novelraw Chapter 909 - 902: The Corner of the Universe
Chapter 909 - 902: The Corner of the Universe
Jia Baihe didn't walk far before she stopped, a barrier appeared before them.
This wasn't a natural barrier, but a man-made one.
Before Ding Huan could tear it open, the barrier automatically opened.
"Newcomers? Come in." After the barrier opened, someone spoke.
The tone didn't seem too odd, as if newcomers arrived here regularly.
Several Divine Wills simultaneously landed on Ding Huan and Jia Baihe, but upon discovering their low cultivation, these Divine Wills withdrew.
Ding Huan scanned with his Divine Will; the speaker was a Creation Realm Cultivator. Judging by the Taoist Aura, his understanding of the Great Dao seemed decent.
But having been in this Void for a long time, the Dao Rhythm was a bit scattered, likely due to the decline of the Great Dao.
Behind the barrier, a massive boulder floated in the Void.
On this massive boulder, there were also some cultivators' temporary cave mansions.
"Big brother, I feel Sister Yishang entered from here," Jia Baihe said with certainty.
"Let's go, we'll take a look as well," Ding Huan led Jia Baihe through the barrier.
Ding Huan thought someone here would charge them a fee, but strangely, no one bothered them once they were inside.
The person who spoke earlier also left on his own.
Ding Huan, along with Jia Baihe and Yijie, landed on the boulder.
This floating boulder stretched dozens of miles, with about a hundred cave mansions.
With Ding Huan's Divine Will, he quickly discovered many of the cave mansions were empty, uninhabited.
By his Divine Will, Ding Huan determined there were only twelve cultivators on this boulder.
The strongest one's cultivation was still in the sixth step of the Great Dao.
However, this guy's Taoist Rhythm was also dispersed.
No wonder, this place was scarce in Primordial Energy, and Heaven and Earth Rules were obscure.
If one stayed here long without resources like Dao Veins, the Great Dao would inevitably collapse.
In one corner of the boulder was another person, though the cave mansion's restriction was tightly sealed.
Ding Huan didn't break the barrier; from the Dao Rhythm Law Fluctuation around the cave mansion, Ding Huan sensed this guy's cultivation wouldn't exceed the Creation Realm.
He straightforwardly took out a Low Grade Dao Vein and tossed it onto the boulder.
Rich Primordial Energy immediately scattered, filling the entire boulder.
Sure enough, eleven people rushed over.
To Ding Huan's surprise, the individual at the boulder's corner didn't come out.
"You actually have a Dao Vein?"
The first to help Ding Huan open the barrier was a cultivator, looking shocked at the Dao Vein Ding Huan threw on the boulder, then at Ding Huan.
When Ding Huan first arrived, many Divine Wills had probed them.
Given Ding Huan and Jia Baihe's cultivation, they logically couldn't have Dao Veins.
Normally, someone who could produce a Dao Vein would be at least at the Creation Realm.
Yet Ding Huan had now taken out a Dao Vein.
And Ding Huan's cultivation didn't seem that high in their eyes, regardless of the specifics.
"Are you willing to trade your Dao Vein?" The strongest cultivator in the sixth step of the Great Dao looked at Ding Huan with some desire.
Ding Huan was puzzled; shouldn't they just take it?
This place makes you trapped upon entry, who would care about the cultivation of these ants?
"Not for sale, not for trade."
Ding Huan replied.
Hearing Ding Huan's words, expressions of disappointment appeared among the people, yet no one indeed attempted to seize it.
Ding Huan spoke again, "If everyone can answer a few questions, I might just give it away."
Hearing Ding Huan's words, the sixth step cultivator's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands as he said, "Please, fellow Daoist, ask your questions."
Ding Huan also clasped his hands, "I have a friend named Yishang. She accidentally entered here many years ago. Does anyone know where she went?"
"You're talking about Yishang? I know, she left here thousands of years ago," the sixth step cultivator replied.
Ding Huan frowned, "Friend, your cultivation is stronger than hers, yet you cannot leave. How could she?"
The sixth step cultivator sighed, "Fellow Daoist, you just arrived and might not be aware of the situation.
This place is called the Cosmic Corner; we all unintentionally fell into here. In the Cosmic Corner, there are two benefits: one is avoiding the Cosmic Calamity, and the other is realizing one's own deficiencies in the Great Dao.
Also, there are two drawbacks. The first you likely know by now; once you enter, leaving depends on fate.
The second drawback is that when the Dao Veins are exhausted, remaining here means watching one's own Great Dao disintegrate and cultivation plummet.
I say it's hard to leave because there are still opportunities to exit. Here, there is a barrier that opens once every thousand years, allowing only one person through each time.
At its peak, there were hundreds on this Life Stone; now, only twelve of us remain. The Yishang you mentioned entered the barrier and left three thousand years ago."
Ding Huan's Divine Will swept out and sensed a different atmosphere at the end of the boulder's space, indeed indicating traces of a barrier.
"Doesn't the choice to enter the barrier depend on the length of time spent here?" Ding Huan surmised.
