Chapter 416 - 415: The Dimensions Merge, The Barrier Token Loses Its Purpose

Ku Ming paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing. His knowledge of the ancient dimensional structure was extensive, but explaining the change required more than describing the visible distortions. He needed to make Lin Yuan understand that the destruction of the Exotic Realm was connected to a much larger collapse, one that had begun when the Nine Heavens Ward was shattered and the ancient structures supporting the world were uprooted.

"Before today, the Nine Provinces, the Barrier Realm, and the Hollow Beyond existed as distinct dimensions," Ku Ming explained. "They were arranged through a complex structure of spatial boundaries, with each region separated from the others by walls formed from extremely dense laws.

Those boundaries were not simple barriers that could be broken through with sufficient force. They were part of the architecture that allowed the dimensions to maintain their separate environments."

His gaze shifted toward the distant rift, where the purple miasma churned without interruption. "To cross from one dimension into another, a cultivator had to survive the intersecting laws and navigate the violent spatial currents that existed between them.

Even powerful experts could be torn apart if they attempted the journey without adequate preparation. The Barrier Realm was especially dangerous because its spatial pressure could crush a cultivator’s body and soul before they had any opportunity to resist."

Lin Yuan listened carefully, his expression becoming more serious with every sentence. He had personally experienced the dangers associated with crossing dimensional boundaries, and he understood why the Barrier Token had once been regarded as an indispensable artifact. The token had not merely indicated a cultivator’s right to enter the Barrier Realm. It had provided the means to navigate a region where the surrounding spatial pressure could overwhelm even powerful experts.

Ku Ming continued, "But the Nine Heavens Ward has been shattered, and the ancient structures that maintained the separation between these dimensions have suffered catastrophic damage. The collapse of the Exotic Realm has only accelerated the process. The spatial walls are no longer functioning as they once did, and the remaining boundaries are being flattened into a single, unstable structure."

The monk lowered his hand, allowing the implications of his explanation to settle over them. "The Nine Provinces, the Barrier Realm, and the Hollow Beyond now share a common entrance. The spatial distortions that once made crossing between them extraordinarily dangerous are gradually losing their strength.

What used to require a specialized artifact, a powerful formation, or an expert capable of resisting the intersecting laws may soon require nothing more than a step through an open passage."

Bai Qingyue’s fingers tightened slightly around the Sun Shooting Bow. She had already witnessed the destructive power of the demons that had emerged from the Hollow Beyond, and the thought of those creatures entering the Nine Provinces without facing any spatial resistance was deeply troubling. Until now, the spatial boundaries had at least provided a measure of protection, forcing the demonic forces to expend time and energy whenever they attempted to cross into the mortal world.

If those boundaries disappeared completely, that protection would cease to exist.

"The demons will no longer need to fight their way through the spatial barriers," she said. "They will be able to enter the Nine Provinces directly, bringing their entire forces with them. The number of enemies we have faced today may be insignificant compared with the army waiting beyond that rift."

"That is precisely what concerns me," Ku Ming replied. "The demons we encountered were dangerous, but their arrival was still restricted by the conditions of the battlefield. Once the dimensions are fully connected, the Hollow Beyond will no longer be separated from the Nine Provinces by the same obstacles. Every surviving demon will have a far easier path into our world, and the stronger beings will no longer need to rely on complicated methods to establish their presence here."

Lin Yuan’s thoughts moved rapidly as he considered the consequences. The loss of the dimensional boundaries would change the entire nature of the war. The surviving forces could no longer depend on narrow passages or spatial restrictions to limit the number of enemies entering a battlefield.

Even a successful defense of the Grand Court would accomplish little if the demons could simply move around the defensive formations and attack from another direction.

Worse still, the destruction of the Nine Heavens Ward meant that the Imperial Domain was no longer protected by the same separation that had once distinguished it from the lower dimensions. Whether the powerful cultivators residing there intended to intervene or remain indifferent, the changes taking place within the Nine Provinces would eventually affect the structure of the entire region. The world was no longer divided into isolated territories whose inhabitants could ignore the fate of their neighbors.

As Lin Yuan considered these implications, a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind. It was an old memory from the period when he had been settling his grievances with the Xu Clan and dealing with the consequences of Xu Canghai’s betrayal. Among the items he had obtained during that turbulent period was a particular artifact whose original purpose had seemed important at the time.

He extended a thread of divine sense toward his spatial ring. Although the broken laws restricted the circulation of his spiritual Qi, his spatial ring remained accessible, and he was still able to retrieve objects stored within it. A moment later, a heavy medallion materialized in his palm, its dark surface covered with intricate runes that had been carved into the metal through an ancient forging process.

It was the Barrier Token.

The token was forged from dark iron, and its surface carried the faint traces of spatial laws that had once allowed it to function within the dangerous environment of the Barrier Realm. Its runes formed a complex pattern of intersecting lines, each one designed to guide the bearer through the region’s crushing spatial pressure.

When Lin Yuan had first obtained the artifact, it had represented a valuable means of crossing a dimensional boundary that ordinary cultivators could not safely approach.

At that time, the token had been regarded as a priceless possession. Without it, even a powerful cultivator risked being crushed by the intersecting laws of the Barrier Realm, while weaker experts would have been destroyed before they could travel any meaningful distance.

The artifact had served as both a key and a protective guide, allowing its bearer to navigate a region where the laws of space were far more dangerous than those of the Nine Provinces.

Lin Yuan turned the token over in his palm, studying its runes for several moments. The spatial patterns engraved upon its surface still retained a faint trace of their original function, but their significance had changed. The boundaries they were designed to navigate were no longer stable, and the conditions that had made the token valuable were rapidly disappearing. An artifact could preserve its function only when the laws supporting that function continued to exist.

"A token designed to navigate a border that no longer exists," Lin Yuan murmured.