The Stars Beyond

Chapter 367: The Site Of Ascension For The Immortals

Chapter 367: The Site Of Ascension For The Immortals

At the source's ultimate depth, with a leap... into reality, to witness true immortality? The psychic resonance that followed caused shivers down the spine, trembling both mind and body.

Firstly, it possessed an overwhelming force, truly vast, or else it wouldn't have flung six top masters away. This tenth layer of psychic remnants is terrifying indeed.

Next is its essence, touching upon the true source? The goal every mythology ultimately seeks, aiming to escape the transcendent winter and avoid decay through it.

Did this civilization find it, thereby showing the way forward to future generations?

Those with unstable foundational realms are truly pitiable; just now, a few individuals experienced a slide in their cultivation levels, unable to maintain their realms.

"Sky and earth, shaking every few days, who can endure this? Might as well shake everyone off the clouds in one go and be done with it. I just recovered, just after taking a potent spirit medicine, and then you shake me down again, I..."

Someone was furious, the cost too great, irritable and pointing accusatorially at the sky.

Of course, the scale this time was smaller, with limited people shaken down, mainly because the ceiling this time was too high-end, with six peerless masters standing their ground at the site of the incident.

Each displayed their methods; the female Taoist held a golden boat, streaming with misty light rain, wrapping herself in a golden glow to isolate from the outside.

The red clothed demoness used thunder as a guide, forming a red mist cocoon around her graceful figure, motionless inside.

A figure in a black robe enveloped in black mist, pulled out a dark long knife, placing it before the forehead as a defense against the oppression.

In front of the three haunting piles, Zhang Daoling simply placed the copper mirror over his face again.

......

Amidst the tumultuous tremors, even the mightiest figures displayed their extraordinary powers, each showcasing their unique abilities as if they were the legendary Eight Immortals crossing the sea.

For Wang Xuan, caught in the midst of these upheavals, it was akin to being aboard a ship tossed by stormy waves. Remarkably, he weathered the chaos with little to no harm, his treasures briefly vibrating before stabilizing.

As the gateway to the relic's tenth layer began to fade, people in the real world finally let out a sigh of relief. The oppressive force had been intense, shaking them to their cores and leaving many transcendent beings in shock.

"That wasn’t as intense as expected; felt like a ride on a bumper car," Chen Yongjie commented with a calm demeanor, seemingly unbothered by the experience.

The six grandmasters stood up, wiping away the divine blood from their lips, as the explosion of the seal had wounded them.

They looked towards the void gateway with solemn expressions, gazing into the entrance that led to the last layer of psychic remnants—a pathway so deep and dark that its end was unseen.

"Who dares to enter?" declared the figure within the blood wheel, known as the "Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect."

"Stop pretending. We all saw your real form just now, Qi Teng. You might as well show your true face; the Underworld Blood Sect will surely seek retribution," someone spoke up.

To everyone's surprise, the man within the blood wheel was revealed to be Qi Teng, the ancestor of the Celestial Immortals and forebear of Qi Chengdao.

"And didn’t you impersonate him as well, Demon Ancestor?" Qi Teng retorted, his youthful and noble visage unveiled as he turned to the man in the black robe.

The man in the black robe smiled calmly, dispelling the surrounding darkness to reveal his bronze-toned body and a dark demonic sword on his back, confirming his status as the premier figure of the demonic path.

"Isn’t it a bit much, impersonating others?" chided the man enveloped in divine golden light, his presence radiating sanctity and tranquility.

"It’s no issue, the River Styx doesn’t mind," both the Demon Ancestor and Qi Teng replied, smiling.

"I’ll put an end to you both!" erupted the golden figure, his fury manifesting as a blood-red assault towards them, truly incensed.

"Wow!" exclaimed Chen Yongjie from the sidelines, witnessing this elaborate play of true and false identities, a chaotic display. "A bunch of crafty old characters, none straightforward."

The figure shrouded in divine golden light, exuding an air of supreme sanctity, was revealed to be the true form of the Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect, silently present all along.

