Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 755: Main Quest 7.0

"Master, let me guide you to the Dimensional Gate. Once you lay eyes on it, you'll grasp the reason we advise against heading to the Small Thousand World."

Actions speak louder than words; witnessing it firsthand surpasses endless descriptions.

Both Su Qinian and Zhang Mengchu viewed Li Qingran as a rational individual.

She surely wouldn't commit the folly of charging headlong into evident peril.

Li Qingran gave a nod. "I'll have to impose on you two Elders. No matter what, I must witness it myself before deciding."

Nestled in the farthest northern reaches of the Cangyun Realm, the Dimensional Gate stood amid a barren wasteland locked in perpetual frost and blizzards.

Protected by Su Qinian and Zhang Mengchu, Li Qingran pressed on with immense effort against the razor-sharp winds that threatened to shatter one's Divine Soul with their icy bite.

A heavenly prohibition here banned all flight; even powerhouses at the Great Ascension Stage were forced to proceed solely by foot.

The freeze in this region transcended mere coldness, manifesting as a law-infused force that bypassed True Essence barriers, seeped into the bones, and could halt the flow of one's very consciousness. The shrieking gusts resembled countless frozen barbs, slicing past defenses and embedding into flesh.

Li Qingran clenched her jaw, her lithe body quivering amid the savage tempest, each stride akin to treading upon sharpened edges.

Her lovely features had drained of warmth long ago, paling to a ghostly white, while frost clung to her extended lashes.

Su Qinian and Zhang Mengchu observed with heavy hearts, rendered helpless to intervene.

This northern onslaught from nature served as a divine test; the determination to access an unfamiliar realm demanded proof through one's own endurance and spirit.

"Seasons shift, eras evolve, but even after millennia, this frozen extremity remains largely unaltered..."

Su Qinian stared at the whirling flakes and let out an involuntary breath.

The chill was utterly piercing.

In his earlier days, he had barely survived the ordeal, his vitality nearly flayed away in pursuit of the Small Thousand World.

Even now, at the pinnacle of the Unity Realm, he struggled to fully ward off that marrow-freezing assault.

Only Zhang Mengchu at his side, this mighty expert who had attained the Void Shattering stage, preserved his usual hue.

"This old fellow once battled the demonic creatures in this area to arrive at the Dimensional Gate." Zhang Mengchu caressed his beard and gave a faint shake of his head. "Yet today, I detect no traces of those demonic beasts' presences. Over thousands of years, the Spiritual Energy has nearly vanished. Such beasts couldn't endure, much less common wildlife."

The path to the Dimensional Gate dragged on endlessly.

To lift her spirits and divert her focus, the pair shared odd and eerie tales on purpose.

Such intense frigidity proved overwhelmingly severe for someone at the Nascent Soul stage.

Unbeknownst to them, however.

What propelled Li Qingran through this grueling march wasn't those captivating legends.

Rather, it was the nightmarish vision replaying in her thoughts: Chen Huaian, critically injured and teetering on death's edge, his form reduced to a mangled remnant.

That soul-wrenching torment eclipsed the profound freeze, morphing into unyielding drive that urged her onward.

After trudging for what felt like eternity, the blizzard ahead appeared to ease a touch.

A sprawling ruin, city-sized yet utterly crumbled, rested motionless on the glacial expanse like the remains of some colossal creature.

Toppled pillars that once scraped the heavens leaned crookedly into the thick drifts, partially concealing fractured carvings of forgotten celestial maps.

Towering relic blades and enigmatic rock formations lay encased in the ice, radiating a subdued, glacial shimmer.

Yet the focal point remained the surviving portion of an enormous portal... soaring hundreds of zhang in height.

Forged from an obscure, matte alloy, the frame still hinted at its past resilience and splendor despite eons of battering and decay.

But merely a fragment endured.

The fracture was rough and irregular, suggesting it had been rent asunder by a colossal, unfathomable might.

Beyond the threshold lay no gateway to distant realms.

