Above the Great Dao

Chapter 1689 - 773: Primordial Meeting Tribulation (Part 2)

The Dark Sea still held many secrets for him.

After several more days, he finally saw a ray of light.

As he drew nearer, he saw that the source of light was a blazing sun, hanging high in the sky, repelling the darkness. Below the sun was a relatively small world, shaped like a begonia leaf, with mountain ranges displaying orange-red veins, not very deep in color, likely caused by orange-red plants.

Elsewhere, a yellow hue was present.

As Chen Shi approached, he saw several floating Immortal Mountains in the sky, encircling a Holy Land.

There were also cities scattered across various regions, presumably built by the inhabitants residing there.

Plumes of Incense Fire Qi rose from the cities, drifting towards the Holy Land in the sky, forming a dense Extraordinary Power.

Seeing this, Chen Shi felt a stir in his heart.

Back in the early days of the Earth Immortal Realm, the number of Immortals grew, and they sought Harmonization across the realms, occupying nearly every world in the Earth Immortal Realm. Many Immortals feared others discovering their Harmonization Land, so they hid and sealed them, causing many worlds to vanish.

When the Opening Tribulation erupted, countless Immortals perished. Some discovered that placing their Harmonization Lands within the Dark Sea could escape the tribulation. Consequently, many worlds were returned to the Dark Sea, leading to further disappearances.

"Could this world be one of those returned to the Dark Sea?"

Chen Shi’s mind stirred as he stowed away the Demon Blood Treasure Tree and entered this world.

He needed a place to settle, where he could safely cultivate his Internal World and perfect it.

At the moment he stepped into the Qiutang World, within the Immortal Mountain Holy Land, an ancient Immortal opened his eyes and murmured, "Could an Immortal have passed by... not merely passing by, but entering my Dao Realm! What is his purpose?"

Chen Shi traversed the sky, below lay a battlefield, where two armies clashed, blood flowing like rivers.

He did not disturb the armies engaged in battle below, for warfare is common in the Mortal World; conflicts between tribes, territorial disputes, divisions of power, enmity between leaders, and clashes of interest often ignite wars, yet Chen Shi rarely participated in such strife.

From the battlefield, the aura of war and resentment rose steadily, drifting upwards.

Chen Shi looked up to see someone shaking a black flag in the sky, casting it back and forth, absorbing the aura of war and resentment.

"Using the aura of slaughter to refine a Magical Treasure? This is an Immortal Family technique."

Chen Shi withdrew his gaze; the Earth Immortal Realm too had such occurrences, where Immortals would seek war-torn lands in the Mortal World to gather the aura of slaughter for treasure refinement.

"The owner here is indeed from the Earth Immortal Realm."

He then noticed an oddity; the armies were battling, yet among them were cultivators burning incense, calling upon Gods for assistance, and the incense plumes all flew towards the same direction.

"Are they invoking the same God?"

Chen Shi looked up at the Holy Land suspended in the sky, musing, "It must be the same God. Here is the Dark Sea; the power of the Heavenly Court’s All Gods cannot be transmitted here, relying instead on Divine Statues to transfer power. It is likely that when this world returned to the Dark Sea, it brought a Divine Statue imbued with Divine Power."

The West Bull New Continent had similar situations.

The Divine of the West Bull New Continent were often True Kings and Sanbao like the Great Ming Soldiers, brought through Divine Statues from the Ancestral Court to the New Continent. Because the Dark Sea separates the New Continent from the Ancestral Court, the power of All Gods cannot be transmitted here, so the people of the New Continent relied on Incense Fire Qi to strengthen these Divine.

"The Qiutang World’s Divine is singular, worshipped by the incense of all beings for over 200,000 years; its Divine Power must be extraordinary."

Chen Shi calculated in his mind, estimating that this Divine’s strength was likely at the level of a Golden Immortal, perhaps even a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

At this moment, a voice declared, "Daoist friend, Kuang Shimou, a Pre-Qin Mage, greets you."

Chen Shi looked and saw a lean elderly man dressed in Pre-Qin style robes, who had arrived unnoticed, accompanied by two Immortal Children standing by his side, each holding a Jade Plate with some treasures placed upon it.

Chen Shi returned the greeting, saying, "Chen Shi, an Independent Immortal, greets Daoist Kuang."

The Pre-Qin Mage Kuang Shimou did not hesitate, lightly raising his sleeve and smiling, "Mr. Kuang resides in the Dark Sea, overseeing the Qiutang Realm, rarely associating with others, visiting guests seldom. Yet whenever an Immortal sojourns here, Mr. Kuang, as host, must prepare some modest gifts. This token is insignificant and inadequate; please accept it, Daoist Chen, with a smile."

The two Immortal Children stepped forward, presenting a few Jade Bottles on the Jade Plates, along with some exquisite jade artifacts and jewels, all rare treasures for Artifact Refining.

Chen Shi declined, saying, "I merely passed through this Treasure Land, feeling inspired, wishing only to find a quiet place for some cultivation, already intruding, feeling quite uneasy. How could I accept Daoist brother’s gifts?"

Kuang Shimou replied, "One cannot be blamed for being too polite. Daoist friend, do not refuse."

Seeing this, Chen Shi had no choice but to accept.

Kuang Shimou then said, "Daoist Chen, if you wish to cultivate, why not practice in my Qiutang Holy Land? It is quite tranquil there."

Chen Shi thanked him, "Then I shall impose upon Daoist brother."

Kuang Shimou laughed, "How could it be a bother? I have resided in the Dark Sea for long, seldom venturing out, rarely meeting a fellow Daoist. Please."

Following him, Chen Shi arrived at the Qiutang Holy Land, which was surrounded by Immortal Mountains, its form resembling a begonia leaf, much like the Qiutang World’s shape.

Kuang Shimou arranged for him a place of clear mountains and flowing waters, nearby a waterfall cascaded, sparkling like fragments of jade, illuminated by sunlight, with a rainbow arched beside the waterfall.

The waterfall was also a Spiritual Spring, giving birth to spiritual energy that was the Five Elements Ancestor Qi, quite remarkable.