by <unknown>
Shang Qing then bowed his body parallel to the ground, he said, "Indeed, it can even be you, mother!"
Chapter 438: Emergence of The Returning Ruins |
Not far away from Kun Lun, there existed a star system within the primal chaos. The stars and planets disorderly revolved around its center. Sometimes, they would even go backwards and crash into other stars. At the center of all of it was a huge planter, and it was the place within the torrential storm that had a semblance of tranquillity. The natives called it — A'thoer.
Back when the Kun Lun imperial court was destroyed, one of the pieces carried the demon gods and crashed here, forming the what came to be known as A'thoer.
The demon gods took this place as their new home, forming a planet of demons. However, the location of A'thoer was very perilous, there was danger everywhere, and oftentimes, there would even be splintered star fragments crashing into the planet. Thus, making it barely hospitable for even the strongest demons.
When you stood above the clouds and looked into the vast galaxy, all you could see were planets and stars revolving around you. There was no pattern, no flow, and no direction to the movement – it was the quintessence of chaos. As such, a natural cage was formed around the demon planet A'thoer, making it almost impossible for the A'thoer Qi Practitioners to leave the planet.
However, the demon gods were able to leave, but the dangers in the journey were still enough to threaten their lives.
Today, the war horn sounded. In the heavenly palace of A'thoer, the demon gods led their outstanding disciples alongside with them, and they all looked into the sky.
The chaotic stars and planets became even more turbulent, abruptly changing direction, with some flying out like a boomerang, some flying out in a straight line, and some crushed into pieces along the way.
While in the heavenly palace, an ancient demon god, whose aura was no different from that of an ordinary man, tardily stood up. He raised his hand, pointing in one direction where the stars and planets were flying to.
There, a circle of stars and planets was formed. Darkness gathered at the center of the circle, and in just the blink of an eye, the whole inner circle was swallowed by the darkness. Then, a vast continent slowly appeared at the center of that darkness.
“The Returning Ruins … It’s finally here…”
The ancient demon god, A'thoer Heavenly Lord opened his arms wide, and his demonic intonation resounded the whole planet, "My children, it's time for you to shine, time for you to take your place in this world. Prepare yourselves for the Returning Ruins. Along the way, you will find your journey a treacherous one, and you must be cautious. Kill the Kun Lun Qi Practitioners and bring the Peaches of Immortality back to me!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The demon Qi Practitioners bellowed in unison.
On the Nacre Lake Golden Stage, the Kun Lun gods were also looking at the wormhole swirling in the high sky. It was as if a dimensional beast had bitten a hole in the sky. Slowly, a vast continent appeared in the middle of the wormhole.
That was the Returning Ruins, the place where the Six Paths of Reincarnation was broken.
It was called the Returning Ruins because it was the place where the stellar remnants went to, the ruins to where the fragments of the shattered stars returned. What formed the fundamental base of the Six Paths Reincarnation were six galaxies; and when the Six Paths Reincarnation was destroyed, the space collapsed, and a supermassive black hole emerged, sucking the shattered planets and stars into it.
Every 1000 years, the black hole would eject some parts of the remnants that it wasn't able to disintegrate as some sort of regulation mechanism, such as the shattered pieces of the Kun Lun imperial court. But soon, the black hole would then suck it away again.
However, there was a small window in between the start and end of the black hole's self-regulating process, and this was precisely the window of opportunity during which the Qi Practitioners were able to enter the Returning Ruins. Doing so at any other time would only result in certain death!
In the Returning Ruins, not only was there the shattered Kun Lun imperial court, but there were also many other unknown existences and dangers.
"The Returning Ruins are a relic born of the Six Paths' destruction! It is finally here, the continent that contains the divine herb to immortality…"
On the golden platform, the gods stared at the wormhole, and their hearts beat vigorously. The opportunity that only came once every 1000 years had finally arrived!
Meanwhile, the pillars on the Cloud Stage started glowing. The gods were preparing the teleportation portal to transport their disciples into the Returning Ruins!
