Futile Devices Scans

Wenren Li carried Chen Yixin all the way back toward Yuxu Palace. Naturally, flying was somewhat slower than continuously teleporting, but it allowed Chen Yixin, whose divine power had been exhausted, to feel more comfortable.

However, after flying for only half an hour, he switched back to continuous teleportation. Just as the phoenix in his arms was about to open its eyes, Wenren Li’s hand covered them.

At the same time, he swept a hand behind him. Several void rifts exploded open across the incomparably stable Upper Realm, and a few drops of divine blood were blasted out from within. Nangong Chuan had evidently stationed one of his avatars near the Jin Clan’s territory specifically to investigate Chen Yixin’s divine art.

“His Myriad Transformations Avatar Technique is rather well cultivated.”

Wenren Li commented casually before carrying Chen Yixin toward the edge of the void. Silver divine power swept through the area once more. No matter what might have been hiding nearby, none had any chance of surviving.

Yet it was obvious that the destruction of the Jin Clan had been a trap jointly arranged by Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan. They could no longer allow Chen Yixin to continue like this. Otherwise, as one side weakened while the other grew stronger, their advantage would eventually be ground away completely.

“Come out.”

Wenren Li stamped down with his foot. The phantom of a colossal silver tree descended from the heavens. Everything except the area around him and Chen Yixin was swallowed by the void, and at the same time they finally saw the people who had been following them.

They were not some overconfident Immortal Emperors or Immortal Lords. They were Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan themselves. Only the two of them joining forces could possibly contend with Wenren Li.

As for Chen Yixin, after observing him for so long, they had concluded that he remained weakened for three to five days after performing the Soul Summoning Art. They had little confidence in facing both Wenren Li and a fully matured Heavenly Phoenix together, but against Wenren Li alone, they believed they had a chance. Thus came tonight’s pursuit.

“The Great Emperor’s abilities are truly remarkable. To bring a dying Heavenly Phoenix back to life like this must have cost you greatly.”

Nangong Chuan sat upon a crimson auspicious cloud, smiling as his probing gaze settled on the ice-blue phoenix in Wenren Li’s arms. He could not help but sigh in admiration.

“Truly beautiful. As expected of a Heavenly Phoenix born from heaven and earth itself.”

Wenren Li loosened his hold slightly. Chen Yixin returned to human form, though he remained draped across Wenren Li’s back with his eyes closed, still appearing extremely weak. At that moment, a cloak descended over him, concealing both his body and hair completely.

“The Great Emperor has become just like Qing Ruo and Lin Yu as well… unreasonable and muddle-headed.”

As Nangong Chuan spoke, his eyes narrowed. A crimson sword appeared in his hand. It was the very same kind of sword he and Dongfang Jin had used to seal Wenren Li long ago.

“The Soul-Severing Sword…”

Wenren Li recognized it as well. But times were different now. Back then, Nangong Chuan and Dongfang Jin had struck when he was at his weakest. Now, he was not.

“A sword I forged myself shall be severed by my own hand today.”

As soon as the words fell, a silver sword-shadow shot toward Nangong Chuan. Yet countless overlapping figures suddenly appeared around Nangong Chuan. Tens of thousands of avatars emerged, and their numbers continued increasing.

At this rate, even if Wenren Li exhausted all his divine power, he might still fail to kill every one of Nangong Chuan’s avatars. Moreover, beside Nangong Chuan stood Dongfang Jin, who had remained silent the entire time. His attention had never been on Wenren Li. He had been watching Chen Yixin all along.

Even though Wenren Li had concealed Chen Yixin so thoroughly, he continued staring, as though admiring a perfect masterpiece.

“We have not met for many years, yet Rong’er has grown to such a level. A fully matured Heavenly Phoenix even more extraordinary than Qing Ruo.”

Dongfang Jin stroked his beard as he spoke. The smile on his face was sincere and approving. He looked less like someone here to kill Wenren Li and Chen Yixin and more like an elder visiting a junior he had not seen for many years.

Chen Yixin lifted his head from beside Wenren Li’s neck and looked toward Dongfang Jin. After a moment, he quietly asked,

“You are Zhou Yan?”

