Chapter 600: One Step Away
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The strange phenomenon in the dark sky immediately caught everyone’s attention. After all, the disturbance was too conspicuous, even for those inside the stone chambers.
Initially, the tremors in the Black Divine Realm were relatively mild. However, as time passed, they intensified, causing massive ripples in the sky, akin to surging waves.
Countless patterns began to emerge, starting from the Black Divine Peak and spreading across all directions of the Black Divine Realm. The majestic aura weighed heavily on everyone’s minds, almost suffocating.
Many people’s expressions changed slightly as they began to run towards the direction of the Black Divine Temple.
From the looks of it, it was clear that someone outside the Black Divine Realm was trying to enter. Since the Black Divine Realm typically does not permit those below the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, it was evident that the outsider’s cultivation level was at least above the Mountain Sea Realm.
There has always been a rumor at the heart of the Boundless Sea that a demon is sealed within the Black Divine Realm. Should this demon ever break free, the Boundless Sea would no longer know peace.
However, over the years, with no sightings of Mountain Sea Realm experts intervening in the affairs of the Black Divine Realm, and many who enter and exit the Black Divine Realm seeming to benefit, people gradually stopped taking the rumor seriously.
But now, if indeed a Mountain Sea Realm expert has entered, it would be wise for those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm to steer clear of conflicts between Mountain Sea Realm experts.
Otherwise, if a battle were to erupt, those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm would not be spared from harm.
Anyone daring to witness such battles between Mountain Sea Realm experts must be prepared to be caught in the crossfire.
Inside the Black Divine Temple, Chen Fei bowed his head, hastily submitting an application for exchange at the wellspring.
Though nine points of contribution vanished, the teleportation ability he sought did not immediately manifest. The entire exchange process seemed to be obstructed by some unseen force.
Ripples continued to surface on the wellspring, and Chen Fei occasionally glanced up at the sky, surmising that the sudden attack had caused the exchange to stall.
Just as others could deduce that the Mountain Sea Realm was forcibly tearing through barriers, Chen Fei naturally thought of this possibility too.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Fei exchanged the last remaining bit of his contribution points directly for the option to leave.
Given the current slight pause in the exchange speed at the wellspring, Chen Fei worried whether he would be able to teleport himself out later.
As time trickled by, when Chen Fei heard footsteps outside the Black Divine Temple, the light on the wellspring finally flickered faintly, and a rune ascended from its surface.
The rune’s brightness fluctuated, exuding a sense of ethereality, as if it might vanish at any moment.
Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly at the sight of the rune. He hadn’t expected the teleportation ability to manifest not directly within his body, but in the form of a rune.
However, it could also be due to the ongoing attack outside the Black Divine Realm causing a slight malfunction in the exchange, revealing to Chen Fei the true nature of the teleportation ability.
Regardless of the circumstances, not manifesting directly within his body was naturally preferable for Chen Fei.
At the same time, Chen Fei felt something gradually fading within his sea of consciousness. It was evident that the Black Divine Temple was extracting one of Chen Fei’s insights into a martial art.
Previously, when exchanging for the Purple Fire Spirit Pill, the insights disappeared instantly, leaving him unaware. But now, Chen Fei could feel the insights dissipating, indicating that the Black Divine Temple was indeed experiencing issues.
The teleportation rune flickered faintly, and in the next moment, it surged straight towards Chen Fei. With his right hand raised forward, Chen Fei opened a spatial grid, causing the teleportation rune to vanish and appear within the spatial grid.
Chen Fei’s eyes lit up involuntarily. It was merely an attempt, but unexpectedly, it succeeded.
The spatial grid could only contain ownerless items, so it couldn’t absorb attacks from others. However, since the teleportation rune likely had been marked by the Black Divine with a trace of Chen Fei’s imprint, it was smoothly absorbed into the spatial grid.
As the teleportation rune did not enter his body directly, Chen Fei would have more time to slowly attempt to absorb it harmlessly and avoid contamination by the Black Divine’s imprint.
Lowering his right hand, Chen Fei heard footsteps already within the Black Divine Temple. Several people had appeared there, evidently all individuals eager to leave the Black Divine Realm as soon as possible.
A faint light once again surfaced on the wellspring, signaling that Chen Fei’s exchange for the option to leave was taking effect.
The extraction of the first martial art insight from his sea of consciousness had not yet ended, and the gradual disappearance of the second martial art insight had begun.
Chen Fei’s eyelids twitched slightly. It was outrageous how even leaving this place required enduring another round of extraction under the Black Divine’s rules, showing how unwilling the Black Divine was to relinquish any benefits.
It was truly akin to treating the people here as nothing more than cattle or sheep, exploiting them without hesitation.
“Boom!”
A loud noise echoed in the Black Divine Realm’s sky, and a crack began to appear. The entire Black Divine Realm, from the earlier tremors, now shook violently, as if the heavens and earth were about to overturn.
Beyond that crack, faint figures could be discerned, indicating that it wasn’t just one person from the Mountain Sea Realm trying to breach the Black Divine Realm, but rather a group.
If they truly managed to breach in, the entire Black Divine Realm would likely be thoroughly ravaged.
Whether those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm could survive would entirely depend on luck.