On the Cloud Stage, the Qi Practitioners were staring vacantly at the swirling wormhole. They looked at the saint and divine continent. Even Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were stunned as they stared with disbelief.
Before their eyes were the magnificent power of heaven and earth and the creation of the ancient imperial gods!
Suddenly, Tian Wu God flew over, and he landed on the Cloud Stage. Blood dripped from his body and marred his clothes a bloody red. Clearly, he had come across some strong experts and was injured by Huo Zheng God and Wu Ming God.
As time was running out, Tian Wu God tapped his finger on the eight Golden Hous' foreheads and passed the core of the cultivation techniques to them. He said solemnly, "The cultivation techniques I've taught each of you are just one part each of the whole cultivation technique called the【Tian Wu Champion Art】. Cast the mainframe together with each of your cultivation techniques, and the eight of you will be able to combine your strengths to become the strongest expert of all! When the portal is activated, the eight of you will cast the【Tian Wu Champion Art】together!"
The eight Golden Hous were shocked, and Tian Yi then mumbled, "Are we really one Tian Wu?"
Tian Wu God laughed, "The eight of you are each an individual and also a part of a whole. You can be eight and also one, your achievements will be beyond those of mine. My Peaches of Immortality lie in your hands, try not to disappoint me too much! Little Friend Zhong, please take care of my mischievous disciples!"
Zhong Yue nodded, and Tian Wu God flew up to the Golden Stage.
Qiu Jin'er then looked at the eight Golden Hous with curiosity, "How are you eight going to combine together?"
Suddenly, the phoenix Qi Practitioners then leaped down from the Golden Stage to the Cloud Stage.
Other than the phoenix Qi Practitioners, there were still a few ladies, among which was Chi Xue with Ying Nu beside her. The other ladies also have the same body features as her, the leopard's tail, the crown on their heads, and their trademark imposing manner.
Whereas the phoenix Qi Practitioners were like the ladies’ subordinates, following behind them.
Suddenly, Chi Xue turned her head and looked at Zhong Yue. She winked her eyes at him, and a warm smile radiated across her face. Her leopard tail was then kept in her clothes.
Although she saw Zhong Yue, she did not walk over; even Ying Nu just continued to stand beside her quietly.
“Little vixen…” Qiu Jin’er mumbled.
“It’s the White Tiger.”
In Zhong Yue's psyche ocean, Xin Huo suddenly voiced, "The Western Mother Clan is actually the White Tiger Celestial Race, one of the strongest celestial races, only slightly weaker than the eight royal races. These ladies are all White Tigers, no wonder they are so strong!"
"Chi Xue is a White Tiger?" Zhong Yue was startled, and he asked, "How strong are they?"
"Very strong, no weaker than you. If you unlock the full potential of the Fuxi bloodline, then you would naturally be able to beat them. But right now... it's hard to tell." Xin Huo then said, "The White Tiger is also called the Golden Mother, they are strong from birth! There are no males in that race at all. If they want to reproduce, they can only look for the males of other races. But the children they give birth to will also be a female White Tiger. It is really intriguing. My guess is that the White Tiger blood ove
rpowers other bloodlines that the resultant child is always a White Tiger. I say all of this to let you know that there's no point in reproducing with her!"
Zhong Yue was between laughter and tears, for every lady that they've come across, Xin Huo had never failed to bring up the issue of reproduction with them.
"We greet the great ruler Golden Mother!"
Suddenly, the gods on the golden stage knelt and greeted the arrival of a beautiful woman. She had a face similar to Chi Xue's and also had the same bodily features as well. She had a saintly aura lent her beauty an ethereal air.
She alone seemed stronger than all of the gods together!
Is she the ruler of the Western Mother Empire?
Zhong Yue looked at her. Golden rays surrounded her, painting her as a goddess. She looked more like Chi Xue's sister than an old granny. Zhong Yue thought, This is the Western Mother's 10,000th birthday, how is it that she still looks so young...?