There was still a trace of uncertainty in his tone, but the moment the words left his mouth, Chen Yixin was already certain. Only Zhou Yan had ever treated him with that attitude and spoken to him in that manner. Of that, he could not be mistaken.

Zhou Yan had been the first person to make him feel warmth, and also the first person to teach him what betrayal was.

Yet the deep hatred of the past no longer stirred much emotion within him. Without waiting for Dongfang Jin to answer, he rested his head once more against Wenren Li’s neck, closed his eyes, and reminded him,

“I’m sleepy. A-Li, finish this quickly.”

“Mm.”

Wenren Li nodded. Though he remained standing with Chen Yixin on his back, countless silver vines spread out from beneath his feet, surging toward Nangong Chuan’s avatars and tearing through them.

“Do you know why you cannot understand emotions?”

Wenren Li’s voice spread through the void.

All of Nangong Chuan’s avatars turned to look at him. He merely raised an eyebrow, unconcerned.

Wenren Li continued,

“Do you know why you have never been able to break through and take that final step, as Dongfang has?”

“Why?”

This question genuinely interested Nangong Chuan. He had survived until now by relying upon the Void Origin within the Demon Abyss Well. Outwardly, he remained one of the two supreme Sage Lords beneath heaven, but internally he was neither truly divine nor demonic anymore—only chaos.

One reason he was so eager to deal with Chen Yixin and Wenren Li was because he wanted to understand how Wenren Li had cured Chen Yixin. He knew clearly that if he could overcome his own obstacle, he could become an existence equal to Dongfang Jin and Wenren Li.

“A person with an incomplete three souls and six spirits cannot attract divine tribulation, even if he is a sacred beast. Without divine tribulation, how can you ever break through?”

As for why Nangong Chuan’s three souls and six spirits were incomplete, he should understand better than anyone. The moment he chose to cultivate the Myriad Transformations Avatar Technique, he had already fallen into this trap. In the end, he was merely one of Dongfang’s more capable creations.

The prerequisite for cultivating the Myriad Transformations Avatar Technique was refining one’s own soul and spirit into a separate vessel, which would then serve as the foundation for creating countless avatars whose strength rivaled the original body. Over the years, Nangong Chuan had lost innumerable avatars. The one carrying that soul and spirit had long since been lost.

The divine art Nangong Chuan had obtained back then was likely incomplete. What was missing was the method of maintaining the connection between that separated soul and spirit and the original body. Whether it had been incomplete from the start or deliberately altered afterward was not difficult to guess.

The expressions of Nangong Chuan’s countless avatars darkened simultaneously.

If someone could tamper with him without his knowledge, there was no one besides Dongfang Jin.

Of the missing components, one was a secondary soul, while the other was his emotional spirit. That was why Wenren Li had asked why he could not understand emotions.

It was not that he did not understand. It was that he had long ago torn away his own emotional spirit. Without the root of emotion, how could he possibly comprehend it?

“Dongfang,” Nangong Chuan asked, “is he wrong?”

Nangong Chuan’s avatars ceased appearing. He flew farther away, increasing the distance between himself, Dongfang Jin, and Wenren Li.

“Correct,” Dongfang Jin nodded, his expression completely unchanged. “There can be no two suns in the heavens. A single god who governs the cycle of heaven and earth is sufficient.” Wenren Li could not be allowed to occupy that position, and neither could Nangong Chuan be permitted to compete with him for it.

“The only regret that remains in my heart is Rong’er. You and I were bound by heaven itself, yet that bond was severed by a tree destined to die of old age.”

The auspicious union of dragon and phoenix—he and Chen Yixin had once been recorded as husband and wife upon the divine register at the bottom of the Three Lives Well, only for Wenren Li to erase it unintentionally.

Back when Wenren Li had relocated the Three Lives Well, he had encountered the Hune Stream within the void. He had brought back a silver beast egg from it, but the Three Lives Well had been damaged in the process. After it was repaired, the section of the register bearing the names of Dongfang Jin and Chen Yixin had vanished.

Sure enough, even after he had sent one of his souls to continue that fated bond with Chen Yixin, it still had not succeeded. Instead, he had lost that soul to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li.

