Chapter 1119: Vast Heaven and Earth

25 Aug, 2024

Chapter 1119: Vast Heaven and Earth

South of the center of the Western Regions, 3.97 billion kilometers away, there was a mountain named Inkstone.

There was a valley in the mountain, and in the valley, there was a pond. The pond water was dark green and unfathomable.

From time to time, evil spirits would wander about like smoke, dispersing upon contact.

The four walls were made of strange rocks that intersected with each other. Ancient trees towered into the sky, their branches and leaves blotted out the sun.

There was a stone platform beside the pond, and there was an ancient seal inscribed on the platform. It read, "The Land of Fallen Evil, Do not enter unless you are kind."

Normally, very few people would step into this place. Even if they passed by, they would usually flew in the sky outside the mountain and would not barge in.

Only those who needed the help of Evil Qi during their cultivation would enter the mountain every day when the aurora was at its brightest.

"According to the legends, in ancient times, an almighty Devil Cultivator buried his sword before he died. The name of the sword was Inkstone, and it became a mountain. The sword contains an evil will that transformed into the Pool of Fallen Evil."

At this moment, outside Inkstone Mountain, a black-robed youth was looking at the black mountain in front of him.

This young man was none other than Xu Qing, who had left Black Cloud City.

After sending Qian Fan of the Cloud Gate to Black Cloud City, Xu Qing decided to wander around the Western Domain. The places he wanted to visit were the strange places described in the jade slip given by Qian Fan of the Cloud Gate.

The Fallen Evil Pool was the closest to him, so it was his first stop.

Xu Qing looked outside the mountain for a long time. When the aurora was at its brightest, Xu Qing walked into Inkstone Mountain.

Stepping over the rocks and shrubs, he walked into the valley and saw the pool, as well as the stone platform and the words on it.

He even saw the so-called evil spirits.

He stared for a long time.

During this period of time, the evil spirits came of their own accord, transforming into demons and monsters. They let out fiendish howls as they pounced over. However, the moment they touched Xu Qing, they transformed into smoke that lingered in the surroundings.

"This place doesn't have the ability to instantly kill a cultivator, but it can corrupt the soul and devour the flesh and blood. If you stay here for too long, your soul will scatter.

"And it's also related to the time of entry. When the aurora outside is dim, the Evil Spirit's ferocious flames will soar.

Xu Qing sensed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping through the surroundings before finally landing on the pool of water.

A ghostly light flashed in his eyes and ripples appeared on the surface of the pool. Through the ripples, he seemed to see a stone coffin at the bottom of the pool.

"This coffin cannot be moved from its place."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. The fact that the coffin had been placed here for so long showed that it was no ordinary coffin. Furthermore, he could sense that there was an indescribable sense of danger in this place.

"It's also not a place where I need to comprehend."

Xu Qing muttered to himself for a moment. Seeing that more than half of the two hours had passed, he backed up and prepared to leave.

However, just as he was about to leave the valley, a cold wind blew out from the pond, causing the vegetation in the valley to rustle.

The sounds seemed ordinary, and if mortals were here, they would only hear the rustling of the wind or the rustling of leaves. However, to Xu Qing, they were clearly strange murmurs.

"Fine Grass Empty Forest, Cold Rain Sweeping Wind Film."

"Skinny lonely soul, it's fine to have someone to accompany you."

"Lonely Spring Terrace, I call out to you tonight."

"I could vaguely see a peach-blossom face in the flicker of a lamp …" The voice was chilling and echoed in the silent valley. It was as if a lonely soul was calling for someone in the netherworld at night.

At the same time, the water rippled, and a woman's head emerged from the water.

Her skin was pale, and her black hair was submerged in the water. A pair of equally white eyes stared at Xu Qing.

In the blink of an eye, everything began to freeze. The ground, the vegetation, the cliffs, everything began to freeze. As the frost spread out, the entire valley began to distort.