Just as he thought about it, the empress of the Western Mother Empire raised her hand to silence the crowd. Her slightly old and hoarse voice then spoke, "Every 1000 years, the Returning Ruins would emerge, the Peaches of Immortality can extend your lives, but it can't grant you a new life. Please, my people, be careful in the Returning Ruins as there are more than many dangers in it."
After this, Western Mother nodded, and the gods chanted a call. The pillars on the Clouds Stage shone bright and soon engulfed the Qi Practitioners away!
Activating an intergalactic teleportation portal required an enormous amount of arcane energy. But divine weapons could also be used as a substitute for the arcane energy. Xin Huo did precisely that when he sacrificed a divine weapon to transport Zhong Yue to the sun; but after the energy in the divine weapon was exhausted, it fell to the ground and was vaporized by the heat of the sun. If it were any other lower-tiered soul weapon, he would most probably be lost in the middle of space as the energy within them wouldn't be enough to power the whole trip.
However, there were thousands of gods here powering the teleportation array formation together, and thus, it was impossible for the teleportation process to be lacking in power. There was just no need to be worried about being stranded in the middle of space.
In the lights, the eight Golden Hous quickly cast the【Tian Wu Champion Art】together and the eight chubby little tigers combined together into a Tian Wu with eight faces, eight heads, eight arms, eight tails, and eight wings!
The light rays from the teleportation portal were so strong that it covered the sight of them changing forms so that others were oblivious to what just happened.
Meanwhile, Zhong Yue was tightly holding onto Qiu Jin'er's hand, and suddenly, a loud boom came rushing into their ears. Colorful lights surrounded them, and in just a split second, they were shot past the cloudy layers and into the wormhole at an ungodly speed!
The six moons, twin suns and stars flew past them one after another, and the Kun Lun planet became smaller and smaller in their visions. It was so fast that they couldn't really see what had passed by them but only a flash of bright lights that proved something had just flown past them!
The intergalactic teleportation portal was really incredible!
The same thing happened without pause for two whole days. They must have passed a nearly infinite number of stars and traversed an unfathomable distance. Suddenly, a surge of suction force disrupted the flow. Zhong Yue's heart skipped a beat, he watched as the bright rays around them shuddered as he was nearly sucked out from the road of light!
The sounds of creaking came as the suction force increased in strength, inflicting pain on his eardrums.
"Please tell me this isn't taking a turn for the worse…," even Xin Huo said in shock.
"Shut up! Don't jinx us!" Zhong Yue chided with gritted teeth.
Dark clouds billowed beside the teleportation light rays, and a giant golden ship appeared sailing in the air beside them. The ship was engraved with totem patterns all over, it was rusted with holes speckled across the ship's hull. On the deck, skeletons were standing straight like spears as they stared at the Qi Practitioners in the light rays.
Despite them being far away and separated by the light rays, Zhong Yue could still vaguely sense the skeletons' breathing. This golden ship was not crushed by the supermassive black hole; it had been jettisoned out of it.
The golden ship creaked as it sailed slowly together with the light rays, causing them to shudder even more. Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er could feel the teleportation lights turning weaker, slowly tossing them of its intended path while their bodies were rendered immobile.
“Xin Huo, the lamp!”
Zhong Yue shouted into his psyche ocean, and cold sweat burst out from his forehead as he clenched the shabby copper lamp in his other hand. Xin Huo flew out from his forehead and landed inside it. It was then lit, and the clouds of darkness were dispersed by the lamp lights, and the skeletons raised their bony hands and covered their eyes. The golden ship then slowly changed its course and flew away. Immediately as the golden ship left, the teleportation lights regained its usual flow, and soon, it left the golden ship behind on its trials.
Chapter 439: Heads |
Zhong Yue let out a breath of relief, and Xin Huo flew up out of the lamp pith and returned to Zhong Yue's psyche ocean as Zhong Yue put the copper lamp away. He then said with a thumping heart, "Why are these gods still alive, they should have died long ago…."
