Chapter 76: Legend
After a period of silence, a thought suddenly occurred to Sima Jingming, and he added, "By the way, aside from the Ascension Platforms I just mentioned, there's another type of smuggling method in our Spirit Domain Realm that can allow one to ascend to the Immortal Realm in secret and avoid the Ascension Platforms altogether."
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but he feigned a nonchalant expression as he prompted, "Oh? Tell me about that."
"The concept of this method is quite simple. All that needs to be done is to find a brittle spatial node between the Spirit Domain Realm and the Immortal Realm, then forcibly break through it using spatial-attribute arrays or some other method, thereby taking one into the space between the two realms, which they can then travel through to reach the Immortal Realm," Sima Jingming explained.
"That sounds like it would be a lot more difficult to accomplish than the legitimate method of ascension," Han Li said.
This was the exact same method that he had employed to ascend from the Human Realm to the Spirit Realm.
It was likely the case that this type of method could only be used in realms like the Spirit Domain Realm, which were very close to the Immortal Realm.
"Indeed, Senior Han. This is an extremely risky method. The space between realms is extremely perilous, and even if one manages to complete the journey, there's a very good chance that they'll arrive in a very dangerous location in the Immortal Realm. After all, generally speaking, most places in the Immortal Realm where space is quite brittle are not good places to be.
“In addition to that, using this method of ascension will prevent one from being able to enjoy the various benefits of ascending through legitimate avenues, such as getting to refine one's physical body in an immortal pond or receiving an immortal badge for identification purposes. As a result, it's very likely that one would find themselves in some trouble even if they manage to get to the Immortal Realm," Sima Jingming explained.
Han Li nodded in response, and his expression remained unchanged, but he was feeling quite excited.
Ascending to the Immortal Realm had always been quite a troublesome predicament in his mind, but he had finally found a solution.
As for the dangers that Sima Jingming spoke of, with his current powers, those dangers most likely weren't going to be a concern as long as he was sufficiently prepared, so he wasn't particularly concerned.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Sima," Han Li said with a grateful nod.
"Please don't thank me, Senior Han. You've singlehanded elevated our sect to unprecedented heights. Patriarch Cold Flame told me to offer you his sincerest gratitude on his behalf," Sima Jingming replied in an earnest voice.
"Is that so? I didn't think that Fellow Daoist Cold Flame would still remember me," Han Li said as a meaningful look appeared on his face.
Sima Jingming's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he hurriedly said, "Surely you jest, Senior Han. Patriarch..."
"I'll be taking my leave now, Fellow Daoist Sima." Before he had a chance to finish, Han Li abruptly cut him off, then flew out of the hall as a streak of azure light.
Sima Jingming looked on as the streak of azure light vanished into the distant sky, and he couldn't help but heave a long sigh of relief.
……
Following Han Li's departure from the Cold Flame Sect, he made no further appearances in the Spirit Domain Realm, and it was as if he had disappeared from the face of the realm.
However, some exaggerated accounts of his feats gradually began to spread throughout the realm, painting him into an almighty yet enigmatic legend.
The cultivation world of the Spirit Domain Realm had already reached a certain equilibrium, but that equilibrium had been completely shattered in just a few years due to his arrival.
Some said that he was an almighty figure who was always in seclusion and isolated himself from the rest of the realm, while others proclaimed that he was actually a descended immortal. There were even some who speculated that he was a descendant of a true spirit who had lived for countless years.
Everyone's opinion of him also varied drastically over a wide spectrum. Some saw him as a bloodthirsty fiend who killed without discrimination, while others regarded him as a saint who had eradicated the largest menace in the realm in the form of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, thereby restoring peace to the Spirit Domain Realm.
In any case, there were all types of things being said about him.
The chaos that arose in the wake of the fall of the Heavenly Ghost Sect lasted several centuries. After countless battles between all of the major sects and powers and the demise of countless cultivators, a new landscape began to arise before gradually reaching stability, but of course, that was a story for another time.
On a bright and sunny day several months after the disappearance of Liu Le'er.