Then, the figure in the pond disappeared. As if teleporting, he appeared on the surface of the pond.

She was dressed in white.

Immediately after, the distortion appeared again, and when it appeared, it was already outside the pool.

Just as he was about to continue, a pair of giant scissors suddenly appeared above Xu Qing's head. Kacha!

He directly cut an invisible thread.

As the threads were severed, the woman's strange movement also stopped.

She stood where she was, a hundred feet away from Xu Qing, staring at him with her white eyes.

From beginning to end, Xu Qing's expression had been calm.

"I'm not the person you're looking for. If you continue to pester me, I don't mind making you unable to wait any longer."

After saying that, Xu Qing slowly retreated until he was out of the range of the valley. The surrounding temperature gradually returned to normal.

There were no more abnormalities in the valley.

Xu Qing did not hesitate and shifted out of Inkstone Mountain. Standing outside the mountain, he cast a glance at the mountain.

He could vaguely sense that the strange woman from before had already disappeared from the valley. Only her murmurs from before were still faintly echoing in the air.

"The legend is fake."

"This isn't a place where swords are buried. It's a seal that seals a god."

"Moreover, to be able to pollute a mountain under this seal and in this world where gods are forbidden, the true strength of this god back then was at least at the peak stage of the Divine Platform Tier."

Xu Qing retracted his gaze and turned to leave.

Half a month later.

To the south of the center of the Western Regions, there was a plain called Heavenly Wind.

In the eastern part of the plains, there was a cave with an entrance of thousands of miles.

The deeper they went, the narrower it became. In the end, it became a long and narrow passageway that was immeasurably deep.

There was an indescribable wind in the passageway. The wind was extremely strong, as if an immortal who controlled the wind lived here.

In the middle section of the cave, strange totems could be seen engraved on the walls.

"Legend has it that these totems are talismans left behind by the Wind Immortal. They record how to guide and control the power of the wind."

"Rare beasts often appear in the cave. They travel back and forth in the wind, as if they are real."

Outside of the Heavenly Wind Cave, Xu Qing had traveled for half a month to reach this place. He stood there looking down at the cave, and the description of the Cloud Gate's Thousand Mortal Bamboo Slips appeared in his mind.

He spread out his Divine Sense, and after a while, a strange light appeared in his eyes.

"This is a wonderful place. It contains the dao marks of the heavenly wind power, and it's an open place for comprehension. There are hundreds of cultivators meditating below …"

"The further down we go, the fewer people meditating, and the stronger the wind, the denser the totem imprints."

Xu Qing had encountered the power of the Heavenly Wind before, and he had also simulated it to a certain extent using his own wood dao.

His body flashed, and he walked down the Sky Wind Cave.

Along the way, he saw many cultivators sitting cross-legged. He didn't pay attention to them, and those cultivators didn't pay attention to him either. Both sides didn't disturb each other.

Ten days later, Xu Qing left.

Over the next few months, he appeared in the Flame Void Mountain Range, and also on the Dao Cliff.

The Void Flame Mountain Range was located in the west of the central region of the Western Domain. Scarlet flames burned the heavens above it, and it spanned ninety million miles.

The mountain range inside was continuous, with peaks and ridges stacked on top of each other. There were many rocks on the mountain that were formed from fire. They were scarlet gold in color, and raging flames burned all year round.

From time to time, there would be fiery phoenixes circling in the air, spitting out flames and mist, their cries shaking the surroundings.

There were many hot springs in the mountains, with steam rising like clouds and mist.

According to legend, there was an immortal palace in the Void Flame Mountain Range called Void Flame, which was the temporary residence of Immortal Lord Void Flame, one of the eleven Immortal Lords of the fifth star ring.

Those who were fated could find the Immortal Palace here and ascend to the heavens in a single step, becoming the disciple of the Void Flame Immortal Lord.

However, from ancient times until now, legends were only legends. No one had ever had such a fortuitous encounter.