He spoke calmly, yet anyone could feel the deep resentment hidden beneath his words—a resentment that had endured from several cosmic eras ago until the present. Dongfang Jin was still Dongfang Jin. His malice and obsession had never changed.

“What auspicious union of dragon and phoenix? I only want my tree—that’s A-Li!” Chen Yixin could not help interrupting. There was no old affection left between them. If Dongfang Jin wanted to rebel, then rebel, but trying to use him as justification was intolerable.

“Besides, dragons… from what I hear, they have plenty of lovers and all sorts of strange children. I’ve never heard of them having anything to do with our phoenix clan. And you actually believed some nonsense the Three Lives Well made up? That thing only learns its lesson after suffering for it.” Chen Yixin ground his teeth. He very nearly wanted to go back and teach the Three Lives Well another lesson. He had truly been too lenient with it before if it had dared invent a marriage bond between him and Dongfang Jin.

Unlike Chen Yixin, Wenren Li showed no anger. After a brief moment of thought, a trace of realization appeared on his face.

“So that is what happened. A-Rong should have been able to hatch long ago. It was because the divine register of the Three Lives Well was damaged that he remained unable to enter the world.”

“But if I am not mistaken, the Hune Stream appeared because of your first attempt to open the Realm Gate. Every effect has its cause. You cannot blame anyone else.” Even so, Wenren Li still doubted part of Dongfang Jin’s story. The Three Lives Well had indeed lost a section. Chen Yixin’s name had certainly been on it, but the other name was not necessarily Dongfang Jin’s.

Dongfang Jin showed no anger upon hearing this. With a wave of his hand, a dim cloud of mist instantly engulfed the entire void. The crack connecting the void to the Immortal Realm expanded larger and larger under the influence of his aura.

Wenren Li set Chen Yixin down and carefully adjusted his cloak and hood.

“A-Rong, wait for me to finish this quickly.”

“Alright.” Chen Yixin nodded. Just as Wenren Li was about to turn away, he tugged gently at him, leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to Wenren Li’s lips. A bright smile spread across his face. “I’ll wait for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved a hand and teleported away from the center of the battlefield where Wenren Li and Dongfang Jin were about to clash.

He would not interfere in the reckoning between Wenren Li and Dongfang Jin. Likewise, Nangong Chuan, who had just been thoroughly manipulated by Dongfang Jin, would not participate either. Of course, if he chose to sacrifice even his Wisdom Spirit, then that would be another matter.

“Han Zichuan… is he in your hands?” Nangong Chuan flew to a position not far from Chen Yixin. His inscrutable gaze settled upon him while his mind rapidly calculated where his missing soul and spirit might have gone.

Among all his avatars, only Han Zichuan had fallen in love with Chen Yixin. If Han Zichuan had been capable of love, then the missing Emotional Spirit had to be with him. The location of the missing soul still remained unknown, but Han Zichuan was someone he absolutely had to recover.

That day, just as Han Zichuan had been about to merge back into the original body, he had been taken away by the cloth sack Chen Yixin left behind. At the time, Nangong Chuan had considered him an insignificant avatar. He had never imagined that losing Han Zichuan would be the very reason he had failed to break through all these years.

Chen Yixin glanced at Nangong Chuan before returning his gaze to Wenren Li and Dongfang Jin, who were already locked in fierce combat.

“No, he isn’t. But whether you can find him depends on whether you leave here alive today.”

The moment Chen Yixin finished speaking, the aura around him changed completely. Where was the weakness they had expected? The supposed weakness had been nothing more than an act performed for Nangong Chuan and Dongfang Jin. Otherwise, how could two people as despicable as them have willingly revealed themselves?

Chen Yixin tossed two more sweet-and-sour pills into his mouth. Throughout the entire journey while Wenren Li had carried him, he had been stuffing himself with pills. By the time he had climbed onto Wenren Li’s back, he had already fully recovered.

“A mere soul-summoning divine bird dares dream of killing this Lord? You overestimate yourself!”

Nangong Chuan roared.

His avatars appeared once more.

