The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1444 743: Mythic Stratification, Beginning of Transformation

The cold, dense fog kept churning before his eyes.

It felt as if he were moving through thick mud, making his actions sluggish and stiff.

This didn't surprise Li Yan; he had experienced this same sensation the last time, and upon careful reflection, it was the same principle whenever he took on a living Yin messenger task.

However, the Netherworld used the "Owl Vase" to connect with the "Hook Paper", forming a stable channel that allowed communication, transmission of Divine Astral, and summoning of the Yin Department Soldiers.

But the Nuo Mask belonging to Immortal Master Erlang was just a prototype and had to be used stealthily to avoid detection and violation of the Heavenly Rules.

Soon, the dense fog gradually dissipated before his eyes.

As his vision cleared slightly, he found himself in a vast darkness.

It was as if he were in a cosmic void, boundless and endless.

The only thing visible was the branching light spots ahead.

Li Yan knew these were the small worlds within the Daluo Law Realm.

Netherworld, Pure Land, Heavenly Court... and other mythical existences.

But this time, he made a different discovery.

Those light spots looked like branches, but upon close inspection, they resembled another structure:

An ant nest!

All light spot structures had a core.

From the core, other light spots spread outward, truly like ants burrowing tunnels, twisting and turning, forming these branching light spots in the end.

Pure Land, Heavenly Court, Netherworld, connected for this reason.

Li Yan frowned slightly, a thought stirred within him.

He inexplicably felt this should be one of the secrets of the Daluo Law Realm.

Swoosh!

Before he could think more, a strong suction force arrived.

The presence of the Bronze Nuo Mask drew him in, and his vision quickly zoomed in, but the direction was different from last time; it was at the connection point between two clusters of branching light spots.

Li Yan suddenly remembered that the Five Dao General had hinted that Immortal Master Erlang, due to difficulty in being accommodated in the Netherworld, went to guard the connection point between the Netherworld and Heavenly Court.

The thought flashed by, and a mighty scene overwhelmed him:

Contrary to what Li Yan imagined, as the connection point between the Heavenly Court and Netherworld, it was devoid of swirling celestial aura or raging Yin Wind and instead was a dead, desolate wasteland.

All around were plains of solidified lava, blood-red like coagulated blood, covered in thick, lifeless chaotic dust and sand.

The sky was dimly lit, and everything gleamed with a cold, hard sheen.

The horizon stretched infinitely, but in the middle were many twisted, unending gray-brown rock wall faults, forming ferocious, steep gorges of unfathomable depths.

It seemed like the earth had cracked, or like a mantle collision had formed these collapses.

Looking to the left end of the earth, the sky showed a solidified pale blue hue, and from deep fissures in the earth, the scorching glow of lava shone through. The ground was strewn with sharp vitreous substances, like swords piercing the sky.

Occasionally enormous, hole-riddled pale boulders lay slanted to the ground, bearing faint traces of massive spiral patterns or broken column bases.

It must once have been a grand structure, but now had all its splendor eroded away by wind and sand, leaving only the cold essence of stone...

On the right side, it was even more sinister and deathlike.

The sky sank into a deep purple, near-black twilight. The land was covered with thick black basalt and cold gray hard clay, like an ancient dry riverbed.

The river channel was scattered with countless enormous, peculiar skeletons, some still entwined with huge remnants of bronze chains...

The scene before him resembled a battlefield of gods and demons!

Li Yan was stunned, it took him a long time to return to his senses.

He looked towards the center where the two merged, which was clearly a building's ruin, ancient and unadorned in style, from an unknown era, long since crumbled.

But even the stone foundation alone was comparable to a small mountain.

Atop the ruins, someone sat cross-legged with their back to him.

It was Immortal Master Erlang!

At this moment, Li Yan was not in his physical body but was observing through the Bronze Nuo Mask, so as his thoughts moved, his vision quickly closed in, arriving at the top of the ruins.

"You've arrived..."

A hoarse and indifferent voice sounded, belonging to Immortal Master Erlang.

Before Li Yan could express his surprise, the voice continued, "Do not be alarmed, this is Two Realms Mountain, where the Yin Law and Heavenly Rules cannot perceive us."

Li Yan opened his mouth, attempting to speak, but no sound came out.

Immortal Master Erlang slowly floated up, turning to face him.

Having not seen him for a long time, his appearance had changed again, now entirely different from Yang Chenghua in the Human World, his skin bore a lustrous sheen, resembling a Divine Statue in a temple.

He, too, did not speak, only the golden glow of his three eyes on his forehead flickered, and with the rhythm, a voice resounded in Li Yan's mind, "This is borrowing the Nuo Mask I've left to perform the Dream-Entering Technique; your Dao is insufficient for your Divine Soul to converse with me."

"I'll speak, just listen quietly..."

Seeing Li Yan nod, he turned again to look at the distance, "Initially, I wasn't interested in the Daluo Law Realm. It was only because I promised to communicate with you, but investigations over these days reveal many secrets here."

If an outsider observed at this moment, it would appear as if Immortal Master Erlang spoke to himself.

Li Yan, however, was utterly captivated, listening intently.

"The origins of the Law Realm are beyond traceability; perhaps only the most supreme Immortal Gods, like the Three Pure Ones and Four Imperial Lords and the Buddha, know the inside story, but they dwell amid Daluo, merely occasionally sending a Child to deliver a decree. Since ascending to Daluo, I have yet to encounter any of them..."

"Within the Law Realm, there are three ranks of Immortal Gods."

"First, there are True Immortals. When a mortal reaches nine layers of Dao, achieving the Yang God, they are at the pinnacle of the Human World, have the chance for Ascension, shedding their mortal form, coming to the Daluo Law Realm, and cultivating diligently to step into the tenth layer of Dao, thus becoming a True Immortal."

"Layers ten to twelve of Dao are True Immortals. Those I have met are mostly True Immortals, with many unable to break through even with the Heavenly Human Five Declines because of the rich incense in the mortal realm. I have reached the tenth layer, hence am feared..."