Xu Qing had been living in the Void Fire Mountain Range for half a month, and had been to all sorts of places. However, he hadn't been able to find the Immortal Palace. That said, his enlightenment of the five elements had improved significantly.

But what followed was doubt.

"Where did this fire come from …"

There was no answer.

Even when he explored the depths of the mountain range, he didn't find anything. It was as if the flame was born and grew on the mountain range.

The word 'long' might not be appropriate, but that was the feeling Xu Qing got.

Thus, he simply sat down cross-legged and attempted to comprehend it.

After an unknown period of time, a palace that looked like the sun rose in his mind and resonated with him.

But in the next moment, his vision blurred, and an ethereal voice echoed in his heart.

"Your karma is not with me."

As soon as the voice echoed out, a strange force was somehow teleported out of the Void Flame Mountain Range by a mysterious force.

Xu Qing stood there silently for a long time. He didn't ask any questions, but instead, bowed deeply and left toward the Main Dao Cliff.

The main cliff was also located to the west of the center of the Western Domain. Xu Qing searched for a period of time before finally finding it.

This cliff was like a giant blade that had been cut off. It towered within the desert, solitary and lofty.

The cliffs were precipitous, as if they had been carved by knives and axes. They towered into the clouds, and when one stood on top, the clouds were below them.

There were ancient words engraved on the cliff, which read, "The path of the Main Dao connects the heavens and the earth."

In addition, there was also a strange flower known as the "Main Path Flower" growing on the cliff.

The flower was pure white with golden veins hidden within its petals. It seemed to symbolize the supreme Dao of the world, and so did its medicinal properties.

You can't eat it, you can only smell it.

It was as if he had heard the Dao.

Every hundred years, the flowers would bloom. When they bloomed, their fragrance would spread for tens of millions of miles. Cultivators would come to the cliff to seek enlightenment, hoping to break through the bottleneck of their cultivation.

Unfortunately, Xu Qing came at the wrong time. It was not the flowering period. There were still more than 40 years before the next flowering period.

Therefore, there were not many cultivators on the main cliff.

But here, Xu Qing felt as if his thoughts were being strengthened by an invisible force, allowing him to have more thoughts.

Thus, after wandering for half a year, he chose to stay here for a while.

On one hand, he was summarizing what he had learned along the way. On the other hand, he was calming down and studying the soil that contained spatial energy.

Thus, he tried to form a glue that he had never seen before.

During this time, he took out the divination jade slip that Qian Fan of the Cloud Gate had given him.

Not only did the jade slip contain Qian Fan's power of divination, but it also contained … a secret key.

It was a talisman that Xu Qing couldn't understand. It was ancient and suffused with mystery, and it seemed to have a life of its own. However, it was dim and in an illusory state, as if it hadn't attained the critical moment to shine.

Staring at the secret key, Xu Qing fell into deep thought.

The mission he received was to escort the core members of the Cloud Gate to a designated location. The information he received was that one of these people had a secret key.

Later on, he found out from the Earth Spirit Clan that this was actually a gamble.

As for the truth, Xu Qing did not delve into it, but he was certain of one thing.

"When Qian Fan of the Cloud Gate gave me this jade slip, I checked it. Inside … there is no such secret key."

"This secret key was condensed into the jade slip during this period of time.

Xu Qing muttered to himself for a moment before putting the jade slip away. It didn't matter what the secret key was, or where it led to, right now, it wasn't important.

He was prepared to cultivate on the main cliff for a while before heading to the Pool of Earthly Law, the Cloud Mud Basin, and the Immortal Fall Mountain Range. The last one was rumored to be the source of the aurora.

But many times, plans could not keep up with changes.

The second phase of the Immortal Capital Hunt had reached a critical juncture!

This node was also the moment that countless cultivators who knew the inside story had been waiting for and dreaming of!

On this day, the aurora in the sky disappeared.

On this day, the four stars became the most dazzling starlight in the entire fifth ring of stars.