Amidst the chaotic scene, the Celestial Immortal ancestor Qi Teng was dumbfounded, and the Demon Ancestor felt disordered, realizing that the actual figure they had been impersonating was right beside them all along, probably holding back anger and looking for a chance to strike at them!

In fact, there had been a tacit agreement among them earlier to join forces against the red-dressed demoness, but they failed to subdue her.

"It's truly chaotic," the man in the silver mask commented, standing aloof and detached.

"Zheng Yuantian, don't pretend to be above it all, we recognized you!" someone called out, revealing his identity.

"It really is that guy, you guessed right!" Chen Yongjie murmured from outside the barrier, adding, "Shake him up later, regardless of collateral damage. We must bring him down; he's too strong!"

The relationships among the group were complex, with alliances and conflicts intertwining without any true friendships.

"Enough with the noise. Those who wish to enter the void gateway, keep quiet; the rest should leave immediately," Fang Yuzhu spoke up authoritatively, her reputation for formidable feats well acknowledged.

As the foremost expert among the Fangshi, she had slain more than one unparalleled being. Even the Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect had narrowly escaped her wrath, having eight of his true lives extinguished and only surviving by hiding his last in an endless shadow.

"You, and you, no more tricks. Be careful; I'm not one to forget grievances easily," the red-dressed demoness warned, her intimidating gaze sweeping across the others.

As the six grandmasters ventured into the silent land, the thick material reality excited them. Upon reaching the tenth layer of psychic remnants, they found no spirit statues attacking; all was calm.

Wang Xuan and his companions ascended, hiding in the mists to observe the real form of the tenth layer of psychic remnants.

Ahead in the dark land, the psychic remnants loomed large, with structures and towering mountains all devoid of life.

Energy materials close to reality surged from the sky like snowflakes or rain, blanketing everything.

The sky of the tenth psychic remnant bordered a realm of darkness—could this be the so-called source of reality?

Within that pitch-black expanse, where no regular stars shone and only the occasional meteor streaked across, the rare glimpses of starlight added a touch of desolation to the somber atmosphere.

"Indeed, this civilization was astoundingly powerful, having torn through a part of the cosmos to find a path and departed en masse," Zheng Yuantian remarked, still donning his silver mask.

"The starlight isn't actual meteors but the passage of energy close to reality through this silent expanse," Fang Yuzhu added.

At the ultimate end, the source of true reality, a final leap could reveal immortality. Yet, the six unparalleled masters present frowned at the prospect of jumping through that dark cosmos.

They looked up, scrutinizing the depths of space.

"Who will lead the way in exploring?" the Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect asked, only to find everyone's gaze turning to him.

He felt awkward, wanting to say, "What's wrong with you all? Why are you looking at me?!"

"Underworld Blood, with your endless incarnations of blood and nine true lives, why not send one true life to explore? Everyone agrees," the Demon Ancestor said with a smile, his bronze skin gleaming. His rugged appearance made him look quite honorable.

"Are you insane?" the Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect blurted out in frustration.

"Underworld Blood, it has to be you!" the Celestial Immortal ancestor Qi Teng agreed.

"And you're sick too?" the Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect glared at him. These were the two who had impersonated him not long ago, and now they wanted him to take the risk?

"Underworld Blood, your talent is evident. Losing a few incarnations or even a true life wouldn't matter much; you could always recover slowly," Zheng Yuantian chimed in.

"You're sick too!" The Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect was visibly agitated. Was this reasonable to any of them? In this era, if a true life was lost, where would one find the time to cultivate and recover?

Outside the barrier, Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie exchanged glances, realizing that even the mightiest of masters were still human and quite down-to-earth, far from the aloof and detached beings they had imagined.

The two of them found the entire situation rather amusing.

"Underworld Blood, just send an incarnation, not a true life," Fang Yuzhu suggested gently.

"Alright then." The Ancestor of the Underworld Blood Sect nodded, more at ease with not risking a true life. He swiftly split off an incarnation that plunged into the dark void, heading deep into the vast cosmos.