The reason he had been willing to sacrifice one soul and one spirit to cultivate this avatar technique was because each avatar retained virtually all of his original strength. An enemy might defeat one hundred opponents, or even ten thousand. But against tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands? That became nearly impossible.

Yet he could accomplish exactly that.

The accumulation of countless years had allowed him to create enough avatars to exhaust any opponent to death.

Originally, his plan with Dongfang Jin had been for him to deal with Wenren Li while Dongfang Jin subdued the troublesome little Heavenly Phoenix. Now that the situation had reversed, Nangong Chuan’s confidence only increased.

Yet if Chen Yixin’s abilities consisted solely of soul summoning, he would never have earned a reputation for being terrifying. Nor could Nangong Chuan possibly comprehend the true power of the Undying Heavenly Phoenix.

“Three thousand avatars—kill him!”

Nangong Chuan roared.

Three thousand avatars simultaneously unleashed the supreme sword technique, the Soul-Severing Sword. Back then, that very sword had severed Wenren Li’s true body in two. After countless years being corrupted by the Void Origin, its power had only grown stronger.

“Six thousand avatars—kill him!”

“Nine thousand avatars—kill him!”

Chen Yixin was swallowed entirely by endless sword light. Even a fully matured Heavenly Phoenix should have been obliterated completely.

A cold smile rose to Nangong Chuan’s lips.

Yet within the death-filled void, a single blue spark appeared.

Chen Yixin stepped out from that light completely unharmed.

Not even a single strand of hair was missing.

“That’s impossible! My avatars clearly killed you!” Nangong Chuan’s eyes widened. Along with his confusion came an inexplicable sense of dread. He was not entirely foolish. “Undying… Heavenly Phoenix. So this is the power of immortality.”

Chen Yixin could resurrect immortal clansmen who had never even received the Undying Mark. How could he fail to resurrect himself, a bearer of the Undying Command? Not even Dongfang Jin, much less Nangong Chuan, could truly kill him.

Of course, the Undying Command was not flawless. His immortality was finite. He could not continue resurrecting himself forever without limit.

But Chen Yixin had never intended to stand still and let Nangong Chuan kill him.

There was a reason he had endured those three attacks.

The icy blue in his eyes deepened. As he looked toward the ever-growing multitude of Nangong Chuan’s avatars, he saw countless green threads. The threads formed a vast web connecting every avatar. Yet all webs possessed nodes.

Those nodes were the fatal weaknesses of Nangong Chuan’s Myriad Transformations Avatar Technique.

A pair of spirit wings unfolded behind Chen Yixin, blotting out heaven and earth. One feather after another stood upright before scattering outward toward Nangong Chuan’s countless avatars.

“Break!”

Every feather that severed a node caused multiple avatars to explode.

Countless feathers shot forth.

In an instant, more than half of Nangong Chuan’s army of avatars vanished.

At that moment, a tree branch appeared in Chen Yixin’s right hand, while a phoenix feather appeared in his left. Step by step, he walked toward Nangong Chuan.

After taking three steps, the silver branch swung down—not toward Nangong Chuan, but toward the Soul-Severing Sword itself.

“Break!”

“A sword that betrayed its master should not exist!”

Nangong Chuan raised the sword to resist.

Yet the blade trembled.

The Word Authority contained within the branch—power originally belonging to Wenren Li—instantly reduced the divine sword’s might by thirty percent.

Then Chen Yixin swept the feather in his left hand.

The Soul-Severing Sword lasted less than two breaths before truly breaking.

The divine sword that neither Nangong Chuan, nor Dongfang Jin, nor even Wenren Li had been able to destroy was shattered by Chen Yixin’s power of immortality.

Or more precisely, by the Void Origin within his body.

“Who… are you really?”

Was the Chen Yixin whom both Wenren Li and Dongfang Jin were determined to obtain truly nothing more than a Heavenly Phoenix? He, Dongfang Jin, Qing Ruo, and Lin Yu were all descendants of the Heavenly Race. None of them could coexist with the Void Origin. Why could Chen Yixin?

In terms of talent and effort, none of them were inferior to him.

