang Wind of the layers was like visible blades, shredding everything inside.
The moment the meteor barely crossed the boundary, King Xiang hurled Yu Ziqing toward it, and he began accumulating power to strike with all his might.
Just as Yu Ziqing landed on the meteor's vast surface, he immediately sensed a terrifying Alien Power enveloping him. At that moment, he realized even attempting Qi Refinement was impossible, as the suppression was several levels stronger than the Alien Power in Jinlan Mountain.
King Xiang's full-force strike left a mile-deep hole on the meteor's surface, and his body plunged downward.
After falling some distance, one of his Magical Treasures automatically activated, allowing his body to float there, avoiding a plummet into the Gang Wind Layer.