Chapter Fifty-Six: Terrifying Beyond Measure

In the void, ripples of energy surged swiftly from afar. In the blink of an eye, they struck the airship, threatening to overturn it.

Chi Xiangdong's expression changed dramatically. His ten fingers moved rapidly as he fought to regain control of the vessel.

Onboard, everyone was thrown about, terror gripping their hearts.

Su Yizhao fixed his gaze a hundred feet ahead to the right, where the void appeared shattered and a figure forced its way through.

This was true passage through the void!

What realm could this be?

A yellow-robed old man stumbled out, nearly collapsing as he emerged. He turned and shouted furiously, “Tang Ziyi, you pursue me so relentlessly—are you not afraid of retribution?”

All eyes followed his gaze. From the fractured void, a woman in purple stepped out with a graceful smile. “Li Buzhi, today is your end. As for retribution, you will not live to see it.”

The yellow-robed old man, realizing escape was impossible, let out an enraged howl and shot toward her.

She paid him no mind. Lifting her slender hand, she flicked her finger.

At her fingertip, a black hole appeared for a fleeting instant before vanishing.

The old man had barely moved when a sharp pain seared his forehead. Instinctively, he clutched at his brow. Blood and brain matter seeped through his fingers; before he could cry out, he collapsed lifelessly.

Terrifying beyond words.

Su Yizhao pressed his lips firmly together.

Comparing her strength to Xuan Wuji’s, he realized that before this woman in purple, even they would not withstand such a casual strike.

The purple-robed woman, as if she had done something trivial, brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and turned to regard them.

Su Yizhao dared not meet her gaze, quickly lowering his head.

Chi Xiangdong, however, clasped his hands and bowed deeply. “Greetings, Great Ancestor in Purple.”

The woman’s face froze, her intention to speak fading into utter boredom.

What could be duller than possessing the figure, complexion, and beauty of a young maiden, only to be addressed as “Great Ancestor”?

She gave a light, dismissive hum from her delicate nose in response.

Before the sound had faded, her purple form dissolved into the void.

Yet even so, the cultivators aboard held their breath, not daring to move a muscle.

The airship began to move slowly. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chi Xiangdong finally said, “She’s gone.”

Su Yizhao let out a long breath, reflecting inwardly: Are all Easterners so mighty?

He found himself more satisfied with Chi Xiangdong. Clearly, this man was truly familiar with the outside world.

“Fortunately, though she is of the Tang clan, she is an Ancestor—long removed from worldly affairs. Otherwise, none of us would have survived today,” Chi Xiangdong said, steering the airship as he spoke to Su Yizhao. “You must have many questions. Why not ask them now?”

Su Yizhao did not hesitate. “Is the Tang clan very powerful?”

“Just a minor family—nothing remarkable here in the East.”

Nothing remarkable?

In the southwestern borderlands, such a person would already be a great figure—among three sects and their leaders, not one so formidable could be found.

Su Yizhao let the matter drop and pressed on, “How large is this place? How are the powers distributed? Where are we headed?”

Three questions in a row left Chi Xiangdong impressed. After witnessing what had just happened, most would have lost their confidence, yet Su Yizhao remained as collected as ever.

Chi Xiangdong thought for a moment before answering, “This continent is divided into the Northwestern Continent, Central Continent, Southwestern Seas, and Eastern Forests. We are in the Central Continent, which has one hundred and twenty-six prefectures, each with sixteen cities. As for the overall size—enormous, beyond imagining.”

Su Yizhao fell silent at that. Indeed, it was vast beyond measure.

“The Central Continent is centered on the Vast City. The world’s sects are led by the Profound Heaven Sect, with all powers radiating outward from the center. The greater the power, the closer to the center.”

“The Profound Heaven Sect is said to be the origin of all cultivators in the world, possessing countless Void Realms and those above even the Void Realm.”

Above the Void Realm?

Su Yizhao had never heard of such a thing.

He only knew the lower three realms: Profound Realm—Second Profound, Third Profound, Fourth Profound; the middle three: Divine Realm—Fifth Divine, Sixth Divine, Seventh Divine; the upper three: Void Realm—Eighth Void, Ninth Void, Tenth Void.

As for realms beyond the Void Realm, he had never heard of them.

Could those above the Void Realm have already transcended mortality—attained immortality?

Was this the path to enlightenment and eternal life that his senior brother sought?

Chi Xiangdong waited for him to digest this, and when Su Yizhao’s gaze returned, he continued, “A thousand miles from here is the Tang clan’s territory. This airship bears the mark of Second Young Master Tang Wen. If we show ourselves, we’ll be seized at once.”

Su Yizhao nodded. “Then we must bypass the Tang clan on either side?”

“No. The Tang clan is here precisely to capture cultivators emerging from within. On both sides, there are snow mountains—rarely yielding heavenly materials and treasures, with all kinds of cultivators vying for them. We cannot cross.”

“Then we can only abandon the ship and pass through on foot,” Su Yizhao concluded.

Chi Xiangdong nodded approvingly. “That’s our only option. We’ll scatter and see if fortune favors us.”

The airship sped onward but was already slowing. Far ahead, the edge of the forest came into view.

“What about them?” Su Yizhao glanced at the cultivators in the rear. “I have limited ability—let fate decide your survival. Go now.”

Chi Xiangdong did not hesitate. The airship slanted downward and gently landed.

“Senior Brother!” Su Yizhao looked to Shi Feichen, still sunk in despair. “Will you join us?”

He doubted the answer, but a life-saving debt could not go unpaid.

The airship was stowed away, and the cultivators scattered like birds into the forest, each fleeing in a different direction until they vanished from sight.

Shi Feichen opened his eyes, still bleak as dead ash.

Su Yizhao sighed inwardly. Would that former senior brother ever return?

He took out two storage rings—the ones belonging to the two cultivators who had followed Shi Feichen.

Sending his spiritual sense inside, he found a gold token and took it out, tossing both rings to Shi Feichen.

Gazing at the rings, Shi Feichen took them, gripping them tightly. A faint spark of life returned to his eyes. “Go on. I will forge my own path.”

With that, he rose and walked away.

“Let’s go.” Su Yizhao watched until his figure disappeared, then said to Chi Xiangdong, “My senior brother will not disappoint me. When we meet again, perhaps there will be a surprising turn.”

Chi Xiangdong’s gaze shifted from the gold token in Su Yizhao’s right hand to the direction Shi Feichen had gone, sighing, “Your righteousness is my good fortune.”

Su Yizhao, as if unaware of the look, put the gold token into his own storage ring.

There were two gold tokens now.

He still left one for his senior brother; whether he used it was his own choice.

“We must find a place to cultivate for a while. Otherwise, even the most ordinary cultivator here is in the Void Realm—truly terrifying.”

The Profound Body Technique must be practiced now.

Yet a searing heat flared from the mark on his chest. Could it be that the third layer of the Creation Art was about to be revealed?