There had to be a secret within him that Nangong Chuan still did not know.

Darkness filled Nangong Chuan’s eyes.

Yet instead of continuing to fight, he chose to retreat.

And flee.

As long as the green hills remained, there would always be another chance.

Neither he nor Dongfang Jin had survived this long only to accept death.

Yet before he could fully escape the void, Dongfang Jin erupted first.

All of Wenren Li’s remains had returned to him.

His Divine Crystal had become complete once more through Chen Yixin.

His divine power and combat strength had already recovered to their absolute peak.

Although Dongfang Jin had also crossed that final threshold, he still could not compare to Wenren Li.

If things continued, Dongfang Jin’s defeat was inevitable.

But just as Nangong Chuan was unwilling to accept defeat, neither was Dongfang Jin.

Several Divine Crystal fragments engraved with special divine power shattered in his hand.

The energy released pierced directly through the barriers of the void.

An unimaginably terrifying suction force erupted.

At such close range, none of the four of them could escape.

Wenren Li instantly appeared beside Chen Yixin.

Pulling him tightly into his arms, he entered the breached extradimensional world together with him.

For gods, traveling through the void was roughly as dangerous as crossing the Heavenly River. Unless one was extraordinarily unlucky and encountered a catastrophe such as the Hune Stream, there was little danger.

But the dangers of an extradimensional world could not be measured.

It was a true forbidden land.

Time nodes and spatial nodes filled every corner.

One careless mistake could result in being swept into the river of time and erased from existence forever.

Or becoming hopelessly lost for all eternity.

The Hune Stream was an exceedingly rare phenomenon within the void, and it was precisely this kind of chaotic current that leaked out from the Extradimensional Realm. It was these currents that had been powerful enough to destroy the divine register guarded by the Three Lives Well. And if that missing corner could still be found, then the only possible place it could exist was within this Extradimensional Realm.

“Those two Divine Crystals—I recognize them. A-Li gave them to me to play with, and now Dongfang Jin destroyed them!”

Chen Yixin buried his face in Wenren Li’s embrace. He was being protected so thoroughly that the torrents of chaotic energy did not affect him in the slightest. Only because of that did he still have the spare energy to sulk.

Moreover, he had a feeling that most of the things Wenren Li had once given him had probably ended up in Dongfang Jin’s hands. That fellow was not only a traitor, but also a shameless thief who stole what belonged to others.

“I just hope Elder Brother and Big Brother can move faster and attack his lair sooner, then strip it completely bare for me…”

As he spoke, Chen Yixin wrapped his arms around Wenren Li’s waist. A portion of his divine power flowed outward to help Wenren Li maintain the barrier surrounding them. Sure enough, once Chen Yixin’s Undying Power merged into it, it immediately formed a complementary cycle with Wenren Li’s Life Force.

“Those two Divine Crystals belonged to Ancient Gods. Dongfang should only have possessed those two. For now, he won’t be able to leave this Extradimensional Realm.” Wenren Li carried Chen Yixin swiftly away from the center of the Divine Crystal explosion. They first needed to find a relatively safe place before they could consider taking Dongfang Jin’s and Nangong Chuan’s lives within this realm.

Chen Yixin nodded and allowed Wenren Li to carry him away, but he could not help glancing back several more times at the red and blue trails of Divine Crystal energy. Two Divine Crystals represented two Ancient Gods. They might have been Ancient Gods whom Wenren Li had once witnessed, or perhaps gods who had died on the path toward the Realm Gate.

“Those two Divine Crystals were gifts from Father God before he set out on his journey. I later gave them to A-Rong. I simply never expected Dongfang to use them in such a way.” Almost nothing Father God had left behind in this world remained. Only those two Divine Crystals had endured, and now Dongfang Jin had destroyed even them.

“No, A-Li, stop! There are words inside them!”

Chen Yixin tightened his grip on Wenren Li’s hand, his eyes fixed on the distant scene.

“I… I feel like I’ve seen those two characters before…”

The instant Chen Yixin spoke, Wenren Li immediately turned back with him. However, one of the two characters was seized by Nangong Chuan, who had been drawn into the realm slightly later than they had. The remaining character landed in Chen Yixin’s palm before Dongfang Jin could arrive to claim it.