The sixth step cultivator nodded, "That's indeed the case. Every time the barrier opens, people on the boulder line up to enter.
"In the end, only one person could enter, and that lucky person wouldn't be the first, nor the last, nor the strongest, but rather, it depends on luck."
Ding Huan sneered.
Most barriers are naturally formed, but this barrier was obviously set up by someone.
If you say it depends on luck, he absolutely wouldn't believe it.
Probably no one here would believe it either.
But everyone had only one path to take, and they could only choose to believe that they could leave once inside the barrier.
"So, every time the barrier opens, which kind of person do most choose to enter? Is it better if they have lower cultivation?"
"Not necessarily, sometimes it's those with lower cultivation, sometimes those with higher cultivation. One thing is certain, anyone who dares to snatch on this Life Stone, fighting... it's basically impossible for them to be chosen by the barrier.
Not only that, but those who break the rules face a rapid collapse of the Great Dao."
Upon hearing this, Ding Huan finally understood.
No wonder it's so harmonious here, knowing he has a Dao Vein and no one came to snatch it.
The rule here is to not snatch or fight.
"This Dao Vein is yours now." Ding Huan said to the Creation Realm Cultivator, then turned and walked towards the barrier.
"Thank you, Daoist," the Creation Realm Cultivator said with great joy, quickly gathering up the Dao Vein left on the boulder by Ding Huan and returning to his cave mansion at the fastest speed.
He intended to seclude himself to restore his strength.
The others gazed enviously at the person who obtained the Dao Vein, while no one cared about Ding Huan's actions.
After all, how many newcomers here wouldn't observe that barrier?
Even if they cared about Ding Huan, most were just wondering if they could trade for a Dao Vein from him.
"Brother, I feel something is not simple here, these people seem to be raised on purpose," Jia Baihe whispered.
Ding Huan smiled, "You think the people here don't know? They are well aware of their situation, but apart from this barrier, there's no other way out, so they can only choose to believe."
Ding Huan stood at the edge of the boulder, his Divine Will falling on the void where the barrier traces were.
After an entire hour, Ding Huan finally withdrew his Divine Will and said, "Bai He, in a moment, you and Yishang will enter my world. This barrier is not simple, I plan to go in and take a look."
This barrier is even more complex than the one outside. Ding Huan estimated that even he would need some time to open it.
However, Ding Huan liked this kind of barrier very much.
He hasn't been working on barriers for long, but the more challenging a barrier is for him, the more it improves his barrier skill.
"Fellow Daoist, are you planning to break this barrier?"
Before Jia Baihe and Yishang could enter Ding Huan's world, a blue figure landed beside Ding Huan.
Ding Huan calmly looked at the blue-robed Cultivator in front of him.
Besides them, there were originally twelve people on the boulder.
When he took out the Low Grade Dao Vein, eleven people had come out, including that Creation Realm powerhouse.
Only this guy in front hadn't come out.
It's just that this guy's cave mansion had a restriction, and Ding Huan hadn't forcibly broken the restriction on the other party's cave mansion.
Now that this guy had actively appeared in front of him, Ding Huan was a bit surprised.
The previous eleven people's Dao Rhythm was somewhat dispersed, their Tao Foundation unstable.
Only this blue-robed Cultivator in front of him had a condensed Dao Rhythm and an extremely solid Tao Foundation.
Not only that, the kind of confident Taoist Aura that emanated from the other person was noticeable even to Ding Huan.
Being trapped in this godforsaken place yet having such confident Taoist Aura is indeed remarkable.
Ding Huan suspected that even the previous dispersed Dao Rhythm in the Creation Realm might not surely win against this guy.
The Heaven and Earth Rules here were obscure, and the Primordial Energy was even more scarce, so how did this guy manage to have such a condensed Great Dao and even keep progressing?
"Who are you?" Ding Huan didn't answer the other party's question but instead asked calmly.
"Lei Chou." The blue-robed Cultivator spoke unhurriedly, yet this time he cupped his hands.
Ding Huan didn't even need to use his Divine Will to scan; he could sense the heavy killing intent on Lei Chou, his surroundings filled with such murderous Dao Rhythm.
Combined with the Thunder Attribute Law Ding Huan sensed, he was sure Lei Chou was a Thunder Attribute Cultivator.
A Thunder Attribute Cultivator with such dense killing intent, it was clear this guy was a slaughtering madman.
"Oh, how long have you been here?" Ding Huan asked.
"Seventeen thousand years," Lei Chou replied.
Ding Huan internally thought, what a guy.
After being here for seventeen thousand years, the killing intent is still so intense. How many people did this guy kill before coming here?
His method of slaughter was probably different from his own.
At least he relied on the Genetic Slaughter Law and various Poison Dao Laws to finish off opponents.
This guy had probably waded through a literal sea of corpses using Thunder magical methods, such a thick killing intent, showing he thoroughly enjoyed the process of slaughter.
"You are called Lei Chou, is it because of great hatred?"
Hearing Ding Huan's words, Lei Chou was a bit displeased.
He came to inquire with Ding Huan, intending to seek cooperation.
Yet, his question has not even been answered before Ding Huan asked him so many questions.