Chapter 0: 94. Conditions
“This will be left to me?” Qin Gou asked, feeling the powerful strength of the Profound Realm Core.
The White Robe Girl answered without even thinking, “Let’s have a look.”
So, he was actually just being allowed to see it?
At the same time, the Profound Realm Core detached from Qin Gou’s hands, slowly rising into the sky. Not far above the heads of the three people, it transformed into something resembling a small sun.
“So, does this mean there are other trials ahead?” Qin Gou asked.
The White Robe Girl nodded.
“Then, can I try to communicate with it a little?” Qin Gou asked with a gentle smile. After all, if the communication was successful, any future trials would be unnecessary.
The White Robe Girl looked up at the Profound Realm Core overhead. She didn’t reply, but she also didn’t refuse.
“Then I’ll take this as your agreement.”
With that said, Qin Gou sent a thread of his soul power towards the Profound Realm Core.
The next second, an incredibly gentle power surged within Qin Gou’s heart. It was so mild that it felt utterly incongruous with the atmosphere of this Profound Realm, as if the entity was deliberately controlling itself.
This was also a symbol that communication channels had been established between them.
“Do you still remember me?” Qin Gou asked in his mind.
That power immediately became more active, as if giving an affirmative answer.
Qin Gou couldn’t help but feel delighted and continued, “Are you willing to merge with me right now?”
As soon as he spoke, the power of the Profound Realm Core in his heart turned incredibly calm.
“What?” Qin Gou was utterly bewildered.
Was it refusing his intention?
Had his previous judgment been wrong? Yet, all signs indicated that the will of the Profound Realm was very willing to return.
What was going on?
“Ding. Host, you’re usually quite good at negotiating with people, why are you struggling here?”
“After all, it…”
He only managed to say half of it before Qin Gou suddenly realized, “You mean, I can treat it like a friend and converse with it? Just like with A Xi?”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“What’s wrong?” Qin Gou asked, confused.
“Ding. If you were to converse with it the way you do with me, you’d likely be immediately expelled from the Profound Realm. Be gentle with the little sprout!”
“That’s quite the statement. Don’t I usually speak politely with you?”
“You insolent brute!”
“Your grandpa… cough, cough.”
After a short while, when he conversed with the Profound Realm Core again, Qin Gou had calmed down considerably.
“First, I need to confirm. Not now, but at some point in the future, are you willing to return?”
The power of the Profound Realm Core became active once more, and the answer was yes.
“So, you are willing to return, but there are conditions, is that it?” Qin Gou chuckled.
The Profound Realm Core confirmed again.
“Can you tell me directly what the conditions are?” Qin Gou asked calmly.
There was no response.
Qin Gou paused for a moment and then added, “Do you need me to continue to complete all the trials successfully?”
Still, there was not a single response.
This familiar feeling was as if he had returned to the days when A Xi also spoke rather obtusely.
Qin Gou pondered for a moment and said, with a don’t know whether to laugh or cry expression, “Wouldn’t it be that even if I truly completed all the trials, you still wouldn’t return immediately?”
This time, the Profound Realm Core finally conveyed a feeling that was quite complex and contradictory.
“Good heavens, I actually guessed correctly.”
Qin Gou organized his thoughts and said, “So, this is no longer a matter of discussing trials. After all, according to the rules, I can see you right now, and as the former master, I can also communicate with you directly. But the truly crucial point now is that you can return, but the premise is that I must fulfill a condition, a condition you can’t directly state?”
Genius.
Qin Gou believed that the way the Profound Realm Core became active again at this moment was definitely expressing these two words.
“It can’t say it, can you answer in its place?” Qin Gou looked at the White Robe Girl and asked.
“What?” The White Robe Girl looked at him, bewildered.
It turned out that their thoughts were not connected at all.
Qin Gou asked again, “Do you know what condition it requires?”
Upon hearing this, the White Robe Girl looked up. After seemingly communicating with the Profound Realm Core, her eyes lit up, and she immediately said, “…”
She had only spoken half of it when the White Robe Girl’s dark eyebrows furrowed. She took off her white mask again and said, “…”
This time, Qin Gou saw clearly that she was opening her small mouth, but no sound came out.
“What’s wrong with me? What is this?” Suddenly, the White Robe Girl discovered that as long as she didn’t touch upon ‘that topic,’ she could speak again.
“Is the Profound Realm Core restricting you?” Qin Gou asked.
The White Robe Girl shook her head firmly, indicating that it was absolutely not.
“I’m afraid this is the most difficult trial,” Shu Yinxing, who had been observing for a long time, said incisively from the side.
“Did you, the Profound Realm Core, set this requirement and condition yourself?” Qin Gou immediately asked in his mind.
He received an affirmative answer.
“You set the condition you need, but you can’t say it, and the White Robe Girl can’t say it either. And this restriction doesn’t come from the Profound Realm Core, but from some higher existence. Could it be… me, as the former host?!”
The power of the Profound Realm Core displayed its most active emotions at this moment.
“Did I really guess correctly?” Qin Gou was somewhat incredulous.
“Ding. This is a bit interesting.”
“What is it?”
“The Profound Realm Core seems to want to send some images over. It definitely won’t harm the host, so this system won’t stop it.”
As soon as the voice fell, the familiar scene appeared.
It was the scene Qin Gou had seen before, of him battling a crowd of Demon Lords and actively severing his connection with the Profound Realm.
And it was even clearer than the fragmented memories collected by the system, with the appearance of each Demon Lord clearly visible – they were the consciousnesses he had scattered earlier.
After Qin Gou carefully watched it once, the same scene reappeared, as if in a loop.
“This must be a hint?”
Qin Gou pondered with a solemn gaze, “A condition related to this scene, and for some reason, it can’t even be told to me… could it be.”
He paused, took a deep breath, and said, “I will never be forced into that situation by anyone again, which means I will never again sever my connection with the Profound Realm!”
As soon as he said this, the dazzling little sun above everyone’s heads trembled violently.
“It seems I was right?”
Qin Gou looked up at the Profound Realm Core and continued, “However, if it were just this promise, it probably wouldn’t be enough to make you all unable to speak. Therefore, the real condition should be…”
“I, Qin Gou, henceforth renounce the power to voluntarily abandon my Profound Realm, to live and die together, and to accompany you forever, which is no longer just a joke!”
“Return!”
As soon as he finished speaking.
That incomparably dazzling little sun, without any further hesitation, directly plunged into Qin Gou’s chest.