“What character is this?”

Chen Yixin lowered his head and studied it carefully, but just as before, he could not understand it.

He clearly should have recognized it, yet its meaning refused to surface within his mind. It felt familiar, but remained incomprehensible.

Chen Yixin looked toward Wenren Li, only to see him shaking his head.

“I didn’t see the character in A-Rong’s eyes.”

Those two Divine Crystals had remained in Wenren Li’s possession longer than anyone else’s, yet he had never once seen any characters within them. Even now, after the Divine Crystals had exploded, he still saw nothing. He could only wonder whether Nangong Chuan and Dongfang Jin had experienced the same thing.

“We’ll discuss it later,” Wenren Li said before scooping Chen Yixin into his arms and fleeing at full speed. If a second explosion erupted from that rift and they were caught within it, escaping would become even more difficult. Furthermore, the disturbance here would inevitably attract the creatures that inhabited the Extradimensional Realm.

“A-Li, watch your step!”

Chen Yixin murmured a warning. A pair of spirit wings unfolded behind him as he wrapped his arms around Wenren Li and pulled him aside, narrowly avoiding a black shadow that suddenly erupted from the scorched ground below. They had already experienced firsthand just how dangerous these things were.

Neither Life Force nor Void Origin Power seemed capable of affecting them. And clearly, the surface was still somewhat safer than whatever unknown horrors lurked beneath the earth.

Thus they continued weaving and fleeing, scarcely having a moment to rest. They could not even determine how much time had passed. They only knew that the energy within their bodies was steadily being depleted.

“A-Li, do you feel like we’ve been going in circles this whole time? It feels as though we haven’t actually gotten very far from the rift entrance.”

As he spoke, Chen Yixin reached out and wiped the dust from Wenren Li’s forehead. The Extradimensional Realm was filled with endless black ash, and once it settled upon them, even divine power could not easily remove it. They could only wipe it away manually.

“Mm. Even during ancient times, this realm’s strangeness was famous throughout the world. This is my first time here as well.” Wenren Li rubbed Chen Yixin’s hair. He himself was covered in dust from head to toe, while Chen Yixin remained as clean as ever.

“The creatures here possess no intelligence and cannot communicate. Otherwise, we might have persuaded them to guide us.”

As Chen Yixin spoke, he tossed aside the merman-silk handkerchief and pulled several items from his storage space instead. Looking at Wenren Li, he said, “A-Li, buy me some time. I’m going to make an umbrella. This ash is truly annoying.”

He absolutely refused to allow Wenren Li to return from the Extradimensional Realm transformed from a beautiful silver tree into a spotted one. That was completely unacceptable. And beyond that, there was no telling whether this ash carried some hidden effect upon them.

“Alright.”

Wenren Li nodded. Centering himself around the reef where Chen Yixin sat, he began clearing away and resisting the endless stream of extradimensional beasts.

Occasionally Chen Yixin glanced over to check on Wenren Li, but most of his attention remained focused on the task in his hands. After an unknown amount of time, an ice-blue umbrella finally took shape. Yet a moment later, the radiance upon it faded, turning it completely black.

Chen Yixin had infused it with Void Origin Power.

A thousand years ago, he would never have dared touch such power. But after studying it for a millennium, he had learned to utilize small portions of it. At times like this, Void Origin Power was obviously more useful than ordinary divine power.

Holding the umbrella, he walked over and raised it above Wenren Li’s head.

“A-Li, do you think the Void Origin might have come from this Extradimensional Realm?”

His question was understandable. Even Wenren Li could not help leaning toward the same conclusion.

Yet his speculation was even bolder.

Turning to meet Chen Yixin’s gaze, he slowly lifted a hand and brushed it across Chen Yixin’s eyes.

“Perhaps.”

Perhaps he, Qing Ruo, Lin Yu, Dongfang Jin, Nangong Chuan, and even the uniquely different Chen Yixin all originated from this Extradimensional Realm.

But whether that was true or not ultimately changed nothing.