Instead, a turbulent, warped emptiness pulsed with hazardous lightning arcs, while tempests of spacetime raged in deafening fury.

Grand in scale, yet utterly still.

Legendary in scope, yet conclusively ended.

So this was the Dimensional Gate?

The gateway to the Small Thousand World?

Li Qingran contemplated this frozen desolation that entombed dreams and routes, her spirit plummeting.

The stabbing frost seemed to invade her wholly in an instant, causing her fragile form to waver, on the verge of collapse.

The Dimensional Gate of her visions, however perilous, ought to have been intact and operational...

This bleak tableau of ruin hit like a deluge of frozen liquid, all but snuffing out the determination and bravery she had mustered en route.

"This... serves as the Dimensional Gate?" Her words bore a faint quiver, lost to the roaring winds.

"Indeed, this is it." Su Qinian's brows knit tightly. "Though something feels off..."

He reflected, "During this old man's prior visit, the Dimensional Gate bore damage, but not to the point of mere halves... At that time, precise targeting of a specific Small Thousand World for transport had failed. This old man ended up hurled into one at random, then journeyed to others from there... With the gate now wrecked to such a degree, might it be... inoperable?"

Zhang Mengchu approached the Dimensional Gate with a somber look and extended a hand to the adjacent pillar.

His already overcast features grew stormier. "It's worse than inoperable. The spatial anchors are in utter disarray. Entering would mean getting ripped to shreds and consumed by the boundless void gales... No possibility of emerging alive, Master—"

He pivoted to regard Li Qingran and exhaled deeply. "You've seen it yourself. This Dimensional Gate... forbids passage."

Li Qingran sealed her lips, her gaze dulled. "Truly no alternative way?"

"Nothing." Zhang Mengchu denied with a head shake. "We lack the knowledge to forge a Dimensional Gate. That feat likely belongs solely to Immortals... Truth be told, Master, venturing to a Small Thousand World isn't essential for your growth. The Cangyun Realm offers ample opportunities for cultivation, such as... er, such as..."

Zhang Mengchu hemmed and hawed for quite some time before uttering, "Such as venturing into the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

Aware that his idea sounded rather silly, Zhang Mengchu chuckled sheepishly on his own.

By now, Chen Huaian's renown had echoed across the Cangyun Realm entirely.

Li Qingran, as his prized apprentice, had gained immense fame too—even among mortals, tales circulated of how the realm's supreme Sword Cultivator, the Chen Sword Master, cherished a disciple called Li Qingran, whose allure could captivate all beings, outshine lunar grace and floral splendor, and whose prowess in cultivation inspired awe-inspiring myths.

Though perhaps not quite so hyperbolic.

In essence, Li Qingran fell into the group of figures whom none would dare challenge in any locale.

Thus, honing skills within the Cangyun Realm turned into mere jest.

Save for, perhaps, the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

However, the Hundred Thousand Mountains brimmed with perils. Given Li Qingran's level of cultivation and her celebrity, heading there would simply hand the Demon Race a prime target.

"Then the Hundred Thousand Mountains it shall be." A sharp spark ignited in Li Qingran's eyes.

With the Dimensional Gate shattered and the Small Thousand World inaccessible, she would carve a path of bloodshed through the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Besides, she harbored no affection whatsoever for the Demon Race.

With that declaration, she spun around and started back along their trail.

"Master, hold on! That was merely in jest—please don't take it seriously!" Zhang Mengchu hastened after her.

Su Qinian eyed the retreating Li Qingran, then the ruined Dimensional Gate, released a sigh, and swiftly pursued them.

At the same time, within the cavern abode.

Chen Huaian had been seated in meditation, channeling his energy to hasten his physical mending.

Abruptly, a system notification surfaced:

[Main Quest 7.0: Li Qingran desires to cultivate in a Small Thousand World. Please aid the player in enabling Li Qingran to access a Small Thousand World.]

Chen Huaian: "???"