Chen Fei’s body began to become slightly transparent, indicating that he was about to be moved out of the Black Divine Realm. He glanced towards the entrance of the Black Divine Temple and spotted several familiar faces in the crowd.
There were several stall owners he had traded with before, including Xiang Qianling, as well as the emaciated Xiao Guangji. Chen Fei also saw Chen Daoheng and Huang Yuheng from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion.
The anxious expressions on their faces made it clear that they dared not linger in the Black Divine Realm any longer and were eager to leave as quickly as possible, fearing they might become casualties of the battles between Mountain Sea Realm experts.
Chen Daoheng narrowed his eyes as he looked at Chen Fei by the wellspring, noticing the transparent state indicating his imminent departure.
Chen Fei remained expressionless as a sense of weightlessness engulfed him, and darkness enveloped his vision. When he opened his eyes again, instead of the underwater scenery, he found himself surrounded by a layer of black mist.
Chen Fei’s expression soured. Was the Black Divine Realm going too far? He was prepared to lose contribution points and insights into a martial art when exchanging for the option to leave, but to find out that even leaving was a falsehood?
Or was it because of the ongoing attack on the Black Divine Realm causing issues with teleportation?
Looking around, Chen Fei noticed that the black mist resembled the texture of the black stones, indicating it was part of a seal. How was he supposed to leave?
Despite his disdain for the Black Divine, Chen Fei understood that the entity’s power was undoubtedly formidable. Even with only a partial release from the seal, it could not only resist the seal but also modify the rules to some extent.
Moreover, it could freely extract insights into martial arts during transactions.
All these factors proved the Black Divine’s might.
If even the Black Divine was currently only opposing the seal, how was Chen Fei supposed to break free from it?
Furrowing his brows, Chen Fei hadn’t fully grasped the situation when ripples appeared nearby, followed by several figures gradually emerging. They were the ones who had arrived at the Black Divine Temple earlier, prepared to leave.
As a result, these individuals, like Chen Fei, found themselves transported to this location.
Just like Chen Fei’s reaction earlier, their expressions changed upon seeing the scene before them. Clearly, they hadn’t expected that choosing to leave would only take them halfway.
“What place is this?” someone asked, looking towards Chen Fei.
“I’m not sure. I arrived here just a moment before you did,” Chen Fei replied truthfully, shaking his head.
However, Chen Fei had a faint suspicion. This seemed to be the outer perimeter of the entire Black Divine Realm because he could sense that the power sealing him was considerably weaker than before.
Although Chen Fei still couldn’t access his original power, it felt different from being completely locked down as before.
In other words, the journey to leave was truly just one step away.
But that one step could potentially lock someone down here permanently. Even with the weakening of the sealing power, it was still beyond what someone in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm could withstand.
The seal of the Black Divine Realm was aimed at those above the Mountain Sea Realm.
The disparity between the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and the Mountain Sea Realm was too significant.
As the group began to explore the black mist around them, Chen Fei remained in place.
Many here hadn’t yet grasped the true nature of the Black Divine Realm, but Chen Fei knew that the Black Divine was sealed here.
Many of the seemingly contradictory rules within the Black Divine Realm were the result of the Black Divine and the seal opposing each other.
The Black Divine needed beings, human or demonic, to help it break the seal, move the black stones, and disrupt the array formations. However, the seal fundamentally didn’t want any beings, human or demonic, to appear within the realm, so there wouldn’t be anyone to aid the Black Divine.
Therefore, the option to leave wasn’t so much given by the Black Divine as it was the result of the Black Divine loosening restrictions, allowing the seal to automatically transport people away.
Because people leaving here would benefit the seal, but why were they all locked back here now?
Chen Fei’s gaze couldn’t help but turn to the Purple Fire Spirit Pill inside his Qiankun Bag. Because these items exchanged from the Black Divine Temple were imbued with the Black Divine’s aura, was the seal preventing them from leaving?
Previously, due to the Black Divine’s intervention, even if the seal refused, as long as the Black Divine’s rules were modified, those who obtained these exchanged items or abilities could still forcefully leave.
But now, it seemed that the Black Divine was clearly in trouble, so it didn’t even bother with such rule modifications?
Chen Fei looked around and took a few steps towards the depths of the black mist. These powers definitely belonged to the seal, not the Black Divine. So, Chen Fei’s earlier speculation was highly likely.
From his Qiankun Bag, Chen Fei retrieved a jade box and placed the teleportation rune from the spatial grid into it.
Then, he took out an alchemy furnace, threw both the Purple Fire Spirit Pill and the jade box into it, and tossed the furnace into the spatial grid.
The entire Qiankun Bag couldn’t be thrown into the spatial grid, perhaps because they were all spatial objects, conflicting with each other.
Chen Fei had previously rendered a Qiankun Bag useless in an attempt to test the spatial grid.
Having completed all these actions, Chen Fei distinctly felt the weight of the shackles on him lessen significantly. Even the elemental energy within his body began to flow slightly.
Obviously, the seal’s attitude seemed much more lenient towards those who hadn’t been tainted by the Black Divine. However, Chen Fei still didn’t feel like he was being transported away; the black mist continued to subtly seal him.
Furrowing his brows, Chen Fei recalled that besides exchanging for the teleportation rune and the Purple Fire Spirit Pill, he had exchanged for something else: three chances to descend the mountain..
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