"It doesn't seem like a universe; there are no stars, no sun or moon, just like a black cloth covering it all," Chen Yongjie commented.

Wang Xuan was also intensely observing, with his spiritual eye wide open, wishing he could see through to the very end of this realm, wondering if it resembled the Land of Emptiness.

"Underworld Blood, one incarnation isn't enough. Send out more, at least the number of Thirty-Six Heavenly Gangs," the Demon Ancestor, with his broad eyebrows and big eyes, suggested.

"Don't provoke me, or I'll send you out there!" the Ancestor of Underworld Blood threatened.

Half an hour later, his expression changed. "My incarnation is dead!"

"What did it see at the end? How did it die?" the Red-dressed Demoness showed interest.

"Chariots, bodies, broken flags, blood, and a blurry path ahead. My incarnation just dissipated out of the blue, all those scenes were just fleeting glimpses, not very clear," he explained.

"Send another incarnation to have a look," Zheng Yuantian suggested.

The Ancestor of Underworld Blood glared at him, then walked over to the female sorcerer and the Red-dressed Demoness, saying, "From now on, I'll turn over a new leaf, align with you two, and perhaps start a livestock farm in the mortal world, ensuring my disciples don't drink human blood."

Old Ming felt it was tough being him, finding the two supreme female immortals more reasonable.

"Underworld Blood Ancestor, staying with those heartless people, you've unfairly carried the blame quite a bit. Poor thing, now you've seen the error of your ways," Wang Xuan observed with some emotion.

"I originally wanted to kill that Wang Xuan, to consume his unique true blood. Now, I've decided to stop because of your connection with Sorceress Fang," the Ancestor of Underworld Blood confessed with a seemingly honest smile to the female sorcerer.

"I..." Wang Xuan immediately shut up, feeling no sympathy for him anymore. This crafty old villain had actually planned to attack him personally?

"I'll shock you all to death!" Wang Xuan thought it was urgent to go to the meteorite field to plant cacti. Underworld Blood, Zheng Yuantian, and Qi Teng were all too vicious.

But before heading to the Land of Emptiness, he had to ensure his own safety first, making these people witness that his breakthrough and the demotion of other cultivators' realms had nothing to do with him.

"Is the Mysterious Realm I'm heading to related to this place in reality?" Wang Xuan hesitated, staring at the end of the dark heavens within the barrier!

Underworld Blood sent out several more incarnations, but the result was the same: they dissipated mysteriously with only vague sightings.

"The Demoness in Red spoke up, her beauty and grace belied by her bold spirit, "Let's go in ourselves, together. Dare we?"

"Yes!" Zheng Yuantian agreed, nodding. "The myths are dying, and we're at the end of times. If we can't break free now, everything in the future will lose its meaning. What's there to fear?"

The six supreme experts set off together, venturing into the dark heavens.

At the site of the Three Spooky Piles, Old Zhang finally staggered to his feet, taking a long breath with his battered copper mirror in hand, swiftly leaving the bonfires behind. The three ghastly faces had grown tired of his days of sermonizing and... chased him away!

However, as he was leaving the desert to enter the spiritual realm, he suddenly turned back, gritting his teeth in frustration to find two following him: one, the queen of the Three Spooky Piles, and the other, an elder in worn spacesuits, both sovereigns of specters!

In the dark heavens bordering the tenth layer of the spiritual relic, the journey revealed to the group, including the female sorcerer, that this was not the real universe but a spiritual cosmos.

In the darkness, they didn’t travel far before making a discovery: a golden chariot, majestic and intimidating, engraved with the emblem of the Imperial Flag and various intricate patterns, its entirety stained with fresh blood but devoid of any living beings. It was real blood, not a substance left by the spirit.

"This mythical civilization, did they ascend as a whole in the end? Breaking through the heavens to arrive in this realm, bringing their physical bodies, yet this is still a spiritual cosmos," she pondered.

"They blazed a trail with the Imperial Flag, but did they truly reach the source of reality?" Fang Yuzhu spoke, her white garment fluttering, her beauty striking amidst the dark cosmos.