There was a certain vast sea located in the northern region of the Spirit Domain Realm. Dense black mist that completely concealed the heavens would often rise up from the sea, and as a result, it was named the Black Mist Sea.
The spiritual power in this area of the sea was quite abundant, so there were many sea beasts dwelling here. In addition to that, there were also several types of precious spirit ingredients that could only be found here and nowhere else, so the area was rife with cultivators who were on adventures to seek out treasures and slay sea beasts.
Near a deserted island deep in the Black Mist Sea, a burst of rumbling rang out, sweeping up turbulent waves on the surface of the sea within a radius of several dozen kilometers. The waves rose up to several dozen feet in height before sweeping in all directions, and even the dense black mist above the sea began to revolve under the influence of some type of invisible force, forming a gigantic vortex.
At the center of the vortex was a green-robed young woman, a black-robed elderly man, and a middle-aged daoist priest, all of whom were locked in a fierce battle against a manatee-like sea beast.
All three of them were at the early-Deity Transformation Stage, and even though they were all using different cultivation arts, it was clear from their seamless teamwork that this wasn't their first time working together.
Their treasures were connected together to form a large circle that surrounded the sea beast, delivering one wave of ferocious attacks after another.
The sea beast was entirely blue in color with two black stripes on its back, extending all the way from its forehead to the tip of its tail, presenting a rather peculiar sight to behold.
The sea beast was roaring incessantly as blue light flashed over its body, and a series of balls of blue lightning appeared around it to ward off the oncoming barrages of attacks. At the same time, it was releasing a series of thick pillars of blue light out of its mouth to retaliate against its three assailants.
Its cultivation base was at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage, so it was slightly superior to its three assailants in that regard, but its offensive repertoire was very limited, and it was gradually being suppressed by the trio of cultivators.
The battle raged on for almost another hour before the protective spiritual light around the sea beast was finally broken, and a large hole was punched into its head by a burst of rapidly revolving black swordlight that had been unleashed by the black-robed elderly man.
The sea beast let loose an agonized wail, then thrashed violently a few times before quickly falling still.
"Your Soul Devouring Heart Drilling Sword is still as formidable as ever, Fellow Daoist Qin. Adult Black-striped Blue Manatees are renowned for their defensive prowess, yet even it couldn't withstand a single blow from your sword," the middle-aged daoist priest praised.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Dead Wood."
A hint of pride flashed through the black-robed elderly man's eyes as he drew the burst of black swordlight back to himself, revealing it to be a strange-looking longsword that resembled a pair of vipers intertwined together. The sword was giving off a cold black light, and the elderly man carefully stowed it away, clearly holding it in very high regard.
He had spent the majority of his life's savings to craft this treasure, and its powers were comparable to the average spirit treasure. In addition to that, it possessed certain armor-piercing properties that made it the perfect weapon against defensively adept sea beasts.
The three of them quickly dissected the carcass of the sea beast, and all of them received appreciable returns.
"If you ask me, even if the three of us encounter a late-Deity Transformation Stage sea beast, we should be able to at least ensure a safe retreat even if we can't defeat it, so how about we advance a little further?" the green-robed young woman suggested as she cast her gaze toward the sea up ahead.
The middle-aged daoist priest's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he seemed to also be tempted by this proposal.
"That would be a terrible idea. The two of you have only recently arrived in the Black Mist Sea, so allow me to enlighten you. Not far ahead of this point is the extremely dreaded core region of the Black Mist Sea. There are many formidable sea beasts residing in that area, including even Spatial Tempering and Body Integration Stage sea beasts!
“In fact, there are even stories claiming that a Grand Ascension Stage Five-clawed Black Dragon is residing in the deepest part of the core region. Those sea beasts generally only stay in the core region and very rarely venture out of it, but no one dares to enter the core region unless they're at least at the Body Integration Stage.
“Truth be told, we've already taken a huge risk by pursuing that Black-striped Blue Manatee all the way to this point. If you ask me, the best course of action would be to retreat as quickly as possible," the black-robed elderly man hurriedly said with a grim expression.
"A Grand Ascension Stage sea beast? How is that possible?" The middle-aged daoist priest was astonished to hear this.
An incredulous look had also appeared on the green-robed young woman's face.
