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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
Cen Shuang was in disbelief, yet she had to accept the reality that her greatest enemy still roamed the mortal world. Throughout the ages, his presence remained as imposing as ever, perched atop a mountain, surveying all sentient beings below.
Even in the present day Immortal Domain, vastly different from the Forbidden Era of the Celestial Ancient Times, where the Immortal Kings were rare sights and the universe was under their command, Gu Changge remained an unparalleled force. He could effortlessly vanquish the Immortal Kings and even the Quasi-Immortal Emperors from the Other Domain.
Cen Shuang felt a deep sense of despair and she struggled to accept the truth before her. Despite Gu Changge standing right in front of her, Cen Shuang found herself unable to muster the courage to strike. This realisation only fuelled her hatred towards her own powerlessness and weakness.
“It appears that I’ve evoked unpleasant memories that you have of me. Time really flies…” With a faint smile, Gu Changge moved his gaze away from Cen Shuang.
Cen Shuang was staring intently at him, almost gnashing her teeth in frustration. Her once lovely eyes were now bloodshot as she continued to refrain from reckless action that could potentially implicate the City of No Return. Her grip on the spear was so hard that its handle threatened to splinter. If they were in a different location, she would have already charged forward to confront Gu Changge without any concern for the potential repercussions.
The other Elders, with the exception of the Old City Lord, Elder Turtle, and Grandma Medicine, fell silent. Most of them were from after the Forbidden Era, who knew little about Cen Shuang’s past. They were unsure of the depth of her animosity towards Gu Changge. In fact, their fear and reverence for Gu Changge overshadowed any hatred they felt towards him.
Gu Changge did not care about any of this. He had only come to the Floating Nether Realm to confirm one thing. If Gu Qingyi had neither come to the Floating Nether Realm nor searched for the remnants of the Immortal Palace after leaving the Upper Realm and returning to the Immortal Domain, then there was only one possibility left…
[Qingyi has probably gone to the Land of Reincarnation, with the intention of redoing the cycle of reincarnation so that all those in the past can reappear…] Gu Changge surmised Gu Qingyi’s intentions, as it was otherwise impossible to explain her current whereabouts.
There was no trace of her in the vast Immortal Domain. It really left one to wonder if the True Spirit of this True World would soon disappear, vanishing from the world. Without the protection of its True Spirit, the True World would become something akin to a lighthouse in the Boundless Fallen Ocean, attracting powerful beings who traverse its waters.
A terrifying phenomenon had appeared in the sky outside previously, as if the world would be destroyed. It was clear that the creatures of Boundless Expanse had taken notice of the Mountains and Oceans True World.
Within the next century, these creatures would follow the light in the darkness, and swarm over like sharks drawn to blood. They would sacrifice the Mountains and Oceans True World to their own worlds.
This was the law of survival of the True World in the Boundless Expanse, where True Worlds could devour each other. It was a cycle of decay, and the welcoming of new life.
[She must have noticed this and intends to return as soon as possible to bring everything back.] Gu Changge thought to himself. If he thought about it this way, then everything made sense.
Prior to the Second Great Purge, Qingyi had made ample preparations, so it was not right to say that he slaughtered all living beings. The Souls that perished in that battle were led by Qingyi to a safe haven, shielding them from the impending disaster.
When the time was right, the world would be restored by the Land of Reincarnation. In fact, there had been various rumours circulating in the Immortal Domain speculating that those supreme experts who had left the Immortal Domain would return again.
The truth was that it were the Heroic Spirits who had been sleeping in the Land of Reincarnation that would return.
Some of them were those who survived the First Great Purge and became founding members of the Immortal Palace, dating back to a distant era, while others were mostly just ordinary people who lost their lives during the Forbidden Era.
Qingyi had paid a heavy price for this undertaking, but being the True Spirit of the Mountains and Oceans True World allowed her to bear the immense karmic burden for pulling this off.
