Chapter 203: A Different Human World (Part 2)
Chapter 203 -114: A Different Human World (Part 2)
Beneath the Abyss, a blood-red eye opened.
He called himself the Muddy World Immortal.
The progenitor of the Black Abyss.
The place where this creator of the Black Abyss was sealed had never been anywhere else—it was right here, beneath the Imperial City, in the abyss of the Abyss itself.
And so, the Black Abyss came to be known as the Black Abyss.
…
…
Time flew.
In the blink of an eye, it was the Tenth Year of Daqian.
A full six years had passed since the battle at the Celestial Gate.
「Outside the Imperial City.」
On Qingshan Island, a small mound of earth trembled slightly. Then, countless Tree Whiskers sprouted from beneath the ground.
In an instant, these countless Tree Whiskers gathered together, coalescing into a human figure.
His face was as handsome as carved jade.
His eyes were like cold stars.
A hint of confusion flickered within them.
It was Su Chen.
“What year is it? I feel like I’ve been asleep for a very long time…”
Upon waking, the first thing Su Chen did was close his eyes to observe the Longevity Tree Species within his body. By now, its branches had grown and sported a few scattered leaves. The branches and leaves bore patterns that resembled rivers of time from worlds already extinguished, flowing ever so slowly.
The Longevity Dao Tree was incredibly powerful.
Su Chen already knew this.
He was more concerned about the abilities that came with the Fourth Realm of Longevity.
Soon, he held out his palm. The Longevity True Qi that should have been there was gone. In its place were translucent, crystalline globules that emitted a soft white glow, like liquid.
The Fourth Realm of Longevity: Longevity Blood.
If consumed by plants, a Treasure Medicine would evolve into a Spirit Medicine.
It could nourish a Spirit Seed and ripen Spirit Medicines. With enough of it, he could create Hundred-Year Spirit Medicines or even Thousand-Year Spirit Medicines.
It could be considered an upgraded, enhanced version of Longevity Qi.
Roughly speaking, one drop of Longevity Blood was equivalent to a thousand strands of Longevity Qi. Under the right conditions, a single drop could mass-produce Grandmasters.
‘It doesn’t seem that useful.’
‘However…’
‘I can accumulate it. I can probably save up one drop of Longevity Blood per month.’
‘The Xuanyuan Treasure Tree should be maturing soon, too.’
‘I wonder…’
‘What year and month is it now?’
Su Chen gazed at the Imperial City in the distance. The Longevity Fires were numerous, yet they were shrouded in a swirling mist, and something seemed off.
What exactly was wrong, Su Chen couldn’t tell.
He shook his head, then turned the Storage Ring on his finger, changed into a Profound Robe, and stepped onto the river’s surface, preparing to head for the Imperial City.
In that battle, he had awakened in a hurry and rushed to the battlefield, annihilating the powerful Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had descended from the Mountain River Realm with a single sword strike.
To do so, he hadn’t hesitated to break through the Celestial Gate ahead of schedule.
He had stepped into the Innate Realm.
Fortunately, although the Celestial Gate was broken, and he was in the Innate Realm, he had not yet manifested his Innate Qi.
‘If I’m going to manifest it, I’ll manifest the strongest: Innate Dragon Qi.’
Although the Innate Realm was a single realm, its Qi had three classes. The lowest was like mist, the middle was like water, and the highest was like weapons and armor.
Only those with High-Grade Qi could steal life from the heavens and continue to increase their strength in the Innate Realm.
Above that, there was also the legendary Innate Dragon Qi.
This level could only be achieved with the help of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects.
In the Innate Realm, what Su Chen wanted to obtain was the Xuanyuan Dragon Qi!
In the distance, countless Tower Ships and Painted Boats floated on the water.
Su Chen was Merging with the heavens and earth, not wishing to reveal himself. He walked upon the river’s surface, following its current toward the Imperial City.
But just then, from within the Imperial City, a terrifying Sword Qi shot into the sky.
In an instant, the sky went dark.
A horrifying Thunder Technique descended from the heavens, meeting the terrifying Sword Qi head-on.
The battle plunged the world into chaos. Even the river water dozens of miles away was affected, with waves churning violently, nearly capsizing the Tower Ships and Painted Boats…
“Tsk, tsk.”
“As expected of the Sword Sect Master and the Daoist Sect Leader. Even their daily spars are on such a level…”
“Those two have been fighting since the early years of Daqian all the way to the Tenth Year of Daqian now. I’m afraid they’ve both reached the Heavenly Life Stealing Realm.”
On a Tower Ship, a young noble murmured softly.
Just then, a voice sounded from behind him.
“The Tenth Year of Daqian?”
The speaker was none other than Su Chen.
“Who’s there?!”
In the next moment, the young noble’s guards rushed in from all directions, intending to capture the assassin who had appeared out of nowhere.
