Chapter 644: With You?
That was a very good question.
Because Chen Yan had discovered the greatest contradiction among all the intelligence he currently possessed.
The laws of heaven and earth on Chenping Continent could not support the existence of Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivators. Therefore, Lord Qingluo did not permit any cultivator on Chenping Continent to step into the Uncarved Simplicity Realm.
Yet Chenping Continent, as one of the Three Thousand Worlds that had already lost all value, would be discarded like trash by Lord Qingluo, abandoned without a second thought...
The contradiction was glaring.
Far too glaring, in fact.
"Hmm..."
The Tianji Sage, Zuo He, fell into a brief contemplative silence. It seemed he too was stumped by the question Chen Yan had raised.
After all, during the hundreds of thousands of years the Ultimate Sage of Heaven's Extremity had governed Tianji Continent, he had never been particularly renowned for meticulous thinking.
This Sage possessed supremely exceptional talent. It could be said that from the very day he stepped onto the Path to Immortality, everything had gone smoothly for him.
Lower Three Realms, Middle Three Realms, Upper Three Realms, Immortal Ascension Realm, Returning to Void Realm... all the way to the Uncarved Simplicity Realm.
Of course, it was merely that his thinking was not quite so meticulous. This Tianji Sage still had some brains after all.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought to establish a system of checks and balances among the twelve Immortal Sects.
Though he had ultimately fumbled it, unleashing a "Fallen Immortal Calamity" that cost the entire domain heavens and his own life as well.
"Perhaps... Lord Qingluo changed his mind..."
Zuo He said, then shook his head:
"Who knows?"
The answer of this Tianji Sage couldn't even convince himself.
Chen Yan didn't believe that at all.
Unlike the Tianji Sage, for whom everything had gone smoothly from the day he stepped onto the Path to Immortality, Chen Yan's experience was, one could say, the complete opposite.
Since Chen Yan had set foot on the Path to Immortality, everything he had experienced had been riddled with obstacles and setbacks.
If it weren't for his ability to come back from the dead, he would now be a pile of bleached bones deep within the Fallen Sword Mountain Range.
Perhaps there might even be cultivators who came seeking opportunities in the Fallen Sword Mountain Range, who would sigh with emotion upon seeing his corpse.
Of course, that was an impossibility.
Chen Yan was destined to come back from the dead, to Save-Scum through his reincarnations.
Otherwise, the history of Chenping Continent might have lacked a swordsman by the name of Su Hongzhen.
Although Chen Yan had always believed his mind wasn't particularly sharp, after going through so much, if one set aside cultivation realm and placed him in the same position that Fu Qian or Bai Qiming once occupied, Chen Yan could spin those two around like monkeys on strings.
Mystic Maiden, Lord Qingluo...
Chen Yan suddenly thought of something.
Eight thousand years ago, because battling the Mystic Maiden on Chenping Continent would have been restricted by the laws of heaven and earth, and might even have caused Chenping Continent to be directly annihilated, the battlefield Mr. You had chosen was within the spatial rifts.
Whether it was what Mr. You had personally stated afterward, or just as the Tianji Sage had described moments ago, they all pointed to one thing.
That was, the Mystic Maiden was absolutely no match for an Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivator.
Yet Mr. You, who had returned from the spatial rifts, had been on the verge of death.
This meant that Mr. You's opponent in the spatial rifts was not the Mystic Maiden alone.
But if Mr. You had encountered Lord Qingluo in the spatial rifts, there was absolutely no way he could have escaped alive.
Something was wrong.
And it was very wrong.
The most likely possibility was that the "that existence" Mr. You spoke of was not Lord Qingluo, but something else entirely.
But then, what exactly could it be?
Suddenly, in Chen Yan's mind, an image surfaced of a withered eyeball with no skin covering it at all.
That eyeball's target didn't seem to be Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivators, but rather... himself.
"Sage, this junior has one more question to ask."
Chen Yan once again bowed with cupped hands toward Zuo He.
Upon hearing this, the Tianji Sage's eyebrows raised slightly, and then this young man clad in the black daoist robe spoke:
"You really do have quite a lot of questions."
In truth, Zuo He wasn't genuinely annoyed by Chen Yan's many questions.
Rather, it was because he had discovered that some of the questions Chen Yan asked, he actually couldn't answer.
This made the face of this Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivator, who had once governed an entire domain heavens, lose a bit of face.
"Go ahead. But this will be the last question."
"Thank you, Sage."
Chen Yan continued:
"May I ask the Sage, do you know whether there exists, within the spatial rifts, or perhaps within the chaotic flow of time, a withered, bald eyeball with no skin covering it?"
"An eyeball?"
Faced with Chen Yan's question, the Tianji Sage's face showed a confused expression, and then he said:
"Why are you asking me about this?"
"May I ask, is there something improper about it?"
Chen Yan continued.
"No..."
The young Sage in the black daoist robe simply shook his head:
"It's just that this question is very strange. I have no idea what the 'eyeball' you speak of is. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing."
"This junior understands. Thank you, Sage, for guiding this junior today."
Chen Yan bowed toward Zuo He.
He did not offer too much explanation to Zuo He about the question he had just asked.
And the Tianji Sage paid it no mind at all.
Chen Yan believed that the intelligence he had gathered from this trip to the abyss of the Endless Sea was probably sufficient.
Next, it was time to return.
...But, how exactly was he supposed to return?
Chen Yan was well aware that the moment Chenping Continent's land had completely vanished from his sight, he had lost his way back.
It seemed he would have to Save-Scum, or rather... commit suicide.
Now that he was already an Immortal Ascension cultivator, Chen Yan certainly couldn't use the Great Derivation Art to forcibly derive Immortal Qi and shatter his meridians to die, as he had done in the past.
He would have to kill himself much more directly.
But for an Immortal Ascension cultivator to take their own life, how could that be such a simple matter?
It could be said that after ascending to immortality, if he wanted to Save-Scum, the cost he would need to pay was several times higher than before by an unknown margin.
"Now then, what is the situation like in the outside world?"
Just as Chen Yan was pondering, the Tianji Sage suddenly spoke up to ask him.
"Reporting to the Sage, Chenping Continent has currently united the entire cultivation world, preparing to face the crisis that will arrive before long."
Chen Yan answered.
"United the entire cultivation world of this domain heavens?"
Hearing this, the Tianji Sage appeared somewhat surprised:
"How is that possible? Surely there is still a Returning to Void Realm cultivator existing in this domain heavens?"
"...There isn't."
Chen Yan answered truthfully.
"Then how was it accomplished?"
"It was this junior who brought it about single-handedly."
Chen Yan said.
Upon hearing this answer, the Tianji Sage was silent for a brief moment, then suddenly burst out laughing and said:
"With you?"