“What is that place?” Gu Changge turned towards the towering mountains and in the distance and asked. A thick fog was spreading from the mountains, as if it was determined to engulf the entire place.
“That is where the Azure Sea Realm is. It used to be a harmonious Realm that coexisted with the Floating Nether Realm, until it’s corrupted by Demonic Energy and infested with countless Demons due to the emergence of spatial rifts…” Elder Turtle replied respectfully. “For generations, we have battled against these Demons that have emerged from the Azure Sea Realm.”
“Azure Sea Realm?” Gu Changge spun around and left the City of No Return, swiftly making his way towards the source of the Eternal Overcast aura that he had sensed earlier. The Elders, including Elder Turtle, were stunned and perplexed by Gu Changge’s intentions. Nevertheless, they hastened to follow him.
Cen Shuang gripped her spear tightly. With unwavering determination in her eyes, she turned into a beam of light and followed closely behind the others. She had been fighting against Demons in the Land of Blue, honing her skills and refining her combat experience for the day she could truly make use of it. It was safe to say that no one in the City of No Return knew this place better than she did.
A seemingly endless flow of Demons poured forth from the vast blue light. If the City of No Return had not been fighting to eradicate these Demons, this place would have long been overrun by them, leaving no living beings to exist, let alone maintaining its lush landscape.
The Elders of the City of No Return had also arrived, their faces now burdened with concern.
“The Demonic Energy has grown thicker… And these Demons are more manic than before. Even without this, we won’t be able to stop them for long,” they said grimly.
King Luo, the Blood Owl Immortal King and others, could not hide their surprise as this was the first time they had seen such a mysterious substance. They attempted to probe its secrets with their divine sense, but their expressions quickly shifted as they heard a sizzling sound in the air.
“What is this thing? It can actually corrode our divine sense…” The divine sense of an Immortal King was so powerful that it could sweep across several universes. However, when faced with the fog before them, it was feeble and unable to penetrate its depths. It was then that they realised why the Immortal King Elders of the City of No Return had such grim expressions on their faces.
“It’s Eternal Overcast Fog, but it’s even stronger than the one in the Upper Realm…” Gu Changge looked over and raised his eyebrows slightly.
From afar, it looked like a blue lake, but upon closer look, one would realise that it was a dense blue fog. It was vastly different from the Eternal Overcast Fog that Gu Changge had seen in the Upper Realm, yet there was no difference in essence. They could easily corrupt the Souls of the living, seize control of their physical bodies and then breed a violent intelligence lifeform that only knew how to kill.
Many had been corrupted by the Eternal Overcast Fog in this place, transforming into ‘Demons’ that everyone in the Floating Nether Realm had always regarded as a great enemy.
“There’s really a passage hidden in it…” Gu Changge took a step forward, peering into the depths of the blue fog and noticed many rifts in the void.
Many Demons charged towards him, but they exploded in mid-air and were eagerly devoured by the remaining Demons behind them. The other Immortal Kings rushed to Gu Changge’s side, eager to find out his next move.
Cen Shuang grasped her spear tightly and coldly plunged it into the heart of a Demon to release the pent-up hatred and anger that had been festering inside her.
There were faint traces of blood-red at the edges of the landscape, as if the ground had been dyed by blood. It also looked like the bloodstain left behind from the countless battles and struggles over the years. Some areas had already turned black.
On the other side of the rift lay the Azure Sea Realm, but it was now a desolate wasteland with blood-coloured lakes scattered across the landscape.
Massive pits could be seen stretching out for kilometres. Countless Demons roared from there, their bodies corrupted by the thick Eternal Overcast Fog. They battled tirelessly, even against those of their same kind, using each other as sustenance.
Seeing this situation, Gu Changge deduced that there must be a passage behind the Floating Nether Realm. The presence of the Eternal Overcast Fog here was not a mere coincidence but a result of the efforts of some beings in far-off lands attempting to raise a truly Immortal Eternal Overcast Army.