“It’s the Six Path Reincarnation!” replied Xin Huo.
Xin Huo then said seriously, "The Returning Ruins were formed after the Six Paths Reincarnation was destroyed, it probably carried some characteristics of the reincarnation, allowing them to retain some modicum of life even after death. They are all trapped inside the path of reincarnation, barred from entering the afterlife."
Zhong Yue, however, did not really understand. When he turned around, the golden ship was already gone from their vicinity.
"How are the Six Path Reincarnation allowing the gods to be immortal?"
Xin Huo, who did not understand much about the Six Path Reincarnation, then mumbled, "Incredible, someone had managed to create such as incredible Six Path Reincarnation. But who is that someone? Even the Sui Sovereigns during the Fire Order Era were never able to do something like this…."
On their way there, Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er saw many strange things that were ejected from the black hole. There were scattered landmasses, skulls that were as big as planets, and broken fragments of godly weapons. Other than that, they also saw the skeletons of some unknown creatures and tunnels created by twisted force.
The strangest of all was the tunnels; at the end of these tunnels were planets. One can only imagine how these tunnels connected to the planets.
"Seems like we will be able to reach these planets through the tunnels," said Qiu Jin'er softly.
However, some parts of the tunnels have already collapsed, and if they entered these tunnels recklessly, they would most probably be met by some form of immense danger.
The teleportation speed was so fast, making them particularly regretful when they simply zipped past precious treasures without being given a chance to retrieve them.
Suddenly, Zhong Yue saw a huge celestial launched out of the black hole. It was sitting cross-legged and floated aimlessly in the darkness. The giant sat there without moving an inch, but what was especially strange was the fact that this giant seemed unaffected by the curse that left every other god here with only their skeletons.
Even the Returning Ruins' black hole failed to disintegrate them and had to expel him.
In a blink of an eye, the giant disappeared from their sights as they were all teleported away, but Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were still greatly shocked. Zhong Yue muttered, "Is he still alive? Even the black hole couldn't do anything to him…."
"No idea, they said the heavenly court of Kun Lun was shattered 100,000 years ago and that the Returning Ruins was formed right after its destruction. There shouldn't be any gods that ca
n stay alive for such a long time."
Finally, the Returning Ruins slowly came into their sights, and their speed decreased gradually. When Zhong Yue looked around, he saw light pillars descending from the skies and landing everywhere around the land of Returning Ruins.
He was also sent to the ground by the light pillars along with Qiu Jin'er, and when the light pillars faded, the spectacular landscape of the Returning Ruins was completely revealed to their eyes.
In the air, there was a river running strong, flowed towards the bottom, into the ground, out of a mountain far away, and back into the air without end in a seemingly never-ending loop.
Somewhere near them was an enormous god skeleton that was half buried in the ground with its rib cage exposed to the air. The bones of its ribs formed bridges which connected to the cliffs.
Quiet, deserted, desolate, and barren were apt words to describe the land of the Returning Ruins.
The entire land of Returning Ruins was shrouded in a dark haze while also containing an inexplicable holy aura that emanated from the ruins of the palaces that littered the landscape.
This place was once the first level of the Six Paths World's heavenly court which was built on the head of the Wu Shuang Six Path Giant. The place where the Reincarnation Monarch stayed. Other than that, on the six hands of the giant were the other six heavenly palaces; the Kun Lun Realm was one of the pieces of one of the heavenly palaces.
“The pressure!”
Zhong Yue stretched himself, and he quickly frowned upon discovering the immense gravitational force around here. He then visualized his wings behind his back and flew up into the skies. He was only able to fly up to a height of a few tens of meters.
On the other hand, Qiu Jin'er cast a wood elemental skill as she planned to turn the surrounding area into a 100-foot sword forest, but in the end, she was only able to convert the area within 15 meters of her into the sword forest.
"Senior martial brother, there is also a huge pressure suppressing out power!"