Taking the umbrella from Chen Yixin, Wenren Li clasped his hand and continued forward. They might still have been wandering in circles, but they absolutely could not remain stationary within this realm. Otherwise, their presence would attract too many extradimensional beasts, and dealing with them would become increasingly dangerous.

The amount of time they had already lingered was approaching the limit.

“From this point onward, A-Rong will choose the path. Whichever direction you point, that’s where we’ll go.”

After breaking through the densely packed encirclement surrounding them, Wenren Li stopped and handed the decision entirely over to Chen Yixin.

“Alright.”

Chen Yixin did not refuse. His gaze wandered around before casually pointing in a direction.

From then onward, they continued traveling in that manner. They never stopped, yet they also no longer moved in circles. The terrain beneath their feet gradually changed, becoming entirely different from the scorched wasteland that had once seemed impossible to escape.

“I hear water!”

Chen Yixin instantly became alert.

They had encountered bodies of water before, but almost without exception, those places had been extraordinarily dangerous. This was the first time they had heard water this loud.

“The aura of the Heavenly River…”

Wenren Li heard it as well, but he sensed far more than Chen Yixin did. None of the previous bodies of water had possessed such an aura. Even before seeing it, this unseen river already carried the unmistakable presence of the Heavenly River.

The Heavenly River stretched across the entire Upper Realm. To ordinary Immortal Lords, it possessed neither beginning nor end.

Of course, that was merely common belief.

It did have both a source and an endpoint. It was simply that almost no Immortal Lord or Immortal Emperor who reached those places ever returned alive, and over time, the legend had taken shape.

Yet it was obvious that the Extradimensional Realm was not the source of the Heavenly River.

It was, however, very likely where the river ultimately returned.

Though the sound seemed close, it took them an extremely long time to approach it. Their divine power was exhausted again and again, only to recover before they pressed onward once more.

At last, they reached the mountain peak nearest the river.

Before them stretched a vast silver current resembling a colossal dragon winding across the world.

The roar of the waters shook heaven and earth. Its ancient majesty was overwhelming.

Even Chen Yixin and Wenren Li felt an intense sense of insignificance.

It was as though they were no longer gods, but merely ants drifting within the endless current of time.

By the time Chen Yixin and Wenren Li reached the Heavenly River, Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan were approaching as well. The two had joined forces once more. Though their relationship had fractured, both understood that until they escaped this place, cooperation was their only path to survival—and their only chance to oppose Chen Yixin and Wenren Li.

“The Heavenly River is called the burial ground of gods, the final destination of all deities. Is this what that truly means?”

As Chen Yixin gazed at the river before him, what surfaced in his mind instead was the Heavenly River War and the experience of being swept to its depths.

The memories that had been repeatedly sealed away from him had been restored by the impact of the Heavenly River itself. Yet compared to the Heavenly River within this Extradimensional Realm, the river of the Upper Realm was like a grain of sand compared to an entire world.

“Is the Realm Gate located at the end of this river?”

Chen Yixin turned toward Wenren Li.

Wenren Li’s expression was noticeably calmer than his own.

Naturally, he concealed nothing from Chen Yixin.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded, then shook his head.

“It may be at the end, or it may appear at any point along the river. But to open it, one must shatter the barrier of the Extradimensional Realm and use the soul power of countless living beings to block the Heavenly River. Only then might the Realm Gate appear.”

Simply looking at the river before them made it possible to imagine the terrifying amount of soul power required.

Even if the entire Upper Realm perished, even if countless lower worlds perished, it still might not be enough.

Perhaps even the inhabitants of this Extradimensional Realm would have to be sacrificed.

To pay such a price merely for the immortality of a handful of individuals was horrifying beyond measure.

That was why, throughout history, only during the final era when the Void Origin was strongest had Ancient Gods attempted to challenge the Realm Gate through their own power. At any other time, it was impossible.

Even Chen Yixin and Wenren Li could not accomplish it.

“But it is far too difficult. This Heavenly River truly deserves its reputation as the burial ground of gods.”

“No. The Divine Sovereign is mistaken. The Realm Gate is destined to open during this era. That is the fate neither you nor I can prevent.”