They were not weak, all at the level of Second-Grade Experts. One’s Internal Organs thrummed like a Thunder Roar, while another’s Anger Gang roiled as he waved his hand to unleash a True Qi Sword Rain.
Unfortunately, they were too weak!
Su Chen simply stomped his foot on the deck of the Tower Ship.
An invisible shockwave swept the Second-Grade Experts away.
“A Grandmaster?!”
The young noble’s expression changed drastically.
He had no idea why a Grandmaster would appear beside him.
“You don’t recognize me?”
Su Chen was a little puzzled.
He was in his true form. With his fame, praised throughout the world and worshipped by the people, how could someone not recognize him after a mere six years?
“Forget it.”
“I’ll see for myself.”
Su Chen plucked a single strand of the noble’s hair.
In the next instant, he vanished without a trace.
Tree Whiskers surged.
Soul Fusion Remembrance activated.
Scene after scene flooded his mind.
In the Fourth Year of Daqian, the Immortal Path was severed, but cultivation flourished.
During a time of worldly turmoil, an Empress ascended the throne.
She turned the tide amidst fire and flood.
Five Banished Immortals came from the north, descending upon the Imperial Capital to preach their Dao to the world and re-establish the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Path. From then on, the world was peaceful and the people were safe.
‘That’s not right.’
‘Who is this Empress?’
‘Where is Void?!’
‘This boy is only seventeen or eighteen. Why does his mind only contain memories from after the Fourth Year of Daqian? Why is there nothing from before…?’
At that moment, Su Chen’s brow furrowed. He had a vague, unsettling premonition.
‘Let me try someone else’s memories.’
Su Chen’s figure flitted away.
Soon, he arrived at a Painted Boat and then a black-canopied fishing boat, taking a strand of hair from a dancing girl and an old fisherman respectively.
Soul Fusion Remembrance activated.
HUMMM!
One was in her twenties, the other over forty; both were only a few years away from their lifespan limit of fifty.
It was still the same.
They had no memories from before the Fourth Year of Daqian.
‘Is this an Immortal Skill?’
‘Or some other Magic Technique?’
‘Does it only cover the Imperial City, or the entire Human World…?’
Su Chen once again looked at the dense fog that shrouded the Longevity Fires in his vision.
Perhaps the problem lay with this mist.
But why?!
What had happened in just six short years?
Su Chen gazed at the Imperial City from afar.
He could still vaguely recognize the ancient Imperial City, which had stood for nearly a thousand years, as it was before his slumber.
Even the Sword River that cut through the Imperial City, splitting it in two, was the one he had created years ago when he had wiped out the Immortal-Overcoming Demon with a single strike.
But why had all the citizens forgotten their memories from before the Fourth Year of Daqian?
“What is this fog?”
Su Chen rode the waves into the Imperial City.
With his skill, he Merged with the heavens and earth.
Even someone at the Heavenly Life Stealing Realm would have difficulty detecting him.
Now, in this World in the Palm, he was the absolute pinnacle of Mortal Cultivation in the Human World!
Soon, he froze.
Within the Imperial City, he saw a majestic statue. It was of a woman with a cold and detached expression, her gaze fixed upon the mountains and rivers of the world.
He was very familiar with this person.
Princess Le of Qii!
“Why?”
‘Did Void pass the throne to her before he left?’
Su Chen didn’t understand.
He continued walking.
At this moment, he stopped before the Palace Gate, because he had discovered the source of the terrifying fog that seemed to blanket the entire Human World.
It was coming from beneath the Heaven-Ascension Tower.
From the Abyss that Su Chen had never once set foot in.
「At the same time.」
Inside the Imperial Palace, there were two figures. One was a woman sitting high on the throne; the other was a person resting on a couch with their eyes closed. At that moment, both of them snapped their eyes open.
“He’s finally appeared!”
The Muddy World Immortal roared with fury, transforming into a churning black tide that surged toward the direction from which he felt he was being watched.
Separated by a single Palace Gate, the two of them met each other’s gaze.
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Chen turned and fled. His senses told him that in addition to these two ineffably terrifying auras, five other dreadful presences, like five Great Suns of the Immortal Dao, were rapidly approaching his position.
These seven beings were all coming for him! It seemed they were here to take his life.
“I don’t understand this Human World anymore…” Su Chen muttered.
“Strange, why did he disappear!”
“Dammit!”
“It’s been six years! We finally sensed his aura, only for him to vanish right under our noses!”
The seven terrifying figures, beings like Great Suns in the world, had already arrived. They split into two factions, wary of each other, and searched everywhere, but found no trace of Su Chen.
At that very moment, right under their noses, a young man in a Profound Robe was strenuously pushing a horse-drawn carriage, slowly passing by.
On the palm of the young man’s right hand was a distinct, azure-blue mark.