"That's only a legend. Apparently, that Five-clawed Black Dragon has already been residing here for over 100,000 years, and the last time it appeared was several thousand years ago. At the time, it was already at the peak of the Body Integration Stage.
“Perhaps it's already reached the end of its lifespan since then, but even so, this is an extremely dangerous place, and it would be wise to leave this area as soon as possible," the black-robed elderly man said in a slightly urgent voice.
The middle-aged daoist priest and the green-robed young woman hurriedly nodded in response, yet right as they were about to depart, an earth-shattering boom suddenly rang out up ahead.
The sound was coming from somewhere extremely far away, but it was still able to reach them with startling clarity, and it was accompanied by a burst of violent tremors that ran through the entire area.
The expressions of the trio changed slightly upon hearing this, yet before they had a chance to do anything, another burst of violent rumbling rang out up ahead.
At the same time, a burst of enormous yet chaotic spiritual pressure came sweeping violently toward them, sending gusts of incredibly ferocious wind blowing their way.
The trio was extremely alarmed, and they immediately turned to flee, but it was already too late. Before they were able to get away from the area, they were swept up by the gusts of fierce wind and were blown around unsteadily like a trio of leaves in a stiff gale.
Thankfully, the gusts of wind began to wane after traveling for a short distance, and the three of them hurriedly stabilized themselves, but by then, their faces were already deathly pale with fear.
Right at this moment, another earth-shattering boom rang out, and the surface of the sea dozens of kilometers up ahead abruptly erupted.
A gargantuan black figure flew out from within, and after flying for some distance, it crashed down heavily onto that deserted island not far away from the trio of cultivators. The entire island trembled violently, and the shockwaves released by the impact swept up a series of massive waves in the surrounding sea.
The black figure was an enormous black wyrm that was around 2,000 to 3,000 feet in length. Its entire body was covered in gleaming, inky-black scales, and there were a pair of translucent, coral-like long horns on its head.
The gigantic wyrm had two pairs of massive claws, and every single claw had five toes that resembled giant black swords that were giving off a cold, menacing light.
An indescribably enormous aura was emanating from the black wyrm's body, and at this point, the trio of cultivators was already on the verge of passing out from fear.
Among them, the black-robed elderly man was particularly petrified. He wasn't a vagrant cultivator. Instead, he was an inner court disciple of a large sect, which was overseen by a Body Integration Stage patriarch.
However, the aura being released by this black wyrm was far beyond that of the Body Integration Stage patriarch of his sect!
Could it be that the legends are all true stories?
An astonishing thought occurred to the elderly man as his heart jolted violently.
The gargantuan black wyrm flipped itself over violently, causing the island to tremble and quake once again.
The trio of cultivators were extremely alarmed, and they hurriedly retreated to over 1,000 feet away. Upon refocusing their gaze on the black wyrm, they discovered that there was a massive hole on its chest, out of which blood was pouring incessantly, quickly staining most of the island red.
All of a sudden, an azure humanoid figure flew out of the sea. The figure was so fast that it was impossible to track with the naked eye, and it flew past the black wyrm like a dazzling harbinger of death.
The black wyrm's entire body stiffened, following which its gigantic head suddenly flew up into the sky, accompanied by an incredibly thick fountain of blood. It was as if a storm of blood were falling upon the entire island, and a nauseating odor was permeating through the air.
The enormous wyrm collapsed to the ground with a violent thump, then spasmed a few times before falling still.
Right at this moment, a streak of black light flew out of the giant wyrm's head. Inside the streak of black light was a miniature black wyrm that was only several inches in size, and it immediately tried to flee into the distance in a panicked manner.
However, the azure figure was already prepared, and he appeared in front of the miniature black wyrm in a flash, then opened his mouth to release a burst of azure light to envelop it before casually stuffing it into a jade vial.
The trio of cultivators was completely rooted to the spot upon seeing this, with their jaws dropping straight onto the ocean floor down below.
At this point, the azure figure had already been revealed to be an azure-robed young man who appeared to be around 25 to 26 years of age, with a set of unremarkable facial features and a slightly dark complexion.
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