Dongfang Jin’s voice sounded from behind them.

He and Nangong Chuan appeared together.

Compared to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li, who had traveled beneath an umbrella the entire way, the two of them scarcely resembled their original selves anymore. They were so filthy that Chen Yixin wanted to toss them straight into the Heavenly River and let them soak.

“At this point, Dongfang, there’s no point hiding things anymore. If the Realm Gate can truly open, the Divine Sovereign won’t reject immortality either.”

Nangong Chuan folded his arms while speaking, yet he deliberately shifted a step away from Dongfang Jin.

Their alliance of necessity had reached its limit.

From this point onward, Dongfang Jin was not someone he could trust.

Given Dongfang Jin’s temperament, he was entirely capable of sacrificing Nangong Chuan as a shield at a critical moment.

He had to remain vigilant.

Yet when he glanced over, he discovered that Chen Yixin was looking at him rather than Dongfang Jin.

Thus he continued.

“After all, the Divine Sovereign is the world’s only Eternal Longevity Tree, naturally immortal and everlasting through all ages. But the little Heavenly Phoenix is not. Only by crossing the Realm Gate can the two of you truly remain together forever.”

Neither Chen Yixin nor Wenren Li responded immediately.

Chen Yixin was staring at the character floating behind Nangong Chuan.

Clearly, the character had merely attached itself to Nangong Chuan by chance and was not truly under his control.

Chen Yixin still did not know what purpose those characters served.

But regardless, it would be better if they ended up in his hands.

“Ridiculous. Even if we advanced another step, neither of us could halt the Heavenly River. Attempting it would be nothing more than throwing our lives away. If you wish to challenge the Realm Gate, then do so. Why would A-Rong and I stop you?”

If they wished to seek death, Wenren Li would not stop them.

Neither would Chen Yixin.

Wenren Li answered Dongfang Jin’s words, but not Nangong Chuan’s.

His life and Chen Yixin’s had long since been bound together by the Lifebound Lock. Moreover, he had placed the primary lock upon Chen Yixin.

If Chen Yixin died, he would die as well.

There was no possibility that one could live while the other perished.

“You’re just afraid because you cherish your own life.”

Following Wenren Li’s words, Chen Yixin mockingly jabbed at Dongfang Jin.

When Dongfang Jin first attempted to challenge the Realm Gate, he had likely already developed a heart demon. Otherwise, he would never have carried out all the schemes that followed.

Yet Dongfang Jin still refused to accept their viewpoint. He continued trying to persuade them, though his attention remained focused primarily upon Chen Yixin.

Clearly, he believed the key to crossing the Realm Gate lay with him.

“If the Divine Sovereign will not believe me, surely he will believe the Heavenly Book at the bottom of the Demon Abyss Well.”

With a push of his hand, Nangong Chuan sent a black well overflowing with demonic energy flying into the Heavenly River.

Chen Yixin and Wenren Li’s expressions changed instantly, and they rushed after it.

Within that well, besides the sleeping Immortal Emperors who had allied themselves with Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan throughout history, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li also saw the figures of Qing Ruo, Lin Yu, and the others.

Clearly, in the outside world, they were currently attacking the Demon Abyss Well and had reached a critical stage.

“A-Rong need not worry. These are merely temporal projections. They have not been drawn into the Extradimensional Realm.”

Thus Qing Ruo and Lin Yu remained safe.

However, whether Dongfang Jin had further plans was another matter entirely.

“It seems even their lives are not enough to move the two of you.”

As Dongfang Jin spoke, a pale yellow phantom appeared between his hands.

It was the temporal projection of the entire Immortal Realm.

“If I detonate another Divine Crystal here, it will be enough to drag both the Upper Realm and the Void Heaven Battlefield into the Heavenly River of the Extradimensional Realm. Divine Sovereign, Rong’er—would you like to see whether I am capable of doing it?”

Chen Yixin and Wenren Li stared coldly at Dongfang Jin.

They truly could not allow him to carry out such a threat.

Even if Wenren Li was seventy or eighty percent certain that Dongfang Jin possessed no more Divine Crystals, they could not gamble on the remaining twenty or thirty percent possibility.

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