The Azure Sea Realm was nothing more than one of the small areas to raise such an army.
In Gu Changge’s memory, there was once a group that utilised the Eternal Overcast Source to harness the vast expanse of an ancient universe as a breeding ground to raise their own Eternal Overcast Armies. However, this practice posed a threat to the harmony of the universe and had long since been prohibited, even in the Source Realm.
The discovery of such a thick Eternal Overcast Fog in the Azure Sea Realm only served to indicate that there was a group brazenly flouting the ban and clandestinely cultivating their own Eternal Overcast Armies through the use of flesh and blood.
Apart from the supreme three Original True Ancestors in the Source Realm, there were others in the Source Realm, subordinate Forces who were bestowed with eternal life and rights.
They would collect primarily Fortuity, with resources and materials playing a secondary role. Although, they were insignificant in comparison to Fortuity.
These Forces responsible for collection had evolved over time, with some already becoming one of the most ancient and powerful in the Source Realm, they had controlled countless territories and even governed multiple True Worlds. In total, there were nine such
Forces.
At times, when the Original True Ancestor awoke early and sought to carry out a Great Purge, a few of these Forces would host the grand ceremony.
Apart from the three Original True Ancestors, these Forces could be said to possess the most ancient and terrifying power in the Source Realm. Born within the Source Realm and protected by the True Ancestors, even if they died and were completely wiped out beyond the Source Realm, they could still be resurrected. They were truly Immortal and Eternal.
At this moment, Gu Changge stood at the edge of the Azure Sea Realm, but did not set foot inside. He didn’t bother to find out which group was raising an Eternal Overcast Army here.
Instead, a small smile played at the corners of his lips. “At least they accomplished something after countless years…”
When he first set foot in Floating Nether Realm, he sensed an ancient and eternal power in the air. It was this power that allowed the City of No Return to operate and prevented it from falling.
Gu Changge was actually very familiar with the power at play here. During his time in the Upper Realm, he had actually condensed and devoured it with the Grand Flask.
It was definitely an Eternal Overcast Source. However, this Source had other impurities and types of energy mixed within it.
The people in the City of No Return referred to it as the Source Core. It was from a special Demon. In fact, there was a massive one housed by an ancient altar atop a high platform in the heart of the city. It had sustained the city’s operations for countless years. Gu Changge believed it was condensed from the energy of an Eternal Overcast Being, that was as powerful as a Quasi-Immortal Emperor.
He had a hunch that he might find something that would surprise him in the Azure Sea Realm.
As soon as he took a step forward, a deafening roar erupted from the vicinity, causing the thick blue fog to part and dissipate swiftly. The Demons disintegrated and crumbled like sand, before being swallowed by the dense fog.
The space before Gu Changge was suddenly torn asunder, and a terrifying portal appeared.
As Gu Changge stepped forward, the energy beneath his feet rippled and surged, causing the time and space to come to a standstill. He slowly walked into the portal and entered the barren world filled with endless chaos and bloodshed. The ground beneath him split open, and all the Demons charged towards him like they had lost their minds.
Some of the Demons were as massive as ancient mystic mountains. They looked like malicious ghosts, pieced together by different creatures. Most of them had a human-like appearance, while some bore the unique features of other races.
“The Azure Sea Realm lies beyond here…” Despite not knowing Gu Changge’s intentions, everyone could only clench their jaws and trail behind him.
In the past, even Immortal Kings dared not venture into the Azure Realm. They feared that they would be corrupted by the fog and turn into Demons. Yet, Gu Changge fearlessly forged ahead, leaving others with no choice but to follow him.
The Eternal Overcast Fog thickened, shrouding this place and obscuring the sky above them. The Immortal Kings from the City of No Return had never ventured to this place before. A peculiar sensation coursed through their bodies, causing them discomfort, even shaking them to their core.
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